Its Sunday morning and it seems like the weekend just started! We went camping this weekend, weather was awesome and the view was beautiful. God is so good to all of us and enriches our lives with friends and family and the wonderful things He created.  I was so reminded of all these things this weekend as we spent time with family and my two grandsons.  We missed our oldest son and his wife and our granddaughter, but they were gone on a trip to celebrate 10 years of marriage! So blessed!! just a note: youngest son and his wife will be celebrating 5 years of marriage in a few weeks! Am I a proud blessed Mom or what! All because of God's amazing love and grace.

I was thinking about what I wanted to post today and a verse in my morning devotion touched my heart, James 1:2-3(NASB) Consider it all joy my brethren when you encounter various trials, knowing the testing of your faith produces endurance."  I have a few people in my life who seem to have a lot of trials in their lives right now and some handling better than others.  I know that in my life I sometimes feel overwhelmed by trials and tests but most times, but not always, I try to see what God wants from these tests, what does He want me to see and how does He want me to respond.  I think sometimes, He just wants us to start growing up, He doesn't want us to be babies in His word from "birth" on, He wants us to start desiring the meat of God's word.  My husband is leading lessons in spriritual growth in Sunday School and I so wish I could sit in on them. 

God allows things to happen in our lives for a reason, or purpose.  We have to use His word to help us discern what it is He wants or doesn't want.  If I feel like I can't catch a break or my life is out of control God and His word reminds me to Be Still and remember He is God and can take care of everything or will make it easier to handle if it is something He wants to show me.  It is all in how I respond and react.
Here is an example:  I have started menopause and let me tell you, the hot flashes are probably the worst part so far.  At first I thought it would just be a temporary problem but appears that it may stay around longer than I would like!  I am trying to figure out what I can gain from the experience.  The conclusion I came up with is that God made me, I am not the only woman who will or is going through this and I need to handle it with Godly grace (as much as possible with sweat running down my back!) and to just remember that He will give me comfort and assurance that He is with me.  The hardest thing so far has been these mood swings that come out of nowhere! My poor loving hubby gets all the brunt of those, sorry sweetie, it isn't personal! I am trying to read my bible more during those times and pray because I know they will pass and it is just temporary.

That is what we all need to remember when trials and tests come upon it to ask God what he wants from us.  Is he showing us how to grow, is it for the benefit of others to see how we handle things or is it just to remind us that He is our Father and He wants us to lean on Him and not the world.  I know that it is hard sometimes but if God is our Saviour and Father then we need to reach out to Him, even when we don't feel like it.  We have no reason to ever be mad at God for anything.  He is in control of everything and it is very disrespectful for us to think that we know what is better for us than He does.  He created us and knows how we will react to each situation.  Think of the last time you went through something difficult:  How did you react? Did you respond??
Well time to get ready for church! Blog to you soon!