Reflection

"but I gave them this command: Obey me, and I will be your God and you will be my people. Walk in all the ways I command you, that it may go well with you. But they did not listen or pay attention; instead, they followed the stubborn inclinations of their evil hearts. They went backward and not forward." Jeremiah 7:23, 24

"...This is the nation that has not obeyed the Lord its God or responded to correction. Truth has perished; it has vanished from their lips." Jeremiah 7:28

Sound like anyone you know?

It certainly does to me, and it's very disheartening because it sounds like our nation and the people of this country. No, not just this country, but this world.

I'm not a political person by any stretch of the imagination. Quite honestly I get discouraged when I watch anything on the news about the current election....Decision 2008. I guess to some that makes me sound like a bad citizen, but it's very hard for me to believe much of what any of the candidates have to say. At this point they're just trying to pacify people and tell them/us what we want to hear so that we will vote for them. I'm all for "change" Mr. Obama, but I hope that if you are elected into the White House that you follow through with that and make positive changes for our country.

We are in a crisis. War. Economics. Education. God. That seems to be about the gist of it, and in that order might I add. Sad, but true. That's why it's disheartening. The only one I was interested in and rooting for...Mike Huckabee, is now out of the running. I know that he was a man of God, and stood for what was right and just in an unfair world. He carries his Bible, and is not afraid to let it be seen. Wow! That itself is encouraging and impressive to me. I truly believe he is a man of God. I applaud him for that.

Anyway, I was sitting here tonight checking all of my favorite blogs and the Chapman family kept popping up on several different ones. In case you aren't familiar....Steven Curtis Chapman and his sweet family that suffered a great loss in May when their youngest daughter, Maria, was killed in an accident that happend in their driveway.

I also read a blog called Bring the Rain and if you ever get a chance you need to check it out, but you have to start from the beginning and there's a link on the page that will take you to the start. Look to the left and you will see Bring the Rain listed under my favorite blogs. The blog is written by a woman named Angie Smith and she is such an amazing woman of God, and her family was also burdened with the loss of a child in April of this year. You really must read it, because it's much better to hear her tell the story. She's a true inspiration.

You also must read Light the World which is a blog written by Angie Smith's brother-in-law, Greg Sponberg. Greg and his wife Nicol (Angie's husband's sister) also lost a child in May, and Greg started a blog in honor of Luke (their son) and it's a tear jerker too.

Anyway, all 3 of these families are such strong believers in God and have all suffered tremendously this year. I've been reading their blogs and they open up their hearts in such a way that makes me cry every time I read them. They have so much faith and want to share it with the world even in though they hurt so badly for their babies.

Being a mother I understand the different kind of love you have for your children and I can't imagine losing them. I go to bed and wake up every morning thankful that God blessed me with 3 wonderful children. I don't deserve it, yet he still saw me fit enough to raise a family!! I'm honored, just like I'm honored to be somebody's wife and daughter and sister and friend.

Now, more than ever, I realize how much this country needs God. I realize how much personally I need God in my life. I need him to help teach me how to raise my kids and to be a better example for them and those I'm around. I pray for the future leaders of our country and that He helps teach them how to lead our country. I encourage you to pray also for these things, and to pray for the families who have suffered loss and are grieving and hurting. That they have the strength to get out of bed in the morning and shine as a light for Him.

Thank you God for another good day, and the assurance that the sun will rise at least one more day!