a book of days

For You created my inmost being; 

You knit me together in my mother’s womb.

 I praise You because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; 

Your works are wonderful, I know that full well.

 My frame was not hidden from You when I was made in the secret place. When I was woven together in the depths of the earth, 

Your eyes saw my unformed body. 

All the days ordained for me were written in Your book before one of them came to be.

I love these verses in Psalm 139. The love of God for each of us shines so clearly in the words of the text, and with just a few short verses meaning for each person's life is found in them. 

I kept thinking about the days written in the book. I can just picture a book filled with life and all the things that make up that life, birthdays, graduation, a wedding, and even the thousands of ordinary days that create a lifetime. Maybe for some a cure for cancer, or the next president of the United States, or someone's future spouse, or a little league coach are written on those pages. The picture it paints is just beautiful. Not because every day is flawless, but because every day is like a brushstroke in a painting. By itself it might not seem to matter, but put them all together and you can find yourself with a masterpiece. 

Picture this book once again with all the days ordained beforehand by the Creator. Now start to erase it, every little mark back to the time of the womb. Let it stop there. Put this image in your mind, because it's important.

This is what happens when a baby's life is taken from them, when a mom or a dad decide this baby just wasn't in their plans, there isn't enough money to take care of them, they might be a burden, they might be "defective", they just don't want them. They choose to pay someone to stop a heartbeat, and then their troubles are over.

But the world loses out on something great. They lose out on an individual as unique as a snowflake. Nobody else can replace what they would have done with their life had they had the chance, and while its true most would not become the president of the United States or discover a cure for cancer and some would commit crimes or simply not live up to their God given potential, do they not deserve the chance each of us has been given? A chance to do something great with their life, or is their life just a woman's right to choose and their only hope is that their mother will just to let them live and not die? 

It has to be more than that. It is more than that. "I praise You because I am fearfully and wonderfully made."

moments of impact

I watched a youtube video today on the butterfly effect by Andy Andrews. It was really interesting about the way one person can make such an impact literally on generations sometimes in a single moment. I put the link   (the first of 3 each under 10 min) below for those interested in watching it.

In life we seem to have those moments of impact. Maybe not to quite the extreme of the billions of people that Andy talks about in one of the videos, but I think we've all had them. I've had several of those moments where I'm not exactly sure why they are significant in the moment but I believe that they are. Maybe it has something to do with this "butterfly effect". I once had a thought about fireworks and how our lives are often like them. Sometimes people know who set them off, other times people just seem them from a distance having no idea who set them off, but even if just for a moment get a glimpse of beauty and are filled with joy.

I can think of 3 instances off the top of my head that I have felt that. One was in a gym with someone asking me some questions about my faith that I had no idea how to answer, but I went home that night and starting studying looking for the answers to those questions. That day I saw this incredible potential in this person who asked me the questions that I couldn't explain, and still can't, but I am confident that it is there. That day too, I made a decision to do something that scared me to death but did it anyway because I believed it was what I needed to do. I wrote down what I learned and dropped it in his pickup, just hoping he wouldn't find it til I was gone. haha I wasn't so brave back in those days, but I've wondered since, if I had let that fear win out would I have continued that pattern over the years?

Another was in a classroom with someone asking if I had ever read the Bible all the way through. I don't remember if I had or not, but I made a decision then to do so either for the first time or once again. It spurred me on to continuing to do what I thought was important. And once again I saw potential in someone, that just maybe they were hungering for something more, something important, something that lasts.

The last was after a big rainstorm sitting in the stands at a football game. Someone was walking past and we made eye contact and then sat in the stands behind me and talked to my friend, they were former classmates. We started talking some here and there after that... you know those easy conversations not the forced ones, and from that I was able to move on from something that wasn't meant to be, but that I had clung to for almost two years. And that potential and hope for that person's future to be blessed and to find those good things came once again.

Since these moments I have started praying for each one off and on through the years, I don't always understand it or even see it, but I believe that God works in our lives in amazing ways. Maybe I didn't have the same impact on them that they had on me, but I am certain that God can do incredible things when we ask Him. And maybe that is what my part is meant to be in their lives. Maybe that is why those moments impacted me the way that they did, because maybe they are meant to do incredible things in their lives, and my role is to call upon the One who can bring out that potential and mold and shape their lives into something amazing.

  "And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to His purpose." Romans 8: 28 (ESV)



 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Nnrz9HGjj_U&feature=related

sweet innocence

Upon finishing a book in the Anne of Green Gables series I find myself wishing for that world of sweet innocence. I hear people talk a lot about wanting to live in those older days where things were simpler. Personally, I enjoy the technologies of today, but I wish for that innocence and the decorum people used to display. That idea that certain things are sacred, that some things should be left unsaid in keeping with good taste.

We live in a world that is growing increasingly unashamed of things that we should not be unashamed of. I get on facebook and have to hide so many of the posts because of the lack of propriety shown. I see girls posting pictures of themselves in bikinis and wonder were is their self-respect? I see all the bad language that is used. Maybe it doesn't seem like a big deal, but even the little things can cause cracks in our self-control.

But I love reading books like I did tonight, where God is still held in reverence, the marriage bed is kept pure, and decency is what is expected not something rare. It holds a life that is simpler, not necessarily because of technology or lack of it, but because of the character of people. 

"For a day in your courts is better than a thousand elsewhere. I would rather be a doorkeeper in the house of my God than dwell in the tents of wickedness. For the Lord God is a sun and shield; the Lord bestows favor and honor. No good thing does He withhold from those who walk uprightly."

Psalms 84:8-9 (ESV)

change

I have never been a huge fan of change, but I love the idea of potential. Ironic because I don't know how you reach potential without doing things at least a little different than you have been. And maybe that is why potential is rarely reached, because it demands change. Potential is a beautiful thing though. It allows you to look past your fears and focus on something bigger, something with meaning, with purpose.

Maybe the hard part with change is that there are parts of life at present that we love, and we become unwilling to let that part go even if something better could be waiting. From a purely business stand point, I can see why staying the same would be a bad thing. If I kept the money I made, and never invested in the future I would have that money only as long as I didn't spend it on something different that wouldn't allow me to grow, and then I would be done. The benefits of change are apparent in business, but often allusive in life because we often sit there looking at the risk and forgetting that there could be a payoff.

The point of all of this is not to take bigger risks and expect great payoffs because there is also that other side  that the bigger the risk the higher the rate of failure. The point is that change is one of those things that comes with risks, and you don't have to just throw everything that is working out the window in order to get that greener grass. And maybe the change is not to get the greener grass on the other side. Maybe it is to make the grass we already have greener, to reach or at least come closer to reaching that potential that we each have inside of us, to do those great things God put each of us here to do. Maybe the change is the catalyst to becoming who we are meant to be.


"The plans of the heart belong to man, but the answer of the tongue is from the Lord." Proverbs 16:3 (ESV)

a suitable helper

A couple years ago I was sitting out on the deck at a cabin in Ruidoso with a good friend of mine catching up. It was spring break and a group of us decided to spend at least part of it in New Mexico. As we were talking he started telling me that one of his goals in life was to eventually become an elder, but he was single, and part of the command in Scripture for elders is to be the husband of one wife and that his children be believers. So much of his future goal hinged on finding a woman to spend the rest of his life with, but not just any woman, one who would be faithful to him, who would help him raise their future children to be faithful.

This past weekend I got to see him get married to such a woman. It took me back to that time in Ruidoso as we were sitting and talking, both knowing that God is faithful in His answers to our prayers and the success of the plans committed to Him, but also knowing that our ways are not always His, and the uncertainties that go along with that. It's easy to look back in hindsight and see God's faithfulness in our lives; it's another thing to wait patiently for that faithfulness, but if we do wait on God, He answers in incredible ways. It's amazing to see His answers in action. I'm excited to see what God has planned for these two. I expect nothing less than incredible as they continue to grow in the Lord and together for the rest of their lives.

"Commit to the Lord whatever you do, and your plans will succeed." ~Proverbs 16:3

Pulling up weeds

I was out running a couple days ago and saw a man picking weeds out of his yard. He was pulling them out by the roots so that they wouldn't grow back again. The day after that it was beginning to drizzle a little bit and then today we had an amazing rain. I'm hoping this is the beginning to the ending of our drought. I thought back to the man picking his weeds, by pulling up the weeds by the roots ahead of time, the man saved himself a lot of time later on. It's not the weeds will never grow back, but my guess is they will not be as many or as big.

It got me to thinking about our lives. I wonder if sometimes God doesn't give us "droughts" so that we can pull up the weeds in our own lives before the rain comes. Sometimes it is easier to acknowledge our need for God in the hard times of life, then when we become busy because of all of our blessings He has given to us. So maybe that is the reason for droughts in our lives, that we can make preparations, stop the old bad habits and start good habits now when we feel more dependent on Him so that it will carry through when He has blessed us so richly that we become engrossed in what He has blessed us with, that we might not forget His goodness.

Something I love about God is His ability to bring good out of everything in our lives. Often we just have to look past what we might think is a bad situation to see the good that is there. It's not always obvious, but it's there.

  "And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love Him, who have been called according to His purpose." Romans 8:28 (NIV)

importance of the righteous

I've been reading a lot about the kings of Israel and Judah lately. It is so interesting how one man can make such an impact on a nation of people in his lifetime. (As a side note there is a great need to pray for the leaders of our nation because of the impact he/she makes.) For each king a reference was made for his character, whether he followed the laws of God or not and the nation followed his lead. More often than not if he did follow God's laws, the reference was something to the effect of him serving the LORD "as David had done." God Himself describes David as "a man after His own heart." Can you imagine having God say that about you?

I think it would be incredible! I believe this nation needs leaders who are righteous who will do everything the Lord commands, but I don't think it is simply up to the leaders of our nation. I think it can begin with us. It amazes me who God uses in the Bible to carry out His great plans. He chose Moses who believed himself to not be eloquent of speech to lead a nation of over a million people. He chose Jonah who was unwilling (at first and had to have a change of heart himself) to change the heart of a huge city. He chose Joseph who was hated by his brothers and sold into slavery to save Egypt and the surrounding peoples from 7 years of famine. He uses the strong and the weak to accomplish His will. Maybe we weren't put here to do anything on that grand of a scale, but I believe that the stand of the righteous is effective through Christ. Just one righteous person can make a difference, a town can do a lot, a nation can change the world.

We've been talking in class about Satan being the ruler over darkness and Christ being the light. I got to thinking that light always dispels darkness. If you light a match in the darkness, it is no longer dark in the area that the light touches. Only when the light is hidden or turned off can the darkness prevail. The same is true in our own lives.

"After removing Saul, he made David their king. He testified concerning him: ‘I have found David son of Jesse a man after my own heart; he will do everything I want him to do.’" ~Acts 13:22 (NIV)

purpose of a goal

I was thinking today about the purpose of goals. It's easy to want to accomplish things when I am motivated to do them, but the moments after that initial motivation is gone, often leave a strong pull to quit. Goals however often are what help me to keep persisting even when I'm tired and don't want to keep going.

When I was in college I went to a dessert supper one time at a teacher's house who had several different speakers come talk to us. I can't remember exactly what it was about... business related. There was one piece of advice that just about every one of the speakers hit on which stuck with me. It was the idea of deciding ahead of time of what you were going to do. In essence saying, "I'm going to do the right thing regardless of the cost." It takes the decision out in the split second where it is easy to waiver and do the wrong thing.

The same thing can be applied to goals. Instead of focusing on the obstacles, time is better served focusing on how to get it done despite the setbacks. So often this is where the biggest benefits come from sticking with the goals. As I've been going through the 90 day challenge, there are moments that I struggle and muddle my way through. Since I first started reading through my Bible, I have struggled through the different feasts, and the layout of the temple and some of the other laws that are found within those first few books, but today as I was reading I came across the heart of what all those commands are getting at. It says in Deuteronomy 7:24, "And the LORD commanded us do all these statutes, to fear the LORD our God, FOR OUR GOOD ALWAYS, that He might preserve us alive, as we are this day." Another passage talks about "the faithful God" and about His "steadfast love with those who love Him and keep His commandments."

Sometimes in the middle of it the goal looks pointless... Maybe we read about a law that doesn't necessarily pertain to us anymore, or we run those miles when we don't have the time or energy, or whatever else it is, but we do it... and then eventually the purpose shows up. It isn't always crystal clear at the time, but is so often rewarded when we don't give up. Many times it is the accumulation of time spent with a goal that allows that goal to reach its full potential in our lives, and what seemed pointless at the time eventually becomes life changing not because each time was perfect, but because we persisted and kept going even when it seemed easier to quit.

"The LORD your God has chosen you to be a people for His treasured possession..." Deuteronomy 7:6 (ESV)

90 Day Challenge

When you get to the end of your life, what do you hope to have done with it? Will it be a life you can look back on with fond memories? Something that leaves a legacy for your kids and grandkids to follow that will truly help them live life well? Or will it be a life lived for the moment, for the pleasure of right now... and not for the future, both in this life and thereafter? What do you hope to have done with your time?

The day I turned 24 I wrote a post about some of my goals for this year. Since that time I have ran 175 miles, started reading some things for the website (although I'm still unsure of the details for it), am planning on starting the 90 day challenge on April 1, and made approximately zero progress on the husband. (haha please know the husband one is/was in jest... while I'm not opposed to finding him... sometimes God's timing is different than my own, and instead of moping for him to get here, I would rather enjoy both now without him and then when he gets here.)

The one I want to focus on though is the 90 day challenge where I'm going to try to read the Bible from cover to cover in 90 days. If any of you would like to join I would love for you to! There are links at the bottom if you do.

I look back over my life and I see so many different factors in my life leading me to where I am. Granted it may not be the coolest life ever and I am still not anywhere near where I need to be, but life has been enjoyable. I think one of the main reasons is because of the direction of God's Word. His instruction truly does lead to the good in life even if sometimes He requires leaving the temporary pleasures alone... He does it for long term blessings. I'm convinced the more Christians dig into the Word the better off the world will be. It's hard to explain the peace that comes from following His commands. It truly is something that has to be experienced to truly understand. I hope you will join me for this challenge. Even if you can't do it in 90 days, set a goal to read it cover to cover. Through His word He will bless you, challenge you, sometimes make you uncomfortable because He wants to transform our lives. But the life transformed by Christ is the one legacies are made from. The ones that we can leave our baggage behind and move forward to what we were called to be.

"Turn my heart toward Your statutes and not toward selfish gain." Psalm 119:36

http://www.youversion.com/reading-plans/13-bible-in-90-days this link will take you to a website that will allow you to read it on your computer, send it to your iphone or http://www.thebrooknetwork.org/wp-content/uploads/2011/12/BibleIn90Days.pdf is the schedule if you want to read it from your own Bible.

Longing for home

I was studying this week for a lesson about the last of the beatitudes in Matthew which says, "Blessed are those who are persecuted because of righteousness, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven." Casandra Martin, who wrote the book we are using for our outline, was talking about the conflict between enemies of the cross of Christ and those who are striving to live for Him. She talked about how Jesus reminds us of home during these struggles and makes the comparison of a soldier longing for home to how we should long for heaven.

I have recently been in touch with Josh Boos, an old classmate of mine who is about to be deployed to Afghanistan, and asked him what it was like for the soldier missing home. He wrote back:
     "As a soldier you go through tough times that change you; trials and tribulation on a daily basis. Depending on your job you face the ultimate sacrifice, which nobody wants to really give up but if it's necessary it happens. I have been close to death several times in the military, and it's something that is never easy. When times come like that you focus on what's going on at the time, but shortly afterwards you think of home and all the loved ones you miss greatly and usually it helps a person get through. A lot of people rely on different things to get them through but no matter what anyone says, its the memories and people from where the soldier calls home that makes him grit his teeth and keep going. As an infantryman, this is just words of hardship that one goes through. We all go away from home and long just to go back to feel the happiness and love of what we miss."

There is so much in that for application, and I'll leave most of it for you to glean from for yourself. That last sentence though sums up this thought. We are away from home, our heavenly one, and we can look around and see all the bad going on, and sometimes it is disheartening, because we are longing to feel that happiness and love that we miss. But just like the military man has the hope of one day returning home to loved ones, so we have the hope of going home one day to be with our Savior if we will fight the good fight. It's a beautiful thing.

Please remember to keep our military men and women in your prayers. I know from personal experience it is easy to let them slip out of mind, but they are fighting for our freedom and have done more for our lives than we will ever know. Thank you to those who have served.

"Endure hardship with us like a good soldier of Christ Jesus." ~ 2 Timothy 2:3 (NIV)

don't quit

A couple weeks ago my family and I went to Austin for the Boy's State Basketball Tournament. One morning my mom, sister, and I skipped out on the morning session and went to visit a friend of our cousin. Her current interest is in photography, but she used to be a master seamstress I believe is how they referred to her. She has written several books and done some really incredible things. I was telling her about this quilt I am working on and how some of the edges didn't match up, slightly embarrassed because I knew she is good at what she does, and I know how some of my projects don't go quite according to plan. As I described some of the things that were going wrong she said something to the effect of "Oh yeah, I've done that too." Then she gave me a tip on how to fix it.

It's crazy how some of the simplest moments can have a profound effect on your life. There is a poem that says, "The great were once as you." I can't help but think that maybe the "greats" in this life are not the ones necessarily with the most talent, but rather the ones who persevered when things didn't go their way. The ones who keep learning and striving to improve. It's not that they never fail... it's that they don't quit.

I think the same can be true in our spiritual lives as well. It's important to keep in mind that while we are striving for perfection we can't obtain it on our own. We'll fail. And maybe we fail because we haven't been trying at all. The beauty is that God is on our side, and He wants us. He knows our past. He knows that we haven't been perfect or maybe that we haven't even cared to begin with, but He still wants us to turn to Him. His love is incredible and He wants us to keep going. To not quit... Maybe even to start. The question is will we?

"So do not throw away your confidence; it will be richly rewarded. You need to persevere so that when you have done the will of God, you will receive what He has promised." Hebrew 10:35-36 (NIV)

Precious in the sight of the Lord

"Precious in the sight of the LORD is the death of His saints." 

Psalm 116:15

Mom was talking about this verse the other day. She was thinking back on all the babies being born recently, and how the parents were anxiously awaiting their arrivals. She talked about the planning and the preparations, how they prepared a room for their new baby, and couldn't wait for them to get there. Then she drew the comparison to the verse mentioned above. The saint's death is their birth into heaven, and Christ is up there preparing a place and awaiting our arrival. What a thought!

It's easy to get caught up in life. Right now I am making a quilt for my nephew's room, dabbling in signs, trying to stay focused on a few projects instead of letting my mind (and money) wander into the many, many fun things there are to create, my sister's senior track season has started... haha the list can go on and on and on and it's easy to forget what I am here for or rather Who I am here for. God has blessed me with so many things, but His main desire is that  I live for Him for a lifetime... that I be with Him for an eternity. He's preparing a place. He wants us all there. Where is my focus?

 For He chose us in Him before the creation of the world to be holy and blameless in His sight. In love  He predestined us to be adopted as His sons through Jesus Christ, in accordance with His pleasure and will— Ephesians 1:4,5

Life is now

There is something in our society that tells us we cannot be happy until we find the "one" we were meant to spend the rest of our lives with. Movies are filled with it... these miserable single people just waiting for life to start and then the right one comes along and life is suddenly wonderful, their cares are over, and life is good. I've never been married, but I can tell you for a fact from watching the successful marriages that surround me in my parents, grandparents, brother and sister-in-law and the many others that I have been able to witness, the cares and the struggles do not go away with marriage. They give you someone to go through the hard times with so you don't have to do it "alone", but they do not eliminate them. They cannot make you happy. You can find great joy in them, but ultimately happiness is dependent on the choice you make to be happy. 

I think this part is important:   life is now. God gave us this moment right now. I know in my own life hundreds if not thousands of prayers have been prayed for God's will and for the man I will marry, both by me and my family and friends. While I understand very well my own limitations and understand that I don't always have the answers, I can rest assured knowing that my prayers have been heard by the One who not only knows the right way, but loves me enough to withhold the wrong thing even when I (or others for me) really want it.  I don't believe it is in my right, while knowing God is in control, to put my life on hold for the "one" because I don't believe that is why God is giving me the gift of single right now. I do believe it is a gift, and to all my single friends I hope you are able to see the gift in it as well. Not so you can believe you are a little superior to the married people, just like I hope the married people can appreciate the gift of marriage while not deprecating the gift of single.

Regardless of whether we are married or single, life is now. It's not meant to be a time of mourning. It's meant to be a time of service to our Heavenly Father. We can do great things in both situations. Both sides bring their limitations, but they also present their unique opportunities. Take advantage of that fact. Don't let what you don't have be your focus. Focus on the good because there is always good to be found.

"Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things." ~Philippians 4:8 (NIV)

turning 24

Today I turned 24. (It's technically the day after but since I haven't gone to bed yet I feel like it still counts.) I've decided that this is my year to do great things. I'm not sure if it's because my basketball number was 24 and I have a fetish with it or if it's because this is the only time I have at the moment, but I have great plans for it.

I started 2012 with several new year's resolutions that I am hoping to actually complete. I want to run 750 miles (yes I am crazy), do the 90 day challenge of reading the Bible cover to cover in 90 days, and I want to start a pro life website that focuses on what a great gift life is both for those of us who have had a birthday and for those who would like one. I also told my sister I was going to get married this year. However single life has been a gift so if it is God's plan that I keep it for a while longer that will be a blessing too. Oh and I had a very exciting plan for about a week to go back and play college basketball before I found out my eligibility had run out. Life goes on... again.

The goals are big, and there is a high risk of failure in each one. I learned something as an accounting major though about the risk/return ratio. The higher the risk the greater the return. The lower the risk the lower the return. It's easy to look at the possibility of failure and allow the fear that things might not work out to keep us from even attempting our goals. I know I have done that on numerous occasions. And it's not that it doesn't hurt when we aren't able to complete some of our goals. Strange as it may be I really wanted to play college ball, and I was disappointed when that door closed again, but God has a way of moving us in the direction He wants us to go. I don't claim to know the exact details of how He does it, but I do know that I pray for intervention in my life and not just to make me feel better (although that is a wonderful thing that comes out of it.) So dream big. Start with this year, this very day. Pray for God's will and know that He has a plan for you even if you don't know it yet. He will reveal it in His good time, and it will be better than you ever expected.

For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the LORD, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future. ~ Jeremiah 29:11 (NIV)

uncertainties

These are the things that make up life. There will always be uncertainties, because we aren't given the ability to see the future. Even when we think we know the direction we want to go in life so often there are roadblocks in the way. Some are meant to make us stronger and to see if we really want it, others are put up to steer us in another direction, and they aren't always clearly marked. There are moments when these can be frustrating especially when plans are needing to be made one way or another and we are not sure where to go or what to do. More often than not our plans affect others both directly and indirectly and not knowing causes stress and other things that aren't always pleasant.

The truth of it is, life is uncertain, but we serve a God who knows our future. He has great plans for our lives if we will choose them. He never changes. He is steady. He absolutely loves us! We are blessed with the ability to pray to Him for guidance, and while often times the answer doesn't come to us immediately, it comes in His timing which I have found is always better than my own. I have no idea why, but I often forget about the fact that God loves us. He wants so much more for our lives than just fine. It does however require faith.

Tony Dungy said it this way, " Christ doesn't call us to understand it all, to see all of God's plan for His Kingdom and our role in it. Instead, He wants us to have just enough faith in Him to continue to follow Him day by day on the path He has set before us." We don't have to see the whole picture today. Pieces will unfold in God's timing. We just need to keep praying for His will and direction. He will prepare us, guide us, and open the right doors at the right time. I wonder how often I have neglected my preparation trying to find the end result?

Therefore we do not lose heart. Though outwardly we are wasting away, yet inwardly we are being renewed day by day.  For our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all. ~ 2 Corinthians 4:16-17

Whom Can We Trust?

These were the words of George Washington after he found out Benedict Arnold's plans to hand over West Point to the British. "Whom can we trust?" This betrayal left Washington in a state of bewilderment, and with the uncomfortable thought that trust could be a luxury of the past. His men might even lose their trust in him, and how do you lead without trust? Moments like these can make or break a man. What do you do when you don't know whom you can trust?

Washington gave the answer in a letter he wrote. He said, "In no instance since the commencement of the war has the interposition of Providence appeared more remarkably conspicuous than in the rescue of the post and garrison at West Point." Even in the time of tragedy he saw the hand of God, and learned the answer to the ever important question, "Whom can we trust?" We have an unchanging rock in our Almighty God that we can always trust, even in uncertain times.

I read something yesterday that questioned why it mattered to us today what George Washington thought. He lived and died over 200 years ago and times are different. The importance of George Washington to our present lives I believe is this, he was a man of character, a man of principle. While men like this will eventually die, they are important to give us insight into how God's ways really are the best, and when we live in accordance to them not only our life but so many others' lives are better for it. Times do change, but principles do not. We may not be able to change our current leaders' hearts to trust the Lord, but we can change our own, and hopefully leave a legacy that inspires others to do the same.

"Trust in the LORD with all your heart And do not lean on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge Him, And He will make your paths straight." ~Proverbs 3:5,6 (NIV)