Whether on the Mountain or in the Fire....

Sorry that I haven't been around much these last few days....

DH has had a few days off of work due to a reduction in hours and so I've spent a lot more time with him. I try very hard to not be on the computer so much when he's around.

25 years of marriage has taught us that things can change in One Single Minute...so when we have the opportunity to just spend time together..that's what we do.

In reading some of my past posts, you have also gathered that there has been a definite attack on our family unit.

With that, I've decided that I must devote much more time to prayer and being a vessel that God can use.

Am I going to stop blogging? No...I don't believe God is leading me in that direction. But, with my family being under the attack of satan, I just cannot ignore it.

All around me I am watching families crumble. Strong, Christian families that I look up to and admire.

I'm seeing husbands and wives arguing over little, insignificant things. I'm watching kids in those families make very unwise decisions...rebellious to the uttermost. Jobs are being lost, finances being destroyed...strong men having a downtrodden countenance..strong women looking exhausted and defeated.

For several weeks now, my own family has been under attack and God has made it very clear to me that I cannot sit back and do nothing. I'm sure that what we are going through is a refining period. The fire is hot and the atmosphere intense.

"I will refine them like silver and purify them like gold. They will call on my name, and I will answer them. I will say, 'These are My people,' and they will say, 'The Lord is our God'." Zechariah 13:9, NLT

God does give me hope and encouragement as He gives me glimpses of our family as I know He designed it to be. He is reassuring me that He hasn't left me or DH or our children.

I'm reminded of the cartoons that we've grown up with where you've got the little devil sitting on one shoulder and the little angel sitting on the other.

Satan is whispering in one ear that I may as well give up and Jesus is in the other telling me that, "...the Spirit Who lives in you, is greater than the spirit who lives in the world." 1 John 4:4b, NLT

I know that giving up is not an option. As an old pastor of mine said..."I've read the back of the Book. We win!"

Yes, I am growing tired. But in my tired state, I'm also growing angry. I'm growing angry at a being who is doing everything he can to destroy what God is doing.

I am growing angry at a being who is destroying everything in his path at a rate of speed that boggles my mind.

And, believe it or not, I rejoice in my anger. This anger has caused me to dig in the Word.

It has caused my prayer life to become a state of being with me..not just something I do.

It has caused me to go before the Lord and beg Him to strip me down, and bare my soul and reveal to me sins that I've hidden and never confessed...and ashamedly..there have been many.

It has caused me to ask the Father to test me and try me that I may be without blemish and be a vessel who is not only ready to be used, but desiring to be used.

My anger has caused me to be bolder in sharing Jesus Christ..bolder in telling others of this amazing Savior I have and the fact that He is everything....He is MY everything, and without Him....there is no hope.

So, my bloggy buddies, don't forget about me if I go a few days and you see the same ole' post. Know that if I'm not posting, I'm spending time with my Father...either on the mountain or in the fire..and when I do get back here, we'll rejoice in the lessons learned and the glory of the One Who is in control of it all!!!