Y'all.
We must start out this morning letting me completely dispel a little rumor that snuck its way into a text Holly received yesterday from a friend in Indiana. I am not with child. I mean I am with 5 kids most days. But no, I am absolutely not pregnant.
In case you were wondering.
There is a special doctor with some very special scissors whom we saw years ago.
The end.
So, back to my computer situation. Some of you may remember a month ago, I got a horrible virus on my old laptop that completely corrupted the operating system. So, the guy who usually helps out Proverbs 31 Ministries with computer issues became my hero when he was able to retrieve most of what was on my old lap top and download it to an external hard drive. He then loaded all of that onto a new laptop and I was back in business within 24 hours.
At the time, that virus was a complete and unnecessary pain. I was frustrated I'd gotten it. Annoyed at all the time it took from my tight schedule. Mad at whoever was using their little brainiac minds to create viruses that destroy people's computers.
Funny how much my perspective can change in just a few short weeks.
Now I see that virus as one of the greatest things that ever happened to me. It forced me to take the time to have my computer friend back my entire computer up on an external hard drive. This external hard drive was a great gift to have on Sunday when my new computer vanished.
Let's soak in that for a minute.
'Cause I suspect some of you are going through things today that are completely annoying, frustrating, and seemingly without reason a complete pain. But what if it is somehow for good? Maybe it's a good you can't see and can't even imagine... but what if?
Philippians 4 is where we are reading today and tomorrow. The verses that jumped out at me today were 6-7, "Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God. which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus."
But it's the four words at the end of verse 5 that we really must not miss. Right before we are instructed to not be anxious we are reminded, "The Lord is near."
Because the Lord is near, I don't have to be anxious. Because the Lord is near, I know He hears my prayers and requests. Because the Lord is near, I can have peace. Because the Lord is near, I can face things that are out of my control and not act out of control.
Sunday night while I was waiting for my computer guy to upload my external hard drive into another lap top, I ran across the street to the mall with my daughter Ashley. Suddenly in the midst of the crowd and chaos, my daughter looked up at me and said, "You know what I really like about you? You're not a freak out mom when bad things happen."
I wanted to cry.
Because the reality is I have been a freak out mom way too many times.
And I hate that.
But somehow the one good choice to not freak out about my computer, redefined my daughter's outlook. It redefined my legacy. One good choice.
If it took sacrificing my laptop to have that one experience with Ashley, I would gladly give up my laptop all over again.
(Note to Jesus: I really mean that statement above but if I could please keep this new laptop for at least a couple of years that would be really good. Oh and if you could help me not wear again whatever it was that started that little pregnancy rumor, that would be nice too.)
Tomorrow, we're going to be back in Philippians 4 and I can't wait. If you've ever felt like God hurt your feelings and you don't quite know how to process it, I'll be giving you a list of questions you don't want to miss.
For today... what spoke to you personally from Philippians 4? What are you going through right now that seems like a pain but might be a gift later? And what might one good choice redefine for you today?
We must start out this morning letting me completely dispel a little rumor that snuck its way into a text Holly received yesterday from a friend in Indiana. I am not with child. I mean I am with 5 kids most days. But no, I am absolutely not pregnant.
In case you were wondering.
There is a special doctor with some very special scissors whom we saw years ago.
The end.
So, back to my computer situation. Some of you may remember a month ago, I got a horrible virus on my old laptop that completely corrupted the operating system. So, the guy who usually helps out Proverbs 31 Ministries with computer issues became my hero when he was able to retrieve most of what was on my old lap top and download it to an external hard drive. He then loaded all of that onto a new laptop and I was back in business within 24 hours.
At the time, that virus was a complete and unnecessary pain. I was frustrated I'd gotten it. Annoyed at all the time it took from my tight schedule. Mad at whoever was using their little brainiac minds to create viruses that destroy people's computers.
Funny how much my perspective can change in just a few short weeks.
Now I see that virus as one of the greatest things that ever happened to me. It forced me to take the time to have my computer friend back my entire computer up on an external hard drive. This external hard drive was a great gift to have on Sunday when my new computer vanished.
Let's soak in that for a minute.
'Cause I suspect some of you are going through things today that are completely annoying, frustrating, and seemingly without reason a complete pain. But what if it is somehow for good? Maybe it's a good you can't see and can't even imagine... but what if?
Philippians 4 is where we are reading today and tomorrow. The verses that jumped out at me today were 6-7, "Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God. which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus."
But it's the four words at the end of verse 5 that we really must not miss. Right before we are instructed to not be anxious we are reminded, "The Lord is near."
Because the Lord is near, I don't have to be anxious. Because the Lord is near, I know He hears my prayers and requests. Because the Lord is near, I can have peace. Because the Lord is near, I can face things that are out of my control and not act out of control.
Sunday night while I was waiting for my computer guy to upload my external hard drive into another lap top, I ran across the street to the mall with my daughter Ashley. Suddenly in the midst of the crowd and chaos, my daughter looked up at me and said, "You know what I really like about you? You're not a freak out mom when bad things happen."
I wanted to cry.
Because the reality is I have been a freak out mom way too many times.
And I hate that.
But somehow the one good choice to not freak out about my computer, redefined my daughter's outlook. It redefined my legacy. One good choice.
If it took sacrificing my laptop to have that one experience with Ashley, I would gladly give up my laptop all over again.
(Note to Jesus: I really mean that statement above but if I could please keep this new laptop for at least a couple of years that would be really good. Oh and if you could help me not wear again whatever it was that started that little pregnancy rumor, that would be nice too.)
Tomorrow, we're going to be back in Philippians 4 and I can't wait. If you've ever felt like God hurt your feelings and you don't quite know how to process it, I'll be giving you a list of questions you don't want to miss.
For today... what spoke to you personally from Philippians 4? What are you going through right now that seems like a pain but might be a gift later? And what might one good choice redefine for you today?
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