Such Comfort

Live, Love, Laugh

I am feeling so guilty right now. I have broken my promise to write every week and for that I am repentant. It is amazing how terrible I felt knowing that I was not keeping to my promise. And you might think it is a small thing, but to me, a commitment is a commitment. Too often we make commitments, big or small, and we do not follow through. Can you identify with me here for a minute? Well, just imagine how God feels when we do not live up to our promises to Him. He gives us such comforting words, and when the need for comfort arises in our lives, we turn to other people, other things, and other places. Take God at His word, Dear Readers, and “Fear not, for I am with you; Be not dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you, Yes, I will help you, I will uphold you with My righteous right hand.” (Isaiah 41:10) Such comfort!!

Live, love, laugh was the theme of our Ladies’ Motivational Weekend two weeks ago. Our congregation hosted the event and over 120 sisters gathered together to share and fellowship with each other on Saturday (the main event), April 4, 2009. Debbie Houston out of Rochester New York was the Keynote Speaker and she sure gave us a revival in our souls. One main thought she delivered and that I wish to share here is this:

"We serve a Sovereign God. Because of this undeniable fact, God has the right to allow us to go through some stuff. God is good no matter what we go through. We should learn to live, to love, to laugh, despite the hard circumstances; and this can only be achieved by having a confrontation with God. Get face to face with God, and submit ourselves to His warm embrace. God is our all powerful God and the sooner we believe this and live life to the fullest, the better equipped we will be to deal with our grief, persecution, and despair."

The Friday night before, we had a fun time singing, and fellowshipping with one another. We learnt that laughing will burn up calories, so we have been laughing since.

We were blessed to have received a revival in our lives, and I pray that we will call on the name of the Lord so that He can help us to stay alive in Christ. The smell of death is all around my family, but I have to keep on living, loving, and laughing as I know that my God is able! Now I must live what I have been preaching – hope in the midst of all our sorrows!!

And a child shall lead them

Last weekend we went to the youth convention, Lads to Leaders and Leaderettes, right here in Orlando. My boys participated in song leading and Bible Reading and we walked away with three trophies in Girls Songs of Praise, Girls Speech, and Boys Speech. This Convention was such a blessing. Seeing all the young people from Kindergarten up to high school enjoy singing, speaking, reading, performing (puppet theatre) for the Lord, was incredulous! They are the future of our congregations, and it is a wise thing that we are training them to fulfill those roles. I thank our leadership at our congregation for facilitating this training. This points to a future of hope for our churches, and we ought to encourage and uplift our youth at all times.

Thankful that God never gets tired of hearing our prayers!

After 11 p.m. last night, I was making final preparations for bed, and it would seem that every two to three minutes one of my boys would come calling, “Mom, my brother did this” or “Mom, can I have some water, please?” or “Mom, can you read me a book, please?” or “Mom, I can’t go to sleep!” (that was my three year old). Noticed the time I mentioned in the beginning? Yes, dear readers, it gets tiring and especially at that time of night! I’m human, and I am so thankful that God never gets tired of hearing my pleas, like I do with my children. Lately, we have been calling on Him a lot for help in our sorrows. This past Monday (4/13), my husband’s maternal grandmother departed this life. She was such a blessing and she served her family well. Many Sundays we would have dinner with her and she would always have enough for us to take home. Even when we don’t visit, she would call to say she made dinner. This she did not only for us, but for others of the family, and many at her congregation. To lose “Mom”, as we all called her, is to lose a wonderful blessing! God will sustain us, we know, but your prayers are most welcomed. Thanks to you who have already put through a call, send an email, or verbally expressed your condolences. As you pray, just thank God on our behalf for all that He sends our way. My Aunt/Mom is still low and we expect that she will go anytime now. We know that God knows just how much we are able to bear, so we rest in His comforting arms.

I encourage you to live a life full of hope!