Greetings from Austin Street

Happy Wednesday!  All is well and progressing here at 811. The floor is cleaned up and Bruce is painting the room as I write.  And a great surprise within the last few minutes. Travis is giving us tickets to the Cowboy game tomorrow night complete with a VIP parking pass. Way cool!!!

The candle is lit…

Dear God, help me look far enough in my life to see the good things you have put there. Please forgive me when I overlook all that you have done for me. Thank you for taking care of all that concerns me. I ask in Jesus’ name for the healing of my friend Pastor Deb McCann. As you know she is not feeling well and is in a great deal of pain. Please ease her pain and help her to feel better quickly.  Thank  you Lord. I love you, in Jesus’ name, amen.

I have been dealing with some difficult things lately. Perhaps I needed the challenge from a friend to begin a gratitude journal for the next 5 days. I needed to remember and recognize the blessings and be thankful. I think that God allows us to go through difficult times so we can remember and recognize the blessings we have received. I usually look at the difficult situations as lessons to be learned and to help someone else going through similar times.  Problems even while painful they  bring with them the invitation to explore new and creative ways to seek God’s blessings, Presence  and leading through whatever is the problem presents. I believe that God loves us so much and wants to place his transforming power within us so much that nothing in our lives (even our mess-ups, bad decisions, poor choices and mistakes) will ever be wasted. God is so powerful that He can use anything to bring good out of any bad situation in which we find ourselves. Practicing praise and thanksgiving in tough times is one way of freeing up the space being taken up by sorrow, sadness, confusion, and a broken heart and seeing Gods presence in the midst of the storm.

“”Whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is of good repute….dwell on these things.”

Philippians 4: 8

Take joy in the journey praying and praising as you go. Wear comfortable shoes and get some sleep. Love you all, Bruce and Gaylene