Everyday people go through things that require us to be strong, but when times get down we seem to look to each other for strength. As humans we give strength and support to each other. A friend of mine is going through a hard time gathering strength dealing with things in his relationship. My mother is needing strength to deal with the ups and downs of my fathers cancer. I feel I need strength to keep trusting God to give me the job that he wants for me.
We all need strength. Here are a few texts that involve getting strength from God. He is the source of strength. We get the strength we give to others from Him.
Psalm 68:35
You are awesome, O God, in your sanctuary; the God of Israel gives power and strength to his people.
Praise be to God!
Isaiah 40:29
He gives strength to the weary and increases the power of the weak.
Isaiah 40:31
but those who hope in the LORD will renew their strength. They will soar on wings like eagles;
they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not be faint.
And my favorite:
Psalm 46:1
God is our refuge and strength, an ever-present help in trouble.
I love looking at the verbs in each of the texts. The first two use the verb GIVE. When you are given something you really don't have a choice. It's that way with God. He gives us strength before we need it. Many times we just fail to see that it is already there.
The next verb is RENEW. Our strength can get low, but God renews it within us. Renew says that it is full again, or like new. So in our darkest times God can make our strength like new.
The last verb is IS. I love when texts just say what God is. God IS our refuge and strength. He IS it. Not feeble us, or our close friends. God IS. We're not relying on us and our strength. We're relying on His.
Lord,
Help us to have the strength to stand for what is right. Help us have the strength to care for each other. But most of all Lord, help us to accept the strength that you are for us. Help us to let you be our strength.
I love you,
Brie!
Wednesday, August 27, 2008
Tuesday, August 5, 2008
It could be worse!
I spent most of my day talking to a good friend of mine about some of the things going on in his life. As we talked I reflected back on some of the hard times that I have been going though. Most of the time we walk through live and go from event to event rarely looking back on how those events link together to strengthen us.
Ive had a rough time in the job market lately. I have bounced from for-profit education to technical support. Not really understanding the lay-offs or the decisions along the way, but going with it. Last week I interviewed for a System Specialist at George Washington University. I could not have made it through the interview without having both skill sets. If I was purely technical I would have been lost on the scope of what they are trying to accomplish. With purely educational skills I would have come up lacking in the skill set the want to run the system. My for-profit experience gave them the management skills needed to work with some student workers. So my experience has given me parts that would help me in this position. Hopefully I was able to portray that to the interviewers last week!
That has gotten me doing a lot of thinking about my family. You never realize how good you have it with your family until others bring it up. I was talking to a friend of the family at the Jersey Shore last weekend and we were talking about my family. She was saying how God has certainly blessed us with a strong family. I've thought of it before, but hearing it from an outsider really brought it home.
As children, We spent every summer at the Jersey Shore. My Father's side of the family each had campsites there, and even the ones of us who didn't came down on the Holiday weekends of summer. So just imagine family reunions every Memorial Day, 4th of July, A week in August, and Labor Day. Add on weekends around Thanksgiving and Christmas at Nana and PopPop's house in NJ. Now take that and put it over my entire life.
My mom was saying how when someone asked my brother an I what our favorite memory form childhood was we both said "Summers at the Jersey Shore."
That campground could be anywhere, because we don't go to the beach all that much. It's more about Family then anything else. Sometimes I'm in awe of the family strength that God has built into us. Knowing from the beginning that we would need it to go through the trials of cancer, sickness and death we are going through now.
The friend I was talking to today said how laughter is good medicine. It reminded me of my family. I remember so many times where we just sat around the fire and laughed. My family is full of people that just love to laugh. Even through the hurt and pain, laughter is still present. I still laugh when I think of my Uncle Bill, who passed last summer, and his love of laughter. I remember him and I having this conversation one night by the fire at the shore where we were just talking about the word nephew, and how it sounds like "few". He said that he likes to see me more than that. So from that day on he called me his Nephmany. I never realized that it was an inside joke until I talked about it at his Memorial Service. Family members came up to me afterward and said they never knew about it.
God has definitely strengthened my Family. My cousin Shelly checks on me at least once a week to see how I'm doing and check on my Dad and Mom. She always seems to know when I'm at a low point and picks me up just by letting me know she understand what I'm going through.
God is Good! Next week is our Family Vacation. It will be so good to be with them hearing the laughter of old times. Though Satan will continue to try to get us down and break our spirit, God will continue to strengthen us to support each other. What an Awesome God we serve!
Proverbs 17:22
A joyful heart is good medicine,
But a broken spirit dries up the bones.
Lord,
Thank you once again for giving me such an great supportive family. I know that you know the beginning from the end. Thanks so much for helping to prepare us for the future. I pray that you are with my friend who is going through hard times. Guide him to where you want his life to go. Bless my friends and family. Comfort the ones of us that are hurting, and lift the trials next week so my family can rejoice in the strength you have given us.
I love you!
Brie!
Ive had a rough time in the job market lately. I have bounced from for-profit education to technical support. Not really understanding the lay-offs or the decisions along the way, but going with it. Last week I interviewed for a System Specialist at George Washington University. I could not have made it through the interview without having both skill sets. If I was purely technical I would have been lost on the scope of what they are trying to accomplish. With purely educational skills I would have come up lacking in the skill set the want to run the system. My for-profit experience gave them the management skills needed to work with some student workers. So my experience has given me parts that would help me in this position. Hopefully I was able to portray that to the interviewers last week!
That has gotten me doing a lot of thinking about my family. You never realize how good you have it with your family until others bring it up. I was talking to a friend of the family at the Jersey Shore last weekend and we were talking about my family. She was saying how God has certainly blessed us with a strong family. I've thought of it before, but hearing it from an outsider really brought it home.
As children, We spent every summer at the Jersey Shore. My Father's side of the family each had campsites there, and even the ones of us who didn't came down on the Holiday weekends of summer. So just imagine family reunions every Memorial Day, 4th of July, A week in August, and Labor Day. Add on weekends around Thanksgiving and Christmas at Nana and PopPop's house in NJ. Now take that and put it over my entire life.
My mom was saying how when someone asked my brother an I what our favorite memory form childhood was we both said "Summers at the Jersey Shore."
That campground could be anywhere, because we don't go to the beach all that much. It's more about Family then anything else. Sometimes I'm in awe of the family strength that God has built into us. Knowing from the beginning that we would need it to go through the trials of cancer, sickness and death we are going through now.
The friend I was talking to today said how laughter is good medicine. It reminded me of my family. I remember so many times where we just sat around the fire and laughed. My family is full of people that just love to laugh. Even through the hurt and pain, laughter is still present. I still laugh when I think of my Uncle Bill, who passed last summer, and his love of laughter. I remember him and I having this conversation one night by the fire at the shore where we were just talking about the word nephew, and how it sounds like "few". He said that he likes to see me more than that. So from that day on he called me his Nephmany. I never realized that it was an inside joke until I talked about it at his Memorial Service. Family members came up to me afterward and said they never knew about it.
God has definitely strengthened my Family. My cousin Shelly checks on me at least once a week to see how I'm doing and check on my Dad and Mom. She always seems to know when I'm at a low point and picks me up just by letting me know she understand what I'm going through.
God is Good! Next week is our Family Vacation. It will be so good to be with them hearing the laughter of old times. Though Satan will continue to try to get us down and break our spirit, God will continue to strengthen us to support each other. What an Awesome God we serve!
Proverbs 17:22
A joyful heart is good medicine,
But a broken spirit dries up the bones.
Lord,
Thank you once again for giving me such an great supportive family. I know that you know the beginning from the end. Thanks so much for helping to prepare us for the future. I pray that you are with my friend who is going through hard times. Guide him to where you want his life to go. Bless my friends and family. Comfort the ones of us that are hurting, and lift the trials next week so my family can rejoice in the strength you have given us.
I love you!
Brie!
Subscribe to:
Comments (Atom)