This is “Hubs” as I like to call him. As we come out of Thanksgiving and more towards the Holydays ahead of us, I am reminded of how very thankful I am for him. We have had many challenging years, but the grace of God has not only helped us to overcome, but has also helped us to forget the bad parts, and remember something good that came out of each one. We have been together almost 15 years, and only the last seven did we allow God in and to make HIS necessary changes. Whew! I had no idea how many changes there would be. So of course, the new Christian in me was so overjoyed to be in Christ…that my tongue openly and loudly said…”Lord turn this home upside down, and shake out anything that would offend you, and bring our sin to the light of you”. Not that it was a bad thing to say..just I didn’t think HE would do it all at once! We were shaken out..one thing after another, and I cried plenty! But I stood on this verse…Isaiah 42:16 “I will guide you. I will turn darkness to light before you and make the rough places smooth. I will never forsake you.” God is good to HIS word. There were times I just screamed..”You are the Way, guide me like you promised”…and HE did. Other times it was more like “YOU make rough places smooth…its rough..too rough for me…make it smooth”, and HE did. Then there were times that I just begged HIM for mercy, “YOU said you would not forsake me”, and HE showed me that HIS eyes never leave the clay HE is forming into a likeness of HIS son. Through these last few years, I have met HIM in the Word, and in the things that surround me, HE has shown me one characteristic after another of HIM self, and helped me to apply it to my life and my need for HIM. The loudest lesson that has scarred my heart and grateful that it did…Submission. Submission to the King of Kings to have HIS way, and to know what is best for me. A tough city girl with lots of baggage, and no trust in her found that submission is not a bad word, and its the most freeing thing I have ever done. It makes it possible to submit to my husband and be happy about it! 🙂 No lie, experiencing God has seared my heart with HIS ways are not mine, but they are better, and the outcome is always better than where I thought I would be. As Hubs and I have been looking back over the last few years, it is a huge miracle of God that we are here today, and together. Somehow, the mountians don’t look so big anymore. All things are possible for my God, and I do not doubt that one little bit.
Today, I found a new recipe on the LPMBlog, and made it for Hubs! I am so sure he is going to love it…and raise up and call me blessed! 🙂 I love the life that God gives through Jesus, and although I can’t fix anything, I want to encourage you if you are going through hard times, fight for your family on your knees, and submit to God, and then curl up in a chair with your Bible, and just watch as HE makes all things new!
ponderings of a princess... 
“He makes all things new!” Isn’t this just the best blessing in the whole world. And He is the only one who can do this in us, we are so doomed without His help! He has done some amazing changing in our 39 years of marriage and when we look back on it, we just look at eachother and smile, knowing we had nothing to do with it except crying out for HELP! I would not change my life one bit if it means letting go of the lessons learned. And we both know that the best is yet to come. And what a blessing to know that it is okay to not be able to fix it! This is where the trouble begins. And our Father always goes before us when we fight for our family, always. He is so good all the time. Love you girl and still thinking about Jared and the kitty-lamb. So sweet.
Love and prayers to you sister,
Laurie
Darla, thank you for an amazing word of encouragement today. The Lord always keeps his promises that’s for sure and no matter how dark things may be around us he is quick to turn things to light if we allow him! He is truly an amazing God. Thank you for reminding me of that!
What an encouraging post, fringed in glory! Thank you for sharing this, sweet princess!
Darla
I too found such freedom in submission! Oh, not to have to worry about so many things. I’m thankful for all the shaking and removing (though it hurt for a little while).
Blessings in Christ–
Did you write this one just for me Darla? All things new! Yes…All things new! I can;t wait!
Tam- I love that HE makes all things new..and the surprise of it all….you know its gonna be good!!! Wonder why we struggle and wiggle around so much on the potters table when we know HE is going to make us into something like HIS son! how very cool! Love ya giri, and praying for your day to be full of HIM!
Wow…Darla’s back….I love it when people go through hard times…this is what comes out….how warped is that????
There’s alot of times I feel like a shard….God has to get out some serious gorilla glue to make a full pot out of me….but He does and you can barely see the cracks! Love you!
Darla,
God has taught me all these things as well and mostly through the hard times. It gives meaning to the words “count it ALL joy” because what He does in us through those painful lessons produces such wondrous changes that I become thankful for even the pain that He allows in. Bless you!
Kathy
SUB-mission.
It is when we place our Self Over and Above God that we do ‘sin’. God has made us so inherently powerful that even if we sin we can still achieve ‘greatness’ – in earthly terms at least – and this attracts many who would be recipients of His Divine Grace.
But in learning to overcome earthly forces we sadly neglect the more powerful and innate ones He Granted to us in our Soul.
Sub-mission to Him IS The Answer, but in being submissive we need not be dominated by all things no matter what. Although we may leanrn lessons by living that way Jesus was not subject to temptation, nor did he just lie down and accept all that ‘was’ – all that he saw on earth.
He stood UP when necessary (against that which He saw to be not of His Father’s Will).
We have much to learn before we may be as He showed us we can become and may not always see clearly what is ‘right’ and what is ‘wrong’ – what is Of Him and what is not – and so until we clearly understand, it is best to let such things just ‘be’ and learn the lessons He sends for us to learn from.
And speaking of ‘be’…
An English bunch of lads who called themselves the Be-atles. One of them Wrote…
“When i find myself in Times Of Trouble,
Mother Mary comes to me,
Speaking Words of Wisdom:
Let It Be….”
Wise lads those Liverpudlians 😉 Cute accent too!
😀
love
Hey D! 🙂
Just checked my spam for lost messages from you – nothing but loads from drug peddlers and time wasters all now removed 🙂 WordPress is pretty clever i reckon.
The only thing i can think of is that you are trying to send a comment while i am writing my own back to someone – as i have a fair bit this am ( my time) – that seems to prevent stuff from turning up on WordPress – so please feel free to send what you wanted to send again and i will do my best to not hog the bandwidth this time 😉
love 🙂
Is it June yet???
Darla,
To the praise of His glorious grace!! I loved this post, because I can sooooo identify with the marriage things you talked about. Greg and I are a miracle. It is only by God’s grace that we are still together. By the world’s standards we should have been divorced years ago, but neither of us wanted that and so we just hung on. Praise Him that He truly does make all things new—and He keeps on making them new!!
Have a great weekend Princess!
Leah
http://www.thepoint-leah.blogspot.com
What a sweet post. I relate to you on this completely! Praise God for not leaving us the same.
Much love,
Angela
Morgan did not go to bed until 1 something tonight and I like you said above was begging God to help me. I feel so worn down. I need His strength and peace for so many situations. Tonight I felt like I was going to go nuts from not having one second to myself in a week. I sometimes feel like such a failure that my child wont even get on a sleep pattern. She has been so difficult this week. After she went to bed I went into the den and cried my eyes out. I want to be the mom she deserves instead of irritable and tired. Anyway, I am rambling. I prayed just this week that He would make the rough places smooth.
Dear Jen,
God has, in His Infinite mercy, given us computers and people who are trained specifically to help mothers in your situation learn ways to overcome baby’s difficulties such as the one you describe above.
I do not know where such people are located in your area but i am sure the internet will help you find one locally. I would start with social services available in your locality and look under ‘new mothers’ or ‘sleep’. or ‘babies who won’t sleep’.
It is not failing to ask for help once in a while – even from strangers or the ‘net.
Use what God (through His Greatest Creation, man) provides you for the good of all concerned.
God Luck.
love