Sharing my faith and convictions can sometimes get discouraging. Not everyone is going to share the same mindset or come to the same conclusions in life. Yet God gently reminded me that everyone is going to be held accountable for there own choice. I cannot make that choice for them. This personal choice cannot be forced but lovingly and patiently shared. I always tried to grasp this concept, yet God really sent the message home when my son struggled getting in the pool.

When times are good isn’t it easy to trust the God who holds the world in His hand? But when times are hard our insecurities mount. Our trust and security start to flee. It is then that we are unmasked. Do we truly trust? Are we holding on strong enough to our Fathers hem, believing Him at His word.

As we view how our children respond to us, we receive a visual of our relationship with our Heavenly Father. My daughter (Isabella, but we call her Izzy) just started crawling; wherever I am in the house, she will find me. Her determination makes my heart soar, because I am her prize. She huffs and puffs, crawling until she can’t push any farther. She rests for a second and then keeps on going.

In Genesis 4, two men offer a sacrifice to God. Abel is respected for his offering, Cain is not. Was God against vegetables, the offering brought by Cain? Shouldn’t just bringing a sacrifice be sufficient? What is the deeper meaning here?

We’ve all heard the saying, ‘patience is a virtue’- now are we sure that’s in the Bible? I didn’t realize how much I struggled with patience before I had kids. The daily struggles of motherhood are uprooting a lot of things that I realize I have to work on. With one step in front of the other I go. Yes, God, I understand it is Your timing not mine, but please can you just let me follow my personal agenda today.

The smell of coffee in the morning, the laughter of children when you are tired with exhaustion, the faithful husband who works to provide, the quiet moments with God. Thanksgiving is an intentional action of gratitude for our many blessings. Unfortunately, in today’s society, it is much like the Robert Frost Poem, “The Road Not Taken.” We are so overwhelmed with our day to day tasks, we lose sight of our many blessings. We fail to stop to and be thankful for all that we have.

When we express the desires of our heart in prayer our prayers do not fall on deaf ears. Yet, sometimes when we don’t get a quick response, or exactly what we desire, we huff and puff and say God isn’t listening. God sees the full picture even when we only see a small piece of the puzzle. We just have to keep the faith that God knows what’s best. Don’t be discouraged if you don’t get an answer right away. Keep on asking until God answers, and when He does answer, pray that God prepares your heart so you can accept the outcome.

There is no simple answer to this complex question. I am attempting to answer it the best I know how, and that is through the knowledge provided in the Bible. We may never completely understand it because it may be beyond our comprehension. But one thing we can be confident in, is that God is good, and God hates evil too.

We all desire peace. The inner contentment that leaves us feeling free from burden and worries. Christ offers us this peace, through times of trials and times of joy. However, more often than not, we do not receive this wonderful attribute of Christ. We are left feeling as defeated as everybody else. When we have a personal relationship with Christ, there should be a peace that others desire and seek out. Why is that not always the case? I’d like to propose some suggestions.

As parents we desire the very best for our kids. We want to love them with all that we are, but it does not take a rocket scientist to realize that parenting is hard. We mess up daily. This conflicting interest of desiring the best for our kids while being imperfect is a tough battle. Not only do we fall short with things we can change, but feel overwhelmed by things we can’t change.