Today's Hug

What a great devotional--both today's Girlfriend Devotional from Proverbs 31 Ministries and today's "hug".

First, today's Girlfriend Devotional--What People Notice Most--is an amazing reminder of what people notice about us. When people look at you do they see a positive person, that is content with her circumstances? Do they see a person who has something that they don't have--a relationship with Jesus? Do they see a person who in the midst of adversity has some sort of inner peace that they can see but can't explain.

One of my friends lost her home to a fire while she and her husband were on a vacation in the Bahamas over Christmas 2007. While she admits she did cry over it, what I saw was a family firmly based in Jesus Christ. Throughout the negotiations with the insurance company, the choosing of a builder to rebuild their new home, to the decision for her husband to retire, through the realization of the loss of many precious family belongings....You can imagine the stress this family was under. While they're new home was being rebuilt, they were put up in a hotel 30 minutes away instead of the two minutes away in the community where they lived.

But their testimony shone through clear and strong. Throughout this entire ordeal you could see the peace that they had because they were focused on God and how God was going to help through this.

If you haven't read the story of Micca Monda Campbell I invite you to visit her blog and get to know her. What an amazing testimony! Through a tragic accident, Micca became a widow at the age of 21! The grace that this woman has shown and her eagerness to share what she has learned with everyone is truly an inspiration. Pick up her book, too.

Then there's today's "hug"--A reminder to us that worrying gets us nowhere. One devotional I read a while ago said that worry was like a rocking chair, you can get going really fast but you never go anywhere. There are many worries assailing families, today. Assailing us, today. If I may hazard a guess most of those worries are likely due to money. I know ours are.

But, I've learned (and am still learning) to trust God for the moment. To give all my yesterdays, todays and tomorrows to Him. If we don't, the weight of the worry will crush us and keep us from enjoying life.

I have learned this through our baby Brent. I know he will grow so fast and one of these days I won't be able to hold on to him because he'll be running all over. So, with every feeding, even though he's quite capable of holding the bottle himself, I take the time to cuddle with him and use the time to relax and just enjoy holding him. I actually get very annoyed with Kevin because he seems to take such a hands-off approach to the feeding. I sit there thinking, do you not realize how precious this time is? Don't miss out.

Anyway...two really good lessons for us, today.

Have a great day!