Hope deferred...

I think its time to post. Its been a long five months since we moved from Boston. I didn't mean to be gone and silent. I didn't mean to be away from the thoughts and activities I record here. It hasn't been a matter of discipline, or finding time in my week, because I have had plenty of it, being yet without a job...I just didn't have much to say. Honestly, I've been doing a lot listening. And thank God, my heart has been a sponge. But I've been quiet for long enough, I think. So, I am asking God to put his words and ideas on my heart and in my mouth, so that sharing here would be edifying, which is all I'm interested in anymore, for anyone.

I read a friend's blog tonight that really moved me. She is feeling lost, emptied of the hopes she had 'once upon a time.' Her life isn't working the way she thought it would--doesn't this sound familiar?-- and I don't know the details, but I can certainly relate to this line of thinking. I could write a book on how just about everything in my life is different than I planned. But this is what I wrote to her and I thought it was worth sharing.

Hi Sarah...I sort of stumbled across your blog through Facebook tonight and I don't think it was just a coincidence. I'm sorry to hear you're having a tough time. If you don't mind my saying it, if something in your life doesn't feel like something God would do or bring, its probably from the Enemy--he wants to steal whatever he can from us and pawn it off as God's will for us. If something isn't going the way you hoped, do not conclude that God doesn't want it for you, but consider that we are OPPOSED at every turn. Make sure you haven't made any "agreements" with the Father of Lies, like "I'll never have XYZ" or "I just don't have what it takes to blank." If you have had these thoughts, you can break their power, inviting Jesus' healing, and have victory in these wounded places of your heart. Remember the JOY of the Lord is our strength! If you are blue, pray against the spirt of desolation. God loves you so much and does have a specific plan in mind for you...

Isaiah 61:1-4 The Spirit of the Lord God is upon me, because the Lord has annointed me to bring good news to the poor, he has sent me to bind up the broken-hearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives, and the opening of the prison to those who are bound, to proclaim the year of the Lord's favor, and the day of vengence of our God; to comfort all who mourn; to grant those who mourn in Zion--to give them a beautiful headdress instead of ashes, the oil of gladness instead of mourning, the garment of praise instead of a faint spirit; that they may be called oaks of righteousness, the planting of the Lord, that He may be glorified.