TRUE FRIENDS

I've been thinkin...
Some times we just go thru phases of live for a week or two (or even sometimes longer phases for months or years) where God is teaching us SO MUCH. But at the time, it just feels like... "what is going on?" Lately, we (our little family of 3 and really 4 counting my new little man-on-the-way) have been in a funky phase. It's a short one this time. And I know God's faithfulness will continue and He is ALWAYS faithful to us. But we needed encouragement and support.
Our weekend plans changed after our sons aunt and uncle came in town and our aunt BROKE her FOOT! Sad times. So they left to go back home and to go to a doctor.
At the last minute, we ended up having some of our best friends over for one of our 'shared dinners'. God blessed us with wonderful friends. We have not seen them in a while. And when we get together, we each bring 1/2 the meal... that makes it nice a easy. They came over, we ate, we talked, the kids played great, and we just caught up. Nothing terribly profound happened... but when they left, I felt recharged and happy. I was able to step back and see that we have TRUE friends who really love and care about us. That is so meaningful in life. And God had answered a need for encouragement and support just thru having a last minute meal with our friends. I know God is faithful and I know that this short phase will pass. I have hope... And I am looking fwd to seeing "what is going on".

“You are my refuge and my shield; I have put my hope in your word.”- Psalm 119:114

Supernatural Provision 3

Maybe you've seen these posts, and you're thinking, "why is Atlanta Mama focused on all of this provision stuff?" Allow me to say, that I often struggle with blogging about what I'm learning because I still feel like I'm in the middle of the lesson. But I felt that I wanted to blog about this because it COULD serve as an encouragement to others who may be in the same boat that we have been in... with slow work... or some with no work. (So many of our friends have been layed off and are looking for work right now. It's often hard to continue to have hope in all of that because we can get stuck way down into the circumstances.) These posts are not about asking God for something lavish. These are about learning to trust Him to provide all of our needs because He is our Father and He loves us. It's about adjusting our thinking, so that we see TRUTH in the place of past lies from the enemy, where he's tried to make us think that for whatever reason we can't or shouldn't ask God to be our provision. It's not about saying, "God, I WANT -- I WANT". It's about how my husband and I learning to say, "Father God, You know our needs and we are trusting You to provide."

Today, I want to share two examples where Jesus gave supernatural provision for His disciples: The first was a time when the disciples had been fishing, but they were coming up short. Jesus told them where to cast their nets and they came up with a huge catch of fish. Luke 5:1-11 There was another time when the disciples needed money, and Jesus lead them to fish with a gold coin in it's mouth. Matthew 17:27 Amazing.

What I take from that, is that we are clearly not God and we cannot make something come from nothing. But God, being God, is cool like that... He can provide in ways that we have not even thought about! Let's expect the unexpected! He can also show us new ways to do our thing. The disciples' thing was fishing. What's yours? My husband and I have some things that we are doing and pursuing to provide for our family, but we are asking God to show us news ways to get at that. Jesus, show us YOUR way and lead us today.

I pray also, that you will be encouraged. Our hope is in the Lord. The joy of the Lord is our strength. (Maybe that's easier said than done?!) If your circumstances have been overwhelming, I pray that you'll begin to place more focus on the truth of who God is and on the blessings He has already provided. And that He has not changed. His promises are still TRUE today. That was our first step. Sometimes is hard to pull our own selves out of a pit. We have begun to seek the Lord and see Him as our loving Father. He is bringing peace and freedom in our home that has nothing to do with circumstances. Although we are still praying for the circumstances to change. We know that we can trust Him no matter what. We know that He loves us no matter what. He is our good Father. And we praise Him for the ways He has been our provision. Thank You Lord!!! You are faithful.