Quiet morning with God.....

For whatever reason I woke up early today. Not sure if I finally got caught up on sleep or if I am starting to feel better or what. More than likely I think God knew I needed some quiet time with him today. I went downstairs, as everyone was still sleeping, and made some coffee. Once I had sipped a few sips I opened my bible to Proverbs, which is where I have been reading lately. Before I did that I just sat for a few moments and listened. Not necessarily to anything around me but rather to God. You see, it was at that point that I finally realized that God wanted me to wake early. Until that point I was a bit perturbed. I wanted to sleep in today. And for once everyone else was quiet and sleeping and I could have. But God had other plans.

So I started thinking about this past week end (Christmas time at 3 houses), recent travels and what was still ahead this week. I also thought about the past year. This past year has been a challenging one spiritually and emotionally for sure. I thought about all the times when I did not get my way or things did not seem to be going the way I wanted them to. Then I paused and pulled out the index card with the first set of verses on it I was attempting to memorize. It is from Proverbs 3:4,5. I have blogged on these before. But for some reason they have not sunk in yet. It says, "Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and lean not on your own understanding". This entire past year and especially today, I was convinced I was not getting what I wanted. And with that statement, I had missed the point. We were not created for our own desires, but rather for Him. The first line in Rick Warren's book, Purpose Driven Life, says it best. It is not about you (us). It is so easy in this world to lose sight of or Lord and that we were created for His purpose. Especially at Christmas time, when we are bombarded with images of materialism. We are constantly told that we need to get what is ours, do what is best for us and to make the most money. But in reality that is not it at all. So my hope and prayer is that we can truly turn our eyes upon Jesus, that I can turn my eyes upon Jesus and listen to what He has to say.

I pray that as I am on vacation this week and I get refreshed, that I will not only get my rest physically but also Spiritually. I pray that I would Trust in the Lord with all MY heart and lean not on MY own understanding.

Christmas Day

This year Christmas falls on a Sunday. So today we had the opportunity to worship with our church family on Christmas. The service started out  with Tyler, Grace and me lighting the advent candles. It was a cool time to share with them. Then we sang classic Christmas songs and lit our candles. This is something we normally do on Christmas Eve.  However, since Christmas fell on a Sunday our church only had the Christmas morning service.  The sermon today, was geared towards children. All children, 5th grade and under, went on stage as Pastor Dan shared with us about characters of the nativity from the Bible.  We ended the service with communion and prayer.  It was a great time with family and friends, worshipping out God.

As I reflect on this past year, it has been a very challenging year for sure. God has been working in our families life and challenging us to step out in faith and take the next step faithfully, not knowing any more than this step.  As God continues to challenge our family I pray that we live each day for him. So many times it is easy to look down the road and anticipate what is coming. And in these times of anticipation, we sometimes miss what is happening right in front of us each day.  My prayer is that we would not only look forward to what God has for us in the future, but also what he has for us today.

God Bless Everyone and Merry Christmas,

The Bush Family

Operation Christmas Child update

Just wanted to make a quiick note to share that today I got an email telling us where at least on of our shoeboxes went. I learned that today at least one was delivered to the country of Georgia. As I said a quick prayer for this child, I would ask you to continue to pray for this child and the country of Georgia. Pray that the Lord would reach the people of Geogia this year in a supernatural way. Also keep praying for Samaritans's Purse the organization that makes operation Christmas child possible.

In all your ways...

Proverbs 3:5,6
Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge Him, and He will make your paths straight.

As I was reading Proverbs 3 today I was reminded in these two verses several things. The first was in vs 5 the word lean stuck out to me. The word lean implies faith. You cannot fully lean on anything without having some level of faith. This vs instructs us to trust in the lord and not on ourselves. In this world today all we hear is to believe in ourself and to trust in our own ability. The writer of proverbs, most likely Solomon, implores us to to place our trust on the Lord. This is a struggle for most is as it is our nature to trust ourselves. The second thing that stuck out to me was the word all in vs 6. It does not say in some of your ways or when you fee like acknowledge him, it says in all your ways. In the footnotes of my study bible the commentator instructs us to hand over all parts of our lives to God and his will for our lives. I do not know about you, but for me there are parts of my life that I like to hold onto. I have parts that are hard to let go and lean on an almight God. I struggle with truly seeking His will for these parts of my life rather the. Asking Him to bless what I have already decided. These vs's today were a real reminder that I need to surrender all of my life and trust in God. I am so blessed to have a Heavenly Father that loves me so much and who wants to know me intimately. I pray that my sinful nature will get out of the way and the Lord will have his way in my life today!