I love you more than you know

Dear Greg,

I wanted to take a moment and let you know how much I love and appreciate you. You are much more than I could have ever asked God for in a husband. You are an awesome father to our children. You are an outstanding example of Christian humility at work. And, you are most importantly, a man after God’s own heart. God and you are the reason I am able to get up each day and sing a new song. You have inspired me to be a better wife, mom, and Christian. I love you more than you know.

All I ever wanted in a husband has been exceeded by you. Greg, you have shown me the power of love and trust. God knew you were the absolute perfect mate for me. He knew my strengths and weaknesses and knew you were the perfect man to complete me. Without your love and trust I would not have grown as much as I have. You have held me when I cried, laughed with me in times of joy, and prayed with me in times of spiritual growth. Your love knows more of me than I care to know of myself and your trust has motivated me to be better tomorrow than I am today. I love you more than you know.

Greg, you have been an awesome father to our children. You are selfless with your time when they are in need or just want to play. You have shown them Godly character and God’s love. The miles between you and the children have only served to make your relationship with each of them more special. Natalie inspires to be like you—dedicated and motivated to always do better the next time just like her Daddy. Dylan is a replica of Daddy—his humor and wit are characteristics of you all over again. Kaitlyn is well, Kaitlyn! She loves life and is adventurous. She is willing to take the step of faith and enjoy the ride, just like her Daddy. I have loved so much to hear them pray daily for you. They are growing strong in their faith because of the example you have set for them. Your prayers for them have been heard and God is growing and developing them in so many ways. I love you more than you know.

Greg, you have allowed God to be your leader at work. His character and love are evident even in the workplace. You are a mentor and friend to so many people you have encountered in the Air Force. I know that God has a perfect plan in place for your future and I know that with His help, you will exceed and His name will be praised throughout the Earth. I know your willingness to listen is a Godly character that will allow you to develop deeper friendships with others and will open even more opportunities for witnessing at work. I love you more than you know.

Greg, I have seen your personal growth and maturity over the 13 years I have known you. You have allowed God to change you from the inside out. Your very presence is a calming presence that is filled with God’s love for those around you. You are doing a great job with your personal spiritual development that will only enhance our relationship together. You are only going to grow more and more and I look forward to the journey. I love you more than you know.

Greg, your influence in my life has motivated me to be better tomorrow than I was today. You are the best I could have asked for in my lifelong mate and this journey of Sacred Marriage. We have learned so much about each other, both in good times and in bad, and I look forward to learning even more in the future. I know we will struggle at times, but I also know that by the grace of God all things are possible. I am ready for the next chapter of our life together and the journey God has in store for us. I am yours for life, Gregory Scott Toney.You are my best friend and most trusted companion. I love you more than you know.

Your wife,
Rachel

Quilted

As I faced my Maker at the last judgment, I knelt before the Lord along with all the other souls. Before each of us, the parts of our lives laid like the squares of an unfinished quilt in many piles. An angel sat before each of us sewing our quilt squares together into a tapestry of our life.

But as my angel took each piece of cloth off the pile, I noticed how ragged and frayed each of my squares was. They were filled with giant holes. Each square was labeled with a time in my life that had been difficult, the challenges, & temptations I was faced with in every day life. I saw hardships that I endured, which were the largest holes of all.

I glanced around me. Nobody else had such squares. Other than a tiny hole here & there, the other tapestries were filled with rich colors & bright hues of worldly fortunes. I gazed upon my own life & was disheartened. My angel was sewing the ragged pieces of cloth together, threadbare & empty, like binding air.

Finally, the time came when each life was to be displayed, held up to the light for the scrutiny of truth. The others rose; each in turn, holding up their tapestries. So filled their lives had been. My angel looked upon me & nodded for me to rise. My gaze dropped in shame. I hadn't had all the earthly fortunes. I had love in my life & laughter. But there had also been trials of illness, wealth, & false accusations that took from me my world, as I knew it. I had to start over many times. I often struggled with the temptation to quit, but somehow I mustered the strength to pick20up & begin again. I spent many nights on my knees in prayer asking for help & guidance. When I was ridiculed, I endured it and offered it up to the Father in hopes that I would not melt within my skin beneath the judgmental gaze of those who unfairly judged me.

As I faced the truth of my life & I accepted it for what it was, I rose & slowly lifted the combined squares of my life to the light. Awe-filled gasps permeated the air. I gazed around at the others who stared at me with wide eyes.

Then, I looked upon the tapestry before me. Light flooded through the many holes, creating an image, the face of Christ. Then, our Lord stood before me, with warmth & love in His eyes. He said, 'Every time you gave over your life to Me, it became My life, My hardships, & My struggles. Each point of light in your life is when you stepped aside & let Me shine through, until there was more of Me than there was of you.

May all our quilts be threadbare & worn, allowing Christ to shine through!

Greg Update

Hello!

Greg made it safe to his temporary home for the next six months. He should be home soon after the new year, just in time for Kaitlyn's birthday! Please keep him in your prayers as life away from us is a bit more relaxed, quite, and organized!! I am not sure he will be able to handle getting a night of sleep without some sort of interruption:) Seriously, all of us are in need of prayer. The kids are having a hard time adjusting to his absence. I stapled pictures of Greg to the wall next to each of their beds and they all have to say goodnight and prayers with "Daddy" before they will go to sleep. Kaitlyn sits in her bed for hours talking to Daddy's picture. Dylan just cries about how much he loves and misses him. Natalie is doing the best, but she is a bit more experienced than the other two. I am keeping busy, but definitely notice his empty spot next to me. So, please remember to keep us in your prayers and I will do my best to you informed on the latest.

For those who wanted it, here is Greg's address and email.

Gregory Toney
379th ECES/CEOIP
APO, AE 09309
gregory.toney@auab.afcent.af.mil

Love y'all!

Blessed

Most of you know that Greg left on Thursday to head out for a six month TDY overseas. The kids and I dropped him off at the Fayetteville airport for his 12:55pm flight. His flights to Norfolk, VA went smoothly and he arrived in Norfolk with no issues or delays. Upon arrival to Norfolk, he learned his flight to Maine was not scheduled to leave Norfolk until Friday night/early Saturday morning. Of course, I was totally bumming that Greg was only 4 hours up the road for at least 24 hours and I was stuck at Pope. I knew there was no way I could put Natalie, Dylan, and Kaitlyn through another goodbye, and I am not sure Erin, Greg, or I could handle that again!!

I am very blessed to have a great sister and neighbor who were willing to watch the kids for the day and I headed off to Norfolk. You know I managed to get a speeding ticket on the way, but other than that, the trip up was extremely smooth and didn't feel like 4 hours at all! Greg was set up in some very nice billeting on Norfolk and so we were able to stay at the cost of the government, a definite bonus!

We found a great Italian restaurant and we were able to enjoy some authentic Italian food. Greg ordered pizza, of course, and I had the best Panini I have had in almost 9 years! The hazelnut Gelato was absolutely fabulous and the cappuccino, rich and creamy. It was as if our stumbling upon the restaurant was a God moment for us!

We also enjoyed to opportunity to walk around the piers and feel extremely small when looking at the aircraft carriers! Look for pictures in my photo album.We were even able to catch some fireworks right before he had to report to the passenger terminal. All in all, I am thankful to have God who is willing to give us what we don't even realize we need. I am blessed to have a husband who never hesitates to put his family first. And I am grateful to Misty and Erin for allowing me the opportunity to get away and enjoy the relationship I have with Greg.

The Latest Scoop

Greg will be leaving before the July 4th holidays to go overseas. He will be home in January of '09, in time for Kaitlyn's 2nd birthday. The kids, Erin, and I are planning on heading to Florida then Indiana in August. Keep us in your prayers as we get ready for Greg's departure.

Pictures

I put new family pictures up on my MySpace page for all to see. You can check them out at:

http://www.myspace.com/rrtoney

Have a great day!

April '08 News

I just wanted to let everyone know that Greg will be leaving around July 1 for a six-month deployment in support of the current war. I can’t tell you where he is going, but he is not going to Iraq. He is not going to fill an Army slot so he will not have to go to Combat Support Training prior to deployment.

Please keep us in your prayers as we prepare for his departure. Thanks! Rachel

Faith

Screen Door by Rich Mullins

It's about as useless as a screen door on a submarine
Faith without works baby, it just ain't happenin'
One is your left hand, one is your right
It'll take two strong arms to hold on tight
Some folks cut off their nose just to spite their face
I think you need some works to show for your alleged faith

Well there's a difference you know b'tween having faith and playing make believe
One will make you grow the other one just make you sleep
Talk about it but I really think you oughtta
Take a leap off of the ship before you claim to walk on water
Faith without works is like a song you can't sing
It's about as useless as a screen door on a submarine

Faith comes from God and every word that He breathes
He lets you take it to your heart so you can give it hands and feet
It's gotta be active if it's gonna be alive you gotta put it into practice
Otherwise....

It's about as useless as a screen door on a submarine
Faith without works, baby It just ain't happenin'
One is your right hand, one is your left it's your light, your guide
Your life and your breath

Faith without works is like a song you can't sing
It's about as useless as a screen door on a submarine

If you have been keeping up with my blogs you already know that God has been challenging me to step out of what I know to be comfortable and take a walk with Him. I love the words penned in this song. They are a reminder that my faith is incomplete—useless actually—without showing action. My faith has grown tremendously since I have allowed God to lead and guide my footsteps. Does that mean I have followed without fail? No, I still have to battle the flesh side of myself. I still think every now and again that I know a different perspective than God knows. What is means is I am more willing to yield to Him instead of fight against His perfect will for my life.

Do you know how much faster God can work without me in His way? Let me tell you, the results are unbelievable!! He is capable of making things happen that I could have only dreamed happening. It seems that when something is prayed about, God has revealed either the answer or the confirmation within a week, normally within a day or two. There is no way I would have had the same peace God gives me in a matter of days if I handled the issues of life myself.

I tried.

I failed.

I know I am taking liberty with the song here, but try to follow me. Have you found yourself dealing with the issues of life without the Captain of your submarine? Maybe you have left God at the dock deciding that you could pilot the ship better yourself. Is your faith useless? We want to say we have faith in God, but is your faith backed by works? We try to take our faith and pilot it in such a way to make ourselves look good, but in reality, it is a smokescreen providing cover as we run for the problems of life. We walk into church on Sunday, professing our faith in God, only to shy away from the works that make our faith real during the week.

What the song is talking about is how our lack of works to show our faith will sink us as a faster a submarine would sink with screen doors installed in place of the hatches. Maybe, just maybe, it is time to remove the screen doors off the submarine and install the real deals. We need fortified hatches to replace the screens of our faith. You see, a screen can easily be breeched. It rusts easily and over time will fall apart. A hatch is solid. It is capable of withstanding much more force than a screen can handle. It is not as prone to damage as a screen is.

Another aspect of a screen is the holes. A screen is designed to allow air and light through the metal mesh. When life is pouring down on you and your faith is made of mesh instead of solid steel, you are being washed in the cares of life. The floodwaters pouring onto your life are overwhelming you creating a sinking feeling in your life. A hatch does not care what falls on it. It is capable of deflecting whatever is falling onto it, thereby preventing the floods of life from washing you away. I know my faith has been reinforced lately, but I know God has even more in store for me, I just need to be willing to let go of the flimsy screen and be refitted for a solid hatch.

Walking

So, I hijacked this snippet of meat from a friends. You know who you are, and I say thanks! I needed this challenge today in particular and I believe others will gain something from it.

Taken from Breaking Free, by Beth Moore:

"Imagine going to Heaven and standing by God as He lovingly shows you the calendar of His plan for your earthly life. It begins with the day you are born. Once you received Christ as Savior, every day that follows is outlined in red. You see footprints walking through each day of each week of your life. On many of the days, two sets of footprints appear. You inquire: "Father, are those my footprints on the calendar every day and is the second set of prints when you joined me?"

He answers, "No, My precious Child. The consistent footprints on your calendar are Mine. The second set of footprints are when you joined me."
"Where were you going Father?"

"To the destiny I planned for you, hoping you’d follow."

"But Father where are my footprints all those times?"

He answers, "Sometimes you went back to look at old resentments and habits while I was still going forward, hoping you’d join me. Sometimes you departed from My path and chose your own calendar instead. Other times your footprints can even be seen on another person’s calendar because you liked their plan better. At other times, you simply stopped because you would not let go of something you could not take to the next day."

"But Father we ended up OK even if I didn’t walk with You every day, didn’t we?"

He holds you close and smiles, "Yes, Child, we ended up OK. But, you see, OK was never what I had in mind for you."

"Father, what are those golden treasure boxes on certain days?"

"Blessings, My child, I had for you along the way. Those that are open are those you received. Those still closed were days you did not walk with Me."

Accountability

Greg and I have had a tremendous opportunity to teach the couple’s class at our church. We have spent since January discussing the book Sacred Marriage, written by Gary Thomas. We have challenged the members of our class to spend just 15 minutes each evening talking with their spouse. The stipulations for this conversation include the following rules:

1. No pointing fingers! Only present your side of an argument don’t provide your spouse’s thoughts as well!

2. Ask open questions. Don’t ask a question that backs your spouse into a corner, instead ask questions that invite discussion.

3. Accept honest answers from your spouse. Don’t think that your spouse will always share your opinion. You just may learn something from them by listening!

4. Keep it real. Don’t let the issues of life crow this time of intimate conversation. This is not the time to discuss the broken car, leaking pipes, or overtime issues at work. This is a time to learn what makes your spouse an individual.

To get our class started in the daunting task of 15 minutes of non-confrontational communication, we have provided discussion questions on a weekly basis. We are more than three months into the class but no one seems to be dedicated to the challenge. As a human, I then started to question if I had provided the right accountability for them. I questioned if it was my job to ask if they were talking or ignoring the challenge issued. Of course, God has a way of answering our questioning with a personal challenge.

God has challenged me to keep myself accountable to what He has called me to do. If I am struggling to be accountable to myself, why am I expecting others to be accountable to me? I can know all of the knowledge in the world, but if I choose to be disobedient to the calling of God, the knowledge does me no good. If I am not holding myself accountable to the will of God my knowledge will not yield blessing.

I can only reap what I sow and cannot expect to reap accountability in our class if I do not sow it in my life. Therefore, God has challenged me to keep myself accountable to what He has convicted me of in my life. I know that my willingness to yield to the will of God will sow seeds in the lives of others.

My problem is centered on my lack of care for myself. I go out of my way to take care of others and most of the time I am too tired to take care of myself. I allow myself to be neglected. I allow myself to ignore God’s perfect will for my life simply because I think less of myself than I should. I should strive to take care of others, but I can’t take care of others if I have not yet learned what God wants me to learn.

I am challenged then to allow my personal needs to gain priority over the needs of others not so needy needs. I still need to be the best wife I can be, the best mom I can be, and the best teacher I can be, but not at the expense of letting myself go. I am not a maintenance free human being. I don’t need to become so self centered I can see nothing beyond my personal perimeter, but I do need to learn what God’s priorities are.

Right now, that priority is personal accountability. It is filtering every decision I make through the screen of God’s will. It is yielding my will to the perfect will of God. It is finding the balance between personal growth and the roles God has allowed me to embrace (wife, mother, teacher…). It is learning that without God’s sustaining power in my life I am bound to fail. I need to determine if I am willing to keep myself accountable to myself.

Storms

I know it is easy to praise God when it seems all is going good, but can you praise Him when it seems He is so far away it hurts? As Casting Crowns sing, we need to praise Him in the storm. You see, it is how we react to the storms of life that is what makes us, as Christian's, different from those around us. It is human nature to lash out and want to hurt someone when we are hurting, but God calls us to a higher standard. Jesus tells us to turn the other cheek, to give not just a coat, but our cloak as well. We are called to give more than we are given.

For some, this is easy. Giving praise to God for all He has done is a natural part of the day. The thoughts are easy and predictable as the tides on a calm day. Everywhere you look you are able to see the wonder of God in His creation. It is an endless repetition of worship, as predictable as the waves lapping at the shores on a calm day.

For others, our act of worship is what carves our faith and is one of the hardest things we do. We feel as if the cares of this world are the waves that come as a hurricane is making landfall. We are a pier being battered and tossed without a hope of surviving the night. Our worship is found mostly in the lull between storms, especially right after the storm has passed, and we realize we still have a foundation beneath us. We find we are more thankful for the absence of the storm and waves than we are for the actual storms and waves. What we fail to understand is the need for the storms of our life.

So maybe your storm is worse than mine is, or maybe mine is worse than yours is. In reality, we as humans like to compare ourselves to those around us. We seek pity from those who haven't needed to endure what God is bringing us through, or we seek someone who is worse off than us to make us feel better about our situation. What we need to understand is that to God, your storm is just as important as my storm. He would not allow you to go through something you are unable to handle, but He will give you no less than is needed to build you, your character, and your faith.

Did you catch that? He would not allow you to go through something you are unable to handle, but He will give you no less than is needed to build you, your character, and your faith. Therefore, it is natural to assume my storms will increase in intensity, as I grow closer to God. It is also reasonable to assume that the depth and breadth of my storms are just as scary to me as your "littler" storms are to you. You see, as humans, especially as Americans, we are caught up in a competition to see just who has it the worst, or even who has it the best. What we fail to understand is that to God, all storms are the same. The storm may show in a variety of events, but the outcome is relatively similar.

Think about it, we constantly are told about a storm of some sort reeking havoc somewhere in this nation. It may be a hurricane, firestorm, tornado, ice storm, or even a severe thunderstorm with hail, lightening, and winds. The expectation when we hear about an approaching storm is the same: destruction, loss of life, heroic rescues, and people we hear about on the news who foolishly "rode it out".

Why is it any different for our faith? The storms of our faith will cause destruction of either our faith in God or a stronghold (a lie believed) that has taken residence in our heart. The storms of our faith will bring death, spiritually, to a relationship with either Satan or God. We may even have a heroic rescue performed by a friend in Christ who was willing to yield to the call God placed on their life. In addition, we will hear of people who foolishly rode out the storms of faith, clinging to the wrong things, putting hope in something of the earth, not of heaven.

We need to understand the same God who was willing to give His son for us is bigger than the storms of life. We need to take refuge in His strength to get us through the day. We need to cling to Him when all hope is gone. We need to know that He is our refuge when the storms of life are beating us down. When we accept the fact that God is bigger than anything we are in, the storm becomes a thing of awe, a thing of beauty that God allows us to witness so we can better know Him.

Sandbags

"And my desire is to have You near
Lord You know that You are welcome here
Before such love, before such grace, I will let the walls come down"
The King of Love by Rita Springer

Are you ever faced with a recurring situation in which it seems no matter what you do your actions are wrong? Tonight I was listening to the words of The King of Love by Rita Springer and was struck with the thought that many times the issues in our lives have become walls that surround us. Sometimes we build the wall to protect us. Other times, the wall is built to hide the hurt and pain associated with the issue. Still other times the wall is built during the silent hours of the night and seemingly appears suddenly in our hearts and lives. The idea clearly revealed to me is that I am the carpenter responsible for the construction of the walls of my life.

This song reminds me that I need to be the one to let the walls come down. I think at times we tend to reinforce the foundation of the walls in our life instead of letting them be torn down. What I mean by this is simply we stack the sandbags of life to strengthen the walls of our heart. The sandbags are filled with the hurt from this, the pain from that, the suffering of my past, the losses of yesterday, and the fears of tomorrow. Each sandbag is any number of excuses tied up in a handy little bag that really hides the contents of the bag. Inside each sandbag is a mess of sand pebbles. Individually, they are unable to do much of anything to anyone. Being hit by one grain of sand is no cause for concern. However, being sandblasted by thousands of sand particles is enough to get anyone’s attention. Think about the weight of just one sand particle. There really isn’t much to it, is there? Now think about the weight of millions of grains of sand. You get the picture.

Life is full of millions of individual grains of sand. We chose to either collect or release those grains as we journey through life. If we choose to collect them, we end up with a wall of sandbags that are just a collection of the many individual things in life. Is that wall serving to protect or to hinder us? You see, the same wall that can protect us from our enemies is the same wall that will hinder our forward progress in life. In order to gain the blessings of Christianity, we need to be willing to open the sandbags of our life and pour out the sand that once fortified the walls of our life. God will give you the strength to pour out and destroy the walls of our life. He will give us the strength to rise above the rubble of our broken hearts.

Sustenance

"The will of God will not lead you where the grace of God cannot keep you."

"Nothing is really lost by a life of sacrifice everything is lost by failure to obey God's call."

"Listen closely to hear the King of the Universe speak … loving words to your heart: 'Whatever I have my dear will now be yours and whatever belongs to me now belongs to you. I now devote all the strength that flows from within me to protecting and caring for you!'"

A good friend, and prayer warrior, wrote these words on a card and gave it to me at church tonight. She did not know the impact these words would have on me. I was struggling with the feeling of inadequacy in regards to Passion Ministries. It takes so much out of a person to build a ministry and I was not sure how much more I had to give at this point in my life. It seems a different child is sick each week; I cannot keep up with the house so how can I keep up with a class and a ministry. Greg is gone this week, which has added to the stress. I am battling migraines again, something I have not battled in years. I know the Toney family has been under attack from Satan for quite a while. My strength has been diminishing more and more each week. The cry of my heart has been "How much longer, God?"

I know Greg and I are called to ministry and we know we are doing what we are supposed to be doing right now, but sometimes knowing just isn't enough. Tonight, this hand written note given to me by a friend was God's way of letting me know that no matter what God is giving me the grace I need to stay on the course He has for us. It was a spiritual shot of pick me up, so to speak.

It is a struggle sometimes to give up my personal time and work on our ministry, so my sacrificial giving has been a challenge as of late. You feel at times that what you do is not worth the time, money, or energy. As a human, we desire to see results immediately, but God does not work on our timeline. I know we are making positive impacts on the lives of the couples in our class and in turn, the church. Once again, in my humanness, knowing just is not enough sometimes. The words included in this note covered my thoughts, feelings, and frustrations as well.

If God is willing to remind me that every promise in Him is yes and amen, His strength is perfect, and He is willing to protect and care for me, who am I to challenge Him? I know the promises in the Bible are for me, but sometimes God needs to nudge me and remind me of His perfect will. I am so thankful for a friend willing to be obedient and take the time needed to write the words God gave her to give to me.

What a blessing!

Complications

I have been thinking a ton about how we as humans tend to enjoy life more when we make it complicated. We all know the person who seems always needing to have the attention of everyone, right. Have we ever considered if we somewhat resemble that person? Do you need complications to survive?

It is never enough to accept an answer as answer, we must probe into the nitty-gritty details until we are satisfied the decision made is either completely wrong or completely justified.

Instead of accepting a promise as a promise, we torment ourselves with the question of ’how can it really be true?’ and lose track of the gift given.

At work, we make a process out of even the simplest of tasks. We focus so much on the process we forget the intention of the action.

Maybe, you are the one who needs to ensure everyone around you understands exactly where you are coming from and your precise point of view.

Is this you?

If it is, please read on.

Everyone should still be reading. At some point, with something, we are all guilty of complicating our lives for personal gain. One of the most famous passages in the Bible is Isaiah 40:31 where it is written, "But they that wait upon the LORD shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings as eagles; they shall run, and not be weary; and they shall walk, and not faint." I am not sure how we can expect God to fulfill this promise if we choose to carry a bunch of baggage with us.

We have all had to walk through a valley, at least once in our lives. For most of us, many valleys have been watered by our tears, and the echoes of our cries have resounded all over the map it seems. The journey through the valley is a tedious, slow journey in which we are burdened by the complications of life. It isn’t that life is so bad, it is what we add to life that makes it burdensome. We are not content to wait on the strength of the Lord to renew us and the burden we struggle to move through a valley is more than we could possibly drag, let alone carry.

The Hebrew word for renew is Chalaph. Chalaph means to change, substitute, alter, change for better; the same way a tree shows newness. In order for a tree to show the potential for growth in the spring it must shed the weight of the past years growth. It must be willing to release the leaves of the past for a hope of a future growth. Does a tree hope? No, of course not! However, the picture works, doesn’t it?

Do you see where I am going with this? You cannot expect God to change a circumstance in your life (renew your strength) if you are unwilling to give up the complications of life.

Another thing a tree must go through is a dormant season. Winter is a hard time on a tree. There is seemingly little that happens in the life of a tree during the winter months. The tree is leafless, wrapped in ice and snow, and does not grow in stature during these harsh months. In reality, while the changes are slow and almost unperceivable, change is occurring nonetheless. Trees continue to slowly grow roots, respire, and take in water and nutrients. The root system is the life of a tree, and without roots, a tree will not survive. The tree, while dormant, does not die. Winter, while a hard season for the tree, actually serves to strengthen the tree!

What about your winter? Does it strengthen you? Have you allowed God to grow you during your winter season? Did you assume that growth only happened in the spring and summer when everything looks right for growth?

Many people know Isaiah 40:31, but may not have ever read Isaiah 40:4, "Every valley shall be exalted, and every mountain and hill shall be made low: and the crooked shall be made straight, and the rough places plain:" Maybe this verse is your outlook on life. You seem to be in the valley, surrounded by the mountains of life, lost in the maze of complications, and jostled by the despair of no hope for your future. The bad news is there is no way you are going to alter your landscape on your own. The good news is that God is more than able and willing to modify things surrounding the path you walk on. Your path may not change, your problems may still be there, but the mountains will be made low. You may not see what God has in store, but your path will be made straight. You may feel as if the boulders and worries of life have done nothing to hinder you, but God promises to make it smooth.

Are you willing to grow in a season of dormancy to gain the rewards of a renewing spring?

The Journey

A journey cannot be taught, it is something that must be lived.
I cannot live anyone else's journey, nor can they live mine.
The journey they walk in life may not be fitting for my life.

Why do people feel an obligation to force their journey on others?
Why must I live my life based on their vision alone?
Is it too much to ask they be happy for who I am and the journey I am on?

They look through their rose colored glasses and assume I share the view.
When my journey isn't theirs I am somehow to blame.
What happened to me being an individual?

Interesting thought, isn't it?