Things worth thinking...

Just think, 
you're here not by chance, 
but by God's choosing. 
His hand formed you 
and made you the person you are. 
He compares you to no one else. 
You are one of a kind. 
You lack nothing 
that His grace can't give you. 
He has allowed you to be here 
at this time in history 
to fulfill His special purpose 
for this generation. 

-Roy Lessin

How Much is Enough? (A Modern Day Parable)

The American investment banker was at the pier of a small coastal Mexican village when a small boat with just one fisherman docked. Inside the small boat were several large fin tuna. The American complimented the Mexican on the quality of his fish and asked how long it took to catch them.

The Mexican replied, “only a little while.”

The American then asked why he didn’t stay out longer and catch more fish?

The Mexican said he had enough to support his family’s immediate needs.

The American then asked, “but what do you do with the rest of your time?”

The Mexican fisherman said, “I sleep late, fish a little, play with my children, take siesta with my wife, Maria, stroll into the village each evening where I sip wine and play guitar with my amigos, I have a full and busy life.”

The American scoffed, “I am a Harvard MBA and could help you. You should spend more time fishing and with the proceeds, buy a bigger boat, and with the proceeds from the bigger boat you could buy several boats. Eventually, you would have a fleet of fishing boats. Instead of selling your catch to a middleman you would sell directly to the processor, eventually opening your own cannery. You would control the product, processing and distribution. You would need to leave this small coastal fishing village and move to Mexico City, then LA and eventually NYC where you will run your expanding enterprise.”

The Mexican fisherman asked, “But, how long will this take?”

To which the American replied, “15-20 years.”

“But what then?”

The American laughed and said that’s the best part. “When the time is right you would announce an IPO and sell your company stock to the public and become very rich, you would make millions.”

“Millions?” asked the fisherman, “Then what?”

The American said, “Then you would retire. Move to a small coastal fishing village where you would sleep late, fish a little, play with your kids, take siesta with your wife, stroll to the village in the evening, sip wine and play your guitar with your amigos!”

(Author Unknown)

A dog's love for his owner is a reflection of God's essence.

Check out this video on youtube. It's one of my favorites!!! Makes me think of the Father in the story of the Prodigal Son. 
Just highlight, right click, and go to address.  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H17edn_RZoY

Love is always the answer, isn't it?

Running through my neighborhood is one of my favorite places to ponder. It struck me, as I was running the other day, that after deeply thinking through whatever situation happens to be running through my mind on any particular day, if I think it through all the way, the conclusion I seem to always come to is... love. Putting love above everything else... it's always the answer.

Today, after sharing a meal together, our fellowship group moved outside to the deck to continue our discussion. I love this group that often meets here on Sundays. There is no agenda, except to get together for meaningful conversation. We just take turns bringing up topics to discuss, never knowing where the conversation will take us. One of the things I love about this group is that we respect one another and are not about forcing our opinions on each other. There is no pressure to hide or perform because everyone is loved and accepted just as they are. It's a safe place where everyone is free to take off their masks and be real. When we come together, we leave judgement at the door and put on love which allows us to honestly sort through our journeys together. It's less about coming to agreements and dogmatic conclusions and more about moving in a direction toward Him who is Love.

Todays topic came from 1 Cor. 1:10 where Paul was pleading with the christians to not be divided, but to be perfectly united in mind and thought. I used to read that scripture and think that if everyone would just read the bible and agree with what it said (or agree with what I thought it said), we'd all be united. As I got older, I realized that there were many sincere, spiritual, learned people that read the scriptures and came to some very different conclusions. The way I read that scripture caused more disunity than unity. In fact, it's one of the reasons we have so many denominations. (If you don't agree with me, you're not a christian!) Since all truth is only found in Christ and the rest of us can only see but a poor reflection of it, it seems to me that Paul wasn't calling us to line up all our beliefs with each other, but rather to bear with one another in love as we move in the direction of Christ, following Him to the best of our ability. 

Unity is to be based more upon showing love and grace toward one another than upon agreeing with one another. Philippians 3 talks about forgetting what is behind and pressing forward...  It says, "And if on some point you think differently, that too God will make clear to you. Only let us live up to what we've already attained." Romans 14:1-23 is a beautiful illustration of this grace that we are to extend toward one another; "One person's faith allows him to eat meat, another's doesn't... One person considers one day more sacred than another; another considers every day alike... Therefore let us stop passing judgement on one another." Let us be for one another instead of against one another, connecting with each other in our weakness and loving each other toward fullness.

If we were really to put love above everything else; above doctrine, above the way we live, above being right, above our pride, above our fear... we would find unity. Love is what bridges the gap. It bridges the gap between us and God and between us and another. It's the way christians are called to bridge the gap between God and others (Jn 13:34) because love is the way to healing, wholeness, and transformation. Jesus showed us the way, the narrow path. Love is the answer to everything.

We heard back from Kenya

I just received an email from Wayne Jacobson, our pipeline person who connects us with Michael, the man who runs the orphanage in Kenya. Along with the mats, I sent a letter telling Michael that my friend, Eddie, who works in the hospital, is collecting them for us. I asked him to let me know if they helped solve the bedwetting problem and if so, to let me know how many more they needed at this time. 

The mats are free, but the shipping is certainly not. I wanted to make sure they worked before I sent more. Apparently, these mats are doing the trick. Praise God! Below I copied and pasted the email Michael sent through Wayne.

Dear Brother Wayne,

Greeting once more in Jesus Name, thank you very much , yesterday we received the mat it was send with brother whom you recommended him, and he works in Hospital, they are ten in number and he wanted to know how many were required in the center. So we still need twenty of them. You can send our appreciation as below:

 

Dear brother in the lord, on behalf of the Living Loved Christ Hope children care center, we want to send our appreciation for your generous and compassion heart towards this center of orphans, and these mat would be a great blessing because we do waste a lot of blanket after six months because of being wet by children urine. So we tried and saw these will make the blanket and mattress to last longest may the lord bless you, we still need twenty of them.

May the lord bless you as you stand with us.

Yours

 Brother Michael 

Reply to:

A note from my precious daughter-in-law

Hey Mom!
I don't know if I told you but I'm sure you know Ty's been on this vegetarian kick and I'm going to try to do it with him, so we got all the leftover meat in the house and made sack lunches and water bottles to hand out to the homeless. It was just the saddest thing, but it got me thinking that I would really love to start doing that maybe once a month. It would be a really neat thing if we could get a little group together each month to do it with us. It just really opened up my eyes to how much the little things just don't matter at the end of the day. Ty and I have food,water,shelter and more love surrounding us than most have their entire lives! 

What is love???

What is Love?

Love is God.

Who is God?

God is Love.

So is Love a noun???


Love is the very essence of who God is.

If 1 Cor. 13 is a description of Love, is it a description of God?

So is love an adjective???


Love the Lord your God with all your heart, mind, soul and strength and love your neighbor as yourself.

We were created to live in His love and express that love to one another.

For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten son.

For God so valued the world, that He gave His only begotten son.

For God so cared for the world, that He gave His only begotten son.

So is love a verb???

Words of wisdom from Rabbi Allen...

People are looking in the wrong places. God is the still small voice within. God is the voice of compassion, the light of love, the expression of kindness, the seeking of peace, the humility in one's soul. God is found at the edge of suffering, in the presence of purpose, in the loss of fear, in the endless quest for goodness, in the expression of caring, in the presence of healing, in the longing for wholeness, in the discovery of oneself. God is present in the endless striving for what is right and what is just, and in the search for truth. God is alive in a baby's cry, a person's laugh, and in the never-ending life force igniting the road ahead. May God's presence be manifest in all of us.

Love isn't a concept to know, but a reality to live in...

Compassion - Empathy for the suffering of others, feeling what they feel, a concern for others pain.
Love - A whole hearted concern for someone's ultimate good, even at a great personal cost.
The woman in the story below beautifully reflects the heart of our rescuer, Jesus.

The truly inspiring story of the Chinese rubbish collector who saved and raised THIRTY babies abandoned at the roadside

By DAILY MAIL REPORTER

PUBLISHED: 08:27 EST, 30 July 2012 | UPDATED: 17:28 EST, 30 July 2012

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Lou Xiaoying has been praised in China for saving more than 30 abandoned babies over the years

A woman has been hailed a hero after details of her astonishing work with abandoned children has emerged.

Lou Xiaoying, now 88 and suffering from kidney failure, found and raised more than 30 abandoned Chinese babies from the streets of Jinhua, in the eastern Zhejiang province where she managed to make a living by recycling rubbish.

She and her late husband Li Zin, who died 17 years ago, kept four of the children and passed the others onto friends and family to start new lives.

Her youngest son Zhang Qilin - now aged just seven - was found in a dustbin by Lou when she was 82.

'Even though I was already getting old I could not simply ignore the baby and leave him to die in the trash. He looked so sweet and so needy. I had to take him home with me,' she said.

'I took him back to our home, which is a very small modest house in the countryside and nursed him to health. He is now a thriving little boy, who is happy and healthy.

'My older children all help look after Zhang Qilin, he is very special to all of us. I named him after the Chinese word for rare and precious.

'The whole thing started when I found the first baby, a little girl back in 1972 when I was out collecting rubbish. She was just lying amongst the junk on the street, abandoned. She would have died had we not rescued her and taken her in.

'Watching her grow and become stronger gave us such happiness and I realised I had a real love of caring for children.

'I realised if we had strength enough to collect garbage how could we not recycle something as important as human lives,' she explained.

'These children need love and care. They are all precious human lives. I do not understand how people can leave such a vulnerable baby on the streets.

Lou is now dying from kidney failure. She is pictured here with two of the children she helped rescued

Lou, left, caring her the babies with her husband Li Zin. She would give them to friends and family after she rescued them

Lou, who has one biological daughter, Zhang Caiying and now aged 49, devoted her life to looking after the abandoned babies.

Word of her kind-hearted gestures has now spread in China, where thousands of babies are abandoned on the streets by their poverty stricken parents.

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One fan explained: 'She is shaming to governments, schools and people who stand by and do nothing. She has no money or power but she saved children from death or worse.'

'In the local community she is well known and well respected for her work with the abandoned babies. She does her best. She is a local hero. But unfortunately there are far too many abandoned babies in China who have no hope of survival.

Only last week there was news of a baby lucky to be alive after having its throat cut and then put in a plastic bag and thrown in a dustbin at Anshan city, in northeast China’s Liaoning province.

The baby – a girl – was thought to be a victim of the country's one child policy where parents restricted to only having a single child prefer boys and girls are unwanted and often discarded.

Lou, who is now in hospital, has become iconic in her village and people have said she puts the government and other officials to shame

A little boy who was found abandoned by Lou is now cared for by her older children. The family have little money but still managed to save dozens of children

Lou made a living from collecting and recycling rubbish, she said that she would never leave the children after coming across them, abandoned

Infanticide of 'guilt children' is still a problem in rural areas but it is rare in cities, where children are usually abandoned but not killed. 

The baby's fate has horrified China. The tot was spotted when a passerby went to throw some rubbish in the bin the and saw what he thought was a dead baby in the bag.

He told police that the child was purple and had not moved until he examined the bag more closely.

A resident who witnessed the girl being taken to hospital said: 'She was still breathing and had a heartbeat. Blood from the wound stained the whole body.'

Doctors said that if the baby had been left in the bag a few minutes longer she would have died of suffocation and it had already been affected by the lack of oxygen hence the purple colour.

They said that the baby had been born premature and was probably between 32 and 34 weeks old and weighing just 1.4 kg.

A medic said that if the cut had been just a millimetre deep in the baby would have died.

The premature baby was found in a bin, with placenta and umbilical cord still attached, in Anshan city in northeast China

PREVENTING MORE THAN 400 MILLION BIRTHS WITH CONTROVERSIAL RULE

The painted sign reads, 'It is forbidden to discriminate against, mistreat or abandon baby girls'

China's controversial 'policy of birth planning' was introduced in 1978 to reduce the strain on the country's burgeoning population and reduce the strain on resources.

It officially restricts married, urban couples to having one child and those who break the rules have to pay a fine or fee.

Those who stick to the rules are usually awarded a certificate and can benefit financially, such as receiving an additional month's salary every year until the child turns 14.

The policy allows exemptions in some cases - including rural couples, couples without siblings on either side, and ethnic minorities. 

Residents of Hong Kong and Macau are exempt from the policy, as are foreign nationals living in China.

Certain rural parts of the country allow couples to have a second child if the first born is a girl but many parents feel pressured to produce an heir and end up abandoning the females. 

If the second child is also a girl, no more children are allowed. It is extremely rare to find a family that has two sons. 

The Chinese government claims that the policy has probably prevented more than 400 million births and in 2010 it was reported that for every 120 boys born there are 100 girls.

Critics inside China and around the world have condemned the policy and accused the government of enforcing abortions.

Despite the fact that it is illegal to kill newborn babies in the country, female infanticide and the failure to report female births is widely suspected, especially in rural areas.

An international conference on human rights, held ten years before the policy was introduced, proclaimed: 'Parents have a basic human right to determine freely and responsibly the number and the spacing of their children.'

Despite this, an independent 2008 survey reported that 76 per cent of the Chinese population supported the policy.

Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2181017/Lou-Xiaoying-Story-Chinese-woman-saved-30-abandoned-babies-dumped-street-trash.html#ixzz243D3eh99

The Happiness Project

Keith and I were watching a show on PBS the other night. A man named Shawn Achor who spent a good portion of his life trying to understand what makes people happy was talking about the key to happiness. He teaches the most popular class at Harvard where he lectures on positive psychology. He says that a lot of people think that they will be happy when... I get my health back, I get married, I lose 20 lbs, I get rich, I get cosmetic surgery, and the list goes on. Are all pretty people happy? Are all rich people happy?... This guy believes that 10% of what makes people happy comes from the outside, but the other 90% comes from the inside. He says that it's the lens through which your brain views the world that shapes your reality. If you can change the lens, you can change your happiness.

It's interesting when science catches up with God. God tells us that the eye is the lamp of the body, if your eyes are good, your whole body will be full of light.  How do we perceive things? Do we look with eyes of compassion or eyes of judgement? What do we focus on? Is it that one negative thing going on in our life, or all the countless blessings? God says to continually give thanks in all circumstances (not for all circumstances, but in all circumstances) Do we look for the good that can come out of things? God also encourages us to think about whatever is true, noble, right, pure, lovely, admirable, excellent, and praiseworthy. Is our Father teaching us how we can be happy in a broken world? Did our Creator design our brains with the ability to protect ourselves against all the negativity around us?

Shawn teaches his students that the first step towards happiness is to stop equating future success with happiness. He says you have to train your brain to be positive just like you have to workout your body.  Research shows that if you do something for 21 days in a row it actually changes your brain chemistry and will create a new habit. So he challenges you to pick 1 out of 5 researched habits and try it out for 21 days in a row to create a positive habit. Keith and I decided to put his theory to the test. The habit we chose to try was to name 3 things we were thankful for every day for the next 21 days.

The next morning at breakfast, I told my girls Ellie (10) and Emma (6) that we were going to try an experiment. For the next 21 days we were going to play a thankful game. I told them the rule was to choose 3 different things every day that they were thankful for. Emma knocked out 3 things right away. I'm thankful for my family, my food, and my home because a lot of kids in the world don't have those things. (Remember, Emma was adopted 3 1/2 years ago and came from a very deprived orphanage). Ellie looked around the room and said, "Uh, I'm thankful for this table, the tv, and uh, the dog." So I decided that we'd also say why we were thankful for each thing to make sure we were truly being thoughtful and sincere about our choices.

After about a week of doing this, I noticed that something was actually changing in me. Some of the difficult circumstances that were going on in our life hadn't changed, but they didn't seem to bother me so much. In fact, a few other stressful and unpleasant things were added to the mix. Today, for instance,  our A/C broke (and it's right in the middle of August). After the A/C guy left, we noticed the hardwood floors in our kitchen starting to buckle. It looks like a pipe from the sink is leaking underneath our hardwood floors.  Every time something negative happens,  I find myself looking for the good in it, even finding humor in it. I notice that throughout the day Keith, the girls and I keep sharing extra things we were thankful for. We were drawn to the positive like a magnet.

So I decided to invite the boys in on it. I made a chart and hung it on the refrigerator for whoever wanted to join in. I labeled it, "The Happiness Project." Everyday, after we tell someone the 3 things we're thankful for,  we put a check by our name. We've found value in not just saying the 3 things to ourselves, but in sharing them with each other. That way, instead of just thinking about the 3 things we're thankful for, we're encouraging others as well as being encouraged. When someone says they're thankful for something, someone always seems to say, "Oh yeah, me too." We're drawing attention to and reminding each other of all that is wonderful in this world. I'll end this post with a link to Louis Armstrong's, What a Wonderful World. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m5TwT69i1lU
 (Just highlight it, then right click it, then click "go to address")

A note to a friend...

You've been on my mind all day. I loved hanging out with you on Sunday! Thanks for being so vulnerable with me. Makes me feel even closer to you!

You mentioned a sense of sadness you've been feeling. I remember when it began to dawn on me that so much of the beliefs that I had held so tightly to for pretty much all of my adult life were crumbling beneath me. It shook my entire world! Not only did it grieve me for myself and Keith, but for what we had passed on to our children. It has been a bittersweet awakening. On one hand, I feel like letting go of religion (not leaving the institution, but giving up religious performance) has been similar to someone opening up the jail cell and setting us free, and yet there is a part of me that still grieves the felt safety and security of what that "system" promised. Having a formula made me feel a sense of control. (Living by sight is much easier than living by faith.) They say you go through all the stages of grief with any loss, whether it be a penny or a loved one. Even now, when I see people that were so much a part of my life for 20 years, I leave the conversations with a heavy heart, because I miss the unity we once shared.

I think we may have had that whole "one another" thing a little upside down. Maybe it's supposed to be about processing our journey's together with all the hope, grief and confusion it entails, rather than trying to "fix and perfect" one another. I'm beginning to see others on this journey as fellow sojourners who, may have awakened to some things that I'm still not awake to. Or maybe God has shed some light in places for me, where for them, there is still darkness. When I see it that way, it helps me not to judge them or feel like it's up to me to prove something to them. I feel like if our lives intersect, and conversations happen, light may be shed into some dark places in each others lives. And as the light increases, so does the freedom, rest, peace, joy... the abundance of life. 

I liked Dan's question on Sunday, "What does it mean to be a christian?" I've been mulling that question over in my mind. As I said, I don't like terms and labels, because they mean something different for everyone. I guess if you asked me what I believe at this moment in time, I'd say, I think Christ came to set us free from every religion, even the christian religion. I don't think He'd approve of how people use religion to separate themselves. I believe we were all created to have a personal relationship with our creator. I do believe that one way the invisible God revealed Himself to humanity and showed us how to relate to Himself was through Christ. But I also believe He continues to reveal Himself to humanity in countless other ways. For me, the incarnation of Christ is all about Him crawling inside our world and loving us at our worst. He didn't ask us to jump through a bunch of hoops and meet Him somewhere up there, He crawled inside our world to meet us right where we're at. I think it's what we all crave, to be seen as we truly are and still loved. 

I liked what Jace said, "Are humans inherently evil?" Maybe if we judge people by their behavior, we would say humans are evil. But if we could see from God's perspective, we'd see the stress and fear that's driving the negative behavior, and instead see one another as harassed and helpless and be filled with compassion for each other. We'd be for one another instead of against one another. I guess that's why we're forbidden to judge, we can't do it correctly. Maybe we all judge ourselves and each other as evil and that's why we live a life of hiding and performing. (Hiding the "evil" and displaying the "good" and trying to prove our worth) We continue to eat from the tree of knowledge of "good and evil", judging what we perceive to be good and bad, instead of eating from the tree of "Life", and resting in Him. Maybe as we decide to eat from the tree of life, God begins to untwist what has been twisted. Maybe as we get off the treadmill and begin to rest in Him, the light will begin to replace the darkness and we will gradually wake up to the truth that we all have unsurpassable worth and that our creator loves us just as we are. And as that love begins to fill us, it will transform us, and overflow into those around us. Maybe as we get to know Him, we begin to understand how deeply we're loved, and we will stop hiding and performing and judging one another, and begin to live authentically with one another, loving and showing compassion to one another. 

For most of my adult life I reflected the perceived image I had of my Father, instead of reflecting who He really is. Because I saw Him as my accuser instead of my rescuer, that's what I reflected to myself and those around me. As my image of Him changes, I am being transformed. It is really not anything I'm doing, but more of what is unfolding in me as I begin to understand how deeply I'm loved. There are no words to express the spiritual, this is just my feeble attempt to put into words something that is happening in me that is more real than anything I can see or touch.

Thanks for listening to me ramble. That's how I sort things out, I write. 

Do you trust God for provision?

I often hear people say they wish they could just win the lottery so they wouldn't have to worry about money anymore. To be honest, when money is tight, I find myself wishing I could win the lottery too. That got me pondering... Why do we worry so much about money? Obviously money is the means by which we are able to obtain things that we want or need. So, are we worried about money because we're worried that our needs will go unmet? Maybe we're simply tired of living paycheck to paycheck and want the assurance of knowing that we can comfortably pay our bills each month (with maybe even a little extra just to spend how we want). Perhaps we live beyond our means and struggle to keep up the lifestyle we desire. Or we may just want more money so we can buy more stuff or do more stuff.


Since it's a very small minority that will ever win a lottery, most people trust in Plan B. The plan (at least the unspoken expectation in America) seems to be... go to college, get a good job, climb the corporate ladder and put away a nest egg for retirement. That actually sounds pretty responsible! I find myself pushing my own kids in that direction. But why do we put so much hope in that plan? Are we all supposed to live according to the same cookie cutter plan? Is this the best plan for everyone? Is that plan really so foolproof? I mean, can't we suddenly lose our jobs when the economy takes a turn and find ourselves out of work for so long that we blow through our savings just to hold on to the house? Or maybe we save up for retirement and then our spouse or child becomes very ill and the hospital bills eat up our entire savings?

The problem is when we put our hope in a plan or a system rather than in our Father who created us and who sustains us. We were never created to live by our own plans, but to be led by God's Spirit. His Spirit nudges each individual heart down very different paths? God's plan for us is so much better than any plan we could ever have for ourselves. According to His plan, we never have to worry about our needs being met. We are simply to look to Him, follow where He leads, do what He puts before us, and trust Him for our provision. He may lead one person toward a higher education and  a meaningful career. He may place a desire on their hearts to set aside a savings account (they may have in mind that they are setting that money aside for a specific purpose, but later find themselves led to use it for something they never considered).  He  may ask another to mow a lawn today and paint a house tomorrow to put food on the table. As long as we truly trust God and live in dependence on Him for everything, doing what He asks of us, we will never need to worry if or wonder how our needs will be met, we'll just know that God will provide a way. 

Mathew 6 says:

²⁵ “Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothes? ²⁶ Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they? ²⁷ Can any one of you by worrying add a single hour to your life^[a]? ²⁸ “And why do you worry about clothes? See how the flowers of the field grow. They do not labor or spin. ²⁹ Yet I tell you that not even Solomon in all his splendor was dressed like one of these. ³⁰ If that is how God clothes the grass of the field, which is here today and tomorrow is thrown into the fire, will he not much more clothe you—you of little faith? ³¹ So do not worry, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ ³² For the pagans run after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them. ³³ But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well. ³⁴ Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.

Even though God tells us that if we follow Him, He'll take care of us, we insist on living independently. We feel a sense of control as we try to orchestrate and manipulate our circumstances, other people, and even God to get what we want. We prefer to live by sight rather than by faith. Living by sight gives us an illusion of safety and security. We continue to trust our own plans and systems rather than trusting in God.  How freeing it would be if only we would live the way we were created to, trusting our Father to provide for us. Living within the means He provides and being content with whatever we're given; following wherever He leads and doing whatever He asks of us. 

I recently read about God leading His people through the wilderness with a cloud by day and a pillar of fire by night. He provided manna from heaven for them to eat and water from rocks to quench their thirst. Their clothes and shoes never wore out. God was faithful to them and provided for their every need. The bible also compares God to a shepherd who leads his sheep to the green pastures and the still waters. He wants the best for His sheep. If they choose to wander off, they are in danger because they are not equipped to fend for themselves, but if they stay close to Him, He is able meet their needs and keep them safe.

Putting our hope in or getting our security from any source other than God is a foolish and stressful way to live. When I look back and see the incredible ways God has always provided for my family and me, it seems ridiculous that I would ever worry or doubt His provision. As I grow in trusting my Father, I begin to experience the childlike freedom and joy of not having to know how it will all work out, it's enough to know that I'm in His safe and loving hands.


²⁸ “And why do you worry about clothes? See how the flowers of the field grow. They do not labor or spin. ²⁹ Yet I tell you that not even Solomon in all his splendor was dressed like one of these. ³⁰ If that is how God clothes the grass of the field, which is here today and tomorrow is thrown into the fire, will he not much more clothe you—you of little faith? ³¹ So do not worry, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ ³² For the pagans run after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them. ³³ But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well. ³⁴ Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.

^{Or is it less about our needs and more about our wants? Maybe we don't want to work. Maybe we just want more money so we can buy more stuff or have the freedom to do more stuff. Maybe we are living beyond our means and don't make enough money to live the standard we want to live. What if God's intent for us was not to worry about money or our needs being met? Isn't that what we really want, the freedom not to have to worry if we are going to be able to pay our billI believe that God will take care of us if we'll just follow Him. I believe God wants us to trust him for Him for provision. I guess I better preface this with, No, I don't think God wants us to quit our jobs and sit on the couch like a couch potato or stand on the corner with our hand out and say, "Okay God, I trust you, now provide!" But I do think we were created to be dependent on our Creator. From the beginning, the fall of man was all about us wanting our independence and believing that we know what's best for us. We try to manipulate God or people or situations to get what we want. We are always looking for a foolproof formula or system that will assure us a safe and secure future. We put our hope in getting that education that will insure that we get that great job that will provide a cushy lifestyle and a little extra to set aside for a cushy retirement. I'm not against education, working, planning or saving... The problem is when we put our hope in those things that can so easily be torn away from us. One day you wake up to find that you've been let go from that great job you had. The nest egg that you saved for years for so you could have a nice, comfortable retirement is completely wiped out when moment when your spouse or child suddenly becomes ill.  25} “Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothes? ²⁶ Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they? ²⁷ Can any one of you by worrying add a single hour to your life
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