In the Words of Marvin Gaye...

what's going on? This has been just a incredibly draining several weeks. I'm thankful for life, a family that loves and supports me. Friends who are there to listen and make me laugh. I've been surrounded by death, illness and incident after incident. I continue to declare that the 'joy' of the Lord is my strength. I remind myself that nothing is to hard for God. When my reserves are low and I 'feel' to weak to press through. I'm reminded of God's goodness and his grace and that he is there to bear all that seems to consume and overwhelm me. I'm alive, I have breath in my lungs, mobility in my limbs and I'm in my right mind (most days). That alone is enough to count it all joy. It's so easy to go into 'fix it' mode. Trying to figure out what you can do to change the situation or make it better. A lot of times God removes all the resources so you can solely rely on him. So I continue to pray. I trust that my prayers and crying out the names and needs of others make a difference. When the challenges in life are to hard to deal with or address, I know God will never leave me or forsake me. My responsibility is to give it him, leave it there and in due time all things reveal themselves and work out as they should. It may not always be the favorable outcome we hoped for, but that's when you just thank him for the 'better' that is on the way. Trusting, believing and holding on to the promises of God.