2 Chronicles 20

The other passage of scripture I've been holding onto this week came from the message at the church I went to last week, The Fisherman's Home Church (fun website name: imhooked.net) In short, this chapter is about Isreal's king, Jehoshaphat, receives news that there are armies coming to attack him. He seeks God's guidance and help, and God fights for him. By the time Jehoshaphat's army reaches the invading army, all the dudes from the invading armies have killed eachother and God gives the plunder to Jeohshaphat, which takes them 3 days to collect.
The points made in the message, that I have been taking to heart this week were this:
1) Seek the Lord through prayer and fasting. God will answer you when you seek him. When you need help with something in your life, don't try to do it on your own, go to God. (I've been going to God with this house, and with what the heck I'm doing in Florida.)
2)Declare the Magnitude of God. Jesus teaches us in the Lord's prayer to start our conversations with God by declaring his glory and holiness. This is often easy to forget, at least for me, when we're so focused on our problems.
3)Resolve to stay the course! God doesn't promise it will be easy, or that things will happen instanteously, as I so often wish it would. We have to keep focused on God and what he wants us to do, not looking at back.
4) Worship with all your heart! When we worship God it brings his presence. Mighty things have happened when people start to worship God. Paul and Silas worshipped God in prison and an earthquake set them free. The walls of Jericho fell down when the people made a great noise to God. When we worship God and give everything to him, He goes to war for us. He does the work and gives the victory.
5)Have Faith. Verse 20 says "Have faith in the Lord your God and you will be upheld." Two little words, that are so easy and yet so hard to do. But when we let God have control and we have faith in him, he will give us so much plunder that we won't know what to do with it all.

So, in our house search, and in my life in general, I"m trying to follow these things, to let God be in control, and to not worry, because I know He will fight my battles.
And that's easier said than done....

Jeremiah 29:11

There are two passages of scripture that I have been claiming and thinking about this past week. The first is Jeremiah 29:11. This one I've actually been holding onto for the last several weeks. It is, "For I know the plans I have for you," says the Lord. "They are plans for good and not for disastor, to give you a future and a hope." In the last 8 months I have often wondered what God's plans were, especially since about February. The only thing that has kept me sane sometimes in the last month has been remembering this verse. Knowing that whatever God's plans are, they are for good, and not for disaster (which is what they tend to seem like from my vantage point at times).
Earlier this week I read the whole chapter (Jer. 29) to get a better context of what whas happening. Then I REALLY started to feel connected to this verse. The Isrealites were in exile and God was promising them that he would free them from exile and bring them home. I can definitely say that I feel like I'm in exile! While I'm not sure where our "home" will be in the next 5 years, I have renewed my faith that God will lead us and put us where he wants us, and that he will give us a home, not just a house, but an area someday that we can call home again. (And I suppose that could even be Florida, but at this point in time, it's not at the top of MY list.)
I also discovered in reading this chapter that the verses following 11 are very significant as well. In Verses 12 - 14 God promises that those who seek Him will find him. That He'll listen to our prayers. He will restore our fortunes and bring us home. These are the verses that I have been praying over and claiming this last week.
And it's amazing. God is working to give us a great house. His plans, His timing, not mine. And while all the details and a signed contract are still in the process, God is giving us a hope and a future.
Later, (maybe tomorrow) I'll write about the other portion of scripture that has impacted me this week.

Gypsie Life Continues

Since the end of April the kids and I haven't spent much more than 2 weeks on one place at one time. We have been in Kansas (at Brian's parents), at our friends' house in Orlando for 1.5 weeks, at the RV park for about 2 weeks, then to my brother's in South Carolina for 9 days counting driving time, and now we've been back at the RV for a little over a week. This is our longest stretch. The kids and I will be here for almost a whole four weeks before we fly to Vermont to visit my parents for 2 weeks. (Only 2 1/2 weeks left and I'm counting the days). Maybe, just maybe, when we come back we'll be getting into a house a couple of weeks after that. Since we haven't been in our own place for over 8 months now, I can hardly wait.