God Why Did this Happen to Me

You intended to harm me, but God intended it all for good. He brought me to this position so I could save the lives of many people.-Genesis 50:20
Have you ever asked this question? Of all the questions that a person could ask of God, this is probably the most common one and also the one whose answer is not ever straightforward.

The title here implies that something bad has occurred. No one seems to ask God why they were given a blessing but always want to know what is going on when things are going more or less not according to plan.

Take a look in the mirror and examine our eyes. They are said to be the windows to the soul. The situations we have experienced through our eyes leave a profound impact on our lives – a pedestrian hit by a speeding car; a store owner shot in a robbery, a child abused by their caregivers. Or, the person you are seeing could be yourself experiencing something harsh in your life.

There is one thing that you need to know beyond a shadow of a doubt: when you follow God, He works out all things for your good. This doesn’t mean that everything that happens to you will start off that way, but it will end up benefiting you. And, God is a god of love and peace, not hatred and chaos. When bad or unfavorable things happen and affect us, He is affected too.

God has a plan for each of our lives. The only way to know it and fulfill it is to follow him. Many people have troubles because they are not taking the path that leads to who God wants us to be.

Each person has a race to run in this life. It is not solely about what we accumulate along the way, who we fall in love with or how many friends we have that determines the course and purpose of our lives. It is our willingness to follow the Master wherever He leads.

As you may have already suspected, God’s thoughts and God’s ways are higher than our ways. We don’t always know why things happen but whatever has gone on in your life, God can turn it into something good not only for you but also for someone else.
Let’s look at Joseph in the Bible for a moment. He had a gift from God. Through the jealousy of his brothers, he was sold into slavery and his father told that he was dead. Yes this was wrong and Joseph had to suffer for it, but God never left him.
During that experience, he ended up in Potiphar’s house and in another sticky situation. His wife accuses Joseph of rape because he rejected her advanced. That lands him in prison for two years! During this time, he interprets a dream for the pharaoh and lands a job as his Number 1.

There are two lessons here: Joseph was treated unfairly but he didn’t stop loving and following God. Through that, God was able to turn his situation into something good and prosper him at the same time. And, what God does for one, he will do for all.

Trust in the Lord with all your heart; do not depend on your own understanding.Seek his will in all you do,and he will show you which path to take.- Proverbs 3:5-6

( Article by Robert Moment)

God bless you in the years ahead.

I am just taking this opportunity to thank everyone , I mean EVERYONE , who made 2010 a fabulous year..
Hoping 2011 will be even better.

· For those that have supported me and made me smile all through ..I salute you!

· For those I've disagreed with, argued with and just never got along with......well, I’m Sorry!!!!!!! Let’s try again next year.

· For those that stuck a knife in my back the past is all forgotten.... forgiveness is the best revenge (MAYBE!!!) J

· For those that have let me down.....oh well.... I should have known better !

· All the true friends that I have : you ROCK!!..Awesome!

· Congratulations to all the new mommies & fathers, newlyweds etc...,

But all in all, you guys have made 2010 a great year; I wish you and your loved ones prosperity, good health, wealth, happiness, greener pastures, abundant blessings,
· And Oh!! a wonderful festive season.

May 2011 be the year you achieve wonderful things in His guidance and strength.

MAY GOD BE WITH YOU AND BE BLESS YOU NOW AND ALWAYS

Give Thanks

Thank God we made it to the last month of the year. Congratulations. The bible says in ALL things we should give thanks. I want to encourage us to be grateful for what we have and what we want. Sometimes it’s very easy to ignore what we have and grumble about those things we think we do not have.

In this “fast” age, it is so easy to be so goal oriented that we rush through life trying to accomplish one thing or the other that we end up living in the future. We feel we would be happier and thankful when we are done with school, get a job, get married, start having children, become grandparents, etc

In learning to develop an attitude of gratitude, I learnt that understanding the power of focus is key. What we continually hold in our mind, meditate on, increases. If we focus too much on our challenges you magnify them and they begin to grow. However you can also choose to give thanks for those challenges and believing that all things would work together for your good. God can turn that challenge into a Golden chance, that test into a Testimony, a mess into a Message, a trial into a Triumph, a victim into a Victory. Remember that God is Good all the time!

It’s also possible to be focused on the success and achievements of others that you ignore what God is doing in your life. The truth in life is that there might always be someone better and ahead of you. Someone would always get a better grade, have a better car, a better job, someone’s family would look happier, their husband might be richer and more handsome than yours, and their wife might look more gorgeous and attractive.

Let’s learn to focus on where we want to be while being grateful to God for where you are right now.

For the next 31 days, I want us to spend time thinking of three things you are grateful for. Celebrate yourself and your achievements both big and small while giving thanks to God.

Gratitude is a state of mind that should be practiced daily instead of yearly. Make everyday Thanksgiving.

Take care and have a great month.

Regards,

How Heavy Is Your Bag?

One of my teachers had each one of us bring a clear plastic bag
and a sack of potatoes. For every person we'd refuse to forgive
in our life experience, we were told to choose a potato, write
on it the name and date, and put it in the plastic bag. Some of
our bags, as you can imagine, were quite heavy.

We were then told to carry this bag with us everywhere for one
week, putting it beside our bed at night, on the car seat when
driving, next to our desk at work.

The hassle of lugging this around with us made it clear what a
weight we were carrying spiritually, and how we had to pay
attention to it all the time to not forget, and keep leaving it
in embarrassing places. Naturally, the condition of the potatoes
deteriorated to a nasty slime.

This was a great metaphor for the price we pay for keeping our
pain and heavy negativity! Too often we think of forgiveness as
a gift to the other person, but it clearly is for ourselves as
much as anyone!!

So the next time you decide you can't forgive someone, ask
yourself...Isn't your bag heavy enough?- Author Unknown

Take care and have a great month.

God is with you!

Malachi 3:3 says:
'He will sit as a refiner and purifier of silver.'

This verse puzzled some women in a Bible study and they wondered what this statement meant about the character and nature of God.

One of the women offered to find out the process of refining silver and get back to the group at their next Bible Study.

That week, the woman called a silversmith and made an appointment to watch him at work. She didn't mention anything about the reason for her interest beyond her curiosity about the process of refining Silver.

As she watched the silversmith, he held a piece of silver over the fire and let it heat up. He explained that in refining silver, one needed to hold the silver in the middle of the fire where the flames were hottest as to burn away all the impurities

The woman thought about God holding us in such a hot spot; then she thought again about the verse that says: 'He sits as a refiner and purifier of silver.' She asked the silversmith if it was true that he had to sit there in front of the fire the whole time the silver was being refined.

The man answered that yes, he not only had to sit there holding the silver, but he had to keep his eyes on the silver the entire time it was in the fire. If the silver was left a moment too long in the flames, it would be destroyed..

The woman was silent for a moment. Then she asked the silversmith, 'How do you know when the silver is fully refined?'

He smiled at her and answered, 'Oh, that's easy -- when I see my image in it.'

If today you are feeling the heat of the fire , remember that God has his eye on you and will keep watching you until He sees His image in you.

God is watching over you and whatever you're going through, you'll be a better person in the end

Take care and have a great month ahead.

Cheers!

Four Seasons of Life

There was a man who had four sons. He wanted his sons to learn not to judge things too quickly. So he sent them each on a quest, in turn, to go and look at a pear tree that was a great distance away.

The first son went in the winter, the second in the spring, the third in

Summer and the youngest son in the fall.

When they had all gone and come back, he called them together to describe what they had seen.

The first son said that the tree was ugly, bent, and twisted.

The second son said no it was covered with green buds and full of promise.

The third son disagreed; he said it was laden with blossoms that smelled so sweet and looked so beautiful, it was the most graceful thing he had ever seen.

The last son disagreed with all of them; he said it was ripe and drooping with fruit, full of life and fulfillment.

The man then explained to his sons that they were all right, because they had each seen but only one season in the tree's life.

He told them that you cannot judge a tree, or a person, by only one season, and that the essence of who they are and the pleasure, joy, and love that come from that life can only be measured at the end, when all the seasons are up.

If you give up when it's winter, you will miss the promise of your spring, the beauty of your summer, fulfillment of your fall.

Moral:

Don't let the pain of one season destroy the joy of all the rest.

Don't judge life by one difficult season.

Persevere through the difficult patches and better times are sure ahead.

There are times in life when we become discouraged because of something bad that happened that we don't fully understand. When this happens, we are to be conscious to the fact that we have not seen the full picture of what is yet to come and should not judge that situation as purely negative. All of us have been through situations that seemed bad at the time, but when we look back on it months and years later, we see how that "bad" situation helped us grow in wisdom, strength and faith. We are to trust that God is in control and will work all things out for our good in His time. We must also trust in His wisdom and remember that we're in safe Hands no matter the trial or tribulation that comes before us. (Isaiah 49:13-16) (Proverbs 3:5)

Glass of Milk

One day, a poor boy who was selling goods from door to door
to pay his way through school, found he had only one thin
dime left, and he was hungry.

He decided he would ask for a meal at the next house.
However, he lost his nerve when a lovely young woman opened
the door.

Instead of a meal he asked for a drink of water! . She
thought he looked hungry so brought him a large glass of
milk. He drank it so slowly, and then asked, How much do I
owe you?"

You don't owe me anything," she replied. "Mother has taught
us never to accept pay for a kindness."

He said ... "Then I thank you from my heart."

As Howard Kelly left that house, he not only felt stronger
physically, but his faith in God and man was strong also. He
had been ready to give up and quit.

Many year's later that same young woman became critically
ill. The local doctors were baffled. They finally sent her
to the big city, where they called in specialists to study
her rare disease.

Dr. Howard Kelly was called in for the consultation. When
he heard the name of the town she came from, a strange light
filled his eyes.

Immediately he rose and went down the hall of the hospital
to her room.

Dressed in his doctor's gown he went in to see her. He
recognized her at once.

He went back to the consultation room determined to do his
best to save her life. From that day he gave special
attention to her case.

After a long struggle, the battle was won.
Dr. Kelly requested the business office to pass the final
bill to him for approval. He looked at it, then wrote
something on the edge, and the bill was sent to her room.
She feared to open it, for she was sure it would take the
rest of her life to pay for it all. Finally she looked, and
something caught her attention on the side of the bill. She
read these words ...

"Paid in full with one glass of milk"

(Signed) Dr. Howard Kelly.

Tears of joy flooded her eyes as her happy heart prayed:
"Thank You, God, that Your love has spread broad through human hearts
and hands."

There's a saying which goes something like this: Bread cast
on the water comes back to you. The good deed you do today
may benefit you or someone you love at the least expected
time. If you never see the deed again at least you
will have made the world a better place - And, after all,
isn't that what life is all about?

Take care and stay blessed

Regards,

Why shout at each other?

A theology professor was teaching about Anger;

He asked his students, "Why do we shout in anger? Why do people shout at each other when they are upset?

The students thought for a while. One of them said, because we lose our calm, we shout for that.

"But why shout when the other person is just next to you?" asked the professor. "Isn't it possible to speak to him or her with a soft voice? Why do you shout at a person when you are angry?"

The students gave some other answers but none satisfied the professor.

Finally he explained, "When two people are angry at each other, their hearts psychologically distance themselves. To cover the distance, they must shout to be able to hear each other. The angrier they are, the stronger they will shout to hear each other through that great distance.

Then the professor asked, "What happens when two people fall in love? They don't shout at each other but talk softly, why? Because their hearts are psychologically very close. The distance between them is very small. The professor continued, "When they love each other even more, what happens? They do not speak, only whisper and they even get even closer to each other in their love. Finally they even need not whisper, they only look at each other and that's all....

So next time you shout at a loved one, know that you are creating distance between your heart and that person's heart.