Today it Happened...

You will all be happy to know that today it happened...

As I, Miss Independent, was walking back to my car, a kind stranger from across the parking lot came and asked me if he could help load my 44 pound bag of dog food into my trunk.

And I said yes, please, and thank you.

My faith in Community has been renewed.

And, naturally, I thought he was cute. My knight in shining armor.

Then he called me ma'am

The end.

Facing Giants

If you're wondering what I've been up to lately, this pretty much sums it up:

Yep, I'm the little one.



I've got big dreams for a little community, but there are so many giants in the way.

Time

Health

Money

Fear

Discouragement

Satan has lots of sleazy sneaky weapons. And they keep stacking up higher and higher, bigger and bigger, scarier and scarier.

I have been tempted to give up, to walk away, to cower.

But then I am reminded of a courageous little boy named David and the giant he faced.

And the more I think of him, the more I am reminded of the God he feared and the giant he conquered.

David said to the Philistine, “You come against me with sword and spear and javelin, but I come against you in the name of the LORD Almighty, the God of the armies of Israel, whom you have defied.  This day the LORD will deliver you into my hands, and I’ll strike you down and cut off your head. This very day I will give the carcasses of the Philistine army to the birds and the wild animals, and the whole world will know that there is a God in Israel.  All those gathered here will know that it is not by sword or spear that the LORD saves; for the battle is the LORD’s, and he will give all of you into our hands.       1 Samuel 17:45-47

So I am laying this battle into the hands of the Lord Almighty:

The same God who used a boy to slay a giant. The same God who parted the sea. The same God who created the Heavens and the Earth, the oceans and the mountains, the whale and its gentle beauty, the honeybee and its intricacies.

This same God, the Lord Almighty, holds this battle in his hands.

He knows each of his children by name and by heart. Even in the remote villages of Zimbabwe.

He is fighting their battle, ready to give the enemy into our hands.

He's just looking for courageous little girls and boys willing to stand in his name and face the giants.

Courage is not the lack of fear. It is acting in spite of it. (Mark Twain) What giants are you facing?

Words: glory

Sing to the LORD, all the earth; proclaim his salvation day after day.

Declare his glory among the nations, his marvelous deeds among all peoples.

For great is the LORD and most worthy of praise;

he is to be feared above all gods.

For all the gods of the nations are idols, But the LORD made the heavens.

Splendor and majesty are before him; strength and joy are in his dwelling place.

Ascribe to the LORD, all you families of nations,

ascribe to the LORD glory and strength.

Ascribe to the LORD the glory due his name;

bring an offering and come before him.

Worship the LORD in the splendor of his holiness.

Tremble before him, all the earth!

The world is firmly established; it cannot be moved.

Let the heavens rejoice, let the earth be glad;

let them say among the nations, “The LORD reigns!”

Let the sea resound, and all that is in it;

let the fields be jubilant, and everything in them!

Let the trees of the forest sing, let them sing for joy before the LORD,

for he comes to judge the earth.

1 Chronicles 16:23-33