Easy Button

Don't you wish sometimes that you had a magic wand or could wrinkle your nose like Samantha on that old television show Bewitched? You know...like when you are in the middle of cleaning closets and everything is drug out into the middle of the house and stacked in piles... then your pastor calls and says he and his wife are in the neighborhood and are stopping by in a few minutes... dinkle*dinkle*dink! and everything is back in place, the house is spotless, you are no longer dressed in ragged sweatpants and torn t-shirt, and fresh cookies or cake is just about to come out of the oven. Ahhhh... too bad that EASY button doesn't really work... I'd be over at Office Depot right now so I could pick up a couple dozen!

2010 is shaping up to be one of the hardest experienced in a very long time here at the Kyzer Compound.  Both boys have had some "personal" problems.   True to form, my mother instinct kicked in just like when they were little and I wanted to gather them into my arms, sit them on my lap, and hug and kiss the hurt away. I tell you it doesn't work as well with men as it does with little boys. Add to the mix a cancer scare,  deployment to a war zone and the economic pressures experienced by most businesses, but in particular by small, family-owned businesses.... and well... you can imagine... the stress and pressure.

Those of you  who know me personally know I can be a tad-bit high strung at times... but in a good way... and that Jimmy is so laid back that nothing ever gets to him.  While I will sometimes get on my soap box and rant and rave... he stays calm, cool, and collected. I don't think I have ever even heard him raise his voice.  It is what makes us a great team, the perfect couple... but last night... he kept sighing... over and over again, when he thought I couldn't hear him.  The stress is now getting to him as well and it breaks my heart wide open. Winter is always a little tough on us and it seems we are not quite to the end of this season of trial in our lives and so we bathe each day in prayer and look toward Spring... it is always better in the Spring.

I might not have an Easy Button or a wand or be able to wrinkle my nose and make everything all better but I do have a power that is much better, much stronger than anything we see in a movie or on television... and that is the POWER OF THE HOLY SPIRIT!  It is the ability to stand on the Rock...the solid rock which is the foundation of our faith... knowing that the old saying "what doesn't kill you only makes you stronger" is indeed a true statement.  As we are refined through the fire we, as a family, will walk by faith and not by sight, knowing all the while that on the other side of these trials... we will be stronger individuals, a stronger family, stronger Christians. 

2 Corinthians 5:7 "For we walk by faith and not by sight."

2 Corinthians 12:9 "And He said unto me, My grace is sufficient for thee: for My strength is made perfect in weakness. Most gladly therefore will I rather glory in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me."

It is during these times when all we can do is give it all up to Him who is able to do more than we ask or more than we can imagine.  For truly how will we know just how smooth the flight through life is...if we never experience a little turbulence?

 Ephesians 4:19-21 "And to know the love of Christ, which passeth knowledge, that ye might be filled with all the fullness of God. Now unto him that is able to do exceeding abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that worketh in us, Unto him be glory in the church by Christ Jesus throughout all ages, world without end. A-men."

Morning Has Broken

Psalm 5:3 "My voice shall thou hear in the morning, O Lord; in the morning will I direct my prayer unto thee, and will look up."

Palisade Mountain Sunrise Submitted by: Darrell E. Spangler

It never ceases to amaze me how God works. If we just keep our eyes open we can see Him working in and around us almost on a moment-to-moment basis. The sad thing is we, humans, are such an emotional lot that if we don't feel His presence we think He is not around... when realistically HE IS EVERYWHERE!

It has been a pretty stressful two-week period of my life.  Issues, stress, and tragedy come and go in people's lives all the time. It is life... the process... the journey.  Though, personally, I prefer my life skipping through the daisies, watching the little birdies fly... you know like some Disney movie.

Sometimes, I find myself walking the tightrope of life... suspended by whatever particular circumstance that has become my reality for the moment. On one side the Godly action, reaction, or decision...on the other the worldly... There may be a safety net below but there is no guarantee that the fall will not result in serious injury.  So as any good trapeze artist, I keep my eyes fixed firmly forward... watching my partner (which in this case is my Savior) obeying his command.... inching ahead, step-by-step until I am almost to the end of the journey where I quick-step the last few paces and leap into His waiting arms.

As the dawn breaks this morning, I once-again, find myself waking up with a prayer in my heart.  Not just for me and the temporary situation which causes me stress and fatigue but for so many others facing so much more difficult events... always with praise and the acknowledgment that the He is in control...and then the peace comes... for the solution was already on the way before we even new a problem existed!

In the midst of all our trials and tribulations... all we have to do is look up... keep moving forward... keep the faith, walk the walk... and whether we feel His presence or not... we can take assurance in knowing HE IS PRESENT and HE IS ABLE!