Road Trip

I am about to go on a road trip to Virginia and visit the home I felt secure in, the town I was familiar to, and the groups I belonged in.
I really felt like I belonged and then I moved to another state. I was out of my comfort zone, didn't belong to any group and didn't know a soul in this new place. The song "Finally Home" by  Kerrie Roberts, shares that we have a home that we not only will we be comfortable in but we belong to.
The first line of Kerrie Robert's song says "I miss the feeling that I belong." I have a few friends that have recently moved to new cities with young children and they had to move into new schools.  It's tough being the new kids on the block and not knowing anyone. These kids might sit at a table by themselves eating lunch, studying in the library; alone, and feeling completely unattached from anyone. It is difficult to be in this season. Their ache is so deep that they can't believe they are in this place or that anyone even notices them. BUT GOD!
He doesn't leave us, He has a home being preapred for us (John 4:13), and we will belong. We will be so happy to be there that we will want to praise His name all day long.
Iif you are in a season of your life that you feel like you don't belong to your new school, neighborhood, or job know there is a God bigger than your empitness and He wants you to be comfortable in your present and future with Him.
 
Lyrics Finally Home by Kerrie Roberts
I miss the feeling that I belong
Surrounded by the love that I know at home
I never get to stay long
I might stop, but I then I gotta move on
When I'm not there, there's a craving in me
An ache so strong that I can't believe
There's a place that's better
Where I'll spend forever

When I'm finally home
And I finally know
What it really means to praise his name
What it feels like to know amazing grace
And there's no more road
Nowhere else to go
Nothing left to miss
Nothing left for this wandering soul
When I'm finally home

I'm reminded again and again
I live in this world as a stranger and
As good as it's been
Or as bad as it gets, it all will end
I want to stand where hope and faith and love
All meet in one face
Oh, I wanna be where I can see
What I now believe

Ultimate healing
Where hurt can't reach me
I won't need to find every answer
All I need will be found within you

Setting an Example

I love it when God talks to me because I get filled with a joy that is unexplained and my eyes well up with tears.  Don't you enjoy sitting with a friend that you can laugh and talk with about anything?  Jesus and I had a great conversation today.
I was traveling down a four lane highway and just ahead was a Florida Highway Patrol car sitting on the right side of the road. I automatically look down at my speedometer and tapping on my breaks without even noticing the speed I was traveling. It was an instant reaction. Do you ever have one of those moments?
The question  that came to my mind at that moment was "am I setting an example?" On the front doors of my van are magnet signs for 91.3 Hope FM. Within a few moments I was transported back to the night before when a gentleman from our Celebrate Recovery group was leading. I have witnessed this young man change from the inside out and it filled my heart with joy and eyes with tears to see him lead the group last night. Before we adjourned to our cars, he stopped me to ask if he did alright in leading and shared his enjoyment in doing so. I feel like a proud parent. I am truly proud of this young man and the u-turn he has made in his life. He even mentioned how he desires to start his own ministry. I want to share that a young woman has been working hard at getting her children back and did. She went above and beyond what the legal system asked her to do. She knows God loves her children more than she does, but also knows He is as close as a brother. I can't wait to hear how she is doing as she moved out of the area to care for her children in a better environment.
The Lord showed me within those few moments how I have led by example. I was once lost in my ways of the world, partying all the time, dependent on others, and more. Now I am leading others into the fullness of who they are in Christ. WOW!
I give praise and glory to God for pulling me out of my pits, allowing  me the opportunity to help others out of theirs and the courage to pass on the torch.

I want to encourage you today that if you are in a season of change, know that it won't last a lifetime. God has great plans for your life and you just might be going through it in order to help someone else. It is difficult to trust in what you cannot see, but when you push through the unknown everything is brought to light. It is then you look back and say "so that is why I had to go through the mud."

~Be encouraged your praise has meaning at all times