Faith Stumble - Trusting God Through Impossible Circumstances

Today's post is by guest blogger, Liz Petruzzi. I met Liz at the Asheville Christian Writer's Conference a few years ago. I know you will enjoy as she shares from her heart.

Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged, for the Lord your God will be with you wherever you go. Joshua 1:9

God works everything out for good.

Sometimes routine things turn into a journey.

A marathon.

A desert.

A marathon through the desert.

The unexpected happens in a moment.

In 2012, my son, Joey, who has special needs including Autism, had outpatient, arthroscopic knee surgery.

An unimpressive surgery.

A surgery that happens every day.

A surgery that took almost a year to arrange.

The Best Father in the World

by Barbara Latta

I grew up in the sitcom era of family programs where the mom stayed at home and the dad went to work every day. Mothers like June Cleaver (from Leave it to Beaver in case you are too young to know!) vacuumed in her pumps and pearls and the table was set with the best china while the family discussed the events of the day that needed solving. Whatever trouble the kids had gotten into were dissolved amid the talk that took place later in the den with Dad.

The Andy Griffith Show, Leave It to Beaver, Father Knows Best and The Brady Bunch gave us Dads who were the strong disciplinarians when needed, but had the gentle touch of an understanding counselor when emotions got a little too out of hand.

The Simpsons, Roseanne, and Married with Children, to name a few, portray the male figure as a weak, indecisive comical figure with bad habits. The unfortunate fact is too many families are like these TV characters. The attitudes of society have been formed by Hollywood and life has taken the example into real living.

While the 50’s and 60’s generation of TV dads was still unrealistic as far as achieving the iconic pedestal they were placed upon, the values represented said a lot about society. More families of that era stayed together, kids didn’t shoot each other at school, students respected teachers and churches were the foundation of the town.

I’m not saying every dad from an earlier time was perfect or that all dads of today are modeled after Homer Simpson. But the downhill spiral of morals in entertainment has affected family life. There are more domestic violence and child abuse cases today than ever before.

The reputation of God as our Father has suffered from these inclinations, as well. If God is ever mentioned in a TV show or movie, He is mimicked or cursed. Because of this mindset, those who did not have a good relationship with their earthly dad cannot comprehend how God can be a loving Father. The human traits of an abusive parent are translated to God and a relationship with Him is not sought.

God sent Jesus to exhibit to us what being a Father was like. Jesus told His followers, Anyone who has seen me has seen the Father (John 14:9) No one could be more loving or accepting than the One who created us all.

If you don’t know the best Father in the world, now is the time to get introduced and start a relationship that will last for an eternity.

Have a happy Father’s Day celebrating the daddy that can fill your heart with everything good; nothing missing, nothing broken, nothing incomplete.

He heals the broken hearted and binds up their wounds (Psalm 147:3).

Join the conversation and share your Father's Day thoughts. 

God sent Jesus to show the world what a Father was like (click to tweet)

3 Keys to Controlling the Tongue

by Barbara Latta

Eyes may be the windows of the soul, but the mouth is the door that releases the soul’s contents.

3 Keys to Controlling the Tongue

Paul’s instruction to us under the influence of the Holy Spirit is, “Let your speech always be with grace, seasoned with salt, that you may know how you ought to answer each one” (Colossians 4:6 NKJV).

Most of us grew up hearing taunts spit at us by other children on the playground. The usual response would be “sticks and stones can break my bones, but words will never hurt me.” While that sounds like a clever retort, nothing could be further from the truth. A wound made by a stick or stone can heal and later is forgotten, but words can stab at our hearts leaving a painful opening in our soul.

Wounded people wound others, and this can cause us to form barriers against relationships and violent responses can be the result. We can apologize for thoughtless comments, but the hurtful words remain behind and can’t be taken back.

Here are 3 keys we can use to control our words:

1. Control Thinking—Philippians 4:8 tells us, “Finally, brethren, whatever things are true, whatever things are noble, whatever things are just, whatever things are pure, whatever things are lovely, whatever things are of good report, if there is any virtue and if there is anything praiseworthy-meditate on these things.” Our speech will reflect what has been going on in our minds.
2. Be Prepared—2 Timothy 4:2 tells us to preach the word and be ready in season and out of season. If God is our focus, His words are what we will speak.
3. Practice Discipline—James 4:6 says our tongue can defile our body. Controlling our speech requires discipline, but if restraint is our goal we have completed the first step. It will take practice, but if we will start small by thinking before we open our mouths, we are on the road to successfully keeping our tongue under wraps.

Wars have been started because of words. Peace has been accomplished through the spoken or written word. History has been altered because of rash, impulsive comments and treaties signed when control was exerted.

Roy Williams, University of North Carolina basketball coach, said, “Words start wars and end them, create love and choke it, bring us to laughter and joy and tears. Words cause men and women to willingly risk their lives, their fortunes and their sacred honor. Our world, as we know it, revolves on the power of words.”

Not only do we need to watch our words to others, we need to speak positively over ourselves. When we put ourselves down we poison our soul and start to doubt God’s power in our lives.

Focusing more on what God says will redirect thinking which will also redirect what comes out of the mouth.

Please feel free to share your thoughts.

3 keys tocontrolling the tongue (click to tweet)

5 Ways to Stay Joyful in the Journey of Life

by Barbara Latta

Life happens. We all endure hardships in our lives and trying times can be overwhelming. God tells us to remain joyful at all times (Philippians 4:4). But how do we do that when circumstances weigh heavily upon our shoulders and each step we take may seem like we are going uphill against a pile of rocks?

5 Ways to Stay Joyful in the Journey of Life

The answer to every problem we face is grounded in the word of God and this is no different. Here are 5 ways you can stay joyful in the journey of life no matter what obstacle comes your way: