Looks like this will be the last cool day for a while, but it was nice to have the respite.

Carla got a good deal on a turkey breast so we had Teresa and Ian come over for lunch.  Had a fresh vegetable salad three kinds of tomatoes, two kinds of cucumbers and three kinds of peppers all from the garden – added some onion from the store.

I sautéed some onion, garlic and zucchini, for a side dish, which came out nice.  Then to top it off I cut up a watermelon and cantaloupe from Carla’s garden. 

Big difference between fresh garden and store bought.

Rose and William both earned a Champion on their showmanship.  William said that when he compared his auction goat that he couldn’t take to fair, with those there he felt he would have won his class.  Part of the process, though, you have to work with what happens.

All are tired and trying to catch up on their rest.

Psalm 42:9-11  I will say unto God my rock, Why hast thou forgotten me? why go I mourning because of the oppression of the enemy?

¹⁰ As with a sword in my bones, mine enemies reproach me; while they say daily unto me, Where is thy God?

¹¹ Why art thou cast down, O my soul? and why art thou disquieted within me? hope thou in God: for I shall yet praise him, who is the health of my countenance, and my God.

I have been there, I have felt the pain of feeling like I had been forsaken of God – it is a lonely scary feeling.  I tell Him I depend on Him, yet, I feel He is not there with me.

But we feel alone when your enemies surround you and cast dispersions on your faith.  When they point out your faults and laugh at the statements you make trying to reaffirm your faith in God.

They point out that there is violent and horrible death in the world, children dying of starvation and disease, ‘where is your God?’ they ask.  And then mock us when we try to explain that satan is the downfall of man, not God.

You look around and ask, ‘why am I doing this, nothing seems to make a difference?’  People don’t understand they just criticize and try to destroy not only you, but what you have tried to accomplish.

Bitterness can creep its way into our life if we are not careful, and we won’t even see it coming.  Resentment and anger rears up its ugly head against those that oppose us and then feeling abandoned by God just makes it worse.

We trust our emotions over what God has promised.  We forget that everyone is challenged, especially those that rely on God as their sustaining reason for living.  We begin to feel sorry for ourselves and shut out the world so we do not have to listen to the derision of satan’s forces.

Our self-worth is damaged because we can no longer feel good about ourselves – but God is still there.  Our soul may cry out “Where are you?” but, He is right there.

We become like a child at night.  The light in our room is turned off and we can’t see anything, we become frightened, where is Mom, where is Dad?  Why aren’t they here to help me, why have they gone?

We burrow down into our covers, covering our eyes and ears and trembling in fear that we cannot conquer.  

But they are right there, close by to protect him.  He just doesn’t see them, but that doesn’t mean they don’t care or aren’t watching over him.

They come in and hug us and let us know that everything will be okay, that warm and loving hug may be enough.  But often, after the parents go back to bed they become frightened once again.

Finally, becoming so frightened that he runs from the bed, run from his room and crawls into bed with his parents, because he knows he is safe there – they are still there and they put their arms about him. 

When our soul is so grieved and we often feel we have nowhere to run.  We have no place to hide from our tormentors and we wonder why God hasn’t intervened. 

We may spend time crying out, trying to make sense of our fears, trying to hide from them but they are overpowering and we feel abandoned.  God doesn’t seem to be listening; He isn’t coming to our aid.  We don’t know why we feel this way, but we do.

We need comfort where we are, we need His arms around us then, and He is ready to provide it if we allow Him to – but there will be times when it doesn’t seem enough.

We know better, but we can’t help that feeling of desertion.  And we may do the thing we shouldn’t do, we forget about God’s eternal wisdom and try to fix whatever it is on our own.

At those times, instead of getting angry, instead of begging and pleading with God we need to accept that He is God.  He cares for us and no matter what we or loved ones are going through, because of our relationship with Him, His precious Holy Spirit will guide us through.

We may not like the journey, it may be extremely troublesome and challenging, but He is there.  When we accept that and worship Him, our soul cries out in thanksgiving for His love and our heart is quieted. 

We need to turn to Him, in trust, remind ourselves of what He has done in the past and what He has promised.  When we better understand God, we do not need to hide under the covers, we can face our fears and stand with Him against them.

We can go to Him with the assurance that He is our Rock and nothing we go through escapes His attention and care.

There are times we really do need to feel His loving arms around us – and in those times He is there, even if it takes a while for us to realize it.

In time and with the assurance from his parents, a child can face the darkness and rest, knowing he is alone in the room, but he is not alone, he is trusting that his parents are close by.

Sometimes we need to act as an adult, stop burying our head under the covers; trusting He is there and let whatever is coming, come, confident that in Him, we will be triumphant.

“Why art thou cast down, O my soul? and why art thou disquieted within me? hope thou in God: for I shall yet praise him, who is the health of my countenance, and my God.”

No matter what befalls us, may we always remember He is there and praise Him; understanding that God knows exactly what we are going through and while we may not ‘feel’ His presence, He is there.  His Word says so.

Mathew 28:20 ..... “and, lo, I am with you always, even unto the end of the world. Amen.”

Later, Art :-)

From the ColumbiaRiverGorgeous
May Our Good Lord Bless and Keep YOU....’til we meet again