Hope at the Tomb

What's your favorite part of the Easter story this year? I have a few. The ripped veil giving us access to God. The loving words of Jesus on the cross.

But I needed to teach the story of Mary Magdalene at school. Preparing the lesson the night before was the very last thing I felt like doing. But afterwards I felt like I had been there and gotten a glimpse of how Mary would have felt! She went from having a broken heart to having a bursting heart. All because she had been in the presence of the One she loved. She had heard His voice and seen Him.

That joy can still be ours today because Jesus is alive, very real, personal and still gives hope today.

I love the song, I Talked to Him Today.

But I talked to Him today, and my cares all fell away
He made me feel like life had just begun
He said all of my trials can be turned into triumph
Through the victory that He's already won
And I talked to him today, and the comfort that He gave
Filled me with desire to tell the world, yet on Calvary he died
But right now He is alive, I know because I talked to him today

Feelings

 Do you ever feel guilty telling God your feelings? Feelings are often not fact, so it can feel wrong telling God how you feel when know that your feelings are not right. It can feel like we are just complaining.

But Psalms 62:8 says "...pour out your hearts before him:..."We are not only allowed to tell God exactly how we feel, He has commanded us to. There are other verses that say we should cast all our cares on Him, cast our burdens on Him and pray about everything.

While we should pour out our feelings to God, it's important to remember the first part of Psalm 62:8 "Trust in him at all times, ye people,..." So while we pour out our feelings and fears, we should be balancing it all with truth. "I feel this, but I KNOW this." 

Recently I was feeling upset. I felt like God had let me down in a certain situation. So while I felt guilty about it, I poured out all those feelings to God while backing it up with truth and trust. "I feel like You've let me down, but I know that You know best." Afterwards the burden I had felt was gone. I felt relief. And not only that but the thought really struck me as I was praying, "Feelings are just feelings!" All the feelings that I had poured out to God were just that--feelings. God hadn't really let me down, it had just felt that way because I had my own expectations whereas His ways are higher than mine. Feelings are not fact--what a relief it was to remember that!
And yet it brings such relief to cast all those feelings on Him instead of trying to carry them all ourselves.

He Understands That We Don't

     Last night I was in bed praying over my day before I went to sleep. I was praying for Lydia, at it was the first day without her usual teachers (I am now helping at school with her. For full story watch my last vlog.) It had been a nice morning at school with her and I had enjoyed it more than I thought I would, but still I felt sad for her and for her teachers. I also felt bad that she doesn't understand what's going on. She is the only one in our family who usually has no idea what's happening. There is no point trying to explain it all to her, as she can't comprehend it. My heart ached for her as I prayed that it wouldn't be too unsettling for her. It struck me that I also don't always understand what's happening in my life. God can't explain it all to me because I wouldn't comprehend it. God cares for me more than I care for Lydia and His heart must ache for me too sometimes. 

    Yesterday at school it was extremely windy. Lydia's door kept blowing open and it really scared her. I didn't think, You silly child, being frightened of the wind. No, I understood her fear and I cuddled her. There are times I also feel terrified. God understands this and cares about my fears. He doesn't think You silly child, being frightened of …. But He does expect me to trust Him when I do feel afraid.

    When Lazarus was sick, Jesus didn't come straight away as He had a bigger and better plan. But when Lazarus died, Mary and Martha couldn't understand that. It all seemed hopeless. Jesus tried to explain to Martha that Lazarus would rise again, but Martha didn't understand what He was talking about. When he saw Mary and Martha's sorrow, what did He do? He groaned in His spirit, was troubled and wept. He understood their pain and confusion. His heart ached for them.

    When the disciples were unsettled and frightened, Jesus said, Let not your heart be troubled: ye believe in God, believe also in me.... John 14:1

    Yesterday my verse for the day on my calendar was John 16:33 These things I have spoken unto you, that in me ye might have peace. In the world ye shall have tribulation: but be of good cheer; I have overcome the world.

    If you are like Lydia, afraid and bewildered, be comforted! God knows that you don't always understand and His heart aches for you. Don't wander away from Him because you don't understand. Instead, cling tight to Him (like Lydia does to me) and trust Him. 

Coping with Change etc.

 (Cranberry and White Chocolate Oat Biscuit Recipe below)

In today's video I share a few things I've been baking/cooking this week such as Cranberry and White Chocolate Oat Biscuits, an easy simple desert (Mocha Fudge Pudding), soup from pork chop liquid, and the different things I've made with my Pizza dough recipe. I also talk about coping with change when it's unwelcome and share some things that have helped me with accepting my life change as a special needs mum.  I hope it will encourage/help someone with whatever changes they face, whether it's the changes covid has brought or something else.

Cranberry and White Chocolate Oat Biscuits

2/3 cup butter (or margarine) softened
2/3 cup brown sugar
2 large eggs
11/4 cups oats
11/4 cups flour
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1 cup cranberries
2/3 cup white chocolate chip/drops

Preheat oven to 190C. Beat butter and sugar together until light and fluffy. Add egg, mixing well. Combine oats, flour, baking soda and salt in a separate mixing bowl. Add to butter mixture in several additions, mixing well after each addition. Stir in dried cranberries and white chocolate drops. Drop rounded spoonfuls onto baking tray and flatten slightly. Bake for 10-12 minutes or until golden brown.

Mocha Fudge Pudding Recipe

Pizza Dough Recipe

Which Backpack are You Carrying?

 Two people went on a hike. They both had backpacks. The girl had a small backpack with essentials. The boy had a large backpack with everything they might possibly need. Talk about being prepared! The only problem was he could hardly lift his! Having to lug this heavy pack around slowed them down. The girl told him to leave it, but there was no way he would. Later on there was an accident and he fell off a cliff into the lake below. The girl looked down and all she could see was a big backpack floating in the water. The heavy weight was keeping the boy under. She dove in, pack and all, and was able to get his head above water and pull him to land. In the end, he finally let go of all those things they might need!

I heard this story recently, and while I doubt it's true, I think it's a perfect object lesson. I can't get the picture of that heavy backpack out of my mind---slowing them down on the track and holding the boy under the water. And the fact that it was the person with the small backpack that could help someone else. The person with the big pack could hardly take care of himself! There are lessons we can learn from this, both spiritual and practical. 

1)First, the practical.

Stuff can be a heavy weight. It's possible to drown and be overwhelmed by stuff. Like that boy, we can hang on to everything we might need in the future. It's hard to let things go that we might need one day. But if we don't, we have to care for it, clean it, organize it, store it and let it fill up our space. Instead of being free to help others, we are too busy trying to take care of all our stuff. But oh, the relief we feel when we let it go! It is like a big heavy pack dropping off our back down to the cliff below. While it's hard and painful to let go and trust God for the future, it's also hard to have that heavy burden to lug around. Like the girl with the small backpack, there are things we need. We can't live with nothing. But there is a limit to how much we need. We can choose between a heavy pack or a light pack. We aren't all the same and we all have different capacities for how much we can manage. The girl also needed help in the story at times, but not because of the pack she was carrying. We all need help sometimes (and some heavy burdens we carry are not our choice), but the help we need shouldn't be self-inflicted!

2)Now, the spiritual. 

Hebrews 12:1-2 says,...let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which doth so easily beset us, and let us run with patience the race that is set before us. Looking unto Jesus...

The Christian life is like a race or a hike. We need to travel light! There are many things that can weigh us down and make our growth much more slow than necessary. 

Unbelief and wanting to see before we will trust
Fear, worry and all the what ifs

Covetousness, greed and attachment to things

Envy and jealousy

Sin and guilt from the past (if it's been dealt with and forgiven, it doesn't need to be a weight)

Pride and the fear of what people will think

Friends that are a negative influence

Impatience

etc.

What is hindering your spiritual growth? What is stopping you from taking the next step? What are you not willing to give up?

Here are some things that should be in your backpack!

Faith, Prayer, Contentment, Thankfulness, Patience, Love for God and others, Humility, Peace, Trust, Joy, Self control, Perseverance etc.

The Bible also says in Psalm 55:22 Cast thy burden upon the LORD, and he shall sustain thee: he shall never suffer the righteous to be moved.

Are you bringing all the things that burden you to the Lord in prayer?

O what peace we often forfeit,

O what needless pain we bear,

All because we do not carry

Everything to God in prayer!

Never Discouraged

On Sunday afternoon my husband was leading  a church service in a rest home. One of the hymns he chose to sing was "What a Friend We Have in Jesus." I was playing the piano and one sentence really jumped out at me. "We should never be discouraged." It was a gentle rebuke to me because I often get discouraged! I get discouraged way too easily. It's one thing to know that we shouldn't be discouraged, but how? These are the tips I have come up with.

 

1.Remember all God's done for you in the past and be thankful

It's so easy to forget all the things God has already done for us when we are consumed with right now or the uncertainties of the future. By reminding ourselves of all that God has already done for us and being thankful, we can have faith, hope and courage for the future.

2 .Remember that God is limitless

Nothing is impossible with God. He is much bigger than any problem or impossibility we have. The Bible is filled with stories of God doing the impossible.

3. Focus on God and His promises 

If we focus on ourselves, our circumstances, our situation, our feelings, or our problems, we will be very discouraged. But if we focus on God and His promises, there is no need for discouragement.

4. Trust God's wisdom, His timing and His love for you

It is easy to get discouraged when we are waiting for something. Remember that delays are not denials, God's timing is always perfect and He does what's best for us because He loves us.

5. Pray about every thing that discourages you.

My husband is a good listener to elderly and lonely people. I once asked him, "Don't all their depressing stories get you down?" "No," he answered, "I have a place to take it all."

New Every Morning--put to music

I wanted to memorize this poem that I shared last week. But as always I memorize things best when there's a tune!

 

Until Then, Zacchaeus and a Merry Christmas!

When Lydia was born and we were in hospital a long time with her, I rarely got to go to church. But one time we went to a church in the area, and they sang this song. It helped put things in perspective!

"Zacchaeus was a wee little man." 

Joseph had fun acting as Zacchaeus!

A Merry Christmas from our family to yours! 

Perfect Peace

This is a verse I've been thinking on today.

It is a promise with conditions. What a promise! To be kept in perfect peace.

The conditions are to keep our minds on God and to trust in Him.

It's not natural to keep our minds on God. It comes more natural to have our mind on our problems and everything that's going on around us. It can seem a bother to make an effort to spend time with God through His Word and prayer. It can seem unnecessary to make the effort to meditate on verses.  And yet we do ourselves a BIG favor when we do! 

There is a verse in Psalms that comes back to me every now and again. It is "Return unto thy rest, O my soul;..." Psalm 116:7 It reminds me to stay close to God, because that is where our peace and rest is found. We also need to trust God. He's got everything under control. Nothing is too hard for Him. He is good and faithful.

 

Too Hard

This morning I was praying about something. But it was one of those things that I didn't know quite how to pray about. It  was something from my too hard basket. Some things seem too overwhelming, too big or too impossible. Sometimes I don't even pray about these things because I don't know what to pray. But thismorning I thought, 'Nothing is in the too hard basket for God. Wait a minute! God doesn't even have a too hard basket.'

Jeremiah 32:17 says "There is nothing too hard for thee."

Verse 27 says "Is there anything too hard for me?"

Then the next chapter says "Call unto me, and I will answer thee, and shew thee great and mighty things, which thou knowest not." Jeremiah 33:3

Although our unconfessed sin or  unbelief may hinder God from answering us, there is no prayer request that is too hard for Him. Even when we don't know the words to pray, we can still give God the situation and pray that His will would be done. Even when our prayer request seems impossible, we can remember that the One we are praying to is the One who created the whole world from nothing! We can ask in faith, believing that He will do what's best. Although it's too hard for us, it's never too hard for God. That is reason to rejoice!

Hearing Aids and Hidden Blessings!

Yesterday I got a package in the mail. It was Lydia's hearing aids. About ten days ago, they broke and I had to send them away to get fixed. But when I opened up the package, there was way more than I had sent away. I had sent away a little tub with the hearing aids inside. Now I had back three boxes. One box had a new headband that the aids click on to. The other two boxes had the two hearing aids. They were both in a special little case. I thought they were put in the case to keep them safe in the mail. But my husband thinks they are brand new hearing aids. I'm still not sure which, Anyway, there was a pile of boxes on our desk, so I decided to tidy it up and throw away the boxes. But for some reason I looked in the boxes again, under where the hearing aid cases had sat. I was surprised to find a small thin box underneath. I opened it up and it was little kit of extra things for the aid. A packet of batteries, a little tool to lock the aid so the batteries don't fall out, stickers to decorate the aid, and a few other things.
 There was a kit in both of the hearing aid boxes. I shuddered to think I had nearly thrown it all away! 
I didn't expect anything extra, so I nearly didn't find it. I didn't see it at first, because I didn't know it was there.

In life, we usually find what we're looking for. We can often miss the things we're not looking for. If we look for faults in people, we easily find them. If we look for faults in our husband, we're always going to find them. But there are hidden blessings, we often miss because we're not looking for them. If we make an effort to look for the good, we will find things we missed before.
It's like a garden. If you look for the weeds, you'll find them. Weeds keep coming up. But if you're focused on the weeds, you'll never enjoy the beauty of the flowers. Instead we should focus on the flowers and work on the weeds. 
We need to look a little deeper and ask God to open our eyes for the blessings we're missing. And then focus on the blessings and pray about the problems!

What is Better?

This week I've been reading through Proverbs and I've been thinking about the verses that use the word 'BETTER.' It's better to have this than that. What is better? Money or Wisdom?  What is more valuable? What means more to us?
These verses are food for thought. I've found them very challenging. Is this our mindset?

Wisdom is better than rubies:...   Prov 8:11a

Better is little with the fear of the LORD than great treasure and trouble therewith.
Better is a dinner of herbs where love is, than a stalled ox and hatred therewith. 15:16-17

Better is a little with righteousness than great revenues (income) without right.16:8

How much better is it to get wisdom than gold! and to get understanding rather to be chosen than silver!16:16

Better it is to be of an humble spirit with the lowly (low in status or importance), than to divide the spoil with the proud.16:19

He that is slow to anger is better than the mighty; and he that ruleth his spirit than he that taketh a city. 16:32

Better is a dry morsel, and quietness (family love and peace, tranquility and contentment) therewith, than an house full of sacrifices (feastings) with strife. 17:1

Better is the poor that walketh in his integrity, than he that is perverse in his lips, and is a fool. 19:1

It is better to dwell in a corner of the housetop, than with a brawling woman in a wide house. 21:9

It is better to dwell in the wilderness, than with a contentious and an angry woman. 21:19

For these last two verses the Living Bible uses closer to home words. Crabby, quarrelsome, complaining!
One commentary describes the corner of a rooftop as the flat roof of a house that they had in their day. "All winds and storms which a man might meet with there are more endurable than the tempest within .  And the wilderness..."without shelter, exposed to storms and beasts of prey, lack of the necessities of life, no society, a solitary place."
All these BETTER verses goes against our natural way of thinking. We think so highly of material things--nice houses, clothes, money, jobs, a good income, nice food,  looking pretty etc.
 And yet righteousness, wisdom, understanding, humility, patience, self control, quietness, integrity, fear of the Lord, love and being a thankful, cheerful, loving wife is worth far more!

We Don't Know But God Does

(I share this experience partly for my own remembrance, but also because God's goodness is worth sharing! And I can't share God's goodness to me without sharing the experience.)
This week has been a tough one. At 11 weeks pregnant I started to have some warning signs of miscarriage. It started on Saturday night, but it wasn't till Monday afternoon at the ultrasound that we found out for sure that our baby had passed away. Up until the scan I really didn't know if it was miscarriage or not. Even my midwife thoughts the signs weren't convincing enough to definitely be miscarriage. The morning of the scan I tried to decide whether I should tell my mum about it. It was possible everything was fine and nothing to worry about it. I really didn't know. One minute I was worried, the next minute I wasn't. But I texted her anyway and told her the concerns and asked her to pray for us. She told me that if it was needed she was free to come and stay to help with the children this week. That afternoon we found out our baby had passed away 21/2 weeks ago already. I thought about mum's offer but didn't know what to say. I would love to have her, but I didn't know if I felt up to visitors staying in my house. So I didn't say anything. That night my Dad rang and said that Mum was coming down the next day and was going to stay at a little holiday place in our town. Wow! I could have both! My mum and my own space!
While my mum was on her way down the next day, the pain started. Up until then, I had no pain. (Also, my last miscarriage had been pain free.) The pain wasn't bad at first, just uncomfortable. The next morning I was feeling pretty good and I enjoyed some time with my mum and little sister. Mum planned to look after the children all afternoon at the holiday house so I could have a sleep and a quiet afternoon. But a sleep was not possible! After lunch the intense pains started. For about 3 hours I had the worst pain I've ever experienced. Since I've had c-sections I had no clue what labour pains are like and thought I never would. Never say never!! That afternoon I had a good taste. I'm sure real labor must be much worse, but on the other hand it felt so unbearable I don't know how it could be worse!! I was so glad everyone was out of the house. And I was especially glad my mum was there to look after the children. I could barely manage myself, how in the world would I have looked after children? I thought the worst must be over, but the next morning I woke up at 3 to the intense pains again. 
I had no clue that it would be like this. Also, my Mum had no idea that miscarriage could be like this. It really amazes me how it all worked out for her to come down, when neither of us knew how much I needed her!
Thismorning I woke up early to light pain which prevented me sleeping. So I got up and had some quiet time. I was reading a poem in a devotion book and the last part really hit me.

And One said mildly: "Why, indeed,

Take over-anxious thought for that

The morrow bringeth! See you not 

The Father knoweth what you need?"

I love the verse in Matthew 6:32"...for your heavenly Father knoweth that ye have  need of all these things." It has helped me before. But this week has been another reminder of how true it is.

God doesn't promise that we will have no needs. But He promises that He knows our needs. Even when we don't know them ourselves. And He promises that if we put Him first, He will take care of our needs.

It's also a reminder of how much wisdom we lack. We often don't know the best thing to do or what we will need. That's why we need to pray often for wisdom for God truly does know what we need. We can't afford to make decisions without His wisdom.

Freedom from Worry

Sometime ago I was discussing a possible future problem with my husband. Afterwards I was busy worrying! 
Suddenly the thought came to me, You don't have to worry about this. It really hit me and it felt like a burden was lifted off my shoulders.
Of course I knew I'm not supposed to worry. But to realize that I don't have to worry is slightly different!
I could simply pray about the matter and leave it in God's hands.
It was so freeing!
A few weeks later, a new worry about the future came up. For sometime I fretted, worried and tried to solve it unsuccessfully. Then I remembered, Oh yes, I can be free from this horrible burden of worry.
I don't have to worry! I have to pray and trust but not worry. That is God's job not mine.
Are you carrying a heavy burden of worry? Give it to God and trust Him to work things out. You don't have to worry about it! You can have God's perfect peace.

Busy Days

Oh, for wisdom to know ...what clutter to cut out of our lives
                                        ...when to put on the brakes
                                        ...what is on God's 'to do' list for our lives

I was feeling overwhelmed last night when I picked up a little book of poems from my bookcase and read this poem. It was just what I needed.

So Swift the Way!

So Short the Day!

by Helen Steiner Rice

In this fast-moving world

of turmoil and tension,

With problems and troubles,

too many to mention,

Our days are so crowded 

and our hours are so few,

There's So Little Time

and So Much to Do...

We are pressured and pushed 

until we are 'dizzy',

There's never a minute 

we're not crazily busy',

And sometimes we wonder

as we rush through the day--

Does God Really Want Us

To Hurry This Way?

Why are we impatient

and continually vexed,

And often bewildered,

disturbed and perplexed?

Perhaps we're too busy

with our own selfish seeking

To hear the dear Lord 

when He's tenderly speaking...

We are working so tensely

in our self-centered way,

We've no time for listening

to what God has to say,

And hard as we work,

at the end of the day

We know in our hearts

we did not 'pay our way'...

But God in His mercy

looks down on us all,

And though what we've done 

is so pitifully small,

He makes us feel welcome

to kneel down and pray

For the chance to do better

as we start a new day,

And life would be better 

if we learned to rely

On our Father in heaven

without asking 'Why'

And if we'd remember 

as we rush through the day,

'The Lord is Our Shepherd

and He'll Lead The Way'...

So don't rush ahead

in reckless endeavour,

Remember 'He Leadeth'
 and ''Time is Forever'!

When a Little Goes a Long Way

One of my favourite stories is the miracle of the five loaves and two fish. When Jesus takes a little boy's lunch and makes it into more than enough to feed 5,000+ people.
When I was a teenager, I loved this story because I could see an application to my life. I had a big desire to see people saved and I prayed that God would take my 'little' life and use it to spiritually feed/help many people.
That is still my prayer, but recently I have learned another application.
A while back I was preparing for our plane trip to Holland. Since we live on the other side of the world, it is a very long way to go with four small children. I was unsure how flying would go. I prepared and brought lots of activities for them to do on the plane. But anything I packed, we would need to carry on the airports, so I couldn't take too much.
Usually I can't sleep when I am flying, so the thought of going so far with so little sleep and so many hours of looking after children in a small space was very overwhelming.
So little sleep and so few activities for the children for so many hours of flying.
Then I saw a new application in this story.
I prayed that God would take the little sleep I would get and the few activities we could carry and make them go a long way!
And He did. Our flights were far better than I had thought possible. The children slept for about half of each flight, and I got some sleep at a motel at our stopover. The children used a few activities on the plane, but between eating, sleeping and watching videos or playing games, they hardly needed them. I expected to be completely exhausted by the time we got to Holland, but I hardly felt sleepy at all in spite of my lack of sleep. The same kind of thing happened on our way home again. I was amazed! I still have a box of activities to find a place for!
I applied this same principle in another way this week. I was very organized with my shopping and got everything ticked off my list. Our child also had a birthday which I did shopping for. But afterwards, I realized there were other urgent expenses and things we needed that I had either forgotten about or simply hadn't realized. By now, I had spent the majority of my shopping money. Uh oh! Feeling a little stressed, I wrote down all the needs/expenses in my prayer journal. I prayed that God would do the same thing again. That he would use the 'little' money I had left to go a long way.
The next morning I got two emails. The first one said that one 'expense' was postphoned for another month. The second one said that something I had put on Trademe the night before had sold for the full 'buy now' price.
 Wow! One less expense and enough money for the other expenses!
He did it again!
What overwhelms you?
God can take the little resources you have and make them go a long way. The key is to give them to Him for His blessing.
Praise God!

Fear not

What are your fears? Sometimes the fear of something is worse then when it actually happens, because God is there with us and will help us when the time comes. In this photo we were on the rescue helicopter and our baby was critically ill. I was holding her hand and God was holding mine! (not physically but His presence is very real.) He is more caring and comforting than the most loving mother. He doesn't desert us when we're going through a hard time.

What a precious promise!

God Knows Your Sorrows

These verses from the Daily Light were an encouragement to me thismorning. After working for months trying to get our baby feeding, we finally thought she had gotten there. Only to have her take a step backwards and go back to not sucking and being tubefed. I find the whole thing very frustrating. But God knows and will help me.
What are your sorrows today? Big or small God knows, cares and will give you more grace.

I know their sorrows.
A man of sorrows and acquainted with grief. ---Touched with the feeling of our infirmities.
Himself took our infirmities, and bare our sicknesses.---Jesus...being wearied with his journey, sat thus on the well.
When Jesus...saw her weeping, and the Jews also weeping which came with her, he groaned in the spirit, and was troubled.---Jesus wept.---For in that he himself hath suffered being tempted, he is able to succor them that are tempted.
He hath looked down from the height of his sanctuary; from heaven did the LORD behold the earth; to hear the groaning of the prisoner; to loose those that are appointed to death.---He knoweth the way that I take: when he hath tried me, I shall come forth as gold. ---When my spirit was overwhelmed within me, then thou knewest my path.
He that toucheth you toucheth the apple of his eye. ---In all their affliction he was afflicted; and the angel of his presence saved them.

Trusting in the Dark Moments

There are dark times when we can't feel God's presence and it seems like God is not there. Do you ever feel like this?
One of the times my baby was admitted to hospital, the first night I felt really unsettled and anxious. It didn't feel like God was there with me. I didn't feel peace in spite of praying and reading the Bible. But I realized that my baby also couldn't see me from her cot. She couldn't see that I was sleeping right next to her. But I was there. And I had to trust that God was right there with me in spite of not feeling it. The next day those anxious feelings were gone in spite of still being in the same situation and I was ok again.

Behold, I go forward, but he is not there; and backward, but I cannot perceive him:
  On the left hand, where he doth work, but I cannot behold him: he hideth himself on the right hand, that I cannot see him But he knoweth the way that I take: when he hath tried me, I shall come forth as gold.
Job 23:8-10
 

Feelings or Facts?

How are you feeling today?
Last night I was feeling quite depressed. I had experienced a disappointment with our sick baby during the day. Hospital life has many ups and downs. You get told something positive, but the next minute your hopes are dashed.
Before bed I was writing down my prayers, as I like to do. They were very miserable as they were full of my feelings. But then I decided to write down a list of facts to encourage myself. It worked!
Instead of "I feel like we're going to be in hospital forever," I wrote "We won't be here forever."
Instead of "I feel like we're no closer to going home than when we first arrived," I wrote "We are nearly 6 weeks closer to going home."

If you're feeling down today, maybe its because you're focusing on  your feelings.
Facts are far more encouraging!

I've shared this poem before, but I need to remember it at the moment!

Feeling, Faith and Fact

Three men were walking on a wall,

Feeling, Faith and Fact,

When Feeling got an awful fall,

And Faith was taken back.

So close was Faith to Feeling,

He stumbled and fell too,

But Fact remained,

And pulled Faith back

And Faith brought Feeling too.

~Author Unknown~