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I have a birthday coming up. It’s a significant one. And while I have been racking my brain as to how to celebrate it without causing too much ado, here my sister has been planning this amazing surprise!
Seen here on the featured image is a shot of me and my sister taken during a recent visit at our cousins. It was a lovely visit and we did have a wonderful time. And even then, my sister was keeping this big secret!
She has surprised me with a visit to New York!
We take off on this adventure on my birthday morning and return the next evening. How fun! I am really excited about it and know we will be cramming in as much fun as we possibly can during this window of time! I’m sure I’ll be posting some amazing pictures of it after our return. She said we’re going to get as many pictures as my age. At least! Whew! I hope we don’t break our cameras!!
And so while I can hardly contain my excitement over this impending trip, it brings to mind other acts of kindness I’ve witnessed or been a recipient of during my lifetime and it continues to amaze me at what a wonderful God we serve! He loves us so much He puts adoring and kind and generous people in our lives to grace us with special acts of kindness and love.
I could entertain you with many more such stories from my own life but instead, right at this moment, I want to just praise Him and share with you what an amazing God we have through some bible verses I have come to treasure.
And while many times we go through difficult patches, sometimes entire “seasons” of discontent or pain or sadness or whatever woes you or I might endure, He still remains on the throne, loving us and hoping for only the best for us. He often-times showers us with love from our family or friends. Sometimes he sends us a God wink that allows us to feel His presence through a circumstance or passing thought that tells us He is there. And always, He is available to us through prayer and the reading of His Word.
Here is one of my most favorite scripture quotes from the book of Joshua.
Have not I commanded thee? Be strong and of a good courage; be not afraid, neither be thou dismayed: for the LORD thy God is with thee whithersoever thou goest.
~ Joshua 1:9
I know God loves me. I know He is with me. Yet, I still need that encouragement all the time. That push. That reminder. This is why I’ve memorized this passage, (shown here in the King James version, so poetic), and have kept it in my heart, reciting it to myself when I feel the need. He is with me no matter where I go. He is there! And it gives me great encouragement that even a great man like Joshua, such a powerful leader as he was, needed added encouragement from time to time. I mean, he was following after Moses! What an act to follow. But God was right there, encouraging him to not be afraid or get discouraged because He was overseeing his journey, never to forsake him, never to leave him alone.
And this brings another one of my favorite passages to mind; Psalm 73:26. It fills me up. It makes me feel safe and protected. Comforted. I’ve shared it in the past with someone who has lost a loved one or when someone is ill. God is there with us, through every triumph and storm in our life. We can call on Him in need.
My flesh and my heart may fail, but God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever.
~Psalm 73:26
Isn’t that wonderful? God Is. He was. And He is to come. (see Revelation 1:4). He reigns forever.
He is definitely our strength, a very present help in trouble.
And also in times of celebration!
While I’m on my New York trip with my sister, I’ll be praising Him and all that He has provided me. I am blessed. Any and every place I go or am, He is there.
May He fill a similar place in your life and may you choose Him in your heart so you too will know He is with you always, whithersoever thou goest.
*I am sharing these additional scripture passages with you today, hoping you’ll study them and see if they won’t bring you encouragement and strength. ~Dale
