Don't Waste Good Problems!

Would I could bring the vision closer, nearer,      

And give to you a glimpse of what is mine,

Teach you to know that earth’s most cruel affliction

Is not beyond the hand of Love Divine.        

                                                                                -Oswald J. Smith

‘And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to His purpose.’  Romans 8:28 

All things work together for good. All things. Earth’s most cruel affliction is not beyond the hand of Love Divine. God doesn't just help us get through tough times, He brings good out of them. I always thought this ‘all things working together for good’ meant  that the good that would come out of a trial or disappointment would be some kind of earthly good, like some visitors, or a new friend, book, computer, etc, or maybe getting to go on a holiday to the beach, or something like that. But last weekend we were learning about rejoicing through trials and disappointments because God uses them to help our characters grow. So the good that comes out of our trials and disappointments may not be finding a new skirt at a bargain price, or getting to go somewhere or to see someone- it might be of course, those things are good too- it might be just to improve our characters; make them more fit for heaven. 

Part of our study last weekend about rejoicing in trials, included some stories of a man who was a missionary in New Guinea. He faced a lot of trials. But he realized that God was strengthening his character through these trials, and giving him opportunities that otherwise, he never could have had. He concluded his sermon by saying ‘Don’t waste good problems!’ Because every time God sent him a problem to teach him a lesson, and he didn’t respond to it correctly, God would send him another one! If we want to improve our characters, we need to make good use of those problems! God uses them for our good.

 He also suggested that instead of saying good bye to our friends by saying ‘Have a good day!’ we should say ‘Don’t waste good problems!’  So, don’t waste good problems! Make sure you get every bit of good you can out of them!

Guest Post - Power of Prayer

Today I have a guest post for you. :) Or a semi-guest post maybe. Semi because the guest is my sister, Rachel (Thanks Chook!), and I helped her write it... Happy readings! :)    

"...We do not value the power and efficacy of prayer as we should. Prayer and faith will do what no power on earth can accomplish..." (HDL 56.3)

I'd like to tell you about a time when my prayers and faith accomplished what no power on earth could.

It was May 2012. One of my sister's rabbit's kittens had just died. It was the third time my sister's rabbit had kittens. It was the third time I had wanted to keep one for my own. It was the third time that the one that I loved, died. It didn't seem like I would ever get a rabbit, so Mum said I could get a lamb.

Next week we went to town. We'd done all our shopping, and were, I thought anyway, heading home, when Mum pulled over behind a car, that I recognized as a friend's car. She came to our car window and told Mum something. Then Mum said to me "Why don't you go see what she has in the back of her car?" So I did. I opened the boot of her car and inside was a box. And inside the box was...nothing. But outside the box was a small white lamb. And he was mine.

On the way home name suggestions were flying everywhere, and I finally decided on using about half of them. So my small white lamb received the title of 'Obadiah Albert Timothy Mitchell Micah James Granger.' Obee for short.

Obee seemed healthy enough, but we soon realized that he wasn't. He relished his milk, but there's a limit to how much milk a lamb can drink...when he hasn't gotten rid of the last bottleful. In other words my lamb had problems going to the toilet. I had seen several other lambs, including one of the previous ones I had, in this state of affairs and none of them lived to tell the story. Would my Obee come to the same fate? History repeats itself and I feared this would be the case. But I did more than feared. I prayed.

James 5:15 says 'And the prayer of faith shall save the sick, and the Lord shall raise him up.' And John 14:14 says 'If ye shall ask anything in my name, I will do it.' Through a lot of prayer and faith, and many olive oil enemas lovingly administered by my sister, he got going a bit better.

I remember one Friday afternoon, Obee looked particularly sick. He was lying out in the sun, while we industriously cleaned the house. About every fifteen minutes I would either go to my room and pray, or go out to Obee and pray. It was hard to have faith that he would get well, especially when several members of my family had taken to calling him 'dead', and Oba-die-ah.

The next day we went over to our friends' place. Seeing as we were going to be gone the whole day, I took Obadiah with me. He wasn't getting any better, and the suggestion was made to leave the 'dead' lamb there. I refused, because I had asked God to make him better, and I knew He would. So Obee came home again. Many more prayers, many more tears, many more enemas, and many more days - Obadiah Albert Timothy... became well happy and healthy, just like all of his other sheepie friends.

Right now, looking out the window, I can see Obee, happily grazing, with his mouth full of green grass. He's fat and woolly. He's currently, still eating (no blockage now!), continuing on his merry way down our driveway paddock with his mate Mr. Phib. He is living proof that God answers prayer.

Obadiah Albert Timothy Mitchell Micah James Granger. :) 

Book Review - Hope Rising

You remember a while back I reviewed a book named 'Bridge called Hope'? Well, there is actually a kind of prequel to 'Bridge called Hope' and it is titled, 'Hope Rising.' It's written by the same lady; Kim Meeder. She and her husband Troy run a ranch in Oregon, called Crystal Peaks Youth Ranch. They rescue abused, starving and sick 'beyond' recovery horses, and pair them with children of all ages (including that age we call 'adult') who are hurting - physically, mentally, emotionally and spiritually.

'Hope Rising' tells many stories - all 100% true - about children, youth and adults who have come to the ranch, broken and hopeless. There they have opportunity to groom, ride and spend time with a horse. Somehow animals seem to sense a persons feelings, and when these hurting people spend time with these horses, something happens. They feel loved, wanted, and needed.

The very first story in the book is of a young boy, whose father abused him terribly. He had never known love in his life. Kim took him over to one of their horses, and together they groomed and saddled the horse, Hobbs. Kim showed him how to hold the reins, and what to do. Suddenly, the horse literally reached his neck around the little boy and hugged him.

'...For a brief moment , this battered child was allowed to be nothing more than a little boy who was loved by a pony. Adam's head slowly dropped until it rested against Hobbs' neck. Like a whispered prayer, more to himself than to anyone else, he began saying over and over, "He likes me...he likes me...he likes me." ...Moments passed and the boy's hug melted into long strokes on both sides of the pony's neck. The stony tomb that had once imprisoned Adam's heart began to crumble under newfound love... With his arms still around the pony, he turned and looked up at me. "He likes me!" he said again. But this time he said it out loud, with a convincing sparkle in his eyes...'

This book also tells stories of horse rescues, of horse races, of hope, and other stories related to life on the ranch. It tells of an 'ordinary girl' who made it her mission to rescue some dying horses; it tells of a grandfather who had a horse named after him; it tells of a girl who was abused, who found hope in coming to the ranch, and whose prayers for a horse were miraculously answered. It tells stories of hope rising.

I really, really enjoyed reading this book. It made me laugh. It made me cry. It made me think, How can I share hope with those around me? It inspired me to live to give. It encouraged me that ordinary little souls like me can do something. It was one of those books I couldn't put down until it was finished... In other words: It is a really awesome book! Go read it! :)