why? why me? why us? why does this have to happen now?
ever asked any of these questions? i know i have. and, i'm going to be honest with you. i don't have the answers. in fact, for the most part, i'm not any closer to the truth than i was 15 years ago.
here's the deal. about 4 weeks ago, we discovered that my wife is pregnant. this was unplanned. a total shock. we actually had just decided for me to make an appointment to end the possibility. we even sold the high chair. (dang) at first, i was asking God, why? why now? this is terrible timing. i mean really, i'll be like 53 years old when this one graduates. i was half way done!!!!!
ok, i have to admit, after the shock wore off, i was excited. happy. even kinda stupid-new-dad-giddy! and the reality started to sink in.
then, on wednesday night, my wife started having some bleeding issues. i quickly did the math, she is now 9 weeks pregnant. that is how far she was when we lost our first daughter. we called the doctor and they set up an ultrasound for thursday.
when we got in, they brought it up on the screen. i saw 2. the first thought that i had was, WOW, OMG!!!!! how do twins get through birth control? then, i noticed that i couldn't find a heartbeat. and also that 1 was much smaller than the other.
well, we were givin the news. we were going to have twins, but 1 of them didn't make it. it just wasn't strong enough. but the other was strong and healthy. finally got to see the heartbeat!!!!!!
so, this is where i am now. how am i suppose to feel? i'm heartbroken about the one, but rejoicing for the other.
in my thoughts over the last few weeks, here are some of the things on my mind. i have a good friend at work who has been trying to have a 2nd baby for the last 2 years. his lovely wife has endured 5 miscarriages in those 2 years. also, my dear friend jen, has been unable to carry a baby, and has had to have a hystorectomy, so will never be able to. even though she has an adopted daughter (who is ALL hers) she can't give birth to one. and here we are, pregnant, by accident. how do you explain this? why me, and not them. don't get me wrong, i'm not complaining. i'm just saying, it doesn't make sense to the human mind.
all of my life, i've heard things like "if God is so good, why does He let bad things happen to good people?".
well, the only thoughts i have are these. we live in a fallen world. there will be pain. there will be heartache. death, sickness, disappointments. the bible tells us that God sends rain on the just and the unjust.
you see, God never promised to keep us from pain and dissappointment. in fact He promised in his word "many are the afflictions of the righteous" (bet you won't find that in your bible promises booklet) but he also said "but the Lord will deliver them from them all". i would rather have 1,000,000 afflictions with God's deliverance than to have 1 to deal with on my own.
if you've never heard it before, i suggest that you listen to Natalie Grant's song "held". if your hurting, there is healing in it for you. it says, "when everything fails, we'll be held"
sometimes, if you're honest, when you're hurting, all you really want is to be held while you cry.
thank God for arms to hold us. i know that i've been cradled in them alot lately. and ya know, there is room for you here too.
much love
theoldmusicbox
Friday, December 28, 2007
Sunday, December 9, 2007
it's your choice!
hey musiclovers! long time, no blog. sorry. lots o stuff been goin on. for those of you that don't know, i'm gonna be a daddy again.
ok. enough of that stuff. it's time to get down to what you came for, so drop your dimes, press your selection, and let the jukebox of life shine a lil sunshine on your day.
today, i want to talk about a verse of scripture that is soooooo often misinterpreted and misunderstood and misquoted, that folks don't even seem to truly know what the bible was even saying in it. even i myself have misunderstood this one for years. but God has recently opened my eyes to a neat revelation and i'm ready to share it with ya.
1Co 10:13 There hath no temptation taken you but such as is common to man: but God is faithful, who will not suffer you to be tempted above that ye are able; but will with the temptation also make a way to escape, that ye may be able to bear it.
ok, honestly. how many times have you heard someone say, or even said yourself, "GOD WILL NEVER PUT MORE ON YOU THAN YOU CAN BEAR". i've said it at least a million times. but, that isn't what this verse is saying. it is saying that God will not allow you to be TEMPTED above what you can bear. you see, there is a difference between affliction and temptation.
don't get me wrong. i'm not saying that God will allow you to go through something that He can't deliver you from. i believe that He said that He would give His angels charge over us, that He would hide us in the cleft of the rock, that lo, He is with us always even to the ends of the earth. all i am saying is that there is a really cool fact of life hidden in this verse.
think about it. how many times have you ACCIDENTALLY sinned? how many times have you ACCIDENTALLY betrayed your Christian beliefs? how many times have you ACCIDENTALLY done something that later on, you found yourself at the alter repenting for? the answer is simply NEVER!
you see, sin is a choice that we make. we chose to disobey. we chose to lie. we chose to fornicate. we chose to do whatever it is that is sin in our lives. the verse says that we won't be "tempted above that ye are able, but will with the temptation also make a way of escape, that you may be able to bear it." lets take a look at that ok? think about it. every time you come to that crossroads, what do you have? you have that voice in your head saying "HEY STUPID, YOU'RE ABOUT TO CROSS THE LINE!!!!!" and what do you do? you say, aww not this time, or, it'll be ok. or, my personal favorite, "this is the last time. after this, i'll never do it again" but you know what? in that moment before you fall, God is making that way of escape for you!!! God himself, has filled you with the Holy Spirit. and it is the Holy Spirit talking to you saying "HEY!!!!! TURN AROUND!!!! DON'T GO IN THERE!!!!" sometimes, i kindof picture the Holy Spirit being like someone that goes to see a horror movie. there He is, in your brain eatin popcorn, watchin you go into those places you shouldn't be. and He's screaming "DON'T GO IN THERE!! YOU'RE GONNA GET KILLED IF YOU GO IN THERE!!!" and what do we do? just like the idiots in those movies, we go down in the basement where the monsters are hiding waiting to attack us.
i'm not trying to heap shame on you. trust me, after the last few months of my life, i have no shame to call out except my own. all i'm trying to do is open your eyes like mine have been open. ever since this revelation hit me, i have ESCAPED from a temptation that i once thought that i was POWERLESS to avoid. all i want, is to give you the truth, and pray that, as it did for me, it will set you free.
love to all.
God bless.
theoldmusicbox
ok. enough of that stuff. it's time to get down to what you came for, so drop your dimes, press your selection, and let the jukebox of life shine a lil sunshine on your day.
today, i want to talk about a verse of scripture that is soooooo often misinterpreted and misunderstood and misquoted, that folks don't even seem to truly know what the bible was even saying in it. even i myself have misunderstood this one for years. but God has recently opened my eyes to a neat revelation and i'm ready to share it with ya.
1Co 10:13 There hath no temptation taken you but such as is common to man: but God is faithful, who will not suffer you to be tempted above that ye are able; but will with the temptation also make a way to escape, that ye may be able to bear it.
ok, honestly. how many times have you heard someone say, or even said yourself, "GOD WILL NEVER PUT MORE ON YOU THAN YOU CAN BEAR". i've said it at least a million times. but, that isn't what this verse is saying. it is saying that God will not allow you to be TEMPTED above what you can bear. you see, there is a difference between affliction and temptation.
don't get me wrong. i'm not saying that God will allow you to go through something that He can't deliver you from. i believe that He said that He would give His angels charge over us, that He would hide us in the cleft of the rock, that lo, He is with us always even to the ends of the earth. all i am saying is that there is a really cool fact of life hidden in this verse.
think about it. how many times have you ACCIDENTALLY sinned? how many times have you ACCIDENTALLY betrayed your Christian beliefs? how many times have you ACCIDENTALLY done something that later on, you found yourself at the alter repenting for? the answer is simply NEVER!
you see, sin is a choice that we make. we chose to disobey. we chose to lie. we chose to fornicate. we chose to do whatever it is that is sin in our lives. the verse says that we won't be "tempted above that ye are able, but will with the temptation also make a way of escape, that you may be able to bear it." lets take a look at that ok? think about it. every time you come to that crossroads, what do you have? you have that voice in your head saying "HEY STUPID, YOU'RE ABOUT TO CROSS THE LINE!!!!!" and what do you do? you say, aww not this time, or, it'll be ok. or, my personal favorite, "this is the last time. after this, i'll never do it again" but you know what? in that moment before you fall, God is making that way of escape for you!!! God himself, has filled you with the Holy Spirit. and it is the Holy Spirit talking to you saying "HEY!!!!! TURN AROUND!!!! DON'T GO IN THERE!!!!" sometimes, i kindof picture the Holy Spirit being like someone that goes to see a horror movie. there He is, in your brain eatin popcorn, watchin you go into those places you shouldn't be. and He's screaming "DON'T GO IN THERE!! YOU'RE GONNA GET KILLED IF YOU GO IN THERE!!!" and what do we do? just like the idiots in those movies, we go down in the basement where the monsters are hiding waiting to attack us.
i'm not trying to heap shame on you. trust me, after the last few months of my life, i have no shame to call out except my own. all i'm trying to do is open your eyes like mine have been open. ever since this revelation hit me, i have ESCAPED from a temptation that i once thought that i was POWERLESS to avoid. all i want, is to give you the truth, and pray that, as it did for me, it will set you free.
love to all.
God bless.
theoldmusicbox
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