The Unexpected

I had my day planned out. I was up early to go babysit and I had a meeting at church in the evening. On my way to babysit about 6:30am my car began to overheat. It was not part of my plans. This was an unexpected event.

Thankfully the child's grandmother was able to take him that morning. My plan was then to figure out what was wrong with my car. Fix it and pick him up from Grannies. Well that didn't happen either. No one could come look at it until 4pm. I decided to have a friend look before we took it to a garage in hope that we could save some money. I didn't realize it would take that long.

What I'm learning today is to trust that God will take the bad things that happen and make good come out of them. He promises this to every person who loves Him. This Child's Granny got to spend time with him today. That is something good that came out of it. I was able to get a ride to the church office. So I was able to get things done there and study things I need to for my trip to Haiti. The day has not been wasted. But I feel terrible for not being able to fulfill my commitment to babysit.

I am tempted to sit around frustrated, angry, depressed, and moody. Because its not fun when things don't go our way. But I'm choosing to be thankful and trust that God is going to be there through this unexpected situation.

The Summer is going to fly by and I pray that instead of letting the unexpected ruin our day. We each choose to see the good in every situation. That we enjoy each day of Summer and do our best to cherish the people we come in contact with each day.

Preparing for Haiti has been an adventure and I'm still not 100% ready. We leave June 25th and there are all sorts of emotions that go through me when I think of it. I don't know where the time as gone. It hard to believe in less than a month I will be there.  I'm going to take it a day at a time. It feels like each day goes by quicker than the one before. The older I get the faster time seems to go! I know there will be a lot of unexpected happenings while in Haiti. I pray our team will be flexible and honor God in all we do.

Thank you to those of you who have been praying for my Haiti Trip. I still have a few hundred dollars to go before I have all I need. If you feel led to financially support me you can do so online at www.blueridgefellowship.com be sure to mark the Suzie Ralph-Hait Fund. I will give everyone updates and a report when I return. Please make sure I have your contact info. Thank you for your prayers!

REMEMBER TO FIND THE GOOD IN EVERY UNEXPECTED SITUATION!

The End of the World

So I guess tomorrow is the day! Well thats what a few people believe. I can't even count the number of times I've heard the world was ending in my 26 years of life.

This is my opinion. We will all still be here May 21st 2011. I don't think it will be the last day. The reason I feel that way is because I believe in the Bible and the Word of God says in Matthew 24:36

That no one will know the hour not even the Angels in Heaven know nor, Jesus, only the Father God knows.

So I believe that if someone is proclaiming it will be the end on a specific date, then it can't be because no one can know. And it seems like God wouldn't pick a date that someone was going to figure out especially if not even the Angels know when this date will be.

^{1 Thessalonians 5:2} For you know quite well that the day of the Lord’s return will come unexpectedly, like a thief in the night. ³ When people are saying, “Everything is peaceful and secure,” then disaster will fall on them as suddenly as a pregnant woman’s labor pains begin. And there will be no escape.

The last day will be when we don't expect it. Thats why we need to live everyday like its our last. We need to expect that Jesus could come back at any time.

I'm not writing a deep theological blog this morning, I'm just briefly sharing my opinion. If someone claims its the end of the world on a specific date i'm going to bank that it won't happen on that date because the Bible is clear that NO ONE will know when that moment is going to happen.

I pray you have thought about this man Jesus. Who was and is so much more than just a good man. I pray you have decided to live for Him as He has died for you. He's not a fairy tale, or a liar, or a lunatic. He's the son of God. He is coming back but probably not tomorrow. Either way I hope you are ready today. Because the truth is Jesus could come back at any moment. 

Mothers Day

Last Sunday I was talking to the SWAP students about mothers day. It was our morning message and I thought that I could tie Mothers Day into the message and give it a week early so that they would have a whole week to think about what they were going to do for that day.

Now as I said to them there are many who don't like mothers day for various reasons. Which may include... don't have a mother at home, don't like their mother, have to give up your day for your mom, don't have money or any ideas on what to do... and the list goes on.

Whether you have a mother living in your home or not we all have women in our lives that we look up to and can honor on Mothers Day. It may be a teacher, a neighbor, a grandma, aunt, woman at church etc. How special they would feel to have you tell them the positive impact they have had on your life!

Many would rather sit around dwelling on negative situations surrounding themselves and their mothers. But we each have a choice to make things better instead of bitter!

If you do have a mom living with you. Or you are grown and no longer live with your mom. Be thankful for her and let her know how you appreciate the sacrifices she made/makes to raise you. It doesn't need to take a lot of money. (cause we all know we don't have any!) Help her around the house, write a nice letter, make her a meal, let her sleep in! Lots of inexpensive but meaningful ideas!

Ephesians 6:1-3

Children, obey your parents because you belong to the Lord, for this is the right thing to do. “Honor your father and mother.” This is the first commandment with a promise: If you honor your father and mother, “things will go well for you, and you will have a long life on the earth.”