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I'm Not Enough

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God is good. This is something my mom said, texted, and emailed all the time. Mom spoke these words when all was well, but she particularly declared the goodness of God in the difficult times. When Mom said “God is good” during the hard times, I don’t think she needed the reminder, she was resolved that God is always good. I think Mom wanted me to know, and all of her family, and anyone else listening that God’s goodness exists no matter our circumstances as that is the character of God. In understanding His character, it is easier to trust Him when the difficult times come. My sweet mama, the one with this constant reminder I so often benefitted from hearing, has left this earth for heaven. There is no quick cure for grief. You have to walk through it, and that takes time. In this recent experience of trudging through the onslaught of emotions that come with grief, old wounds also reopened. They reopened in unexpected and unwelcome ways. In April, I made a career change not knowin...
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Generation to Generation

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I do not take for granted the fact that my parents, grandparents, and even great-grandparents loved the Lord and others well. My Grandpa Gierhart wrote to his children, grandchildren, and great-grandchildren in 2011 the following: Greetings, I believe this is a day when we are especially to honor war veterans. But we also remember all of our families who have died. Ed (my dad) has been gone over one year now, but he certainly has not been forgotten. Of course Jim Helmick (my uncle) is not forgotten. My mother has been gone 80 years and that is a long time to remember. But what a blessing it is when we know they have died in the Lord. But think of those who have died in their sins. John 8:24 “I said therefore unto you, that ye shall die in your sins; for if ye believe not than I Am, Ye shall die in your sins.” ( I am he) “he” is not in the text. Do we not know that Jesus said unto those who claimed they descended from Abraham, "Before Abraham was, I am.” (John 8:58).  I am ...
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Second Marriage and Merging Families

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Shortly after writing my last post, which seems like so long ago, I began dating someone. We are now fairly close to celebrating two years of marriage. I would like to say that everything has been wonderful, but you all would know that this simply can't be because life often throws the less than wonderful at us. It has been  wonderful to have someone by my side through all of the moments. We can pray for each other, encourage each other, talk through things together, and trust God together. That is a blessing! With most of our children grown, you might think that merging the two families would be easy. But, it isn't always. From parenting styles to music preferences, there has been a lot of give and take. One thing I know, I love my husband, my children, and my husband's children and our grandchild with my whole heart. I know my husband loves me, his children, my children, and our grandchild with all of his heart. And, love never fails. What has happened in the past...
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Contentment

Contentment...what does that even mean?  1 Timothy 6:6 says, "But godliness with contentment is great gain." Philippians 4:11-13 also speaks of contentment, " Not that I am speaking of being in need, for I have learned in whatever situation I am to be content. I know how to be brought low, and I know how to abound. In any and every circumstance, I have learned the secret of facing plenty and hunger, abundance and need. I can do all things through him who strengthens me." Webster's says that being content means "satisfied with what one is or has; not wanting more or anything else."  So, I guess that contentment ultimately is finding your satisfaction in Christ and Him alone. That's why Paul could declare his contentment regardless of his circumstances. Can I do the same? The hardest question for me is not can I be content with less (or more), but can I be content single even though I do desire to marry again? Can I be content r...
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God is Good

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Well, life is full of ups and downs. I've been focusing a lot on James 1 lately which talks about trials. A specific part has just been jumping off the page, verses 16 and 17, "Do not be deceived, my beloved brothers. Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights with whom there is no variation or shadow due to change." I think that the "do not be deceived" is in there because we can so easily doubt the goodness of God when our circumstances are so difficult. But, for your entertainment, I'm going to share more of the trivial, daily things that had me saying to myself, "do not be deceived...every good gift and every perfect gift is from above."  A couple weeks ago we moved. Moving can be stressful in and of itself but tack on the emotional trauma that I wasn't expecting, and I was pretty much a mess. I didn't expect (maybe because most of my things have been in storage for a year) to ...
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