Wild week~

For sure this has been a wild week. Up and down with extreme in the middle. The last time I had went to the amusement park - I got to ride the latest roller coaster - The Batman Ride. Being that is my nickname as a kid and me loving roller coaster - it just seems natural that I would love this ride. I do ......but life is so much like a roller coaster with its up and down - twists and turns... and fast speeds full of screams and full excitement. I am thankful its Friday and I am looking forward to the weekend and its moments of downtime in there somewhere. This past week has left me in moments of complete breakdown and not knowing what my next step would be never the less how. I had a conversation with one of my students this week and it made me dig a little deeper into Gods word for an answer and not only an answer with guidance for her but also for me and where I am standing these days. As she told me about life at home and family and some of the things she is struggling with she looked me in the face and smiled, "God doesn't put more on our shoulders than we can handle". I smiled at her..... and then revealed something big. I told her that if God didn't put things on our shoulders that we couldn't handle and need him - "why would we need him if we can handle them ourselves?" God often times puts things on our shoulders that we can't handle so that we do have to come to him for His help to get us through. This morning I was in Kyles school along with another 170 students for the YCI club that meets in the media center. It was awesome today as the students led most of the meeting with opening prayer, testimonies from 2 of the students and then a closing message from Pastor Travis and prayer. Pastor Travis spoke of the trials in our lives and instead of focusing on the trial and asking God "Why" - ask Him "What" - Lord what is it you want me to see here? What is it that you want me to learn through this? Lord grow my faith and trust through this that I am facing so that I may trust you and know you deeper than I do now. It for sure spoke to me this morning with the week I have been through. I have asked God all week, what instead of why. I am blessed to be in a place in my faith walk to be asking those things and I want more than anything to help guide these students and their families to get to that point in their relationship with Christ. Life's challenges need not steal my joy. There is good in all things and through all things when looked at it with Christ's eyes. This trial that we are going through, my week this week, builds character. It shapes us and molds us and that is exactly what God is wanting to do because He wants us more like Him. God gives us new mercies each morning to ride the difficulties of each day. He understands how we're each wired. But hear this: the grace of Jesus is not fully seen in our lives until weakness is fully experienced. You never really get the grace unless you see the need for it. And even that's a grace.

2Corinthians 12:9-10 "Therefore I will boast all the more gladly of my weaknesses so that the power of Christ may rest upon me. For the sake of Christ, then, I am content with weaknesses, insults, hardships, persecutions, and calamities. For when I am weak, then I am strong." When you humble yourself to God and say, Lord, I am weak and You are strong -Show Yourself sufficient in me right now. When that's your attitude ~ there's a power coming into your life that you haven't experienced before. There's something about our weakness that opens the flow of God's strength. Ask Him for it today....and then experience Him like never before.

I am thankful for a God who knows when we are weak and when we are humbled in it ... and not putting his foot down on our necks for the knock out blow. He pulls us in, puts us in His lap and loves on us like a good father would do with his children. I have had a few moments like that this week as well and I am so thankful for "MyKids". I dont much like some things that they do but I love it when its all said and done - that my arms are around them and theirs are around me and there is peace and love in that moment.

May God use your weakness to bring Him glory through all those things in your life today,

Lonnie