Monday Mystery on the Trail

 

I headed out to the Mt. Sinai trails this morning.  I've been running this on a regular basis since July.  It was about 55 degrees out, so pretty perfect.

 

I turned around at about the 3.5 mile mark and headed back up and over.  Just as I was almost to the top, I noticed a young hawk, he sat still long enough for me to zoom in on him...

Then I noticed something else.  Several cars were down in a ravine.

I have no idea how and when they got there.  I've done this trail about 10 times and I'm pretty sure these cars weren't there a few weeks ago.  Although, they look quite rusted.  I'm very curious!

A Future Filled with Hope

We had our monthly youth service last night and Bro. Jonathan Hale preached.  His text was Jeremiah 29:11, "For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, saith the LORD, thoughts of peace, and not of evil, to give you an expected end."  He told our young people that God has plans for them, but the enemy also has plans.  Choosing the right path will bring a bright future.

My Bible reading this morning also included this verse and it is the verse of the day at the top of my blog.  It is a favorite of mine.  I love that God has plans for me and also that He is thinking about me.  I searched my blog and was surprised to find that I had only blogged about this verse ONE time!  Amazingly, I blogged about it on October 13, 2011, exactly 11 years ago today.

The Pulpit Commentary had quite a bit to say about this very.  I really liked this part:

What God Thinks About Us is of Great Importance to Us

1. God thinks what is true and wise and good. If, therefore, we can know God’s thoughts about anything we shall see the thing in its true light. Our thoughts are blinded by prejudice, colored by passion, limited by ignorance, broken, fragmentary, perverted. God’s only are clear and perfect as truth.
2. God’s thoughts are the prelude to his actions. If we know what He thinks concerning us we know how He intends to act. God’s thinking is not the contemplation of the philosopher, it is the consideration of the king. We forget this when we are so very anxious about what the world will think of us and so very indifferent about God’s thoughts concerning us. A brave man will learn to dare the world’s misjudgment, its scorn, its condemnation. But who can face God’s thoughts if they mean evil to us?

God Thinks Thoughts of Peace Concerning Us

So Jeremiah saw in the case of the Jews; so we may see for all mankind how that Christ "has broken down the middle wall of partition between us." Even when God finds it necessary to punish, His desire is to bless, and when He chastises it is in mercy, that He may reclaim. But this is not seen at the time. There are things which prevent us from seeing that God’s thoughts are of peace. Thus—the peace is not yet enjoyed; when God chastises us it looks as though He meant evil to us, because we feel the blow before we see the good fruit of it; we cannot see God’s thoughts, and must accept them in faith, waiting for a later confirmation of experience. Yet if God does think thoughts of peace concerning us, is it necessary for us to know the exact nature of them? They are known to Him if they are not known to us, and he can carry them out without any previous understanding of them on our part.

Here are a few other translations of the verse:

Amplified ~ For I know the thoughts and plans that I have for you, says the Lord, thoughts and plans for welfare and peace and not for evil, to give you hope in your final outcome.

The Message ~ I know what I'm doing. I have it all planned out—plans to take care of you, not abandon you, plans to give you the future you hope for.

NIV ~ For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the LORD, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.

GOD'S WORD ~ I know the plans that I have for you, declares the Lord. They are plans for peace and not disaster, plans to give you a future filled with hope.

Jesus said something similar in John 10:10 ~ I am come that they might have life, and that they might have it more abundantly.

I love that God has plans for me! God has plans for you!

If you're a teenager and don't know what path to follow ~ God has plans for you!
If you're a single adult and wonder if your future includes a mate ~ God has plans for you!
If you're trying to raise a family and making ends meet seems hard at times ~ God has plans for you!
If you're in the ministry and facing dark times ~ God has plans for you!
If you're retired and wonder if your days of usefulness are behind you ~ God has plans for you!

He's already thought it all out. Our final outcome is a future filled with hope. Peace and not disaster. Taken care of, not abandoned. Smile ~ God's thinking about you today!

Where Did September Go?

 

It's been almost six weeks since my last post.  We had a very busy end of the summer.  Les traveled to Philadelphia for work the last week of August.  We then enjoyed Labor Day at home - we even made s'mores in our backyard!

The day after Labor Day we flew to Hawaii.  DRC (Decision Research Corporation, Les' employer) celebrated 50 years of business and Les spent about 10 days in the office.  This was our first trip to the island this year - we've definitely missed it and our many friends, especially our First Church Hawaii Ohana.

 

 

We also enjoyed running and cycling.

 

Beautiful sunsets.

 

 

Friday night fireworks.

 

And a double rainbow!

We did not enjoy the fact that our Hawaii car broke down.  But God definitely led us to the right mechanic.  Sanchez Mobile Car Care came to us.  Jon was such a pleasure to work with and I immediately felt that I could trust him.  He had to replace the alternator and the starter, but his prices were completely in line with what we read online.  He had quite an office/diagnotics setup in his truck!

We got home from Hawaii Saturday morning, September 17th.  Victory Tabernacle Sunday school department hosted a Fun Day Sunday the next day.  The theme was Safari and our Sunday school department did an outstanding job!

We spent the afternoon outside - eating, fellowshipping and playing games.

The dunk tank was quite a hit!

Les had to fly to Las Vegas for a work conference the next day.  We decided I would go to Fresno on Thursday and he would fly from Las Vegas to Fresno on Friday morning when his conference was over.  We then drove home together.  I enjoyed some sister time!  I also saw my nieces and the sweetest little boy, my grand-nephew Bo!  (If you're local and want to see what he looks like, please don't hesitate to ask!)  Les got to meet Bo for the first time and Bo was fascinated with his great uncle!

No trip to Fresno is complete without a stop at Bravo Farms.  We had lunch there, then stopped at the fudge counter.  Whoever makes their fudge is a master!  The flavors are amazing.  We got Heath, Strawberry shortcake, Pralines, and Lemon meringue, because they always have "Buy Three, Get One Free."  Again, the flavors are amazing!

Last week we started revival with Evangelist Mike Truck and his wonderful family.  God is moving at Victory Tabernacle and we are thankful!