I will lie down in peace and sleep, for you alone, O LORD, will keep me safe. Psalm 4:8

“Have courage for the great sorrows of life and patience for the small ones; and when you have laboriously accomplished your daily task, go to sleep in peace. God is awake.”

Victor Hugo, French dramatist, novelist, & poet (1802-1885)

Teach me your way of Lord, lead me in a straight path.   Psalm 27:11 

For his 2nd birthday Grandpa and Grandma Bear decided to get our little guy a tricyle so we picked the Fisher-Price Rock, Roll and Ride which allows you to convert the rocking mechanism into a sturdy handle so the child can ride while you push or guide.

We set out on our first journey and it didn’t go quite as smoothly as I had hoped. First of all I failed to consider that he had control of the steering wheel. I was able to direct the cycle but with a bit more force than expected as often time the wheel was sideways. Next was the foot control. There is a place to set his feet and ride along but no 2 year old boy can resist placing his feet on those moving pedals!! And hey, when you can’t figure out how to match the movement you simply place your foot so that it rests on the pedal anchor and therefore stops all forward wheel movement.

I am sure God feels the same when He leads me and I try to turn the wheel or halt the pedals. Fortunately God is patient and knows that in my heart I desire to serve. He is quick to forgive me and guide me. Just as when I walk with the tricyle and the grandbaby, God walks along beside me. I suffer chronic back pain and sometimes I require a cane to help steady my walk. With Christ, sometimes the path is not smooth, but He leads me with His rod and staff (Psalm 23).

I read 2 Corinthians 5:1-11 (posted earlier) and stopped to consider the words. I suffer chronic back pain and during very high pain levels these words ring very true. I get very excited at the thought of a new body without the spams and pain. Then I reflect on verse 11, it is because I know of the love God has for us (me) and I know there is a place in heaven which He has promised (vs 5) and that I strive to tell others of Him. The New Living Testament uses the words “God knows we are (I am) sincere, and I hope you know this, too” (vs 11).

That is the purpose of this blog, this website and my teddy bears which are a reminder to me to receive the kingdom of God like a little child (see Mark 10:15). Sometimes I get so focused on my life, the bills, pain, and life as “an adult” that I forget God is in charge, that He will never leave nor forsake me (Hebrews 13:5).

Teddy bears may not be the reminder in your life. If not I encourage you to seek Him out in a way that will serve as that reminder. There are different ways God works in our lives, but it is the same God who does the work through all of us (1 Corinthians 12:6). How does He work in your life? What pain are you experiencing that will be removed with your new body?

Our lives in this world will not be without pain. It also will not be without comfort if we seek Him for Jesus came so that we would find comfort. John 16:33 promises this. I use the teddy bear as a physical reminder of this and of His pledge in Matthew 28:20 that He is with us always.

I am compelled to encourage you that Christ died for all, that includes me and it includes you. He did not stay in the grave, God raised Jesus from the dead. (2 Corinthians 5:14-15) That is why we are here, that is why we may suffer, that is why we live, and His resurrection is our promise of an eternal life in heaven.

I am therefore Christ’s ambassador, as though God were making his appeal through me. I implore you on Christ’s behalf: Be reconciled to God (2 Corinthians 5:20). Do not look to me for perfection, there is only one perfect man. His name is Jesus. I pray you may, however, see His Light when you look at me.

Awaiting my heavenly body and praying for you until we meet in heaven,

BearyAnn, a citizen of heaven (Heb 13:14) straining toward what is ahead (Phil 3:13) ; bearing witness of Christ (Jn 1:7) anxiously awaiting His return (I Cor 1:7)

The Lord is the true God; He is the living God, the eternal King.    Jeremiah 10:10

A man went to a barbershop to have his hair cut and his beard trimmed. As the barber began to work, they began to have a good conversation. They talked about so many things and various subjects. When they eventually touched on the subject of God, the barber said: “I don’t believe that God exists.” “Why do you say that?” asked the customer.

“Well, you just have to go out in the street to realize that God doesn’t exist. Tell me, if God exists, would there be so many sick people? Would there be abandoned children? If God existed, there would be neither suffering nor pain. I can’t imagine a loving God who would allow all of these things.”

The customer thought for a moment, but didn’t respond because he didn’t want to start an argument. The barber finished his job and the customer left the shop. Just after he left the barbershop, he saw a man in the street with long, stringy, dirty hair and an untrimmed beard. He looked dirty and un-kept. The customer turned back and entered the barber shop again and he said to the barber: “You know what? Barbers do not exist.” “How can you say that?” asked the surprised barber. “I am here, and I am a barber. And I just worked on you!”

“No!” the customer exclaimed. “Barbers don’t exist because if they did, there would be no people with dirty long hair and untrimmed beards, like that man outside.” “Ah, but barbers DO exist! What happens is, people do not come to me.”

“Exactly!”- affirmed the customer. “That’s the point! God, too, DOES exist! What happens, is, people don’t go to Him and do not look for Him. That’s why there’s so much pain and suffering in the world.”

For we know that when this earthly tent we live in is taken down – when we die and leave these bodies – we will have a home in heaven, an eternal body made for us by God himself and not by human hands. We grow weary in our present bodies, and we long for the day when we will put on our heavenly bodies like new clothing. For we will not be spirits without bodies, but we will put on new heavenly bodies. Our dying bodies make us groan and sigh, but it’s not that we want to die and have no bodies at all. We want to slip into our new bodies so that these dying bodies will be swallowed up by everlasting life. God himself has prepared us for this, and as a guarantee he has given us his Holy Spirit. So we are always confident, even though we know that as long as we live in these bodies we are not at home with the Lord. That is why we live by believing and not by seeing. Yes, we are fully confident, and we would rather be away from these bodies, for then we will be at home with the Lord. So our aim is to please him always, whether we are here in this body or away from this body. For we must all stand before Christ to be judged. We will each receive whatever we deserve for the good or evil we have done in our bodies. It is because we know this solemn fear of the Lord that we work so hard to persuade others. God knows we are sincere, and I hope you know this, too.

2 Corinthians 5:1-11 NLT

A person standing alone can be attacked and defeated, but two men can stand back-to-back and conquer.

Ecclesiastes 4:12 NLT

YOU SAY GOD SAYS BIBLE VERSES

You say: “It’s impossible” God says: All things are possible (Luke 18:27)
You say: “I’m too tired” God says: I will give you rest (Matthew 11:28-30)
You say: “Nobody really loves me” God says: I love you (John 3:16 & John 3:34)
You say: “I can’t go on” God says: My grace is sufficient (II Corinthians 12:9 & Psalm 91:15)
You say: “I can’t figure things out” God says: I will direct your steps (Proverbs 3:5-6)
You say: “I can’t do it” God says: You can do all things (Philippians 4:13)
You say: “I’m not able” God says: I am able (II Corinthians 9:8)
You say: “It’s not worth it” God says: It will be worth it (Roman 8:28)
You say: “I can’t forgive myself” God says: I Forgive you (I John 1:9 & Romans 8:1)
You say: “I can’t manage” God says: I will supply all your needs (Philippians 4:19)
You say: “I’m afraid” God says: I have not given you a spirit of fear (II Timothy 1:7)
You say: “I’m always worried and frustrated” God says: Cast all your cares on ME (I Peter 5:7)
You say: “I don’t have enough faith” God says: I’ve given everyone a measure of faith (Romans 12:3)
You say: “I’m not smart enough” God says: I give you wisdom (I Corinthians 1:30)
You say: “I feel all alone” God says: I will never leave you or forsake you (Hebrews 13:5)

Believe God is there just for you..

God saved you by his special favor when you believed. And you can’t take credit for this; it is a gift from God. Salvation is not a reward for the good things we have done, so none of us can boast about it.

Ephesians 2:8-9 NLT

When I pray, you answer me; You encourage me by giving me the strength I need. Psalm 138:3, NLT

NEED and WANT are each simple 4 letter words but they have such powerful meanings. I don’t know about you but I find I try to make them mean the same, but they do not. Dictionary dot com defines NEED as something required or necessary and WANT as something desired.  I “need” food for my body to function properly, but I “want” a pecan mudslide from Dairy Queen.  Yes it is food, but no (gasp) it is not what I need.

 Garth Brooks did a song a long time ago called “Unanswered Prayer“. In the story he and his wife are at an event where he runs into the women he prayed to be his wife years prior. He looks at his wife and realizes that sometimes he has something much better now and  ”just because he doesn’t answer it doesn’t mean he doesn’t care”.  I know I feel like that a lot of times, “God didn’t answer my prayer” but in reality He did…..He said NO.

Oh, how I hate to be told no. But just like in the song, God had something better in mind so he said no and I had “wait on the Lord” (Isaiah 40:31) and would receive a much greater blessing than I had even hoped for.

God does answer the prayers of those who pray with all their heart and obey Him (Psalm 119:145).