"People have theorized often about the purpose of bad times. But that night in bed I suddenly realized one purpose of the good times is to to give us something to hold on to in the bad times! The writer of Psalm 77 knew this. The psalmist begins by crying to God in distress but soon turns to praising God's past faithfulness.

Admittedly, tough times can lead to growth. But we survive them by remembering our confidence in God for every situation." Upper Room

Lord, tough times WILL lead to growth if I allow You to use them in me. I thank You for Your excellent mercy and steadfast love. For Your promises that are always new every morning. For Your kindness and goodness. Patience and peace. For every Word, every breath, every blessing, every step. You are the I WAS I AM and I ALWAYS WILL BE. Great and mighty God. Warrior. King. My Everything. Lord, I thank You for Your perfect ways. I thank You for the way You always come through. Whether You come through by helping things go smoothly or come through by helping us through the bad times, You come through! Thank You for good mountaintop experiences that I can recall when things roll into a valley.

Father God, I want to ask You to work in Michael's heart and soften Him to the idea of praying as a couple. The book I've been reading has really opened my eyes to the need for it and the exponential benefits it would have on our marriage and our relationships with You. I would love for Michael to feel an urge without me having to push for it. I LOVE how great he is as the leader of our home and he's deserves complete trust and respect. I don't want to undermine that by my suggestions for MORE changes to our daily routines just after we already made a big change. I feel like I'm pushing my "luck". So it'll have to be You that makes the conviction grow at the proper time. Help me be patient while You work! I suppose I'd rather You convince him to begin his own personal quiet time first... Maybe that will be a catalyst for a couple prayer time later...? Either way, You are in control. Not me. You know exactly what he needs and we need, when we need it, and how it should go.

In that same vein, Lord, I am having trouble trusting You with timing for fall activities. I do feel the NEED to have a routine weekly commitment so that I can have a break as a mom. I'm sure I don't need a TON of homework that comes with many bible studies because we will embark on rigorous leadership training soon. And the MOPS around here only meet once a month. That's not enough for me - especially since I don't have any other weekly activity. You know I need more structure to be productive and feel "right" and SANE. I just haven't found anything that feels like a real possibility except leading a neighborhood study. I need to know for sure how to begin that. What steps do I take? How many people do I get interested before I begin? What materials should I use that are friendly to non-Christians, but challenging enough for growing Christians? What do I do with my children in the meantime?!? Oh goodness. Lots of question marks. Peace and patience, Father. Have mercy on my unbelieving mind! Calm my anxious heart. I love You, My Forever Faithful.