This little light of mine.... I'm gonna let it shine.

Sometimes when my mind is weary, my heart is confused and Satan plants seeds of fear, I can be certain of two things: God is faithful to his Word and God is good, all the time. I am His child and He is for me. He has filled my days with laughter, songs of joy have stained my lips and fruit has been harvested. His blessings abound. Struggling to conceive does not define me, nor does a season of sowing with tears. His mercies are new, everyday. God has blessed me with more goodness than I can count... who am I to tell Him that He is withholding from me?! Silly girl. What I learned as a child in Sunday school... My God is so big, so strong and so mighty, there is nothing My God can not do. This little light of mine, I'm gonna shine....I will be a light unto His world, I won't hide under a bushel...allowing myself or the world tell me what's best for me while sowing seeds sadness.... NO! I'm gonna shine for Him.

And I can also be certain of this: He has blessed me with an amazing daughter, a fabulous husband to spend my life with, a roof over my head and food to eat. Hope and a future...  Jer 29:11 "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."

"Jim Eliot, the missionary who was martyred in the 1950s, said, “Nothing given to God is ever wasted.”  We surrender to God not only what is in our hands, but our hands themselves, which are empty and aching, knowing that even our loss is not wasted. Knowing that God is acting both in presence and in absence."

The steadfast love of the Lord never ceases; his mercies never come to an end; they are new every morning;

great is your faithfulness. Lamentations 3:22-23

For in this hope we were saved. But hope that is seen is no hope at all. Who hopes for what they already have? But if we hope for what we do not yet have, we wait for it patiently.Romans 8:24-25

When the LORD restored the fortunes of Zion,
   we were like those who dreamed.
 Our mouths were filled with laughter,
   our tongues with songs of joy.
Then it was said among the nations,
   “The LORD has done great things for them.”
 The LORD has done great things for us,
   and we are filled with joy.

 Restore our fortunes, LORD,
   like streams in the south.
 Those who sow with tears
   will reap with songs of joy.
 Those who go out weeping,
   carrying seed to sow,
will return with songs of joy,
   carrying sheaves with them.

Psalm 126

Do everything without grumbling or arguing, so that you may become blameless and pure, children of God without fault in a warped and crooked generation. Then you will shine among them like stars in the sky as you hold firmly to the word of life. And then I will be able to boast on the day of Christ that I did not run or labor in vain. Philippians 2:14