Some Things Never Get Easier

Some things NEVER get easier...or at least it seems that way!

As of July 2, 2015, my family and I completed two years of teaching, missions, and relationship building in Taiwan. We loved the people we met and those with whom we worked. We even enjoyed the majority of the crazy cultural differences and experiences we had. We only moved back to the United States for two reasons #1 God's calling and #2 so our baby girl could be closer to her grandparents.

We prayed and prayed and sought God's guidance on what He would have us to do when we returned. He faithfully answered us, and He provided this amazing opportunity to minister to university students--just twenty minutes away from my husband's mom! We had a job and a place to live/minister all before we even set foot back on American soil. It was all perfect...until it wasn't :(

After moving into the dorm and having an amazing first month at our new ministry, things unexpectedly ended. (Let me tell you that I hate politics--workplace or otherwise!) Suddenly, we questioned God's calling. Had we heard Him correctly? Did we misunderstand? Why had this happened to us? We started off so strong and now we were jobless, homeless, and confused. What should we do next?

Well here we go again!

In my experience, it seems like it never gets easier to listen and trust God. Especially when I am in a situation like the one we are in now. It's so much easier to trust and have faith when you are snug as a bug where you think God wants you to be, but it's so much harder in the struggle. The ironic thing is that is when it really matters! I know this is something that I am still learning, and I may never master it until the day I die but I'm trying.

Proverbs 3:5-6 says, "Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and do not lean on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make straight your paths." ESV

Join me in making a conscious choice to trust God today--even if your circumstances don't make sense right now. Choosing to trust God above our own reasoning and common sense can be difficult--don't get me wrong God gave you a brain for a reason--but sometimes God wants us to do things that don't make any sense in our rationale and sometimes those can be the most rewarding things of all!

The Scent of Cherry Blossoms by Cindy Woodsmall

The Scent of Cherry Blossoms by Cindy Woodsmall is about a young Mennonite woman (Annie) and a young Amish man (Aden) and their families. To the outsider looking in the Amish and Mennonite communities may look virtually the same, and they often make very good neighbors. However, some lines are drawn deep and are not meant to be crossed. Annie and Aden begin to discover just how hard it can be to navigate the dangerous waters between their faiths when they start to fall in love. Will their faith, love and families be able to weather the storm brought on by this forbidden love?

All I can say is that Cindy Woodsmall has done it again! She takes you into the lives of the Plain people and lets you see God from their perspective. The Scent of Cherry Blossoms is well written and will keep your interest until the very end. I also love that she brings in a couple of her characters from The Christmas Singing novella to make small appearances in the community. It makes life in Apple Ridge more real since Aden and Roman made an appearance in that book as well.

I highly recommend the Scent of Cherry Blossoms to all of Cindy Woodsmall's fans and to anyone else who is intrigued by the Amish and Mennonite faiths and communities. It is a wonderful addition to her other books, and a great short read (just under 200 pages). I am glad to add this book to my collection and I look forward to reading it again sometime.

Read Chapter One

I received this book free of charge from Waterbrook Multnomah Publishing for review purposes.

Deep Emotions in Deep Harbor

Deep Harbor is the second book in the Northern Lights Series by Lisa Tawn Bergren. It continues to follow the four Bergen friends: Elsa, Kaatje, Tora, and Karl as they make their way in America. In Deep Harbor, each of them face new blessings and new struggles that will test their faith and could possibly even bring them back to God.

Elsa and Peder are still sailing around the globe. Their business and their family are growing with expansion into Washington Territory and the addition of one (soon to be two) children when disaster strikes unexpectedly. Will Elsa be able to survive? Will she be able to face her fears and one of the most evil men of the sea, Mason Dutton?

Kaatje and her two daughters have left their homestead in North Dakota to follow the rest of the Bergen to a new farm in Montana. Things promise to be better here, but there is still no word from Soren. It has been almost five years since she has seen him and four since she last heard from him. Is he even alive? Will she be able to continue to provide for their little family?


Karl has been far from God since he left his desires run away with him. He kissed Elsa (his best friend's wife) and ruined his life long friendship with Peder all in one small moment of passion. Will he ever obtain their forgiveness? Will he ever be able to talk to his father again? Can he truly come back to God?

Tora has been headstrong and manipulative her whole life. Trent Storm, her beau and one of the most powerful men in the West, just wants her to tell him the truth. Will Tora ever tell him about her past? He knows it because he hired a private investigator but he wants to hear it from her. Will she ever trust him? Or will their relationship come to an end?

The characters in Deep Harbor are complex and easy to relate too--although I have to admit that you just want to slap Tora. Still you know it's a good character when you struggle with your frustrations over them as much as the other characters in the book do. Deep Harbor is hard to put down and you truly feel the emotions and struggles these four characters are going through. It is masterfully written and leaves you wanting more--which is great since there is one more book in the series! Lisa Tawn Bergren does it again. Deep Harbor is amazing! I highly recommend it to women and to all individuals who love reading about the Western Frontier and life on the Ocean!



More Books by Lisa Tawn Bergren:

Big Time Laughs

We Be Big is the “mostly true” story of radio hosts Rick & Bubba. The book starts in their early childhoods takes you on a laugh out loud journey through their current radio careers. Like their radio show, Rick & Bubba strive to keep the book simple and funny without exaggerating too many of the details.

This book will make you want to listen to Rick and Bubba’s show. They say that if it happens in their lives it makes it on the air in their radio show. You can clearly see this in the way that they tell their stories in their book. My favorite story has to be the one about accidentally rigging the walkie talkie to broadcast on a local radio station. I could picture the dawning expression on his face as he realized that it was his voice that was coming through the radio and then sending his unknowing friend home to “tune in” while he broadcast live from his house and how proud that made him.

However, this book does more than make you laugh. It also teaches you a few lessons of faith. It wasn’t all circuses in the backyard and awesome reviews from radio listeners. Rick and Bubba also had struggles. They had to rely on God when their radio program was cut and they weren’t sure what they were going to do to provide for their families. They share those stories too. In spite of their struggles and tragedies you will be encouraged by the faithfulness of the “two sexiest fat mean alive”.

If you are looking for a funny, quick read that will encourage you even while you laugh then I suggest you pick up We Be Big by Rick Burgess & Bubba Bussey.

This book was provided to me by Thomas Nelson Publishing at no cost for review purposes.

More Rick & Bubba Stuff:

The Rick & Bubba Show

Blessings by Laura Story

I don't know if you have a Christian radio station near you, but we do. We have a great Christian station called JOY FM. The last couple of weeks JOY FM has been playing this song called "Blessings" by Laura Story. I enjoyed it and it touched my heart when I heard it on the radio, and then a friend from work mentioned it to me the other day and since then I keep having part of the chorus replaying over and over in my head. So today I am posting two videos for your enjoyment. The first is a behind the music clip from the artist that talks about how and why she wrote this song and the second is the actual song "Blessings". I hope you enjoy and I hope they speak to you as much as they did to me.





Learn more about Laura Story on her website or purchase her music:

Seek Me with all your Heart: A story of healing and finding God even in the hard times

Seek Me with all your Heart by Beth Wiseman is about the love, loss, pain, and healing from an Amish point of view. It is the first book in the Land of Canaan series. The main story centers around a young Amish woman named Emily, a young Amish man named David, and their families. The story is set in a fledgling Amish community in Colorado.

Emily and David’s families left their Amish communities and families in the East to move to Canaan, Colorado, in hopes of a new start. Emily wants to put her past behind her and her mother hopes she will find healing for the tragedies she suffered just before their move. David’s family hopes to find financial freedom in this new frontier where the land is cheaper and their homestead is paid in full. Will they find what they are looking for?

Along the journey we are introduced to many other characters. Each has a unique struggle of their own that they are dealing with. But the resounding theme is that God is telling them all to seek Him with all of their hearts. He is their to help them find what they need, be it strength or peace or healing, if they will only seek Him with all their hearts.

Wiseman does an excellent job of weaving a story that will capture your heart and imagination. Seek Me with all of your Heart was so hard to put down. I just didn’t want to stop reading it! It brings the Amish lifestyle and faith to life for us Englisch outsiders and it deals with real life issues that we all face no matter how we choose to practice our faith in God.

The only difficulties I had in reading this book was getting used to some of the Amish terminology which comes from their Pennsylvania Dutch roots. However, Wiseman has provided a convenient glossary of Amish terms at the front of the book. This made it easy to familiarize myself with the terms and after looking up a few of the words I was able to recognize them when they occurred later in the book.

I highly recommend Seek Me with all your Heart! If you are struggling with forgiveness or dealing with self-worth/self-image issues, this book may hold an especially strong message for you. Once you get started you won’t want to put it down until you have read the very last page!

A free copy of this book was provided to me by Thomas Nelson publishing for review purposes.

Other Books by Beth Wiseman
  



Pre-Order The Wonder of Your Love
Sequel to Seek Me with All Your Heart
Expected Publication Date: October 4, 2011

A New Word from an Old Passage

Monday I promised you that I would write about what I learned from Brother Frank on Sunday. As a rule, I try never to break my promises so here it is... (if you don't know what I am talking about read You Never Let Go" )

In 2008, my parents and sisters joined Union Hill Baptist Church in Holts Summit, MO. Three years later I had still never been to their church although I had the opportunity to meet some of the church members and I had met Brother Frank three times before (when mom was in the hospital, at a women's conference, and at my grandma's funeral) so I was excited to finally be able to come experience this church they love and to actually hear Brother Frank preach. I wasn't disappointed.

After Scotty shared his testimony and sang, I knew that God had brought me to Union Hill Baptist Church on this particular Sunday for a reason. I was actually supposed to come the week before but we had to postpone mom's surprise party due to grandma's death. God knew what he was doing sending me here this Sunday instead of last.

The sermon was over a group of passages that I have heard preached several different times. Often you hear the same message from the same passage but not this time. For the first time, I realized several of the verses that Brother Frank was lumping together into one sermon are often preached individually. How many times have you heard a sermon from 1 Peter 5:7, "casting all your anxiety on Him, because He cares for you"? or 1 Peter 5:8, "Be of sober spirit, be on the alert Your adversary, the devil, prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour"? It actually didn't dawn on me until we read them all together that they are actually back to back verses in the Bible (I have a bad problem of remembering the verse but not the reference)! When we read them all together they took on a whole new meaning for me.

"So humble yourselves under the mighty power of God, and at the right time he will lift you up in honor. Give all your worries and cares to God, for he cares about you. Stay alert! Watch out for your great enemy, the devil. He prowls around like a roaring lion, looking for someone to devour. Stand firm against him, and be strong in your faith. Remember that your Christian brothers and sisters all over the world are going through the same kind of suffering you are. In his kindness God called you to share in his eternal glory by means of Christ Jesus. So after you have suffered a little while, he will restore, support, and strengthen you, and he will place you on a firm foundation. All power to him forever! Amen." 1 Peter 5:6-11 NLT

Although these verses have great meaning individually, I think they are way different when you consider them all in relation to one another.

Brother Frank shared that Scotty was right. We all go through rough spots in our lives. We take some hits and we feel the sting of disappointment but you have to hold on to God. It all starts with being humble. God promises that if we humble ourselves before Him then at the RIGHT time HE WILL lift us up. But that requires us to first be humble and to submit ourselves to God.

Once we have humbled ourselves before God and submitted ourselves to the power of God and the will of God, then we are to cast all our cares on Him. Why? Because He cares for us. It's not that He doesn't want to hear our concerns and our worries if we aren't completely and perfectly humble, it's just that God gives us freewill and if we aren't submitting ourselves to God then we aren't allowing Him to handle our problems. We are instead choosing to try and handle them on our own which actually causes more disappointment and worry!

Finally, the last thing that really spoke to me was Brother Frank's analogy. This passage tells us to be alert adn stand firm when facing the enemy. Brother Frank said that when he played baseball in high school he was a catcher but he was a small catcher compared to most of the other players. His coach told him that because he was smaller than the other players he was going to get run over. No and ifs or buts about it. They would see his size, assume he was no challenge, and they would charge the plate. The coach told him that his job was to stand firm, take the hit, and hold on to the ball for the win. If he didn't stand firm when taking the hit then he would get hurt. However, if he could stand firm while taking the hit and still hold onto the ball then he would survive the impact and they could win the game. Then he related it. As Christians, we are small against the world. We will take hits in our lives. It's our jobs to stand firm. We need to hold onto our faith and to God so that we too can win the game and defeat the enemy. Then there will be true joy and rejoicing in our lives. We won't be living in disappointment anymore. We will have victory over the enemy. We will have victory over the depression we have been fighting. All the hits will make sense and they will be worth it.

So join me today in standing firm. Hold on to God. Hold on to faith. Defeat the enemy!

You Never Let Go

Yesterday I traveled to Fulton, Missouri, to help throw a surprise 60th birthday party for my mom. I was supposed to come and be part of the distraction to get her away from the church and back again in time for the party. My youngest sister, Gretel, said that I should come down for Sunday morning worship at their church. I decided I would, and I never realized that God would speak to me when I thought I was only there to distract the birthday girl! Today, I want to share with you a little of what God shared with me yesterday at Union Hill Baptist Church.

I don't know about you but I have had a hard couple of weeks. Three weeks ago, I was sitting in the hospital with my mom waiting by my grandma's death bed. Two weeks ago, we were at Grandma's funeral. This week I was supposed to be away from my home church again but I was actually able to be in a worship service with God's people and it felt great! So I get to surprise my mom and tell her that I came to celebrate her birthday which made her happy. Then we went into church.

A young man named Scotty (who has an undetermined part to play in my family as he sent my sister Mary a rose for Valentine's Day...but I digress) gets up to sing special music. Before he sings, he shares a testimony about what has been going on in his life. Scotty has been going through a rough time. He is dealing with the fact that he is in a season of disappointment and that it has been hard to see God lately and that he is waiting for some of his hopes and dreams to be answered with no parent response from God. He tells how this continued inaction and disappointment has led him to continual sadness and even some depression. He is braver than I am. I would never get up in front of church and say those things. Still the tears come to my eyes quickly. But Scotty isn't finished. He then shares about how God has helped him to realize that sometimes God puts these times in our lives so that we will appreciate the outcome and that He is always there with us and He will never let us go. Then Scotty sang "You Never Let Go" by David Crowder Band.




I can't help it. The tears start falling silently but steadily. I understand what he is saying. I know how Scotty has been feeling. I have lived there lately. There are a couple of things that I would really like to see happen in my life--that I feel God has promised me WILL happen in my life--that haven't come. I have been dealing with disappointment and waiting. It has beaten me down again and again. The question is will I claim the same promise that Scotty did? Will I trust that God is using this so I will see and recognize and appreciate the good things that He brings out of it? Will I trust Him to never let me go?

Only time will tell.

I have SO much more to say about all the things that God said to me yesterday through Scotty and Brother Frank yesterday. Come back on Wednesday to find out more.

Dear God, Please be with all the people like me and like Scotty who are dealing with a season of disappointment in their lives. Help us to see Your hand holding us and guiding us. May we seek Your face and find You in the midst of it all. Give us the strength to rely solely on You. Give us the patience to wait for Your timing and give us the joy of Your fulfillment of Your promises. Thank you for being faithful to us even when we lose faith. Thank you for never letting go. Amen.

You Are Not Forgotten

I have put off writing about this. I feel like this was a very clear message from God when I needed it the most, and it spoke to me immediately and deeply. So deeply in fact that I almost kept this promise to myself, but then I decided that maybe someone else needed to hear this as well. I am going to share the message but if you don’t mind, I am going to keep the details that made it so personally moving to myself. Sorry.

Wednesday I was reading Girl Talk with God (read my review of Girl Talk with God) and one of the “talks” included the passage Habakkuk 2:3. I read the words without much emotion and kind of brushed them off. I didn’t want to read too much into them since I randomly read them in this book although I did remark that it was an obscure verse. I mean who reads from Habakkuk? Who puts it in their book? Evidently Susie Shellenberger does. Anyway…

Thursday morning, I opened my copy of Voices of the Faithful: Book 2 (Read my review of Voices of the Faithful: Book 2) and turned to January 27th… *Pause* If you don’t know the format of the book let me give you the low down. Each page has a scripture passage at the top, then a story or devotional by an IMB missionary, and it closes with a prayer which is relevant to the topic. *Play* Guess what! My eyes immediately filled with tears when I saw the verse was Habakkuk 2:3. This was no coincidence. These words were for me. God knew I was going to read the passage the night before and brush it off so He put it in my path first thing the next morning! I mean what are the odds?! The same obscure scripture in two totally different books that I have been reading for days and I read the verse twice within 10 hours of each other. No way! This was definitely God.

I want to share Habakkuk 2:3 with you because maybe you need to hear it today. God has a promise and a plan for you. Don’t give up hope.

“The message I give you
waits for the time I have appointed.
It speaks about what is going to happen.
And all of it will come true.
It might take a while.
But wait for it.
You can be sure it will come.
It will happen when I want it to.” Habakkuk 2:3 NIrV

God, please use this verse to speak to someone else today. I know there are others out there who have almost given up on their dreams or the things they felt you had promised them because they have been a long time coming. Use your Word to refresh them and to renew their hope. Remind them that they are not forgotten. In the name of Jesus I pray. Amen.

More Resources

Dustin's Story

Wow! This week has been something else! I’m going to try and tell you a little about what has happened without going on and on and on…okay I am sure you get the picture.
Geez…I really don’t know where to begin.

A Little History
Many of the youth and college students at Villebrook come from broken homes. We even have several that have never met (or can’t remember) one of their biological parents. This blows my mind because I never had to go through that. I am very thankful that as weird as my family is, we have always been together. Anyway, back to this week…

About Dustin's Past
One of our college students, Dustin, has never met his biological father. Since June Jimmy and Dustin’s girlfriend Shaina have been praying that Dustin would try to find his biological father. Shaina’s grandmother even urged Dustin to find his father for medical history because of the strong migraines he has. Dustin just wasn’t ready yet.

Dustin has had an interesting family history. During the young years of his life, he thought that his mom’s first husband was his dad. It wasn’t until after they got a divorce that his mom told him that he wasn’t Dustin’s father. Then there was a while when he didn’t have any kind of father. Later his mother re-married and the man Dustin now considers his father came into his life. All the while he thought that his biological father wanted nothing to do with him and that he wasn’t around and that he didn’t even send child support to help him out.

About Dustin Now
Now Dustin is 20 years old. He has had some real upheaval in his life. He has been supporting himself for the past couple of years and just like everyone else he has suffered from the lull in the economy. After Dustin lost his job, stopped taking college classes because he couldn’t pay the tuition, and his car got repossessed Dustin’s mom kicked him out of the house and told him that she didn’t want anything to do with him until “you get your life back together.” So for the last couple of months they haven’t really seen or spoken to each other.

I have been proud of the Dustin and the attitude that he has had even through all of these things. Although he hasn’t had a job, he hasn’t let depression win. He has stayed committed to daily Christian disciplines, his relationships, and to church. I am proud of the man that God is shaping him into. Through this process, God brought Dustin to the point where he was finally open to meeting his real father.

As Dustin talked to Jimmy about this we all secretly rejoiced inside. They talked about how to find his father and all the possible reactions that could happen when Dustin found him. When Dustin called his Grandma to find out everything that she could about his biological father, he began to prepare himself for the worst.

Through his Grandma, Dustin learned his father’s name, last known city of residence, and employer. Knowing it was a long shot; he sat down one night last week and typed his dad’s name, employer, and city into Facebook. Only one name came up in the search. Through closer investigation, it became clear that his man was Dustin’s father! Now the question was what to say…

Through his father’s profile he learned that he had two half-sisters. Thankfully they also had Facebook profiles so he was able to send the oldest a friend request. All the time not knowing how to break the ice, Dustin prayed and pondered and tried to find the words to say “Are you my family?”

What Happened this Week
This week, Dustin received a message from his half-sister via Facebook. She was SO excited! It turns out that she had originally accepted his friend request because she thought he looked familiar and might have been someone from her high school, but when she and her mom were looking through her Facebook friends her mom recognized Dustin. She knew right away that he was her husband’s son who had been lost but not forgotten. The message was awesome! Best of all it broke the ice and Dustin didn’t have that burden anymore! God worked it all out perfectly!

Since the original message, Dustin has conversed constantly with them over Facebook. Plus he also talked to his father on the phone for several hours. Then last night at church, Dustin met his dad for the first time that he could remember! Just being there and witnessing it was a truly awesome experience! Now Dustin has the opportunity to know a part of him that has been hidden all these years.

As it turns out, Dustin’s dad (Mike) has made several attempts over his life to find Dustin. He was even successful a couple of times although he was never allowed to see him. The last time he had seen Dustin he was one and half and he brought him some presents for his birthday. Dustin’s half-sisters have grown up knowing about Dustin all their lives and have even had a picture of him in their house. Dustin found out that he has three sisters that he knew nothing about but who have loved him all the same.

Needless to say, it will be a long road as they all get to know each other for the first time. BUT what an amazing road it is! Aren’t you glad that God works all things together for the good of those who love Him?

“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. Then you will call upon me and come and pray to me, and I will listen to you. You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart.” Jeremiah 29:11-13

Why Me God?

Wednesday afternoon I received a phone call from my little sister. She was barely able to keep form crying as she told me that she and daddy were taking my mom to the hospital because she was having chest pains, she was feeling clammy, and half of her face was numb. She promised that she would keep me updated and I quickly made arrangements to leave work and meet up with my husband so that we could drive two hours to be with both of my sisters, my dad, and my mom.

As the shock began to wear off, the reality began to sink in that very soon my mom could be gone. After all, my mom’s family has a strong history of heart disease. There were so many different things running through my head and so many emotions coursing through my body that I could barely decipher one from the next. Looking back on it I am surprised that one particular question never crossed my mind when it so easily could have. I never once asked, “Why me, God?”

Now before I go blowing my own horn or you begin thinking I come across a little too saintly to believe, let me tell you that in other life situations that was the very first question on my mind. When Jimmy and I experienced our miscarriage I not only asked God “Why?”; I also hated Him for the pain and loss the miscarriage caused. I believe all men and women either have already had or will have at least one experience in their lives that will make them wonder why God allows bad things to happen to good people and good things to bad people. So let’s look at a couple of reasons why God allows us to experience heartaches and struggles.

Why God Let’s Us Experience Heartaches and Struggles
God gave us Freewill
As men and women we are able to make our own decisions because God gave us freewill. However, some of the struggles that life brings us are a consequence of the freewill choices that we have made. We should constantly be struggling to follow God’s will for our lives. Ephesians 6:12 says, “For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms.” We are also tempted because we are allowed to make up our own minds about what we will do, when we will do it, and how we will do it. God is just and He will discipline those who willing chooses to go outside of His will. Still He uses these unpleasant times for our benefit. This is clearly explained in Hebrews 11:12, “No discipline seems pleasant at the time, but painful. Later on, however, it produces a harvest of righteousness and peace for those who have been trained by it.”

Struggles and Heartaches allow us to Grow
God uses the hardest times in our lives to make the greatest change in who we are and how we live our lives. In Romans 5:3-5 He clearly explains, “Not only so, but we also rejoice in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance; perseverance, character; and character, hope. And hope does not disappoint us, because God has poured out his love into our hearts by the Holy Spirit, whom he has given us.” If life was never hard would we really learn lessons like trust, faith, hope, and love? You don’t know who you truly are or what you truly believe in until you have been tested.

Our Experiences Allow Us to Help Others
Empathy. It is a strong but often over looked word and an even stronger feeling. I don’t think that I fully understood empathy for the longest time. As I mentioned before, Jimmy and I went through a miscarriage in our first year of marriage. It was during this time that I first began to understand what empathy truly meant. I had this one girlfriend, who also happened to be a youth ministers wife, who went out of her way to love me and listen to me and comfort me because she had been through two miscarriages herself and knew exactly what feelings I was up against. In fact, I am pretty sure there were times that she knew what I was feeling even when I didn’t. It was such a blessing to be able to call Lindsey because I knew she had been in my shoes. About a year later, I received a call from one of my other minister girlfriends and she told me she had had a miscarriage. I realized at that moment that the blessing of my struggle was that I would be able to help Kristin through hers. This time I was the one who knew what she was feeling. I could listen to her and truly understand what she was going through. I knew the things that would make her burst into tears at a moments notice. I was able to be her Lindsey. If I had never known that pain I could never have known the joy of helping her overcome.

Wrapping Up
So instead of asking, “Why me God?”, maybe we should spend some time taking the focus off of ourselves and putting it where it belongs—on God. Maybe we could even try to practice the verse that says, “Be joyful always; pray continually; give thanks in all circumstances, for this is God's will for you in Christ Jesus.” (1 Thessalonians 5:16-18).