GRATITUDE JOURNAL

Cold crisp air
A wonderful quiet extended Suites (Candlewood Suites)
A loving husband who keeps me going and cooks the meals so I am free to be with mom.
The Everlasting arms of God!
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“The eternal God is your dwelling place, and underneath are the everlasting arms” (Deut. 33:27).

This morning I read this verse and saw that no matter how overwhelmed I am He is there to catch me.

I looked up the Hebrew meaning and found this: the idea of beaten down, the bottom.
It is the uttermost limit and “underneath” everything. I also saw this: The “eternal God” is the Timeless One.
He is beyond our agendas, calendars, and plans for the future.
By the way I use the free e-Sword program to study on the computer.
http://www.e-sword.net/

Wow, I thought….I know he is timeless but he is beyond my plans and agendas. I think we like to be in charge of these areas. We read self-help books, take tests for what our career should be, and make careful plans for our future. I think all these are good but it is also a good reminder when we fail or feel helpless He is there.

A few days ago I wrote this: I have never been deeper in despair than I am right now, dad’s death, John’s loss of a job, no jobs to be found, Than this all.. Now I see again God is underneath me to catch me. He is even lower than that,
“are the everlasting arms of the eternal God.” When you feel beaten down to the bottom, He is still there. I wrote this
verse on a scrap of paper, cut it out and taped it on the front of my wallet. I want to see this a lot!

The “everlasting arms of God” are just that….always there for us…sometimes we say” when you are at the end of your
Rope, tie a knot and hang on” I like this picture better….when you are at the end of your rope let go and fall into
the everlasting arms of God. Now what is safer than that? It is a picture of a child in their daddy’s arms.

I also found this at this site:
http://www.searchgodsword.org/se/sj/view.cgi?sermon=B397

"The eternal God is your dwelling place, and underneath are everlasting arms" (Deut.33:27). An eagle is teaching its young how to fly. The ceremony begins with the destruction of the nest. The old eagle tears it up and throws the pieces over the cliff. Then she takes the little eaglet on her broad back and, circling, carries him high into the sun. She tilts her wings and slides him off into space. Fluttering, screeching, screaming, he drifts down. The old eagle circles around him. Long before he reaches the sharp crags and rocks below, she glides under him and catches him on her broad wings. Two or three times she repeats this as if to say, "See, you cannot fall, for underneath are my everlasting wings." We change the picture only slightly and make it say, "Underneath are the everlasting arms of God, our Father." There are times in life when life is too much for us, and we cannot keep our spirits up, and we are wounded and sick of heart. And we need desperately to experience the loving embrace of the everlasting arms of God. --Angell, C.R., "Iron Shoes" Best Sermons 1947 (Adapted).

Have a great day and remember the Arms of our Heavenly Father are there to catch you!