New Bible Study

We went to the home basketball game Saturday evening. The kids did good until about the 2nd half of the guys' game (boy was that a good game!). Anna is getting sick--she was up off & on last night coughing and gagging. So to the doctor we'll go tomorrow :( I'm getting better, but sleep is still hard some nights...when I lay down, I usually start to cough. But my lungs feel clear!

Anyway, here are some cute pictures (I think!).

Yes, she's about to poke his cheek...she just can't get enough of him some days! :)
She really does like to watch the games. You should have seen her tonight watching the Super Bowl! It was funny.

Jacob actually watched a bit here & there. He would get excited and point to the players and grunt. What a boy! ;)

We started another Bible study at Grace a couple weeks ago...another Jerry Bridges study: "Trusting God". Wow. Only 2 weeks in and it's already been great! The biggest thing I've come away with so far is this: It SO hard for our human minds to comprehend that God is completely sovereign and in control, even when bad things happen to us (His children). How can He allow evil to happen if He is in control and if He is supposedly a good, loving God? What a hard question to grapple with! But the Bible tells us over and over again that He IS sovereign in ALL THINGS...nothing is out of His control. Satan has to get God's permission to touch God's children. Satan is under God's control! There is not a single thing that is not under God's control. Isaiah 55:8-9 says,

"For My thoughts are not your thoughts,

Nor are your ways My ways," says the
Lord.

"For as the heavens are higher than the earth,

So are My ways higher than your ways.

And My thoughts than your thoughts."

Some painful, hard circumstances may come into our lives. We might come to know God's plan for those circumstances and we might not. Job never did...Joseph did. Does that
mean that we should not trust God? If you are going through a difficult time and are having trouble trusting God, I do
NOT want to sound glib and cliche. It's easy to say these things when we are having an "easy life"...much harder to say (and more importantly believe and rust) these things then life is hard. That's one thing Bridges points out--don't
be guilty of breaking a "bruised reed" (Matthew 12:20)--a
heavy heart. I guess my point is, this is going to be
yet another great tool God will use to grow me. It
will hurt, but the reward will be great.

(And I can't get this to format back to the normal margins! GRRRRRRR!!!)