God...and I... Got This! (Trina Agee Connell)

 Trina is one of my heroes! We have been on many mission trips together in Honduras and I've grown to love and admire her. She's such a wonderful example, WCS has tried several times to persuade her to teach for us. Trina is a newlywed and teacher in St. Louis. She has a great message inspired by her earthly father! Pray for me as I'm still on my way to Vietnam!

Ever since I was a little girl, I have truly admired my father. A humble man from humble beginnings, he spent his childhood growing up on a farm. After college, he began working as a mixer man for a large road building company in Tennessee. My father worked his way up in the company, eventually becoming the vice president of operations over three states. His courage and strength know no bounds - he has worked incredibly hard for everything he has accomplished. After almost three decades of working for this company, he decided to start his own consulting business. After two years, my father has built his business from the ground up, meeting with success with each new client.

My father continues to inspire me with his work ethic, his courage, and his strength. I have a tremendous respect for him and all that he is - for his wisdom, his guidance, and his heart. He has many favorite verses from the Bible, but his ultimate favorite is from the book of James. I would like to share this with you; I pray that you will find comfort and peace in these thoughts and remember the faithfulness of our Lord.

James 1:2-4
"Count it all joy when you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith develops perseverance. Perseverance must finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything."

From this verse, my father taught me four words to keep these verses in memory:

COUNT: We need to count on having problems in this life. Trials and tribulations will come our way - due to our own mistakes or the decisions of others. God guarantees that things will happen - as long as we " count" on them, they will not be a surprise.

KNOW: God wants us to know that we will be able to get through the tough times of this life. He promises us that He will not give us more than we can handle; we can rest easy knowing that "this to shall pass" and we will make it to the end.

ASK: We need to ask the Lord to help us though the trials that come our way. We need to realize that we cannot make it through this life alone - we need the Lord the guide us in the right direction. This takes a great deal of humility, but we need to lay our pride aside and ask the Lord for His help.

LET: Out of the four words, this is the hardest one - finally, we must let God have control. So often, we think we can handle things on our own terms and in our own way. We should realize that God is in control - and trust His guidance in all that we do.

Thank you, Dad, for your wisdom... and thank you, Heavenly Father, for your infinite promises.
God bless,
Steve
Luke 18:1
www.hawleybooks.com
E-mail me at steve@hawleybooks.com