I am the way that I am

I am the way that I am because of these four women. They are not just "women". They are Women of God! My mother, Angie, my Aunt Aimee, my Aunt Wanda, and my Grandleria. All of these women had a hand in molding me into the woman I am today. No, I'm not where I need to be or where I'd like to be, but aren't we all striving every day to be closer to Him?

I know everyone struggles, but sometimes I feel like I'm all alone. I was brought up in church and in a Godly home. I know that God is with you everywhere, but still there are days when I feel 100 miles from where I need to be. Do you ever feel that way?

I received an email not too long ago about thorns. It was a pretty long email so I'm not going to write the whole story, but the jist of it is that we need to thank God for the thorns. It is so easy to praise Him and worship Him when we are going through good times, aka "blooms". And it is also so easy not to praise and worhsip Him when the hard times (thorns) come. But as James 1:2-3 says

2 My brethren, count it all joy when you fall into various trials, 3 knowing that the testing of your faith produces patience.

I've pondered on this quite a bit today. I've challenged myself to Praise Him no matter what. If I'm happy, I'll praise Him. If I'm sad or don't feel good, I'm still going to praise Him. No matter what, I will praise Him. Will you?