"Cloudy in the sky ~ Sunny in our hearts"

This morning I had to be up early because my nephew was going to spend the day with us. I woke up pretty early and had some time to kill before JT got there so I was catching up on emails and such. While going through one of the emails I received I came across a video clip of S.C. Champman, Maria, and Shaoey. The video was done while they were on spring break. Shaoey was sick and she continues to remind her dad that she is under the weather. S.C and Maria are trying to be playful. At one point S.C. points out to his girls that even though it is cloudy out side they are going to have fun. Eventually he tells the girls that "it may be cloudy in the sky, but it is sunny in our hearts". At that moment God spoke so clearly to me.

As I continued to read through my emails and catch up on blogs I came across the following words from Beth Moore on the LPM blog. I posted them below.

"Regardless of how convinced we are, God has not placed us in control of our environments nor are we responsible for how everyone is behaving or how things will turn out. He is still God and, yes, even over "this," whatever your "this" may be. His, Beloved Siestas, is a LARGE SHIP. Something much bigger than we can picture is going on from a God's-eye view. Our trials are allowed so that Christ may be formed in us and then, through us, to serve that greater purpose. Worry always and only forms thicker flesh in us and weights us down until we cannot walk where the Spirit would take us. I've come to learn from God that worry is a waving red flag to the enemy. It is a dead giveaway that the person owning it does not trust God. The shield of faith is down. So fire when ready. Every time we're tempted to take it all on and worry something to death, let's say aloud from the depths of our souls, "I choose to trust You, Lord. I choose trust. I choose You."

So by 8am I have been soaked in words of wisdom concerning worry and encouraged by a little girl and her dad to set aside those gray skies and let the sunshine beam forth. I really needed these words today. I need to remember that I have the Hope of Christ within me and that alone is bright enough to out shine the enemy...even on the darkest days. Evey time I choose to let my circumstances weigh me down the enemy has one more opportunity to strike. One more arrow makes it's way through and one more wound is in need of care. So if I know this to be true and I believe this then why is it so difficult to stand in the midst of these storms? I'm still searching for those answers but for now I am trying to cling to these thoughts and stand remember that I can choose to trust the Lord and that I can choose to let his light shine. The last thing I want is for the enemy to feast on the flaws of my flesh.

I am going to post about the rest of our day in the next post. It seems like the two should stand alone. Please continue to pray for our family. We know that God will work all things for good for those that love him and are called according to his purpose and we stand on that promise.