He came home from Sunday school with some papers, so I asked him to explain the sheet that had on angels and shepherds at Jesu' birth.  I asked him who were the shepherds and what do they tend to?  He didn't know.  So I continued to probe him by asking..."do they tend to children, dogs or sheep?"

He looks at me and doesn't answer.  So I answer for him and said, "they tend to sheep.  Shepherds tend to sheep."  He then replies, "mommy that doesn't make sense.  My teacher is Mrs. Shepherd and she tends to children, not sheep."  

That shut me up in one!  That child of mine...I tell ya!

I kiss my kids and pray with them more, for I want them to love and fear God, for we truly don't know when it is going to be our time.  In all, I am saying that we should spend more time being happy and live more, for we truly don't know the hour when death will come knocking on our door.

So I urge you to pray for Japan....pray for your country...pray for your family...whatever you do don't stop praying! 
 

I'll never forget when our youngest child Matthew fell and broke his wrist.  It was grotesque!  His arm took a sharp left turn at his wrist and then turned again to resume its normal journey to his hand.

We rushed him to the hospital where the doctor began to set his wrist.  I watched as the physician pulled and twisted Matthew's arm.  I wanted to jump up and pull him away from my son!  But I simply sat and watched, knowing that the agony was necessary to make Matt whole again.

If we trust earthly doctors to do that for our children, how much more we should be willing to trust God, the Great Physician, to reset our broken lives "to be conformed to the image of His Son" (Romans 8:29).  One of God's purposes in pain is to brand the image of Jesus in our hearts.  Can we weep with those who weep?  God may need to stain our cheeks with our own tears so that we can genuinely empathasize with others as Jesus did.  Are we self-sufficient?  God may need to strip away our security to conform us to the God-sufficiency that Christ displayed.  Are we faithless?  It may require a tragedy to teach us to trust the Father as Jesus did.

Next time you feel broken, don't panic - praise Him!  God is at work!!