pentecost praise 2005....

last night i listened to Alan West's talk that he did at our church last year for petecost praise. i was thinking about what he was saying again and something which really made me think was when he said about how money and trophies arent important when your ill and that the three Fs are....

Family
Friends
Faith

that is so true. i think about my life and without those three things life its self would be quite rubbish. my family are there to support me and im there to support them, good or bad, we are there to support each other. my friends are the family i chose for myself, a friend said that to me a few years ago and its really stuck in my heart. and last but not least faith, without God life would be rubbish, i have a purpose to live and to live a christ like life. yeah ok so i mess up sometimes and by no means am i perfect but God forgives me and in times of trouble is my rock and carries me along. and in good times walks beside me...footprints comes to mind....

One night a man had a dream.

He dreamed
he was walking along the beach with the LORD.
Across the sky flashed scenes from his life.
For each scene he noticed two sets of footprints in the sand:
one belonging to him, and the other to the LORD.

When the last scene of his life flashed before him,
he looked back at the footprints in the sand.
He noticed that many times along the path of
his life there was only one set of footprints.
He also noticed that it happened at the very
lowest and saddest times in his life.

This really bothered him and he questioned the LORD about it:
"LORD, you said that once I decided to follow you,
you'd walk with me all the way.
But I have noticed that during the most troublesome times in my life,
there is only one set of footprints.
I don't understand why
when I needed you most you would leave me.

"The LORD replied:

"My son, my precious child,
I love you and I would never leave you.
During your times of trial and suffering,
when you see only one set of footprints,
it was then that I carried you."

i guess at the minute i feel God is carrying me. there are a few things im starting to struggle with. my dad being unwell, is making me quite stressed and adding a lot of pressure upon me and i havent seen some of my friends for a while and i really miss them. and i just feel God is carrying me along and i know in my heart God never leaves me and because i have a relationship with God i know and can truthly say i know God is ALWAYS there.

but getting back to the point....listening to Alans talk again last night really spoke out to me. he spoke about Daniel3 and God speaking out to him, and last year at our weekend away we studied Daniel. i just felt God speaking out to me through listening to the talk again....