It's all my fault

We are going through some very trying times in our lives right now. The story is this: we have a daughter that is nearly 16 months old. Most toddlers her age are walking, talking, feeding themselves and being chased around by their parents. Our daughter still has to be fed with a bottle to be well nourished. She cannot walk, she is not even able to crawl on her hands and knees. We haven't heard the joyful sound of her calling for mama or dada. She is like a newborn in a toddlers body and I think it is all my fault.

Suffering with Jesus by serving with Jesus

Something hit home with me today at work.  One of my co-workers confided in me with an issue that was very burdensome for him.  It has the potential to cause a lot of strife and uncertainty in his relationships and finances.  I listened carefully as he shared this burden with me and them we continued with our work (we are both plumbers).  At the end of the day I couldn't get his problem off my mind.  It was like I was carrying his burden with me even though it didn't directly effect me.  Yet, somehow I hurt with him and needed to pray about it.  As I lifted the burden up I was given a strong desire to wait until my co-worker came out to his vehicle and ask him if I could pray with him.  He gave me permission and then laid out some more details of the things he was worried about most due to this new valley in life.  We prayed together.  Actually, I did all the talking, he mostly cried.  I didn't expect that.

Purpose in the midst of suffering.

        I've requested my next book for review from  the blogging for books program.  I have decided on this one:

The Goodness of God Assurance of Purpose in the Midst of Suffering Written by Randy Alcorn

Here is a teaser from the publisher:

For those times when we’re wounded by broken trust, assaulted by disease, or victimized by evil—or when we’re crushed to see such things happen to people we love—Randy Alcorn offers something solid to hold onto. 

In this specially focused condensation of Alcorn’s If God Is Good…: Faith in the Midst of Suffering and Evil, we’re continually guided into a deeper glimpse of God’s loving ways and higher purposes—the very things we’re often most blinded to whenever we battle pain and anguish.

Alcorn avoids superficial or sentimental responses, and instead presses forward boldly to explore all the troubling doubts and questions that agitate within us when we confront suffering and evil.

The issues are far from simple, the answers far from easy—but Alcorn shows how the way of suffering—a path that Jesus himself followed more than anyone else—can ultimately become a journey into wholeness and even logic-defying joy.