Refresher...

So, it's amazing to realize just how great our God is! For all that I feel I've sacrificed for the sake of being obedience to my God's will, I have to say heart aches in a way that I've never felt before. I have been brought to my knees more times than I can count, everytime coming back with more joy and praise and gaditude for my King and this life. I've lost some friends I thought I would be tight with for years to come, I've lost "possessions" that I hold dear and play a huge parts in my comfort, sanity, and even independence...or so I thought. I feel stripped of all the things I wanted to hold so closely to, but with all of that my heart still beltches out the words to Nicole C Mullen's song, "I know that I know that I know that I know!!!! That MY REDEEMER LIVES!!!"

I've had a few bad days. I've definately let "Flesh Woman" (as Joanna River calls her in "Having a Mary Spirit.") take over, but as Paul says in Philippians 3:12-14, "Not that I have already been obtained all this, or have already been made perfect, but I press on to take hold of that for which Christ Jesus took hold of me. Brothers, I do not consider myself yet to have taken hold of it. But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus."...in all of this, I finally feel like I have a true relationship with my King. I know I'm not perfect, but I press on for the sake of which He gave his life for me. In this I have hope.

Thank you for all of you who have encouraged me, who have had real hope in me, who believed in me. You mean the world to me and I cherish the relationships I have with each one of you.

Love and Blessing be,
Bonnie Michelle