Peter

I was reading about Peter a few weeks ago. I found myself reading and re-reading those first five chapters in Acts.  We always hear of his 'failures' .... cutting off the soldier's ear, denying Jesus and sometimes even him taking his eyes off Jesus when he walked on the water.  As far as the last one goes, he DID walk ON the water.

You don't see that side of Peter here in Acts.  You see a man who has stepped into his calling.  He takes the stand for finding a God appointed replacement for Judas.  He was in the upper room on the day of Pentecost and told the mockers, 'these are not drunken, as ye suppose, seeing it is but he third hour of the day.  But this is that which was spoken by the prophet Joel; And it shall come to pass in the last days saith God, I will pour out of my Spirit upon all flesh: and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, and your young men shall see visions, and your old men shall dream dreams: and on my servants and on my handmaidens I will pour out in those days of my Spirit; and they shall prophesy: and I will shew wonders in heaven above, and signs in the earth beneath; blood, and fire, and vapour of smoke: the sun shall be turned into darkness, and the moon into blood, before that great and notable day of the Lord come: and it shall come to pass, that whosoever shall call on the name of the Lord shall be saved.' (Acts 2:15-21) 
He goes walking with John into the temple and a lame man at the gate called out to them asking for money and Peter says, 'That's right look over here.  Look at us!' (my version)  And then replies, 'Silver and gold have I none; but such as I have give I thee:  In the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth rise up and walk.' (Acts 3:6)  He is boldly preaching. He confronts Ananias and Sapphira when they lie about how much their land sold for and then God's judgment fell. A Godly boldness and determination came to Peter.   Acts 5:12-16 talks about signs and wonders done by the hands of the apostles.  Verse 15 says, 'Insomuch that they brought forth the sick into the streets, and laid them on beds and couches that at the least the shadow of Peter passing by might overshadow some of them.'  That is just some of Peter's story, you can read more.
I LOVE seeing what God made of Peter.  You can see through the scripture how God molded him into a vessel of honor.  Your life is only about your failures if you choose to stay in the failure.  If we will go God's way and allow God full control, He will do the same with our lives.  This life isn't as much about us as most of us would like .... it's about fulfilling God's will.  It's preparation for eternal life.

‎'Boldness is not reckless impulsiveness. Boldness requires courage to press on through our fears and do what we know is right.' -Life Application Study Bible

Day 28 and 29 of Thankful....

28-  Oh, I love the smell of freshly mowed grass! I know it's November and I probably shouldn't even be mowing, but I wanted to smell it one last time. And don't you know know, there was even some onion grass in there. So, today I am thankful for the smell of freshly mowed grass and I am thankful that God will be sending us lots of snow this winter. :)

29-  Lee has started having what we think are migraines. He doesn’t get them often. He had what he said was the worst one yet this past Sunday. He said he felt it coming on Sunday morning and by Sunday afternoon, it was full blown. By the time we got to church Sunday night, he had broken out in a sweat and was sick feeling. He was just miserable. I asked the preacher that was visiting to pray for him and he and his wife took their precious time and went out to the car and prayed for him. I went back out to check on him and he said the sick feeling had left and he thought he was able to come into service. He gave it his best effort, but the lights and the sound were just too much for him. He went straight to bed when we got home.

Thomas and Zach went in the bedroom to pray for their Daddy. I walked in and Lee had tears in his eyes. He said, ‘My boy (Thomas) is going to make me cry. He just laid hands on me and prayed like he was a big man. And it wasn’t no short prayer.’ We walked out and left him alone after that… within 5 minutes he came out of the bedroom and was like, ‘Your not going to believe this, but it’s gone. I’m fine.’ Talk about THANKFUL! He went to the fridge after that, heated up leftovers and ate. I know there were a lot of people lifting him up in prayer and God heard each one. I am thankful for the faith of a child and I am soooo THANKFUL for God’s healing power.