Today is one of those days when I really need prayer. Lately I have not felt okay, and I am not really sure why. I don’t feel like myself but nothing has really changed. Maybe the chaos and busyness of life is catching up with me at my age. I feel drained but I am still taking care of what needs done, at least for the most part. I trust God to calm my mind, heal my heart, and take away my worries as a general rule, but not all the time. My life has never been easy, there have been challenges, situations, and difficulties that I have faced over the years where I have been asked, “Why do I always insist on taking the hard road?” My response is simple and to the point, “What makes you think I see two roads?” Lately my family is feeling the effects of what we believe is intense spiritual warfare. We have been facing misc. health issues, challenging family dynamics, unpleasant character attacks, economic burdens and distress, major time management problems, as well as difficulties finding adequate help to assist in therapies for the children in our home. Over the past few days the weather has been nice and that makes it time to start going through the rain damaged stuff we have. I have already hauled off multiple truck loads, just part of the process of saving what I can, a little bit at a time to help us for our financial provision. None of this is really a big deal but still…there are many nights where I get very little sleep for one reason or another. My prayer life has definitely increased. With all that and more, we can boldly say that we have seen the faithfulness of God in providence, provision, and most importantly His presence in our lives and in our home. In my most recent events, I see the hand of God involved in a very powerful way in the work that He has done through us in seeing lives transformed in those we minister to. Some of the people around us have been drawn to Jesus and even had one recently accept Jesus as Lord and Savior. I have been able to share with many unbelievers the glory of God, and pray and encourage many while interacting with those who visit our home for one reason or another. My hope is that the way I have chosen to live my life, by what I believe is the Lord’s leading, makes my life not appear in any way to be about me, but all about Him. My life verse is written in *2 Corinthians 5:14 For the love of Christ compels us, because we judge thus: that if One died for all, then all died; 15 and He died for all, that those who live should live no longer for themselves, but for Him who died for them and rose again.* There are times when I question God and ask, “Why do you use a broken man like me?” The response that I keep hearing is, “Broken people have a hard time hearing from someone who has never been broken, so they can definitely hear from you.” Charles Spurgeon said something that I ponder, “It would be a very sharp & trying experience to me to think that I have an affliction which God never sent me, that the bitter cup was never filled by his hand, that my trials were never measured out by him, nor sent to me by his arrangement of their weight and quantity.” I believe that everything that I am going through is preparing me for what I prayed for…to be more like Jesus. My beloved, I covet your prayers for endurance,  peace, and the joy of the Lord. (To share and subscribe, feel free to go to pastord.blog and now in video version on Youtube at PastorDblog as well as on Tiktok at pastord.blog)