I'm back...I think

I haven't blogged much in the last couple years, but as I sat in my quiet time today I was overwhelmed with the need to blog.  I've been reading in Deuteronomy for some time now.  I've been taking my time, really soaking up each and every verse of every chapter.  It really is one of my favorite books.  As I prepare for this big huge new chapter in my life, marriage, there are so many thoughts and emotions going on I can hardly keep track.  I have waited a long time for this, and I can say I am so grateful for that time of waiting.  Don't get me wrong, there were many hard, impatient days, but God has done so much in those years, and for that I am eternally grateful. 

I got to chapter 11 or so, and really felt the need to be digging into the new testament.  So, I kinda flipped through some pages (I'm not sure how you guys come to reading the book/chapter you're reading), kinda talking to God and seeing what book kinda grabbed my eye (not saying this is the most effective or suggested way of picking a book, but it's the Bible, can't really go wrong, right?).  I ended up in Hebrews.  I have to say, it is a great compliment to Hebrews. 

I should back up a bit and talk about my love for Deuteronomy.  As I mentioned above, I have been in Deuteronomy for awhile now.  There is just something so relatable about this book for me.  The Israelits, their ridiculousness, stubborness, and God's constancy in always being "there."  I mean, isn't it crazy?  You read this book and over and over again God takes them through these crazy circumstances with odds stacked more than against them, and they win!  And then a chapter or so later, they're whining and doubting God about something else, not believing they're going to survive.  Sadly, I get so lost in the stories I forget I'm reading about them and think it's me!   Because, let's be honest, it is basically me!   

God provides warning after warning about loving and obeying Him, that some might find it borderline annoying and a broken record, but to hearts like mine...to hearts that can so relate to the frustrating ease of forgetting the victories and struggles God has brought you through and helped you overcome over and over again, it is like a refreshing drink of water.  It's God saying 

"Remember how I (the Lord your God) led you through the wilderness for these forty years, humbling you and testing you to prove your character, and to find out whether or not you would obey his commands...He did it to teach you that people do not live by bread alone; rather, we live by every word that comes from the mouth of the Lord.  For all these forty years your clothes didn’t wear out, and your feet didn’t blister or swell..."

He protects, teaches, provides, shows grace, and loves...over and over and over again.  So, my question to you...when's the last time you stopped and remembered all the things the Lord has walked you through and helped you overcome?  Don't forget to remember!