APANGU!

Do you ever feel like giving up??? I sure did this past Friday night.  My girls and I had gone to  grandma's house for the evening. It's about half and hour away from our home, so around 9:30pm, knowing I had about 1/2 hour left in me to drive home, we began packing up to go. After we were all loaded and ready to go, we began driving our van up the snowy hill to get out of grandma's driveway. Unfortunately, we could only get so far before our van would start slipping backwards and simply would go no further. After about the 15th  unsuccessful try I contemplated giving up and spending the night. That wouldn't have been bad to have a sleepover at grandmas'  (we LOVE those), it's just Reese didn't have "Princess" and Big Bear, I didn't have my contact solution & glasses and we had basketball games early the next morning.  So, we decided to NOT GIVE UP and  continued trying. Finally, 45 minutes later and after 20 something tries, grandma got our van to the top of the hill. After much cheering and with thankful hearts, we FINALLY headed home.   It is such a temptation in soooo many areas of life to give up. Jesus shared a story with his disciples to speak on the topic of "giving up" in Luke 18:1-8   "Then JESUS told his disciples a parable to show them that they SHOULD ALWAYS PRAY AND NOT GIVE UP. He said: ' In a certain town there was a judge who neither feared God nor cared about men. And there was a widow in that town who KEPT COMING TO HIM WITH THE PLEA, 'Grant me justice against my adversary.' For some time he refused. But finally he said to himself, "Even though I don't fear God or care about men, yet because this widow KEEPS bothering me, I will see that she gets justice, so that she won't eventually wear me out with her coming!'   And the Lord said, 'Listen to what the UNJUST judge says. And will not God (who is just and who cares deeply about men) bring about justice for his chosen ones, who cry out to him day and night? Will he keep putting them off? I tell you, (I.........Jesus......the One who never lies), he will see that they get justice, and quickly. However, when the Son of Man comes, will he find faith on earth?"   I don't know what is going in your world and what pleas you keep coming to God with. However, the "Just Judge who cares about men" does. He tells you to KEEP COMING. Jesus told them & us this parable to "SHOW US  THAT WE SHOULD  ALWAYS PRAY AND NEVER GIVE UP". KEEP PRAYING FOR YOUR LOST, DISOBEDIENT, STRUGGLING, CHILDREN. KEEP PRAYING FOR YOUR MARRIAGE WHICH HAS AN ADVERSARY BECAUSE MARRIAGE IS SOOOOOOOOOO BEAUTIFUL.  KEEP PRAYING FOR YOURSELF AND YOUR OWN WRESTLES WITH THE ENEMY.   A..lways P..ray A..nd N..ot G..ive U..p   APUNGA!!! APUNGA, my friends! APUNGA! Blessings from Bombadil. Kristy Link "I will continue with all of you for your progress and joy in the faith, so that through my being with you again your joy in Christ Jesus will overflow on account of me." Phillipians 1:25 & 26