never give UP on God, give IN...

Proverbs 7: 8-10, 13-14
"The end of a matter is better than its beginning, and patience is better than pride. Do not be quickly provoked in your spirit, for anger resides in the lap of fools. Do not say, "Why were the old days better than these?" For it is not wise to ask such questions.....Consider what God has done: Who can straighten what he has made crooked? When times are good, be happy; but when times are bad, consider: God has made the one well as the other. Therefore, a man cannot discover anything about his future."

Reading this might get you to think about your past and whether it was better or not...for me, I couldn't see straight...I've never thought about it like that...No one can straighten what God has already made crooked....

Can you imagine? Have you imagined?
everything...EVERYTHING is brought upon you for a purpose....good or bad, you just have to learn how to overcome your pride when times are good and overcome your doubts when times are bad because God will always be your provider....

What's the point in giving up, when you can give in?
Is it really worth it to just give up the simple joys you had for a time of sorrow?
GOD ALWAYS HAS A BACKUP PLAN FOR YOU, so why give up?
just hang in there and God will provide.

Don't dwell on the past, what good will it be for the future? More or less for the present?
Focus and be grateful for the present, it's a gift..hence the name "present."
It's the gift God gives us in order to correct and build on our past in order to help us in the future.

I'm guilty of "wanting" the "good old days" to come back...to Hanin, to my family, to my school...to me...but hey...I'm human...
People tend to look back at the past because the present doesn't look bright enough...but we humans are too blind to see...we need to PAUSE and think.....see beyond the shadow...What is exactly the CAUSE of the shadow?

Exactly, the sunshine...I think switchfoot or another band had a song out called "The Shadow Proves the Sunshine" or something like that? It's SO true...

Here is the devotional in my Bible that went along with it...

It's easy to think the past was better than today. Most of us have selective memories. We only remember what we want to remember....
You could make the case that it's good to forget the bad. However, when we look at the pasthrough rose-colored glasses, we run the risk of being ungrateful for what we have right now. Rather than seeing today's gifts, we yearn for yesterday's fun and games, conveniently glossing over the past's difficulties.
Our days, months and years are made up of both good times and bad. The tapestry of life's events makes up the veryssence of who we are...
Thank God for all your wonderful memories. Take the difficult things to God in prayer. Ask him what he wants you to learn from your present situation. God doesn't waste any of our experiences. He can use the good ol' days, as well as the no-so-good days, to benefit us, if we let him. The key is to remember things as they really were, to be content with things as they really are and to trust God to take care of the furture.

I realy hope this helped some of you guys, please let me know if there's any way I can help you.

thanks....your sister in Christ,
Yuri