Years ago when I lived in New York City, there was a well known “preacher” who promised people if they gave him $500, God would give them a new Cadillac. Most of the members of his congregation were some of the poorest people in New York City. I always wondered what happened when the promised car failed to appear.
God never promised us everything we want in life, no matter what we give Him. A quick look at the lives of the Apostles and how they ended, will reinforce this concept. As far as we know, none of them gathered great wealth and power. In fact, they all experienced periods of imprisonment, beatings, exile and rather horrid deaths (except for the Apostle John who apparently died of old age). Yet, through it all, their faith remained strong and they stayed focused on God’s mission for their lives – no matter the cost.
When I got pregnant for the first time, we were immediately given a copy of 
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The other day I was chatting with someone who worked in a school. She recounted the tale of a student who had stolen something from a vending machine. The incident was caught on camera and the offending student was brought in to discuss it.
Let’s be really honest here. When your kids are tiny, it feels as if some tiny precious human is permanently attached to you. As your kids get older, there are often many more kids around than you actually get to claim on your taxes. Yet even with all of these people swarming around you asking for attention and help – motherhood can be extremely lonely. Sometimes, you want to cry for those long ago friendships when you had the time and energy to talk for hours about everything and nothing.