Always be full of joy in the Lord. I say it again—rejoice! Let everyone see that you are considerate in all you do. Remember, the Lord is coming soon. Don't worry about anything; instead, pray about everything. Tell God what you need, and thank Him for all He has done. Then you will experience God's peace, which exceeds anything we can understand. His peace will guard your hearts and minds as you live in Christ Jesus.
(Philippians 4:4-7 NLT)
Lord help me cause my children’s eyes to see the things you have been trying to show them. Burgandy and Isaac in spite of all that you have gone through, are going through right now, and will go through in the future you are loved by your Father in heaven. You both have had some tough roads to walk and you both would do yourselves a great service by understanding that you don’t understand all the other one has endured. Though this is not the place to have discussions of great depth I am not blind to the fact that I am responsible for a great many things but maybe what neither of you have been able to see or understand is that there is purpose in everything that you have faced. You cannot run from God’s love and because of His love you are both blessed whether it seems that way or not and one day you both will look back and see it. You both are free agents and make decisions that mold who you are and when things get tough it is difficult to see God is carrying you. We all make mistakes and we all can learn from them but in the middle of our busy lives God takes our offerings whether broken or scarred and turns them into something beautiful. Do you both remember the names I gave you in 2004? They were names I felt that were from God that described something about you both which pointed to who He made you to be. Burgandy the name I felt God gave me to give you was “Freedom”. You have been living life based on decisions you have made, sometimes the choices weren’t very good but you made the decision that worked best for you. God gave you this freedom because He has been wanting you to see something, something that could not be told but only experienced and mom and I pray for you as decisions continue to come your way but with each decision that is made your life is molded a little more and with each choice a piece of freedom is taken away. God is your source and He replenishes every time you come into His presence and your purpose is to tell others about the freedom you found in Christ Jesus. That’s why it is so important to make decisions based on God’s Word. Isaac, I gave you a name at the same time, do you remember? You are “Warrior” look at your life in just that last few years have you not fought many battles? Is there not a fire inside of you? Do you not protect those whom you love? But you too have responsibility. You are responsible for learning where your strength, this fire, comes from. It is not anything you have done but it is God’s hand upon your life. Your purpose is to lift up the weak and protect those who cannot protect themselves. You both have come through these things unaware that you have been in training to be what God has called you to be and to accuse each other is only evidence that you do not understand yet what God has planned. Mom and I love you both very much and pray for you often. Be encouraged you both are blessed and God is present in your lives but your strength comes from recognizing He is with you and not from yourselves.
And now, dear brothers and sisters, one final thing. Fix your thoughts on what is true, and honorable, and right, and pure, and lovely, and admirable. Think about things that are excellent and worthy of praise. Keep putting into practice all you learned and received from me—everything you heard from me and saw me doing. Then the God of peace will be with you.
(Philippians 4:8-9 NLT)
Love the LORD, all you godly ones! For the LORD protects those who are loyal to Him, but He harshly punishes the arrogant. So be strong and courageous, all you who put your hope in the LORD!
(Psalms 31:23-24 NLT)
