This beautiful girl is my daughter Stephanie. She was 11 years old when this picture was taken. My niece who was a budding photographer, took pictures of our budding model. She didn't stay with modeling, but Kim turned out to be an excellent photographer!

"These things I have spoken to you, that you should not be made to stumble. {John 16:1}

These things that Jesus refers to are the hard times that come when we will be persecuted and misunderstood. He warns us, so that we are not caught in questions such as,"Why didn't God save me from this trial? "Why did that one have to die? "How come bad things happen to good people?"

It is hard to reconcile these questions, but we know that our loving Heavenly Father does not put us in harms way unless there is a good reason. As Joseph spoke to his long lost brothers in Genesis, What you meant for evil God meant for good, we see that God brought it all together at the end. We don't always see the end being good on this earth, but we will when we meet Jesus face to face, or more often "who we become" through the trial.

God is interested in using us here, for His glory, so His hand sometimes may seem harsh. His desire is that the unsaved will see our witness as true believers following our Lord, to the end, whatever that "end" may be. As a Father longs to protect His children so our Father longs for us, but He, who knows the end from the beginning also knows the good that comes when we cannot see it. He being all knowing, knows the wickedness of our flesh much better than we do. Many trials bring our flesh under control, as He sands us down like a carpenter prepares a fine piece of furniture for staining. The more we allow Him to work, the easier the process becomes. Let God, and let God! Life will be much better that way!