Tony Darga Passes Away
This week has been such a hard one. So many things come up when I think we are at a plateau. What I am realizing is that when I walk with the Lord the evil forces are all around me attacking me every step of the way. There is no plateau in the Christian walk, not if you are walking with the Savior. Only time we reach the plateau is when we die and get to heaven. We may have times when troubles are not every which way we turn but during those times we really need to reflect and make sure we are really serving Jesus Christ. The devil is not going to attack us if we are not any threat to him. So if our witness is not strong a lot of times it is smooth sailing in our earthly lives… but on the flipside of the coin our Spirtual lives – our walk is hazardous to our health. We are not being fully obedient; looking to our Lord to guide us; to give us wisdom with all tht we are going through. We gain the compassion of God when we completely obedient and take our eyes off of ourselves.
I pray for peace all the time begging for His mercy in my life. Sometimes I feel like He is not really paying me any attention. I know that He is watching every step I make and I know He loves me. I heard a line in a song today that said that when Jesus was walking up that hill to Calvary His thoughts were of you and me. That really is sobering to me. All that pain and suffering Jesus Christ endured, the blasphemy, humiliation He took it all in stride and on top of that His thoughts were of us. Love is a powerful thing. His love was the most perfect, self sacrificing love we will ever know. He was blameless and made sin for us to be able to spend eternity with Him in heaven.
I reflect on these things as I think about how I lost a friend this week. He was going to be 23 in December. When I moved to Rogers City his family, the Darga’s took me in as their own. I bowled with them several nights a week. I loved them all dearly. Tony was one of there sons/nephews. I was friends with the whole family. I saw Tony graduate from high school and become a man, the nicest kid. I don’t know anyone that did not like Tony. He was like a little brother to me, so positive, sweet, and happy-go-lucky. And what a bowler, he was amazing. What really hit me hard is that he was not a Christian. I will never see him again, never see his smile, and never hear his laugh… because he did not know Jesus as His personal Lord and Savior. Tony worked for his dad’s excavating company and was buried alive on October 21, 2004 while his 2 uncles were standing by. These guys are big men, but they could not save him, and Tony died. It was so sudden, I went to the viewing and his mom, Judy, a good friend of mine said, I don’t know what to say… It was a tragedy. But the real tragedy that struck me even harder is that this life is so fragile and precious that we have no assurance of tomorrow. Walking out after hugging and giving my condolences I just sat in my car and cried. I wept for them, that they would come to know Jesus and live for Him.
So, I know ask myself these questions all the time and certain thoughts run through my head. Am I making the most out of everyday and glorifying God in the process? Everyday I could do more to please Jesus and live for Him so I ask Him to guide me do what is pleasing to Him. Am I putting effort into relationships with people that I love or other members of the body of Christ? Love is all about relationships and effort. We are called to love our neighbors and to love someone is to put time into them. We aren’t loving others, if we are so busy that we don’t have time to think. Love means giving up – yielding my preferences, comfort, goals, security, money, energy, or time for the benefit of someone else. The greatest expression of love is time and the unsurpassed time to love is at this moment. Are we really obeying God by how we utilize the time He has given us? This is a big question. If we are so wrapped up in life and not giving it to Him and too busy then the answer is probably a big, fat no. Time is a big factor here on earth.
We have to realize that our purpose here on earth is to SERVE and GLORIFY God. That is it. It has nothing to do with our wants and desires. Once we start serving Him completely then our wants and desires become less selfish and more God aligned. They become what He desires and wants for us. That has really been hard for me to learn. I am an INSTANT person. I want, what I want, when I want it, where I want it. And I am learning and changing into a person that now says. Okay Lord, I want what You want, and I will wait for Your timing. It is so humbling to be before my Father, and it should be. One thing worship costs us is our self-centeredness. We forget sometimes how HOLY He really is. We get caught up in the imagery of how kind Jesus is to the little children and to everyone but He is righteous, holy. An AWESOME GOD and we need to praise and treat Him as such. Yes, He is our best friend, and Father but He is so much more than we can ever truly express in words.
Samantha came this week with a 3” bruise on the back of her thigh because Jamie hit her because she did not brush her teeth in time. Can you imagine getting beat for forgetting to brush your teeth? Please keep Samantha in your prayers that this horrible experience she is living through will be over soon. She is such a precious, sweet child but cannot take much more of this abuse. I know it is in the Lord’s hands and it is His timing but prayer does move His hand. I can’t imagine what is going through my ex’s mind as to why he is hurting her. She looks so much like me and has my inner strength. I am teaching her to trust the Lord and she prays everyday unless she falls asleep in the car. Please pray for her to have strength and that the Lord will protect her.
This weekend was such a blessing having her here. I am teaching her to about FOOTBALL since I am an Avid fan. Football Season is probably my favorite season of the year… Season #5 for me. She did not like a call that the ref gave and she yelled That was UNLEGAL. How cute is that? I can’t wait to get some of my stuff back up here. In one of my boxes of clothes I have a Zac Thomas Jersey used to wear ALL THE TIME and I am sooo wanting to wear it. It is the little things that I find so much pleasure in nowadays. Praise God!!!
My new church rocks and I just got handed a duet that is to be performed in 2 weeks for communion Sunday. I am really nervous but also very excited about it. Well, I will talk to you soon. My thoughts and prayers are with you. May God bless you in abundance and enlarge your heart.
Your sister in Christ,
Faithful Destiny
I pray for peace all the time begging for His mercy in my life. Sometimes I feel like He is not really paying me any attention. I know that He is watching every step I make and I know He loves me. I heard a line in a song today that said that when Jesus was walking up that hill to Calvary His thoughts were of you and me. That really is sobering to me. All that pain and suffering Jesus Christ endured, the blasphemy, humiliation He took it all in stride and on top of that His thoughts were of us. Love is a powerful thing. His love was the most perfect, self sacrificing love we will ever know. He was blameless and made sin for us to be able to spend eternity with Him in heaven.
I reflect on these things as I think about how I lost a friend this week. He was going to be 23 in December. When I moved to Rogers City his family, the Darga’s took me in as their own. I bowled with them several nights a week. I loved them all dearly. Tony was one of there sons/nephews. I was friends with the whole family. I saw Tony graduate from high school and become a man, the nicest kid. I don’t know anyone that did not like Tony. He was like a little brother to me, so positive, sweet, and happy-go-lucky. And what a bowler, he was amazing. What really hit me hard is that he was not a Christian. I will never see him again, never see his smile, and never hear his laugh… because he did not know Jesus as His personal Lord and Savior. Tony worked for his dad’s excavating company and was buried alive on October 21, 2004 while his 2 uncles were standing by. These guys are big men, but they could not save him, and Tony died. It was so sudden, I went to the viewing and his mom, Judy, a good friend of mine said, I don’t know what to say… It was a tragedy. But the real tragedy that struck me even harder is that this life is so fragile and precious that we have no assurance of tomorrow. Walking out after hugging and giving my condolences I just sat in my car and cried. I wept for them, that they would come to know Jesus and live for Him.
So, I know ask myself these questions all the time and certain thoughts run through my head. Am I making the most out of everyday and glorifying God in the process? Everyday I could do more to please Jesus and live for Him so I ask Him to guide me do what is pleasing to Him. Am I putting effort into relationships with people that I love or other members of the body of Christ? Love is all about relationships and effort. We are called to love our neighbors and to love someone is to put time into them. We aren’t loving others, if we are so busy that we don’t have time to think. Love means giving up – yielding my preferences, comfort, goals, security, money, energy, or time for the benefit of someone else. The greatest expression of love is time and the unsurpassed time to love is at this moment. Are we really obeying God by how we utilize the time He has given us? This is a big question. If we are so wrapped up in life and not giving it to Him and too busy then the answer is probably a big, fat no. Time is a big factor here on earth.
We have to realize that our purpose here on earth is to SERVE and GLORIFY God. That is it. It has nothing to do with our wants and desires. Once we start serving Him completely then our wants and desires become less selfish and more God aligned. They become what He desires and wants for us. That has really been hard for me to learn. I am an INSTANT person. I want, what I want, when I want it, where I want it. And I am learning and changing into a person that now says. Okay Lord, I want what You want, and I will wait for Your timing. It is so humbling to be before my Father, and it should be. One thing worship costs us is our self-centeredness. We forget sometimes how HOLY He really is. We get caught up in the imagery of how kind Jesus is to the little children and to everyone but He is righteous, holy. An AWESOME GOD and we need to praise and treat Him as such. Yes, He is our best friend, and Father but He is so much more than we can ever truly express in words.
Samantha came this week with a 3” bruise on the back of her thigh because Jamie hit her because she did not brush her teeth in time. Can you imagine getting beat for forgetting to brush your teeth? Please keep Samantha in your prayers that this horrible experience she is living through will be over soon. She is such a precious, sweet child but cannot take much more of this abuse. I know it is in the Lord’s hands and it is His timing but prayer does move His hand. I can’t imagine what is going through my ex’s mind as to why he is hurting her. She looks so much like me and has my inner strength. I am teaching her to trust the Lord and she prays everyday unless she falls asleep in the car. Please pray for her to have strength and that the Lord will protect her.
This weekend was such a blessing having her here. I am teaching her to about FOOTBALL since I am an Avid fan. Football Season is probably my favorite season of the year… Season #5 for me. She did not like a call that the ref gave and she yelled That was UNLEGAL. How cute is that? I can’t wait to get some of my stuff back up here. In one of my boxes of clothes I have a Zac Thomas Jersey used to wear ALL THE TIME and I am sooo wanting to wear it. It is the little things that I find so much pleasure in nowadays. Praise God!!!
My new church rocks and I just got handed a duet that is to be performed in 2 weeks for communion Sunday. I am really nervous but also very excited about it. Well, I will talk to you soon. My thoughts and prayers are with you. May God bless you in abundance and enlarge your heart.
Your sister in Christ,
Faithful Destiny
posted by Faith at 5:57 PM
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