Do You Believe?

Do you believe in miracles? Do you think that God heals people just as He did in the Bible? Do you take God at His word and trust Him?

There are moments in our lives where it is so easy to trust, so easy to accept His word and so easy to feel His presence. Then there are other times. Times where everything looks hopeless. Most recently, a friend's father has been placed in the hospital. His chances are grim. They say he only has a 50/50 chance; and that he may never walk or talk again. This man has been apart of my church for as long as I can remember. He has always had a bright, shining smile whenever I've seen him. He left for work and ended up in the hospital. He probably kissed his wife goodbye and drove out of the driveway just like it was any other day. Only it wasn't. He had no idea, his wife and children had no idea what would come next-but God did.

God knew the moments that would follow. He knew to place doctors and nurses on the same street to witness the crash so that when my friends father's truck, carrying a trailer flipped, they'd be there to start helping him immediately. God knew that later the doctors would tell the family it would be grim, that their loved one may never be the same. He knew these days would be written, the words that would be said. He now holds them in the palm of His hand. They say it will take a miracle for their loved one to ever be the same.

Thankfully, God is in the miracle business. He loves to take a situation that looks hopeless at best and turn it around so that all will know that it was the Great Physician who cured and healed. I am reminded of Jesus when He was in Capernaum. He was approached by a centurion whose servant was sick and about to die. Jesus was going to go to this man's house and heal his servant, but the centurion stopped him saying, "Lord, don't trouble yourself, for I do not deserve to have you come under my roof...but say the word and my servant will be healed." (Luke 7:6-7) It says that Jesus, "was amazed at him, turning to the crowd following Him and said, "I tell you, I have not found such great faith even in Israel." Then the men returned to the house and found the servant well." (Luke 7:9-10)

Oh, let us have that faith. Let us pray, asking for a miracle-and believing that He will deliver. In 1 Chronicles 5:20 it says "He answered their prayers because they trusted in Him." Later in James it says,"The prayers of a righteous man are powerful and effective." (James 5:16) Pray for a miracle and expect one. I believe, do you?

My Bad Habit

I have a bad habit and it consumes me with guilt at times.

My crime-not finishing what I start. I have about four half read books laying around my house. My sons rooms has clothes piled high on his dresser from when I started to box up his outgrown clothes and I never finished. Every year on my children's birthday's I write in a journal. I tell them every silly thing they said or did that year. Foster-well he's been two for 5 months now and I still haven't written in his this year. I will write letters, only to find them a month later sitting on a shelf having never been mailed. I started to read my daughter a long chapter book last summer and never finished. If you look around my house right now, you will see an entertainment center piled with picture frames from where I started to take down old pictures to replace them with new ones-only I haven't replaced them yet. I'm still waiting to get up the energy to order the pictures I want. I have a wardrobe full of half finished sewing, crocheting and knitting projects. What I don't understand is, when I was in the "working world," I was always consumed by "getting the job done!" Why can't I be this way at home? I'm still in the "working world" just a different line of work!

"Why am I like this?" I often ask myself. It is not a good example for my children (that is where most of my guilt comes from). Luckily, in this area of life, I have a polar opposite as a husband. He makes our children finish whatever book they have started-even if they get two chapters into it and find they hate it. Every Saturday, they clean their room on routine, not having a chance to start to pick up and then walk away. Our daughter knows before cracking open a book or starting a project-she must finish it. She takes more time to ask herself if its something she really wants to do-while I just follow whatever my heart says that day.

There have been so many times where I have been reminded of something else I need to go finish and I feel so guilty. Why am I so easily distracted and unable to finish the simplest of things? In the midst of feeling like such a failure, the Lord reminded me-He is not like that with me. He doesn't give up on me if I get too stubborn or boring or if something else more interesting comes along. He doesn't cast me aside to the reject pile when I stray too far from Him. I will never be put in a closet full of half finished projects like myself; nor will I ever be placed on some "To Do" list.

His Word promises us in Philippians 1:6, "being confident of this, that He who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus." Oh thank you Jesus! How I will strive to be more like You and less like my sinful nature. Thank you for loving me despite all of my many faults.

I Need YOUR Help!!!

One of the things my husband bought me for my birthday was a book filled with tons of information for someone wanting to get in the writing field. It has information on just about every publisher and every periodical in the religious genre. There is almost too much information, I am having a hard time narrowing down which magazines would like my writing and which things to submit. As I was praying for the Lord to help me in this selection process, an idea came to me-instead of writing new material-take material I've already written (some via this blog and some from other writing), polish it up and submit that. That sounds easy, but with over 100 posts how do I choose which are the best? Which ones reach out the most? So, I thought I'd ask you what you thought.

This is where I need your help. If you have ever read a post on this blog and been uplifted or if something stood out to you or helped you; would you please tell me either the date of the post and/or the title? I would like to get 4 to 8 pieces and polish them up, revise them etc. and submit them to possibly be published.

You can leave feedback in two different ways:
1. Click on the bottom of this post where it says "0 Comments". It will take you to a new page where you can type in your comment in the space provided. You can click on "anonymous" or "name/URL" if you don't have a blogger account or if you'd rather not say who you are.

2. If you would rather email me and don't have my address; click on my profile, at the top right hand side on the page. Once it takes you to my profile, click on the "Email" icon on the left hand of the page and send me an email.

I will keep you posted on this new endeavor! I'm quite intimidated, but very excited. I keep asking myself- what's the worst that can happen?-They'll say no, then I'll be no worse off than I am right now! I can't thank you enough for your help! God bless you.

Christ's Last days: Wednesday

"Then one of the Twelve-the one called Judas Iscariot-went to the chief priests and asked, 'What are you willing to give me if I hand Him over to you?' So they counted out for him thirty silver coins. From then on Judas watched for an opportunity to hand Him over."
Matthew 26:14-16

We all know the name Judas don't we? He sold our Savior for 30 pieces of silver. Thirty silver coins was equivalent to 120 denarii; one denarius was what laborers were paid for one days work. They worked six day a week, versus our five day work week so this was roughly 20 weeks or five months worth of pay. Figure up what you make in a year and divide it by 2 and it will be a little more than what Judas was given to betray Jesus. This is a lot of money! Its amazing what people will do for money isn't it?

It's easy to point the finger at Judas, but are we really any different? Our society tells us to work more, work harder, to "keep up with the Jones's". It tells us we need newer, bigger, better than what we already have. We end up spending time away from our family, time spent in the Word, time spend with our spouse, all so we can buy that new house, go on that vacation, so we can-you fill in the blank. If we keep that focus, will we ever really be satisfied? Jesus said,

"Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where moth and rust do not destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal.
For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also."
(Matthew 6:19-21)

What do you treasure? What do you hold dearest to your heart? Don't be like Judas, focused on the things of this world. Go against the grain and stand up! Stand up for your family, for your children, for your values and for your God! We don't know how much time we have left in this world. Keep the main thing, the main thing in your life. Stay focused and don't allow the enemy to distract you with the temporary things in this world. All it would take is one tornado, one flood, one fire, one etc. and all those things would be gone ~forever. What will your focus be today?

Christ's Last Days: Monday

Jesus entered the temple area and drove out all who were buying and selling. He overturned tables of the money changers and the benches of those selling doves. "It is written, " He said to them, "My house will be called a house of prayer,

but you are making it a 'den of robbers.'"

Matthew 21:12-13

Wesley asked me this past weekend if I'd want to study what Jesus did each day during the last week before He was crucified. I can't help but wonder what Jesus was thinking and how He felt these last few days.

The more I thought about the above scriptures, the more I thought about how my body is His Holy temple. It says in 1 Corinthians 6: 19-20, "Do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit, who is in you, whom you have received from God? You are not your own; you were bought at a price. Therefore honor God with your body."

We don't have to go to church to be in God's House; His house is our hearts. He lives inside of me and inside of you. I wonder what things are there that He'd overturn. Instead of tables and benches, it's probably words I've said; thoughts going through my head that I shouldn't have; doubts that try to take root in my beliefs. It could be worry or frustration, greed or selfishness. It could be as simple as what I watch on television. Those things can be just as bad as what those people were doing in His Father's House. So often we think it is our body, our life, our money, our space...me, me, me. But it isn't at all. All that I am is because of what He has done in my life. All that I have, was given to me by Him. We get so lost in "us" that it is so easy to forget "Him".

On the flip side, what about my life is bringing Him worship and praise? Is my life a reflection of Him or of just me? I was reminded by someone recently that no matter what situation we are in-we are representing Him. Do others see it when they look at you? Can they tell that something is different?

This morning I had to get my drivers license renewed. I stood there in a line with every sort of person you could imagine. There were old and young, white and black, and Asian; there were even some German ladies in front of me. I watched the lady behind the desk as each person came and told her their situation. She was so friendly and she smiled so big. No one got impatient or rude with her because it would have been really hard to be mean to someone like her! Now I don't know if she is a christian or is just a nice person, but I do know that she left an impression on me. It made me wonder, how do I act in public in the mundane, aggravating situations? Do I get impatient or lose my temper? Or do people walk away thinking the same things I thought about that lady behind the desk? I pray it is the latter! For better or worse, our lives are His, not our own. I pray it won't be so easy to forget that!

My Shadow

I have a shadow. He is only about 2 1/2 feet tall and weighs 35 pounds with blond hair and blue eyes. I see him when I am in the midst of some task that I am trying to complete in a hurry. He loves to help me do the laundry by pushing the basket full of clothes down the hallway (and bumping into the walls and leaving a trail of clothes behind). He'll put the cups in the cabinet after they are cleaned (and still wet instead of letting me dry them first); he'll place the groceries on the belt at the check out (some of them will fall to the floor and we come home with dented cans of spaghetti sauce). He loves to be at my feet as I cook dinner or wash the dishes (opening and closing the dishwasher after every single item is put in). He is my helper.

Every once in a while, in the midst of my frustration, God will get through to my stubborn head and help me see that I act the same way. Just as with my son, the process always seems to take so much longer and a greater mess is usually created when I go about "helping". He tells us to do something and we do it in our own way-not His way. I was reminded of Sarai and Abram when God promised them an heir even though they were so old. She got impatient, and didn't get pregnant when she thought she should. So what did she do? She offered her husband her servant girl, Hagar. God had made a promise, but she could only see what was in front of her. She was impatient and confused and so she did what made logical sense, if she couldn't get pregnant, she knew her servant girl could. I wonder what God would have done if they only would have been still and waited. His timing is so different from ours. "With the Lord a day is like a thousand years, and a thousand years are like a day. The Lord is not slow in keeping His promise, as some understand slowness." (2 Peter 3:8-9a)

I can look back on my own life and see how many times I have gone about the Lord's business in my own, human way and failed. I will worry about things and try to fix them. I'll call a friend to vent instead of telling the only One who can truly fix my problems. So often I have been like Foster, grabbing the clothes or the situation out of God's hand and trying to do it my own way. What I failed to see, was that I was really just getting in His way.

Wordless Wednesday

Don't Miss This

This does such a great job of putting my life in perspective! What a powerful message of His love for me and for you. I was in tears by the end. As Easter approaches us, look back at what He has done for you. Where has He brought you from? Where is He taking you? He has a plan for your life, My Friend; don't miss it by going your own way. As my pastor reminded us of on Sunday, He is the same yesterday, today and tomorrow. If He loved you then, He loves you now, He never changes. You can't ever be out of His reach. No matter what you've done, no matter where life has brought you, He still loves you and is waiting for you to come home to Him today.

Forging Ahead

I have so much to share! God has been speaking to me so much lately. Unless you are a believer, you probably think I have lost my marbles, but I can assure you I haven't! So many things have been happening lately that it is hard for me to keep up! Saturday morning, I woke up after a sleepless night. Do you ever have those moments in your life where something eats away at you and you play the situation over and over in your mind? The end result was that I started to doubt who I was in Christ; maybe I was the problem and I needed to change. I opened up my bible study book and I was in tears sharing with Wesley what the Lord chose for me to read on that morning. It was exactly, to the very letter what my heart needed. It was complete reassurance that I was in the will of God and that He was still in control. I was reminded that I can't see all the in's and out's of what is going on-but He can. As long as I am seeking His approval-it doesn't matter what man thinks of me. Welsey kept reminding me that God's Word offends people and that others will condemn what I say no matter what it is. God's Word will never go void. He is always seeking us out and trying to tell us something-what has He told you lately?

Yesterday, our new pastor gave another phenomenal message, spoken straight from the lips of God Himself. Wesley was privileged enough to get to spend the afternoon with him in a personnel committee meeting. He came home so alive and excited. Thad's enthusiasm was infectious. Wesley said, "He is the real deal!" He has a vision for our church; not a man-made vision, but a vision that only with the Holy Spirit, can we accomplish it; only through His mighty hand will it play out. What faith that is!

It made me take a step back and look at my own life. How many goals do I make that I know I can achieve? How may goals and dreams do I make that I know only God can achieve? So often I think something and that voice says, "You can't do that! Are you crazy! That is truly impossible!" Yesterday, I realized that that is exactly the kind of dream I am supposed to have for my own life. For something to happen that can only be explained by my Heavenly Father, what a testimony! The funny thing is, lately I have been really praying for what His will is in my life. I have been at a cross roads and trying to figure out what He would have me do. Now I know. Now I know that I am to seek that road less traveled. I am to go to the path that doesn't make logical sense. The beautiful part, I'm to go there and He will be there with me. He will carry me along if I will let Him.

I have always felt that I am to write and to write for His glory; hence the reason this whole blog thing came into my life. Now I know, that I am to start seeking ways of writing on a much bigger scale. I am to break free of the chains that I have allowed my insecurities to trap me in. I am to be who He wants me to be, not who the world expects me to be. I am to write, for Him. He has given each of us a passion, a desire to do something. What is yours? Are you using it for His glory or are you letting those passions sit idle and the enemy tell you that you can't do it?

Yesterday, I noticed a woman from my Sunday school department singing in the choir. To anyone else it might not have been a big deal, but to me, I knew that it was. She has shared on many occasions how much she loves to sing, but how she had not been in choir for so long. She knew it was a God given passion and He blessed her with a great singing voice to go along with it. And there she was, finally giving over to what He wanted her to do. She looked so beautiful standing up there singing. It was as if His approval shone on her face. Isn't that how it is though? When we finally give in and quit dragging our feet and do what He wants us to do-we are blessed beyond measure. What a feeling to be in His will and in the palm of His hand! I give up! I give in! I surrender all, as the song goes. I am going to go where He leads and not look back. Who knows what adventures will come my way! I can't wait!

"The things impossible with men are possible with God." ~Luke 18:27

"For I know the plans I have for you," declares the Lord, "Plans to prosper you and not harm you, plans to give you hope and a future. Then you will call upon me and come pray to me,and I will listen to you. You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart. I will be found by you, "declares the Lord. ~Jeremiah 29:11-14a

Just for Fun!

Can you name 10 body parts that are spelled with only 3 letters?

PS~ Click on the comment at the bottom to see the answer!

Branching off

I have a story I must share. I can't give specifics, but I still want to share as much as I can! Recently another job opportunity has come up. (I start to wonder if I find them or satan leads them to me!) It was a perfect opportunity, I could make my own hours, it was something I love and I could make a lot of money in a short amount of time. Sounds great right? Well, in the midst of my training, many unethical things came out. I was told to do some things that you could actually go to jail for! I knew without a doubt that I could not work for this person.

But there was a catch, I had accidentally gotten some friends of mine in the same situation and they were counting on me to help get them out. I felt as though I had a cloud surrounding my head. Every time my trainer would call or send me an email I would be grumpy for the whole rest of the day. I was on the phone, non-stop, all the time and got behind in all the things I should have been doing. I knew the Lord was telling me not to work for this person, but I felt I had no choice. I felt that for my friends, I had too.

Two days ago I decided to call the "Big Boss", who is over the whole southeast region and ask him some questions about certain business practices. I knew that I was not going to go and lie to people, but I was starting to get confused on what was a lie and what wasn't. I needed clarification for my soul to make sure that I was not going to accidentally say something that wasn't true. That conversation started a whirlwind, a domino effect. The companies corporate legal team was called in, the Vice President of the whole, nationwide company was contacted. People could have lost their jobs, all because I called to clarify some issues only to find that corporate wasn't even aware of what was happening!

The end result, I got my friends out of their financial burden, so they no longer need me. I found a way to still work for this highly respectable company, but under another manager. I'm not sure if I'm going to do that, but the option is still there. I was talking to a friend of mine on the phone when it hit me-God did this. All of my doubts and worries that had been swimming around in my head~He took care of them all. I felt as though I'd been walking around in a dark fog and couldn't see in front of me or behind me. I couldn't figure out a way to get out of the mess I was in-but He did. That weight was lifted and I was able to see again, I was once again walking in the Light and no longer in darkness. I always say that that is the best kind of weight loss! I felt so relieved, so comforted and He did it all.

Here I was, walking along, and I saw an opportunity to help us pay off our school loans. Those debts feel like a noose around my neck at times. I am always visioning what it would feel like to actually get to keep that money instead of sending it off to those companies. I am always trying to find a way...instead of seeking God and finding out what His way is. There even came a time this past Sunday where I heard God say that if I worked for this person, I'd be missing out on so many of His blessings because I would be walking without Him. I would be branching off His path and creating my own. He reassured me that He knew my situation and that He had another way-a better way, if I'd only trust Him and wait on Him. Oh what a mighty God we serve. His ways are so much higher than our ways, so much better than our ways and yet I'm amazed at how much I still try to do things my way! You'd think I'd learn this lesson after a while!

So, to make a longer story short, I am back on the right path, and back to where I need to be. I was never placed in a situation where I'd be expected to lie and I was able to stand up for what was right. I was able to hold people accountable for their actions. I don't know what God has in store for our financial future, but I do know that I'm going to trust that He knows what He's doing. If it should be His will for me to work under the management of this other man, so be it, if not, those loans will be paid off sooner or later-God's way, not my way!

Impossible!

Two weeks ago, Wesley and I were at the hospital about to pass Foster over to get tubes in his ears. It's not a major surgery by any means, but one that still requires a nurse to take your crying child away from you, and through the door to the unknown. After taking Foster, we walked into the small waiting room. The moment we walked into the room, my eyes immediately locked onto a quote that was written right above the TV. I looked away and started trying to find a place for Wesley and I to sit. It was a small room with the smell of coffee floating on the air. The walls were painted a pretty blue color. Unlike most waiting rooms, the only thing on the television was the Weather Channel, there were no news stations on this morning. I didn't bring a book to read, so I started to look around at what magazines were available. After finding a Ladies Home Journal, I sat down to flip through the pages but my eyes kept getting distracted by the quote above the television screen.

I'd flip through the magazine, glance at the quote, flip a little more, look at it again. I found a few recipes and decided to write down one of them for Chicken Marsala. It is Wesley and I's favorite dish at Carrabba's (our place to eat for special occasions) and I've always wanted to try to cook it. I scrounged around in my purse for something to write on. I found the paperwork we had to bring to check in to the hospital and wrote out a pretty detailed recipe. Then I looked back at that quote. I flipped the paper over and decided to write it down. I knew that if I didn't write it down, I'd get it wrong when I tried to remember it later!

"Prayers that aren't prayed, will never be answered. "- Joyce Meyer

The last two days I have unsuccessfully sat down to write, and this is the quote that keeps coming to my mind. I can only guess that God wants me to share it with someone out in Blog World. How many things do I worry about? How many decisions do I try and make on my own? How many prayers go unsaid because I am running around like a chicken with its head cut off, trying to do it all on my own? How many times have I missed out on seeing His glory and feeling His love by watching my prayers get answered? How many limits have I placed on a limitless God?

This morning, my devotion was about the faith that must back our prayers. God doesn't need a bunch of empty words, He needs heavy hearts that are committed to Him and to His answers-no matter what they may be. Am I convinced that God can do anything? Am I seeking His purposes in everything? Do I wish for His will to be done through my life more than I wish for Him to rid me of any handicap I may have? Those are tough questions for me to answer. I can look at a few situations in my life and feel a small sense of hopelessness; relationships that are strained, illnesses that are ravaging ones body, a checkbook that is at zero, a heart that lacks patience and understanding with my children, a friend who has lost a baby after much trying, another who is struggling through cancer treatments for the second time. I can look at these situations and just be sad, not seeing a light at the end of any tunnel, not looking for hope, but instead embracing things that they will always be this way. So often I feel more like the man in Mark who told Jesus, "If you can do anything, take pity on us and help us...help me overcome my unbelief!" (Mark 9:21-25)

This morning, I am encouraged and motivated to be like the man in Luke who, "saw Jesus, fell face down and begged Him: "Lord if you are willing, You can make me clean". (Luke 5:12).
He can do anything He wills, if only we would trust Him with all the impossible things in our lives-imagine what He'd do!