Swing the door wide open

As I was in my quiet time this past Sunday morning, my mind was filled with "swing the door wide open."  ??? At the time I thought, ok, not quite sure as to what the meaning of this thought was or if I was to post it as my facebook status.  Later that morning I would find the meaning and understanding of the nudge in my thoughts.

It had been way too long since I had attended my bible fellowship class, and that morning the overwhelming love I felt when I walked in that room was so palpable.  There were so many new faces and also of those who had remained faithful to the class for the past 9 years.  It is a class full of women from various walks of life who assemble together to share the word of God, our thoughts, fears, blessings and life experiences.  No judgemental words, just love for each other and the extending of our hands to walk with each other and share all the wonderful promises of God through the good times and the trials of life.

During the lesson the scripture of Revelations 3:20 was read "Look!! I have been standing at the door and I am constantly knocking. If anyone hears me calling him, and opens the door, I will come in and fellowship with him and he with me." (Living Bible)

I will be the first to admit over the past few years my life has been busy and stressfull and my doorway to Him has not been as open as in the past. When I heard with my ears and read the verse with my eyes you could have picked me up off the floor.  I GOT IT...it was confirmation of my earlier message "swing the door wide open!"  The Lord had nudge me that morning with the thought so that He could give me affirmation of His word in the class.  He wanted my attention, He missed my intimacy with Him as in before. He wanted me to SWING MY DOOR WIDE OPEN so that He could come in and fellowship with me more...He MISSED ME!!!!!

We all get busy, life gets busy, stress comes and goes...but we are human and we from time to time don't allow our door to Him to remain wide open...BUT OH, when we realize how much He persues us wanting to fellowship with Him and have an intimate relationship with Him and that He misses us...what a GIANT HUG from Him, what a feeling of love!!!!!! 

So ladies, how is your door to Him?  Is it wide open, or is it partially closed or even just "ajar.?"  Whatever it is, SWING THAT DOOR WIDE OPEN...and enjoy the favor of His fellowship just waiting, wanting to walk through that door.                 ((hugs until next time))

Soldier's Angel

A while back I adopted a Soldier.  You ask, "what does that mean?"  Well I am not even sure why I was lead so strongly to do so.  I can only explain that when the advertisement came across the local news and was directing people to the "Know More" section of KLTV 7 's website. I was compelled to do so.  At first as clicked on the link, I was curious.  Then after reading more on the website the urge to do so became stronger and stronger. 

Now I must admit, sometimes when I am compelled to do things, I put up a little fight of resistance.  And it is usually those times when I am in complete darkness as to why I do these things, that I look back and see God's fingerprints all over the situation.  This time, my hesitancy was because I am single and I was fearful of the wrong impression of writing a soldier might look like because I normally work with encouraging women.

So, I began praying about it and  I asked God to lead me and if this was His Will, to assign me to the right soldier that He needed to use me for.  After prayer for a couple of days, I then made the decision to click the button to adopt a soldier.  It was soon after that I received my adoptee soldier's name and address to begin correspondence with him.  After this had all taken place I found another link that was for just adopting women soldiers who were serving in Iraq.  And to be honest I was asking "Lord, you know that I work much better with women, why did I not see this first."  AND then remembering, I prayed for God to give me the soldier He needed to use me to work through my prayer was not, "God, give me a woman soldier..."

As I began my first letter, it was difficult.  To write to someone you did not know anything about other than they were serving our country. It was a soldier who had made the list who's name was not being called out when mail arrived at the camps for mail call.  So I was the one to change that...I was his assigned soldiers' angel.  So I began the letter simply enough explaining that with much prayer, I was chosen to have the privilege of corresponding with him, even if his choice was to be a silent soldier (one who does not write back), it was ok, because I believed that God was involved in the decision making and I am His obedient child.

So you too might think about being a Soldiers' Angel.  God may have someone in store for you, either man or woman.  God uses us in many, many ways, and I guess at this time...He is branching me out to step out of my box for a purpose in this soldier's life.  

We never know as to why the calling, we just are called and say "Yes, Lord" and in my case it was "Yes Lord" and a click of the mouse.  (( hugs until next time))

Small Wonders

I picked up a magazine a while back only to see an article on "Small Wonders" in reference to Aesop’s FABLE "The Lion and the Mouse."  Apparently I missed that day in school so I have not read it.  Am I too old to read it???? hum...

ANYWAY... the story goes something about a tiny rodent who saves the life of the king of the jungle by gnawing through a rope to free him.  It was a small act, but with life-and-death consequences.  Here the little mouse could have been eaten by the lion, yet he showed that what we do for others sometimes may trump even the GRANDEST GESTURES.

If a humble action can help a lion, who knows what it could do for a friend in need.  It goes back to the theory that God wants us to follow..."with kindness and love...."  Little Things Can Leave A Big Impression.  SO TRY IT!!!

Have a Blessed Day!!!!!         ((hugs until next time))

Running the Race

Oprah's quote "Run your own race - any energy towards someone else takes away from you."  I am really questioning this because she helps so many others.  In my opinion (what ever it is worth) when I was running my "own race" in my career I missed sooooo many opportunities to reach out to others.  With this comment from her, it makes me wonder are her opportunities for her reward?  I cannot or am not the judge on that, but from my own experience, it is such a "selfish NOT SELFLESS" statement.

There are so many opportunities in life that are here to help others, encourage others, let others know that they matter.  Hebrews 10:24, "Let us consider one another in order to stir up love and good works."  Better yet, one of my favorite is Philippians 2:3,4, "Do nothing from selfishness or empty conceit, but with humility of mind let each of you regard one another as more important than himself; do not merely look out for your own personal interests, but also for the interest of others."   THAT IS SOME POWERFUL STUFF!!  Even for those who are not Christians, they should live by these words.  But for those of us who are, our attitudes should be the kind that was shown by Jesus AND he definitely used MOST ALL OF HIS ENERGY on others right up til his death on the Cross.

Until now I never thought of life as a race.  But the race I want to be in is the one that God has set before me..for His purpose.  If it is to be a race of endurance, let my "energy drink" be that from God and used to help others, encourage others, love and pick up my fellow brother or sister when they stumble.  For I know, from my past...that is was someone who slowed down from "their race" and used their "energy" to help set my feet back on the right path.  So my tennis shoes on foot...I am ready but not for My Purpose or Will, but His!!!         (( hugs ))

Re-Thinking a Awful Day

Thinking back a few years I reflected on how I had the unsettling experience with my daughter's FIRST DAY college anxieties.  No matter what I had to say, it wasn't the words she wanted to hear to calm her nerves.  Even reminding her where and from who "fear" comes from, she still was not responsive. She had it set in her mind that this FIRST DAY was going to be the most AWFUL DAY, EVER!!

As she sat in class I was praying for her to be enveloped in Christ's presence to comfort her.  I picked up a book and began reading a wonderful book written by Angela Thomas called "When Wallflowers Dance."   It never ceases to amaze me how we can be in the middle of something and the Holy Spirit will lead us to a passage to read or we will run into someone who has just the right words to guide us.  It just so happen this was one of those days. 

Angela wrote of how her son was complaining that she had packed the wrong crackers in his lunch and he was adamant that because of it he was just going to have an AWFUL DAY!  Her response was so beautiful that I just wanted to share it with you.  If you are like me after reading her response you will never see making the statement "I am having an Awful Day" the same again.

Angela's response to her son regarding his Wrong Crackers/Awful Day experience was this: " …if we have an accident on the way to school, that's Awful; if someone we know gets very ill and ends up in the hospital, that is Awful.  If a tornado blows our house away, that is the worse day ever…You will have an awful day only because your choosing to believe that in your mind!"

Then she followed up by saying these instructive words, "I want you to go into that school happy and thankful for every good gift God has given you.  This is not an awful day.  This is a day that the Lord has made. Believe in Him and His promises to you. I want you to smile at people and walk into your classroom looking for the person who needs your encouragement."

WOW! I needed those words that day and especially the beauty in her very last statement of looking for the person who needed His encouragement.  What a blessing from a mother to a son the guidance wrapped in love.  What a blessing to me in giving me insight as to calm my own child's anxiety that day.  I later shared the story with my daughter and her response was very accepting and now the seed in planted for her to no longer see "Awful Day" the same again.

No more AWFUL DAYS because every day is a DAY THAT THE LORD HAS MADE…and he makes everything in perfection!!

                           (( hugs until next time ))

Quick Read 2 Humbleness

I once did a bible study on the book by Kay Warren "DANGEROUS SURRENDER" and upon reading (on page 22) I was stopped in my tracks by the statistics in one simple paragraph.  I immediate felt so humble to be blessed by God in living here in the United States.  I want to share it with you.

"If you have food in your refrigerator, clothes on your back, a roof overhead, and a place to sleep, YOU ARE RICHER THAN 75% of the PEOPLE IN THE WORLD!  If you have any money in the bank and some in your wallet and some spare change in a dish somewhere, YOU ARE AMOUNG THE TOP 8% of the WORLD'S WEALTHY; 92% have less to live on than you do!  If you have never experienced the danger of battle, the loneliness of imprisonment, the agony of torture, or the pangs of starvation, YOU ARE AHEAD OF 500 MILLION PEOPE in the world.  If you can attend worship services at church without the fear of harassment, arrest, torture, or death, YOU ARE MORE BLESSED THAN 3 BILLION PEOPLE in the world."

If the above words have become more than "words" to you and you now feel "humble and blessed" then your thought process of "what you don't have" just was changed.  AND if the words did not move you....YOU MIGHT JUST WANT TO CHECK YOUR PULSE!!!!!

My prayer: "Dear Heavenly Father, thank you so very much by blessing me with living here in America.  Forgive me for all the times I thought that I was sacrificing by doing without to help someone else, when maybe I have never really known what true sacrificing is.  My struggles seem so meaningless against the real lives of others in other countries.  Most of all, may I feel humble each time I enter the doors of the church, testify openly with another, or sing songs of praise to you....remind me of those who must hide their faith or risk their lives just to serve you.  Lord I am humbled by your Grace in my life."

                                                                    ((Hugs until next time))

The Source of Everlasting Love

Lord, help me to increase the amount of love to others.  This poor world is a cold place to many.  I pray that no one who comes into my path may ever feel chilled from me, but rather that all chilliness may melt, melted by the blessed glow of heavenly love.  Don’t let me ever be afraid of being too loving.

Lord, keep me free to love.  Never let the slightest shade of suspicion to shadow any heart.  Help me to think the best of everyone.

For you are the ultimate source of everlasting love and how I love others reflects on the love that I have for you. Remind me that no act of love, including forgiveness is ever wasted on another.

May the love I have for you, be the symbol of love and forgiveness to all the people I meet.  And may your presence in my life shine to others as a symbol of your unconditional love and forgiveness.   Amen.

                                              ((Hugs)) until next time...

Patience

Patience...where is it used now days?  It is only human to quickly forget to maintain it in various situations.  Prayer is like that.  We get so involved with praying for answers and we think that if the situation is not resolved the way WE think it should be done, we assume God is just not answering our prayers.  This is where Satan sneaks in and really uses the situation against us, sometimes even making us angry of the outcome. 

The whole point of prayer is not to get answers...it is to draw us closer with God.  When we send our prayers up it should always be for God's Will and Purposes.  I know that I am not here to prove God answers prayers but to be a living, breathing testimony of God's Grace! 

And the point I always try to remember is that sometimes that my prayers that seem to not get answered ALWAYS have a reason.  AND sometimes that reason is because there is something in me that needs "tweaked" in my relationship with God.   Lifting prayers up and in faith and trust the Lord hears them and the answers come for ONLY HIS WILL and PURPOSES for our lives and others.

"Don't be impatient for the Lord to act!  Keep traveling steadily along his pathway ..."  Psalms 37:34

                                                      (( HUGS)) until next time....

My January 1, 2012

Everyone spends their first day into the New Year in some traditional and non-traditional ways.  Much like most things in my life, things are seldom traditional (aka normal.)

I had been feeling “not myself” for several weeks.  I had made comment too many that I wasn’t quite sure if I just had a touch of the flu or was just feeling melancholy for some reason this Christmas Season.  Being someone that very seldom visits a doctor’s office, I just kept pushing it off.

I got up that morning with the intentions of packing Christmas ornaments all back up for storage.  During the process the onset of weakness and nausea just kept getting stronger and stronger.  So I began pacing myself. (Yep, I am one of those people who cannot “not finish” a project started.)  I would pack for 10mins and lay down for 10mins.  This went on for about 2 hours.  By the time my daughter got home that day, I could hardly breathe and I felt as if a vice was on my chest, crushing my chest along with all the other symptoms of heart attack.  Funny thing, a heart attack never entered my mind.  I just thought maybe a lung had collapsed or something.  After another hour of arguing with my daughter, I resigned to her taking me to the Emergency Room.  On the way as I began to black out I just remember telling her, I can’t make it to the Big Hospital, just take me to the smaller one up town.   And after that I began praying to the Lord that if this was my time, then take me, but just take care of my daughter.  After that I don’t remember much other than the most excruciating pain in my chest and the limpness over my body.  With no history of cardiac problems and my age, only being 48 again, a heart attack was not hitting anyone’s radar. 

My body was in such pain, I again prayed to the Lord. “Lord, if this is my time, take me, but please take care of my daughter.”  It was then I felt the peacefulness come over my emotions.  It was like my emotions were separated from the pain. I felt comforted and at peace.  They began with all the cardiac medications, trying everything. My parents arrived shortly after.  I remember them all being in the room and opening my eyes. The look on my parents face broke my heart.  They had already buried one child, and they were thinking they may be about to lose their only child left.  I turned my head and prayed “Lord, again, if it is my time, I praise you for the peace you have given me, just give that peace to my parents and take care of my daughter.” 

The doctor came and kept saying, the ekg’s all show normal, yet you only respond to the cardiac medications.  In a nutshell, he proceeds in telling me that he thought it was a bad case of “heartburn” that sometimes is so bad it mimics a heart attack.  He thought he would keep me overnight, just for precaution.

It was during the night I was awaken by people moving around and equipment being brought into the room, and a nurse telling me the doctor is getting out of bed to come in to immediately explain things to me.  They placed, what looked like a “crash cart” just outside my room.  The doctor shortly was there and told me that my cardiac enzymes had tripled and was continuing to climb and it was time to transport me out to a larger facility. 

Again, I had peace. I calmly called my daughter, told her what to pack for me and to bring it up to take with me in the ambulance.  I told her, they needed not come and someone will contact them if I was unable to call them. Yes, I am one of those people that I always want to be dropped off at the door of the hospital and don’t come see me until I call you and tell you it is time to pick me up.  After all the years, my family finally accepts my wishes.

I remember lying there, waiting for the ambulance transport, with peace in my heart, and people around me rushing around. I began to pray for the people in my life. Those close and those who have crossed my path in life, for the Lord to bless them and to take care of them. 

Hours later I was prepped and ready for surgery to go in and find out what was going on with my heart. I remember the doctor coming in before surgery and saying, you are too young, you look younger than your age, you don’t have cholesterol or a blood pressure problem. You are not our “Text Book Patient.”    Yep, I knew and had heard this many times before from other health circumstances in my life.  I again before going to sleep prayed to the Lord NOT for my healing BUT for all the people in my life.  Praising Him for feeling His presence in the midst of what was happening, and the wonderful indescribably peace He had given me.

Here’s the part where non-Christians will not understand, but when I awoke from the procedure, I had a feeling of loss and disappointment.  I was still on this earth, not where I longed to be, in the arms of my Heavenly Father.  As Christians, that is how we are to live our life, so looking forward to being with Him.

The doctor came in and told me that it was not I had a 100% blockage in my heart. My heart muscles were starving for blood supply.   He told me “you just experienced one of the Silent Killers of Women.  Only God could have orchestrated the circumstances that got you here, and the outcome of the results. The timing and outcome were pure and beautifully done. God was in control.” To this day my family is still upset about the “Heartburn” diagnosis by the ER doctor.  I just see it differently. With a smile I understand that God was indeed in control.  And by that experience, I think that doctor will not be so quick to make that diagnosis. So maybe it will save the next woman who does not “fit the mode of a heart attack.”

Later before leaving the hospital, one of the nurses asked me, “we are all wondering, how did you keep smiling and never showed anxiety in the midst of your situation?”  I could only tell her “I thought it was my time and thought I was going to my new home. I was at peace. Apparently God has other plans for my life.”  

I would not be telling the truth that the ride back to my earthly home was a somber one.  But in it, I now find excitement of what God has for me to do for Him.  No matter what the task, I longing look for His fingerprints in my life. I get up each morning, “Lord, what can I do for you today?”   He never disappoints.  I may never understand why I had to endure what I did on January 1, 2012. But I just hope that I don’t disappoint Him in the works He needs to accomplish for Him.  So ladies, there is a Silent Killer out there that we most often ignore, thinking we are too young, won’t happen for another 20 or more years. Nourish and listen to your body, but most importantly, Nourish your Soul. 

Thank you Lord, for being my peace and for allowing me to experience that you were holding me in the midst of the storm.  I now have a taste, and what a treasure it gives me to know, in the end if we stay in the Plumline of His Will, we will experience the separation of emotion, and experience the peace only He will give us.  Loving My God and Looking Forward to continue to do His Holy Will.                      ((hugs until next time))