Proverbs 3 tells us to trust in the Lord with all of our heart. We are not to lean on our own understanding. When we acknowledge Him in all of our ways He will give our lives direction. He will give us wisdom. When we let him guide us into making wise decisions we develop the ability to display sound judgment and discernment when making choices. Before making any decision, we should lift up a prayer request for wisdom. In this chapter, we read that wisdom is more profitable than gold, silver, or rubies. Wisdom gives understanding. The wise person inherits honor.
When we trust God, He will accomplish what He sets out to do. And He always finishes what He starts. He wants us to delight in Him, commit ourselves to Him, rest in Him, and wait patiently for His answer.
We are to be strong in the Lord. He knows what we need, when we need it, and when we are best ready to receive it. We must walk with God, not try to run ahead of Him. Trust in Him and trust His timing.
Pray daily for wisdom, understanding, discernment, and the ability to make sound judgments in all areas of our lives. In faith, we can trust him to hear and answer our prayers. Pray with an attitude of thanksgiving, always thanking Him ahead of time for what He is about to do.
Wednesday, June 30, 2010
Sunday, June 27, 2010
God's Ways Aren't Always Our Ways
31 years ago today, our first born child, Elisa Lynn, died in her sleep in the early morning. She had celebrated her 9th birthday one month earlier.
I received the following email from my friend Angela yesterday. I needed it and God’s timing is always perfect.
We need The Lord, but this shows how God uses others in our lives. We need the fellowship of other Christians to lift us up when we feel down.
The following is the story related in the email which I received yesterday:
“She jumped up as soon as she saw the surgeon come out of the operating room. She said: 'How is my little boy? Is he going to be all right? When can I see him?'
The surgeon said, 'I'm sorry. We did all we could, but your boy didn't make it.'
Sally said, 'Why do little children get cancer? Doesn't God care any more? Where were you, God, when my son needed you?'
The surgeon asked, 'Would you like some time alone with your son? One of the nurses will be out in a few minutes, before he's transported to the university.'
Sally asked the nurse to stay with her while she said good bye to son. She ran her fingers lovingly through his thick red curly hair. 'Would you like a lock of his hair?' the nurse asked. Sally nodded yes. The nurse cut a lock of the boy's hair, put it in a plastic bag and handed it to Sally.
The mother said, 'It was Jimmy's idea to donate his body to the University for Study. He said it might help somebody else. 'I said no at first, but Jimmy said, 'Mom, I won't be using it after I die. Maybe it will help some other little boy spend one more day with his Mom.' She went on, 'My Jimmy had a heart of gold. Always thinking of someone else. Always wanting to help others if he could.'
Sally walked out of Children's Mercy Hospital for the last time, after spending most of the last six months there. She put the bag with Jimmy's belongings on the seat beside her in the car.
The drive home was difficult. It was even harder to enter the empty house. She carried Jimmy's belongings, and the plastic bag with the lock of his hair to her son's room.
She started placing the model cars and other personal things back in his room exactly where he had always kept them. She lay down across his bed and, hugging his pillow, cried herself to sleep.
It was around midnight when Sally awoke. Lying beside her on the bed was a folded letter. The letter said :
'Dear Mom,
I know you're going to miss me; but don’t think that I will ever forget you, or stop loving you, just’ cause I’m not around to say 'I Love You'. I will always love you, Mom, even more with each day. Someday we will see each other again. Until then, if you want to adopt a little boy so you won't be so lonely, that's okay with me. He can have my room and old stuff to play with. But, if you decide to get a girl instead, she probably wouldn't like the same things us boys do. You'll have to buy her dolls and stuff girls like, you know.
Don't be sad thinking about me. This really is a neat place. Grandma and Grandpa met me as soon as I got here and showed me around some, but it will take a long time to see everything. The angels are so cool. I love to watch them fly. And, you know what? Jesus doesn't look like any of his pictures. Yet, when I saw Him, I knew it was Him. Jesus himself took me to see GOD! And guess what, Mom? I got to sit on God's knee and talk to Him, like I was somebody important. That's when I told Him that I wanted to write you a letter, to tell you good bye and everything. But I already knew that wasn't allowed. Well, you know what Mom? God handed me some paper and His own personal pen to write you this letter I think Gabriel is the name of the angel who is going to drop this letter off to you. God said for me to give you the answer to one of the questions you asked Him where was He when I needed him?' 'God said He was in the same place with me, as when His son Jesus was on the cross. He was right there, as He always is with all His children.
Oh, by the way, Mom, no one else can see
what I've written except you. To everyone else this is just a blank piece of paper. Isn't that cool? I have to give God His pen back now He needs it to write some more names in the Book of Life.. Tonight I get to sit at the table with Jesus for supper, I'm sure the food will be great.
Oh, I almost forgot to tell you, I don't hurt anymore. The cancer is all gone.. I'm glad because I couldn't stand that pain anymore and God couldn't stand to see me hurt so much, either. That's when He sent The Angel of Mercy to come get me. The Angel said I was a Special Delivery! How about that?
Signed with Love from God, Jesus, & Me.”
We, as believers are to pray to God for each other. I feel the Holy Spirit working in my life as I pass on my personal stories of God’s love in my life’s journey.
‘When we are down to nothing, God is up to something’.
"All things work for good" (Romans 8:28).
He can use this mother’s story and mine to instill hope and faith into someone else’s life. When we are emptied of all we have, God can fill us abundantly with all He has waiting for us. Our stories and the story of Job in the Old Testament are proof of God’s grace, mercy, provision, and love in times of sorrow as well as in times of happiness.
I received the following email from my friend Angela yesterday. I needed it and God’s timing is always perfect.
We need The Lord, but this shows how God uses others in our lives. We need the fellowship of other Christians to lift us up when we feel down.
The following is the story related in the email which I received yesterday:
“She jumped up as soon as she saw the surgeon come out of the operating room. She said: 'How is my little boy? Is he going to be all right? When can I see him?'
The surgeon said, 'I'm sorry. We did all we could, but your boy didn't make it.'
Sally said, 'Why do little children get cancer? Doesn't God care any more? Where were you, God, when my son needed you?'
The surgeon asked, 'Would you like some time alone with your son? One of the nurses will be out in a few minutes, before he's transported to the university.'
Sally asked the nurse to stay with her while she said good bye to son. She ran her fingers lovingly through his thick red curly hair. 'Would you like a lock of his hair?' the nurse asked. Sally nodded yes. The nurse cut a lock of the boy's hair, put it in a plastic bag and handed it to Sally.
The mother said, 'It was Jimmy's idea to donate his body to the University for Study. He said it might help somebody else. 'I said no at first, but Jimmy said, 'Mom, I won't be using it after I die. Maybe it will help some other little boy spend one more day with his Mom.' She went on, 'My Jimmy had a heart of gold. Always thinking of someone else. Always wanting to help others if he could.'
Sally walked out of Children's Mercy Hospital for the last time, after spending most of the last six months there. She put the bag with Jimmy's belongings on the seat beside her in the car.
The drive home was difficult. It was even harder to enter the empty house. She carried Jimmy's belongings, and the plastic bag with the lock of his hair to her son's room.
She started placing the model cars and other personal things back in his room exactly where he had always kept them. She lay down across his bed and, hugging his pillow, cried herself to sleep.
It was around midnight when Sally awoke. Lying beside her on the bed was a folded letter. The letter said :
'Dear Mom,
I know you're going to miss me; but don’t think that I will ever forget you, or stop loving you, just’ cause I’m not around to say 'I Love You'. I will always love you, Mom, even more with each day. Someday we will see each other again. Until then, if you want to adopt a little boy so you won't be so lonely, that's okay with me. He can have my room and old stuff to play with. But, if you decide to get a girl instead, she probably wouldn't like the same things us boys do. You'll have to buy her dolls and stuff girls like, you know.
Don't be sad thinking about me. This really is a neat place. Grandma and Grandpa met me as soon as I got here and showed me around some, but it will take a long time to see everything. The angels are so cool. I love to watch them fly. And, you know what? Jesus doesn't look like any of his pictures. Yet, when I saw Him, I knew it was Him. Jesus himself took me to see GOD! And guess what, Mom? I got to sit on God's knee and talk to Him, like I was somebody important. That's when I told Him that I wanted to write you a letter, to tell you good bye and everything. But I already knew that wasn't allowed. Well, you know what Mom? God handed me some paper and His own personal pen to write you this letter I think Gabriel is the name of the angel who is going to drop this letter off to you. God said for me to give you the answer to one of the questions you asked Him where was He when I needed him?' 'God said He was in the same place with me, as when His son Jesus was on the cross. He was right there, as He always is with all His children.
Oh, by the way, Mom, no one else can see
what I've written except you. To everyone else this is just a blank piece of paper. Isn't that cool? I have to give God His pen back now He needs it to write some more names in the Book of Life.. Tonight I get to sit at the table with Jesus for supper, I'm sure the food will be great.
Oh, I almost forgot to tell you, I don't hurt anymore. The cancer is all gone.. I'm glad because I couldn't stand that pain anymore and God couldn't stand to see me hurt so much, either. That's when He sent The Angel of Mercy to come get me. The Angel said I was a Special Delivery! How about that?
Signed with Love from God, Jesus, & Me.”
We, as believers are to pray to God for each other. I feel the Holy Spirit working in my life as I pass on my personal stories of God’s love in my life’s journey.
‘When we are down to nothing, God is up to something’.
"All things work for good" (Romans 8:28).
He can use this mother’s story and mine to instill hope and faith into someone else’s life. When we are emptied of all we have, God can fill us abundantly with all He has waiting for us. Our stories and the story of Job in the Old Testament are proof of God’s grace, mercy, provision, and love in times of sorrow as well as in times of happiness.
Saturday, June 12, 2010
Installing Software
Our mind is our personal computer. It is the hard drive which is connected to the mainframe. God is the mainframe who in turn is connected to each and every one of us. His connection is always there but we control the on and off switch. Is your switch in the on or the off position? When we are seeking Him or know Him, we always keep it on. He gives us free will and knows that some will choose to keep their PC turned off. He will encourage us through circumstances and the witness of others to turn our computers on to Him but He will never force us to do so.
Our hard drive is always accepting software, information being installed. What are you feeding your mind? Ralph Waldo Emerson wrote, “You are what you think all day long”. You become what you fill your mind with. Edifying thoughts and images produce positive actions and upright character, but junk in produces junk out. So be very careful about what software you install into your PC.
Sometimes other people install software into our information memory bank. Just like we have to cleanup all the memory in our computers every so often, we have to clean out things from our past, our prior installations, which might be affecting the way we think or function now. We must follow God’s example. He not only forgives us when we do wrong, he erases and forgets. In Isaiah 43:25 He says, “…and will not remember thy sins”. In Jeremiah 31:34 He says, “I will remember their sin no more”. In Hebrews 8:12 He says, their sins and iniquities will I remember no more”. God is omniscient. He sees, hears, and knows everything. His word is the soft ware that we should be installing in the PC of our mind. When we have installed His word in our minds, hidden his word in our hearts (Psalm 119:11), we can “google” in a word or verse and retrieve it when we need it. God tells us not only to forgive others and ourselves for past wrongs, but forget the past memories and move on. We must clean up the viruses and bad memories in our software. We must forgive and forget! When we are unable to do this, bring your computer to its maker. He will do it for you! If you don’t believe me, try it for yourself.
I keep my personal computer in the on position constantly and feed it with the word daily. I will not let my guard down; a firewall in my being warns me about viruses, attachments, or other ungodly things which are trying to invade my mind. Many of the invasions into our minds are insidious. They creep in and try to change who we are or how we think. Remember, we are mind, body, and spirit. When each isn’t being fed properly, our entire system becomes unbalanced. Stay balanced and stay focused. We must know who we are in our creator, believe in ourselves, and treat others with love and compassion (even when the others we are dealing with act in an undeserving way). We are all responsible for our own actions, not the actions of others. Our ultimate accountability is to God. If we remember and believe this it will affect the information which we program into our computer and the print out of the lives which we live.
Our hard drive is always accepting software, information being installed. What are you feeding your mind? Ralph Waldo Emerson wrote, “You are what you think all day long”. You become what you fill your mind with. Edifying thoughts and images produce positive actions and upright character, but junk in produces junk out. So be very careful about what software you install into your PC.
Sometimes other people install software into our information memory bank. Just like we have to cleanup all the memory in our computers every so often, we have to clean out things from our past, our prior installations, which might be affecting the way we think or function now. We must follow God’s example. He not only forgives us when we do wrong, he erases and forgets. In Isaiah 43:25 He says, “…and will not remember thy sins”. In Jeremiah 31:34 He says, “I will remember their sin no more”. In Hebrews 8:12 He says, their sins and iniquities will I remember no more”. God is omniscient. He sees, hears, and knows everything. His word is the soft ware that we should be installing in the PC of our mind. When we have installed His word in our minds, hidden his word in our hearts (Psalm 119:11), we can “google” in a word or verse and retrieve it when we need it. God tells us not only to forgive others and ourselves for past wrongs, but forget the past memories and move on. We must clean up the viruses and bad memories in our software. We must forgive and forget! When we are unable to do this, bring your computer to its maker. He will do it for you! If you don’t believe me, try it for yourself.
I keep my personal computer in the on position constantly and feed it with the word daily. I will not let my guard down; a firewall in my being warns me about viruses, attachments, or other ungodly things which are trying to invade my mind. Many of the invasions into our minds are insidious. They creep in and try to change who we are or how we think. Remember, we are mind, body, and spirit. When each isn’t being fed properly, our entire system becomes unbalanced. Stay balanced and stay focused. We must know who we are in our creator, believe in ourselves, and treat others with love and compassion (even when the others we are dealing with act in an undeserving way). We are all responsible for our own actions, not the actions of others. Our ultimate accountability is to God. If we remember and believe this it will affect the information which we program into our computer and the print out of the lives which we live.
Thursday, June 10, 2010
Thank You Lord
For my Birthday, for my life Lord, I thank you.
Thank you for what you have brought me through and for all that you will bring me to.
I do not take for granted anything that you have given me. The prominent assets in my long list of things for which I am grateful are the following:
1) My Health
2) Richard, my high school sweetheart and husband of 46 years
3) Erica and Christa, my daughters
4) Trevor and Kris, my son-in-laws
5) Trevor and Hunter, my grandsons
6) Our new home in Pennsylvania
7) Our home and friends in The Florida Keys
8) The gift of Faith
9) My loved ones who are already in Eternity with You; Mom, Dad, Elisa, Carrie,
Aunt Carrie, Angela, Alf, Maynard and so many others including my friend Heidi.
10) My Sisters and their families and my special life long friends and their families
Lord, continue to guide me through the coming year. Give me wisdom and direction and use me to your Glory in the lives of others. Help me to grow in my faith. May I love you more dearly and experience your power more fully.
This I pray in Jesus’ precious name. Amen
Sunday, June 6, 2010
God's Presence, My Growth
God’s presence became so evident to me during an Easter Dawn Service in a Brooklyn Park. A small group of classmates from Brooklyn Methodist School of Nursing was attending the pre-dawn service with Linda Sigg’s aunt. The weather was so very cold. I can’t remember anything else about the service other than how cold I was. I kept praying; Lord, make me warm. After repeating my request in prayer many times, a warmth flowed through my body. I stopped shivering and felt His warm, peaceful presence. Then….I started to question the experience and doubted that this really was happening. I think about Peter when he walked on water. (Matthew 14:25-31) As soon as he started to question the fact he was walking on water, the miracle ceased and he started to sink. As soon as I doubted what was happening, my body started to feel the cold again. The feeling of peaceful warmth left me as quickly as it had come. This is the first time I have ever shared this experience with anyone. The memory has stayed with me all of these many years. I do know that God heard my prayers and proved His presence to me in that moment of time.
When I was a child growing up in Brooklyn, I had two Christian friends, Marilyn and Yippie. After school on Wednesdays, I would go to a weekday bible program with them at their church. I have fond memories of these times and there is one song which we sang that always brings me back to that time and place. The song; “At Calvary”, tells me that “mercy there was great, and grace was free; pardon there was multiplied to me; there my burdened soul found liberty, at Calvary”. My spirit was being fed, so my faith could grow. “Faith comes by hearing and hearing by the word of God”. (Romans 10:17)
Going back even further; I can remember attending Sunday School at Bethelship Methodist Church, even as a toddler. I recall that some of the Sunday School classes were held in the balcony area overlooking the sanctuary. There was a painting behind the pulpit, of Jesus in a long white robe with outstretched arms. I clearly recollect two of my teachers, Esther and Alice. I thank my parents for their faith and for giving me these memories and a strong foundation from which my own faith could grow and develop.
God’s plan is perfect but the journey isn’t always easy. My faith increases as I look back on my personal road of faith and growth. He has always been with me.
Thank you, Lord, for your plan for my life. I will continue to trust and be obedient as you direct my path and the paths of my family. I love you Lord.
When I was a child growing up in Brooklyn, I had two Christian friends, Marilyn and Yippie. After school on Wednesdays, I would go to a weekday bible program with them at their church. I have fond memories of these times and there is one song which we sang that always brings me back to that time and place. The song; “At Calvary”, tells me that “mercy there was great, and grace was free; pardon there was multiplied to me; there my burdened soul found liberty, at Calvary”. My spirit was being fed, so my faith could grow. “Faith comes by hearing and hearing by the word of God”. (Romans 10:17)
Going back even further; I can remember attending Sunday School at Bethelship Methodist Church, even as a toddler. I recall that some of the Sunday School classes were held in the balcony area overlooking the sanctuary. There was a painting behind the pulpit, of Jesus in a long white robe with outstretched arms. I clearly recollect two of my teachers, Esther and Alice. I thank my parents for their faith and for giving me these memories and a strong foundation from which my own faith could grow and develop.
God’s plan is perfect but the journey isn’t always easy. My faith increases as I look back on my personal road of faith and growth. He has always been with me.
Thank you, Lord, for your plan for my life. I will continue to trust and be obedient as you direct my path and the paths of my family. I love you Lord.
Thursday, June 3, 2010
AHA!!! Moments of Spiritual Insights and Growth
As I look back over my life, certain moments come to mind, moments when a spiritual light has come on. I will try to remember and tell you about some of these times.
After Elisa’s death I was sitting in a church pew with my in-laws and Erica. I was emptied and going through the motions of living. We were in a fog. I was open and searching for meaning, understanding, comfort, and direction. I only remember one thing from the sermon that day. God, through the pastor, told me that Faith is a gift. I was given an awareness of the truth that my faith does not depend on what I do; Faith is a gift given to me by God. My part was to believe and receive.
Ephesians 2: 8-10 says, “God saved you by His special favor when you believed. And you can’t take credit for this; it is a gift from God. Salvation is not a reward for the good things we have done, so none of us can boast about it. For we are God’s masterpiece. He has created us anew in Christ Jesus, so that we can do the good things He planned for us long ago”.
Not too long after that Sunday, Erica and I started going to church with my parents. It was the church I had attended as a teenager, and where Richard and I were married. Pastor Meck helped me through some very hard times. In one of his Sunday sermons, he used John 15 as his text. In it I was told that God abides in me and I abide in Him. The word became alive in my heart and I knew it to be true. It is the Scripture about the vine and the branches. Jesus is the life bearing vine. As a believer, I am a living branch and I will bear fruit because I abide in Him.
John 15: 4 says, “Abide in Me and I will abide in you. Neither can you bear fruit unless you abide in Me”.
During our first Christmas without Elisa, we had to change how we celebrated to somehow try to ease the pain which we were feeling. We decided to take our camper out west. We would spend Christmas with Richard’s family in Oklahoma and then go on to Texas, Arizona, New Mexico, and Colorado. One night, at a campsite, unable to sleep, I was reading my Bible. I can see the moment and visualize where I was sitting. In John 12, Jesus spoke of his coming death as the fulfillment of his purpose when He would receive great glory. He said, “the truth is, a kernel of wheat must be planted in the soil. Unless it dies, it will be alone, -a single seed. But its death will produce many new kernels - a plentiful harvest of new lives. God had a plan for His son’s life and I knew that He also had a plan for my life and Elisa’s short life. He spoke to my heart through His word. I still didn’t understand but I knew that I would trust Him.
On New Years Eve, during that trip, we were the only camper at a campsite in New Mexico. It was a cool but clear night with a full moon. As Erica and I stepped outside, I looked up into the night sky. I have never seen any thing like it before or since. The full moon was surrounded by a circular rainbow. I knew that it was a glimpse of God’s presence in our lives and He was telling me that everything was going to be OK. We were suffering but I knew that He was aware and was walking the journey with us
I will continue to reflect on my AHA!!! moments, and the glimpses of God’s presence in my life. I will share these thoughts and memories with you in my upcoming Blogs.
Thank you for joining me in my journey of spiritual insight and growth.
After Elisa’s death I was sitting in a church pew with my in-laws and Erica. I was emptied and going through the motions of living. We were in a fog. I was open and searching for meaning, understanding, comfort, and direction. I only remember one thing from the sermon that day. God, through the pastor, told me that Faith is a gift. I was given an awareness of the truth that my faith does not depend on what I do; Faith is a gift given to me by God. My part was to believe and receive.
Ephesians 2: 8-10 says, “God saved you by His special favor when you believed. And you can’t take credit for this; it is a gift from God. Salvation is not a reward for the good things we have done, so none of us can boast about it. For we are God’s masterpiece. He has created us anew in Christ Jesus, so that we can do the good things He planned for us long ago”.
Not too long after that Sunday, Erica and I started going to church with my parents. It was the church I had attended as a teenager, and where Richard and I were married. Pastor Meck helped me through some very hard times. In one of his Sunday sermons, he used John 15 as his text. In it I was told that God abides in me and I abide in Him. The word became alive in my heart and I knew it to be true. It is the Scripture about the vine and the branches. Jesus is the life bearing vine. As a believer, I am a living branch and I will bear fruit because I abide in Him.
John 15: 4 says, “Abide in Me and I will abide in you. Neither can you bear fruit unless you abide in Me”.
During our first Christmas without Elisa, we had to change how we celebrated to somehow try to ease the pain which we were feeling. We decided to take our camper out west. We would spend Christmas with Richard’s family in Oklahoma and then go on to Texas, Arizona, New Mexico, and Colorado. One night, at a campsite, unable to sleep, I was reading my Bible. I can see the moment and visualize where I was sitting. In John 12, Jesus spoke of his coming death as the fulfillment of his purpose when He would receive great glory. He said, “the truth is, a kernel of wheat must be planted in the soil. Unless it dies, it will be alone, -a single seed. But its death will produce many new kernels - a plentiful harvest of new lives. God had a plan for His son’s life and I knew that He also had a plan for my life and Elisa’s short life. He spoke to my heart through His word. I still didn’t understand but I knew that I would trust Him.
On New Years Eve, during that trip, we were the only camper at a campsite in New Mexico. It was a cool but clear night with a full moon. As Erica and I stepped outside, I looked up into the night sky. I have never seen any thing like it before or since. The full moon was surrounded by a circular rainbow. I knew that it was a glimpse of God’s presence in our lives and He was telling me that everything was going to be OK. We were suffering but I knew that He was aware and was walking the journey with us
I will continue to reflect on my AHA!!! moments, and the glimpses of God’s presence in my life. I will share these thoughts and memories with you in my upcoming Blogs.
Thank you for joining me in my journey of spiritual insight and growth.
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