My Miracle….

I cannot stop singing ( be thankful you cannot hear me! ) and shouting praises to God for His mercies are new every morning!!!

I have to shout to the world of the miracle God performed for me just yesterday.  A miracle! For me!!  I am still reeling with awe and wonder that the Lion of Judah loves me and cares so much for me that He would bring about a miracle in my life.

I will do my best to contain my words to only a few hundred but the joy cannot be contained so please bear with me as I do my best to share with you the mightiness of our God.

To keep things as brief as possible I will just outline a few of the "majors" that our family has been dealing with as of late so that you might comprehend the scope of emotions that have been rioting for attention as well as the depth of mercy God showered upon me yesterday.

• Praise God my husband returned physically well from Afghanistan in October of 2013.  He is now retired but unable to draw his retirement pay for 5 years.  He is currently unemployed and battling PTSD and life as it is here in the States versus what he had come to view as "normal" for 18 months.  So, a drastic unexpected reduction in income for our family.
• Loss of income = loss of opportunity to purchase a home of our own.  Our leased property frequently leaves us with no heat and frozen pipes.
• Health issues.

That is enough to give a general idea of the pressures we have been shouldering.  Don't feel sorry for us!  We are BLESSED!!!  Yes, it is tough, but God is merciful and faithful to us always!

In June of this year, God brought me to the place of my current employment.  He used a fellow believer who is a member of our church to bring about a blessing to me.  Michele chose to hire me to work with one of the agents, Tommy, in the real estate office where she is the Operations Manager.  (And she does a phenomenal job!!)  Little did I know that this job would be God's way of providing for us when my husband returned home!  But God knew.  He knew the future and true to His word in Jeremiah 29:11 (For I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord, plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you a future and a hope) God provided for our family long before we even knew we would need that provision.

God has chosen to bless my efforts in my job and is expanding the scope of our business relationships!  What an awesome blessing.  Not long after I started here in the spring, it was mentioned that I should pursue my real estate license so that I could be of further benefit not only to Tommy but also, to be able to assist the tremendous team we have at John Jones!  

For a while, I have been studying before and after hours as well as on the weekends.  Putting in some long hours but looking forward to being able to expand the reach of my position.  You see, when God blessed me through Michele, He brought to me a joy in my job that I have only had once before in regards to a professional position.  My heart and nature is to love and serve people, so God knew that nothing would suit me more than where I currently am.  Working with a group of fellow believers who love God as I do.

Soooo…. along comes Sunday.  Sunday is the day before my scheduled state and national exams.  I am nervous and excited about the up coming test.  Feeling apprehensive because I take on pressures that I should leave to God.  I knew with the license would come the opportunity to bless my family with an increased opportunity to be able to have our own home as well as meet medical needs.

Tommy is so very wonderful and provided me with an opportunity to stay within 3 miles of the testing center so that I could spend Sunday in study and preparation.  Around noon Sunday I needed a brain break so I walked downstairs to the hotel restaurant and had lunch.  Turns out that the fish I consumed was so very NOT good.  Within 30 minutes I had a great case of food poisoning going on.  So basically the rest of that day and night was spent in misery.  In addition, it seemed that I was not to have any rest as several hotel guests spent the majority of the night running up and down hallways laughing / shouting.  

In comes Monday morning and I am exhausted, dehydrated, and weak.  I knew that first thing I needed to do was STOP everything and spend time in God's word and in prayer listening to His direction. While I was getting prepared to check out and leave the hotel, I wrestled with re-scheduling my testing. I never had peace about that so I proceeded on to the testing site.  Not sure how I was going to make it through the two exams without being sick in front of everyone, I sat in my truck in front of the building.  

I told God this….. "God… I have no faith in my ability to go in there and remember my own name much less the depth of materials that I am required to know.  I do have FAITH in You, Your confidence, and Your mercy.  So I lean fully on You to perform this."

I walked in the building at 7:45 and I walked out at 8:45.  Testing time allotted is a little over 3 hours with a time limit of 4.  Twice during the exam I had to get up to be sick.  After 30 minutes I had finished both exams with absolutely zero recollection of what I had done.  I walked out of the room knowing that I would need to reschedule the tests since I had not passed them.

When I walked to the table where the exam proctors were seated they asked me to come have a seat.  I sat down and they informed me that were printing my paperwork and needed a photo.  I had passed both exams!!  I began crying so hard that they were literally shocked into silence.  They told me "you did good to pass and pass so quickly."  I had to correct them immediately.  "This was none of me and all God!!"

I am still stunned, amazed, and over whelmed that He brought this about!!  Words fail when I try to express my praise to Him.  I cried all the way back to Murfreesboro knowing that God had brought about a miracle just for me.  

As if the food poisoning was not enough, the lack of sleep, and other factors combined to make me pretty much of little use that morning.  I firmly believe that God allowed all those things to occur so that I would see His hand moving on my behalf and know well the Glory of God shown on my behalf.  

All I can say…. is praise Him!  Praise His holy name!  Praise the great I Am!  Over and over my heart continues to praise….

I invite you to join me as I praise God for His boundless mercies…..

Be Still …….

Yesterday I spent cloistered most of the day intent on study.  Through out the day I would have periods of "what if" during my studies.  What if I didn't assimilate the materials?  What if I could not reproduce what I had learned? What if? What if? What if?

After all God has been faithful to teach me this week, here I sit, still questioning, still wondering, still doubting.  Makes me rather furious with myself!  At what point will walking in faith become second nature instead of such a wrestle against nature?  Quite frankly, that day cannot come soon enough!!

This morning finds me in solitude for further study once my morning devotion is completed.  And there, faithful as He always is, is my Savior ~ waiting to teach me yet again.  To show me how He would have me go.

Amazing isn't it?  So long I have wandered around, praying and discussing with everyone, God's will.  What defines God's will.  How you can determine His will.  What His will could be for my life.  Yet here it is…. morning after morning.  Waiting only for me to shut out the world, turn off my mind, close my lips, and fully open my heart.

This morning He began speaking to me in Exodus 14:14  "The Lord will fight for you; you have only to be still."

Seems to be a recurring theme of late.  Obviously I am not putting into practice His teachings.  So I will be still today.  Trusting that as I read He will plant it firmly in my mind.  That when the time comes, He will bring about recollection.  Trusting that His Holy Spirit will fill me with peace that cannot be shaken.

Filled with gratitude and overwhelmed at how faithfully He meets with me each morning, I lifted my lips in prayer…. only to have Him speak one more lesson to my heart.  Spoken so loudly and so clearly that I would not have been surprised to see God standing next to me whispering it in my ear.  I have never heard such a loud whisper.

A whisper that brought me to my knees in shame for my actions and thoughts.  A whisper that forever changed my heart.  I could feel the change beginning as He spoke.  A whisper that rocked everything I knew….   Oh the glory of that whisper!!!

Love them fully

Without condemnation for their actions

I can't comment as this verbose person is literally without words.  I am finding, that when in His presence, words are superfluous.  

So I leave you with this ~ Each reader of this humble blog is in my prayers even as the keys are pressed.  Each reader is loved beyond your imagination / comprehension to a depth that only the most Holy God can do.  Each of you are called ~ to be part of the glorious family….   

Join me today

No longer weak!

All to often, I allow circumstances to cause me to feel powerless.   As if I am caught in a vortex of pain and hopelessness with nothing I can do but "buckle in for the ride".  That has got to be one of the greatest lies told by the enemy.  It is great because I so readily buy into the deception of being weak and powerless.

I must remember that I am a child of the one true King!!  The great creator God!  Alpha and Omega!  The great I Am!!  The merciful Jehovah Jireh!  How can I for a moment, believe that my Father would leave me anything except for filled with His power, endowed with His character, and blessed with the working of the Holy Spirit in and through me?  Ridiculous for me to be so easily duped.

In Acts 1:7-8 He spells it out plain as day for us ~ "He said to them: "It is not for you to know the times or dates the Father has set by His own authority.  But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes upon you; and you will be witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea, and in Samaria, and to the ends of the earth."

Wow!!  Are you hearing what the Father is telling me?  For He is telling you, and you, and yes, you, the very same thing!

The Holy Spirit will come up on you!  This is not a special gift give to a few but is a filling that happens the instant you choose to enter into relationship with the Father.  Keep reading!  It only gets better!!!  I have a "Jerusalem" that I am to be a witness to!  "Where is that" you might ask.  Jerusalem is where ever I may be….  work, family, friends, shopping, wherever I may go in life.  I am to be a witness in DEED not just by running my mouth.  My every action should scream the love of Christ so loudly that no one around can proclaim that they never heard of Him.

Sounds a bit over whelming doesn't it?  Not really…. not if I receive the prior sentence as the truth that it is.  I will have power when the Holy spirit has come upon me.  It is mine.  I already have it!!!  I don't have to do anything, act any way to get it.  I walk in power daily!!!

We walk in hope because we know the One who is hope.  We walk in joy because we know the One who is joy.  Most of all, we walk in love because He is Love….   We are called to be ministers, to be servants, to be healers…..

Hold your head high!  For we walk in the victory that Christ has already won for us and we walk in power.  Be blessed as you travel the road before you today.

Walking the Road…..

The road to Emmaus: was traveled often and by many.  This day; this day was different.  A great tragedy had fallen and the people were feeling bereft, abandoned, alone.

Sound familiar?  Have you ever been walking down a road only to look around and see that you are alone?  Have you been left feeling bereft? Alone? Abandoned?

It is all a lie….. take heart my friends.  For as we journey to our Emmaus we are walking with the lover of our hearts.

Look at Luke 24:13-15

13 Now that same day two if them were going to a village called Emmaus, about seven miles from Jerusalem.  14 They were talking with each other about everything that had happened.  15 As they talked and discussed these things with each other, Jesus himself came up and walked along with them;

Have you ever noticed this scripture?  Taken in the significance of what is being said?

Jesus walked along with them.  My mind can barely begin to grasp all the wondrous beauty and blessings contained here.

Yes, He ascended to prepare us a place.  Yes, He is waiting with the Father to call us home.  No, we are not left to walk alone.

John 14:16
And I will ask the Father, and He will give you another advocate to help you and be with you forever

John 14:26
And the Advocate, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, will teach you all things and will remind you of everything I have said to you.

My heart is over flowing with joy, tears streaming down my face, for what my mind cannot grasp, the Spirit is revealing to my spirit so that I might walk in fulness with my Father.

Grasp His hand, gaze into His face, and just enjoy boots walking a dusty path strolling with the Father.

Shifting Focus

So often it seems that I am a little behind the curve on lessons to be learned.  When I arrive at the "other" side of a difficulty, I look back and learn so much about choices, decisions, and myself.

However, this morning, God is trying to bring me a different lesson.  A lesson that I know is not easy and that will require me to step forward in the faith and knowledge that He loves me most and knows me best.  A lesson that I must learn to continue to grow in Him.  Today's lesson is about focus.

You see, it isn't all that hard to look back and see the right, gain clarity, and learn lessons.  It is our nature to do so.  We are now safely removed from the hurt, we have added "time" to calmly assess situations, and we are further from the emotion of it all.  Yet, is this the way God really intends for me to live?  Looking back?

I think not.  In fact, if I live in full honesty and revelation, I KNOW not!  God's intention is never for us to be looking over our shoulders but instead, to be looking fully into His precious face.

This morning I find myself in the midst of a few situations that are charged with volatile emotions, fraught with worry, fear banging loudly to be let in, frustration boiling ~ all which have been on going for several months now.  The longer the situations continue, the higher the demand for response.  The higher the demand for response to these stimuli ~ the more pivotal my focus becomes.

Focus…. just where is my focus during all of this?  Hmmm….  not sure I am liking what I am learning. My focus is just that MINE.  It is firmly centered on me, how I feel, how the circumstances affect me, the injustice…. me me me me.

I am getting sick of ME!!!  This morning I am listening to what Joseph shared with his brothers in Genesis 50:20 "You intended to harm me but God intended it for good to accomplish what is now being done".  Whoa!  There is the focus shift I need!!!

God's intention!!!  What is God's intention in each of these situations?  I may not know the answer just now in this moment, but I do know this:  God intends for my focus to be on Him, His purpose, and how His purpose is to be worked out in my life, and how He can bless others through what He has given me.

I do believe that this will be my priority each and every day…..
Be encouraged my friends…… the more we are willing to listen, the more He will speak, the more we give, the more we are blessed!

Worth More!

Spoken by our Lord in Luke 12:7 "…Do not be afraid.  For you are worth more…."

Wow….   The very Son of God has proclaimed us to be worth more!!

We are worth more than our past failures ~ worth so much more.
We are worth more than our circumstances ~ worth so much more.
We are worth more than our insecurities ~ worth so much more.
We are worth more than the labels the world places upon us ~ worth so much more.

Are you believing it yet?  You are worth M O R E!  You don't?  You can't accept that as a truth?  Then listen to this:

We are His children ~ 1 John 3:1
We are His handiwork ~ Ephesians 2:10
We are His portion ~ Deuteronomy 32:9
We are loved ~ 1 John 4:19
We are heirs ~ Romans 8:17
We are known ~ Jeremiah 1:5
We are formed by Him ~ Jeremiah 1:5
We are a pleasing aroma ~ 2 Corinthians 2:15

Do you feel that?  The falling away of worthlessness and the great peace that comes in knowing that You are worth more!  Take in all the words of the Father as He speaks to you over and over of His great love for you.

Consider this ~ you are the one treasure He formed with His hands, breathed His breath into, to give you life.  You were not spoken into existence!  You are the one treasure that He created in His own image!  You are the one treasure that He loves so very much, that He sacrificed His own Son for you and you alone.

You, sweet beloved, A R E worth more!

Martha developing a Mary heart

Today I was reading along in Luke 10 and came to vs 41 ~ "Martha, Martha," the Lord answered, "You are worried and upset about many things, but few things are needed - indeed only one.  Mary has chosen what is better and it will not be taken from her."

Many times during my life I have read this verse and participated in various studies / sermons based upon this one verse.  Yet, today, God is bringing me yet another aspect to this which I need to apply to my life.

I am a Martha by nature.  If it needs to be done, I jump in and get it done.  If someone needs help, nothing pleases me more than to walk through life with them and help them.  I am a doer, plain and simple.

Our culture, for the most part, rewards the Martha's of this world.  Those who go, do, push, and keep pushing.

But then there is Mary.  Precious Mary who sat quietly at the feet of our Lord redeeming the time to spend in worship of our Savior.

All too often, myself, along with others choose…   Will we be a Martha today or a Mary?  Both were women of virtue.  Both are treasured by our Lord.  Both are needed in this life.

But then God spoke to me this morning….  "Child, you are a Martha for I have created you so.  Now allow me to develop the heart of Mary within You.  That you, too, may choose what is better."

You see, He is calling me to have the heart of Mary where my first longing and choice will always be His presence, His will, and His calling.  So as I serve as Martha, the heart of Mary will be prevalent in all I do.

I can see now that this will take much time upon my knees in His presence with mouth shut, head bowed, and heart wide open to allow Him to work fully within me that Potters Hand that continues to mold me to more fully reflect Him.

Take a moment as your boots are walking and seek His molding in your life….  The peace and joy that it ushers in will be worth the pain of the shaping!

Are We an Abraham?

I am walking with my Lord through the Life Journal this year…. Spending each morning in His presence reading His word, and shutting out the world for a while so that I can hear His sweet voice speaking to me.  

Today as I read Genesis 20, 21, and 22 - something struck me about dear Abraham.  He is just like many of the Christians I know and most especially he is like ME!  

Earlier this week I read in Genesis 12 of how Abraham ( then Abram ) instructed Sarah ( then Sari ) to lie and say that she was his sister in order for him to be protected.  God inflicts disease upon Pharaoh and his household and the lie is uncovered.  You read along and figure that ol' Abraham learned his lesson but alas no……

Genesis 20 finds Abraham going through this very same facade with King Abimelek only this time Abraham brings self justification into it.  Abraham states " She really is my sister, the daughter of my father though not of my mother; and she became my wife".  My first reaction is "Really Abraham?  You learned nothing from before?  You are going to do this again?

But wait?  Is that really so different from what I do?  I have times of great faith and I stand strong.  Then there come those times when my faith wavers and I turn to the abilities of the flesh: which, just so you know, is NEVER a good idea!

So yes, I am an Abraham….. as are so many of us.  That retrospective perception is a great thing but cannot alter anything.  We are better to keep our eyes focused on God alone and use His perspective to deal with present circumstances.

And when the road becomes unclear, boulders are scattered about, and pain seems to become a traveling companion - it is then, more than ever, that we need to turn to our God and allow Him to lift the burden from us and carry us.  You see, it isn't our burden to carry to begin with.  His will has always been and will always be to walk in relationship.  Loving us, sharing His strength, providing great peace, bountiful mercies, and an eternal joy.  

Let's strive to be less like Abraham today and focus our eyes on Christ who is the author and finisher of our faith.

Walk on my friends, head held high, gazing into the eyes of Love…….