II Timothy 1:7; Philippians 4:12-13; Joshua 1:9 - "Waymaker"

Yesterday a friend said I looked 'peaceful' even with what is happening in life. I am glad I do. Sometimes I'm not sure how there is peace but then God reminds me He is my Peace. I am so grateful for that. When I fell apart at my virtual neurologist appointment yesterday I apologized for being so emotional. She told me it was natural to be emotional in this time and I should not worry about it. I thought about how God gave me emotions for a reason. He uses tears to cleanse my spirit. He wraps His arms around me and allows me to show my emotions. I'm so grateful He gave me a husband who allows me to be emotional. I know that is definitely a blessing many wives are not blessed with. I started my day with tears and ended it with tears and that is ok. I continue to pray for a miraculous healing for Doc to happen on this earth, sooner than later. I wait in anticipation as I hope for this to occur. God is my Hope. He is my Miracle Maker. He is the Only One who can do what I pray for. A friend shared with me some words from Joy Thomas about the day in between the burial of Jesus and His resurrection. 

“It’s quiet, things seem hopeless, and it appears that nothing will ever change. But, it is in this blank space that the greatest miracle is taking place. May we never forget that in our blank spaces we have a mighty God that is still in the miracle business. He is still moving mountains on our behalf. He is still breaking chains. He is still resurrecting dreams. He is still saving lives. He is still on His throne! He sees! He knows! He’s working even when all we see is a blank space!”

The "blank space" is where we are. We are waiting, praying, hoping, and depending completely on God. God is giving us a miracle every day that we have life together. He is giving us a miracle by keeping the cancer intact in the pancreas. He has given us a miracle of Doc being in the eighteen percent of those with stage four pancreatic cancer seeing a year of life. He is still in the miracle making business. Doc is living proof of that. He has not given us the miraculous healing yet but He is still working. Praise His Holy Name! We will continue to stand upon II Timothy 1:7 in the empowerment of His Holy Spirit knowing He is not done yet. He is always with us, fighting for us. He is not going to leave us but instead will be our Presence as long as we allow Him to be. He is our Peace because we are living in His presence through these days that are so hard. I think of Paul's words in Philippians 4:12-13.

I know what it is to be in need, and I know what it is to have plenty. I have learned the secret of being content in any and every situation, whether well fed or hungry, whether living in plenty or in want. I can do all this through him who gives me strength.

Yes! When I was unable to do much of anything physically, God gave me Philippians 4:13 to hold onto. I thought He was talking about physical strength then but He was meaning our entire being. He strengthens our physical, mental, emotional, financial, and spiritual body as we lean into Him. I can't even begin to imagine what my emotional body would be like if He wasn't strengthening me. I don't know how people get through life without God. That is one of the reasons I feel an urgency to get people to accept Him into their heart and to get those who already believe in Him to go deeper in their relationship with Him. People need Him in their lives. People need the empowerment of the Holy Spirit to get through the mountains and valleys of life. I am encouraged this morning by the song Waymaker.

Waymaker
Miracle Worker
Promise Keeper
Light in the darkness
My God
That is who You are

Woo hoo! Yes! He is all of these things to me. As we are in this waiting time, I pray for God to make the way for healing to happen in Doc's body. He promises to be with us. God's words to Joshua in Joshua 1:9 are ones I take to heart.

"Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged, for the Lord your God will be with you wherever you go.”

Yes! I will be strong in Him. I will not allow the enemy an open door to give him an opportunity to put fear upon my life. My God is the Light in the Darkness of our situation. He promises to be with me through it and for that I am grateful. 

Dear Jesus,

Thank You for loving us so greatly that You have given us another day of life together! Thank You for the way You were with Doc through the chemo and then through the sickness afterward! Thank You for going before us and keeping us close to You! Thank You for being our Strength as we continue to wait for Your miraculous healing! Father, every day we have together is a miracle from You and for each day we are thankful. Lord, cleanse me so You can fill me to overflowing with more of You. May You shine brightly through me throughout the day ahead. I pray today is a typical day after chemo with Doc feeling good. I pray we will bless You as You bless us. Thank You for reports of successful surgeries for Brenda and Dick. I pray for my friend having a procedure this morning to experience a miracle through it and for another friend whose brother is on life support. Lord, be with all fighting C. Doc, Lisa, Mike, David, my pastor friend, Linda, Kandi, Tiffany's father, and so many others. I pray for our government officials, pastors, business leaders, and health providers as they continue to deal with making decisions with the coronavirus. Lord, be the One people turn to for wisdom. Thank You Jesus for being Our Waymaker! Amen.

II Timothy 1:7; Philippians 4:13; Proverbs 3:5-6; James 1:2-4; Psalm 46:10 - "He Will Carry Me"

This road we are on is difficult and one I would not wish on my worst enemy. I don't know how people get through such times without God in their lives. I'm struggling to get through each day even with my strong faith. How can that be? How can I feel so distraught at times when I know He is with us? How can it be so hard to even breathe at times when I know He gives me breath? How can I put one foot in front of the other with so much unknown? I don't like struggling. I don't like being so emotional and having tears flow so easily. I just want to crawl into bed and cover up my head but I know that is not what God wants me to do. During the night I cried out to Him multiple times asking Him for more time for us. I begged Him for some 'good' days where we could make some more memories. I know He probably is tired of me praying for a healing in Doc's body while on this earth sooner than later but I will continue to do so until he takes his last breathe. I prayed for strength for both of us. I will continue to stand upon the promises God has given me. 

II Timothy 1:7 for His empowerment of the Holy Spirit over fear. 
Philippians 4:13 for His strength in my physical, mental, emotional, financial, and especially my spiritual body. 
Proverbs 3:5-6 for His wisdom to be mine.
James 1:2-4 for His joy to overtake me in a mighty way through these 'tough' days.
Psalm 46:10 for His presence to surround me as I rest in Him.

Dear Jesus,
Thank You for Your love, mercy, and grace! Thank You for the day ahead! Father, may today not be so horrible for Doc as a typical chemo day is. May You surround him with more of You and strengthen him through this day. Father, I am praying: II Timothy 1:7 over both of us for Your empowerment of the Holy Spirit; Philippians 4:13 for Your strength in our physical, mental, emotional, financial and most of all our spiritual bodies; Proverbs 3:5-6 for Your wisdom; James 1:2-4 for Your joy; and Psalm 46:10 for Your presence. Lord, be greater than C. I also pray for Dick and Brenda as those recuperate from surgeries; my friend who lost her mother; and my friend whose brother is on life support. May You be greater than what they are dealing with in these days. I pray they will lean into You for Your strength. Father, cleanse me so You can fill me with more of You. My tank feels 'empty' in many ways but I know You are with me. Thank You Jesus for being My Filler! Amen.

II Timothy 1:7; Psalm 3; II Samuel 15-18; Romans 8:31 - "Redeemed"

This morning the Lord took me to Psalm 3. Once again this is about dealing with enemies. I read it in different versions and settled in on The Passion Translation. I love how it breaks it up into sections and shows how David wrote it with pausing in God's presence at times.

The Humbling of a King

1 Lord, I have so many enemies, so many who are against me.
2 Listen to how they whisper their slander against me, saying:
“Look! He’s hopeless! Even God can’t save him from this!”
Pause in his presence

The Help of God

3 But in the depths of my heart I truly know
that you, Yahweh, have become my Shield;
You take me and surround me with yourself.
Your glory covers me continually.
You lift high my head when I bow low in shame.
4 I have cried out to you, Yahweh, from your holy presence.
You send me a Father’s help.
Pause in his presence

The Song of Safety

5 So now I’ll lie down and sleep like a baby—
then I’ll awake in safety, for you surround me with your glory.
6 Even though dark powers prowl around me,
I won’t be afraid.

The Secret of Strength

7 I simply cry out to you:
“Rise up and help me, Lord! Come and save me!”
And you will slap them in the face,
breaking the power of their words to harm me.
8 My true hero comes to my rescue,
for the Lord alone is my Savior.
What a feast of favor and bliss he gives his people!
Pause in his presence

It seems like God has me pondering upon enemies. Is it about my enemies? Is He going to put someone before me to talk to that is struggling with their enemies? Is there going to be someone read what I write that needs encouraged about what they are going through with enemies? I don't feel like I have enemies other than when the enemy tries to bring up my past to remind me of people who still hold ill feelings about me. I know my past is just that. My past. It does not have any say over my future because God wiped my slate clean. I am reminded of hearing Big Daddy Weave sing in person a few years ago the song Redeemed.

Seems like all I could see was the struggle
Haunted by ghosts that lived in my past
Bound up in shackles of all my failures
Wondering how long is this gonna last
Then You look at this prisoner and say to me "son
Stop fighting a fight it's already been won"

I am redeemed, You set me free
So I'll shake off these heavy chains
Wipe away every stain, now I'm not who I used to be
I am redeemed, I'm redeemed

We do not have to worry about things we've done wrong when we have asked for forgiveness. We can go on with life knowing God forgives and forgets. People may not do so as quickly but if God lives in them He will empower them to do so. This Psalm was written by David after Absoluom had conspired against him in II Samuel 15-18. He was distraught and betrayed. Many times we find ourselves feeling such emotions. Sometimes even at the hand of a loved one or close friend. David shows in this Psalm the importance of being in God's presence to find safety and strength. We all need protected when the enemy comes knocking at our door. Without God's protection the enemy will walk right in and cause great havoc. We all need His strength to stand against the enemies tactics. I stand on II Timothy 1:7 every day in His empowerment against the enemy. He tries to tell me lies to get my focus off of God. 'You aren't good enough...He doesn't love you enough...You don't walk in His ways enough...' The list goes on and on of his lies. Last night I was reminded He is enough! As we live in Him, we have hope, strength, freedom...oh so many things that are only possible through Him. 

I believe David knew God was enough. I believe he lived in God's empowerment to get through such times as with his son conspiring against him. He did not have the Holy Spirit as we have today but he still was empowered by God. God shielded David. He helped him in his time of distress. I think of what Laura Story wrote about God does not always take our circumstances away. In verses five and six of Psalm 3 David writes about how God blessed him with sleep and He blessed him with waking up. David did not know if he would see another day of life yet He rested in God in knowing no matter what happened God was in control. Even though Paul had not yet written the words of Romans 8:31 David still knew it to be the truth. If God is for us, who can be against us? What a lesson there is to be learned here! This lesson is something David lived out. It is a lesson we all need to grasp. As we do, we will live in a feast of favor and bliss as David proclaimed in verse eight of Psalm 3 and know that God is enough! 

Dear Jesus,

Thank You for this Scripture and song this morning! Lord, I know You are enough but sometimes I need reminded. You are enough when Doc's pain is so great like yesterday. You are enough when I feel helpless with his situation. You are enough when the enemy tries to put fear upon me. Plain and simple. You are enough and for that knowledge I am grateful. Lord, cleanse me this morning so You can fill me to overflowing with Your Holy Spirit. Lord, may I be like David and continue to live in Your presence. May people see/hear You instead of me today. May You shine brightly from me. Lord, my heart aches for so many ones going through difficult days. I pray for people to surround them with Your love. Kathy, Aaron, Eddie, and Erica with their losses of loved ones. Craig and Vance as they work to regain strength. I pray for Dick who is having knee replacement today and Jan as she continues to regain strength from her knee replacement. Father, most of all I pray for those with spiritual needs. I pray for people to get to the end of themselves so You can be the Lord of Lords and King of Kings of their life. Father, be greater than their hurts. Thank You Jesus for being My True Hero! Amen.

II Timothy 1:7; Psalm 17; Matthew 22:36-40 - "Alive and Breathing"

This morning the Lord took me to Psalm 17. This is one of only five Psalms that is a prayer instead of a song. David wrote only three of the five. As I thought about that tidbit of information I thought about how David praised God through singing through all sorts of situations that occurred in his life. David was not always walking in God's will. He did not always do what was right but in this particular Psalm he was saying he was doing what God desires. He was praying for God to protect him from his enemies. It's interesting to think many people when reading the background of this Psalm think it had to be written before David's sin with Bathsheba. Many believe David would not have called himself 'innocent' had it been after that time. Yesterday Doc and I were talking about a situation with a pastor's death. As I read a newspaper article about him, we were saddened to read how a 'fall' done four years ago was written about him in the article. He had repented and been restored back into the church he served. God had forgiven him and restored relationships in his life. When we repent of our sins, God no longer remembers them. Unfortunately, some people will never forget the 'bad' we do. Some people will hold 'bad' things against for the rest of our lives. Yesterday in our sermon we talked about being judgmental and how that was not the way God desires us to be. He desires us to follow His commandments of Matthew 22:36-40.

As we live out these two commandments, we will live as God desires of us. His love will ooze out of us in such a way people will desire to have Him in their life. This is the desire of my heart. My heart aches to see people not living with Him. It aches to see people struggling in life when if they would allow Him to be in control, they could have such freedom. Loving Him does not make all our problems go away but it gives us His strength to get through them. Loving Him gives us His wisdom to work through things. Loving Him gives us His comfort to get through the hurts of life. Plain and simple. Loving Him is the best way to live. As we love Him, He reminds us of how life with Him needs to be a daily cleansing. We need to ask Him to forgive us every day of anything we have done so He can cleanse us. Once we this then He can fill us with more of His Holy Spirit. As we said yesterday in our sermon, 'He wipes our slate clean!' The sins of tomorrow are gone when we live in this manner. God forgives and forgets and He is the Only One that matters. As we live out our life for Him, He will love us in such a way that is not possible through man. We can be confident in His love. David was confident in his innocence in verses three through five of Psalm 17. That confidence can only be found through repentance. David wrote about how his words and his actions were right before the Lord. That is the desire of my heart. When I ask God to cleanse me, I do so I can be right with Him. I do not want anything between me and Him. If there is, I will not be able to hear His voice. Therefore, I will not be able to walk in His will. That is definitely not where I desire to live. I desire to be living exactly as He desires of my life. I pray for His protection over my 'enemies' just as David prayed in verses six through eight. Yesterday's sermon brought up some 'enemies' to me. Satan loves to bring up our past to try to tear us down. He loves to put thoughts into our head about things we've done. He loves to remind us that people remember of such things. As we pray for God to protect us from our 'enemies' we can be assured He will. Praise His Holy Name! The enemy will try to get us to think about our past. God makes us realize the past is no longer when we repent. The enemy may get people to say things to us to remind us of past sins.  God gives us the empowerment of the Holy Spirit (II Timothy 1:7) to overcome fearing what the enemy can do. God reminds us when we repent we are given a clean slate to begin anew. Woo hoo! The Psalm continues with David praying for God to take care of his enemies. The 'icing on the cake' for me with the way David prays in the last verse. In the Voice translation it reads:

But as for me, my hope is to see Your face. When I am vindicated, I will look upon the holy face of God, and when I awake, the longing of my soul will be satisfied in the glow of Your presence.

Yes! In His presence is where I choose to live. In His presence is where I will know what His will is for my life. In His presence is where I have hope of living with Him forever. Plain and simple. In His presence is where we all need to live. Woo hoo! I read in a commentary this morning:

“As for me” he says. In opposition to those who set their minds on things of this earth – whose only portion will be what they have in this life – David is more interested in beholding God’s face. Are you? Are you honestly more interested in seeing God and being with him forever than you are in what you can gain in this life? David was. And what made David confident that he was going to see God? It’s the very thing that he’s been emphasizing throughout this entire psalm – his innocence, his righteousness. Because of David’s righteousness, he would behold God’s face. Now, we know from what David says elsewhere and even from what the New Testament says of David that this is not self-righteousness or a righteousness based on the Law. But it’s the righteousness of one to whom sin is not imputed, whose transgressions the Lord forgives. That righteousness based on faith in God’s promises will allow David to see God’s face.

That last sentence is key. When we live a life as God desires of us, we will spend eternity with our Heavenly Father. Oh how I desire for more people to live in this manner.

Dear Jesus,

Thank You for the opportunity to preach with Doc yesterday! Thank You for giving him Your strength to get through the pain he was in! Thank You for another day of life for us together! Thank You for the opportunities that are ahead for us to love with Your love throughout this day! Lord, cleanse us so You can fill us to overflowing so Your love oozes out of our words, actions, attitude, and thoughts throughout this day. Father, I am pretty sure there is someone having surgery today or tomorrow that I failed to write down. Go before them and give their doctors wisdom. I pray You will bring their name to my mind. Father, I thank You for the opportunity to be an intercessor in prayer. Thank You for this example of David's prayer in Psalm 17 this morning as he prayed for his enemies! May You keep my focus on You when the enemy tries to pull me away with thoughts of my enemies. May You be greater than the hurts of my heart. May Your love show through me in a more intentional way today. Thank You Jesus for being My Hope! Amen.

II Timothy 1:7; Psalm 28 - "Thy Will"

With getting little sleep Friday night I was afraid I wouldn't wake up during the night Saturday night to pray so I prayed for pastors before going to bed. I prayed for all of them to preach the word boldly as God directs them. I asked God to give my pastor strength for today as the day was very tough with pain. I also asked Him to give him clarity in his thinking as he is struggling with 'chemo brain' so often these days. Mordecei got me up once and as I prayed the Lord directed me to pray for pastors who continue to struggle with doing internet preaching. He also had me pray for pastors who will struggle with it being Mother's Day and how to lead the service. Mother's Day is probably the most controversial subject in the life of the church. A pastor either puts too much emphasis on it or not enough. There are so many hurting people in this world. It seems like Mother's Day brings out more of the hurts than any other day. I prayed for pastors to be sensitive to the people but not let the them be who they serve. I prayed for them to follow God's will and allow Him to deal with the people's hearts. The saying 'hurting people hurt people' comes out in times such as today. I prayed for God to be the Soothing Balm upon the hurts. I prayed for pastors to stand in the empowerment of the Holy Spirit as II Timothy 1:7 speaks of. I also prayed for there to be no open doors for the enemy to go through. This morning the Lord took me to Psalm 28. I rest in the promises of the last few verses...

6-7 Blessed be God—
    he heard me praying.
He proved he’s on my side;
    I’ve thrown my lot in with him.

Now I’m jumping for joy,
    and shouting and singing my thanks to him.

8-9 God is all strength for his people,
    ample refuge for his chosen leader;
Save your people
    and bless your heritage.
Care for them;
    carry them like a good shepherd.

Yes! God hears our prayers! We can be joyful in that knowledge. We can be grateful knowing He not only hears our prayers but He stays close to us as we live out the answers. He will lead us in the path He desires for us. He will bless us as we allow Him to guide us. God's love for us is so great! He doesn't want to see us fail but instead desires to see us living in His glory. Woo hoo!

Dear Jesus,

Thank You for Your love, mercy, and grace! Thank You for dying on the cross so I could live! Thank You for the day ahead! May You be blessed in abundance through me today! Father, cleanse me so You can fill me. May You be my words, actions, attitude, and thoughts in a more intentional way today. I pray blessings over my Momma as she will be alone for Mother's Day and all mothers who are alone. I ask for Your comfort for them. I pray for all who are hurting today to allow You to be their Soothing Balm. It seems like there are more hurting than there are celebrating this day. God, be greater than the hurts. I pray for pastors who will be dealing with hurting people to be strong in You. Give them Your words. Lord, I pray for Doc to have a better day today. Yesterday was the 'pits' with the pain being so great. I pray for Amanda's Daddy who is also going through 'tough' days. Thank You for Rhonda blessing my Momma yesterday! Thank You for all the ways You bless me through others! Father, I pray a blessing over Doc and I as we do the sermon together this morning. May people have a change in their spirit from something that is said and may there be restoration in relationships that occur today. Father, be with those who are mourning from loss this past week. Kathy, Eddie, and Aaron lay heavy on my heart. Lord, I pray for opportunities today to share You with others even though we are self-quarantined. Thank You Jesus for being My Shepherd! Amen.

II Timothy 1:17; Psalm 18 - "God's Not Done With You"

This morning the Lord took me to Psalm 18. He stopped me at verses twenty through twenty-four. In The Message it reads:

God made my life complete
    when I placed all the pieces before him.
When I got my act together,
    he gave me a fresh start.
Now I’m alert to God’s ways;
    I don’t take God for granted.
Every day I review the ways he works;
    I try not to miss a trick.
I feel put back together,
    and I’m watching my step.
God rewrote the text of my life
    when I opened the book of my heart to his eyes.

I love this! It is exactly how I feel. David penned it perfectly as he was reflecting on how God saved him from his enemies. We have to get to the end of ourselves before God can work in and through us as He desires. When we are first saved, we have taken the first step with God but there is more that needs to happen in our relationship. We must die to self so He can live in us. As we do, He will lead us down the path He has planned for us. When we allow the Holy Spirit free reign, we will receive new life. Woo hoo! I began reading this Psalm in different translations. When I started reading in The Passion Translation, I stopped with the first two verses and felt so blessed in my relationship with Him. They read:

Lord, I passionately love you and I’m bonded to you,
for now you’ve become my power!
2 You’re as real to me as bedrock beneath my feet,
like a castle on a cliff, my forever firm fortress,
my mountain of hiding, my pathway of escape,
my tower of rescue where none can reach me.
My secret strength and shield around me,
you are salvation’s ray of brightness shining on the hillside,
always the champion of my cause.

Yes! I am passionate in my love for Him. He is my strength and my power. The Holy Spirit empowers me to stand strong in my faith. He empowers me to knock the enemy down when he tries to put fear upon me. He empowers me to know God is not done writing my story. I love the song Tauren Wells sings about this topic.

God's not done with you
Even with your broken heart and your wounds and your scars
God's not done with you
Even when you're lost and it's hard and you're falling apart
God's not done with you
It's not over, it's only begun
So don't hide, don't run
‘Cause God's not done with you, you

When we hurt, the enemy tries to creep in and destroy. He uses people, circumstances, illness, etc. whenever he can to convince us God is through with us. That is a blatant lie. God never gives up on us. He is always there for us. He wants us to thrive in times of turmoil in His strength. I have been up for two hours praying for people who are going through tough times in life. Some physical. Some emotional. Some financial. Some spiritual. Oh how I pray for all to find His peace. I pray in times of distress people will call out to God and allow Him to be the Soothing Balm they need. I'm praying for families who are torn apart to be 'glued back together' with His love. My heart breaks to see parents with prodigals, especially with this Sunday being Mother's Day and Father's Day being next month. It breaks to hear of abuse in families and to hear of families who are struggling financially and don't have food on the table. It breaks to know families who don't have God in their lives. These days with the coronavirus are tough on everyone. They are tough on those who live alone and are self-quarantined. They are tough on families. But no matter what our circumstance God is with us. He desires to use these 'tough' times to draw us closer in relationship with Him. He desires to take our faith deeper. To do that we must stand upon the promises of His Word. II Timothy 1:7 promises His empowerment through the Holy Spirit. It is a verse that I have held tightly to over the last year. One year ago today was when we received the diagnosis of cancer in Doc's pancreas. He has gone through over thirty chemo treatments after having a biopsy that revealed stage four pancreatic cancer. Only eighteen percent of people see the one year mark. These last months have been hell on earth as I have watched him lose weight, be in pain, become so weak, spend much of his time in bed, etc. They have not been easy for either of us. We have both struggled physically, mentally, emotionally, financially, and sometimes even spiritually. But I am so grateful God is My Secret Strength as Psalm 18:2 reads. Yesterday was another emotional day for me. I was grateful for a friend who prayed with me over the phone. God knew I needed her words. I was grateful when He took my headache away after a few hours and for the gifts of love we delivered to the ladies. This Psalm and this song remind me He's not done with either one of us. He will continue to use us as we allow Him. He will be our strength as we lean into Him. Woo hoo! Praise His Holy Name!

Dear Jesus,
Thank You for giving me this Scripture and song this morning that encourage me greatly! Thank You for not being done with us but instead continuing to write our story! Father, once again I ask for Your will in Doc's situation with the pancreatic cancer. I pray Your will be healing while he is on this earth but if that is not to be then I pray for mercy upon him from the pain. I pray for Your strength to be his in whatever is ahead. Lord, be glorified in all we do. Cleanse me this morning  so You can fill me to overflowing with more of You. May You be my words, actions, attitude, and thoughts in the day ahead. May people see/hear You instead of me. Thank You for Patty praying with me yesterday! May You bless her in abundance and be with her with the challenges she faces with her eyes.  My heart breaks for the two men who lost their fathers yesterday. May You draw near to them and be their strength in these tough days. I wish we could be with them. Since that is not the case I pray for people to love on them with Your love. I also pray for two families in turmoil. I pray for eyes to be opened to what You desire of all involved. Lord, the enemy needs crushed in both situations. Lord, I pray for this weekend to not be one of hurt but one of love for all mothers. May You be the Soothing Balm where needed. Thank You Jesus for being My Secret Strength! Amen.

II Timothy 1:7; Proverbs 3:5-6; Philippians 4:13; I Peter 1:16 - "Goodness of God"

Yesterday was not anything like I expected. God blessed me in abundance throughout the day with Doc feeling good. He asked if I wanted to do something and I said "Yes! How soon should I be ready to go?" We left around noon and checked on the electric situation at the church building then headed out of town. I drove all over the place for the next five hours. He had read my post about peaches and got on the internet to see where the closest farm market was to us. There were done of the peach ones but he found one an hour away so that was our goal. We saw places of our beautiful area we had never seen before. We did find the farm market and they had a handful of South Carolina peaches. They were small but pretty. Expensive but we were on a 'date' so 'it's only money' was said. We picked up pimento cheese spread and crab dip along with some crackers and had them for lunch. We stopped at another little farm market that I went in but no peaches there, only expensive produce. We also stopped at a little store I checked out but nothing exciting there. As I drove, we talked and laughed. On the way back through town we stopped again to check on the building, picked up subs for supper, and went home for Doc to go back to bed after being up all afternoon. It was an awesome afternoon. Definitely not like I expected the day to go. What a pleasant surprise! He was painfree until evening and didn't take a hot bath or pain pill until bedtime. Woo hoo, God! Thursdays are usually better days than most with the steroids kicking in after chemo but yesterday was a God gift to us. One we opened up with pleasure. God desires to bless everyone. He desires to see us thrive. Not necessarily does He desire to see us living a 'happy' life but He definitely desires us to live a 'holy' life. That is what I strive to do every day. Just like I told our Wednesday night group I may not always succeed but the more I strive to live a holy life, the better I will become at it. I know there are a lot of people who don't understand how anyone can live a 'holy' life because they see it as being perfect all the time. Jesus walked on this earth as man yet He was holy. He was without sin so He was holy. We walk this earth but we cannot be without sin yet we can still strive to be holy. I've heard the question, 'Why try to do something you can't succeed at?' My answer is because we are called to be. I Peter 1:16 has His words, "Be holy for I am holy" (NIV). Being holy means to be consecrated or to live a life set apart for God. It means to be sold-out to Him so He is the One to make all decisions in your life. It means not making a decision without His input first. When one lives in this way, they do not allow others to sway the way they live but instead depend upon Him. In the beginning of such a life it can be hard for some because they don't fully walk in holiness. They still try to hang onto things so they have control. There is still manipulation that occurs for things to go 'their' way. But when one totally gives of themselves life is glorious. There is such freedom in living in His will. You never have to make decisions on your own, worry about what to say or do, etc. Instead you live in the knowledge that He is in control of everything. You stand upon His empowerment of II Timothy 1:7; His wisdom and direction of Proverbs 3:5-6; and His strength in Philippians 4:13. Woo hoo! This is the life God desires for all to experience. I pray every day for a cleansing in my spirit so He can fill me with more of Him. I pray as I live the life He has called me to live people will see and desire the same. I pray as people see how I respond to challenges in life they will also know I see them as opportunities to draw deeper in my faith and shine brightly for Him. Oh how I pray for people to know Him and once they go into relationship with Him they will get to the end of themselves so He can live in and through them in the way He so desires.

Dear Jesus,

Thank You for the way You poured Your blessings over us yesterday with Doc having a good day! Thank You for him getting through the day without a hot bath or pain pill until bedtime! Thank You for the beauty of Your creation we saw for the first time yesterday on our drive! Thank You for Chris who worked in our yard again yesterday! Thank You for opportunities You gave me to minister to people last evening! Lord, today is a new day. I desire to live a life sold-out to You. Cleanse me so You can fill me. May my words, actions, attitude, and thoughts be Yours today. May You shine brightly through me. May people see/hear You instead of me. Lord, I pray for Erica and her family with her mother being life flighted. I ask that You be with: Emily Howard as she goes for X-rays this morning; Craig and Vance as they continue with the challenges faced to regain strength in their bodies; Doc, Lisa, Linda, Mike, David, and many others who are battling C; Norma; Kathy and others who have lost loved ones; and especially those with spiritual needs. My heart broke as I read about how Monday was the highest amount of calls to an abuse hotline than ever before in history. There is so much stress, turmoil, and hatred in this world. Father, forgive us for not sharing Your love more when we have opportunity to do so. Forgive our country for the way You have been shunned out of our society. Oh Father, how I pray for Your return to be sooner than later. Thank You Father for being My Goodness! Amen.