WHAT IF....

What if I learned to depend* solely on God?

*Synonyms:
bank on*, bet on*, build upon, calculate on, confide in, gamble on*, lean on*, reckon on, rely upon, trust in, turn to, hang on, hinge on, rest, rest on, rest with, revolve around, revolve on, stand on, stay, trust to

How 'bout when I don't?

Antonyms:
disbelieve, distrust, not expect

READ THIS

http://cherylstreehouse.blogspot.com/ Check out the post "Traditional Church"

QUOTE OF THE DAY

"What if, when you get really old, you have a flashback of this and start befriending your furniture?"

Image taken from here.

FOR ARLENE

"Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies and God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our affliction so that we will be able to comfort those who are in any affliction with the comfort with which we ourselves are comforted by God." (2 Corinthians 1:3-4)

I read this scripture this morning and immediately thought of my friend, Arlene. If there has ever been a person who reflects this scripture, who has taken the comforts of God the Father and our Lord Jesus Christ, and has poured those comforts into the lives of others...it is Arlene!

Please continue to pray for my friend!

Image taken from here.

LUVIN' U IS EZ CUZ YUR BEAUTIFUL

Today I read this:

"We love because he first loved us." I John 4:19

And all I could think of was.......how incredible it is that You love us...people....me? And because You looked to and fro among the things You created, and then cast Your eyes upon me...and pierced my heart and soul with Your love....how my heart bursts returning that love to You.

I love You...You are beautiful.

I love You...You are worthy.

I love You...because Your perfect love not only loved me first, but without it, I would never know what love is or should be. I would never know You. And I would be empty and hopeless and lost.

Instead....I am loved.

Image taken from here.

THINKING ON THE HAPPY

Having a rough, tiring, overwhelming day today, so I decided to think on a few happy things:

1. My daughter had her nose pierced and it looks very cute.
2. My friend, Kelly, sent me two pics today, one of her baby boy on his daddy's lap at the piano, and another of her pregnant and totally beautiful profile.
3. When I unpacked my new work laptop the other day, there was a pink breast cancer support key ring, and it made me think of my friend.
4. My mom's neighborhood had a block party on Saturday. I got to meet a lot of people who I wouldn't have met otherwise and also to visit with a few old friends.
5. Your blogs were fun, and interesting, and vulnerable, and....well, they feel kind of cozy to me. Hope that makes sense.
6. I got a secret message from a friend in an email that made me laugh.
7. God...thinking about God. He makes me feel happy.
8. The movie I watched last night...The Green Mile....it made me cry but I was glad I watched it.
9. I planted these yellow daisy like flowers, and they always look like they are smiling.
10. The rain. I like the rain.

IMAGE TAKEN FROM HERE.

NORMALIZING

Yesterday my alarm went off at 4 a.m. I had to leave for Grand Rapids by 6 a.m. I had to get myself ready, prepare my mom's meals, clothes, and medications for the days, take care of the pets, spend time reading and studying the Bible, and water the flowers outside before I left. I remember turning my alarm off. The next thing I knew...it as 5:49!!!

You know it! I scurried around. Woke my daughter up way too early to ask her to get some food, any food, prepared for my mom. I rushed off to work to meet my co-worker who I would be following out to our training sessions. I had to put my make-up on in the car...that was when I discovered that I had no mascara. Good thing I had some liquid eyeliner which had to double as mascara. Just as I started to relax a bit a had a funny feeling in my nose....oh, nooooo....couldn't be happening right now as we were speeding down the expressway.....holy cow, yes! A nose bleed. Luckily I had some napkins on the passenger seat so I could intervene before I showed up to my customer with nose bleed all over my blouse. I had to laugh at my morning, crazy and wild as it was, because I wondered how I must look to the other drivers with a napkin hanging out of my left nostril.

Despite my crazy morning, I think I am in the process of normalizing. When I looked up the word, normalizing had something to do with metallurgy or to resume a normal state. My mom, work, and a few other areas seem to be returning to a more manageable state.

There are two areas of my life that I am extremely excited about normalizing in. One is the area of people. I love people. I love to spend time with people. Like you bloggers. I can't tell you how hard it was for me to wonder how you all were, to pray for you not knowing what things you were thinking about or going through or laughing about. I've missed my daughter....just having time to laugh and hang out or sit late at night and just talk about this or that. And my friends and family...I feel like I have been scheduling them in...a few minutes here...a function there...without really getting to enjoy them because I was too tired or too busy.

The second area is with the Lord. I have been so tired, distracted, overwhelmed. I have slept through the alarm clock and missed my morning time with Him.....on several occasions. I have fallen asleep as soon as my head as hit the pillow, missing my nightly chit chat time...just the two of us...no devotions to get through, no lesson to study....just me enjoying being with Him in the still quiet of the night until I drifted off to sleep, breathing in His Spirit and His presence. This I have missed most of all, because it is where I find rest, rejuvenation and inspiration.

I think I am normalizing....and I am excited to be....back!

FOR ARLENE

"The potency of prayer hath subdued the strength of fire; it hath bridled the rage of lions, hushed anarchy to rest, extinguished wars, appeased the elements, expelled demons, burst the chains of death, expanded the gates of heaven, assuaged diseases, repelled frauds, rescued cities from destruction, stayed the sun in its course, and arrested the progress of the thunderbolt. Prayer is an all-sufficient panoply, a treasure undiminished, a mine which is never exhausted, a sky unobscured by the clouds, a heaven unruffled by the storm. It is the root, the fountain, the mother of a thousand blessings." - From the book "Walking from East to West", pg. 160.

Please pray for Arlene.

image taken from here.

Wrist Bands

A new employee I am training has been wearing a yellow wrist band. I asked her yesterday what it was for. Her dad died two years ago and it was to support a certain foundation related to his disease. I also learned that her uncle died almost a year to the day later and that since then, November has become a very difficult month for her. Had she not been wearing that wrist band, I may not have learned that about her.

The first time I ever saw one of those rubber wrist bands was years ago during the WWJD period. WWJD bracelets were everywhere....hoping to remind us to think about our actions in light of what Jesus would do in that same situation. I have a card on the wall in my office that is entitled...."Jesus in a Dilemma". There is a drawing of Christ looking at a rubber wrist band on His wrist that says, "What Would I Do?" It cracked me up when I bought it and still makes me smile.

I have only sported a rubber wrist band on one occasion...while my friends were in the process of adopting their children. The purple wrist bands we wore helped remind us to pray and pray we did. It was a tough process, a time of testing and questioning and wondering where God was and why He didn't jump in and fix things. Which as always, He did in His way and in His time and I have had the hugs and kisses from two beautiful children who call me "Aunt Kaki" to prove His faithfulness and graciousness.

My co-worker's wrist band has had me thinking. It seems there is a lot of pain, a lot heartache, a lot of hope, a lot of dreams represented in these simple rubber wrist bands that people wear. What if we all sported these wrist bands representing what we were going through in life at the time? I mean, we could just look at a person's arm and know how to pray for them, how to support them. Or how to judge them. I thought of a few things that I would not want to display on my rubber wrist band for the world to see. Or another problem would be the sheer volume a few of us would need to cover all the areas we were struggling through. And, I think it would become easy for us to ignore them. After all, we have busy lives, limited resources....we can't fix all the problems in the world. Can we?

I would never, ever make fun of these wrist bands. Like I said...they represent a lot to the people who wear them and I want to be sensitive and respectful of that. And I really don't believe that wearing wrist bands that state one's cares is the only way to identify the need. I believe the signs are everywhere....in the eyes, the smile (or lack of), in the voice, the sag in one's shoulders...and I believe that God's Holy Spirit directs us to those we have been chosen to come alongside. I think I will continue to watch for wrist bands and more importantly, listen for the voice that directs me. Now, if I can just work on obedience!!!!!

QUOTE OF THE DAY

"A flick is NOT a flip...there IS a difference!!" - Rachel Mc