Yesterday was one of those busy, rushed, crazy days that we all have from time to time. A friend had asked me the day before if I could run by for coffee and cookies on Wednesday for a little while. I agreed in advance not knowing that my day would be so flustered and crazy.
My day was so hurried that I even forgot to go, but thanks to my sweet hubby calling (from out of town) to remind me, I quickly rushed over there. We had the greatest visit and got off on the subject of how we get so tangled up in our own lives and our "stuff" that we lose the real focus of why we're here. For me, it seems we go through seasons where our focus is right for a while and then it gets off balance. We get off track and begin to focus on things and stuff. I want to keep my heart and motives pure before Him. I want to lose sight of myself so that I can find His purpose, His perspective.
This morning during my prayer time, my scripture reading was Hebrews 13:5 (NKJV) "Let your conduct be without covetousness; be content with such things as you have..." Was that an accident? I say, NO! God always confirms His word to us. I am thankful for the whispers He gives us each day!
Thursday, December 16, 2010
Tuesday, December 14, 2010
Faith That Pleases Him
Hebrews 11:6 (NKJV) "But without faith it is impossible to please Him, for he who comes to God must believe that He is, and that He is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him."
What a scary thought that when we don't exercise faith, we are NOT pleasing Him. What are you believing Him for? What impossible situation have you failed to place in His hands today? We have no problem believing He IS... we know He's God but we forget that He longs to reward us as we follow hard after Him. Our filter is all messed up, clogged with cobwebs of past failures, doubt, feelings of unworthiness or just clogged with our own way of thinking. Why do we think we can fix any problem with our own methods or worries?
I vow to give everything big & small to you, Lord.
I vow to give it to you BEFORE I sit and worry over it.
I vow to make you my FIRST option.
I vow to see it as "done" before I see any glimpse of hope that you are working on my behalf.
I vow to recognize that you want what's best for me and will always work things for my good.
What a scary thought that when we don't exercise faith, we are NOT pleasing Him. What are you believing Him for? What impossible situation have you failed to place in His hands today? We have no problem believing He IS... we know He's God but we forget that He longs to reward us as we follow hard after Him. Our filter is all messed up, clogged with cobwebs of past failures, doubt, feelings of unworthiness or just clogged with our own way of thinking. Why do we think we can fix any problem with our own methods or worries?
I vow to give everything big & small to you, Lord.
I vow to give it to you BEFORE I sit and worry over it.
I vow to make you my FIRST option.
I vow to see it as "done" before I see any glimpse of hope that you are working on my behalf.
I vow to recognize that you want what's best for me and will always work things for my good.
Tuesday, December 7, 2010
Another Miracle in the Cook House!
Once again, I am overwhelmed that He would bring yet another miracle into my life! He's already given our family so many miracles! As a teenager He healed me of anemia in a healing service then orchestrated a process healing of eating disorders (which I will share at a later date). Several years ago He healed me of allergies during a church service and then a little over a year and a half ago He miraculously realigned Tanner's spine, completely healing him of scoliosis, when we anointed him with oil in our home. And now... He's done it again!
Six months ago I had surgery to try to relieve some of the pain I had been experiencing only to learn that most of my suffering was coming from a bladder condition that doesn't have a cure. Once diagnosed, it is something you will always suffer with and can be controlled by a strict diet. So, for the last six months I have only been drinking water and decaf coffee. I have tried my best not to eat preservatives and suffered terribly when I did have them. I can only describe it as razor blades in the lower abdominal area.
At first I thought I would try the medicine because the diet part was just too hard. I quickly changed my mind when I found out that the medicine was $75 after insurance for a monthly dose. There were also horrible side effects which included hair loss. I decided I would do what the doctor said. I thought of the miracles in the Bible and how sometimes God required action on the part of the miracle receiver. The blind man in John 9 had to go wash in the pool of Siloam before he could see. Naaman the leper had to go wash seven times in the Jordan before he was healed. I would do my part and wait for God to do the rest.
A few weeks before my surgery our Bishop laid hands on me while I was leading worship on a Sunday morning. I believed God for my healing. The very spot on my head where he anointed me with oil had a sun spot that I was worried about. I was planning to get it checked out. The next morning I noticed that it had begun to shrink and within a couple of weeks it was gone completely. I took this as a sign that God would finish healing every part of me.
Now, back to my present miracle. Last week I decided I wanted to drink a diet red cream soda. Normally I wouldn't dare! The pain that would follow would not be worth it. I drank the whole thing... no pain. The next day I decided the real test would be to have a "real" coffee drink. I ordered me a caramel macchiato (lots of caffeine). I waited to see what the next day would bring... no pain! The real test is artificial sweeteners (which I still plan to stay away from). I was at my mom's house and had to use them because I didn't have my "special sweeteners". Still... no pain followed. I am healed! I will shout it from the rooftops... MY GOD IS STILL IN THE MIRACLE BUSINESS!!!
Six months ago I had surgery to try to relieve some of the pain I had been experiencing only to learn that most of my suffering was coming from a bladder condition that doesn't have a cure. Once diagnosed, it is something you will always suffer with and can be controlled by a strict diet. So, for the last six months I have only been drinking water and decaf coffee. I have tried my best not to eat preservatives and suffered terribly when I did have them. I can only describe it as razor blades in the lower abdominal area.
At first I thought I would try the medicine because the diet part was just too hard. I quickly changed my mind when I found out that the medicine was $75 after insurance for a monthly dose. There were also horrible side effects which included hair loss. I decided I would do what the doctor said. I thought of the miracles in the Bible and how sometimes God required action on the part of the miracle receiver. The blind man in John 9 had to go wash in the pool of Siloam before he could see. Naaman the leper had to go wash seven times in the Jordan before he was healed. I would do my part and wait for God to do the rest.
A few weeks before my surgery our Bishop laid hands on me while I was leading worship on a Sunday morning. I believed God for my healing. The very spot on my head where he anointed me with oil had a sun spot that I was worried about. I was planning to get it checked out. The next morning I noticed that it had begun to shrink and within a couple of weeks it was gone completely. I took this as a sign that God would finish healing every part of me.
Now, back to my present miracle. Last week I decided I wanted to drink a diet red cream soda. Normally I wouldn't dare! The pain that would follow would not be worth it. I drank the whole thing... no pain. The next day I decided the real test would be to have a "real" coffee drink. I ordered me a caramel macchiato (lots of caffeine). I waited to see what the next day would bring... no pain! The real test is artificial sweeteners (which I still plan to stay away from). I was at my mom's house and had to use them because I didn't have my "special sweeteners". Still... no pain followed. I am healed! I will shout it from the rooftops... MY GOD IS STILL IN THE MIRACLE BUSINESS!!!
Thursday, December 2, 2010
God Ordained Detours
I have blogged many times about detours but once again, I have a detour story. It happened several weeks ago. First of all, I will share what I had journaled in prayer...
"Trust Me and I will use your life as a living sacrifice. The experiences I allow in you will be the greatest teacher. Live out loud for Me, full of promise and purpose. Don't seek the blessing. That will come when your motive is for the good of My Kingdom."
I Samuel 2:7 "The Lord maketh poor and maketh rich: he bringeth low and lifteth up."
I'm not sure that every part of that entry fit into my circumstance that day but that is what I felt Him telling me. Cameron had been sick and was at work with me that day. At lunch I had a few errands to run for the church. We went to three stores. When I came out of the third store I realized I didn't have my iPhone. Now, I don't know how you are with your phone, but mine has everything on it... lot of personal information, emails, notes... it's pretty vital to my day. Needless to say, I was panicked and frustrated.
We ran back into the store we had just left and didn't find it. We decided to back track. I knew that it was most likely at the first store (Kroger). I also knew that it was a very busy place and where we had spent most of our time. The second store was Tuesday Morning, a much less busy store. We decided to try Kroger first. We went to the customer service desk, back to the cashier and then retraced our steps through the store. I gave them Bryan's number in case it turned up. From there we went to Tuesday Morning. When I asked the cashier about it, a lady in line insisted that I take her phone and use it to call my phone throughout the store. We thanked her and tried this with no luck. She then insisted that I take it out to my car and call, making sure it hadn't fallen down between the seats. She was so nice and trusting of us, complete strangers. We gave her back her phone and headed back to my office to try to cancel the phone and see what else I needed to do. On the way back I realized that I had given the cashier at Tuesday Morning my number instead of Bryan's but I didn't even worry about correcting it because I knew my phone wasn't there. I had only been on one aisle in that store.
Later that evening when we got home with a new SIM card to put in one of my old phones, I was able to get my line working again. I immediately had a voicemail from the lady who had been in line at Tuesday Morning. While listening to it, my phone started ringing. It was her again. She explained how she had been trying to call me all day long. She said that after I left she got a call from a lady shopping at Kroger who had found this phone in her buggy and decided to call the last number that had called the phone. She wasn't sure what to do with the phone, but my new found friend from TM told her to hang onto it and she would get in touch with me. Here's the neat part... neither lady should have been there that day. The lady at TM wasn't even from here. She was in town that one day and in the same store as me at the right time. The lady who found my phone had just had surgery but needed to get her hair cut that day and had stopped by Kroger for just a minute. God knew who to trust my phone with for sure.
To wind this story down... I made contact with the lady and drove to her house to get my phone. She was such a sweet lady and was obviously very weak from surgery. We talked for quite a while and then she asked that we keep her in our prayers. I told her that if she didn't mind, we would pray for her right then. She said, "you would do that?" I said, "Absolutely!" So, Cam & I joined hands with her and we had prayer. God's presence was there so rich and full. She just hugged me so tightly and thanked me. She said she felt like this was supposed to happen that day and I agreed. The lady from TM also shared with me some personal things she had been through and felt we were supposed to meet that day.
We say we want to be led by God, used by God, but we don't want the inconvenience that comes with it so many times. I want to immediately recognize Him in every detail of my day (yes, even the "not so nice" parts). He can get glory in every detail of our day!
"Trust Me and I will use your life as a living sacrifice. The experiences I allow in you will be the greatest teacher. Live out loud for Me, full of promise and purpose. Don't seek the blessing. That will come when your motive is for the good of My Kingdom."
I Samuel 2:7 "The Lord maketh poor and maketh rich: he bringeth low and lifteth up."
I'm not sure that every part of that entry fit into my circumstance that day but that is what I felt Him telling me. Cameron had been sick and was at work with me that day. At lunch I had a few errands to run for the church. We went to three stores. When I came out of the third store I realized I didn't have my iPhone. Now, I don't know how you are with your phone, but mine has everything on it... lot of personal information, emails, notes... it's pretty vital to my day. Needless to say, I was panicked and frustrated.
We ran back into the store we had just left and didn't find it. We decided to back track. I knew that it was most likely at the first store (Kroger). I also knew that it was a very busy place and where we had spent most of our time. The second store was Tuesday Morning, a much less busy store. We decided to try Kroger first. We went to the customer service desk, back to the cashier and then retraced our steps through the store. I gave them Bryan's number in case it turned up. From there we went to Tuesday Morning. When I asked the cashier about it, a lady in line insisted that I take her phone and use it to call my phone throughout the store. We thanked her and tried this with no luck. She then insisted that I take it out to my car and call, making sure it hadn't fallen down between the seats. She was so nice and trusting of us, complete strangers. We gave her back her phone and headed back to my office to try to cancel the phone and see what else I needed to do. On the way back I realized that I had given the cashier at Tuesday Morning my number instead of Bryan's but I didn't even worry about correcting it because I knew my phone wasn't there. I had only been on one aisle in that store.
Later that evening when we got home with a new SIM card to put in one of my old phones, I was able to get my line working again. I immediately had a voicemail from the lady who had been in line at Tuesday Morning. While listening to it, my phone started ringing. It was her again. She explained how she had been trying to call me all day long. She said that after I left she got a call from a lady shopping at Kroger who had found this phone in her buggy and decided to call the last number that had called the phone. She wasn't sure what to do with the phone, but my new found friend from TM told her to hang onto it and she would get in touch with me. Here's the neat part... neither lady should have been there that day. The lady at TM wasn't even from here. She was in town that one day and in the same store as me at the right time. The lady who found my phone had just had surgery but needed to get her hair cut that day and had stopped by Kroger for just a minute. God knew who to trust my phone with for sure.
To wind this story down... I made contact with the lady and drove to her house to get my phone. She was such a sweet lady and was obviously very weak from surgery. We talked for quite a while and then she asked that we keep her in our prayers. I told her that if she didn't mind, we would pray for her right then. She said, "you would do that?" I said, "Absolutely!" So, Cam & I joined hands with her and we had prayer. God's presence was there so rich and full. She just hugged me so tightly and thanked me. She said she felt like this was supposed to happen that day and I agreed. The lady from TM also shared with me some personal things she had been through and felt we were supposed to meet that day.
We say we want to be led by God, used by God, but we don't want the inconvenience that comes with it so many times. I want to immediately recognize Him in every detail of my day (yes, even the "not so nice" parts). He can get glory in every detail of our day!
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