Prepare for rain

As a part of my journey to prepare for rain or for God's answer I have sayings I have picked up to help on the subject.

"The situation is what you make of it, sometimes we need to pick up the slack from others and work harder." Too often when we are in difficult situations awaiting our own answers to prayer we don't think we need to be doing anything it that. Waiting for answers.



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Thorn in our flesh

In the Bible we find the old familiar story of Paul and how he was given a "thorn in flesh as a messenger of Satan to buffet him lest he be exalted above measure." Several times he pleaded with God to remove this so called thorn. I don't know if God answered Him each of the three times he pleaded with Him but what He did finally answer put an end to the pleading.

 

God told him in 2 Corinthians 12:9 "My grace is sufficent for you. For My strength is made perfect in weakness." It was an answer that was good enough for Paul and it needs to be good enough for us. It doesn't matter what Paul's thorn was nor does it matter what we would consider our thorn in flesh. Big or small, been there the longest or the shortest amount of time doesn't matter. What matters is the fact that God's grace is sufficent for us.

 

In preparing for rain (an answer to my prayer) as I've been talking about one of the best way I can do that is to work on my relationship with God. To live my faith and act it out in my attitude. I need to stay strong in the Lord, not in myself. Believe it or not the thorn in our flesh is there for God's use and our benefit. It's used to get our attention, to humble us, to teach us how to trust, follow, and have faith in God.  Too often we thank God for the roses (good things, blessings, etc) but we don't thank Him for the thorns when we really should. It's the thorns not the roses that do so much for us in spite of the pain they can cause and the struggles they create.

The thorns create storms in our lives and we need to use these moments for the betterment of our person instead of for an opportunity to grumble. Storms show us where the lose shutters are, the missing shingles, and the other things needed to be corrected before the next big storm hits.

We need to make God enough in our lives. We need to know and accept the fact that He is sufficent. In order to do so we need to come to the end of ourselves and surrender all we have to Him. Surrender our pain, our loneliness, our attitude, our time, efforts, and whatever else that has our fingerprints all over it.

God is sufficent. We need to believe that and live it out daily. In preparation for my rain (answer to my prayer) I need to keep my focus on God and know that He will come through for me. It may not be the answer I'm seeking but it will be sufficent to what God wants in my life and in the life of the individuals around me.

 Praise the Lord the thorn God has inflicted in our flesh is not there for our torture but for our teaching. Self-inflicted thorns are a totally different story, a totally different outcome.

Prayer for deliverance Continued

In reading the scriptures I came across these scriptures in Psalm 119 that just seemed to go along with my prayer for deliverance. Frequently praying the scripture helps to form the words in prayers where we have no idea what we want to say.

"Lord God I open my mouth panting expectantly, longing for Your commands. Come and show me Your mercy as You do for all who love Your name. Guide my steps by Your word, so I will not be overcome by any evil. Rescue me from the oppression of evil people then I can obey Your commandments. Look down on me with love. Teach me all your principals." Ps 119:131-135

I don't know about you but often when I open my mouth I do so to stick my foot in it, however, with this scripture they talk about panting expectantly and longing for God's commands. Good advice wouldn't you say? I think so.

The next part is asking the Lord to guide our steps and rescue us that we may not be overcome by evil. The part about this that we fail to see is the fact that in order to have God guide us properly we need to follow. We would like to leave off the part about "so I can obey Your commandments." No, no, no not that! Not the "O" word, obedience.

We like the thought of being delivered from the hands of the evil people out there but we don't want to have to do our part in the process. We get ourselves into all sorts of trouble and expect instant deliverance with no effort on our part at all.

Our desire needs to more on the obeying of God's commands and panting expectantly for them and if we do this we already have overcome a great deal of the evil that is around us. What a blessing it is to know that God is looking down upon us with love, our return to Him for that love is to be the student we need to be as we state, "Teach me ALL your principals."

ALL God's principals, not just the ones we like and agree with, we need to be taught all of them and again deliverance is ours. Praise the Lord.

Prepare for Rain

In the movie Facing Giants a mentor to the coach one day told him a story about two people praying for rain. One person prepared for the rain he was asking while the other did nothing but wait to see if his prayer was going to be answered. The mentor then asked the coach, " so who had more faith?"

The one who prepared for God to answer had the most faith. I want to prepare as well for my prayer of deliverance to be answered. This morning I thought about how I could do this preparation. In thinking about deliverance I thought about what I would act like if I had received the deliverance I had requested.

I must say I would be really excited, I would have a tremendous feeling of hope and anticipation. I would have a renewed strength to be able to go on. I would feel a great peace as if a burden had been removed from my shoulders.

In my preparation for "my rain" which would be deliverance from the affects of something that speaks negative harsh words, lives off bitterness, anger, and breeds a lot of insecurities and loneliness. Instead of fearing what is around every corner I'm going to be excited  that deliverance is coming. Instead of feeling an anger, hurt, and pain inside I'm going to feel the joy and peace that is to come knowing God's cares and He will deliver me.

His deliverance may take time but that is okay. Everything will work out according His glory and will and for the benefit of all involved. Praise the Lord we have a God who cares.

Get out your umbrella and prepare for rain!

Deliverance

In the Lord's prayer one of the lines Jesus taught us to pray is, "deliver us from evil." it is said that we don't pray this often enough and specific enough. We need to literally ask the Lord to deliver us from various situations in our lives.

In Psalm 18:17 it states that God delivered them from their strong enemy. An enemy too strong for them.

As we think about things we would like deliverance from they are often things we consider our enemy. An enemy too strong for us.

The situation I would like deliverance from fits the strong enemy description to the tee. For over thirty years it has been what I have had to fight against but no more I am asking for deliverance.

Merely asking is not where our part ends as that is only the beginning. We need to believe that our prayers will be answered. We have to have faith, trust, and patience in God. Deliverance to God may not look the same as the deliverance picture we have painted in our heads.

To us delivery should come now not later but to God it may take some time. In the meantime we need to properly wait in line and look for something to do. Such as being a proper witness for Christ showing the world how to wait for the Lord. Also we need to be looking for things we can learn while we wait for our deliverance.

Storms

Storms are a funny thing. When we are going thru them we can't wait until they are over. Once they are gone they seem to be the one thing we find ourselves bringing up time and time again to talk about it. As much as we would hate to admit it, storms are a necessary part of life. They strengthen us, they cause us to rely on God more, they humble us, they teach us how to survive, and how to trust in the one who calms the storms.

 

The tough part with me is the fact that it seems like you just get thru one storm when another one hits. Its not for us to question why this happens this way. Ours is to hang on, trust God, and learn all we can in order to use it for the next storm that may come along. We don't need to fear the storms but trust the captain of our ship, Jesus Christ to see us through.

 

Nothing lasts forever no matter what it feels like, the storms will pass and left behind will either be the damage the storm caused because we didn't do our part in trusting God. Or left behind will be stronger roots into our souls giving us the ability to stand up to anything life happens to throw our way.

 

Breast cancer awareness

Cancer not only affects those who have it but those around them. October is breast cancer awareness month. Let's support them in our prayers as well all those affected by this disease.

The other day when I was having a "bad bone" day I call them. My  bone cancer was getting the best of me I was having a hard time grocery shopping. The gallon of milk I wanted to buy weighed more than what the label said it did. After asking for help from a man who was standing in line to lift it up on the counter for me I gave him a tip afterwards. The tip was, "Don't get cancer it sucks."

He smiled at me and told me he had no intention of getting it. I told him that was a good idea. After leaving the store I got to smiling at the fact that the young man probably would have preferred a dollar or two dollar tip instead of the one I gave him. However, what I had to say was a good tip. The thing about it is the fact that not too many people "Intend" to get cancer. I know it wasn't on my agenda. I'm sure its not on the agenda even of a person who smokes to get lung cancer.

The thing about it is, it comes and we need to be aware of it. We need to be strong enough to withstand the pressure, emotions, burdens, and hardship it creates. God's strength is what helps me to face it day to day. It is because of His love for me that I'm able to hang on. Having a support group around me that could fill a football stadium helps as well. I'm so thankful I'm not alone. It's important that we get that message out to anyone affected by this disease whether its breast, prostate, lung, brain, or whatever kind of cancer. With God and the help of each other we can survive emotionally and spiritually. Whether our bodies survive as long as we would like them to is a totally different thing.

I love the story in the Bible about Moses and the battle the Israelites had to fight in Exodus 17:11,12 And so it was, when Moses held up his hand, that Israel prevailed; and when he let down his hand, Amalek prevailed. But Moses' hands became heavy; so they took a stone and put it under him, and he sat on it. And Aaron and Hur supported his hands, one on one side, and the other on the other side; and his hands were steady until the going down of the sun." The end result was they won the fight.

We need to do that with those affected by cancer, the one with it as well as those who are caring for that person. We need to prop up their hands when they grow weary until the battle is won. The one tiny detail about Moses' victory was what he held in his hand. In his hand was the rod of God. In our hands and hearts needs to be the word of God, His written promises to hold on to, His guidance to direct us, and His love to comfort us.

In love W.I.T.H. Jesus,

Karen

The Need to Care

 Several weeks ago I told a group of teenagers that were boasting about something they like to do that is harmful to their health that some day they were going to care. They may not care now what they were doing that was harmful to their health but some day they would care and it may be too late. The picture the three of them put on facebook for all to see was their act of rebellion to show the world they didn't care as they made gestures to the camera.

Recently my doctor put me on an additional medicine to manage my cancer. Its a drug that could raise my cholesterol level. In precaution to see where my cholesterol started out I had blood work done. Guess what? It was high. Along with my cholesterol, my blood sugars are high, and my blood pressure is high. Go figure!

Two weeks before I was diagnosed with cancer I had lost over 30 pounds and finally got myself under 200 pounds. I was so tickled and proud of myself that I finally was getting somewhere in the weight loss game. After I found out about my cancer I lost my ability to care about my weight. Instantly it was, "Well I'm dying of cancer then what is the point of trying to lose weight and maintain it where it needs to be."

As the result of that attitude I have now in a year and half gained back 37 pounds. When my cancer doctor told me I would have to go on medication to try and get everything down to where it needed to be I thought, "No way." I need to get my weight down first then see if medication is needed.

On my way home that day from the doctor's I got to thinking about how I was no different than those teenagers who were boasting about their choice of lifestyle. To demonstrate my thought I went out and bought a candy bar to take a picture similar to the one they did minus the hand gesture to prove my point. With me no hand gesture was necessary because the wing expansion of my upper arm was all the gesture needed to the camera to demonstrate the fact that I didn't care.

Quicker than it has for the young teenagers my time has come that I better start caring again. I can't stop myself from getting cancer, or stop it from going out of control but I can my weight, my blood sugars and blood pressure. Today I talked to a nutritionist and I told her that I'm not fat, I am undisciplined. And that is the truth with all of us, we aren't fat we are undisciplined. We need to start caring to the point we are willing to take care of that which has been entrusted to us, our bodies.

My rebellious behavior isn't justified simply because I'm an "older" adult and not a teenager. Age has nothing to do with it. Those girls need to start caring now and so do I. We shouldn't wait until we "feel" like doing it we need to discipline ourselves into doing what we know is right and do it now. Right for us, right for our bodies, right in God's eyes.

"The time is now to start caring before its too late." Those were my words to the teenagers' weeks ago, and now they are the very words I find myself feasting upon today. For when we start to care it shows up in our attitude and its rewarded in our actions. After all, why wait till we are brain dead to stop doing dope, why wait till we have destroyed our liver before we stop drinking, why wait till we have a heart attack before we decide to lose weight, and why wait till we have lung cancer before we stop smoking. Waiting is bad for us and good for our enemy. Now is the time, not later to start caring.

**After I took this picture I didn't eat the candy bar I hope you know, I fed it to our three baby pigs. They loved it!

Stepping out in faith

Looking out over the tip of this boat makes me think of Peter and the disciples journey across the lake they were on. All must have seemed fine until they saw Jesus walking on the water towards them. Peter spoke up and said, "If it's really you Lord then tell me to come to You on the water." Without hestitation Jesus said, "Come" and Peter got out of the boat.

As I work on my daily disciplines I can't imagine being so disciplined in my faith that I could step out out of this boat and start walking across Walton lake towards Jesus. Whether our faith walk begins off the side of a boat walking on water or at the the treadmill working out each day the journey still carries the same purpose. Stepping out in faith and continuing to walk forward keeping our eyes on Jesus.

At my last doctor's appointment I was told my blood pressure was too high. Hoping to keep myself from adding more medicine to my daily intake I am going to try to lose ten poiunds by my next appointment in August. To some that seems like a simple task but to others its as scarey as thinking about stepping out of this boat in an attempt to walk on water.

We need to remember that to man some things are impossible but to God all things are possible. I have to rely on God's strength to get me thru mixed with my own desire to be obedient to God and glorify Him with my actions. Actions of discipline and living intentionally to care for the temple He has set up in me the day I asked Him to come into my heart years ago.

One day at a time, one discipline at time. Moving forward in faith and progress with my eyes on Jesus not anything else.

In love W.I.T.H. Jesus,

Karen

Continuing to Pray

In my previous entry at first I didn't make it very clear who suffered from the seizure disorder my niece or my sister. It is my niece Stephanie. In her own way my sister suffers from it too as she cares for her daughter.  It's difficult to stand by and see your child suffer so much. Its a tremendous feeling of helplessness. It's been a long and hard journey for the both of them. When I had epilepsy my husband was my caregiver. It was just as hard on him as it was me. It took only twelve years to get thru it but we made it thru together. Unfortunately twenty years later came another journey, one marked by my breast and bone cancer.

Just the same, we should never fall into the trap of trying to figure out who is it harder on the one with the disease or the one caring for them. Both parties are in need of equal prayer and strength.  Both have vital parts to play in the success or failure of the journey they travel together.

So for both my niece and sister I pray that together God will carry them thru in their journey forward towards Him and the plans He has for them in their lives.

Luv always,

          Karen, sister and aunt

Praying for Others

Tonight I set aside my own needs as I lift before God my niece Stephanie and my sister Juli. Fighting seizures most of her life my niece's journey goes on. Hoping for an end to the uncontrolled seizures she's been having the end has been temporarily postponed. Burdened with disappointment yet filled with anticipation as well for the future I pray for both of them tonight that God will comfort their weary souls and renew their strength that they will both wake up afresh and ready to face a new day.

It's been a long journey for the both of you and I just wanted you to know that I continue to travel beside you. Me and all your many other cheerleader prayer warriors lifting you up in prayer and spirit. Stay strong, keep moving forward, and exercise your faith and trust in God knowing He will never leave you nor forsake you.

These prayer candles in this picture tonight I lite for the two of you. As I kneel upon my prayer pillow my heart and love goes out to you. The best I can say and demonstarte is that you will trust in the Lord with all your hearts and lean not onto your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge Him and He shall direct your paths.

The road continues and so does God's love for you and my love for you too.

Luv,

Karen, sister and aunt

Daily Disciplines

As I work on my daily disciplines I find myself making progress in some areas and still faltering in other areas. This means I should give up, right? Wrong! We are way to willing to “throw in the towel” and quit at the first sign of trouble, difficulty, hard work, and tough decisions.

We need to be encouraging one another to go on, to move forward and not let the things in life stop them from achieving what they want to achieve. As I think of our granddaughter graduating from 8^th grade she, like everyone else is going to need to have that ability to stand up and face life head on and not be stopped by it.

She needs to know like everyone else that we will succeed in some areas that come easy to and stumble in other situations that come with great difficulty and pain. Either way it doesn’t matter, the instructions are the same. We need to keep moving forward and the best way to do that is with our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. What He has to offer us goes beyond what we see on earth, it takes us into eternity where we fall alive into the mansions He is currently preparing for us. John 14:2,3 “In My Father’s house are many mansions; if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you. I will come again and receive you to Myself; that where I am, there you may be also.”

Today as I drop to my knees in prayer one more time my point of pray for my granddaughter, myself, and all my “All UDDERS” as I call them is this, “Lord God I pray this day that each and every one of us will walk worthy of you Lord, not as fools but as wise redeeming the time, because the days are evil as we understand what Your will is Lord and seek it. For every stride forward we take may we do so to Your glory Lord God as our actions draw us closer and closer to the You and the goals needed to succeed in walking worthy. Guide us on this path, show us where we need to go, forgive us when we fall short, be patient with us as we get back up on our feet and try again.

Praise you for allowing us access to Your throne thru the shed blood of Jesus Christ that opens a door that once was closed. Thank you for Your love. Praise you for Your wisdom. We love you Father, thank you for loving us. ”

Daily Disciplines:

My daily discipline today is keeping up on my cleaning. I did well as I found I can take a moment or two and accomplish a lot more than I think.

Another daily discipline is working on my closet clutter. Being a pack rat it’s hard to keep the piles down. I’m proud to say I threw away some denim material the other day and it didn’t kill me. I’m alive to tell about it. You have to realize I have more denim in my house than anyone could possible need in their lifetime.

Now on to the confession….the daily discipline where I falter is my eating habits. That one is going to take some time to conquer, fight, and give up as I strive to replace them with better more healthy habits.

One day at a time, one discipline at a time.

Chained or Unchained

In the Bible there is a scripture that talks about how it is for freedom that Christ set us free. Unfortunately people have taken that scripture and twisted it out of portion. They like the thought of being free because to them it’s a freedom to do whatever they want. They think being associated with Christ takes away their freedom instead of giving it to them. Having Christ in their lives means they can’t smoke, drink, cheat on their spouse, hate someone, lust after another, worship whatever god they want to, lie on their resumes, over eat, under achieve, cheat on final exams, speak what they want or say what they want and the list goes on.

 The problem is we think we understand captivity and we think we know what it’s like to be free. However, it's amazing what we allow to bind us up and hinder us from being truly free. We walk around demanding our right to be free yet our actions dictate otherwise. How we live our lives and the fact that we are held captive by so many influences paints a picture of being bound by self-installed chains. Our love of money, our addiction to drugs, alcohol, sex, and food all bind us in the chains of those afflictions replacing a freedom available to all. 

Think about it, being addicted to something whether it’s smoking, drinking, drugs, food, or gambling or whatever is anything but a freedom. Yes, we had the freedom to choose to do those things but after that what about them is free? Is getting lung cancer from smoking being free? Having a heart attack from being overweight is that being free? Having to steal and do all sorts of things to feed a drug habit is that being free? Being influenced by alcohol and wasting your body away one drink at a time is that being free? No, they are anything but true freedom they are a path to captivity. It’s bondage to a substance that has us under its control in spite of those who say, “Oh I can quit anytime.” Then do it!

 The freedom to choose to have Christ in our lives stays that way, a true freedom. It’s a freedom from bitterness, anger, selfishness, greed, hatred, inner turmoil, stress, and being under the control of other elements of life other than ourselves and Christ. Christ came to set us free yet we continue to live within the captivity of our actions and attitude. Why is that?  It doesn't have to be that way if we just would just turn our lives over to Christ. We don't need to be held hostage by alcohol, tobacco, food, or emotions if we don't want to be. I was told once by a friend that if I wanted to lose weight, truly loses weight I would do it. I was insulted. She was crazy I wanted to lose weight but I just couldn't do it. It took me awhile but I found out she was right. As much as I said I wanted to lose weight my addiction to food was stronger and greater. I wasn't willing to give up what I loved so much to do and that was eat.

Another problem we have is having the wrong idea of what freedom is. Too often people look at freedom as an excuse to run wild and do whatever they want at any cost. Little do they know that eventually what happens is they bind themselves up worse in the long run taking away what they thought they were fighting for, their freedom.

We need to appreciate the freedoms we have for what they are. In the United States we have enjoyed our freedom for over 200 years. Unfortunately people are beginning to forget what that freedom means to us and what it is exactly our founding fathers set up for us. Little by little we are beginning to bind ourselves up with our own chains.

It would do us well to get a taste of the freedom Christ supplies for us that takes us away from the captivity of sin and rewards us with eternal life and everlasting peace with Him. This kind of freedom is hard to find and shouldn't be taken lightly.

The choice becomes ours. God has given us that freedom to choose. We just need to remember for every choice we make there are consequences both good and bad. Think before you leap, consider what’s ahead and proceed with caution, faith, and trust in God our source of true freedom.

In other words, the chains we feel are not from God they are installed by our own choices. The sooner we own up to that fact that sooner we can get them removed thanks to God.

Chained or unchained, there is no choice that falls between the two. We are either free or bound, chained or unchained. When we fall alive into eternity it’s going to make a difference.

© 2012 Karen J. Gillett @ Pencil Marks and Publishing      Journey On Our Knees

***The picture I used today was painted by our youth minister at the church, Darin Hollingsworth. Thanks Darin! Job well done.

Bend in the Road

As I travel to town daily to go to work I go around a bend in the road that was nicknamed “Dead man’s corner” many years ago. Over a long period of time it earned that name because of the people who were killed there. This includes the drunk driver that hit my husband, brother, and their best friend. It was on this corner that as I came into it I found my adopted granddaughter and her mom sitting on the side of the hill waiting for a ride to rescue them from the car troubles they were having. I picked them up and took them home, the car was rescued later.

Life is full of bends in the roads. As much as we would like to travel from Point A to Point B with the straightest of all road it doesn’t work that way. Funny thing about a straight road, they can be boring which makes the journey appear to be longer than it really is.

The bends in the roads we encounter can come from situations such as being diagnosed with cancer, told your spouse wants a divorce, troubles with raising kids, problems at work, and so much more. These are all disruptive moments that come up in our lives that we need to be prepared to handle.

Unless you are familiar with the road you don’t know what is around the bend. We trust in the road department that they don’t have some surprise on the other side. We trust that the road is built well enough that we can get through to where we want to go.

With life’s situations that create bends in our roads we need to trust God as our road department that He knows what He’s doing. That the road we are traveling won’t end up in a surprise on the other side.

When traveling in a car we are taught to have some kind of provisions tucked away in case something happens. And trust me things can happen such as flat tires, dead batteries, trees blocking the roads, lost drivers and so much more. In our spiritual journey we need to be prepared to take with us the provisions God supplies through His grace, mercy, strength, and wisdom.

The bends in the roads we encounter don’t have to earn the nickname “dead man’s corner.” How we handle the situations we come up upon will determine whether we will live through them or allow our spirit to die there and go no further.

Years ago with my epilepsy I once had it created a very big bend in my road. I was declared disabled, lost my job, my driver’s license was taken away, I was told to never have kids all in the span of the first month or two of my new marriage. Many times thanks to pity parties and discouraging moments I stopped on the side of the road and wanted to quit. It was there that I wanted to die but God wouldn’t let me. Little did I know at the time he was traveling with me through these bends, he was the one that rounded the corner and found me sitting on the hillside as He asked me if I needed a ride.

Praise the Lord we have God with us during these moments. We should never doubt that. Just because He is there doesn’t guarantee us smooth sailing, what His promise is, is a safe landing on the other side.

As I travel into the next bend in my road with cancer I’m glad God is still with me. The hard times I face are not punishment for bad behavior from yesterday but for blessings in my future to learn what I need to learn in the classroom of hard knocks. My teacher travels with me, on my spiritual car I’m traveling in I hang up a sign on the trunk that says, “Student driver. How’s my driving? Call Jesus.”

Cutting your portions

As my lunch time approached at work I got to thinking about my eating habits. I know as well as anyone that the reason I am overweight is because of bad eating habits. Believe it or not the best way to lose weight is to cut back on your eating and exercise. It took me over 40 years to learn that but how could I portray that my grandkids so they don't have to wait that long to learn. As I stared at the office equipment in front of me the paper cutter caught my attention. Placing my salad on the cutter I took a picture to send to my granddaughters.

"Are you remembering to cut your portions?" I asked. As I thought about it myself I had to first answer that question myself. "Am I cutting my portions?" Honestly and truly I haven't been cutting my portions like I should. I've been able to cut out sugar but those extra portions are still a treasurer I just don't seem to want to give up.

We live our Christian lives that very same way. We gladly give up the things that aren't that precious to us. Its easy to hand over the parts of our lives we really don't care about. Its the things we want to keep that are hard to give up. In order to teach my grandkids the things they need to benefit their lives I need to demonstrate it myself in my own life. The letting go of the things that need to go and keeping only that which truly is needed to survive.

Karen

Prayer

Today is the National day of prayer. If there is one thing our nation and world needs and that is our prayers. Our sincere and honest prayers as we lift before God our nation and the world as a whole. It is said, "the one who advances on their knees in prayer never retrieves". Praise the Lord when we keep in touch with God we have no need to retrieve over anything except from sin itself.

Keeping in touch with God on a daily if not a moment by moment basis is the anchor needed to stay strong. It was a door that was opened for us through the shed blood of Jesus Christ when he died for us on the cross. Prayer will advance us in our lives and develope in us the ability to stand strong. Our focus as a nation and as a worldwide body needs to be on God, our dependence on Him needs to be voiced. Too often we have tried to go out on our own and it only gets us further lost in the wilderness of the world.

Prayer is the beginning of every jouney and the fuel that keeps us going down every path. There is never a moment in life that we don't need it, never a second that God grows tired of hearing from us. One day a year set aside to pray for our nation is far from enough but its a start to something that is as long lasting and precious as we make it.


Karen

**Our picture today features Tacey a little girl that is one year old, prayer knows no age or no limit. We can all do it and the sooner we start the better the journey.

Journey to be skinny AGAIN

As my granddaughter and I set out on our journey we stopped to collect pictures of ourselves to show we weren't always over weight. We were skinny once and we can be again is our motto.

This is what we found and we made a copy of it to carry with us. Shortly afterwards another granddaughter asked to join. Now we need to update out picture of encouragement.

It's amazing how we need to be reminded once in awhile that we weren't always flawed in some way or another. Even if it takes going back to our baby pictures we need to remind ourselves we were there once and can be again.

The only difference is the fact that the second time or third or fourth time will have to be done with greater effort. That's our problem these days we are not willing to put that effort into it. We've gotten lazy and callus in our desires to do what needs to be done. It's too easy to let things slide and accept what we have to avoid doing something about it.

Cry out to Jesus

One day as I prayed earnestly for my granddaughter I decided to take my picture. Deep into the words flooded with tears I snapped my camera phone. I wanted her to see what it's like sometimes when you cry out to the Lord. The reaction I got out of a couple of people when they went thru the pictures on my phone was, "Oh Karen, Oh Grandma you're so funny."

I wasn't trying to be funny, I was honestly and truly praying and crying out to Jesus on behalf of my granddaughter. Doing this is all a part of the journey on our knees, the turning to God in prayer to help us through life and to keep in communication with our Lord and Savior. There is nothing funny about it but pure joy and happiness knowing we have a Savior who listens and cares.

Too often because of the things that go on in life we might think, "God doesn't care about me. If He did care then why did grandma get cancer, why did grammy have a stroke, why did......and the list goes on." When we call on the name of the Lord its not a safety plan that makes us go through life with no incidents to deal with. No, what it is, is our path through life's difficulties. Honestly I couldn't have found my way out of my 12 years of epileptic seizures if it wasn't for Jesus. I never would have survived the difficulties of dealing with alcohol in the family. My cancer would have taken me down both physically as well as spiritually if it wasn't for the fact that I have Jesus on my side. That's not a peaceful path of tranquility and no worries but a powerful guide and companion to walk me through life. The time of tranquility and peace comes when we reach Heaven, until then we have this life to journey thru. What's nice is the fact that this life is temporary, the life in Heaven is for all eternity. Amen! Cry out, talk out, speak softly it doesn't matter as long as you stay in communication with the Lord.

Saying no

Recently in our quest to lose weight and eat healthy my granddaughters and I have joined forces. One day as I said no to this lovely muffin I sent a picture of it to them and told them what I did. Or better yet what I didn't do. I didn't eat this. Some of life's journeys are hard and it helps to have the encouragement of others to get through them.

There are journey's that are not always fun but having a cheering section around you helps. Our plan is to go without sugar until July when we go on vacation. We may mess up once in awhile on our journey, so far so good, but that's okay as we learn to pick ourselves up and keep on going. Moving forward in life in spite of the obstacles that may come our way. The best thing our cheering section can do for us is to holler "jump" when those obstacles appear as an encouragement to keep on going and don't let life stop you.

Journal Note Coping Skills, trusting God

I promised I would share with you my “coping skills” I used over the years. Tricks pulled out of my hat that worked temporarily but soon failed. As with any trick, they may work for the person down the street but that doesn’t mean they will for us. What is important is we work on finding what does work for us one ingredient at a time; one recipe at a time.

Samples of things I did to endure were: 1) I recorded scriptures on a tape to listen to at night using earphones to help me fall asleep and give me peace. 2) Frequently I used solitary bathrooms as my crying room as I struggled to regain the strength needed to endure the outside world. 3) Sitting on the baptistery stairs at the church and praying and talking to God helped a great deal. 4) Frequently going into the sanctuary of the church dropping to my knees crying out loud to God was a must. I remember once doing it in my bib overalls, another time in a dress that I lost a button on as I fell to my knees. I never did find the lost button but I found God. One time when I was praying I felt the tremble of the earth below me. Later I went back to that same spot and tried again to see if the tremble was still there but it wasn’t.

5) I anointed my house once, the door jams and the front door as I prayed to God.  6) I painted the walls of my house with songs of praise each morning before leaving for work to cover the anger from the fighting the evening before. 7) I would daily leave all my cares and anxieties on the rock pile at the edge of our property so I wouldn’t take them to work with me. 8) I built a set of stairs out of wood and put a cross on the top of my four inch creation to give me a place to focus. 9) I even tried the running away trick and the trick of anger and revenge.

 At times it seemed like the only friend I had was the smiley face on a deck of cards that would pop up randomly as I played solitaire on the computer. It was a face I looked forward to as it was a reminder to me that someone still cared. Someone was still smiling at me. On top of all the other tricks I listed I had one I thought was the answer. It seemed like a good approach to my problems. It was logical and what appeared to be fool proof. Wrong! Little did I know my effort to deal with life turned into a trap that I would later get caught in? It would be a trap that took years to remove.  

 Over the years it got to the point that I told God I had no more tricks to pull out of my hat. Everything I tried to do to cope wasn’t working or lasting very long. God spoke to my heart and told me the problem was “I” was trying to do these things; “I” needed to stop and allow God to help me.

 Giving up the notion that I needed to get my husband to change was the beginning of better progress for myself and my marriage.   It was time to stop believing the lies that Satan had me feeding from. Lies such as the fact that my only friend was a smiley face on a deck of cards, the lie that getting angry was showing I was dealing with life. The lie also that I was the only one going through such terrible times. The lie also that no one cared.

 Satan is good at getting us down and then he has his ways of holding our heads under as we drown in our own self pity. Way back when I didn’t lean on the promises of God, I leaned on my tricks. Later I learned the best defense is that which God provides. The promises He gives us in His word such as “I will never leave you nor forsake you. I can do all things through Christ who gives me strength.”

 Those are the things we need to throw in Satan’s face and tell him what Christ told him, “Get ye behind me Satan.” It’s a statement that will need repeating over and over again but that’s okay. The important thing is that we don’t quit or give up on ourselves or God. We need to use our hard times to learn from and to draw closer to God.

 Honestly if my walk in life had been smooth and easy I probably never would have prayed to God as much as I have. I would never have drawn as close as I am to His side. As the song says, “If that’s what it takes then Jesus let it rain,” Amen! We definitely need to stay close to God when life circumstances are raining down on us. Leaning on Him and doing all we can to stand strong in Him.

 
It’s important to remember that Satan can make us stumble but he can’t make us fall. We are the ones that allow that because we aren’t focused on the things above, the eternal stuff that needs to be in our hearts. Praising the Lord thru it all is the best way to cope anything. Praise Him for His love, his mercy, grace, forgiveness, comfort, companionship, wisdom, understanding, and so much more. Claim His promises in His word and stand on them. Satan will try to knock you off your newly found platform of promises but don’t allow it. Stand firm, stand strong.