GOD KNEW WHAT HE CALED US TO

Our Pastor asked us to be Deacons in June or July of this year.  We both were stunned and we both cried. It seemed to us that we were not worthy of this calling but, as we accepted we knew we where going to in, deep! So our journey began and as of this date we are still studying to show our selves approved and learning so much more than we knew before. Pastor Mike Williams is an incredible teacher and he has led us to an understanding of the Call, as well as the Word that we had not experienced before.

While going through this process, we have been under attack from the evil one and other places.  We were told that this would happen but, there have been times that attack was tuned up to the utmost. I cried some, but I prayed more.  We believe in the power of prayer and know that we would not be able to go to any level without praying and asking for God for direction and protection.  He did not let us down! My precious husband has emerged in my eyes a man who knows that his source is God and does not fail to remind me when I am weak. He is holding me up and reminding me who I am in Christ and to him.

Thank God for prayer.  People have called out the clear blue, asked our well being and told us how they are praying for us. We are being encouraged to do our best studying,  for people seem to feel that this Call to be Deacons is right for us. We have not lived perfect lives but, we now live forgiven lives and God is our source.  Many, many things have happened to us in the last 2 years, we went down and got back up. I believe when we go through things and we are assigned to help others, they need to know you been through something so the can see what it looks like to be on the other side.

On other side of the challenges we met, has been a overwhelming sense of the presence of the Almighty.  He used those issues to teach us to become better at praying and depending on Him in ways we had never before. God rescued us because no one else was qualified to do so and no one else can to be to us what he continues to be.  The great I AM.

Where Did This Go Wrong... Was It ME?

I am presently exchanging emails with a former friend about money she owes me for editing work I did for her.  The promise to pay came with the initial request and there have been some exchange of monies.  I relied on the her word that she would pay me and did not have her sign a contract with me from the start.  It is now almost 3 years later and she and I are exchanging emails about said money again.  I hear a tone in her words as she asked me "how much money do I want from me"?
to which I replied "based on what you sent me and what was returned to you, how much do you think it was worth"? This is a mess!  I should have known better but, we all sometimes trust in places that we should not.  The Lord is our ultimate source and as I ponder what went wrong, I can only give account for my part in this and that is that I did not ask God if I should enter into a business relationship with this woman from the start. I saw an opportunity to make some money and continue to hone my craft, but I don't remember praying about it.  A lesson learned is better than one taught.

Thank you Lord for this lesson that will help me as I go forward in other areas of business.  I will pray and wait for an answer before moving forward with an expectations that only I share. There is enough fault to go around.

Master of the Seas, Mighty God, Jehovah Jireh, El Shaddai, Jehovah Shammah. I went on line and found a list of about 100 or more different names for God.  Some have everyday names like "Door",
"Cornerstone", "Leader", "Hope" and "Judge".  Then there are names like "Holy One of Israel", "Immanuel", "Great High Priest " and others that we don't use in everyday language when we speak about HIM and who HE is. As I looked at the list I began to see that I have known the LORD in the capacity of some of the names.  Some of the other names I have not. So if  life lasts, and I am blessed to do so, I will experience HIM in the fullness of the meanings of all  HIS names. "The GREAT I AM", "HIGH PRIEST"," WONDERFUL COUNSELOR". The list goes on.

How could I ever, at anytime, believe I could manage this life on my own?  How could I have been so full of myself that I could not see that even my next breath is a gift from God for his purpose for my life. Those names have beauty that speak of HIS attributes as well as names from the Old and New Testament. Sweet, loving all encompassing names. To help us understand the length and breadth and depth of who HE is to those of us who love and worship HIM. Moving, living and having our being, not for us but, for HIM. He is the "SHEPHERD OF MY Soul" and for that I owe him everything.

 

All the listed names point back to HIM. So, as long as I call HIM by those on the list, or don't remember any of them... I know this name.  JESUS! The AUTHOR and FINISHER of our  faith. And for that I am truly grateful.

 

When Mom and Aunt Mary were passing through the storm and could not remember things of importance in their lives, they both asked the LORD to help them remember HIM. He did! Blessed be ALPHA and OMEGA!  The names may change but he is still the same, yesterday, today and forever.

Prayer Required For Others

I know I have been called to be a intercessor in prayer for others.  I have not been doing a good job of it.
Admitting this is somewhat embarrassing , however the truth should always win.  The name and faces of people drop in on me and I feel compelled to pray for them.  I don't always know why.  I feel pain and such empathy for them and that is how I know it is not a mistake that I have be called to pray.  I shrink from petitioning for them because it causes me pain.  Not a good enough reason  not to do what I have been called to do.  Sometimes. when I am released to tell the person I've been praying for them, they will tell me about a difficult time the having and began to feel relief, or will just cry and nod for we both know it was a divine appointment. This kind of sensitivity to the needs of others is divine.
I apologize to all of you that I have let down when I am not on my intercessory assignment. We serve a forgiving God, but I will not continue  to be disobedient for it is not good for those I should be lifting up
before the Lord and certainly, not good for me.

Waiting on the Lord

I haven't had a job since July of 2012.  My husband got laid off in 2010 and was able to collect unemployment until Nov, 2012.  The Lord has keep us through all of this.  There was some money in the bank but, that is all but $47.00 worth of gone. I have been scared more than once, waking up in the middle of the night, sweat running off me and asking God to help for the 1000th time.  He has helped and is helping because we are not on the street,  We have food and we are still in our house.
There is no doubt in the minds of either of us that we are in a learning mode for God is teaching us some things about who he is and the lesson we are learning about faith and trust.

I am scared sometimes.  I wonder how we got here and review in my mind all the things we may have done wrong to be where we are.  But, does it mean we did do something wrong? Or are we being tested and tried to see how we hold up under pressure?  I think the latter is true for when I do wrong, I ask to be forgiven. We are in our 50's now and have been given mentor ship over an extraordinary group of  younger people.  So we need the test for the testimony. So as we go through this journey, we are still praying for a steadfast focus on the Lord so we can come out lifting up the name of Jesus.  Praying that we won't be anxious for anything, continue to pray and wait on the Lord.

News Can't Make Me Blue

I am listening to the daily news on TV without watching the faces of those reporting. I know these people have to present the news in an unbiased fashion. I also know it must be hard to act as though what they are saying does not phase them. I don't envy what they have to do to earn their keep. The news is devastating to some degree. Not all of it is bad, but enough so that I know I am blessed and under the aupsices of grace. I know that God has his hands on me, my family and friends. I have all that I need and sometimes, what I want. My health is good and I am taking steps to make it better. I love my husband deeply, and am grateful to God for giving him to me. I have life issues just as everyone else does but, I have the joy of the Lord which is my strength. The daily news may sometimes be frightening, but I serve a risen Savior who knows what is going on and is overseeing the fulfillment of his word in this life. I don't know what I will encounter going forward, but I do know that God has his hands on me and without question that is more than enough for me.

They Left Too Soon

Our family lost 3 important people within a 6 to 8 week period. Each women was a star in our collective life story. We were pained to see them go. Shelia left first. She was my husbands childhood friend. She was a teacher who loved her students and poured her life into theirs. She never married or had children of her own, but gave her students - herself. It evident at her home going service where the church was filled to overflow, that even she meant as much to them as they did to her. Next was my friend of 40 years, Barbara. We got to see one another, talk about old times, how much we would miss each other, the provisions she made for her husband and how much she and I loved one another. I will miss how people were important to her and she made everyone feel welcomed in her presence even when she was so sick and knew she would soon leave us for good. Harriet, was a renaissance women. Harriet was my husband's mom and more then just a mother-in-law to me. She was brilliant about a lot of things, would talk your head off if you listened, and would always let you know how she felt. She was an advocate for others. Three days before her passing, she was in the face of the Director of Nursing about the other residents and what they needed. She was not shy and sometimes put people off by her direct hits on their character or lack thereof. She loved her sons fiercely and Damon, her only grandson was the light of her life. Without question, my life is better for having known and loved them so much. I am sure they have met in Heaven and are awaiting our arrival. I look forward to seeing Jesus and them when it is my time to go. They will never be replaced but always remembered in our hearts.