Where do I start... Well lets just say that although I have not been posting much lately. It is not because things are not happening. Just the opposite is true. God has been very busy in my life. The biggest news is that I am no longer a smoker. I knew that God has been pushing me here for a long time. Yet Gods timing is always perfect. God has always known my heart in regards to this. I have been a smoker since I was 11 years old. I knew there was no way I could stop on my own. I still know that I know that each day, each hour, each minute I am not smoking is all because of God. I have learned that He is sufficiant to meet ALL my needs. I have taken alot of things I knew in my head and have finally been able to allow God to move them to my heart. Kind of like what He did for me in February of "06". The best way i can describe it is He took me from being someone who knows to someone who believes. OK so huge news huh,! I cannot begin to tell you how greatful to God I am for what He is doing in my life. I am just humbled that He would even consider me... but instead He tells me that He delights in me! Honest.... I just this morning have started using a new 4 part Journal I have developed for Ready Set Bloom and when I got to the part in the Spiritual section about listening to God... well you all know how difficult I find it to listen instead of talking... anyway I opened my bible up determined to listen to Him. The pages fell open to Isaiah 42: 1-9. You have to read them all but here are a few of the things that jumped out at me.
1Behold my servant, whom I uphold,
my chosen, in whom my soul delights;
I have put my Spirit upon him;
he will bring forth justice to the nations.
2He will not cry aloud or lift up his voice,
or make it heard in the street;
3a bruised reed he will not break,
and a faintly burning wick he will not quench;
he will faithfully bring forth justice.
4He will not grow faint or be discouraged[a]
till he has established justice in the earth;
and the coastlands wait for his law.
5Thus says God, the LORD,
who created the heavens and stretched them out,
who spread out the earth and what comes from it,
who gives breath to the people on it
and spirit to those who walk in it:
6"I am the LORD; I have called you in righteousness;
I will take you by the hand and keep you;
I will give you as a covenant for the people,
a light for the nations,
7 to open the eyes that are blind,
to bring out the prisoners from the dungeon,
from the prison those who sit in darkness.
8I am the LORD; that is my name;
my glory I give to no other,
nor my praise to carved idols.
9Behold, the former things have come to pass,
and new things I now declare;
before they spring forth
I tell you of them
Now please understand that I know "in context" this is not talking about me. Yet God has used the words of the scripture to share with me some truths, Truths I needed to be reminded of.
Things like He will uphold me, He has chosen me, He delights in me, He has put His Spirit upon me, I will not grow faint or be discouraged, He will take me by the hand and keep me, He has given me a message to share with others, my past is no more it is over and He has declared new things for me!
So much love He showered on me this morning! GOD IS SO AWESOME!!!
Celebrate Him with me today!!!!!!! If you are interested in seeing or using the new journal God has given to me... just let me know. I will be happy to share.
Wednesday, June 18, 2008
Monday, June 9, 2008
I received this today from a dear friend and wanted to share... make sure you read to the bottom for a personal note from me. I promise you will be glad you did!
Isaiah 65:24 "Before they call, I will answer" This story was written by a doctor who worked in South AfricaOne night I had worked hard to help a mother in the labor ward; but in spite of all we could do, she died leaving us with a tiny premature baby and a crying two-year-old daughter. We would have difficulty keeping the baby alive, as we had no incubator (we had no electricity to run an incubator).We also had no special feeding facilities. Although we lived on the equator, nights were often chilly with treacherous drafts. One student midwife went for the box we had for such babies and the cotton wool that the baby would be wrapped in.Another went to stoke up the fire and fill a hot water bottle. She came back shortly in distress to tell me that in filling the bottle , it h ad burst (rubber perishes easily in tropical climates). "And it is our last hot water bottle!" she exclaimed. As in the West, it is no good crying over spilled milk so in Central Africa it might be considered no good crying over burst water bottles They do not grow on trees, and there are no drugstores down forest pathways."All right," I said, "put the baby as near the fire as you safely can, and sleep between the baby and the door to keep it free from drafts. Your job is to keep the baby warm."The following noon, as I did most days, I went to have prayers with any of the orphanage children who chose to gather with me. I gave the youngsters various suggestions of things to pray about and told them about the tiny baby. I explained our problem about keeping the baby warm enough, mentioning the hot water bottle, and that the baby could so easily die if it got chills. I also told them of the two-year-old sister, crying because her mother h ad diedDuring pr ayer t ime, one ten-year old girl, Ruth, prayed with the usual blunt conciseness of our African children. "Please, God" she prayed, "send us a water bottle. It'll be no good tomorrow, God, as the baby will be dead, so please send it this afternoon."While I gasped inwardly at the audacity of the prayer, she added, "And while You are about it, would You please send a dolly for the little girl so she'll know You really love her?"As often with children's prayers, I was put on the spot. Could I honestly say,"Amen". I just did not believe that God could do this. Oh, yes, I know that He can do everything, the Bible says so. But there are limits, aren't there? The only way God could answer this particular prayer would be by sending me a parcel from homeland. I had been in Africa for almost four years at that time, and I had never, ever received a parcel from home. Anyway, if anyone did send me a parcel, who would put in a hot water bottle? I liv ed on the equator! Halfway through the afternoon, while I was teaching in the nurses' training school, a message was sent that there was a car at my front door.By the time I reached home, the car had gone, but there, on the veranda, was a large twenty-two pound parcel. I felt tears pricking my eyes. I could not open the parcel alone, so I sent for the orphanage children.Together we pulled off the string, carefully undoing each knot. We folded the paper, taking care not to tear it unduly. Excitement was mounting. Some thirty or forty pairs of eyes were focused on the large cardboard box. From the top, I lifted out brightly colored, knitted jerseys. Eyes sparkled as I gave them out. Then there were the knitted bandages for the leprosy patients, and the children looked a little bored. Then came a box of mixed raisins and sultanas - that would make a batch of buns for the weekend Then, as I put m y hand in again, I felt the.....could it really be? I gr asped it and pulled it out - yes, a brand-new, rubber hot water bottle. I cried. I had not asked God to send it; I had not truly believed that He could. Ruth was in the front row of the children. She rushed forward, crying out, "If God has sent the bottle, He must have sent the dolly too!"Rummaging down to the bottom of the box, she pulled out the small, beautifully dressed dolly. Her eyes shone! She had never doubted!Looking up at me, she asked: "Can I go over with you and give this dolly to that little girl, so she'll know that Jesus really loves her?"That parcel had been on the way for five whole months. Packed up by my former Sunday school class, whose leader had heard and obeyed God's prompting to send a hot water bottle, even to the equator. And one of the girls had put in a dolly for an African child - five months before, in answer to the believing prayer of a ten-year-old to bring it "that afternoon.""Before they call, I will answer" (Isaiah 65:24)
I do not know if the story above is true or not. I do know that God's promises in scripture are! I also have seen this happen in my own life. I had made a decision recently to step out in faith about something. I did not have all that I needed to make that happen so I sent an e-mail to several friends asking them to say a prayer for me that God would provide for the need. 10 minutes later I received an e-mail from one of the men who told me he was laughing because his wife had told him several days before that she had a dream that she was providing me this same something so I could go do something God needed me to do. He told me to move forward in confidence that they would provide as God had instructed them to through her dream.
This is one of those breathtaking moments when I realized God had answered even before I prayed or asked others to pray. God is sooooooooo AWESOME!!!!
Isaiah 65:24 "Before they call, I will answer" This story was written by a doctor who worked in South AfricaOne night I had worked hard to help a mother in the labor ward; but in spite of all we could do, she died leaving us with a tiny premature baby and a crying two-year-old daughter. We would have difficulty keeping the baby alive, as we had no incubator (we had no electricity to run an incubator).We also had no special feeding facilities. Although we lived on the equator, nights were often chilly with treacherous drafts. One student midwife went for the box we had for such babies and the cotton wool that the baby would be wrapped in.Another went to stoke up the fire and fill a hot water bottle. She came back shortly in distress to tell me that in filling the bottle , it h ad burst (rubber perishes easily in tropical climates). "And it is our last hot water bottle!" she exclaimed. As in the West, it is no good crying over spilled milk so in Central Africa it might be considered no good crying over burst water bottles They do not grow on trees, and there are no drugstores down forest pathways."All right," I said, "put the baby as near the fire as you safely can, and sleep between the baby and the door to keep it free from drafts. Your job is to keep the baby warm."The following noon, as I did most days, I went to have prayers with any of the orphanage children who chose to gather with me. I gave the youngsters various suggestions of things to pray about and told them about the tiny baby. I explained our problem about keeping the baby warm enough, mentioning the hot water bottle, and that the baby could so easily die if it got chills. I also told them of the two-year-old sister, crying because her mother h ad diedDuring pr ayer t ime, one ten-year old girl, Ruth, prayed with the usual blunt conciseness of our African children. "Please, God" she prayed, "send us a water bottle. It'll be no good tomorrow, God, as the baby will be dead, so please send it this afternoon."While I gasped inwardly at the audacity of the prayer, she added, "And while You are about it, would You please send a dolly for the little girl so she'll know You really love her?"As often with children's prayers, I was put on the spot. Could I honestly say,"Amen". I just did not believe that God could do this. Oh, yes, I know that He can do everything, the Bible says so. But there are limits, aren't there? The only way God could answer this particular prayer would be by sending me a parcel from homeland. I had been in Africa for almost four years at that time, and I had never, ever received a parcel from home. Anyway, if anyone did send me a parcel, who would put in a hot water bottle? I liv ed on the equator! Halfway through the afternoon, while I was teaching in the nurses' training school, a message was sent that there was a car at my front door.By the time I reached home, the car had gone, but there, on the veranda, was a large twenty-two pound parcel. I felt tears pricking my eyes. I could not open the parcel alone, so I sent for the orphanage children.Together we pulled off the string, carefully undoing each knot. We folded the paper, taking care not to tear it unduly. Excitement was mounting. Some thirty or forty pairs of eyes were focused on the large cardboard box. From the top, I lifted out brightly colored, knitted jerseys. Eyes sparkled as I gave them out. Then there were the knitted bandages for the leprosy patients, and the children looked a little bored. Then came a box of mixed raisins and sultanas - that would make a batch of buns for the weekend Then, as I put m y hand in again, I felt the.....could it really be? I gr asped it and pulled it out - yes, a brand-new, rubber hot water bottle. I cried. I had not asked God to send it; I had not truly believed that He could. Ruth was in the front row of the children. She rushed forward, crying out, "If God has sent the bottle, He must have sent the dolly too!"Rummaging down to the bottom of the box, she pulled out the small, beautifully dressed dolly. Her eyes shone! She had never doubted!Looking up at me, she asked: "Can I go over with you and give this dolly to that little girl, so she'll know that Jesus really loves her?"That parcel had been on the way for five whole months. Packed up by my former Sunday school class, whose leader had heard and obeyed God's prompting to send a hot water bottle, even to the equator. And one of the girls had put in a dolly for an African child - five months before, in answer to the believing prayer of a ten-year-old to bring it "that afternoon.""Before they call, I will answer" (Isaiah 65:24)
I do not know if the story above is true or not. I do know that God's promises in scripture are! I also have seen this happen in my own life. I had made a decision recently to step out in faith about something. I did not have all that I needed to make that happen so I sent an e-mail to several friends asking them to say a prayer for me that God would provide for the need. 10 minutes later I received an e-mail from one of the men who told me he was laughing because his wife had told him several days before that she had a dream that she was providing me this same something so I could go do something God needed me to do. He told me to move forward in confidence that they would provide as God had instructed them to through her dream.
This is one of those breathtaking moments when I realized God had answered even before I prayed or asked others to pray. God is sooooooooo AWESOME!!!!
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