A Father's Love

Last week God did an amazing thing for me. The Maker of the Universe spoke to me through a woman I’ve never met that lives in Kampala, Uganda. This is what happened.

On Thursday I received a private message on FaceBook that said, “Hi sweetheart. Was praying before going to bed and as I started lifting you up in prayer, the Lord kept showing me Isaiah 49:1-end. I read it thru after praying and am asking that you read that whole chapter and claim every promise that is there and ask Him to show u a deeper revelation of what He is saying.”

I began to meditate on this Scripture and one of the verses spoke to me deeply, I have been praying for the salvation of my adult son. The New Living Translation says in Verse 25, “But the Lord says, “The captives of warriors will be released, and the plunder of tyrants will be retrieved. For I will fight those who fight you, and I will save your children.”

That leapt off the paper at me! When I read it I began praying for my son and asking God anew for his salvation. I felt a new hope well up inside me. I began to claim the promises and asking for more revelation regarding this message.

I’ve heard many people say that these promises are not for us today, that they were for the Israelites only and in the Old Testament. I have faith however that God can do anything and He can use any verse of Scripture to speak into our lives and they can come from anywhere in the world! Even if we don’t really know them well or they don’t know us well.

Sunday morning my son went to the altar to pray. He accepted Jesus as His Savior! I’ve been praying for this for a LONG time! God knew He was going to be moving on my son’s heart this week and He also knew I was becoming discouraged with praying for him so Our Father reached down into my life to encourage me. Now I'm rejoicing that my son has given his life to a the only One who can save him, the One who gave His life and died for him and me. What a loving Father! What a loving Savior! Thank you Jesus †

A Bag of Sonshine

This past weekend I was looking for something to wear now that the weather is warm and I was unable to find anything that made me feel pretty. After last year’s knee surgery and the subsequent weight gain I am not exactly fitting into my usual summer wardrobe. Bulging at the seams is a more accurate description.  And that brings me to the place of melancholy that I found myself. Feeling quite ugly and fat, wearing clothes that were too small I cried out to God to help me to see myself as He does. I had put a status on my FaceBook and my dear friends helped pull me out of my gloominess and back into the sunshine! God certainly uses people to speak to the hearts of His children. Over a dozen precious souls ministered to me and gave me new remembrances of blessings to count.

My Monday morning devotional was Matthew 6:33. “But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you.”

After devotions I started decluttering the last corner of the house that hasn’t been done. I was almost done when I found a bag that didn’t look familiar. I opened the bag up to find a whole bunch of Sonshine! Actually, it inside the bag I found 10 beautiful blouses that were my size! I didn’t recognize them, I have no idea where it came from but I do know this, God knew that I needed those blouses on Monday.

How amazing that our Father arranged my devotion to be Matthew 6:33 on Monday morning. He added these things to me. I’ve been seeking Him and He made sure I had the desires of my heart, something to help me feel pretty. Something to help me see myself as He sees me. I love our Father so much! Thank you Jesus…V

Can You Say Alice in Wonderland?

The shoes came in the mail on Thursday, the same day I had the procedure done which required anesthesia. The papers I signed CLEARLY STATED that I was in no way to make any decisions that day. Okay, no decisions, not a problem. Here comes the rub…I took the shoes out of the box and put them on Monkey and they were entirely too tight! Too short, too tight, NO WAY I could make her big old step-sister feet fit into these beautiful and delicate Paisley TOMS which were fit for a princess. Wait, she IS a princess.

 

Friday morning I called TOMS and asked if they would take them back without the tags, explaining the “all gone” and how the shoes were too small. The obliging young lady from TOMS asked me if I’d be willing to try allowing Monkey to wear the shoes in the house this weekend to allow them to stretch. Okay, I’ll try it…

She came in from outside play and I put them on her feet, this time, however, the Princess Slippers slipped right onto the pretty Monkey feet with no problem whatsoever! How could this be? Is it possible this is what they meant when they said to make NO DECISIONS?  HMMM? Perhaps.

I felt like Alice in Wonderland on Thursday and the lesson to be learned is this, make no decisions even when you don’t FEEL like you’re under the effects of anesthesia! Just goes to show me that I need to take directions seriously, even when I don’t think there are serious consequences to the decisions I’m making. It would have saved me a trip down the rabbit hole!

Fingerprints of God

It’s been a while since I’ve blogged, there has been a lot going on and I’ve not been quite sure what to say. I’ve not been well, health-wise. I hope and pray it’s not serious. It has been ongoing and I’ve been undergoing many tests, that’s part of the reason for my silence. Not quite sure what to say. I’ve been passing out, for some strange reason, when I eat or drink, occasionally and it was not known why. So I have been through batteries of tests that showed nothing. Yesterday, however, I underwent a test that actually yielded some results! Here is what they found, I have two glands that are sensitive and when stimulated by pressure, heat or cold they cause my heart rate and blood pressure to plummet and then I pass out. So I have answers.

I read a dear friend’s blog yesterday and it changed how I looked at this news. I would like to link to it and share from it. Here is the link http://ryancatanddogvaughn.blogspot.com/2011/06/perfect-masterpiece.html?spref=fb and here is the story that touched my heart.

“I heard the most wonderful example of God's love for us at a Bible Study a while back. The speaker was telling the story of her little boy creating things out of playdoh. She said he was working very hard on his creation and handed it to her when he was done. He said, "It's perfect." She was examining it and trying to think of positive things to say about the lump of different colors. "Oh, you are really creative." And, "Wow, this is something." The little boy could tell his mother wasn't very impressed and said to her, "Mommy. You know why this is so beautiful and perfect? It has my fingerprints all over it."”

So as I read this, tears welled up in my eyes and I began to see how these glands that I was viewing as terrible mistakes that were causing me such distress were actually the fingerprints of my Maker. I’m so thankful that after months of testing I have an answer of why it’s happening. I know that there is a reason my glands are so sensitive and although I don’t understand I know my Father does. He created me perfectly in His image. When He looks at me in my brokenness He sees His fingerprints all over and in me, covered by the Blood of His precious Son and that makes me perfect.

I’m choosing to be optimistic about this because I know that my God has a plan for me.

“For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the LORD, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future. “ Jeremiah 29:11