My blog

Tag: faith

  • Good Friday…

    Good Friday is the holiest day of the year in the Christian calendar. It is a day of remembrance and… a day of sorrow. But it’s also a day that we, as humans, are reconciled to our Lord and Savior.

    From the beginning of the Bible in Genesis through to Revelation, the entire story, His story, is revealed.

    God the Father knew man would sin before He created the universe. So, it wasn’t a surprise to Him when man fell in the garden in Genesis 3. Throughout the Bible, we see God’s plan of salvation in the form of Jesus Christ.

    Although there may be those who do not believe in the Bible, but for those of us who do, Good Friday is a day of remembrance to reflect on the impact Jesus had on society in His day through the centuries to today.

    I marvel at His capacity to love us so much that He willingly went to the cross and died for our sins so we could live with Him in eternity. It’s what we, as Christians, believe.

    About ten years ago, my husband and I had the distinct privilege of visiting Israel with our church. The ten-day trip took us to the Sea of Galilee where we boarded a boat and had a Bible Study in the very area where Jesus walked on water.

    We visited many places while there: Nazareth, Capernaum (where the Apostle Peter lived), Masada, Tel Dan, the Valley of Megiddo (where the battle of Armageddon will be held), Ein Gedi (where David hid from Saul), the Jordan river (where John the Baptist baptized Jesus), the Dead Sea, Gideon’s Spring (where God culled Gideon’s army to three hundred men), and finally Jerusalem.

    We traveled underground and walked the length of one wall of the temple mount. The wall’s stones, which were at least twenty to thirty feet long and four to five feet high, had no mortar between them. It was simply astounding. I stood in wonder at the feat of building such a wall in ancient times. But what happened at the end of the quarter mile trek to the corner of the temple wall would be something that would stay with me for the rest of my life. Our guide told us the stones we were standing on were the same stones that were in the streets of Jerusalem in ancient times. I imagined Jesus walking through Jerusalem on the very stones I was standing on.

    But there was more…

    Struck by the stark beauty of the thousand-year-old Olive trees in the garden of Gethsemane located at the foot of the Mount of Olives, we stood in awe of them. While there are paths and the garden seemed small to me, I imagine it wasn’t small in ancient times. Most likely, there were no paths or walls surrounding it.

    We stood on a platform and stared at Golgotha, also known as the place of the skull, where the crucifixion of Jesus took place. Sadly, it is now a parking lot for a bus station. But on the stony hill above the blacktop, the eyes and the nose of the skull are still visible. But photos from the 1800s show the entire face of the skull.

     

    On the last day of our trip, we visited the tomb. It is empty. Empty because Jesus arose on the third day is in heaven preparing a place for His bride, the church

    Having been a believer for many years, the Bible came alive for me while in Israel and I could see Jesus every place we visited where he walked.

    Visiting Israel right before Easter left us with an indelible impression, a reverence for the Almighty. And I will never be the same.

  • Jesus…

    Every year I want to write a Christmas post, but I’ve always had way too much to do to prepare for the holidays… baking, shopping, wrapping, decorating (I LOVE to decorate my entire house) and traveling to visit family.

    But this year, I’ve had to forgo two of my favorite things to do at Christmas time: decorating and baking.

    My husband convinced me to at least put up the Christmas tree even if I didn’t decorate every room in the house as in previous years. So, I agreed and only put up the tree with the angel on top with none of my favorite ornaments. We also put the Christmas wreath on the door. That was it for this year.

    Another item scratched off the to do list for 2021 was baking. I love to bake goodies for my family, but this year, I decided to order pastries from a fabulous Italian pastry shop near my hometown. I realized it was less expensive in terms of time and money than for me to buy the ingredients and make them myself. The love factor may not be in the purchased baked goods, but the pressure it eliminated was well worth it. I also recognized no one really cared if they were purchased or homemade. What was important was the people surrounding us during the holidays.

    While my heart lamented, as it got closer to Christmas, I was less stressed and able to enjoy the holiday more.

    Because the entire year had been one of tremendous stress to begin with, spending time with family was more important than ever before. This year we lost the matriarch of our family, so it’ll be a poignant Christmas. Sadly, because of the virus, some have chosen to not travel and stay home. And that’s OK. We will be together at other times of the year, and we can still face time.

    But more important than anything, I was able to focus my thoughts on the Reason For The Season…

    Jesus came to earth on a chilly night. A star led the way to the tiny baby with only shepherds and farm animals to herald his coming. He was swaddled in a manger most likely made of stone. The Messiah was fully God and fully man. A mystery we, as humans, cannot fathom. According to the sermon on the mount. we are blessed because we believe without seeing.

    Prophets predicted his birth long before Jesus was born in that tiny hamlet. He fulfilled at least three hundred prophecies during his earthly ministry. Here are a few he fulfilled at his birth.

    Jesus would be Born of the Family of Jesse and of the House of David

    There shall come forth a Rod from the stem of Jesse,
    And a Branch shall grow out of his roots.     Isaiah 11:1 (NKJV)

    “Behold, the days are coming,” says the Lord,
    “That I will raise to David a Branch of righteousness;
    A King shall reign and prosper,
    And execute judgment and righteousness in the earth.     Jeremiah 23:5 (NKJV)

    Jesus Would be Born of a Virgin in Bethlehem

    Therefore the Lord Himself will give you a sign: Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a Son, and shall call His name Immanuel. Isaiah 7:14 (NKJV)

    “But you, Bethlehem Ephrathah,
    Though you are little among the thousands of Judah,
    Yet out of you shall come forth to Me
    The One to be Ruler in Israel,
    Whose goings forth are from of old,
    From everlasting.”     Micah 5:2 (NKJV)

    Jesus Would be Filled with Power, Peace, and the Spirit from Birth

    For unto us a Child is born,
    Unto us a Son is given;
    And the government will be upon His shoulder.
    And His name will be called
    Wonderful, Counselor, Mighty God,
    Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace    . Isaiah 9:6 (NKJV) 

    “The Spirit of the Lord is upon Me,
    Because He has anointed Me
    To preach the gospel to     the poor;
    He has sent Me to heal the brokenhearted,
    To proclaim liberty to     the captives
    And recovery of sight to     the blind,
    To set at liberty those who are oppressed; Luke 4:18 (NKJV)

    A Star Would Point the Way Towards Jesus, the Christ

    “I see Him, but not now;
    I behold Him, but not near;
    A Star shall come out of Jacob;
    A Scepter shall rise out of Israel,
    And batter the brow of Moab,
    And destroy all the sons of tumult.     Numbers 24:17 (NKJV)

    Jesus Would be Worshipped by Shepherds

    Now there were in the same country shepherds living out in the fields, keeping watch over their flock by night. And behold, an angel of the Lord stood before them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were greatly afraid. Then the angel said to them, “Do not be afraid, for behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy which will be to all people. For there is born to you this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord. And this will be the sign to you: You will find a Babe wrapped in swaddling cloths, lying in a manger. Luke 2:8-12 (NKJV)

    Kings would Present Gifts to Jesus

    The kings of Tarshish and of the isles
    Will bring presents;
    The kings of Sheba and Seba
    Will offer gifts.
    Yes, all kings shall fall down before Him;
    All nations shall serve Him.     Psalm 72:10-11(NKJV)

    An Angelic Dream would Direct Jospeh to escape with Mary and Jesus to Egypt.

    “When Israel was a child, I loved him,
    And out of Egypt I called My son.     Hosea 11:1 (NKJV)

    There Would be a Great Sorrow Surrounding the Time of His Birth and Many Children Would be Killed

    Thus says the Lord:

    “A voice was heard in Ramah,
    Lamentation and bitter weeping,
    Rachel weeping for her children,
    Refusing to be comforted for her children,
    Because they are no more.”     Jeremiah 31:15 (NKJV)

    As we celebrate this wondrous day, I want to focus more on Jesus and what he did for me… and for you.

    May you have a blessed Christmas filled with joy and peace, knowing the prophecies surrounding his birth give us the assurance that we may live with him in eternity.

  • A Blessing in Disguise…

    Sunday. A time of worship and church. And we were late. We were both ready at our usual departure time, but my husband was called on a case for his company. I had resigned myself to watch the service from my living room chair even though I wanted to be there in person.

    As luck would have it… well, it really wasn’t luck because God knew both of us needed to be there, so luck wasn’t a factor.

    We missed part of the worship segment of the service, but not all of it. And I was truly thankful to have been able to participate. And the worship was wonderful.

    We worship in a small community church and have been attending there since we moved to North Carolina. And we both wanted to be there this Sunday because our pastor was concluding part four of our church’s series: Storm Clouds of Deception on the Horizon. I took my usual copious notes, so I had them in case I needed them for the telephone Bible Study I’ve been doing for years.

    But the reason we had to be there was because we were asked to be the prayer team after the service. The enemy would like nothing more than to keep ministry workers at home and miss God’s blessings. We would have missed a wonderful time of worship and the blessing of ministering to others.

    What’s important about being the church’s prayer team today was that if we had stayed home, we would have missed out on the blessing to pray for those in need.

    The first man to come forward was a man who has encouraged us and made us laugh since the day we met him. But he’s been having serious health issues for a long time. We have been praying for this brother every Wednesday at our church’s Engine Room Ministry, where a group of us pray for the needs of our church, our community, and the world.

    He hadn’t come to pray, but just to tell us how much he loved us. I asked him if we could pray for him, so we did. I could tell the prayer touched him because his hand left my shoulder to wipe away the tears. But we were more blessed by what he had to say after the prayer ended.

    That dear brother has bone cancer. He told us how he’d been hospitalized frequently in the past month. (We knew this because of the updates during Wednesday evening prayer time).

    But you know, God is greater than any cancer. He told us how his PSA was 70+ when it should be less than 6. That’s not good news. However, he said, during his most recent stay, he had eleven doctors surrounding the foot of his bed. (I suspect the hospital he was in was a teaching hospital, but I didn’t ask.)

    The lead doctor called on one of the other ten doctors to tell him what they found. The doctor said, “We can’t explain it. We don’t know why, but your PSA level has dropped to 2.” (My heart leaped for joy. God had answered our prayers.)

    Our friend said he told those eleven doctors he knew why his levels had dropped.

    “Why,” one doctor asked.

    “Because I have hundreds and hundreds of people praying for me,” he said. He told us he had people praying from as far away as Oregon and California.

    A few of the doctors murmured “hmmm.” But most of them said nothing. It doesn’t matter if they believe or not because we know why his levels decreased. And it might even awaken them to the possibility that while doctors have the knowledge and experience to treat various diseases, some things are left to the Almighty.

    He asked his doctor if he was in remission. The doctor was hesitant to say that was the case and understandably so, but our friend will get a bone scan and blood tests later this week. Of course, we’ll be praying for a good outcome for those tests as well.

    And we would have missed out on that blessing of knowing how God answered prayer if we hadn’t gone to church this morning.

    We also needed our friend’s uplifting story because, on the heels of hearing his experience, a mother came forward crying. Her little girl has an incurable bone disease. The doctors said it would get progressively worse. We can’t say if the little girl will be healed because it’s not up to us. Our job is to pray for her. The healing will come from the Lord, if He so chooses. So we prayed, along with another woman in our congregation. The experience tore at both of us and wrenched our hearts. But we will continue to pray for that little girl and her family.

    Another blessing of being able to minister to that mother and daughter we would not have had if we had stayed home. There’s more to the story about how God intervened so we wouldn’t miss out on these blessings, but that’s for another time.

    We are big believers in prayer at our house. How about you? Do you have any answered prayer stories you’d like to share?

     

     

  • Mother’s Day 2021

    Wishing every mother and/or grandmother who reads this blog post a very Happy Mother’s Day.

    My mother, who turns 92 in June (exactly one week after my birthday), has been slowly deteriorating.

    She has been housebound for several years. With my brother wheelchair bound and me a day’s drive away, we had a caregiver who went to her place twice a day to ensure she ate, got her medication and ensured her physical needs were met. The rest of the time she was all alone. And that bothered me.

    But mentally? She has her good days and her bad days. Some days I’d call, and she didn’t recognize my voice. Other days, she was jovial. And that was cause for celebration.

    But this year has been a particularly tough year for me… and my brother. My mother had to be hospitalized and then taken to long-term care. And while my brother fought this, he realized based on her lack of interest in using her walker and her continued physical frailty, she needed 24/7 care that neither of us could give her.

    The heartbreak of this ordeal has been to clear out decades of stuff from her home. It’s been daunting, and it’s not done yet. While I was going through her garage and donating the vast majority of stuff in there, It struck me that we are born with nothing and we die with nothing. It’s all just “stuff”. Stuff that we don’t need or want.

    I’ve come to terms with my mother’s frailty and the fact that it may not be long before she’s not with us, but rejoice because we still have her… even if it’s just for a little while longer.

    If you still have your mother in pristine health, rejoice and spend time with her. If you don’t, search your memory banks for the sweet times you spent with her and relive them in your heart and mind and know you were blessed to have her.

    So Happy Mother’s Day, Mom. You are loved.

  • Our country today…

    And he said:

    “The Lord roars from Zion,
    And utters His voice from Jerusalem;
    The pastures of the shepherds mourn,
    And the top of Carmel withers.”

    Amos 1:2

    Let’s look at some background information. Amos is a lesser known book of the Bible and the man, Amos, is one of the minor prophets of the Bible. His name means “burden” or “burden bearer” and he was a man of burden as he delivered prophecies of judgment on the nations surrounding Israel and Israel itself. He lived about ten miles from Jerusalem and Bible scholars have dated his ministry between 750 and 760 BC, at the time of King Uzziah, when the nation of Israel had been divided into two nations for 150 years

    Let’s look at the context of this verse. The first part of this passage deals with God’s judgment. The roar deals with God’s judgment toward the Gentile nations and then toward Judah and Israel. The people of Israel and Judah set up places of worship in other cities. This was a reminder that the true center of worship was Jerusalem. Amos described himself as a sheep raiser which meant he was a shepherd, not in the spiritual sense as Jesus was the great shepherd and he knew if God withheld rain, sent plagues or allowed foreign armies to invade, the land would suffer and the people of the land would suffer. Carmel was a mountain where Isaiah defeated the prophets of Baal. Amos is reminding the people of the Lord’s victory over idolatry.

    So how does this verse correlate to today’s society?

    The U.S. is experiencing a climate of protests and violence in our nation’s cities. The land is mourning with the destruction of buildings and businesses. The U.S. has had to overcome many obstacles from the beginning of the nation until now, but it has overcome those things through the prayers of the people. We live in hope that God will heal our land if we call out to Him.

    What is your prayer for our country today?

     

  • Aaronic Blessing

    “The Lord bless you and keep you; The Lord make His face shine upon you, And be gracious to you; The Lord lift up His countenance upon you. And give you peace. Num 6:24-26 NKJV

    In my younger days, my pastor would sing this blessing at the end of each service. It comforted me. I did not know it was an actual blessing from the Bible. In fact, it is the Aaronic Blessing and one which I have heard both in English and in Hebrew.

    This blessing will always have the power to comfort me and I hope it comforts you today.

    Through the years, different verses have been a blessing. What verses are your favorites or have been a blessing to you?

  • Answered Prayer

     

    When I first learned how to pray effectively, I was (and still am) in awe of how God answered prayer.  Sometimes it happened immediately and sometimes He was still working out the answer.  Many times God answered the prayer in an unexpected way.  Not bad, just different from what I had expected.

    I learned early on that there are only three answers to prayer: Yes, No and Wait.  While we rejoice in the yes answers, the no answers don’t keep me down because it only means He has something better for me and those I love.  And the wait…well, that’s the hardest answer to bear, particularly if it’s a crucial need like a physical, financial or emotional need.  And our family has had them over the years.  Big time.

    What’s exciting about it is that I’m in an expectant mood to see how He will answer it.

    Some people think prayer is private and often it should be.  Each person should sit with their creator and work out the details of their lives with Him.  God loves us and He wants to hear from us.  Whether it’s just a few words telling Him about your day or if it’s a more in-depth conversation about life events or personal issues. He wants to hear every detail of our lives, no matter how small.  Remember He has the hairs on your head counted so if that isn’t detailed enough, I don’t know what is.

    Over the years, my husband and I have prayed hundreds of thousands of prayers.  Some corporately and some individually.  But we try to make it a priority every day.  It doesn’t always work out that way but we try.

    Most of the time my prayers start out by giving Him glory. I move on to asking for forgiveness because I know I need it every day.   I then pray for my family and friends’ needs, then my own needs and finally for global issues.  God has been faithful over the years to answer my prayers so I will continue to pray to Him for the needs of my family & friends, church members and worldwide.  Sometimes it’s daunting but I know God has called me to be a prayer warrior so that is what I will do.

    Just this past Sunday we prayed for an individual who had severed a tendon and needed surgery. My husband and I prayed, and we were specific in our prayer: the surgeon would be a believer in Christ, that the surgery would be scheduled quickly and that the recuperation period would be minimal.  The next day, I received an excited call. The surgeon who would do the surgery is, in fact, a believer along with his physician’s assistant and the surgery would happen today.  Specific answers to specific prayers. This morning we prayed for God’s own hands to guide the doctor’s hands and that the surgery would go well without issue.

    I could fill thousands of pages talking about how God answered prayer, sometimes, unbelievable answers!  I try to remind myself on occasions of all the times He was faithful even when I was not.

    These answers to prayer are what I call God Stories.  I pray you have an abundance of your own God Stories.

    Would you share one of your God stories with us and bless someone today?

     

  • Just Do It!

     Look, the Lord your God has set the land before you; go up and possess it, as the Lord God of your fathers has spoken to you; do not fear or be discouraged.’ Deut 1:21

    This verse is definitely a life verse when considering career choices or stepping out in Faith. That was me when I wrote inspirational romances. I felt ill-equipped to write. I needed instruction on how to write and how to use the language to its fullest potential. But, God gave me a vision, and I have stepped out and worked many hours to learn the craft and I’m still learning and I will continue to learn every time my fingers hit the keyboard.

    I faced discouragement from fellow writers who critiqued my work, from instructors who made it clear it was difficult to get an agent in this day and age let alone find a publisher willing to take on a new author. But the reason for writing was so strong none of those naysayers would keep me from my purpose for writing.

     

    What “land” are you trying to possess and what are your fears?

     

     

  • When God Answers Prayer

    When I first learned how to pray effectively, I was (and still am) in awe of how God answered prayer.  Sometimes it happened immediately and sometimes He was still working out the answer.  Many times God answered the prayer in an unexpected way.  Not bad, just different from what I had expected.

    I learned early on there are only three answers to prayer: Yes, No and Wait.  While we rejoice in the yes answers, the no answers don’t keep me down because it only means He has something better for me and my family or He was protecting me from something I didn’t know about regarding that prayer. And the wait…well, that’s the hardest answer to bear, particularly if it’s crucial like a physical, financial or emotional need.  And our family has had them over the years.  Big time.

    What’s exciting about it is that I’m in an expectant mood to see how He will answer it.

    Some people think prayer is private and often it should be.  Each person should sit with their creator and work out the details of their lives with Him.  God loves us and He wants to hear from us.  Whether it’s just a few words telling Him about your day or if it’s a more in-depth conversation about life events or personal issues. He wants to hear every detail of our lives, no matter how small.  Remember He has the hairs on your head counted so if that isn’t detailed enough, I don’t know what is.

    Over the years, my husband and I have prayed hundreds of thousands of prayers.  Some corporately and some individually.  But we try to make it a priority every day.  It doesn’t always work out that way but we try.

    Most of the time my prayers begin by giving Him glory. I move on to asking for forgiveness because I know I need it every day.   The prayer then turns to the needs of my family and friends, then my own needs and finally for global issues.  God has been faithful over the years to answer my prayers so I will continue to pray to Him.  Sometimes it’s daunting but I know God has called me to be a prayer warrior so that is what I will do.

    Just this past Sunday we prayed for an individual who had severed a tendon and needed surgery. My husband and I prayed, and we were specific in our prayer: the surgeon would be a believer in Christ, that the surgery would be scheduled quickly and that the recuperation period would be minimal.  The next day, I received an excited call. The surgeon who would do the surgery is, in fact, a believer along with his physician’s assistant and the surgery would happen today.  Specific answers to specific prayers. This morning we prayed for God’s own hands to guide the doctor’s hands and that the surgery would go well without issue.

    I could fill thousands of pages talking about how God answered prayer, sometimes, unbelievable answers!  I try to remind myself of all the times He was faithful even when I was not.

    These answers to prayer are what I call God Stories.  I pray you have an abundance of your own God Stories.  If you would like to share those stories here, we’d love to hear them!

  • When God shows up…

    My husband and I are part of a group of couples who pray for the needs of our church.  We get together with the Pastor on Wednesday evenings to pray for one another, the church body, the community, and the world.  We’ve been part of this prayer ministry almost from the first time we attended this church when we moved to North Carolina three years ago.

    One couple out of the four couples on the team pray for people after service on Sundays.  We never know in advance who will pray and it doesn’t matter to any of the couples because they’re usually there every Sunday.  Who prays is at the discretion of the prayer team leader and who is attending church.  We are happy to oblige when the need arises.

    This past Sunday, we knew from the previous Sunday we would be praying.  Sometimes people come to the front and sometimes they don’t.  We’d rather they did but, we know not everyone is comfortable with strangers praying for them. Others have big needs and have the courage to come forward as was the case this past Sunday.

    And God showed up.  It was the right time, the right place for the right prayer partners and the right person.  It all fit together like minute puzzle pieces.

    Scott lost his job and worried about finding another.  Upset by his job loss particularly since it was his dream job and he’d only held the position for several months, he came forward for prayer. My husband and I definitely related to this man’s worry.  Both of us have lost jobs over the years, my husband’s most recent job loss was three years ago and included a move from Virginia to North Carolina.   And my husband had to learn the lesson, the hard way,  of having his identity wrapped up in his work.

    He learned his identity is in Christ and not the position God gave him.  It was a long, tough lesson to learn.  But through it all, we trusted God.  His way is better than ours and there was a purpose to what we endured.  We couldn’t see it then.  Rarely can you see the benefit of the struggles as you’re going through them.  You only see them after you’ve come through the fire.

    Being familiar with this setback, we told several job loss related stories which included an international move.  We shared words of encouragement before we prayed for him.  Our stories and prayers encouraged him.

    We now know God had a plan for us to share our job loss moments with those who are suffering the same fate.  But more than that, we realized God showed up at that moment and put the right people in Scott’s path.

    But those who wait on the LORD
    Shall renew their strength;
    They shall mount up with wings like eagles,
    They shall run and not be weary,
    They shall walk and not faint.
    Isaiah 40: 31