Tag: Happy Birthday

When Bad Things Happen…

01/09/2015Spiritual Growth, Spiritual Walk, , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , 6 Comments

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“They want to do another MRI to verify the mass.”

“I’m at the hospital getting tested for uterine cancer… This is like a nightmare… Day from Hell.”

“The police showed up at the front door and asked if they could search the house.”

“I can’t take care of two people with Alzheimer’s. I will take care of my husband at home; we have to move mom into a facility.”

“I feel like my life is one BIG consequence after another!”

“In my dark lapse of judgment I texted inappropriate pictures which he promised to delete.”

“Getting a biopsy done right now on my face, please pray!”

“I know God is sovereign, but right now, I’m not convinced that He loves me.”

“Mom fell on the ice.”

“Can God stop Satan already?”

“I don’t know how much more I can take.”

“We agreed we would give up all the money and comfort in the world to just have our family safe and healthy.”

“He asked to meet me for lunch, and then he told me he was bringing another person… a lawyer.”

“If bad things happen all around us, why can’t they happen to us? Why does He choose to protect some people and not others?”

These are all portions of conversations I’ve been a part of this week. I don’t have the answers. I know continue here

Holding On for Dear Life!

09/23/2014Spiritual Walk, The Furrowed Brow, , , , 3 Comments

Jake and Matt rode their first Ferris wheel on Saturday. They were excited as they waited to get on.
post85pic1Well, they may have been a little hesitant, but mom and dad were going to ride with them, so there was nothing to worry about – at least not for the boys.

A Ferris wheel is pretty harmless. Oh, there’s find more here

A Stone in the Wall

09/02/2014Spiritual Growth, Spiritual Walk, , , 13 Comments

dads walls 001In the spring of 2000, my dad and I drove to North Carolina to document the works of art he and my Gramps had created out of stone. He told me he could pick out the stones that had smashed a finger, or been dropped on a toe. Every stone in every wall had a story. Dad talked a lot about a lot of things on that trip.

One thing in particular that dad told me was, “You continue reading here

Eating Peas

11/12/2013Prayer, Spiritual Growth, , , , , 11 Comments

This is a picture of our grandson Jake when he first started eating solid food. He’s about to get a bite of peas.

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He quickly learned that he doesn’t like peas!

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However, he opened his mouth again! He trusted the person feeding him. He knew we loved him, and we would never ever hurt him.

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Today, Jake is four. If I were to put peas on his plate for dinner, the conversation would probably go something like this:

Jake: Yaya, I don’t want peas.
Yaya (me): Jake, you have to eat them, they are good for you.
Jake: No, I don’t like them.
Yaya: Don’t you want to grow up to be big and strong like your daddy?
Jake: Yes, but I can do that if I eat cookies!
Yaya: No you can’t Jake, you need your peas.
Jake: Yaya, I’m not hungry!

We give our children healthy food, even if they only want candy, because we know that candy won’t produce a strong, healthy body.

We are a lot like Jake when it comes to eating our ‘spiritual peas’. What are spiritual peas? That would be the hard things in life that the Lord puts on our plate. I don’t have to imagine what that conversation would sound like, I’ve had it…

God: Marcia, you have to go through this difficult thing.
Marcia: God, I don’t want to.
God: You have to, it is good for you.
Marcia: No. I don’t like this.
God: Don’t you want to grow up to be like Jesus?
Marcia: Yes, but I can do that without having to endure this.|
God: No, you can’t, Marcia, you need to walk this path.
Marcia: God, I’m ok where I am.

God knows the future. He knows what I need to experience now in order to be prepared for what the future holds. He knows where I will need to be strong. He knows where the Evil One is going to come against me. He knows where I need to grow. Therefore, God very carefully prepares my plate with just the right amount of peas.

Romans 5:3-5 because we know that suffering produces perseverance; perseverance, character; and character, hope. And hope does not put us to shame…”

God will not overload me with suffering. I know that there will also be sweet desserts – times of celebration and rejoicing. And, there will be some really nice steaks because he knows how much I love to study the meat of doctrine.

Jeremiah 29:11 “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.”

Just as Jake’s peas produce a healthy body, so our suffering produces a healthy spirit: a spirit that hopes, even when things appear hopeless.

What difficult thing has God put on your plate? Do you believe that He has your best interest at heart, because he knows what you will need in the future?

Holding On! Walking Forward!

10/03/2013Spiritual Walk, The Furrowed Brow, , , , Leave a comment

As a little girl, the biggest, strongest, most courageous, fearless and handsome man in the entire world was my dad. It seemed there was nothing he was afraid of, and when I was close to him, I didn’t need to be afraid either. I knew he’d take care of me no matter what.

If we were in a situation where he knew I needed to stay close for my protection, and his peace of mind, he’d hold out his finger and I’d grab hold. All of us kids knew to grab hold, and we didn’t argue. When my siblings and I grew up and had children of our own, we would laugh as we recalled stories of how trained we were to hold dad’s finger.

In the final hours of dad’s life, when he was barely speaking, and rarely opening his eyes, I asked him if he remembered how he’d hold out his finger to me. He nodded and slowly and lifted his finger off the bed just a little. I grabbed hold.

I asked him if he was going to see Jesus that day. He said, “Yes.” I told him that when he saw Jesus, to look for his hand, and to grab hold of Jesus’ finger and not let go. He said that he would. A few hours later, he did.

Why is this story my very first blog entry? Because today, my life is in transition, and I’m not sure where I’m going and I don’t want to wander off and get lost in the crowd, or find myself in a place that I am not prepared to navigate. God is moving me from my cozy little cocoon, where I’ve taught for over fourteen years, from the women who know me, love me, and listen to me week after week into an area that I am not sure I recognize. I feel like that little girl who needs to see her dad hold out his finger, so that she can grab hold and know she is safe and protected.

Without realizing it, my dad taught me well. He taught me as a little child, to grab hold of my Father’s finger. And, so, I look to my Father, God, and I am grabbing hold of his finger.

I am holding on tight, because I know that He will guide me and He will protect me. He is the One and Only, the biggest, strongest, most courageous, fearless, beautiful God in the entire universe, for He created the universe, with His finger. He created me. He has a plan for me, and He will bring that plan to fruition.

So, as I begin this next chapter, I want to say “Thank you!” to my dad, thank you for teaching me to hold on. And, to my Father, to whom I am holding, “I’m so excited to walk this path with you, for I know, that no one can snatch me out of your hand.”