Moving Day Has Arrived!

Change is in the air!  This is my last day with the computer for about a week - oh my!  I am not MIA but just between houses.  Everything is ready to go except for packing the computer and TV (you know, the things you can't do without - ha, ha, ha).  They will go in a box first thing in the morning.

I hope to be able to use the computer at my son's this weekend but we won't have internet access at our temporary home until next Monday.  Yes, I said "temporary"!  We are gluttons for punishment - LOL.  We are going to have a house built so will be staying at an apartment until that is completed in about 3 to 4 months!

We are so excited about our move but sad as well.  We are leaving behind some really great friends and a wonderful church family.  We are looking forward to what God has in store for us in the future and are content to know that He is in control of all things!!!

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Prolific Blogger Award

Thank you Wylie from Shout a Joyful Noise for including me in the Prolific Blogger Award you are passing on!  There are so many bloggers I truly enjoy and that inspire me but I will limit it to a few...and try not to repeat who others are sharing :-)  So, in no particular order, here they are...

Leaon @ Shabby Olde Potting Shed

Elaine @ Peace for the Journey

Angela @ Free Spirit Haven

Noreen @ Life Blessings

Jensmere @ Count It All Joy

Natalie @ NatalieWitcher.com

Glynnis @ Welcome Home

Here are rules for sharing the award & what it is about…

"A prolific blogger is one who is intellectually productive… keeping up an active blog that is filled with enjoyable content."

1. Every winner of the prolific blogger award has to pass on this award to at least seven other deserving prolific bloggers to spread some love!

2. Every prolific blogger must link back to the blog from which he/she has received the award.

3. Each prolific blogger must link this back to this post, which explains the origins and motivations for the award.

4. Every prolific blogger must visit this post and add their name in the Mister Linky so that we can all get to know the other winners.

There are so many great blogs I love to visit but will have to honor them at another time :-)  Hope you visit each one to see what I think are some really special women!

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What Do You Treasure?

Quoted from ‘A Call to Die' by David Nasser

How can we tell what we treasure? If we are serious about denying our selfish ambitions and taking up our crosses because we treasure Christ above all else, we can count on two things: encouragement and testing. God will lead us to passages of scripture and godly people to fan the flame in our hearts. Imagine how thrilled he is when you and I say, “God, I will do anything to follow you and honor you!” But he also tests that commitment. He brings failure and pain into our lives, not to discourage us but to refine our desires and burn away the stuff that gets in our way. When we say that he is our treasure, he tests us by either giving us those things that compete with him or he takes them away. You may receive an award or experience great success. At that moment, you have a choice of what to treasure. Or you may be rejected by someone you value or fail in an important goal. At that moment, you can choose whether to value the loss and sink into despair or to treasure Christ and say, “Lord, it hurts, but your love is far greater than my loss.” Either way, in success or in failure, our true hearts are revealed and we can grow.

“Why, God, why?” “Why is this happening?” “Are you not with me in this because it isn’t where you want me to be?” “Things were going so smoothly and now everything is a mess. Why did you withdraw your hand of blessing?” You can add your own questions here – we all have them!

The doubts, the questions bombard our thoughts. Been there, done that! Sometimes they come from our own flesh and sometimes Satan shoots his darts at us.

But, the quote at the top of my post gives me, and I hope you as well, a different perspective on things. What do I treasure? The situations, both good and bad, that God allows into my life should be used as a tool to show me what I am treasuring, what I give value to.

I say I am committed to God. I say to myself, to others and to God that all I am and all I have are His to do with as He pleases. God will test that commitment. Why? I believe David Nasser in his book “A Call to Die” hits the proverbial nail on the head. So I can see for myself where I am lacking in my commitment. What I might be treasuring above Him!

I want to be able to say with Job “Naked I came from my mother's womb, and naked I will depart. The LORD gave and the LORD has taken away; may the name of the LORD be praised." (Job 1:21) Job had just learned that all of his children were dead and all of his possessions were either destroyed or stolen. I would say he experienced a major testing! This is what verse 22 says “In all this, Job did not sin by charging God with wrongdoing.”

I don’t know about you, but, I want my desires refined! You might think I am crazy – after all, no one likes to go through times of testing – but I look forward to whatever God allows into my life so that I might grow. What I gain is so much more valuable than any pain! I want to be a GIANT in my faith, my trust and my commitment to my Lord and Savior!!

The refiner’s fire is held by the One who loves me without limit – not to destroy me but to burn off the impurities so I am able to reflect His character more and more. So I may treasure what He treasures…

What about you? Are you wanting and willing to grow? Are you ready to be a GIANT?

Abba, Father… I don’t really like pain, heartache, turmoil; but, if it shows me what I treasure, what I am holding more dear than you, then allow those things into my life! Your will be done… My life, my family, my possessions – all that I am and all I have in this world – are yours to do with as you please!! Amen.

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Journey of Love - Lessons Learned

To start at the beginning - start here

Thank you for following my story with me! I hope you see the amazing love, mercy and grace of God through my life journey. God has been so faithful in using my life situations and circumstances to teach me so many things and I would like to share a few of them here with you. Here they are in no particular order…
• No matter how great your family of origin and your childhood was, no matter how dysfunctional your family of origin and your childhood was, you are responsible for your own thoughts, attitudes and actions. Where you came from has an influence on you; but, you have the choice to be all that God has purposed for you to be. You can rise above where you started or you can sink below where you started; the choice(s) belong to you.

• Compromising your belief and faith in Jesus just to “fit” in or be accepted or liked by others is a slippery slope. Each compromise tumbles you a little further down the slope and you will eventually make bigger and bigger, more serious compromises that may land you in a deep, dark pit of pain and hurt. Like anything else in life, the more you do something, the easier it is to do it.

• God can and will bring people and relationships into your life. If we aren’t following Biblical principles, God’s guidelines, for those relationships, there is the potential for your relationships to become destructive instead of what God intended them to be. This is true of all relationships whether of family, friends, spouse or children.

• Forgiveness is not an option. Jesus makes it very clear that if you are unwilling to forgive those who have hurt you, God will not forgive you. Forgiveness is also a mystery. Seemingly you are letting someone “off the hook” for their actions towards you. But, in actuality, there is freedom when you choose to forgive someone for what they have done to you. Freedom from bondage to anger and bitterness. Freedom to love God and others. Freedom in acknowledging God is in control and will be the perfect judge. Essentially, unforgiveness is a prison where you are the one behind bars instead of the one you want retribution from.

• Living life your own way instead of God’s way will at best leave you unsatisfied and at the worst leave you in darkness and despair. When you pursue God with all of your body, mind, strength and soul, your life will be full of love, joy, peace, patience, gentleness, kindness and self-control. God does not guarantee a pain free life without trials, tribulations, pain and loss; but, in the midst of and in spite of those things, you will have an abundant life with a peace that surpasses all your understanding.

• There is absolutely nothing you can do to make God love you less and there is absolutely nothing you can do to make God love you more! You cannot work for His love nor can you buy it. He gives it to you freely. When you take this truth deep inside and let it permeate your whole being, your life WILL change.

• Living a holy and sanctified life is possible. It is not about being perfect for there is only One who is perfect. But, it is about dedicating yourself, committing yourself, surrendering yourself to Jesus and making Him Lord of your life. This means dying to self. There are a lot of words with the prefix “self”: self-confidant, self-reliant, self-absorbed, self-pity, self-conscious, etc. These are just a few – you can go to a dictionary to find myriads more. Basically, “self” is all about you. Dying to self means taking the focus off of you and putting the focus on God – it’s all about Him!

• God reveals Himself to you when you seek Him with your whole being. God is the same yesterday, today and tomorrow. Just as He revealed Himself in ages past through dreams, visions, prophets and through His Word, He will reveal Himself to you.

• Trust is such a scary thing in the human realm because no one is without sin. That means you will be hurt and/or betrayed by everyone you know whether they intend it or not! There is only One who is absolutely trustworthy and that is God. When you read in His Word that He will never leave you or forsake you, you can know without a doubt He will never leave you alone. When He says there is nothing in the physical realm or the spiritual realm that can separate you from His love, you can count on His love for you. Every promise He has ever made to you as His child, He has kept and will continue keeping. Don’t lump Him in with all the others that have failed you in the past, are failing you in the present or will fail you in the future. He has promised you that His plans for you are not to harm you but to prosper you, to give you hope and a future. Don’t lose sight of His promises when circumstances and people leave you reeling.

• There is no person or situation beyond God’s capability to change. Never give up hope in Him nor give up praying to Him. God is STILL a God of miracles!

• God’s provision for you isn’t just in the big things like salvation and eternal life. No, He loves you so much He is involved in the minutest details of your life. Look for His provision on a daily basis in the smallest things – the more you look, the more you will see. There are no coincidences when you belong to Him.

• You are uniquely created by God in your mother’s womb. He gave you not only your physical attributes (hair, eye color, body, height, etc.) but also gave you a unique personality. Don’t spend time trying to be somebody else. Appreciate who God made you and seek to be everything He wants you to be.

There are so many things I have learned through the Holy Spirit’s guidance – once I started listening to Him. These are some of the BIG things which the Holy Spirit has brought to mind while I was writing this. I probably could go on and on and on; but, I will spare you. LOL!

I am passionate about giving God all the glory and honor for how far He has brought me on my journey of love – His love!!

Is your life in turmoil? Do you know His love? If you have questions about God’s love for you or you would like to contact me about my own journey, I would love to hear from you. Just click on the “Email Debbie” link on the left side of the page.

From my heart,

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Journey of Love - Looking for God's Providence

To start at the beginning, start here - Introduction

It was two years after Jason’s death I was asked to speak at a women’s retreat on the subject of loss. Yes, I was still grieving. Yes, my emotions were still raw in many ways. At first I wasn’t sure what I would talk about – my loss was still very recent in many ways. But, as I started preparing for my talk, one fact became very clear to me as I looked back over the previous two years – God’s provision!

Side Note… Since all of my notes from that talk are packed away at this time, I will be going from memory – this will be a test to see how well my memory is working. LOL!

Jason’s death was a catalyst in many ways for me but in one area especially – it opened my eyes to God’s provision in my life. More than anything else in my life it helped me to understand there is nothing in my life which God considers too small or insignificant for His consideration and care. I always thought of His provision as a grandiose thing happening on the large scale and not something to look for in the tiniest of details of my life. I know differently now.

Let me share some examples of what I am talking about relating to the events I talked about in my last post…

I mentioned in my last post, Deepest Grief, a poem my mom sent me a couple of weeks before Jason’s death. The poem, right from the get go, made an impact on me as it talked about those things that happen in our lives that we just don’t understand why God would allow them entrance into His children’s lives. I think I made mention of the title of the poem – He Maketh No Mistake. One day I will post the poem so you can appreciate it as well. Anyway, I look back now and realize my mom was the vehicle, but that poem was a message for me straight from God Himself. It was the one thing I kept repeating to myself over and over through those dark days – God doesn’t make mistakes! He wanted me to know I could trust Him even when things don’t make sense. He knew I was going to need that reassurance!

That uneasy feeling that kept me from going on the trip with my sister and mother and again that afternoon that kept me home instead of going to church was another gift from Him. I was here and not 2000 miles away or up in the sky flying home or at church and out of communication when the call came in about my son. As we waited for the Coroner’s Office to come remove Jason’s body, many were telling us to go home (I’m sure out of compassion for us so we wouldn’t see his body being taken away) but I kept thinking while we were waiting – I brought my son into this world, I won’t leave him now. I can’t speak for others in the same situation; but for me personally, I needed to be there. God knew that about me and provided!

Months before that fateful day, God led me to start a women’s Bible study group at my home. I had been creating my own lessons and had maybe six ready to go and had women signed up with a start date set – the next Monday after the funeral. Of course, when the date was set I didn’t know what would occur just a few days prior; but, God knew. Those ladies and preparing for that Bible study kept me focused on my Lord in the midst of those dark days. Not only did they keep me focused on Jesus but they were a “built in” support group for me – praise God. One more blessing my Lord so richly provided.

These are just a few examples from that particular time in my life. I could go on and on giving you example after example just from those days of deepest grief as a starting point from which to share.  There are so many more (beyond number) I could share with you from over the years. But, I leave you with these alone for now…

Some may ask why God didn’t provide for me by preventing Jason’s death. It all goes back to free will, doesn’t it? He won’t override a person’s free will choices. We all make choices. Most of those choices will have affects on those around us – some choices will have a bigger effect more than others. I’m speaking about this particular choice by this particular individual (my son) and it’s affects on me. I don’t begin to claim understanding for every bad thing God may allow into someone’s life. But, I do know this, God loves me. He loves you.

I wonder… What would you see if you intentionally looked for God’s provision in your life? Many times we chalk things up to luck or coincidence. But, for a child of God, there is no such thing. He is in everything. He is in control of ALL things.

Many times, too, we can become so focused on the negatives of our lives we become blind to those ways God is providing. Or, we are looking for His provision to come in a specific way we want and when He provides differently, we miss it. If we will look for those ways that He is providing and acknowledge they are from Him, more and more your eyes will be opened to see His provision. It’s kinda like the snowball effect, the more you see His provision, the more you SEE His provision! I know this has been true for me!

I have shared the following before I know, but it bears repeating.

The first Mother’s Day after my son’s death was difficult for me. My son, Isaac, and his wife, Brandi, had been visiting with us. We decided to go get some ice cream so my two sons and my daughter-in-law piled into one car. Jack and I took our own car as we followed behind. We got separated at a traffic light which turned red for us. We sat there just kinda staring out the windows and feeling Jason’s loss. After a while though, it became really obvious something was wrong with the traffic signal. The lights had changed a couple times without our light ever turning green. Jack and I even remarked to each other about how odd – every other light had turned green several times now without our “turn” to go. I happened to glance at the license plate holder on the car in front of us. On the top it read “I love you Mom” and on the bottom it read “Jason”. Jack saw it almost the same instant as me. I’m not exaggerating – the moment we both saw the message on the car in front of us, our light turned green so we could proceed on our way. What a marvelous gift of provision by a loving God for this grieving mother to see a “message” from her departed son on Mother’s Day!

You can call it coincidence if you want; but, I choose to acknowledge the God of the universe who is in control of ALL things – even traffic signals!

I look for God’s providence all the time now and am amazed every time. Are you looking?

Final installment, “Lessons Learned”, next… Hope you come back for my conclusion :-)

Most holy and gracious Father I am so thankful for your provision.  I am so thankful my eyes are opened to the fact there is nothing too insignificant for your provision.  Your love and mercy are extended to me in the greatest and the least details of my life.  I know how much you love me and see your provision for me, your child, on a daily basis.  May your name be praised and glorified in and through my life Father!  Amen.

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