Still processing deeply....

Will eventually post something here....I'm still processing all I took in at Deeper Still Orlando. I love how God works...how He answers you when you call out to Him...how He loves you deeply...how He goes way beyond your way beyond!!!

to be continued....

Feelin' Free!

My verse for May 15 (yes...yes....I know...I'm late...again!) is Luke 1:46-50:

And Mary said, I'm bursting with God-news; I'm dancing the song of my Savior God. God took one look at me, and look what happened -- I'm the most fortunate woman on earth! What God has done for me will never be forgotten, the God whose very name is holy, set apart from all others. His mercy flows in wave after wave on those who are in awe before Him.

Mary Ann and Pastor Ron know why I chose this verse: The Lord delivered me in more ways than one about a week ago...and I'm STILL in awe and shouting praises to Him!!

In my April 23 post, I asked you all to pray for me concerning my "eye stuff". Well.....thanks to everyone who prayed for me. Because as of last week, I am HEALED of this fear!! And ALL the glory goes to my Father God! He took me places that I would have never thought would be associated with my "eye stuff"....and then proceeded to bless me beyond measure!! I was so in AWE afterwards...I don't even have the words to describe it! I LOVE how God works!! I just love it and I love Him!! Thank You, Yahweh Rophe, The Lord Who Heals!!!!
The Hebrew word rophe means "heal" "cure" "restore" or "make whole."
Yep...that describes what He did for me!!

I may post about this more in detail at a later time....I still am getting it all down in my journal.

Speaking of journal....I was convicted recently (few months ago, actually) to begin writing my life story for my children. I was thinking one day about how little I know about my mom as a PERSON...not just as my mom. Mom was killed New Year's Day, 1977 in a car accident that involved our family. When I voiced to my aunt (mom's sister) a few years ago that I didn't really KNOW mom, she spoke to my uncles (mom's two brothers closest in age to her) and they wrote an eight page memoir of mom for her children. This is a precious treasure to me! It made me realize a few years later that I needed to do this for my children while I myself can put it down on paper. So...this I am working on. My experience with the Lord a week ago will be put down in detail....What God has done for me will never be forgotten....to be a witness and a testimony of my loving Father to my children...to their children...to their children....for as far as God desires it to go.

Why am I telling you all this? Because maybe...just maybe....you will want to do this for your family. It may be something you have never thought about until you read this post. So I wanted to share what I was doing...and why...because I want to leave a treasure for my family to have when I am gone to be with the Lord. Maybe you would like for your family to have a treasure from you too. You don't have to be a "writer"...just the fact that you are putting it down on paper...in your own handwriting....is all your family needs. I love to open my mom's Bible and see her writing...the scriptures she highlighted...the thoughts she wrote down. THAT is what makes it special...SHE wrote something that I can read all these years later. I thank God that my mom was a Christian and she loved God. I'm thankful to have been raised in a Christian home ALL my life.

Ok...go get a journal started!! Let me know how you do....I dare think that you may get a treasure and a blessing just by writing it!!

May 2, 2009

The verse I picked for May 1 is one of my favorites and I like having the reminder!

"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. Then you will call upon me and come and pray to me, and I will listen to you. You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart."

Jeremiah 29:11-13

God has GREAT plans for me and I pray I will be obedient to His will for my life. Thank You, Father, for Your great plans for me and for your great love for me!

April 23, 2009

Yes...I am late. The post should be titled: April 15, 2009....but what can I say? I just get a little behind at times!!

"The Lord your God is with you, He is mighty to save.
He will take great delight in you,
He will quiet you with His love,
He will rejoice over you with singing."

Zephaniah 3:17 (NIV)

Not much need to elaborate on this one....God says it well in His own words!
My Father God is always with me...He saves me...He delights in me (I am the apple of His eye!)...He loves me...He rejoices over me with SINGING!! Oh...I can't wait to hear my Lord sing! He views me as His precious treasure...He speaks words of adoration over me. Thank You, Father, for loving me!

Oh...my adorable grandaughter, Layla Kate, said "Grandma" for the FIRST time a week ago!! Actually, it was more like "Gama", but I'll take it!!! She is almost 17 months old. I absolutely LOVE being a grandma to my two beauties...Erica Leigh and Layla Kate!!!

So....anyone out there memorizing Scripture?? You know....to be able to speak God's Words over our enemy when he tries to pull his little (or big) schemes?? Because God's Words are way more powerful than anything the devil plans?? Because we need to fill our minds with everything GOD...and not all the other junk?? To know His truths so we can get decipher the lies we believe?? God's Words bring peace...not confusion. God's Words bring clarity...not blurriness. God's Words save us...never condemn or reject us. God's Words reign!!! Let's jump into His Words and get sooooo excited at what He will show us!!

One more "oh": Typing "blurriness" in the above paragraph reminded me of my real blurriness after the eye appointment yesterday! My family and church family know how I feel about my eyes being messed with....I don't like it....I dread it...I get hot....I get nauseated....I feel like I am just before passing out! I know...I know...it's crazy...but it's real....for me anyway!! I have narrow angles, which puts me at a high risk of developing closed angle glaucoma. I have been doing eye drops four times a day for six months. I thought this may help me to avoid the laser eye surgery, but alas....no such luck. I can either keep doing eye drops...FOUR times a day...or have the laser surgery. No brainer for most, I'm sure....but I need prayer for this one!! So...PLEASE PRAY WITH ME!! I appreciate and cherish your prayers! I will eventually need surgery to remove the lens...kind of like cataract surgery. But my doctor wants to wait until I'm older for that. He said I was too YOUNG!! That was the ONLY part of the appointment that I liked!!! hee hee So now....I'm off to research this surgery. Sad thing is....I get sick to my stomach just READING about eye stuff....don't forget to pray....PLEASE!!!!

April 6, 2009

"But blessed is the man who trusts in the Lord, whose confidence is in Him. He will be like a tree planted by the water that sends out its roots by the stream.
It does not fear when heat comes; its leaves are always green. It has no worries in a year of drought and never fails to bear fruit."
Jeremiah 17:7-8

This is verse number 7 in my list of memory verses for 2009. I really LOVE this verse. I love big beautiful oak trees and that is what I think about when I read this verse. When I choose to trust God with my all...my every things...I am strong like a tree. My strength comes from Him and Him only. It's not of my own doing. It's all God!! If I try to be strong on my own...without trusting God...I will end up like a withered little bush...wishing it was a big beautiful tree. I don't want to "wish" for anything. I want to KNOW that I'm strong in God...to KNOW that I'm beautiful because my face is radiant from being in His Word...to KNOW complete peace because I have put my trust in Him alone...to KNOW that when I talk to God and ask for His help, that He hears me and answers me...even when it is not the answer I was looking for...to KNOW His promises are kept promises...to KNOW that I am His child and He loves me dearly.

I want to be that tree planted by the water and send out my roots by the stream. I want to keep my complete confidence and trust in the One who saves me - my Father God - my Savior Jesus!

Oh...and my loving and ever-so-thoughtful husband ordered a necklace with the Tree of Life from the garden of Eden...which was made in Israel...for me this past Christmas! I love wearing this necklace...it reminds me of this verse from Jeremiah! He looked for this necklace because he LISTENED when I talked about this verse and saying that I would love to have a pendant with a beautiful tree. Thank You, Father God for giving me such a wonderful man to share my life with!

God is working through our WIN days!!

WIN day at our church is for Witnessing In Neighborhood. After church on Sunday morning, we have a sandwich lunch and then go out in teams into nearby neighborhoods to reach people for Christ. We give out a pamphlet about our church and invite people who do not have a home church to join us at Pauline.

One lady who recently started attending our church says she is a direct product of WIN day. She started coming shortly after she was visited on a Sunday afternoon...along with two of her loved ones!

Well....I always ask myself..."Self, why are you always surprised when you see God work?"

This past Sunday was WIN day again. Our pastor spoke in his message about not giving up when working to "catch boatloads" for Christ...having a willingness to try (AGAIN)...a Word to trust (we have a word from the Lord to go out for Him!)...and working as a team (we are partners together for Christ and with Christ!).

When we went out to the neighborhood we wanted to reach on Sunday, our team was denied entrance due to "no soliciting". We explained what we were doing, but were still denied entrance. Yes...it was very frustrating to be told we could not go through this neighborhood. I remembered a previous neighborhood that we did not finish going through because we ran out of our church pamphlets, so suggested that we return there. We did return and broke up into small groups to visit each home. I went to several homes with two of the youth boys to talk with people and tell them about our church. Two of the women I spoke with, when I asked if they had any prayer requests, asked for prayer for their young sons....one with cystic fibrosis...the other with autism. I wrote their names and addresses down and told them we would be praying.

Today at work (I'm an MRI technologist) we had a two year old boy who needed a brain scan under anesthesia because he was having seizures. His mom looked familiar to me, but I could not place from where I thought I knew her. After talking a few minutes, she said, "I believe I met you Sunday afternoon." Then I knew....this was the mother of the little boy with autism!
God already knew that this woman and I would be crossing paths at the hospital...and that she was going to be very nervous and scared for her little boy's procedure...that a familiar face would
help ease her fears a little.
God had a plan that she nor I could see...but He knew! He never had any intention of our team going to the first neighborhood....He knew where He needed us that day!

I thanked God for using myself and the boys with me to visit this woman's home Sunday...and then I thanked Him for making sure I was at work in the exact place I needed to be today! God is so good....I really don't know why I get surprised at His works! I am so thankful that I was an obedient servant to Him and was used in His plan for this woman and her child. Because so many times, I can make excuses as to why I don't need to go. I almost did this Sunday...because I was on call for the hospital...to use this as an excuse not to go...I have used this as an excuse before...and now I can only wonder on what plan of God's I missed out on.

So....what did God show me today? Quit making excuses....don't ever give up, even when you don't think you are seeing results. The results may come soon...but maybe much later!! God gave us this message through our pastor Sunday morning. I pray we all take note of this message and stop with our excuses.

March 16, 2009

My verse for March 15: "As you come to Him, the living Stone - rejected by men but chosen by God and precious to Him - you also, like living stones, are being built into a spiritual house to be a holy priesthood, offering spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ."
1 Peter 2:4-5 (NIV)

Here is the Message version: "Welcome to the living Stone, the source of life. The workmen took one look and threw it out; God set it in the place of honor. Present yourselves as building stones for the construction of a sanctuary vibrant with life, in which you'll serve as holy priests offering Christ-approved lives up to God."

I discovered this verse in God's Word in 2004. I really like this verse because I have always loved collecting rocks and stones since I was a little girl. I try to collect a few rocks from each place I visit. I have also found that my granddaughter, Erica likes rocks...as well as her mommy Elizabeth, which I just found out on our cruise this past week! So I will be passing this verse along to them!

I read in the Bible that Jesus is the cornerstone...the foundation...our foundation. He is referred to in this verse as "the living Stone". To know that I can join Christ as a "living stone" in the building of His sanctuary is awesome!! I think of the rocks and stones I've collected as beautiful pieces of God's creation...but never as living. And they are not living....but Christ is ALIVE! He is our living Stone....THE foundation that we need to build our lives on. I want to be sure to live my life for Christ...to be Christ-approved before God. I want to encourage others to live their lives in the same way...so we can all join together as living stones with Christ in the building of His spiritual house....His sanctuary...to serve together as a holy priesthood for God.
By memorizing His Word this year...and for the remainder of my life...I am building my life on His Word. As I keep coming to Him throughout ALL circumstances in my life...the good ones and the bad ones....not just remembering Him when I need something or need some help....I will place myself as a stone in His house and keep it there. I cannot think of a better place to be!!!

On a family note: We really enjoyed our cruise these last few days! We returned home today from Jacksonville. We sailed on Carnival Fascination to the Bahamas. We had our children - Courtney, Shane, Elizabeth, Breonna, son-in-law, Scott, and granddaughters Erica and Layla with us...this was their Christmas gift!! Shane, Elizabeth and Breonna had the whole ship explored within an hour of boarding. If we needed to know where something was...just had to ask them!

We visited Port Lucaya in Freeport..this was a nice beach/shopping area. Erica and Layla LOVED playing in the sand and walking to the ocean! This was Erica's first time ever on a beach! She saw the ocean on the ship before she ever saw a beach!! I also got to test the baby powder theory...yes, it works great for getting the sand off the babies! I never knew this before, but recently read about it before the trip. Of course, Courtney had baby powder with her too...she had heard it also!

Next day was Nassau. We took a ferry over to the Blue Lagoon Island. I HIGHLY recommend this, especially to families with small children. It is protected from the ocean, so the water is very calm...small ripples so the kids can play in the water without getting knocked over. It was gorgeous...very clean everywhere. Lunch was included and they had dolphins and sea lions. Layla was taken to the dolphin encounter...she got a kiss from Stormy, the dolphin. She didn't like the dolphin sounds though!! My highlight of the day was my nap in a hammock with Erica!! I could have stayed there all day with that great breeze blowing! It did get a little cool after a while...had to have Papa bring us another towel to wrap up in!!

We got an unexpected treat....we got to watch the space shuttle launch while on our last day on the ship coming back from the Bahamas! I got some good video and pictures of it! That was a cool addition to our trip....we booked a perfect time to take a cruise without knowing it!!!

I'll see if I can figure out how to post pictures on here later....

March 1, 2009

Well, I got slack in my posts here. So here is my catch-up:

My verse for February 1 was Psalm 51:10: "Create in me a pure heart, O God, and renew a steadfast spirit within me."

I chose this verse because I needed to prepare my heart before God. Our church had a Women's Retreat -"Guard Your Heart" - on Feb. 28. I wanted my heart to be completely clean and open and un-guarded to God, yet guarded to the temptations of this world we live in. And I wanted a renewed spirit that doesn't waver - that stays steady and constant - in EVERY circumstance that comes along. I have enjoyed putting this verse into my memory!

February 15: "Then those who feared the Lord talked with each other, and the Lord listened and heard. A scroll of remembrance was written in His presence concerning those who feared the Lord and honored His name." Malachi 3:16

I chose this verse because I have never heard nor read it before...and I like what it says! I borrowed this from Beth's blog; this was her choice for this time. Just knowing that we can get together with each other and the Lord is there with us...listening and hearing....and keeping a journal of it!! WOW!! God journals too!! Ok...I'll calm down now. But isn't this a neat verse? Tucked away in Malachi...which for some reason...I hardly ever turn to this book in God's Word.
This is just another great reason to memorize scripture and to be a part of an accountability group - you'll hear verses you have never come across before. Or you may have...and they just never HIT you like this before!! This excites me even more to be memorizing God's Word!

March 1: Philippians 4:6-7: "Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus."

This means to me that I NEED God's peace in my life. And to get it I must pray about EVERYTHING...not worry or fret and try to figure out how to handle it myself. I need to give it all to God...present it to Him...and then LEAVE IT WITH HIM. At the retreat this weekend, each lady wrote on a heart that she drew what her requests were to God and then placed them in a sealed envelope and placed them on the altar before God. We left them there at the altar...and at the end of the retreat we approached the altar to pray and then pick up our envelopes to remind us of what we placed...and left...with God at the altar. This was a very precious and moving time for me....an awesome visual of approaching God and letting Him have it all.
Then look what the verse says: "And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus." He will keep our hearts and minds guarded in Christ!! Praise God..because I need Him to do this for me!! I don't have to do this on my own.
YEAH!!!!!

Our retreat was a great time...with 115 ladies! God was there...and He was speaking to some hearts...if not ALL the hearts there!! We had Praise and Worship Day at our church the following day. Unfortunately, I had to miss it...had to take care of a sick grandgirl. But I was told that the Holy Spirit filled that sanctuary this day! And a good friend became transparent before God and those in the sanctuary...and in so doing, I believe provided encouragement to some who were listening! She is giving God the glory in her life...and she's letting it be known! All I can say is...PRAISE GOD FOR HEALING!!! And for continued healing throughout our lives!

Ok...more later!

The verse I picked for January 15 is Psalm 16:5-6 (NIV):

"Lord, You have assigned me my portion and my cup; You have made my lot secure.
The boundary lines have fallen for me in pleasant places; surely I have a delightful inheritance."

I chose this verse because it speaks to me about where God has placed me in my life. I get tired of having to work...period. I talked about this in one of our Tuesday night Bible studies a couple of months ago. This verse was given to me that night. Reading this reminds me that God always has a plan...that He puts me where He wants me to be at any time. Of course, this depends on me listening and being in His will too.

He also places boundaries on me. Some things are just not meant for me to do...to be sticking my nose in!! He gives me what He equips me to do.

My delightful inheritance? I have inherited a life with my God forever...through Jesus Christ!

The verse I picked for January 1 to memorize is from Psalm 91:1 (AMP version):

"He who dwells in the secret place of the Most High shall remain stable and fixed under the shadow of the Almighty".

I chose this verse to memorize because it is what I need at this time to remind me why it is so important to stay in God's Word EVERYDAY! When I spend time with God and in His Word, I will become closer to Him and learn more about Him. I will be "stable and fixed" in this world I'm in...better able to deal with what comes my way and to be a better light in this world for Jesus.

And the memorization part....WOW!! How strong will I be against the evil of this world...and what Satan tries to plant in my mind...when I can quote God's words against them!

Oh..and I like to say "she" in this verse to make it more personal to me!

My Place

I'm new to this blogging thing. I decided to give it a try. I'm not sure where all this will go, but it will be a place for me to record random thoughts, my family news and vacation fun, pictures, and to share about what God does in my life.

In the past few years, I have wanted to dive deeper into God's Word. I have had the opportunity to participate in some wonderful Bible studies in my church and to go to some Living Proof Live events to listen to Beth Moore bring God's messages. I also was able to attend Deeper Still in Atlanta this past year to hear Beth, Kay Arthur and Priscilla Shirer. But there was still something missing for me...I wanted to MEMORIZE Scripture! Well, anyone who knows me well, knows I have a memory problem. If I don't write it down, I don't remember it! And then I have to remember to LOOK at what I wrote down! (sigh) Anyway, God has impressed on me in the past few months...through different ways...that I NEED to start memorizing Scripture. The last thing that God used to get His message through my thick skull was Beth Moore's blog. She felt led to start a Scripture memorization accountability group with anyone who wants to join. So I joined to have the accountability to continue and not stop. We will be learning two verses a month in 2009...that's 24 verses in one year! When I think of how powerful quoting the Scriptures I memorize will be in my life...I get so excited! I am always so in awe of the power of God! I cannot even comprehend it all in my little mind! I am very thankful that I was raised to know God and that I will...for every day of my entire life....learn something else new to me that He reveals through His Word. Even if it is something I've read before....He can still reveal something new to me. I love that!!

Ok...enough ramblings for now! Anyone want to join in Scripture memorization...come on!