Hello!~~~

Welcome!~

It has now been ten years since I started this blog. How quickly time goes by! We are many members but we are one in the body of Christ. Therefore you do not journey alone! Hopefully through this site you will be encouraged by the fact that many things you are going through in your own walk, others are going through (or have gone through) as well. Sometimes we think we are "going through things alone." But we are not. God said that "He would Never Leave Nor Forsake Us." (Hebrews 13:5) and that "There is Nothing New Under The Sun." (Ecclesiastes 1:9). No man is an island. It's easy to forget that. May the words in this blog help you to think, encourage you in whatever spiritual state you are in and may the Lord use them to help us to grow in Him! He is the Author and Finisher of our faith!

I don’t want any readers to think that I am “promoting” being a prodigal. I definitely am not. But what I am hoping to do – is to encourage those of us who either have had or are currently experiencing a hard time in our walk to be honest about it. Personal conviction is a powerful thing, especially if you truly love the Lord. I think that sometimes the Body of Christ critiques and judges to the point where the person who is at the other end of that pointing finger feels ostracized, alienated and alone. I don't think that that is what Jesus intended. When I read through my Bible - I see a firm yet gentle restoration that Jesus ministered to those around Him. Look at John 21:15-19. When Peter who was at an all time low point in his walk - he was firmly, yet lovingly restored by Jesus. He didn't tear him down, or yell or make him feel any worse then he already did. He spoke to him lovingly and gently - and in doing so, Peter was able to repent and minister in a much more powerful, humble and confident way and it became one of the largest ministries ever.

Please note that I am only a vessel, my calling - to write. I dedicate this blog to the Lord and ask that He use it to reach out and touch whoever needs a special, loving, personal touch from Him. My hope is that the Holy Spirit allows you to see Him through the words (and not me). We go through things so that we can extend our right hand of fellowship behind us to assist and help someone else. Our Bible is the same today, as it was yesterday as it will be tomorrow. (I am far from perfect and do not profess to have all the answers...) but the good news is - Our Heavenly Father does! His love, forgiveness, grace and mercy is real!Nothing you are experiencing in your walk comes as a surprise to Him! May He be glorified through this blog and may God bless you at whatever stage in your walk you are in!~



I am a Breast Cancer Survivor

I am a Breast Cancer Survivor
I was diagnosed with early stage triple negative breast cancer on June 24th, 2010 - I have been cancer free for 10 years now. It was only a chapter in my life - NOT my life, but the impact is one that has changed my life forever. Its important for women to know that 80% of the breast cancer diagnosis come from women who don't have a history of it in their family (My family didn't). Early detection is the key. For more information please click on the pink ribbon above. It could save your life.
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October 4, 2013

Are You in the Middle of a Jonah Moment?


What does God have to do to "capture" your undivided attention?
 
I wonder what Jonah thought as he sat in the belly of that whale.  I imagine him sitting with his back against a side of the belly wall resting his head in his hands wondering how he had gotten into this “fine kettle of fish.”  Did he sit there berating himself for all his past mistakes that led up to where he was? I’m sure he must have felt hopeless as he sat there, incredulous that he was actually in the belly of a whale.  No human answer to appease the situation.

Although I have never found myself in the “belly of a whale” I have found myself in situations that no matter what angle I looked at it – seemed “hopeless” and like there was no way out.   Ironically, most of those “deep belly” situations are situations that we have allowed ourselves to walk straight into.  I often wonder if God watches us like we watch a movie… Like the scenes in a movie where the person is about to face danger or make an unwise decision, do you think God watches us and says, “No! No! Don’t take that left!  Don’t go in there!”  But stupidly blind we do just that, and then we wonder how we got where we were in the first place…

I’m quite sure that all Jonah could do while he sat in the belly of that whale, was pray.  He couldn’t run from God anymore – there was no place to run!  He was at a point where all he could do was reflect on what had gotten him there and pray that God would deliver him.   Can you imagine what it was like? No doubt it was wet, cold and dark and probably very lonely.  I imagine he could feel the body of the whale moving as the creature moved throughout the depths of the sea.  I’m sure Jonah was incredulous that he was still alive.  I imagine the only thing he could do to keep his sanity was to pray – to talk to God. And God obviously wanted Jonah's undivided attention to use one of the earth's biggest creatures to capture him so that he would finally be still and listen!  What does it take for God to capture your attention?  What does He have to do to bring you to a point where the distractions and noise are at a minimum and you are finally willing to listen to what it is He has to say?  Sometimes we are surrounded with so much noise from our lives that we are missing what it is God has to say to us because we don't know how to "be still and know He is God."

There have been times in my life when I have “run from God.” Either because I’m being wayward and like a spoiled disobedient child who “just wants her way” or because I have wandered off the pathway and gotten lost – like a dumb sheep.  So lost that not unlike what it must have been like for Jonah – all I can do once I’ve gotten tired of going around in circles, is to sit down, get quiet and talk to God.  The talking to Him is sometimes as difficult as the wandering.  Sometimes I haven’t known where to start in the conversation…

“Lord?  It’s me… Ummm… I’m kind of lost… With my words and in my walk… I’m really glad you know my thoughts before I even think them because – I’m not sure I  even understand them myself at this point… I need your help Father. I don’t know who else to turn to… Please help me.  Please forgive me.  Please guide me…”

I believe God honors prayers that come from the heart.  No matter the situation or how we got to that point. I believe that God allows us to be “dumb sheep” and go through a situation because it will humble us and make us even more aware that we need Him.   Perhaps He just wants to hear it from us. 

I have no doubt that even as Jonah sat contemplating his fate, not knowing what was going to happen, speaking most likely from his heart to God and finally ready to listen, that unbeknown to Jonah that whale was already on route towards land, where God would have Jonah vomited up upon the earth – with finally a clearer understanding of what God wanted, and the right mindset to go forth with the calling God had chosen him to do.

God has a calling on each of our individual lives.  We can either “go with the tide” or fight it every step of the way to still come back to the point where we realize that true satisfaction, peace and well being comes with obeying what God has given us to do with our lives.  Even in  writing those words, I see it so clearly – there is a plan for your life, as there was with Jonah’s and it is one that God has given you gifts to achieve.   He is a patient, loving Father who wants the best for you and being your Creator, knows what that “best” is.  Isn’t it time you stopped running from God?  It may not be the actual  “belly of a whale” you find yourself currently in – but discouraged, depressed and with a lack of peace.  Probably all of which Jonah felt himself (and more!). It only takes a conversation with your Heavenly Father to turn a situation around, just as God turned the whale around.  Who knows? He could be turning your situation around even as you read these words.  Trust Him.  He knows what He’s doing and He loves you.