Browsing Tag

Worship

Blog, Faith, Marriage, Parenting, prayer

Coffee *from* God. He cares about the little things!

This morning I was getting ready for church in my fuchsia colored/black/white dress, with the black shoulder wrap and the butterfly necklace my husband Ray bought me (I love butterflies). Then I realized as I cooked an egg that I was out of creamer for my morning coffee. Oh oh.

“I have measured out my life with coffee spoons.” – T. S. Eliot

coffee and Bible

coffee and Bible

And Ray and I were broker than broke, so I couldn’t go buy any creamer. I don’t do black coffee, like my husband Ray does. Normally I have “coffee with God,” my morning devotional time with Him to pray, read the Bible, and journal. Today I would get coffee *from* God. 

I let it go but thinking, “I’d really like a cup of coffee,” and then I went out the door to church.

Woman with issue of blood Image resource: http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-aeRnaVuFljc/U-dwVMDEv8I/AAAAAAAADSI/ycrWBTakZMA/s1600/hem-garment.jpg

Woman with issue of blood
Image resource: http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-aeRnaVuFljc/U-dwVMDEv8I/AAAAAAAADSI/ycrWBTakZMA/s1600/hem-garment.jpg

This has been a very hard week for me emotionally.  Someone I deeply love hurt me, and then after that it was like all hell broke loose against me with the enemy’s flaming arrows. I’ve cried all week and at night, I’ve had terrible insomnia. But I lifted up my shield of faith against the flames of fire, I chose to forgive, I let go, and I’m trusting God to heal the wounds (of mine and the loved one) by Jesus’ healing power and virtue

Our family, Ray's 50th bday Left to right: Heather, Eden, Ray, Leah & me

Our family
Left to right:
Heather, Eden, Ray, Leah & me

At church today, Pastor Jeff preached on the Christian family and his message went straight to my heart. I knew I was supposed to be there today for God to encourage me.

I cried during a short, inspiring video about family that Pastor Jeff shared,  I lifted my hands in praise during worship (you must understand, this is a BAPTIST church where they don’t normally do this, but I do!), and hope touched my broken heart. It is well, it is well with my soul. 

And after church was over? I noticed in the foyer on a little table, they were serving coffee and doughnuts. I’d never seen the coffee before. I skipped the doughnuts (THIS time!), poured the hot coffee in the white styrofoam cup, mixed in several little cups of creamer, and in the car as I drove home, sipping my creamy coffee, I thanked my Heavenly Father God, who cares about the little things–like my morning cup of coffee.

I enjoyed it, sitting in our sunroom, watching and listening to the birds on this beautiful, sunny, spring day.

“Give all your worries and cares to God, for he cares about you.” – 1 Peter 5:7, NLT

My coffee *from* God

My coffee *from* God

 

Bible Studies, Blog, Ebooks, Faith, prayer, Writing

Lessons from an ice storm

There has been an ice storm here in Kansas City, Missouri. Not as bad as the epic Central Plains one in 2002, which left up to over 2 inches of ice over affected areas and knocked out electrical power to more than 650,000 residents and trees shattered under hundreds of pounds of ice. Still not fun, though. I miss my hot coffee. 

coffee and Bible

coffee and Bible

As I write this in my journal, I’m sitting here on our loveseat in the front entry room in my comfy blue hoodie, pj pants, purple Hello Kitty slippers, and huddled under a soft blanket and colorful quilt that Ray’s grandmother hand-made to stay warm, since the electrical power went off about 8 AM today.

Red chair and loveseat

Red chair and loveseat in front entry room

After I read my Bible and prayed for safety for our family and all affected by the storm, I crawled under the blankets and went to sleep. Just as I was dozing off, the power came on. When I woke up, it was off again. I joked with our daughter Heather that maybe I should just stay asleep.

Ray's grandmother's hand-made quilt

Ray’s grandmother’s hand-made quilt

It’s really no joke, though. Our daughter Heather has to drive to Overland Park, Kansas, for work today and our daughter Leah has to work in town, too. My husband Ray is working at the ER and he says the electrical power is on and off all over town, and they are very busy. It makes me think of Third World nations like Haiti, which has frequent power outages and only 25% of the population has energy supply.

2017 ice storm

2017 ice storm

While the leaves encased in ice on trees look beautiful, like Narnia’s winter Wonderland, the ice is wicked, especially to drive on.  Our neighbors’ plant looks dead. The ice instantly kills.

our neighbors' plant

our neighbors’ plant

However, one thing situations like this do is create absolute dependence on God. There’s nothing I can do but wait (and I’m such a control freak sometimes, so it’s hard!). I can’t fix the power. Ray can’t fix the power. 

branches with ice

branches with ice

Are you plugged into God’s power?

It makes me muse, how much power of God do I have in my life? How much do you?

“…but you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be My witnesses both in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and even to the remotest part of the earth.”–Acts 1:8

Do we read and meditate on the Bible, God’s living word?

Do we spend time with God in prayer and worship?

Asian woman praying

Asian woman praying

Do we lean on God and trust Him when storms come?

heart of ice Source: http://timoelliott.com/photos/2013/01/17/a-heart-of-ice/

heart of ice
Source: http://timoelliott.com/photos/2013/01/17/a-heart-of-ice/

Are our hearts filled with the warmth and holy fire of God’s love, or are they cold, distant, and unresponsive to Him and others, encased in ice like the trees’ leaves?

leaves encased in ice

leaves encased in ice

Today I pray for my family’s safety and all those affected by this ice storm. I pray electrical power is quickly restored and protection from car wrecks. And I pray that you and I will be plugged into and empowered by the Spirit of God in 2017.

Lessons from an ice storm.

trees with ice

trees with ice

While I believe in preparation, I love this quote I found: 

“It is a lifelong failing; she has never been prepared. But how can you have a sense of wonder if you’re prepared for everything? Prepared for the sunset. Prepared for the moonrise. Prepared for the ice storm. What a flat existence that would be.“–Margaret Atwood

The power just came back on. Making my coffee now.

***

Me with my first book, Walking with God

Me with my first book, Walking With God

Do you need to get plugged into God? Read my book on prayer Walking With God, available at Amazon as an eBook. Click here to learn more or buy now.

Blog

I hate going to the dentist

On Wednesday, I had a dentist appointment for a crown and a build-up. I hate going to the dentist. Really, who enjoys it?

I’m a complete baby, hear me, about pain. If I even get a paper cut, I about can’t stand it. Yep, I’m just a wimp!

Violet crying

So of course, I requested laughing gas (nitrous oxide) and several shots to make sure I was good and numb, and wouldn’t feel any pain. Normally, I don’t like taking any type of medication, even Tylenol for a headache (I prefer essential oils). But the nitrous oxide helps so much with anxiety; I thank God for it!

The staff at my dentist administers the nitrous oxide before giving me the shots, because I hate those, too – but they really help with not feeling the pain.

Woman with wild hair dancing

Woman with wild hair dancing

It’s not just the pain that bothers me; it’s the high-pitched noise of the drill, too. Loud noise, as I’ve tried to explain to my very noisy husband Ray and very noisy kids a hundred thousand times for our entire marriage, really bothers me. I’m extremely sensitive to it and to strong smells (even “good smells” like perfume give me a headache).

I pray a lot before going to the dentist (and have others pray, too). But I was still nervous before the procedure, so Dr. Sherman’s wonderful assistant chatted with me about her empty nest (her daughter moved out and she cried and was glad to find out her daughter really missed her) and other inane things like commenting on my cute black boots, to keep my mind off the fact that I was about to have a practical stranger at very close range in my face with power tools.

power tools

power tools

I’m so thankful that my dentist, Dr. Sherman, is okay with me having my iPhone in the dental chair, so I can listen to worship and praise music while he works on my mouth. If Dr. Sherman needs to give me any instructions like, “Open wider!” (he says I have a small mouth, but my husband Ray would disagree strongly with that), he just talks loud so I can hear him over my earbuds.

woman with ear buds

woman with ear buds

He says I practically have a death grip on the dental chair arm when he gives me the shots. But he’s very gentle, and the nitrous oxide has been kicking in, so it feels like just a pin prick. Before he starts replacing the crown, his assistant makes sure my mouth is numb first by poking my gums with tools.

When Dr. Sherman started the drill, I cranked up the volume of Jeremy Camp videos on YouTube and tried not to scream, “Get me out of here now, God!” Did I mention that I hate going to the dentist?

scream

I just breathed in the nitrous oxide, listened to the music, and prayed that Dr. Sherman would not hurt me. (He’s very gentle; he didn’t! Thank you, Jesus!)

Soon he suddenly stopped everything and said something. I shouted, “What?” and then turned down the blaring worship, He then said he had to pull my tooth. What a shock.

Now, unfortunately, this isn’t the first time I’ve had a tooth pulled. I’ve drank Coke® since I was a child and eaten chocolate bars and other junk for my entire life. Things which have been terrible for my teeth. (I do brush and floss regularly, but it doesn’t do a lot of good when you aren’t taking care of yourself!).

I stopped drinking Coke® and radically changed my lifestyle in January 2015, but the damage had already been done. There was too much decay, he said.

He couldn’t save the tooth, so he recommended pulling it. This would be my 3rd pulled tooth. I promise, this is not a fun thing to do, in case you were wondering…so avoid it if you can!

Fortunately, this tooth was not vital for chewing like a back molar would be. I asked if he wanted to pull it now or later, and he said he recommended now. So I said okay, while I was still down under. 

teeth
It wasn’t good news, but he reassured me that it wasn’t a vital tooth for chewing and even if he tried to replace the crown, he’d have to do a root canal (which I won’t have), and then I’d probably lose the tooth anyway. To avoid more expense and further trauma more dental visits, I decided to have it pulled right then.

He said all I’d feel was some “pressure”. As long as there was no pain, I was okay with that. I did hear a “cracking” sound, which was a little unnerving, but the tooth didn’t crumble (thank God!) and came out all in once piece. No pain! Thank you again, Jesus!

Since then, I’ve been taking it easy at home, relaxing and resting, putting on an ice pack to reduce swelling the first day, taking Ibuprofen. No exercising or working. Ray asked me yesterday what my “plan for the day” was. He often asks me this. It irritated me and I said, “Ray, I just had a tooth pulled! I don’t have a plan. The dentist told me to take it easy!”

to do list

Why am I telling you this dentist story? Just to share part of my life with you. And to ask you these questions to reflect on, pray about, and journal (I’ve included Scriptures for you to look up and meditate on.)

  • What is causing pain in your life? What is the solution to that pain? (Psalm 56:8)
  • As the saying goes, “A pound of prevention is worth a ton of cure.” Be sure to take care of your body, as well as your soul and your spirit. What is one thing you can do today to take care of YOU? There’s only one, beautiful YOU! (1 Corinthians 6:19)
  • Do you need to shift your focus from the noise of this world to God’s still, small voice? (1 Kings 19:12. Maybe put your worship and praise on!) 
  • What needs to be removed (extracted) in your life? Unforgiveness? Bitterness? Envy? Worry? Stress? Anger? Discouragement? Unbelief? Pride? (Ephesians 4:31)
  • Are you too busy and distracted in your daily life? Maybe it’s time to look at your schedule and your own, little plans. Have some quiet time with God and let HIM plan your day and order your steps. (Psalm 119:133) He might tell you to do nothing – to just “rest and relax”

Please leave your comments below. 

*******

Want to grow closer to God and develop a daily quiet time in just minutes a day? Check out my eBook, Walking With God, for just 99 cents at Amazon by clicking here