Posts Tagged ‘family’
Why God Might Be Saying Wait…
Posted on: December 17, 2017
Well, it has been 4-1/2 months and I’m sort of still in the middle of the haze. But clarity is there! At less than a week before we had to move, we found another place. And moved to a much smaller apartment…down from a 4 bedroom house to a one bedroom apartment. For the first two months I slept with my daughter in her bed. I had to file bankruptcy and seemingly all didn’t seem so well. Tonight I sit here with about $15 left for most of the week. But all IS well…
You see I didn’t know that last June the well-groomed young man with the big muscles and great manners had hooked my daughter on the big H. The first was all free. So while I’m wondering why God isn’t answering…He’s working things to stall, because I can’t receive a supply with a mess formulating on the side. Before it was over we had a few family tsunamis and an almost certain death. The last big H she bought was laced with a deadly drug. By way of a prayer request from someone at a former church I found out that someone died from where her purchase originated. The withdrawal was unreal…but we formulated a plan and are walking it out each day. So far so good…she’s clean and moving forward.
In these last 4-1/2 months…I realized I needed to move on from my job. I’ve retired. I put my daughter through a technical class and we’ve purchased a rinky-dink car…but it gets us where we need to go. The guy who sold it to us is a swindler….but God will handle him.
It’s all going to be okay. My girl is alive and I know God kept her alive through a fatal dose. Through fatal choices. And in the middle of it, she had a dream that certain people in a certain church were doing her harm. I went to the Courts of Heaven to have them release her. We are moving more toward the Lord being able to release His financial blessings. I’m totally blessed because I KNOW she is free. How? Because isn’t it foolish to think it after all we’ve gone through? No! Because of learning all I have about the Courts of Heaven I’ve been able to break bloodline curses. I’ve spoken to those things that have held her in this terrible place for so so long.
My word to all parents out there: do not allow a job to keep you from your family. Make sure you are present and participating. Not as a cranky ruler but someone your child can trust. There are days you draw a line…a month ago I said “no more drug dealers” are allowed in our house. I’m vocal and bold to them that I’ve got a hotline to the police and I’m not playing. I speak the Word to them with authority–they know I’m not afraid of them. I don’t make conversation, but give them the facts. I think it is readily known I will fight this to my dying breath. I speak life to my daughter. I don’t need to figure out why, when or how…I just know that Satan set a trap and the Lord has set her free!
Be vigilant. Break family curses. Speak life. And don’t be afraid to go after the enemy. As for the original guy…well, he’s out there giving folks freebies. One day he will end up dead…we actually tried to talk to his parents, but they just shrugged it off saying he was an addict and that’s what addicts do…I’m not willing to settle for that, because this is a war with principalities and powers.
So from someone who has fought the fight…family is the MOST precious earthly possession. DO NOT keep you from standing in the gap. Vet each person coming in your house–I’m not kidding. The best picture I can give is from the movie Uncle Buck…remember when he was looking for his niece and he had that drill to take apart a door…that’s who you need to be…
Blessings and may you continue to walk in His grace all the days of your life.
Hannah and Her Sisters
Posted on: June 28, 2011
- In: family
- 2 Comments
Hannah and Her Sisters was the name of a Woody Allen movie. Can’t remember much about the plot or anything else but the name. Movies…Hollywood…Stars…all are people you can soon forget. Having spent time on a movie set I know the stars are cared for and pampered. Each and every need is met. The bigger the star, the bigger the demands and the bigger the isolation from the “rubber meets the road” we all experience each day. Temporary pleasures immediately fulfilled that keep these people (and many others) from reaching for the eternal.
This week my friend Hannah lost her baby. It wasn’t a miscarriage of 8-10 weeks, but the death of a baby on his due date. Hannah’s sisters (+ Mom, Dad and brothers + Hannah and her husband) all kept faith that this baby would be resurrected. Simply put: one day this precious baby was moving and the next without a heart beat. I can’t imagine anything sadder for parents and family to experience.
I come not to dwell on this event, but what took place because of the event. A family stood on the Word of God and total trust in Him. They spoke the Word and lived on prayer for several days. I’m not sure what happened at the hospital, but I would imagine that they didn’t permit anything to invade their faith like double and triple checking hospital monitors. They threw all they had on God; they put their faith in the eternal.
Sadly for us who are earth-bound, this child is with Jesus. We know we will see him shortly. The empty place he left will last a lifetime, but we know that life is short. “Soon” (50-70 years) the real Hannah and her sisters will be holding this child and embracing the One who has taken care of him since he passed from this world to eternity.
This kind of faith is mocked. People think you’re crazy, but God is well-pleased. Their trust was totally cast on Him. Satan and his demons tremble at actions like these. And this kind of faith is more real than the computer you’re looking at right now. This computer will soon be biting the dust in a recycle bin…faith like this can change history. Because it didn’t change events this time doesn’t mean God didn’t get the glory. Think how this impacted the hospital staff for starts. Their short email updates impacted my faith level and pushed me to believe that God might surely resurrect this baby.
I don’t know what you’re going thru today. It might be just a day or you might be worried about bills, tornadoes, floods, job, stock market…just like the movie Hannah and Her Sisters…those things are a temporary moment in time with temporary benefits. Soon these will be long gone and replaced by something else. Consider what this family has done. They spoke into eternity and caused the demons to tremble.
Please take to heart these verses…Romans 8:35-39: 35 Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall trouble or hardship or persecution or famine or nakedness or danger or sword? 36As it is written: “For your sake we face death all day long; we are considered as sheep to be slaughtered.” 37 No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. 38 For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, 39 neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.
Please ponder what this nameless family has done….trust Jesus with all you have that you’re willing to look silly to the world to trust Him.
Blogger Writes about Her Own Death…
Posted on: May 19, 2011
I read this title last week, and thought about writing about my death. Let me say I like being alive and don’t expect to die soon. Time goes so fast. It seems like a couple of springs ago I was at the Spring Fling at Florence State University (now University of North Alabama) and getting ready for college graduation. I felt like I had the world by the tail. Thirty-seven years later I’m about to become a grandmother, and the world wasn’t always as benevolent as I wanted.
In the same amount of time since that spring in 1974, I’ll probably be dead or close enough that people worry about that elderly lady. Then one glorious day I’ll shed this old earthly body and be present with the Lord. Maybe I’ll awaken one morning and know that this is the day that I die; or it might come as a complete surprise. Nonetheless, I hope death comes during sleep. I prefer not to die in a fire or by drowning. I don’t like the cold, being buried alive or gutted like a fish like William Wallace in Braveheart. But what ever the Lord has prepared for me the end will come at a time that was assigned.
When I see His face, I don’t expect the Lord to ask me if I wore long hair or patent leather shoes. He won’t be interested in my Cadillac or lack of Cadillac. I believe God will be more concerned about what I did with my time, talent, and if I was able to love unconditionally. He might even measure all my thoughts and actions by The Golden Rule—what he called the greatest commandment. However, if today was my last day then I’d like these to be my parting thoughts:
- Life is short, therefore handle with care. We think it is very, very long when we’re waiting for our 18th birthday. We can’t wait for our graduation, marriage and children. Then at some point time starts spinning out of control. Today you’re in the car with your two-year-old and tomorrow she’s graduating from high school. Your youngest child isn’t a baby forever and soon you’re alone and can do all those things you thought you’d never do again like sleep late on a Saturday morning.
- Don’t spend time cursing the thermostat or the guy who pulls out in front of you. Spend more time praising God for all the blessings He’s given you.
- Spend more time on the eternal and less time on the temporal.
- Most of us believe we are a brilliant combination of Stephen Hawking and Pa Cartwright, but we’re more like Jethro Bodine and Clark Griswold. If we were perfect we’d have no need for Jesus to be our strength. We’re the best when we’ve given up and turned it over to Him…that is especially true when our kids are around 13. Worry less about what they’re doing to embarrass you, and love them more—unconditional love goes a LONG way.
- Laugh at least once a day. Laugh most about yourself—don’t take yourself so seriously.
- Remember kids are people too with ideas, feelings and dreams. Before you react remember how much God tolerates from you.
- Remember your teenage years and all the crazy stuff you did and you turned out okay. Cut the kids some slack…instead of grounding a kid maybe a treat from McDonalds and tell them all the good things about them.
- If you don’t have children, then find someone else’s to ‘adopt’. Parents never enough time or money, so having a favorite aunt or uncle can be rewarding for all involved. We’ve loved having Auntie Karen for our kids.
- Speaking of family…are you close to them? Recently in the South we experienced a day of tornados that totally changed the geographical landscape, but also neighborhoods and families. What if today is the day that your family changes forever? Are there people with whom you need to make amends? Are there people with whom you need to reconcile? What’s God speaking to your heart…just your heart and not what the nosey neighbor or Sally Churchgoer wants to recommend?
One day in the next fifty decades my earthly shell will be laid to rest. It will be a day of rejoicing because I’ll finally be Home. The Bible says: to be absent from the body is to be present with the Lord…and it can’t get much better than that.
Are you ready to write about your death and what lies beyond? If you don’t have that assurance, then seek Jesus today.
Christmas and Family
Posted on: December 22, 2009
I’ve been pondering this blog for quite some time. Actually it was before Thanksgiving that I began thinking about it, and as we get within hours of Christmas, I’m continuing to think of family. Tomorrow Liz and Chris will be arriving from Virginia, and Mom from Alabama. Friday my brother and his family will be coming for a couple of days. While I could survive one holiday without family, it would only be because I knew they would be there for the next one.
Three weeks ago my close friend lost one of her sons. In a flash a young man who finally had a goal and was making plans for his life was gone. In another part of town there’s a child I see frequently when I’m out. This child has no idea that I know who she is. She only knows family on one side because of a murder many years ago. One side took the kids and the other never made an attempt to make peace. There I am looking and thinking “wow if your family could only see you”—actually I know the family who doesn’t know the child. They are listen among the super-Christians in my hometown. Yet…a child who has their blood doesn’t know them.
There are many reasons why people don’t see their families over the holidays other than weather or distance. When we first married our church took in a girl who had been disowned by her family because she was pregnant. Others aren’t welcome because they’re _____.
Jesus was born so he could take our sin. He was born to die so we could have life. Our eternal security is based on the fact that Jesus gave unconditionally to people who didn’t deserve it.
If this holiday comes and your family isn’t there. Make the call. Open the door and welcome those who haven’t been home in a while. Make Jesus the reason…He did it for you.
What Would Jesus Do?
Posted on: November 21, 2009
I was driving down Church Street the other day and glanced over at an old church here in town; a famous town landmark. It is also famous for a sign they put in the window a few years back. This sign said everything about the heart of the church. Here it is: if you expect us to give you food go somewhere else. Obviously this old church with its spectaculor downtown tax-exempt property didn’t like the idea of smelly people who needed food messing up their campus. And one day Jesus will say something like: depart from me because you never knew me.
Feeding someone might be food. Or it might be a welcoming embrace of a friend or family member who needs to come home. It’s the holiday season. Remove the barriers to God by opening your heart to …. and you fill in the blank.
Wedding Bliss
Posted on: October 31, 2009
Our daughter got married this month. What a wonderful time we had with family and friends. How richly we were blessed. The ceremony was beautiful and the reception was festive…thanks to our many friends who helped put it together. People came from all over the US to help us celebrate this occasion. It was also a time when we missed the ones that could not be there.
The next two months are the seasonal celebrations when family are the core of the celebration. Remember to forget the things that keep you a part, and remember the things that make you connect. Enjoy the time. Time goes so fast. It seems it was yesterday that Liz was born, or we were headed to morning in daycare, or she was getting ready for her freshman year of high school. Don’t take moments for granted.
Have a safe holiday season.
Goodbye Ted
Posted on: August 29, 2009
“…a good and decent man who saw wrong
and tried to right it, saw suffering
and tried to heal it, saw war and tried to stop it.”
Ted Kennedy speaking at the funeral of his brother
This week we lost Ted Kennedy. I’m a conservative, but many times I’ve felt he was a little too liberal. When all was said and done, Ted was my least favorite Kennedy. However, I’ve gotten a different picture of him this week, and I’m now very impressed with Ted. Here’s a man with money and power who never forgot people who were suffering. From all accounts Teddy Kennedy was the first person to call when you lost a family member or were sick. In speaking the Southern conservative talk…he’d be the first at your house with a casserole or cake in your time of need.
I believe that Ted Kennedy lived Matthew 25:35-36. Ted gave his time and energy to help the less fortunate; he was a voice to those without a voice. For example, he was concerned for a baby in Russia who had digestion problems, and used a diplomatic trip to get her and her family out of that country. Why? The baby’s grandmother was a resident of Massachusetts, and Ted served his people well. Too many politicians (and preachers) live to be served. They love their power and abuse it—nothing else needs to be said about this.
Certainly in the early years he was reckless and Chappaquiddick will always be there for people to point a finger. How many of us have had our Chappaquiddick moment where we lied not to get caught for something?
As conservatives we need to take stock of the noble things this Ted Kennedy has done. He was a strong supporter of civil rights—that’s a good thing. He wanted people to have an opportunity to have health care (today’s issue that has conservatives up in arms)…but have you ever sat without insurance and without money to take your child to the doctor? Back seventeen years ago I prayed that the Lord would send me money to take my daughter to the doctor because of a severe ear infection. I’ve made health benefits a priority since that time. This week I need benefits because my younger daughter is having major health issues. If I had to pay the medical bill out of pocket it would be many thousands of dollars by the time we finish…everyone needs access to good health care and health insurance. I don’t know what the solution is, but I can’t imagine people suffering for lack of insurance.
The liberal agenda of Ted Kennedy included getting us portability of insurance (i.e. when we’ve had health insurance we cannot be denied insurance for pre-existing a condition—the new company has to insure us); Family Medical Leave Act—so when you have to attend to sick family you won’t lose your job; and finally making the pharmaceutical companies offer generics (to cut through it all) so you can have affordable meds—don’t you just love those $4 generics from Walmart? So far I’m glad Ted Kennedy was my champion because we needed all those things. This blog isn’t about health care.
This is a tribute to the good of Ted Kennedy. In Philippians 4:8 God told is to look on what is good, noble and pure. Today I suggest we look at the good of Ted Kennedy and learn. He served America. In turn we should serve God in the same way: from being there first with a casserole to being a voice to those who have no voice.
For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat,
I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink,
I was a stranger and you invited me in,
I needed clothes and you clothed me,
I was sick and you looked after me,
I was in prison and you came to visit me.
Matthew 25:35,36
ASO in Dallas
Posted on: March 15, 2009
Supplies available to clients are those necessary items that can’t be purchased with food stamps.
There is something wonderful going on in Dallas. It is an AIDS Service Organization called White Rock Friends…an outreach of the White Rock Community Church and its mission is to support the HIV/AIDS community by offering a variety of programs to assist individuals in their day to day lives. It is more than just your bag of groceries and a pat on the back until next month…
I don’t know who began the program years ago, but right now Douglas Shaffer is the go-to man with all the facts. It was his vision to take this from government red-tape into a program that’s available to meet peoples’ needs. Clients become friends who come to the church facility on Tuesdays (for the store, only) and Saturdays to get their supplies like Pinesol, bandaids, and toilet paper. They can also get clothes and have a wonderful lunch. Daniel is the head chef of these lunches and he has only missed one Saturday in eight years. That’s dedication! Everyone there is dedicated.
Another thing that Douglas realizes is that many times our friends who are HIV+ or have AIDS need food for their pet. Pet food is in abundant supply at White Rock Friends (and so is Emma, the Maltese and mascot of White Rock).
The word in a nutshell for White Rock Friends is caring. Everyone who serves cares for the clients. The clients feel the love. For Valentine’s Day there was an elegant meal of chicken cordon bleu, green bean casserole, dressing, salad (with nice greens), fresh fruit salad, chocolate covered strawberries, cheesecake with caramel or strawberry sauce…and it was YUMMY! My family got the honor of serving food that day. We also got the honor of meeting many of the clients.
If you are ever in Dallas visit White Rock Community Church and find out how you can help this wonderful ministry.
Merry Christmas!
Posted on: December 25, 2008
Trans-Siberian Orchestra as photographed by Michael W. Tyler
On Sunday we went to see the Trans-Siberian Orchestra, and with all the lights and acoustics I suddenly felt like I could be on that stage performing. I was dreaming like when I was younger and it seemed like the sky was the limit on what I could do and who I could become. When you are young you don’t think about not seeing a loved one again.
The last twenty-four hours has been nostalgic in that I longed to be back at my grandparent’s house. There were certain things that could only happen there with them like my grandfather calling Santa “Santy”. Or my grandmother always burning the bottoms of cheap biscuits–those you buy in four pack for around a dollar for the four.
Everyone was welcomed at their home. Family members who might not be welcomed anywhere else were welcome to come and have a bite to eat and fellowship. Because my grandparents were peacemakers, no one who had an ought with another got mad at Jewell and Ercie for befriending the other party. This gift has been passed down to my parents as they could have hostile acquaintances come to their table and peace would take over everyone…there was no more family or friend “war”.
This is Christmas Day…the day our Savior was born and it was through him that our sins are forgiven and we are reconciled to God. Today is the day you need to find that loved one who has been outside the warmth of your embrace…if you can’t find them by traditional means search through Google, Facebook and MySpace. Make this a “Lost Sheep Day” and welcome them home.
I started this blog by talking about youth and things we don’t think of such as losing our loved ones. On Christmas Eve morning I lost a friend named Jack. He was a beloved pastor who had the heart of a child and embraced everyone. I’ve known Jack for eight years and suddenly time was gone: time to tell him how much I loved him or how much embodied the grace of Jesus in his everyday life.
On Christmas Eve night a close friend became a grandmother. That baby is just like the baby that comes to everyone. Remember that special love the first time you saw your child, sibling, friend? If you are not in touch…reach out and get in touch TODAY!!! Blessings…
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