Be Careful What You Ask For

Lately I've been feeling overwhelmed with all I really need to take care of; well what I feel I need to take care of anyhow. I know there is no need to feel that way, but sometimes we focus on the somewhat trivial things. So yesterday while talking with hubs about how I have so much jumbled, mumbled mess going through my head, I decided to pray about it. I asked the Lord to please provide time to "get caught up on those things I've been behind on."

Well He gave me time alright, but not the kind I was hoping for. I was blessed with my daughter informing me I did not need to pick up any kids today, as unfortunately two of them are home sick. :( So that took away a big portion of running today. But, I also missed another group session, which the topic is so good and important. Plus, I've been going to get groceries for a week now, and still have not made it; and still wont.

My cold seemed to be getting better until yesterday, which was more of just a nagging irritating cough. This morning I woke up to chest and sinus congestion. Growl! I haven't done anything, as I'm very week, tired, just out right exhausted. I try to get up and do something & I feel like I'm going to drop.

When I finally took a shower--and as many of you know, this is where I receive a lot of insight, is in the bathroom--I realized; okay, it was revealed to me, that I prayed a general prayer. But, then again, was it? For I realized then and there, that I was weakened in order to spend time in the Word, which I've for some ridiculous reason have not done yet. He had another plan for me.

I asked for time to get caught up!

He gave it to me. Instead of working on the house, I'm to be spending time in HIS Word. Am I disappointed? NO! Not by any means. As HE comes first anyhow. So my day was partially wasted trying to recoup; but in the end, it will not have been wasted, as I'm going to do as HE had planned for me.

The lesson here is to always when praying, be specific. If you pray for something in general, chances are, He will take you in a different direction, not always in a good one like He did with me. Pray specifically. A more appropriate prayer would have been: "Lord, you know my struggles. You know I have a hard time being organized and finding time to do what I feel I need to be doing. My house needs a thorough cleaning, I have a garage sale to prepare for, I have a room that is full from all the moves, a garage that needs reorganizing and cleaned out. Please provide adequate time for me to accomplish these tasks when you deem right."

See the difference. It covered the areas that is driving me nuts. Time is not very ample for me by any means. But it's all good. He is always faithful. He always listens. It's just that His plans for us may not be the same things we want. Some of you may say, "Well He already knows our needs and wants, so why would you have to be specific?" Because He wants a relationship with us. Because He wants us to take it to Him. He wants us to talk to Him like you would your parents, siblings, best friends etc. Tell Him what is exactly on your heart/mind. He listens, He answers--not always in the manner we ask for--but He knows what is best for us. He's faithful, loving, kind, and wants what is best for us. Trust Him, ask specifically, and believe He will answer. If you doubt Him, then don't expect your requests to be answered. BELIEVE! TRUST!

Why Some may not Believe

While writing up a Bible study for my family from Life Principles Bible by Dr. Charles F. Stanley, I came across the following:

Why do so many people not enjoy God's presence? Because they do not really know Him.

That made me realize that so many out there think that because He can not be seen or touched that He is not real. There are many other reasons used as well, but am thinking this is a big issue, as I've heard others state, "How can you believe in something you can not see?"

Good question. Until you have actually experienced the presence of God, you may never know. I pray for those that are afraid to trust in the unknown, will give God a chance. When you receive the Lord and start enjoying experiences with Him, you end up with no doubt in your mind that He is very much real. It's an experience like none other.

Is the walk always beautiful? No, due to His using difficult times to teaching us, drawing us nearer, and to keep us from taking a wrong path. I've personally experienced the presence of the Lord many, many times, in many various ways. From being saved from what should have been a deadly outcome, to visions, touches and hearing. He lets you know that He is there. You can feel His presence in so many ways.

If one would sit back and think about different situations that should have turned out way different that was out of ones control, and pondered how it did not make any sense, the answer would be your loving Father saved you from that moment in your life.

I challenge you to pick up the Bible and start reading His promises for you. Start reading His love letters to you; as basically it's God telling you how much He loves you and wants to be a part of your life. God wants a personal relationship with you. After all, what do you have to lose?

I know I've said it before, but believe it is worth repeating. What do you have to lose by believing in the Lord your God? Absolutely nothing. If He's real and you believe and follow Him, you will live a wonderful life of eternity with Him. If you don't believe and He's real, you have everything to lose.

Personally, I choose to believe as I know in my heart He is very real. I challenge you to give Him a chance to prove to you that He is real. If you go into this challenge with an open mind and faith, you won't be disappointed. Then get yourself in a good "Faith-based" church that teaches the Holy Bible, not one that has been written to meet the needs of the church, and walk that beautiful walk.

My heart aches for those that are lost. I pray that you will find Salvation in Him and soon. You will not be disappointed. I'm sure glad I came back to Him. It's been a beautiful walk, even during all the trials and tribulations we have been through. I look forward with great joy to meeting more of those trials and tribulations, as each time I grow closer to Him and have a stronger understanding. Often times receiving correction on things I've been doing wrong at just the right time. For you see, God's timing is always perfect, and His love for us is perfect. Imagine having a Heavenly Father who loves you no matter what and never gives up on you. He waits for you with open arms always welcoming you.

Be Eternally Grateful

Psalm 100 NIV

1 Shout for joy to the Lord, all the earth.
2 Worship the Lord with gladness;
come before Him with joyful songs.
3 Know that the Lord is God.
It is He who made us, and we are His;
we are His people, the sheep of His pasture.
4 Enter His gates with thanksgiving and His courts with praise;
give thanks to him and praise His name.
5 For the Lord is good and His love endures forever;
His faithfulness continues through all generations.

We should be in constant worship with Him. How often do you call the one who saved us? Is it only to make 911 calls to Him; or do you call on Him to give Him thanks and glory as well? Remember, our Father wants us to come to Him at all times; not just when we are in trouble. He wants us to be in constant conversation with Him; in the Word learning His commands and obeying.

A man very strong in the Lord once told my husband to say, "Good morning Father God, Jesus Christ, and Holy Spirit" when you wake up and pray. Before you even get out of bed. Greet Him first thing in the morning. Make Him the first thoughts of the day.

This morning I woke up extra early which lately is strange for me. It is nice though, as I've been asking for help in changing my ways. I praise God for the change. What was amazing was the fact that I was singing a song in my mind and when hubs alarm went off, the song I was singing was on the radio! "I will rise when He calls my name; no more sorrow; now more pain. I will rise on eagles wings; before my God; fall on my knees..." That's when I knew, get up! I knew to pick up the Bible first thing this morning; reflect on our Pastors message this past weekend which has been constantly on my mind, and read. Behold, I was led to Psalm 100 after reading some of the Scriptures our Pastor had used in his message to us.

I love being in the presence of the Lord. We have been blessed and prayers being answered abundantly. Praise God! All the glory is His and His alone.

Often times we think He's not listening and not answering our prayers. He is, just not always in the way we would like them answered; for He knows what is best for us. Give Him your full trust and faith, give Him of yourself whole heartedly and be amazed and blessed.

Prayer Requests

My dear friends, I have a request of prayer from all of you. My heart is hurting right now, but I know He will take care of it. I've noticed the enemy striking and working hard all over the world, working hard on breaking us down. Trust me, this is not a pity party I'm having, just a sharing of what I see right now, and it's almost brought me down. But God's faithfulness and strength has lifted me back up and I know that no matter what, I must focus, keep walking forward, and hold on to faith. It sure does get hard sometimes though, doesn't it?

Any way, I have friend who wants nothing more than to be fulfilled with the Lord. She seeks Him all the time. Her heart yearns for her husband to do the same, but he won't even discuss it with her. She is going through a tough time and unable to read the Bible and is having difficulty praying. Another is going through similar trials. She is having a hard time focusing and knowing what to do with her time. Her husband had been seriously hurt in a church and will not go back, discuss the Lord with her and does not want to hear about it. She so desires to have him return.

It breaks your heart to see such beautiful women experiencing this. So if you could pray for them. I'm not giving out names for obvious reasons. He knows who you are praying for. Another woman and her husband are having dire financial problems, plus there is a chance her husband may lose his job. Please pray for them. They have three beautiful boys too. She has given herself to the Lord, but her husband hasn't. We need the husbands to come to the Lord, as they are the leaders of the home. They need to be able to righteously uphold the home and family. Let's pray hard for this.

Our son has had a set back with his meds. It was a bit uneasy for the past two days, but thankfully he knew he needed help and got it. Pray for healing in him and the breaking of generational curses of mental illness. It runs heavy on my side of the family.

We were suppose to finally see our sons two kids this weekend, but of course with what he is facing, it isn't possible. I've come down with the crud. So weak and sleepy and my face feels like it is going to explode. But I am believing I will be healed soon. Pray for healing so that I can go visit the kids at least.

My dad had fallen on ice a little over a week ago and broke some ribs. They were concerned about his liver due to the location of the break. He is suppose to be taking it easy and doing no lifting. Well, he's a stubborn man, had gone to a Catholic school, faithfully went to church, and then quit. He believes, but something is holding him back. He is a very, very giving man. Always giving of himself, but will not ask for help. They heat their home with a wood stove. He's been going out and hauling in wood. My sister who has the back problems drove out with her son so he could haul wood in for him. Yesterday dad got up as he was in pain and put some wood in the stove. Mom got up and told him to go back to bed as it was 4 am. So he did. He tried to get back out of bed when he woke up and popped something in his back. He was unable to get up. Mom had to help him after he laid there for awhile groaning. She finally heard him.

My little sister finally had an MRI done on her back. They messed up and didn't do the lumps. She did find out that she has ruptured discs and bone fragments pushing into her sciatic nerve. The earliest she can see the Neurosurgeon is the 17th. Meanwhile, her husband and sons are not being of much help. They won't bathe the girls (the ones they just got custody of before all this happened), they won't clean the house, and she is not to do any lifting or bending of any kind. She is to keep her back straight. She couldn't take it any more and got up and gave the girls baths, cleaned the bathroom, scrubbed the kitchen floor on her hands and knees, and cleaned up the kitchen. She's a very thorough neat housekeeper. Anything remotely getting dirty, or something out of place drives her nuts. The beginning of the weak she talked of them letting trash bags full pile up in the house. Grrrrr. She has a heart of gold. She is like our dad, always giving of herself. While working in the nursing home, she kicked some behinds and whipped the place into shape. Residents hadn't been receiving proper care. Many were being neglected. Air tanks were not being checked. It was sad. She finally got many of the workers there to take pride in what they were doing, boosted moral, and got many of the workers to open their eyes as to how much those residents could bring happiness and how rewarding it was to take care of them. I'm so proud of her. She is a good woman in the Lord following His plans for her. She worked despite the constant chronic pain she was in. Those residents meant the world to her and she strived to make sure they were happy. She would take time to help them, even though she wasn't an aide or a nurse. She was laundry. She had worked as an aide years back, but her body can't take it any more. The laundry was hard on her too, but she stuck it out until now.

Then I have another sister that had thyroid cancer. Now they are thinking she has cancer somewhere else, along with other problems and is needing an operation, which they don't want to do, as she has blood clots in her legs that they can not get rid of. So she is a high risk.

A friend whose father is going down hill quickly. Another whose mother is in and out.

Now, on a good note--I should have put this all first--we finally get to see all our grandchildren! Praise the Lord. My lil' sis, come to find out was out of groceries, and had rent due. They were waiting on a check from her hubby's brother, but it never showed on time. They had to pay rent, which meant no food for two weeks. Low and behold. The day they "had" to pay the rent, her middle son received a check from way back when. It happened because he had called the company and asked for his W2's. This was from a place he had worked at where they used to live. He didn't even know he still had a check coming. Guess what, her son let her have the money for rent. The check was for $4.00 more than their rent! They were able to pay rent and get groceries. Hallelujah!!! God's timing is perfect. My mothers health is improving day by day. God is good.

This is why I'm asking for everyone to be praying diligently, and hard that the enemy is knocked down. That the cabal over our country is replaced by the glorious light of the Lord. We will not let the enemy take control. We will take a stand and fight the enemy.

I have to admit, the phone call from my sister was what almost broke me down, then I received a message from one of my friends, I started to get down; and then with her needs, I realized and said, "NO!!! you will not bring me down. I will not let you take me too. I'm a daughter of the Almighty God. I believe in Him and I trust in Him. You are not going to break my faith. No way, no how. I know I need to cast my cares up to Him and trust in Him to take care of it all."

Whew!!! Just writing this lifted a load off of my shoulders. He's moving right now. He's healing right now. Ask and He shall answer. Seek and we shall find. Knock and He will open the door. Oh Thank You Heavenly Father. Daddy, Daddy, Daddy, we need You so now. Bring heaven down to earth. Shake the people alive. Wake them up to You. Open their ears, their eyes, and their souls. Fill us with the Holy Spirit. Don us all with the Armor of God. Anoint us with a covering. Surround us with a hedge of protection. Cover us with the Blood of Jesus, and seal it in Jesus Name I pray. Thank You Daddy, Thank You Jesus! You are the Almighty, the Alpha and Omega, El Shaddai, Elohim, El Rohi, Jehovah Jireh, Jehova Ra'ah, El Elyon, Adonai, Jehovah Rophe, Sweet Father in Heaven. We love You, We thank You. We believe Daddy, we believe! In Jesus Sweet Name, Amen!

Prime Time with God

Without fail, PTG has another great article. This time it is on perseverance.

Webster's Description: Perseverance: act of perservering. Persevere: continue doing in spite of obstacles.

The article talks about what we will run into in our life times. Some experience hardships much more than others. No two of us will have an identical life. Yet some of us will experience related problems.

An idea of some of the walls we will meet up with:

"The path ahead of you is strewn with obstacles. People will oppose you. There will be financial setbacks, time pressures, illnesses and misfortunes. Some of the biggest obstacles will be inside of you: self-doubt, insecurity, procrastination, and worry. You must give yourself permission to succeed. " PTG 12/07/08 article.

What do we do when illnesses hit, our economical future becomes questionable, and finances are stretched to almost beyond their means, not to mention the personal struggles?

We persevere, which means we keep going. Never give up. Giving up opens ourselves to allowing the enemy in. The enemy will only compound the problems, often times without us seeing it happen until it is too late. It is important to believe, stay positive, and keep pressing foward. After all, we have been provided for all this time, why should it all of a sudden be taken away from us? It won't be.

So remind yourself of this word when you meet up with another struggle in live; "Persevere!" Keep the faith. I am living proof that life becomes much better when we don't cave to all the pressures. I've been on both sides. The side where we cave, become depressed, give up; and then on the side of believing and having faith. Life has been so much better, even through the hard times!

Blessings to you all!

P.U.S.H.

Economic Disaster

When reading another bloggers post it gave me an idea for one to write.
Many are overwhelmed, sickened, saddened, or just plain scared about the way the economy is headed. Some have pulled money out of the banks feeling that there is no way their money can be safe there. Some are stocking up on things that will last a long time. Perhaps this is wise; I do not know. Some are wondering about stocks, savings, 401Ks etc. It is a perplexing time in our lives.

But there is one thing we must remember. The Lord hands us no more than we can handle. We must hold steadfast in believing He will take care of us. Instead of doing what "we" think we should do, we need to go to Him and ask what it is He wants us to do.

Taking a stand together, praying for release of the enemy that has taken control of our economics, politics, government, the people, etc. Praying for sustenance in our lives. Praying for a leader of the country to be righteous and just and follow the words of the Lord.

Let us not pannick. Let us come together, unified, standing side-by-side with the Lord, walking with Him. Let us stay calm and not bend to the pressure. Worry, pannick, anger, stress, all opens doors to the enemy. We can stop the madness by taking a stand together in God.

Trust, Stand, Pray, Believe, Obey, Love. As I mentioned in an earlier post; our Pastors son spoke on the ever lasting love of God. His love never fails us. He has never changed His ways in any way at any time. We must do the same for Him. All those in agreement, please sign in the comment area at least. Thank you and God Bless!

Remember, smile, be warm, keep the faith, share His Glory, and be Loving!

Special Song

Today, just after leaving group and a prayer meet; I was sitting in the car and heard the song, "What I'm Fighting For," by Steven Curtis Chapman. The following is what came to me while listening to the song.

People, think about who you are voting for. Our troops are fighting for us, for freedom of the people in the East. They believe in what they are fighting for. Don't walk out on them. Pray for them. Do the righteous thing, pray about who to vote into office and the Presidency. Vote for righteous people. Show our troops we support them!

The words to the song are very effective, holding great meaning. If you have not heard it or never really listened to the words; I highly recommend that you do.