Forgiveness........is it possible?......do I have to?..........

Well, I have been gone longer than I expected!  I have been working very hard in my job as a nurse and a lot has gone on that has kept me away from my personal time on the computer but I have not forgotten my readers and I have missed you!.  I have been praying for you!  I have a large map on my study wall and I have marked all the countries where God has allowed my words....which I believe have been His words spoken through me...to be heard.  I look at them often and whisper a prayer for my readers.

The last few weeks I have had a heavy heart and tonight I bring to you what the Lord has laid on my heart.  The topic of forgiveness.  I received some bad news over the last few weeks.  Some folks I know fell hard.  Satan has a way with temptation and our human nature as a way of craving whatever it is that he is cooking up.....not taking time to fully digest the consequences.

People are mad, hurt, sad, confused and probably a variety of other emotions- all understood- even justified...but anger left to itself has done exactly what God said it would do.  It has led to bitterness, slander, hate and you can forget about satan gaining a "foothold"- Goodness, the door opened wide and he just walked right in!

Satan is having a field day right now and to be honest, my heart is broke.  Folks I know have chosen the social media to just slander and spew out words of bitterness and anger and hatred.  Supposed Christian brother and sister just slaying other brothers and sisters with their words.

I began to ask myself and my husband questions and I began to ask God some of the same questions.
"Is it justified?  After all, what happened was horrific...."
"Is it beneficial?  After all- the sins were ones that disqualified a man from ever preaching again and it was a criminal act- they must be punished"
"Is forgiveness letting them off too easy?....should they pay through such public slander and gossip....after all what they did was pretty bad"

The verse that came to my mind immediately was Ephesians 4:32-" And be ye kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as God in Christ forgave you."

Well, I just kind of quickly thought over that verse in my mind as I had memorized it years ago in jr high Bible class.....been there, memorized that, let's move on.  But God said "NO!  Meditate on this verse for a while."  I invite you to journey with me into true forgiveness as we tear apart Ephesians 4:32.

 The verse starts with the word "AND"- Chapters and verses in the Bible were not determined by God.  When the Holy Spirit inspired the writers of the books He did not say "verse 32......."  Nonetheless- when a verse begins with "and"- it reveals a continuation of something and I need to go to the verse before and find out what it is.

So lets look at verse 31.  It reads:

" Let all bitterness, wrath, anger, clamor, and evil speaking be put away from you, with all malice"

Next: I want  to look up definitions of these words:

Wrath-Forceful, often vindictive anger; wrath is forceful anger with a desire to swiftly punish or retaliate.

Anger- A strong feeling of annoyance, displeasure or hostility.

Clamor- A loud and confused noise, especially that of people shouting vehemently.

Evil speaking-Includes all defamatory or injurious remarks against others- words of hatred, malice envy or strife- everything which would injure another to any degree.  Even an uncomplimentary remark respecting another, injuring his reputation, is evil speaking, although the statement may be true.

Malice- The intention of desire to do evil; ill will.  Wrongful intention, especially as increasing the guilt of certain offenses.

Now that we've learned what we are to put off, let's return to verse 32 and look at what we are to put on-  as it is laid out in verse 32.

"Be kind to one another"- 

Kind- Showing sympathy or understanding; charitable.
Forbearing; tolerant;
Generous; liberal
Agreeable; beneficial


"Tenderhearted, forgiving one another"-

  Tenderhearted - easily moved by someone's  distress; "a noble tenderhearted creature who sympathizes with all the human race" W. M. Thackeray

Forgiving- To excuse for a fault or offer pardon; To renounce anger or resentment against


Even though all  that has been said in this verse so far has been difficult at times to apply to situations- nothing was as bold and thought provoking as the following words

"even as God in Christ forgave you"- I am not to just show forgiveness in the ways listed above but EVEN as God in Christ forgave me.  I started this page last night but decided to go to bed and sleep on this part of the verse- " How did Christ forgive me at the time of my salvation and how does Christ still forgive me today?"

1.  First thing- (meaning the moment I ask for it)
 For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved- Romans 10:13- The thief on the cross was moments away from death- he asked for forgiveness, and Jesus immediately responded.
I John 1:9  - If I confess my sins, He is faithful and just to forgive me of sin and cleanse me from all unrighteousness

2.  Fully- There are no verses in the Bible that speak to forgiveness of some sins but not others.  Again
 1 John 1: 9 says ALL unrighteousness

3.  Freely- Forgiveness was the most costly gift I've ever received- It cost God everything but it was freely given to me.

4.  Forgetting- "I will remember them no more"- Hebrews 8:12, Isaiah 43:25, Jeremiah 31: 34

5. No Fishing- I love what Corie ten Boom said "When God forgives our sins, He throws them in the depths of the sea and puts up a sign "No fishing"- Micah 7:19- He tosses our sins into the depths of the sea

6. Forever- Is this forgiveness something we can lose?  I don't see one verse in the Bible supporting that, in fact  just the opposite.  A few come to mind

King David- You probably know the story...King David should have been with his men in battle but he was not, one glance at a woman led to lust, led to adultery and then the problem snowballed as King David tried to cover up adultery and the pregnancy which resulted and went as far as to murder his friend.  Pretty "big sins" huh?  Surely King David lost it all with God....or did he?  Read Chapter 51 as King David prays for repentance- In verse 12 David says "Restore unto me the joy of Your salvation"  King David had not lost his salvation- he lost the joy of fellowship with God and the JOY of salvation- Sin has a way of doing that.

My salvation is not, nor has ever been in my possession- How can I lose it?  It is in the safekeeping of God Colossians 3:3 says that I have died and my life is hidden with Christ in God-

I must stop for now- please think about how you can apply this to your life....I will do the same.  How do we  learn to forgive "even as Christ forgave you"- What about criminal acts?  What if it is a repeated offense?, What if I don't think the apology is sincere?

Tomorrow we will pick up where we left off....looking at the tough questions

To God be the glory

What does God think of you?

This is a question that undoubtedly comes to our mind often.  Why?  Because either our flesh will be tempted to think of this or Satan will tempt you to ponder this.  Our flesh can't fully comprehend the love God has for us or exactly what He thinks of us. We can only comprehend love as we love- which is so often conditional.  Satan certainly will lie to us and tell us that God doesn't love us or that He looks down on us with disgust.  If Satan is successful at getting us to buy into this lie then he is in a pretty great position for a victory in our lives.  If we misunderstand how God sees us- our life and our service to God will reflect that misunderstanding and we will limit ourselves.

The other day I was driving down the road listening to the radio when I heard this verse and it spoke to me so deeply that I want to share it with you and talk about it a little.

Zephaniah 3:17- The Lord your God in your midst, The Mighty One, will save; He will rejoice over you with gladness, He will quiet you with His love, He will rejoice over you with singing.(NKJV)

Isn't this beautiful?!  He is YOUR God and He is in YOUR midst.  He is mighty to save!  He rejoices over us and He quiets us with His love and His singing.

If you have accepted Christ into your heart- then this verse is for you to claim.  When I read this verse I think of how a parent will calm an infant- in his arms quieting that little infant with love and often with singing.

God is our Heavenly Papa- "Abba Father"  He longs to take us in His arms- in the midst of our anxiety, in the midst of our pain-  He longs to rock us in His arms and quiet our storms with His love and rejoice over us with His singing.

There are times in my life when things have been so crazy and I have been at a loss for what to do or how to fix a problem- I have crawled into my bed and just pictured myself in the arms of my Heavenly Father- picturing Him rocking me to sleep, holding me close to His breast.

We serve an awesome God!  But the God that spoke this world into creation and breathed life into our clay bodies is the same God that calls Himself "Abba Father"  The most tender of words for a father.

Are you walking around today thinking that God doesn't care about you or that He is angry with you. Are you buying the lie of the father of lies who is whispering in your ear that God doesn't really care about you- after all....you have blown it,,,,,yet again!

Oh no, child of God!  He is YOUR God and He is in YOUR midst rejoicing over you!!

Thank Him and give Him the glory for the great things He has done!

Stay in the Word

Hey, I will be back soon- a little vacation!  I hope all my blog readers are doing well and staying in the Word!!
Our world is a mess and our only hope and safety is found in the secret place of the Most High abiding under the shadow of the Almighty!!

Don't walk in the counsel of the ungodly
'Don't stand in the way of sinners
Don't sit in the seat of the scornful
Let your delight be in the Law of the Lord
And meditate on it day and night
Then you shall be like a tree planted by the rivers of water that brings forth his fruit in his season
Your leaf will not whither and whatsoever you do shall prosper!!

Submit your life to the One who makes no mistakes and who has your best interest in mind.

Talk to you soon!

The God of All Comfort!!

I just want to brag on my Heavenly Father today.  I hope you know Him and will brag on Him today too!!  Don't miss out on noticing His intervention, His comfort in your life on a moment by moment basis!

This has been quite a weekend for my husband and me.  Actually it was quite a week!  I am in the process of having some fairly major dental work.  It is causing me an enormous amount of pain.  My body totally rejects pain medicine.  Even 1/2 a tablet of something will send me vomiting for an entire day.  I must therefore endure the pain, but at times the pain also makes me vomit.  Last Wednesday we started the process that will last over the next 2 months.....ouch!

Toward the end of the week we realized, as you may have read in my previous entry, we had to have our cat put to sleep.  We did this Saturday morning.  It was so painful for us.  We held him as the doctor gave him the medicine.  I am so thankful that the last words he heard were from our lips thanking him for the joy he has brought us and the love we have for him.  It was peaceful for him.  I am still hurting as I will start to look for him or think about feeding him and he is not there, he is not coming back.  It makes me cry even as I write this.  My husband has had this cat for 15 1/2 years.  My husband didn't ask for him.  One rainy night he appeared at my husbands apartment door, scratching at the door.  My husband lived on the second floor.  This cat climbed the stairs and walked around the corner choosing my husband's door to scratch on.  My husband tells of how he was so filthy dirty that you would have never guessed he was a snow white cat.  That cat was a gift from God to my husband as evidenced by a story that only he can tell- so you just have to trust me.  But his mission came to an end on Saturday.  I don't know if animals go to heaven but I wouldn't be surprised to see him up there one day!

Our weekend ended with a scare.  In our bedroom I have a metal and crystal ball that holds a tea light.  It hangs from our ceiling. I often put a small tea light in there in the evening and leave it burning in there as I do other things around the house.  Last night I had put a candle in there and was in the bedroom talking with my husband.  About 10-15 minutes after I lit the candle the thing somehow caught fire.  Our backs were to all that was going on and so we didn't see it at first.  All of a sudden I turned around and flames were flying from this thing.  I was speechless, all I could say was baby, baby baby or something like that.  My husband so calmly took care of it.  We sat there amazed at how this thing could possibly catch fire.  I have been burning a tea light in that thing for around 2 1/2 years now. Since we often light it and then do something else downstairs or in another room, we were so thankful that we were in the room when this happened.  It could have brought a lot of damage to our place.

I will end on a funny note.  My husband has this pair of jean shorts that are relatively new.  He accidentally had a pen in the side pocket not that long ago and it left a huge blue ink blot.  A few weeks have passed since that ink stain and I think we had just decided that those jean shorts would now be the shorts you wear around the house only.  I have been on the look out for a new pair like those but had not yet found a pair.

Last night my husband was doing some laundry and he came up stairs and said "Am I missing something?"  I didn't get it....he said "the ink spot.....it's gone!"  I looked up and down those shorts looking for even a hint of the ink stain, yet no where to be found!  Since when has  that ever happened?  This was not ink from a small pen, this was ink  from more like a gel ink pen, not a ball point pen!

Well, why do I share all this with you?  I want you to know that we have a God of all comfort.  God is in it all.  Have you ever had a problem with a company and tried to reach the manager or owner of that company?Good Luck!  You have to go through hoops and tell your story to other folks hoping they will relay your story to the boss who hopefully will call you back.  Yet, so often, that phone call never comes.  After all, the "big guy" of the company has much more important things to deal with than your "little problems"

NOT SO WITH GOD!  Everything I shared with you in these stories are relatively small problems in comparison to all that God has to deal with in this world.  Let's face it, just read the front page of the newspaper and you will see that a dental surgery, the death of a cat, and an ink stain just wouldn't make it to the front page.  Yet God was there for it all!

God was concerned about my dental pain and He was there to help me cope and eventually heal that horrible pain.

God was there in the vet's office as our hearts broke. I could sense God's arms around me.  It was as if God was sad about our sick cat.  He gave us peace as we gave Donipon peace, an end to his suffering.  I know God saw every tear that fell.  I know, just as His Word says, He caught each tear and placed them in His bottle.
 Psalm 56:8. 
 "Thou tellest my wanderings: put Thou my tears into Thy bottle:  Are they not in Thy Book."
 My tears matter to God....Your tears matter to God!

God protected our bedroom from a fire Sunday evening by keeping us in the bedroom which allowed us to quickly intervene and put the fire out.

Then there's the jean shorts.  This cheap pair of jean shorts with an ink stain- without any effort of our own, God removed the stain.

This past weekend God has brought to my attention to His ability to completely remove stains.  My husband and I were talking a little about this.  The first was with our cat.  This cat that arrived at Jim's door was filthy and as my husband tells the story, he stunk to high heaven!  My husband bathed him only to find hiding under this dirty dirty cat was fur as white as snow!  It's what God does with us.  Just as Doniphon (our cat) could not bathe himself and make himself clean, so we cannot make ourselves clean.  Doniphon needed my husband to bathe him.  We need God to bathe us.  My husband tells how Doniphon hated this bath!  He was yelling loudly as the water ran over him.( It was so loud that my husband let his neighbors know that no one was getting hurt, he was just bathing the cat!) Yet, if my husband was going to welcome this stray dirty stinky cat into his home, the cat had to get the bath!

So it is with us.  We don't always like a "bath" from God.  It can be painful and we may fight it, just as our cat did. But if we want to be welcomed into God's family, we have to allow God to bathe us.  God says he can take our dirty, stinky lives and make us white as snow.....just like our cat.
   Isaiah 1:18- "Come now and let us reason together saith the Lord, though your sins be as scarlet, they can be as white as snow. Though they be red like crimson, they can be as wool."

The other reminder of our Heavenly Father and His ability to remove stains was with the shorts and the ink stain.  We thought the shorts were doomed to the "around the house" shorts.  Certainly he couldn't wear them out in public.  The stain was big and noticeable.  We didn't even make any extra effort to remove the stain.  We had just given up as far as the shorts being very useful. They were to be just another piece of laundry to be washed.  Yet, the stain was removed- not by our own efforts!

Isn't that our lives at times?  We see the stain on our lives as permanent.  Oh we may be good for "around the house" things- but the stain is too big to be used of God in any "big ways".  We give up and just accept the stain.

NOT GOD!  God can take what we call a "permanent" stain and completely remove it.  He can use us in great and mighty ways.  But it has to be God who removes the stain.  Any effort on our part will prove futile.

God....Yes God, He is the God of all comfort and He is involved in every area in the lives of His children.  Yes, the God who hangs the stars out, who causes the sun to rise and set, He who tells the oceans they can only come so far, the One who keeps this ball called earth rotating on its axis from the beginning of time is also the God who cares about dental pain, death of our animals and even stains in a cheap pair of shorts.  The same God who feeds the sparrows and clothes the lilies of the field is crazy about you and me.  I'm so glad, aren't you!?

To God be the glory!

To everything there is a season- Good bye my precious friend

I never had cats growing up.  However, I did have dogs.  Therefore, I kinda became a "dog person".  Then I met my husband.  Our marriage brought 3 little boys into the family.....2 little black cats and 1 little white cat.  I instantly fell in love with them and they have done a good job at trying to get to know their "mommy" and tolerating her "dog ways".

Approximately 1 year after my husband and I got married, we learned that our white cat had cancer.  For the last 2 years we have given him chemotherapy and he has done so well.  He gained back his weight.  His coat, once again, looked snow white and he did not suffer any side effects from the chemo.....just as the vet told us.

The last 11/2 months we have seen him go downhill.  We think his cancer has spread.  Because of his age we have opted not to put him through any thing that would just cause him discomfort and really not help him.  He has lost a lot of weight.  It has been within the last 24 hours that we have realized that we have to face what we did not want to face.....having him put to sleep.

If you read this, please say a prayer for us.  Both of us are animal lovers, and we are losing a part of our family.

We are thankful for all the memories we have and all the love we have received from him and been able to give him.  He has been a gift from God and a blessing.

Thank you precious Doniphon.....thanks for all the times you put up with mommy and thanks for so easily adapting (as all of you did) to a cat/dog family!  Thank you for the joy you have brought us.  We are never going to forget you.  I know that there will be a void in the lives of your sisters Ash and Brit and your brothers Cor and Effie.

Yes, life goes on.....but the void will always be there.  A void that only Doniphon can fill.

I love you precious baby Doni.......I always will

"Thank you"- Looking back on September 11,2001

It was just another morning.....getting ready for work, getting kids ready for school, thinking through the day that lay before us....

Moments later America was forever changed.  Lives lost, "good bye's" that never got said, suddenly people were more important than things and prayer was a priority in our lives as we fell to our knees asking for miracles, asking for strength, comfort and peace....but most of all asking "why?"

To the thousands who lost their lives that day, I never knew you yet I have never forgotten you.  I often reflect back wondering what your last moments were like, wondering about who you were and what your day was supposed to be like.

To the families of those who lost their lives, I often think of you and offer up a prayer for you.  I wonder how you are doing 10 years later.  I think of the children who lost a mom or dad that day and how you have carried on in spite of the tragedy.  I pray for all of you, that God has been your refuge, a very present help in time of trouble.

To the first responders- the police, the firefighters and the EMT's.  Thank you!  You are still my hereos.  Many of your co-workers died that day as they tried to rescue those trapped.  Yet, you had to carry on, and I realize you all faced the possibility of your own death as you bravely worked looking for just one more survivor.

To Mayor Rudy Guliani I thank you.  The task that you had in front of you was enormous and you did not back down.  You were a rock for New York City during those following days and months- you showed leadership and courage.

To President Bush and Mrs Bush- Thank you.  With just a few months under your belt as leader of the greatest nation in the world, you were faced with making some difficult decisions and shouldering the weight of a nation's fears and sorrow.  You are to be commended for your leadership and your love and compassion in the days and months that followed.  Mrs. Bush, what a comfort you were to the children as you so lovingly and calmly visited and loved on them.  You are a true lady, full of grace and beauty.


To every hospital worker, and the Red Cross and all the organizations that jumped to their feet to assist in any way you could, thank you!  I am in the medical profession.  I know the mode we go into when we are called to respond.  For the overtime, the missed breaks and lunches and hard work- thank you

To every church and pastor who opened their doors for those who needed comfort, had questions or just wanted to quietly kneel and pray- thank you.  Thank you for taking time to share Jesus with those who were looking for Him that day and in the days to follow.  Thank you for giving the greatest gift one could gift- the gift of sharing Jesus.

To every person in TV and journalism who found themselves thrust into a never ending story- thanks for the long hours worked and for putting yourself in the midst of the rubble in order that we might see what was going on and be able to "love" those folks from afar as we watched it unfold on TV or listened on the radio or read in the papers.

To every soldier who prepared themselves for what was to follow and for every man or woman who enlisted in the military at that time in order to hunt down the horrible terrorist that did this. THANK YOU!  Thank you for giving yourselves and putting yourself into harms way  to defend the freedom we enjoy.  Thank you to every family of a soldier who said good bye to your loved one not knowing if you would ever see them again. Many of you have not as your loved one paid the ultimate price for freedom.

To every American- what a day September 11,2001 was!  It was a day that will forever be engraved in our memories and as we know....America was forever changed.  It was a day that Americans came together, united.  We hugged each other, supported one another, prayed for one another and gave of our time and our energy to help folks we didn't even know.  At that time, people became more important than our things, prayer became a priority and suddenly we understood (sadly it didn't seem to last) that God is in control and He deserves all respect and honor and He is the Authority.  As horrible as that day was- it did bring about some good in Americans.



To God be the glory.   I love you Heavenly Father!

Give Yourself A Funeral

I want to challenge you today with something that I started over 25 years ago.  When you arise in the morning start your day by giving yourself a funeral!  Yep, you heard it right!  Now, I have to tell you, you might have to do it several times, I have found I am rather good at resurrecting myself.  But that's ok, God's not finished with me yet.

Sometime in the shower or in the bed or as I'm doing my hair I pray something like this.

Lord, today I die to self and ask You to make me alive in You!
I put my mind and its fleshly thoughts to death- fill me with God thoughts
I put my eyes and what earthly things they would gaze upon to death - give me a Godly vision
I put my ears and the worldly advice and temptations of the devil they would hear to death- Allow me to hear what is only coming from You
I put to death my tongue and the ungodly words that may be uttered to death- May my speech be healing and loving and be quick to share Jesus instead of gossip, blessing instead of cursing
I put to death my hands and the grasp they might desire to place on temporal materials- May I grasp only for the prize of the high calling
I put to death my feet and the paths they may be quick to trod upon- Lead me in paths of righteousness.

It helps- trust me.  Even if you have to do it a 100 times a day.  The Holy Spirit will speak to you as you try to resurrect yourself- you will hear those warnings.  It helps to go step by step.

Do this my friend
When you die to self it is truly then that you can REST IN PEACE!

To God be the glory