Where Are The Miracles?

" So then, does he who provides you with the Spirit and works miracles among you, do it by the works of the Law, or by hearing with faith"? Galatians 3:5

I listened to testimonies yesterday from some who recently went to Haiti. One objective was universal- each one acknowledged they went there looking for some sort of "miracle", to see the hand of God at work. Although it was also acknowledged they knew they saw the hand of God working here at home, yet they were looking for maybe "bigger" miracles?
Recently I listened to a lecture on "Probability", where the Professor used a deck of cards to prove his point. Although he didn't deal out 10,000 hands in front of my eyes, it had been done previously to test the ideas of randomness. He showed how often, or the probability, of any one particular set of cards to be dealt more than once. Then he dealt out two sets of five cards each. The first set consisted of a ten of hearts, Jack of spades, Ace of hearts, two of diamonds, and a four of clubs. The second hand he dealt was a run of clubs from Ace to ten, which if you know anything about poker you know this to be a straight flush, and very valuable also very rare and something you might tell others about. Yet, would it surprise you if I told you the first hand dealt is equally as rare? The chances of that particular hand being dealt again is just as likely, or unlikely as that of the straight flush. Yet, you wouldn't be excited to receive those cards, even if you did receive them again. Even though the first set of cards are as rare as the second we have determined by the "rules of the game" they have no significant value.
I think the "miracles" of God are a lot like the rarity of the cards received in the game of poker and placed into our very hands, some to be traded in for something better, maybe something a little more significant, something seen less often or more rare. Possibly the greatness or the value of a miracle is determined by our own perception of "a miracle"?
What is a miracle? If we look around us at all creation and all the intricate details God put into His creation, I believe we would come to the realization that we are surrounded by the miracles of God. It is our own perception that somewhere along the journey we have determined these "miracles" to lack the significance we seek after. But, does that in itself make these things any less miraculous?
Have you ever seen a bumble bee? If you have, you have witnessed a miracle! It is a scientific fact that bumble bees shouldn't be able to fly! The weight and the circumference of this bee, according to aerodynamics should be an impossible feat- Yet, he flys'! That is a miracle!!!
When you are at the grocery store right behind the woman who is short a few dollars, that's a miracle! God has strategically placed you there to help! When you witness the woman who has locked her keys in her car and begins to walk home -you could be her miracle!
I don't want to sound as if going to a foreign country on a missions trip is unimportant, not at all, God has told us to go "to the ends of the earth". I would love to be able to go myself. My point is, we can see and witness the miracles of God even here everywhere we go, everyday of our lives. I believe His miracles surround us daily not only in His creation but also in opportunities we most times miss. Maybe we have become just too busy or maybe we have determined the value of what a miracle is based on our own terms. I really believe that if we were to ask God to help us see His awesomeness in our daily lives and to give us a deeper perception of His hand at work, we would then begin to see the value of "All ", of His miracles. We would then see how He wants to use us to be a part of someones miracle, we would also see when he is using others to be miracles in our own lives.
Whether the miracles in our lives are a set of random acts of kindness,or the phone call at just the right time, the check that came in the mail right when the bank account was looking red, or the total physical healing of yourself or a loved one, All are equally as rare and all are equally as miraculous, and all should be enough to tell others about.
Look around you and find your miracle today.......then go tell someone how God is working in your life right where you are.

Our Dependence on God

Today I was reading about the day of the Crucifixion and I thought about all that Christ endured for us upon that cross. Jesus throughout His time on earth was so dependent upon the Father. He was in constant communication with Him. Jesus had never been separated from His divine relationship with The Father. Then here on the cross when the sins of man were poured upon Him, He was apart from The Father! He was in such utter anguish He cried out, "My God, My God, Why have You Forsaken Me?" Matthew 27:46
Many have said he cried out due to the physical agony He must have been in, but I believe He cried out, out of spiritual anguish due to the separation from The Father. We don't know the length of time Jesus was physically tortured but it doesn't matter because The Word tells us, He was "beyond recognition". Throughout the entire time of this physical torture, He endured, never once crying out for them to stop or pleading for their mercy. The Father was with Him. The Father was with Him, helping Him to endure the unimaginable pain they were inflicting upon Him. Helping Him to remain focused on Him, His Father. Yet, in that very moment when Jesus was separate from God, that is when he cried out! The separation was more than he could bare, "Jesus then uttered another loud cry, then took His last breathe." Luke 15:37
This really has me thinking about my own dependence upon My Father and the closeness of my walk with him. In those times when I seek out every avenue of solution about a situation or trial in my life, of my own creation, instead of depending on Him, how anguished is my heart?
How long do I keep myself separated from Him before my spirit cries out for Him? Why do I always return to that place where for whatever reason, I think I have a better solution than He does. He knows me better than I do, He knows all my tomorrows and every single detail there is to know about me.
This reflection has left me with a desire for a deeper dependency on Him in everyday life, that I will develop a more constant connection with Him as I walk through my days.

Lord, help me to see that You and only You are the creator of my life, and You and only You have the divine direction I need. Help me to seek after You in every situation no matter how big or how small, knowing You will never leave me nor forsake me. Thank You Lord for Your Perfect love. in Jesus Name.

Filled to Overflowing

This past week-end I attended the "She Speaks" conference put on by Proverbs 31 Ministries, in North Carolina, and was reminded of how intimately Our Father knows and cares for us. Just the fact of how He orchestrated my daughter Daveda and I going to the same conference without either being aware of the others intentions still blows my mind, yet God wasn't done amazing me with His intimant details.
This was a three day event which began for me on Friday morning bright and early, by 8am I was savoring the last bites of my complimentary, cooked to order, breakfast and off to registration, where I was greeted with so many smiles it made me dizzy!
Not knowing what to expect, I headed to the opening session, "Up Close and Personal", and did they ever peg that title for this week-end. This was just the beginning of God speaking into my heart about just how close and personal He truely is. With Daveda and I signed on for a diverse package of classes of which none coincided, I had hoped and prayed to find someone out of all these women I could buddy up with for a least some of the time, and He was so faithful to hear my heart and sent me a precious new friend from Kansas. We hit it off right from the start and found ourselves to have so many parallels in our lives, this could have only been the work of my Abba, Daddy God. Daveda, also found a friend who oddly enough shares similarities with both of us who is so incredibly sweet and real I couldn't get enough of her. Her sense of humor left my stomach muscles sore!
Which once again only my Heavenly Father knew I went there needing!
The entire group of women who are part of the Proverbs 31 Ministries are the most loving, transparent and sincere women I have ever met and their love for every lady there was contagious. I was so moved by the way these ladies would be traveling through the halls of this hotel and would look into your face and realize that hadn't yet spoken with you and would stop and greet you with" Oh, I haven't talked to you yet, whats your story, and what is God doing in your life? And they didn't say it in passing as if they really didn't expect a reply, they waited for it and they looked you directly in the face with anticipation for your response, and would sit down right there on the floor if need be just to talk with you, just as I can picture Jesus doing!
Within the confines of this hotel the Proverbs 31 Ministries team had set up a prayer room where the name of every lady attending lay upon a table along side the promises of God and His Attibutes, along with a member of their team there at all times praying for the ladies at the conference as well as with any lady who needed someone to come along side her to pray and believe. I was so blessed to pray with and to be prayed for by Melissa, who's heart for God is worn on her sleeve for all to see. We too were found to have similar passions for ministry and found our hearts beating together for leading young girls to a pure lifestyle in such an impure culture. The presence of God was so thick in this room I physically felt hit by "It" the second I entered the room and was so over taken that I lost all resolve like I have never experienced before.
Every session fed me with something new, and God spoke so much to my heart that yesterday in my quiet time with Him I found myself sobbing because I am so full and I don't know what to do with it all, yet I am longing for even more, even as I write this I weep because He has filled me and His desire is to keep me on overload. Not because He wants to overwhelm me with stress, but He wants me full, so full that there is more than enough to give away, yet stay so full that I can hear Him when He whispers in my ear. So full to love someone who is having a bad day and maybe not behaving loveably, so full that I have patience with the child who is having a hard time accepting "no" for an answer. So full that I take the time to call someone who is struggling in their marriage, So full that I can sing while I pick up the mess someone else left behind. So full that I just want more, So full that I want the needle on my spiritual tank to not sway off that "F" even by a fraction.
God also has shown me, one doesn't neccessarily have to attend an entire week-end conference to receive this fullness. All it takes is encouragement from another, to see and hear the heart of God through another human being. Ladies, that is what we are here for, to be the heart beat of God on earth. The Proverbs 31 ladies showed me this, this week-end and it is now my heart to share His love with you.
I will be praying and asking what and where the Lord would lead and have me do with all He has shown me and spoke into my heart through this conference. Would you join me in that prayer, that He would give and I would hear clearly His direction. Allowing Him to open the pathway and do the work and to help me set me aside for His glory.
I am so incredibly greatful for the heart and ministry of all the Proverb 31 ladies and every lady I had the pleasure of talking to or praying with this week-end. It was truely a week-end I will never forget! And if you are one of those sweet precious souls I met this past week-end, thank you for sharing your story with me and your willingness to just be real, you don't know how much you were an answer to my prayers.
Stay close to Him, in His word and in His presence to keep your spiritual tank on "F", the price of filling this tank has already been paid, all you need to do is ask for more!

Chicago Pics ! & Kammy !

Missed Blessing

The other day I was driving down a road that I frequently travel on and happened to notice this little house for sale. This place has caught my attention many times over the past several months, when people I know were in the market for a new home I would mention it to them. This time when I past this little place it just struck me odd that it was still for sale, and as I past the thought came to me, "there is someones missed blessing". Even later in the day the thought of that little house came to me, and the thought about the "missed blessing".
How many times do we miss out on a blessing from the Lord due to the lack of our connection to Him? If we aren't communicating with Him, how will we hear His voice, how will we know His direction? Just like this little house, I just can't help but think that this house is the perfect house with the perfect circumstances for someone out there who is looking for a house, but because they are not seeking Him for direction, their blessing just sits there.
In Gods word it says, " Ask, and it will be given to you; seek and you will find, knock and it will be opened to you." Matthew 7:7

To Be Blessed

Seems like it's been so long since I updated this blog, probably because it has been.
Just haven't had much time for the computer at all lately. Other than researching next years curriculum and doing a less than best effort at keeping up on e-mail.
But this is not a bad thing.
As I have been preparing for not only my speaking at the Ladies Breakfast but also preparing for the two Bible studies to begin this week, I have been spending so much more time in the Word, and in prayer, and reading articles and books on the issues we will be discussing throughout the next several weeks.
God speaks through so many things, but nothing more so than His word and in prayer. It really does help you to see all else through His eyes. Everything becomes more intimate, more personal. When we search the Word out for ourselves, that is when the rest becomes our own, thats when we can claim personal victory for ourselves and not through someone else's revelation. Thats when we can see ourselves for who we really are, and not what the world says we are. When we spend more time seeking Him out through His word and through our conversations with Him, that is when we can see ourselves as a child of the One and Only Living God.

Spend some extra time with Him this week, everything else will wait, and nothing else is more important!

Haven't been on here in awhile, but I am currently in Rockford, Illinois, okay to be specific I quess it's not "Rockford", as my daughter so lovingly just pointed out to me, we are in "Poplar Grove", Illinois! Which is closest to Rockford, which is Northeast of Chicago by about an hour or so. No big trips to the big city though, much too cold yet for me to take on such an adventure. The cold and I just don't get along that well. But, we are having a great time just just spending time with family.

I was reading today in the book of James, when I came to 4:6, it was speaking of "grace". This word seems to have crossed my path quite a bit lately, maybe thats why it caught my attention. When I think about the word "grace", and ponder on the given Biblical meaning of the word which is:

Gods unmerited undeserved favor;

Gods ability in us and for us what we are incapable of doing for ourselves.

Although we speak of His grace and hear it spoken of often, are we really grasping and living in it's true meaning?

Maybe it's forgiveness, or acceptance. In our own power maybe we can't forgive the person who hurt us, or we just can't see how we can accept the choices someone close to us is making in their lives, but if we are realistic and look back where we once were, we will see, that we were not deserving to receive Gods forgiveness and grace. Our Father looks beyond the actions and only looks at who He created us to be.

In Titus3:3-7 For we also once were foolish ourselves, disobedient, deceived, enslaved to various lusts and pleasures spending our life in malice and envy, hateful, hating one another. But when the kindness of God our Savior and His love for mankind appeared. He saved us, not on the basis of deeds which we have done in righteousness but according to His mercy, by the washing of regeneration and renewing by the Holy Spirit. Whom He poured out upon us richly through Jesus Christ our Savior, so that being justified by His grace we would be made heirs according to the hope of eternal life.

According to this word, we can "do" nothing to insure grace given to us. If we were required to deserve it, I'm afraid not one of us would receive grace. I quess the thing I'm most curious about is not the "why" of Gods grace but more the "why" of us being so reluctant to give it ourselves. We receive it from the Lord just because of His love for us, yet we tend to make those in and around our own lives "earn" it, they somehow must be deserving. As this scripture says, we too once walked in the lustfulness of sin, and when the grace of God was offered we willingly accepted.

My prayer today is that the Lord would show us in our hearts how to give the same grace He so willigly has given us, to others, not because they deserve it, but just because to do so will bring joy to our Fathers heart, which should be the desire of our heart.

Partakers of Christ

For the past couple months many of us have been hearing all the controversy about Oprah Winfey's worldwide classroom, and her radio program, as well as controversy over many Pastor's or preachers with television ministries, and their speaking out in what they believe to be the truth on the meaning of "eternal life". I've watched a few of the Youtube video's and have read several articles taken from various news columns written by far left, far right and all over in the middle, journalists, I've heard many describe it all as "scary" and/or "unbelievable". I must admit, when I think about what we may face in ten years down the road my heart could begin to beat just a bit faster out of a moment of fear. Then........His words come back to me......
Psalm 27:1 The Lord is my light and my salvation; Whom shall I fear?"

Hebrews 3: 14
For we have become partakers of Christ if we hold the beginning of our confidence steadfast to the end.

The Lord tells us to heed His words, and not to walk carelessly or lay out our own paths for our lives. We don't know what will happen in the days to come.
Our only hope is Him! To have a close walk with Him, hold firmly onto His hand, listen closely to His words.
We can spend endless hours watching and listening to all of the "garbage" out there, and what we hear shouldn't surprise us. So much of what is happening has been foretold to us in His word.
Now is the time we must draw near to Him, know the truth for ourselves through His word, embrace our relationship with Him and His promises.
Read further 2 Timothy 3.

Jesus and only Jesus is our truth and our hope, our answer to any and everything to come today and for all our tomorrows.

May the Love of Jesus bring peace to your heart.

APRIL FOOLS DAY!!!!!!!

Libby got me! Lil snot' put a rubber band around the sprayer at the kitchen sink, and got me good, I soaked myself!

BUT, I had revenge!!!!!!! I greased the toilet seat with vaseline !!!!!!!!!!! tee hee hee !!!

ITS POTTY TIME !!!!!!!!

Thats right, it's potty time! Amazingly, Kammy took all the work out of it for all of us.

Last week-end she was staying with us and she just decided it was time. She came to me with a very serious look on her face, tugged at my sleeve, and then said as plain as could be, "I haf to go potty". She told us she had to go potty every time for the rest of the day! Later I called her Mommy to tell her she'd better pick up a potty chair on her way home. Of course she didn't believe me at first. Here little 22 month old Kammy comes to my house and literally 6 hours later she's potty trained! She has been going in her "big girl potty" ever since last Friday!

The one thing I have learned from being a parent and a grandparent is what a blessing it is to truely realize what is important at this time and what isn't. Taking the time to sit down and play a game is much more important than folding laundry, staying up late to just talk to your teenager sometimes is more important than getting eight hours sleep. Remembering what is was like to be their age, and the things that are important in their world need to be real in our world too, and spending the time letting them know that, know matter what that may entail, is much more important than spending time on our computers or even making sure the house is clean.

Know matter who or what may ever walk into their lives as they grow, we are and always will be the ones who hold the greatest influence on our children and our childrens children. We ought to take that very seriously. If our children have witnessed us on our knees in conversation with our Lord, if our children have witnessed us reading and studying our Bibles, if our children have witnessed us being light and truth in a dark world, they too will seek those things.

Just like Kammy did going on the" big girl potty". I look forward to the day when she looks up with her beautiful brown eyes, and says' "I want Jesus".