Prayers for Liz

Good evening everyone. I ask all of you for a favor. My friend Dodi made me aware of a sister in need. I would like you to pray for Liz, who is undergoing tests for Cancer. My prayer is this:

Lord in heaven, walk with Liz through this difficult time, lightening her burden and giving her comfort. Let her know we are praying for her and that she is not alone in her time of need.

Please post your prayers for her as comments to this post so she can see the support God has given her.

Butterflies

I love butterflies. Not only are they moving works of God’s art, they represent cycles in life that even we as humans must follow. Originally, I was going to start with an apology for taking so long to resume my posts, but then I was reminded of Ecclesiastes 3:1, “To everything there is a season, and a time for every purpose under the heaven…” NKJV.

For those who may not be aware, butterflies start out as caterpillars; they eat as much as they can so that they have enough energy stored to hide out in cocoons for a while before re-emerging in the world as butterflies, in all their colorful glory!

We might go through these stages many times in our lives. Often too, it is easier to see when we look back, rather than when we are in the moment. Since my last post, I realized that I’m undergoing the very same things that a butterfly does. I will venture that many of you out there are in similar various stages right now.

As I sat feeling sorry for myself one day - that this was not the life I “wished for” and I haven’t found a church where I fit in yet, and yadda-yadda it struck me – I was blessed and overwhelmed in 2008 to find a church so full of life and love, for a purpose. I was able to fill myself up to sustain me for a long road ahead, and a long road it has been. BUT, with me every step of my journey was my Lord, who never let me down and always gave more that what I felt I deserved.

I am now surrounded by family and friends, I can pay my bills, my child is happy and healthy and God allows me to wake every morning, healthy and able to move in ways that some do not have the ability to.

So I decided that feeling sorry for myself got me no where, and it speaks against the life God wants and plans for us. So I’ve spent enough time in my cocoon. My wings are still wet, but I am emerging as that butterfly God intended me to be. I will wear my colors proudly and remember that it took that long, rough and painful road to get these beautiful wings!

I pray you reach out to your sisters and remind them that whatever trials they face, they are only temporary and in the end, with the strength of the Lord, they will emerge as that glorious butterfly. Be it thanks to our earthly sisters, family and friends, or our Heavenly Father, we must always remember we are never alone.

Books to Grow By

In recent years, I have come to believe even more strongly that we have the power to either linger in our present state of knowledge and grow no further, or we can choose to educate ourselves to grow beyond even our greatest dreams. For me books provide powerful material for growth once you can sort through which ones are worthwhile/right for you. Combine that with great conversation via a girlfriend or support group and you get all kinds of perspectives flowing that help you discern your personal beliefs and who you really are inside. There are three books I'm putting out for consideration today that I think are fabulous for growth. And when I talk growth I'm not talking about something you skim through and hope for a miracle wonder cream in a book. I'm talking digging in yourself, being honest and getting at the sometimes ugly truth.

The first two books are for all women who want to explore who they are and grow from it, regardless of if you are married or single:

Captivating: Unveiling the Mystery of a Woman's Soul, by John And Staci Eldredge
Wow...I love this book and urge you to get the study guide that goes with it. The thing to remember with this book is that regardless of whether or not you agree with how the authors might phrase certain things, you ask yourself, "how does that concept apply in me." Admittedly, they do use some flowery language that the non-girly-girls in our circles may not relate to but concentrate on the concepts and you'll get some insights into why we women think the way we do and that some of our sometimes seemingly neurotic tendencies are not so strange after all...great to do in a group of girlfriends! Amazon has a Kindle version of this as well for you techies :-)

Having a Mary Spirit: Allowing God to Change Us From the Inside Out, by Joanna Weaver
This book really has you evaluate yourself on a deep level and if you are being honest with yourself, may not be the book you want to start with if you have a hard time with self-examination...do it with some girlfriends you really trust and discuss to get some interactive feedback. Amazon even has a Kindle version of this too!

The last book is specific to Divorce and it is Growing Through Divorce (with working guide), by Jim Smoke. Some sections are a hard read if your situation is still brand new but I urge you to get through it with an open mind. There is lots of good information and warnings for us new single parents so my advice on this one is purposely go through it slowly. Concentrate only on a section at a time and really work through it or it is easy to feel overwhelmed. Use it to figure out what kind of divorce' you want to be and if you have children, what do you want them to learn so that they have a positive (not the same as sheltered) understanding of the realities of divorce.

So I pray that you consider some of my favorite books and try them if you haven't already...if you already have read some of these (or once you do), I would love to see some conversation about them!

Connection Problems

Greetings all,

I am in the process of relocating to a new city, so please don't give up on this blog. I hope to have more regular postings by May 2009...but check back before then in case I'm able to snag an Internet connection!

Have a Blessed Life!

In the Beginning

In the Bible, the Book of Genesis talks about how, in the beginning, God created the world out of nothingness. So even before us, God was here. In fact, He is still here with us, making promises to never leave us, and to even make us new creations if we only ask Him to. I will provide more specifcs on that in posts to come...

This is a new year - a new beginning. I pray that for those of you inclined to do so, you ask Jesus into your heart to heal your hurt - to make you new. He will not force His way in and He will not make decisions for you, but He has the ultimate "open door policy" if you only have the courage to walk in.

I am not attempting to persuade anyone toward a particular denomination, though I openly proclaim that I am a born-again non-denominational Christian. I was not always of the Protestant faith; in fact, I grew up Catholic.

So if you have questions about Christ that your friends or the Internet cannot answer, I hope you seek counsel from your local churches, pastors,etc. You may not join the first church you walk into - you may not even agree with the first pastor you speak with - but the point is that you start a new path - a new beginning - and you start your journey to get to know Christ and what He can do in your life.

What Christ intends to do for me might be different than what He intends for you, so your first challenge for the new year will be to ask Him, "Lord, what do you have in store for me?"

Your second challenge will be waiting patiently, quietly, while you listen and look for His answer.