I just had to tell 'ya.
I know it's just been a few days since posting my last blog, but I have to share with you something very special that's happened to me over the last two days. Last Wednesday night I gave my class the assignment to go out of their way to "serve" someone this week. I didn't care if it was a stranger, they just had to go out of their way this week to help someone. I even said to them, when it happens, you won't have to be looking for it. You'll just know it when you see it, it'll be so obvious to you. Plus...............................for several days I have been asking God to give me more ways to serve Him outside the walls of our church building. And He has answered!
Yesterday, when I returned home from doing my daily shopping, there was a message on my answering machine, from a girl I had not heard from in months or even years. I do remember when I last saw her was right before I filmed the video series in 2005. I had seen her in a shop she owns downtown and had mentioned the video series to her, which opened a door for her to tell me she suffered from depression. Anyway, by the sound of her voice on the telephone, I knew she was in despair and that I would need a lot of time to talk to her, so I wrapped up the chicken noodle soup (homemade) that I was making for us and Ruth (home sick with the flu) and called her back. When she answered I knew she needed to talk, but was very uncomfortable to talk at work. So, we tried to come up with a time that we could get together and decided on Thursday afternoon. When I told her I hated we had to wait so long, I heard a long pause on the other end and because I knew the call was urgent or she wouldn't have called me in the first place, I said I'll meet you at your house at 6:00 when you get off from work. And I did.
We talked for over two hours. She talked and I listened. I talked and she listened. She cried and I cried. I cried and she cried. We watched video #1. We prayed... and then I left. The snow had completely covered my car, but without a coat on, I scraped the windows and never felt cold, the least bit cold.
God is so wonderful!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! first of all because He showed up so quickly. I knew when the time was right and the right person for me to help came along, that it would be so obvious that I would fall on my knees in awe of Him for giving me this opportunity to be a part of His plan. He had made it so crystal clear, I felt the snow had to be a part of it as well. On the way to her house, I had praised him for being so powerful that he could make so many snowflakes, and none of them be alike. I was completely amazed at His beauty, His power and His plan.
Secondly, God introduced me to this lady over 20 years ago, through a situation that at this moment has nothing to do with how I know her now. God put me in her life over 20 years ago for such a time as this...and for however he chooses to use me in the future. He saw this day in His mind's eye (that's the only way I know to say that about Him, but I know it's so wrong, because He doesn't even have a mind's eye....I just think He has an all-seeing eye in both time and space) Somehow I think He sees twenty years ago at the same time as He sees today. Anyway, He saw this day in His mind's eye......... from creation. Doesn't that just blow your mind?????
He also gave me the affliction of depression to prepare me to help people with depression. As I have said so many times, your burden becomes your blessing. Whatever you have in your life right now that's afflicting you, first of all, thank God for it and ask Him to show you how to use it to glorify Him and help other people. I don't care what it is that burdens you, whether it be an alcoholic parent, a wayward child, sexual abuse, physical abuse, illness or whatever... I believe God has you exactly where you need to be in order to prepare you for a work you need to do. I believe you are exactly where God wants you to be, and that He put you there for some reason. For ten years I never saw beyond the depression, but now I understand that it took God ten years to prepare me for helping others who suffer from it now. Thank you God for believing I could make it through it!!!
Thirdly, I lived the verse yesterday that says in Matt. 26:41 "the Spirit is willing, but the flesh is weak." The real reason that I didn't want to see her last night was because American Idol was on and I didn't want to miss it. I love that show!!! I'm addicted to that show, and I just plain old didn't want to miss it. Isn't that awful??? And to beat it all, look at the name of the show...AMERICAN IDOL. How willing my spirit is to give an assignment to my class that takes them out of their comfort zone, but how weak my flesh is to want to stay home and watch TV when American Idol is on. I am so worldly and live so "fleshly." I love to indulge the flesh. I love massages. I love manicures. I love spas. I love pedicures. I love to eat. I love paychecks. I love anything that pampers and indulges me because I am soooooooooooooo worldly! I fear I have become my own American Idol and I am so sorry. I need only you, God, only you.
I awoke this morning when Phil went to work, fell back asleep, but woke up around 10:00. I laid there for over 2 hours trying to grasp the love and presence of God. I just didn't want to move because I could feel Him talking to me. I am so worldly and I am so selfish...but He has not given up on me. He has led me to someone who has reminded me of the place God put me in 20 years ago and has given me the opportunity to share with her where I am now. Not only am I ministering to her, she is ministering to me by reminding me that I never want to become so "arrived" that I forget from where I have come. I need to remember the pit. I need to remember the tears and what it feels like to be alone. I need to remember the struggle I had, trying to lift myself out. Oh, how I need to remember how much I need God and His deliverance.
Even though there is shame there is also praise!!! Why? Because I went!!! Rick Warren (Purpose Driven Life Author) says, to him, life is like two rails on a railroad, rather than hills and valleys. "No matter how bad things are in your life, there is always something good you can thank God for and no matter how good things are in your life, there is always something bad that needs to be worked on." Today, I feel ashamed in my flesh, but I feel renewed in my Spirit. And that is why I want to share this with you. I want you to praise God with me, for how He is working in your life. You may not even see Him right now or have a clue as to how He is using you in someone else's life. You may have no idea what His plan is for you or how you fit into it. But I can guarantee you, that you are a work in progress and you are a part of an Almighty plan that is so much bigger than you are, that you can't even imagine your being a part of it. There is a God who saw your birth, who saw where you are today, even from the beginning. He is using where you are right now, to prepare you for where you are going to be tomorrow, and He sees that already. He is preparing you to do what He has called you to do.
Whenever you're given the assignment to go out of your way to serve someone this week, don't worry about who, don't worry about where, don't worry about when. You'll only need eyes that see, hands that serve, a heart that loves, and ears that'll listen. It'll be so obvious you just can't miss it. Today just may be your day........... I just had to tell ya'.
Yesterday, when I returned home from doing my daily shopping, there was a message on my answering machine, from a girl I had not heard from in months or even years. I do remember when I last saw her was right before I filmed the video series in 2005. I had seen her in a shop she owns downtown and had mentioned the video series to her, which opened a door for her to tell me she suffered from depression. Anyway, by the sound of her voice on the telephone, I knew she was in despair and that I would need a lot of time to talk to her, so I wrapped up the chicken noodle soup (homemade) that I was making for us and Ruth (home sick with the flu) and called her back. When she answered I knew she needed to talk, but was very uncomfortable to talk at work. So, we tried to come up with a time that we could get together and decided on Thursday afternoon. When I told her I hated we had to wait so long, I heard a long pause on the other end and because I knew the call was urgent or she wouldn't have called me in the first place, I said I'll meet you at your house at 6:00 when you get off from work. And I did.
We talked for over two hours. She talked and I listened. I talked and she listened. She cried and I cried. I cried and she cried. We watched video #1. We prayed... and then I left. The snow had completely covered my car, but without a coat on, I scraped the windows and never felt cold, the least bit cold.
God is so wonderful!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! first of all because He showed up so quickly. I knew when the time was right and the right person for me to help came along, that it would be so obvious that I would fall on my knees in awe of Him for giving me this opportunity to be a part of His plan. He had made it so crystal clear, I felt the snow had to be a part of it as well. On the way to her house, I had praised him for being so powerful that he could make so many snowflakes, and none of them be alike. I was completely amazed at His beauty, His power and His plan.
Secondly, God introduced me to this lady over 20 years ago, through a situation that at this moment has nothing to do with how I know her now. God put me in her life over 20 years ago for such a time as this...and for however he chooses to use me in the future. He saw this day in His mind's eye (that's the only way I know to say that about Him, but I know it's so wrong, because He doesn't even have a mind's eye....I just think He has an all-seeing eye in both time and space) Somehow I think He sees twenty years ago at the same time as He sees today. Anyway, He saw this day in His mind's eye......... from creation. Doesn't that just blow your mind?????
He also gave me the affliction of depression to prepare me to help people with depression. As I have said so many times, your burden becomes your blessing. Whatever you have in your life right now that's afflicting you, first of all, thank God for it and ask Him to show you how to use it to glorify Him and help other people. I don't care what it is that burdens you, whether it be an alcoholic parent, a wayward child, sexual abuse, physical abuse, illness or whatever... I believe God has you exactly where you need to be in order to prepare you for a work you need to do. I believe you are exactly where God wants you to be, and that He put you there for some reason. For ten years I never saw beyond the depression, but now I understand that it took God ten years to prepare me for helping others who suffer from it now. Thank you God for believing I could make it through it!!!
Thirdly, I lived the verse yesterday that says in Matt. 26:41 "the Spirit is willing, but the flesh is weak." The real reason that I didn't want to see her last night was because American Idol was on and I didn't want to miss it. I love that show!!! I'm addicted to that show, and I just plain old didn't want to miss it. Isn't that awful??? And to beat it all, look at the name of the show...AMERICAN IDOL. How willing my spirit is to give an assignment to my class that takes them out of their comfort zone, but how weak my flesh is to want to stay home and watch TV when American Idol is on. I am so worldly and live so "fleshly." I love to indulge the flesh. I love massages. I love manicures. I love spas. I love pedicures. I love to eat. I love paychecks. I love anything that pampers and indulges me because I am soooooooooooooo worldly! I fear I have become my own American Idol and I am so sorry. I need only you, God, only you.
I awoke this morning when Phil went to work, fell back asleep, but woke up around 10:00. I laid there for over 2 hours trying to grasp the love and presence of God. I just didn't want to move because I could feel Him talking to me. I am so worldly and I am so selfish...but He has not given up on me. He has led me to someone who has reminded me of the place God put me in 20 years ago and has given me the opportunity to share with her where I am now. Not only am I ministering to her, she is ministering to me by reminding me that I never want to become so "arrived" that I forget from where I have come. I need to remember the pit. I need to remember the tears and what it feels like to be alone. I need to remember the struggle I had, trying to lift myself out. Oh, how I need to remember how much I need God and His deliverance.
Even though there is shame there is also praise!!! Why? Because I went!!! Rick Warren (Purpose Driven Life Author) says, to him, life is like two rails on a railroad, rather than hills and valleys. "No matter how bad things are in your life, there is always something good you can thank God for and no matter how good things are in your life, there is always something bad that needs to be worked on." Today, I feel ashamed in my flesh, but I feel renewed in my Spirit. And that is why I want to share this with you. I want you to praise God with me, for how He is working in your life. You may not even see Him right now or have a clue as to how He is using you in someone else's life. You may have no idea what His plan is for you or how you fit into it. But I can guarantee you, that you are a work in progress and you are a part of an Almighty plan that is so much bigger than you are, that you can't even imagine your being a part of it. There is a God who saw your birth, who saw where you are today, even from the beginning. He is using where you are right now, to prepare you for where you are going to be tomorrow, and He sees that already. He is preparing you to do what He has called you to do.
Whenever you're given the assignment to go out of your way to serve someone this week, don't worry about who, don't worry about where, don't worry about when. You'll only need eyes that see, hands that serve, a heart that loves, and ears that'll listen. It'll be so obvious you just can't miss it. Today just may be your day........... I just had to tell ya'.
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