GOD things...

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about 6 years ago, we had one of those times where the car broke down, the washer gave out, microwave gave out, taxes due, etc etc etc of course as usual I was trying to figure things out by myself and forgot to pray FIRST. I stewed for about 3 days and then decided to pray about it.My brother came to my door and told me that he was working in the garage and a man stopped and asked if he knew me and gave him an envelope and asked him to give it to me, he asked his name and he just said that I would know who he was and what it was. Rod didn't know him and I don't recognize the description, or the car. There was cash in the envelope and it was exactly enough to cover what was needed. That is a GOD thing!

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at work the other day, I waited on a lady who was visiting the area from out west.  since I am traveling out west to work at a ranch this summer I asked her where she is from and what she does.   She operates a ranch that focuses on children's riding and therapy which is part of my dream for my future and lives only a few hundred miles from the place I will be driving to this summer.   She all but INSISTED that I make arrangements on my drive out to stay at her ranch and check out her operation. That is a GOD thing

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SOMETIMES TO MEET A NEED,


SOMETIMES TO JUST SHOW HIS DELIGHT IN THE DELIGHT OF OUR HEARTS.  GOD


MAKES HIMSELF KNOWN!

A couple of shared GOD things are around times of the transition of life to eternal life...

I heard a minister say it that way once and it has always stuck with me.

Dying is only what our earthly bodies do and in reality the free our spirits of a great weight and bondage for the eternity that we were created for! 

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Here's my most recent God moment...Monday was my friend's dad's funeral. It poured down rain when we went into the funeral service and throughout much of the service. When we left for the cemetery it was almost getting bright outside. We had the service at the cemetery then everyone got in their cars. As all of the car doors were shutting the pouring rain returned and continued through the dinner following the burial and a good part of the afternoon. I told Marion God was watching over Harold that afternoon and let us have his cemetery service in the dry weather.

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I (Darcy) only have one thing to share. I have just begun to help out in the community by being pastor - at - large, if an "unchurched" family would like a pastor to officiate at a funeral.  I got a call the other night.  In speaking with the daughter who had much on her mind, I asked her if she had anything especially from her dad a poem or a scripture to share.  She told me of his troubled life and he beautiful artwork but just kinda told me that whatever I say would be OK with her.  I closed our conversation by asking if I could pray with her (a kinda tough thing over the phone when you hadn't met the person).  As I prayed  for her comfort, I also asked God to make us ready and to bring to mind how we can best honor her dad.  We hung up after the prayer.  Less than two minutes later she called back.  "I have my dad's Bible and it has the footprints poem in it".  I asked her to bring in and praised God!  I love looking at others peoples Bibles, often they contain things that were important to the person.

When I arrived at the funeral home and the daughter gave me the Bible. I was blown AWAY!  Here are some pictures of this precious book.

His beautiful artwork in colored pencil was on EVERY PAGE.  With precision entire passages underline with a line so straight it looked like it had been done at the printers.  Numerous clippings, numerous notes, favorite verses were handwritten and illustrated.  I threw away all the preparation I had done and frankly this lovely man preached his own funeral.  I am still shaking from the experience.  A definite answer to prayer and a definite GOD thing....

but better than evidence that is left

read on for one last GOD thing that is GOD's GLORY FULLY REVEALED




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I will never forget how God held us the day my Mom passed away.  She was so sick, and had such pain.  We had been trying to soothe her for days, with no success. It has been the hardest thing that I have ever had to go thru, because she would beg us to help her and there was nothing that we could do except pray and be there. She had been in and out of herself for three days and didn't really seem to even know who I was anymore but in her last probably 3 minutes she looked at me, thanked me, told me she loved me and was totally herself and her normal voice, then looked up at the corner of the ceiling and smiled, just radiant, and said "Thank you so much for coming to get me..I knew you would come for me" and was gone still smiling. I will never forget it, I know that God gave me that memory to help me be able to get through it.

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So let me just give you the one verse today that I want to share and then we can pray.

Ask and it will be given to you;
 seek and you will find;
knock and the door will be opened to you.
For everyone who asks receives;
 the one who seeks finds;
and to the one who knocks, the door will be opened.
Matthew 7: 7-8 NIV

Lord I thank you for the open eyes who have reported seeing Your Glorious hand at work in their lives.  We often pray, not out of really wanting what you want, and then are disappointed when our selfish requests have a different answer.

Lord today we are praying for ourselves and for _____________.  That we have the courage to ask to see YOU at work, that we would have the eyes to see what YOU desire us to find and that we would have the strength to knock and pass through the doors you have for us to enter.

All deepening our love and commitment to You

on this HIKE o Life!

Lord I pray a special blessing on all those who shared some very personal things - thank you for their courage to step out and share and show them even more this day.....AMEN

As simple as ice cream

Beloved, if God so loved us, we also ought to love one another.

1 John 4:11


Yesterday we talked about STANDING IN THE GAP for someone and I am sure that many of you know that I am going suggest to you that God wants you to take some action! 

I am also very sure that many of you DO NOT LIKE THIS IDEA!

We all have visions of folks knocking on the door waving a Bible and warning about hell!

I DO NOT SUGGEST THAT YOU DO THIS!

However, today I just want to share one of my GOD STORIES that is now over 20 years old that might illustrate how very simple it is to STAND IN THE GAP and share GOD'S LOVE!

And I am going to confess right off the bat, that I was not smart enough to realize what was happening until after it was over!  But this woman and her responses stay burned in my brain, long after this dear lady's life on earth is now over.

I was a food service direction in a large and luxurious nursing home.  This facility had many wealthy residents, but little emphasis on faith.  Folks there seemed to struggle more than usual with losing their independence and facing illnesses and the end of life.

Folks also complained a lot about the food in this place.

Especially Miss Klinkowsky.

She had never married, was in her 90's and had a private room.

 NOTHING EVER PLEASED HER.

She seemed to enjoy telling me how a "waitress looked at her funny" or her vegetables were too soft, or too firm.  Well, you get the picture.  I did what I could with these complaints, but I really didn't know what I could do.

This facility also had many special events and the main reception area was not too far from Ms. K's room.  So in an effort to appease her, I often on my way to check set ups, would stop and see her and take her favorite, a bowl of vanilla ice cream.

My agenda was two-fold.  As a dietitian, I wanted to boost her calcium and caloric intake for this very petite picky eater, and as a food service director I just hoped to hear a few less complaints.

Most institutions keep a nourishment cooler/freezer on the nursing floor and we did, but they contained those Styrofoam cups with the paper tabs and you might guess - one of these DID NOT fit Ms K's idea of ice cream.

OH NO - she wanted hand dipped!

 (Hey who can blame her!)

So as I would confer with the dietary staff that all was set up correctly for the conference room. I would often in my business attire - don a hairnet and get the big tub of vanilla ice cream out to scoop up a little bit of ice cream to take up on my run!

My visits at first were stiff, but as Ms. K got used to my stopping she knew that as the dietary staff passed her room, I would follow in a couple hours to bring her ice cream.

At times I would send other staff, and then if I came by later she would give me a hard time, because I hadn't come myself.

One week, I was at my wits end with her complaints and I almost didn't stop to take her that bowl of hand - dipped ice cream.

But as I tried to do other paperwork in my office, I couldn't get her out of my mind (I consider that kind of feeling now, to be the urging of the Holy Spirit), so off I went in my good suit and heels to dip up a dish and take one for myself as well to share with her.

Despite her complaints that week she was very glad to see me and even told me to call her by her first name that night! 

I also asked her if she would mind if I joined her as I was having a tough day.

As we shared our ice cream together, she simply asked,

WHY?

WHY DO YOU DO THIS FOR ME?

WHY ARE YOU SO NICE?

WHEN I AM SO MEAN.....

Again, I am so thankful that GOD gave me the words.....

I was quiet for a minute

and then I simply said,

I can only be this nice because of

the love of JESUS

and because I feel His LOVE

He LOVES YOU TOO YOU KNOW...

that's all I said......

She began to cry.

Then I told her,

I pray for you every day, you know.

(now let me also confess, I was not always praying for her soul, but for her to be nicer to my staff and to stop complaining so much)

She simply thanked me and changed the subject.

Because of the rigidity of our facility - I never felt like I could offer to pray or spontaneously share my faith, I wish I could tell you that I know she came to salvation before she died, but I won't know until I see glory myself.

But perhaps I did enough.  I actually don't feel guilty for not offering to pray with her.  I have peace about her.  


This lonely lady needed to know she was loved.

Not by me,

BUT BY JESUS

For you see, after that night any time I took her ice cream, she just smiled and thanked me and half winked at me.  It was like our little secret, and she was saying I KNOW WHY!

She still complained - sometimes, but not nearly as much.  AND if others complained she often took them to task.

So while I didn't feel led to share my faith in words,

I shared it in deeds

deeds like hand dipped vanilla ice cream.

And just a reminder to all of us about all the people in our lives

WHEN SOMEONE SEEMS THE LEAST LOVABLE -

THEY NEED LOVE THE MOST....


That's the point of our Lenten Challenge - that folks who could use GOD's LOVE would receive it.

Don't need fireworks, don't need big words,  it really could be as simple as a dish of vanilla ice cream!


Lord we thank you for the simple deeds that can be an expression of your heart of love.  LET YOUR LOVE MOTIVATE US as we continue to pray for ____________.  Give us right hearts about our prayers and motivate us to LOVE - for when we were still sinners YOU showed YOUR LOVE FOR US....

Thank you for YOUR PERFECT TIMING, THE URGINGS that call us that are YOUR HOLY SPIRIT AT WORK and THANK YOU FOR LOVE expressed in simple ways, like a bowl of hand dipped vanilla ice cream.  AMEN!

God Stories, mine, yours and the world's!

A funny thing happened to me this week.

I kept making plans.

But God kept breaking in and taking me to places I didn't even know I was supposed to be until that moment!

As you read about my rambling life I am leading right now,  I want to ask you,

 Are you open to let God change your plans as you go along? 

Are you trying to be open to see what He is doing?

We all can be so quick to ask God where He is when we think we need him.

Sometimes we are just like the masses on Palm Sunday wanting a hero to come and rescue them from the short term trials of our lives. Overthrow the government, relieve our suffering NOW, and when those things don't happen we get angry with the superhero instant solution God, because He could do those things - but He doesn't.

But what we don't realize is God is caring about our long term understanding or what this world is, what sin and selfishness is, and what He is preparing us for: 

LOVE UNLEASHED ETERNALLY

PAIN ENDED

TEARS ELIMINATED

SORROW OVERCOME

JOY UPON JOY

Many of you know of my sister's journey for the last two years with a rare cancer called leimyosarcoma.  (Next time she updates her blog - I will link it here as well.)  She is marching so far successfully through her second round of chemo in the last twelve months and has also had 3 surgeries since that day in February 2009 when her doctor first discovered that first tumor during a routine exam. 

I only mention Marcia, Matt, Clay and Jordan today, after a friend said to me he was amazed at their peace and steadiness on this roller coaster ride they are on.  PRAISE THE LORD! Yep!

As we have prayed and prayed for God to have HIS WAY and even as we keep asking God our heart's desire on this - "TAKE THIS CANCER AWAY - PLEASE LORD - NOW LORD" .

The cancer has not yet gone all away, BUT GOD KEEPS SHOWING UP!  FAITH KEEPS GETTING STRONGER, PEOPLE KEEP REVEALING THEIR LOVE and we keep having SMALL VICTORIES and BIG LOVE all revealed in incredible ways.

I have made the comment many times regarding this situation, that I keep on praying for miracles, and while the big one (total elimination of all tumors and evidences of cancers) has not yet happened, we keep praying for it - and in the meantime - we have seen a million other miracles happen. 

GOD IS IN THIS JOURNEY and for that WE ARE MADE TO LOVE HIM, BETTER UNDERSTAND HIM and appreciate HIS presence on each day!  (P.S. - Sis has scans and meeting with doc's again in the next 10 days so we too covet your prayers on this!)



I went to the library this week and as I scanned the shelf for some books, this just seemed to say "PICK ME"!  It is the book God Stories by Jennifer Skiff.  This book is a collection of testimonies from people all around the world, telling of their encounters with God in their lives.  Some of these stories are posted on her web site which can be reached at
http://www.godstories.com/news.htm

This is an amazing book and helps us understand - that God is there with us - are we willing to SEE?


So my stories - I could go tell you about 20 from this week - but will limit it to one!  Wednesday after work, I had planned to go to Ashland to watch a dear friend play in a basketball all-star game.  I also was aware of someone in the community who was having a second surgery in a week and was filled with a compassion for this family.  As the weather forecast was dicey that morning I just prayed, "God help me to be wise about my day, put me in your hands and led me." 

Well you might say "all hail broke loose" right when I had wanted to leave for the basketball game and the line of storms and two tornado sightings were in my traveling path.  I took that as a NO to plan A.  Then I got a text from another friend who also had a increased concern for the family with the second surgery.  She was unexpectedly getting off work early and wondered if I wanted to head up to see the family in still waiting to hear news from the surgery?  The weather that direction by now was clear and sunny.  So, we traveled north.  At first we couldn't find the family, but as we were leaving the waiting area to plan our next move, they were coming out of the ICU unit having just seen their family member after surgery!  The nurses had kicked them out for an hour at shift change, and at just the right time (thanks GOD) we stumbled into the picture to bring respite from a long day!

After our hour in the hospital cafeteria, we were told you must go in and say hi.  We certainly didn't expect this, but obediently went in.  Our friend was clear and so glad to see us, as we offering a prayer of praise for God bringing them through this storm - I can honestly say it was the sweetest five minutes I have enjoyed for a long time! 

THANK YOU LORD FOR CHANGING MY PLANS!

Just want close with this scripture on your Lenten JOURNEY - it is from Jeremiah 29:  11-13


For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, says the LORD, thoughts of peace and not of evil, to give you a future and a hope.  Then you will call upon Me and go and pray to Me, and I will listen to you. And you will seek Me and find Me, when you search for Me with all your heart


WHEN YOU WILL SEEK

YOU WILL FIND

AND DID YOU NOTICE YOUR HEART IS INVOLVED!


A prayer -


LORD, we confess all to often we question you with the WHYs of life, but we don't invite You into the what is right now!  WE WANT OUR SOLUTIONS - help us just seek and find YOUR PRESENSE.  WE PRAY for our own awareness, for those we know in the storms of NOW to see the rainbow's of YOUR work of KINGDOM AND ETERNITY.  We pray for that family, who is still dealing with hospitals, for all those walking through cancer and espiecally for those YOU are CALLING us to pray for.  HELP __________ to see YOUR loving hand in their life right now as we continue to pray for ___________ to be open you YOUR LOVE THIS DAY.  IN JESUS' MIGHTY NAME AMEN!


I would be eager to hear your GOD STORIES - and FYI - I don't regulary get to see the person I was praying for - but was THRILLED TO SEE THEM - and sense God's work in them since I began to earnestly pray!  YAY!