Dreams...Do they Mean Anything?

The other night I had an interesting dream. I was in this church, it had a long middle aisle with pews on both sides and every seat was full. I was sitting toward the back on the left hand side. I looked across the aisle on the other side about three rows up and there was this very pretty black lady with long hair sitting there. I didn't know who she was, but I had some sort of connection to her. It was as if I knew of her, but didn't personally know her.

Then the preacher pointed at her and told her to get up and leave. I was thinking how weird! He then said to the congregation, "I asked her to leave, because she is not a part of the family of God. " About thirty minutes later or so, she came back and had cut her hair off and came and sat down right next to me. I was thinking to myself in the dream...."Lord, what does this mean?" Then I heard the Lord say, "the cutting of her hair represents that she is cut off from my people."

The service was over after a little while, we all get in our cars and leave and the next thing I know I am in her house, she is sitting on her couch to the left of me, I am standing there like I am in the spirit just to observe. The Lord speaks to me and says, "She will not submit to me, she pretends to be a christian but she isn't."

Then there was a third part of the dream I can't remember. I got up thinking, what does this mean and who is this lady? I kept feeling impressed that I needed to write down the three parts of the dream, but I didn't and I can't remember the last part. I was wondering who this lady is or if she was symbolic of a place or if the dream even meant anything.

I was sharing with the two boys who live with us and with my husband. I explained the dream to them, when one of the boys said his ex girlfriend whom he hasn't talked to in a year called him that very night. He said she used to be in drugs with him and she was telling him she had gotten saved and baptized, he said he felt as if she was lying to him. He said he didn't believe it. He said maybe the dream was about her. He said things like this have always happened in his life, it's like either people from his past or things have come up and when he listens to them he has fallen back into sin. Hmmmm interesting thought!?

I have had different dreams about the Lord or of Him speaking to me before but they were clearly something I understood. So what do you think? Do dreams mean anything or does our mind just make up things when we are sleeping? I have been praying and asking God if it was from Him to reveal to me who the woman is in the dream. Sometimes places or things like the hurricane are referred to as a woman, so I wasn't sure if that were the case in the dream or not. I am just speculating now, I will wait on the Lord on this one. Maybe I will dream the dream again.

Fatal Distractions!

I recently started a new bible study called "Fatal Distractions." I found this comment interesting....A particular sin never comes alone. It brings its relatives, and settles down. If you let it stay, it invites its cousins and in-laws, along with their friends as well.

Isn't that the Truth!!!

It's Always Been this Way!

Personally, I don’t think it has always been this way. I remember growing up and knowing all my neighbors, we looked out for each other. We would sit on each other’s porch and build tents in the front yard and we would sleep under the stars. We used to walk around at night even into the early morning hours. We didn’t lock our doors, we sometimes slept with the front door open and the screen door fastened, but not anymore. Now the people you think you know may not be all they appear to me. It's sad.

Take tonight for instance. Have you ever been out and seen someone in their car throwing newspapers or maybe at the local convienence store filling up the newspaper machines. Or maybe the Newspaper guy comes to your door to collect the money for your subscription. Well, tonight we had a call, where a girl was across the street from one of our supercenters and the newspaper carrier got out of his truck and propositioned her, then dropped his pants and walked toward her. Are you kidding me??

I know things have not always been this way, but when I talk to people they tell me it has, that we just hear about it now because of our advanced technology. It's amazing to me the boldness that comes with sin now. I mean, this newspaper guy has a regular route. We caught him of course because there are only two of them who run this area. What was he thinking? I guess he wasn't!

I am always on the defensive. I have become a very good listener and of course very observant. I get this gut feeling when things aren't right and if I listen to it, I have always been the wiser for it. I pray God opens my eyes to what He wants me to see and my ears so I will hear His voice. He does speak to us sometimes in the quiet. I trust God to protect me and to remind me to keep my eyes wide open and my ears in tune to His voice.

So tell me, do you think it has always been this way? What's your opinion?

Msthang is in Town

If you haven't visited Msthang at http://www.reflectionsitaly.com/ check out her site. She is in the military stationed in Italy, but she is now home on leave, so she has stopped in to meet some of her blog friends. We are really excited to have her come here, she plans to go to church with us at Fellowship Church on Sunday at 9am and to the Correctional Facility where we are Chaplains. I haven't gotten to see her yet, she is staying with my daughter who attends college in Arlington, Texas, so I am really looking forward to the weekend.

God is so amazing. You never realize how many paths your life will cross, but just think about all the people we get to talk to all over the US and in other countries, and then to get to meet them is such a joy. I would love to meet each and every one of you, I feel like I know you through your blogs and seeing your pictures. Thanks for sharing your life, your thoughts, your hopes and your dreams with me. Many of you have truly blessed my life and encouraged me more than you have any idea.

Why All the Anger?

Everyday I am amazed at the anger I see. Earlier yesterday it was at the gas pumps. Can you believe there were people fighting at the pumps to the point that someone had to go to the hospital? Whatever happened to love one another? Whatever happened to thinking of others more highly than yourself?

Neighbors are fighting with each other, there's domestic violence, I even heard a mother say yesterday that she despised her kids. Then we have kids joining gangs younger and ounger, they are hating each other for no valid reason, I mean they don't even know each other. When we have to man our schools with Police officers and we are giving six year olds tickets and summoning them to court. This is crazy.

No I would say it is chaotic. Everyone wants to blame, fight and argue to the point of murder. What in the world is going on?

Update!

Since I last posted...a friend of ours just found out his mother has three weeks to live. He is from a family of nine siblings, he is the baby. None of his sisters or brothers has anything to do with him except for the oldest brother. I don't know the entire situation, but I do know this man is devastated at the news he just received yesterday. He came by the house today and we ministered to him and prayed for him. Now we put him into God's hands, because only He can help us through the loss of someone we love.

J's gramma died this morning. I guess I should say she has passed into eternal life with our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, she has gone home. She will be missed. I remember one of the things she told me as she struggled with her battle with cancer is ..."Dana, whether I live or whether I die, I will proclaim Jesus is Lord. His word does not come back void and He will do what he says He will do." Please continue to pray for J and his grandpa, they need our prayers.

I have two very close christian friends. One of them called me on Sunday morning on the way to church and asked me to pray. Her mother found her stepfather in the backyard, he had shot himself in the head, he committed suicide!!! I couldn't believe it!!! He had diabetes and they were talking about doing some vein transplants. The note he left stated he didn't want to be a burden and he didn't want to be in a wheelchair. My friend's mother is not only grieving the loss of her husband and trying to understand why, but she is also wondering if financially she will be able to keep the house they lived in. She needs our prayers also.

Then a long time acquaintance came by the house to borrow a pair of pants for a job interview. I told her she could have the pants, I have plenty of clothes, I could probably clothe Texas. lol! Just kidding, it's not that bad.

She then says to me, "I have decided I am going to be real, I am no longer going to pretend I believe in God when I don't." She then told me she didn't even know who she was, because she had always tried to be someone she thought other people wanted her to be. I was listening intently and what I was hearing her say, was she was full of unforgiveness, unwilling to forgive, angry, blamed everyone else for all of her problems, etc, etc, etc.

It was all about Me, My, Myself and I. Everyone had always mistreated her, never once was there anything about doing the wrong thing herself, all of her problems were due to someone else's actions. I tried to explain to her first that we are not responsible for someone else's actions, but we are responsible for how we respond to it. I was trying to explain how not to be reactive, but to give grace to others, have mercy, be proactive, but she was only half listening.
I was able to minister some truth to her about herself and God. I tried to show her the way and I know she received some of it, but again, I have to depend on God to do the rest. He only told me to go tell the Good News, I am not the one who causes the seed to grow, so I wait and I trust.

Also we decided not to take in the fifteen year old boy, there are other issues we had to consider. So we are trying to find help for him and his two brothers right now. So continue to lift them up and in the meantime, thanks for all your prayers!! This week has been a busy one.

Prayer Request

I missed a call today from one of the boys who lived with us two years ago. It was obvious he had been crying and could barely contain it when he left the message. He said, "This is J, I just called to tell let you know gramma is in the hospital and she is dying." His voiced cracked and he then said he would call me back later. I have tried to call him, but have been unable to reach him. I finally got ahold of his grandfather and he told me gramma has cancer all over her body and she is having a difficult time breathing. I let him know we will be there first thing tomorrow after church. So again if you would pray for gramma to be able to breath easy and for J to get through this and know he is loved.

J was abandoned by his mother when he was four years old. He and his two year old sister were left alone in their apartment for two weeks before they were found. He was taken into CPS who placed him and his sister in foster care for two years, when an aunt came to get them. She had them for six months, then decided she could not keep J, so she called his gramma to take him. At six years old, he was devastated, he didn't want to leave his sister behind and he didn't know what was happening, but the choice was not his to make.

His mother at one time was attending court reporter school, but met J's father who was deep into the drug scene, and she became addicted to crack. She is still very much addicted, he is 21 years old now. J's father has been to prison five times for drugs and various things, he is doing better now, has been clean for five years, still struggling with an anger problem.

When J came to live with us, his gramma had just been diagnosed with Breast Cancer. He had been incarcerated for sixteen months for delivery of marijuana and had just been released. She called one night and asked if we could take him in, because she was unable to do the things he needed for parole, etc. So we did, he lived with us for approximately two years off and on, then finally went home to gramma's house. His problems have come from living in a dysfunctional enviroment when he was a baby and all through his teenage years.

Gramma is the only person J has felt security with for so many years and now she will be going home to Jesus. I know he will feel lost for awhile. So lift him up in prayer, along with gramma and grandpa if you would. Thanks everyone and God Bless, I will be off for the next couple of days, so I won't post again until Tuesday.

Missing in Aruba - Natalee Holloway

I don't know if any of you have kept up with the disappearance of Natalee Holloway. She has been missing since May 30, 2005 when she failed to return from a senior trip to Aruba.

Dr. Phil aired a show on September 15th about the facts in the case that have never before been revealed, such as Joran Van Der Sloot's statements to the Police. If you are interested you can read more about it on Dr. Phil.com under September's archives.

The reason why it is an issue with me is I have two daughters and I cannot imagine the grief of not knowing where my daughter was. I don't know if I could handle reading statements made about what happened to my daughter like Beth Twitty has read about the suspect Joran Van Der Sloot regarding sexually assaulting Natalee as she went in and out of consciousness. It makes me furious to think they have let him go. If this were my daughter I would not let it rest either. Natalee's mother at times looked as if she were in a trance, the grief has really taken a toll on this woman.

This family needs our prayers and our action. We need to pray and ask God to reveal where Natalee is. Also if you are interested in voicing your concerns you can write the Aruban Government. Natalee's mom is asking every American to write and petition them to detain the suspects in this case until they get the information on where Natalee is and what happened to her. Please consider writing, they need our help.

If you want to write to the Aruban government:

Govenor General Fredis Refunjol
Plaza Hnery Eman 3
Oranjestad, Aruba

Prime Minister Nelson Oduber
L.G. Smith Boulevard 76
Oranjestad, Aruba

Minister of Justice Rudy Croes
Victor Hugo Stratt 8
Oranjestad, Aruba

Chief of Police R.F. Bernadina
Wilheminastraat 10
Oranjestad, Aruba

Minister of Tourism Edison Brieson
L.G. Smith Boulevard 76
Oranjestad, Aruba

Attorney General Theresa Croes Fernandez-Pedra
Havenstrat 2
Oranjestad, Aruba

If you want to contact the government of The Netherlands:

Queen
Hare Majesteit Koningin Beatrix
Kabinet van de Koningin
76 Paleis Den Haag
Den Haag, Nederland

Justice Department
Minister of Justice
Mr. J.P.H. Donner Schedeldockshaven
100 Oranjestad,
Aruba Den Haag, Nederland
tel.001.70.370.79.11
fax: 001.70.370.79.00

He's Fifteen Years Old

This past week my husband came home to tell me a co-worker had asked him to take in a fifteen year old hispanic boy. The boy has been taking care of his mentally challenged brother, he has no idea where his father is and his mother has disappeared. His older brother has been caring for them financially. One day last year this boy came to school drunk. He has a hard time getting to school on time and was put into what we call AEP, it's an alternative program. It's not Challenge where the really bad behavior kids go, but it's where kids go who have problems and cannot function in the normal school environment. Anyway, this boy came to school last week and advised this lady, who is the school nurse that he could no longer make it alone, he had gone as far as he could go, he was tired and giving up.

So we sat down and began to look at what we could do. We already have two boys living with us and we minister to fifty two at the Correctional facility along with the boys who have gotten out and call us periodically, plus the neighborhood kids whom we have ministered to and had bible studies with. My heart goes out to this young man, but I explained to my husband we really needed to think this through before we make this decision. He was really ready to bring him home, but I was putting the brakes on. We don't even know the whole story yet, this boy still has two siblings who also need help, so I know there has to be some kind of assistance that could help all three of them. I just know it isn't about quanity, it's about quality. Sometimes I wish we could save the world, but I know we can't. I am really at my limit right now, it's enough for me to work fulltime, keep up with our ministry and be consistent with the two we have at home now and go see my mother who has been sick for the past four years.

So, now I ask if each of you would stop and say a prayer for this young man, I would greatly appreciate it. Please ask God to open a door for him to receive help and for us to have wisdom in this situation. We are going to meet with him and see what we can do to find him help. I gave my husband all my insight on the whole picture, not just the situation at hand. I explained I wasn't saying I didn't want to take him in, but I wanted to make sure that was the right decision. So after all my input, he decided perhaps it was more than we were equipped to handle right now. So again, please lift this boy up in prayer, God knows who he is and what his needs are, as well as his siblings. I appreciate all of your prayers, God bless all of you!

Catching Up!

I haven't posted in a few days so I will back up and catch up....

Sunday Sept. 11, 2005
Today we started the new series, "Love Affair" at church. Awesome service! We left to go to the Correctional Facility to hold Sunday morning services there. Joseph shared his testimony and seven boys came forward for the invitation and accepted Jesus as their personal savior. I was amazed and stunned. I was stunned because Joseph prayed with them and then sat down with a few of them to talk about their problems. One of the boys started crying. I am so moved when God moves in such a way that an ex gang member will humble himself and let his true feelings and all the hurt he has kept inside come out.

Monday Sept. 12, 2005
Today I had to go appear before a District Attorney involving a case of child abuse. The child, a four year old girl died. My only involvement with the child's parents was her mother knew Joseph's mother and through a series of events they had called me and asked me to pray for the family. I had spoken with the mother, maybe three times, she seemed sincere, wanted me to pray for her and her child, so I did. I remember when I found out the mother and father had beaten the child to death because they were on heroin, I was so mad. I was totally livid. First I couldn't understand why God allowed this woman to call me and request prayer when she was abusing her little girl. I was so upset, I really questioned God. I wanted to know why. IWhy was I decieved into thinking she sincerely wanted prayer? I still think she was trying to cover her tracks, but I am not sure. Perhaps God will show me the answers one day.

I spent the rest of the day helping Joseph get caught up on some things he had been neglecting. First a ticket he got for no registration. I had him go get the registration then go to the PD, talk to the court about going before the judge. He was able to go before him, he showed the registration and paid ten dollars, the judge dismissed the ticket. Next he had to call to get an extension on a ticket he got for no glasses. So I sent him to get a perscription, so he could get glasses, (next week he will go before the judge on this ticket again, only this one is in a different jurisdiction.) Next, I sent him to get his inspection, then to change the oil in his vehicle. We had been telling him to get all of these things taken care of, but on Sunday night we gave him no choice, we basically took authority over the matter and gave him a list of what he was to get accomplished on Monday. Anyway, his vehicle didn't pass inspection, he has to get either a tune up or an oxygen sensor, which means Friday his vehicle will go in the shop.

One thing about working with these boys...they have never been taught to take care of responsibility. The simplest things to me can be a major mountain to them. We try to give them the benefit of the doubt, but they have never had examples to live by, no one to show them what is required of them. So it's a step by step learning process, being consistent, setting goals and expectations and follow through. Hopefully the end result is they will want to continue being responsible long after they leave our home. Only God knows what will happen....

Tuesday Sept 13, 2005
My computer went down so I couldn't post. I was so sleep deprived and so tired I could hardly think, so it was probably a good thing I didn't post. Anyway just before I left, I was in the lobby of the PD, when the Fire Department decided to test the alarms. Oh My Word! They almost blew my brains out! lol! Really, I couldn't wait to get out of there!! One thing is for sure, it woke me up! I got home at around 7:30 am, cleaned the back porch, put some items in the shed and then crashed around 9:30. I got up around 11, went back to bed at 12 noon and got up at 4:30 because I had to go pick up one of our cars from the body shop.

Anyway that catches me up on three days of blogging! Not too eventful, huh???

Playin The Game

I love basketball. I played in junior high and high school. Every year on my birthday I try to go see Globie and the Harlem Globe Trotters. They're a fun team to watch and they are sometimes called the "ambassadors of goodwill." They are inspiring to me, as well as alot of fun to watch with all of their crazy fun shots, dancing on the court, working with the kids and just the way they make me laugh the whole time I am there.

Then there's the Dallas Mavericks! I have to try to watch every game and I hate it when the season is over, I even try to plan my breaks when I am working so I can take lunch in the break room at the PD, so I can watch the game.

So, now that I gave you a little history on where I stand with Basketball, I will share with you why I chose to speak about it when I give the lesson next week at the Boy's Ranch. I always try to choose a topic that interests me and also a topic that would interest the boys, because as we all know teenage boys minds are easily distracted, so the topic has to be someting that holds their attention, but impacts their lives in such a way that they want to change, that they can see there is a better way, a better life than the one they have chosen.

To me, Basketball relates to the game of life in so many aspects. All of us in the game of life are either "playing games," or "playing the game." We all have a position we play, some of us are just sittin on the bench, but we need to identify where we are and what we are doing.

I imagine the court being the world, or our neighborhood, perhaps our workplace, where we shop, etc., and at each end of the court there's a goal, each belongs to one of the two teams, so which team am I playing on?, do I have one foot in the world?, am I trying to play on both teams? Am I playing for God.. or am I furthering Satan's kingdom. Am I a part of the problem or part of the solution.

I personally believe as Paul said we are to run the race, we have to get in the game. We have to take a shot, try to score a goal. We each have a chance to get the ball, (His Word). What we do with it, is what makes the difference in winning or losing in the game of life. Personally, I want to be all that God wants me to be, I want to impact those around me in the way God would have me to. I don't want to be a thermometer, I want to be a thermostat. I choose to set the temperature of the room, I don't want to just warm up to whatever situation is happening at the time. I want God to use me in such a way that I can make a difference wherever I am.

I don't want life to just happen to me, I want to make it happen, I want to live life on purpose. If I were playing a game of basketball, I would want to be dribbling, passing, shooting, pivoting and rebounding. I want to make sure I take the shots and score some points.

I have a coach, (the Lord), a playbook,(the Bible), a set of rules, (2 greatest commandments), team members, (brothers and sisters), role models who have played before, (cloud of witnesses cheering me on Heb. 12:1-3), I could go on and on, but I think you get the picture. I'm not going to sit on the bench. Everyday I am going to get out there and play my heart out, I'm gonna grow, learn, stretch myself, study the playbook, do what it says and run for the prize!!!! And I am going to go to the rival team and get them to crossover, to change teams and positions, I am going to take as many with me as I can, I have the answer and I am going to share it, shout it, proclaim it until I have no life, no breath left within me. I could get carried away here, so I better stop now!!

Loving Unconditionally

"I choose the poverty of our poor people. But I am grateful to receive (the Nobel) in the name of the hungry, the naked, the homeless, of the crippled, of the blind, of the lepers, of all those people who feel unwanted, unloved, uncared-for throughout society, people that have become a burden to the society and are shunned by everyone." Mother Teresa

An interesting thing happened to me the other day. Chuck and I went to take Joseph to the Dollar store on the way home from church. While he went in we went to the post office, then returned to retrieve him. As he was getting into the car, a man stopped him. The man was barely walking, he was quite disfigured and looked very sickly. I actually thought he was a homeless man. The whole time he was talking to Joseph, I kept thinking about how he could be Jesus in disguise. I guess because I have read so many of Mother Teresa's writings and how she could always love the lepers, the homeless, the throwaway people because she looked past them and saw only Jesus. I wish I was more like Jesus.

Finally Joseph opened my door on the passenger side and asked if I could understand this man. All I could figure out that he was saying was something about a ride and having had cancer surgery. Then I thought he was asking for money.

Anyways, we made room for him in our truck and Joseph got in too. We asked him to tell us where to go and he did, then he put four dollars on the console in the middle of the front seat and Chuck said no you keep it!

We arrived at his house, as he was getting out, Joseph grabbed his bags, hopped out and carried them to the door for the man. I was thinking how repulsive this guy looked and how he is probably rejected because of it. But years ago he was a young man and probably never thought his life would turn out the way it did. I almost felt as if I were in a trance or something. All I could think of is ... this could be Jesus in disguise. I guess I kept remembering all the things I had read about Mother Teresa and how she said she could look past a person's appearance and see Jesus and she would hug them and take them home with her.

I know God brought this man in our lives to teach me something about myself, perhaps about unconditional love, or maybe there is something even beyond that!? I am always serving, but Mother Teresa never thought twice about picking someone up off the street and taking them home, giving them a bath, picking worms out of their body, but me? EEKKK! I couldn't do it, but the thing is, I wish I could. I wish I had a gift of serving like that. I know God had a purpose in bringing this man into our path, He has taught me something about myself, but is there something else I need to learn?

Marriage is designed by God to be a lifelong covenant, a forever love affair. But how do we keep that covenant from being threatened by another kind of affair? This explosive new series by Ed Young teaches us how to protect our marriages and families from adultery - how to keep the unthinkable from tearing apart the marital love affair.

This week our Pastor is starting a new series called "Love Affair." I am excited about any series that has to do with God's word, but this particular one is close to my heart. I have learned Christ wants to be involved in every aspect of our lives, in our homes, our occupations, our children, our friendships, our relationships, in everything, everywhere! We should glorify God in all things, He should be Lord of all.

The very last statement before Christ left earth, was for us to Love the Lord and to Love One Another. The two sum up life for me. If we love the Lord and live to please Him, we cannot help but Love one another and in doing so we experience abundant life. We also fulfill the whole law. Unfortunately I didn't know the two greatest commandments early in my life and I have made many, many mistakes. My husband and I didn't have Christ in our lives when we met. I had heard the truth but didn't know how to apply it or what to do with it.

I honestly believe the devil put us together because our relationship was pure "hell", but God took something very terrible and has made it into something very beautiful, but not before it affected everyone and everything in our lives. But now, it is because of Christ that we have a marriage made in heaven. Christ is the center of our home and our hearts, He is Lord and Master over our lives, and everything and everyone in it. Are we perfect, by no means, but He is perfecting us, He is teaching us. He is molding us into who He created us to be. I love the Lord and I love my husband, I can see the fingerprints of God all over His life. He loves the Lord and is always sharing with someone, today it was at the place where we get our propane, yesterday it was at the school bus barn We have the answer and we are in the middle of our "Love Affair" and enjoying it to the ultimate!! So in saying all of this, what about you?

Have you found the Love of your life? If you are ever in doubt as to whether you have found "true love"......check out what God says in His word about what love is in ...1 Corinthians 13. Here you will find God's view of Love, He is the author of Love! If you are not married, please, please take the time to make a good choice in a lifetime mate. Your life and everyone around you will be affected by this choice. Making the "right choice" for yourself requires you to look objectively at yourself and the person you intend to marry. I didn't do this and thankfully God has changed our lives, but if He hadn't stepped in when He did, it would've been disasterous!!

God wants you to be happy. Take the time to find a good mate for yourself. Allow God to work in you and in someone else so that the two of you can one day be joined into the perfect union that the Father wants for you. You will NEVER REGRET waiting when you find the "RIGHT ONE"!

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What R U Doing to Conserve?

Here it is, the answer to soaring gas prices!! My Bicycle!! Unfortunately, I work thirty miles away from home and cannot ride my bike to work.

However, I have made some adjustments on the amount of gasoline I use. I no longer go out of my way to Walmart if I need something. I now go to the General Dollar or a store that is on my way home. I don't make a special trip.

I also have always bought in quanities to keep from going to the store that often, so I am continuing this practice. I buy five or six pkgs of toothpaste if I run out, same with deodorant, soaps, bleach and the things I use on a daily basis.

I now starch my own uniforms instead of sending them to the cleaners. I go see my mother in Oklahoma every two weeks or once a month instead of every week. I haven't went out on the boat since the prices have gone up. I am not planning to go as far on vacation either. I will probably stay right here and plan a fun time with family and friends.

I am trying to look at every avenue to conserve energy. If we all take individual responsibility, perhaps it will help. We as Americans can be very wasteful.

I was listening to the news last night at 4:30 am and the report was ... electricity and gas for our homes may go up as much as seventy percent. Wow! I don't know what the single mother or a person making minimum wage will do if that happens.

So I want to do my part to be conserve energy. If any of you have any other ideas to conserve, pass on your tips here, I want to save in anyway I can.

He is the Way, the Truth and the Life

Today when I went to work, I was very frustrated. Someone I believe in let me down in a major way. I really let it get to me, then I remembered there is only one who will never let me down.

I have peace in knowing He is always there. I know there will always be people in my life who will mess up, because they are human, just as I am, and I am sure I have let someone down too at one time or another.

Today as with everyday I have reason to be thankful that I can depend on Him to never let me down. I remember his mercy and grace in my life, so it allows me to have mercy and grace toward others.

He is the way, the truth and the life. He is the only way. If only I could be more like Him. He has shown me mercy (clemency, compassionate treatment). He has shown me grace (unmerited favor). I too must show mercy and grace.

I feel quiet today, I am glad I am going to church tomorrow, I need my cup filled up, I need to be around my brothers and sisters in Christ. A boy at the Ranch once told me...."Do you feel that Big Love in here?" I laugh when I think about it. I said, "Yes! that's the love of Christ!" So this morning about 9am, I will be there and I will feel that love, as for now I will let His peace that passes all understanding take over, I know He is always with me and His love surrounds me like the sea, but sometimes my feelings get in the way and I can't see quite as clearly, so until then I trust Him to work all these things out for my good. He always has a purpose and something to teach me, I just have to be willing to listen.

Authority Issues - We All Got 'Em!!

"Don’t tell me what to do!" It's the rebellious cry of our free-thinking, ego-driven society. From soccer moms to CEOs, we all have authority issues. But our defiance breeds discontent—an empty space between us and God. In this series our pastor is teaching in order for us to reconnect with God, we must first recognize His authority and shed our own authority issues.


Authority is that legal right delegated by God, whereby certain members of the human race have jurisdiction over, and responsibility for, other members of the human race. 1Pet.2:13

All authority is derived from God. Those who exercise it will answer for the way they use it. Jn.19:11; Rom.13:1,2

Here it is, we all got 'em! Authority Issues!!!

Our Pastor has been teaching a series on Authority Issues for the past three weeks and it has been awesome. I never realized I have authority issues, but I have felt some conviction over the past three weeks. Authority comes in so many ways, our jobs, our homes, even the rules we follow in restaurants, shopping malls, in society in general. I guess I just followed the rules and never really thought about the authorities that placed them there. For instance....

First I want to park my car where I want to park, but the church has parking assistants who tell you where to park. I always park where they want me to, but I sometimes feel aggravated because I want to park somewhere else. So I have to smile and park where they tell me to and not murmur! Then, I am always telling my husband, "Honey, I am woman, hear me roar!!" I always laugh, but I want to be me and sometimes he wants to put me into this little mold and tries to make me be who he thinks I should be. I tell him all the time that God made me this way and he is changing me as fast as He can. LOL!

So guess what the preacher taught on...wives be submissive to your husbands and he even used my phrase...."I am woman hear me roar!" I think God has my number or something, He is always checking me!! I sometimes pray and ask God to get in my face and show me who I really am and this week I guess He is showing me some things I need to work on.

In our home, many years ago we decided to institute this rule...If you wouldn't say it in church, we wouldn't say it in our home, we would have a church atmosphere in our home. If we have an issue we sit down and talk about it, there's no big discussion, we sometimes may agree to disagree on certain things. So there is no arguing, no raising your voice. I mean I can't remember the last time we had an argument.

I don't think my issues are big issues, but it's the little foxes that spoil the vine, so I have to faithful in the small things as well as the big, so I am working on it. So tell me do you have authority issues? I confessed a few of mine, so now it's confession time for all of you...go ahead.

Hurricane Katrina

I have heard and seen so many posts, new reports, prayers for the victims of the hurricane and I have been without words, as I have wondered what is God's purpose in all this. I do believe God is in control. I have wondered what it is that I should do, I am praying and have been motivated to give, but what more can I do. I was reading today and came across this story and I could see the hurricane victims in this story, I could see Jesus in all this. See if you do too?

This is not a story about Hurricane Katrina but it is a story about devastating circumstances, so I related it to the hurricane as I could see so many who have lost loved ones, so many children who are now alone, so many parents who lost children. I just can't imagine!!!

Tony Campolo tells a true story of a Jewish boy who suffered under the Nazis in World War II. He was living in a small Polish village when he and all the other Jews of the vicinity were rounded up by Nazi SS troops and sentenced to death. This Jewish boy joined his neighbors in digging a shallow ditch for their graves, then faced the firing squad with his parents. Sprayed with machine-gun fire, bodies fell into the ditch and the Nazis covered the crumpled bodies with dirt. But none of the bullets hit the boy, though he was splattered with the blood of his parents. When his parents fell into the ditch, he pretended to be dead and fell on top of them.
Several hours later, when darkness fell, he clawed his way out of the grave. With blood and dirt caked to his little body, he made his way to the nearest house and begged for help.

Recognizing him as one of the Jewish boys marked for death, he was turned away at house after house as people feared getting into trouble with the SS troops. Then something inside this Jewish boy seemed to guide him to say something that was very strange for a Jew to say. When the next family responded to his timid knocking in the still of the night, they heard him cry, “Don’t you recognize me? I am the Jesus you say you love.” After a poignant pause, the woman who stood in the doorway swept him into her arms and kissed him. From that day on, the members of that family loved and cared for that boy as though he was one of their own. “I am the Jesus you say you love.” Those words were more correct than you might imagine. Matthew 25:40 tells us that one day the Great King and Judge of all the earth will say to people like that kindhearted Christian lady, “Assuredly, I say to you, inasmuch as you did it to one of the least of these My brothers, you did it to Me.

Now what am I going to do?

Matt. 25 ...for I was hungry and you gave Me food; I was thirsty and you gave Me drink; I was a stranger and you took Me in; I was naked and you clothed Me; I was sick and you visited Me; I was in prison and you came to Me.

I Love the Lord!!

I love the Lord, I love the life He has called me to live, it is through Him that I have experienced what freedom really is. Living the Christian life is not a life that is bound by rules and restrictions as some may think. It is striving daily to live a life that is pleasing to Him. A life of serving others, of dying to self and living a life full of purpose and meaning. A life of integrity, discipline, honor, joy and peace, taking inventory daily, trying to live on purpose. I choose to be like Him, I choose to be a Christian!!!

I think of it this way. If you have children, you have a set of rules, a guideline or a standard for them to live by. Why? It is for their protection because you love them. You give them boundaries because you know if they overstep those boundaries, they will suffer the consequences of their actions. The things that God told us not to do, the things He calls sin are things that He knows will hurt us. Those rules are what give us true freedom. It's hard to put being a Christian into so many words, this life is the most incredible life, I didn't know what life was until I gave my life to Him!! Jesus came to give us abundant life. I have that abundant life, I have peace in the midst of the storms of life. I may let something temporatily get my peace, but then as soon as I think about it for a moment, I remember God works everything out for good to those who love the Lord and who are called according to His purposes. He doesn't allow anything to happen to me that didn't cross his desk first and He knows what I can handle! Besides He never ever leaves me or forsakes me. He is always with me. I am not alone.