In God We Trust America?

Good thing we trust in God but we sure can’t trust our government officials.

Okay, this is not the post you may expect from me, but I sit here in my home on a cast off computer given to me by a friend.  I am job hunting as I have for way too many months (years) to count.  I am a born-again Christian.  I am saved and loved and God has a plan for my life.

That being said, I listened to the news over lunch.  I have looked at the papers.  I have done networking.  Much of what I read comes back to this.  There many people like me out there.  We are smart.  We are educated.  We have a lot to offer.  We are jobless and without healthcare.  We are also judged, assumed lazy, and scorned.  God will provide, but that doesn’t let the government off the hook.  It’s time they listened and acted.  Oh, but they are acting.  The names are many but the game is constantly the same.  What I’d like to know is:

Does anyone smell a rat?

Overpaid and ineffective politicians, often known sex abusers,  whether we want to call it that or not, still have paid government jobs and great benefits, while millions of Americans, like me, have no income nor benefits. Again, I ask you, does anyone else smell a rat?

Quote of the Day – Money

Money often costs too much.

– Ralph Waldo Emerson –

I can remember, in another life as they say, working hard and being so hungry for the VP title.  Those who had it said “it means nothing.”  It wasn’t until I had it that I realized how right they were.

As I write this and contemplate Emerson’s words, I do so having, in the past, had not so much to worry about and having now the constant awareness of my financial concerns.  As with the fancy title, money really doesn’t matter all that much.  True, knowing I could pay my bills felt good and now the monthly “I wonder how” is showing me a different viewpoint, but honestly?  I was more stressed back then even than now.

One way or another, the Lord provides in ways most important and I am a flawed human who needs constant reminder of His love.  His mercy is UNCEASING though and while I learn more and more about our relationship, His and mine, and grow deeper and deeper with Him – learning anew what the word trust means, He understands, loves, forgives, and provides.

Emerson’s right.  Money truly does cost too much.  It’s all about trusting the Lord and reflecting His love.  I can’t afford to deal with the rest of it.  He’s handling it.

A New Door – Reflecting On The Cross Series

 

My life, while containing a huge question mark in one way, has been rich with blessings which provide me with the assurance of my Savior’s love and fill me with hope in Him. 

For some time now, as some of you know, I’ve been praying and prayed for in the need for provision and my desire to be His minister in a new vocation which He clearly has prepared for me.  His timing is not our own yet we know it is perfect.  Many times it has been revealed to me in my own spirit from HIm and through others praying for me that a new door will be opening.  I believe that as we grow in Him and surrender to His will we find many new doors along the way as we grow ready for more and more work . . . I am excited to serve in the ways He leads me.  Yes, fear comes but with His hand holding me, I can walk in fear and not be held back by it. 

As I stood in my dining room the other day, I saw the doors to my sunroom and thought of them in a new way.  Yes, it did remind me of the “door” or “doors” the Lord is leading me to and through, but also of a puzzle to be solved.  We’ve all seen those puzzles in which we are to count how many squares we see . . .  well as we follow Christ, the puzzle pieces that are our life come together in beautiful ways as we are blessed to serve Him. 

Now, a puzzle for you.  No, I’m not asking you to count the “squares” as those familiar puzzles ask.  I’m asking you to count the crosses!  When our Lord died on the cross, we were awarded Eternal live.  The doors to Eternity with Him were flung open!  So, ponder that and look at these doors. How many crosses do you see? 

 

 

Let Your Heart Sing!!

In a day of hogs, shadows, elections, and distress . . . how about a blessing?  The following quote is true.  I say this not because it’s from the Bible, although that would be a good reason to say so.  I say it because I know my Lord and He blesses me at all times.  I pray you know Him too!  He is with you and He wants to hold you hand. 

“But as it is written, Eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, neither have entered into the heart of man, the things which God hath prepared for them that love him.” 1 Corinthians 2:9 KJV

Recession’s Impact On Child Abuse

A recent study has shown that we have more to be concerned with in this time of economic chaos than many of us were aware of. Dr Rachel Berger of the Children’s Hospital of Pittsburg, the lead author of a study on the economy and its potential relationship to child abuse has confirmed a connection between the two. Dr Berger, hearing reports of increasing cases of shaken baby syndrome and other brain-injury forms of child abuse during our extended time of a nation in economic crisis, decided to give this a closer look.

This study consisted of 422 cases of abused children. It was found that most were from low income households. It is important to note that 4 states – Pennsylvania, Kentucky, Ohio, and Washington – were involved in this study which included a total of 74 counties within those states. Some study details:

• Children in the study were under the age of 5
• Children in the study were mostly infants
• Most of these children had suffered brain damage
• A total of 69 of these children died
• The death rate actually did not rise during the recession
• Study confirmed increase in shaken-baby syndrome

Dr Berger decided to focus on this particular type of injury due to increases in cases during the period of 2007 through 2009. In the counties used for this study there was an increase of 65 percent in abusive head trauma when comparing recession case numbers against pre-recession cases. In response to this and weighing in the many burdens on families during this recession, according to Mark Rank, a social welfare professor at Washington University at St Louis, this can create “a sort of toxic brew in terms of thinking about possible physical violence.”

Read more: http://technorati.com/women/article/recessions-impact-on-child-abuse/#ixzz1aym9DbjE

Can the US Survive Without Compromise?

75 percent of Californians believe the US is on the wrong track.  They also support our President.  The two major political party voters do NOT appear to support compromise to turn things around.  Can we as a nation survive?  What will bring this mess to an end?  How much longer can the recession go on?  Read all about this in my Technorati article:

http://technorati.com/politics/article/3-out-of-4-californians-believe/

 

Yawning . . . Bleeding . . . Waiting

Interesting how we find ourselves reacting to the unexpected and how often a startling occurence can make us temporarily senseless.  I say this because last night was one of those nights.  I was lazily watching television and sipping ice water, laptop and cell phone nearby since even tired and blurry, I need to have my finger on the “pulse” of cyberspace.  Lol  Sadly, it is during those times that my ability to type and worse yet my ability to proofread my efforts suffers greatly.  Oh, dear.  “Oh, bother” as Pooh would say.   So, when the phone rang I jumped.  Literally.  A dear friend called to say he’d injured himself and thought a trip to the emergency room was called for.  As I drove down familiar streets I realized that my tax rate is lower here than where I used to live because they DO NOT HAVE NEARLY ENOUGH STREET LIGHTS.  Not only that, but THEY RARELY CONSTRUCT ROADS WITH SIDEWALKS, and worse yet THEY ALL HAVE CURVES AND TWISTS.  Okay, the curves are meant to slow us down as we drive through the neighborhoods, but lights would be helpful, particularly since our pretty neighborhood doesn’t have sidewalks . . . I don’t drive at night too often.  The economy, both the nation’s and my own, requires close watching of expenditures so being home at night is recommended over being a party girl about town.  I thought of all this as I drove down streets which just hours before seemed beautiful, bright, and beckoning.  All this came rushing to my mind as the friend inches away from me said “oh, crap” and realized he was REALLY bleeding at that moment.  We got to  the ER.  We waited a long time, then he was taken to be stitched and I waited and waited and watched.  Interesting how folks handle waiting in ER waiting rooms.  One or two go off alone and hold tattered newspapers without reading them and jump every time they hear footsteps.  Most others sit close to the strangers around them, make occasional small talk, giggle over nothing in particular, and take some relief in the presence of other humans playing the same waiting game.  There are also a few who’ve made this late night trip and played this waiting game so often that they just get comfortable in plastic chairs, sip coffee brewed hours ago from foam cups, and have their own books and such from home to read knowing the “routine” entirely too well.  “I’ll be fine” my friend said, with a bandage much larger than the cut that was just stitched.  Smiling and tired, his pain shot hadn’t worn off yet and I hoped he’d be asleep before it did.  Minutes later he was home and so was I.  This morning those same streets are well-lit with the late summer sunshine and the dark skies are now an amazing shade of blue.  I’m sipping coffee once again but it’s freshly brewed.  My “good sense” or what passes for it has been restored.   The wound will heal.  Life is good. 

Have You Hit the Wall?

In life we sometimes find ourselves running “full steam ahead” and other times hitting the wall.  This can be at best a surprise or at worst, result in a sore nose.  What do we do when this happens?  Typically, there are a number of ways we react to this.

• We stop
• We stare at it as though questioning the existence of the wall
• We stop and focus on our sore nose or toes from the impact
• We get annoyed that it slowed us down
• We sit down and think about who must have put it there
• We sit and think about what a big wall it is
• We sit and consider whether it’s made of wood, plaster or brick
• We sit and wonder if it’s the only wall out there
• We sit and wonder how many walls might be waiting for us
• We want to find that wall builder and give him a piece of our mind – the blame game

I could go on.   This is what I’ve done when hit by walls in my path and I know I’m not unique.  There are problems with this list.  Blame doesn’t change anything.  Whether we find someone to yell at or not, the wall is still there.  If we were moving along so nice and fast, we can be glad we made some progress and thus know that the wall doesn’t necessarily present as big a problem as we initially thought.  We can get on our feet again.  You know, when you’re sitting down on the ground looking up at the wall, it looms larger than life, but when you get up on your feet and face it, that initial reaction begins to change to one more reality based.  We should, rather than dwelling on how it was built, focus on how we are going to knock it down or break through it!  Can’t do either one of those?  We will simply have to learn to climb over it!  As to how many walls we might face as we begin again to move forward?  Why be slowed down by concerning ourselves with walls that may not even be out there?  We will cope with them when and if they appear.  Besides, while the first one was a shock to us and loomed larger than life, as we approach more and more of them, our skills in managing the challenge will have grown and experience will tell us that facing the wall wasn’t something that stopped us, but rather something that helped us to grow stronger!

Do You Have the COURAGE To Be WEAK?

Famous poet, author, and oh so much more, Maya Angelou said and I quote “success is loving life and daring to live it.”  Can there be a better way to express the commission we have been given, as Christians, to be Disciples of Christ in the world today?  As I turned on the news this morning and heard, as so often is the case, stories of arson, of cruelty one individual inflicts on another, stories of our government infighting which, we are told, could cause countless numbers of us not to receive our monthly income, and stories of disasters around the world . . . I turned the television set off.  I had heard enough.  I then read the quote from Angelou and wondered how can I bring this message to those in darkness and lead them to the light of Christ?  The answer came to me quickly but in the form of another question.  How can I not????  Has there ever been a time when His love was more needed?  Dear readers, His love is in our hearts.  His Holy Spirit is there to guide us and guard us.  We are broken and we are weak, but in Him we are strong!  We have His wholeness within us and His strength to rely on.  I’ve heard it said that “Christianity is not for wimps.”  I am not so sure. 

I’ve searched for success as this world sees it my entire life.  Yet, it’s a goal that I feel can never truly satisfy me even if I reach it.  Many times I have thought I had reached it.  The things of this life entice me, but getting what I ask for has so often led to disappointment.  It leads me to keep seeking and without Christ leading me, I am more than a bit like the dog that keeps chasing its own tail.  I never quite achieve what I believed was in sight.  My earthly eyes somehow do not see clearly enough regardless of how strong they are.  Through Christ, the eyes of my heart  . . . my soul see things in a whole new way, and a far better one.  I don’t believe the cliché that “Christianity is for wimps” is true.  I must surrender my own will and my own dubious strength and yield to Him . . . for that is where my strength lies.  That is where my joy comes from.  That is where I can truly, as Angelou spoke,  love life and dare to live!  Life in Christ – it is there for you!   Do you dare to live it?

Important Prayer Request

God has a unique purpose in the lives of each one of us and while we may not always understand His call or His timing, we must walk in faith knowing He will enable us.  I say this because a few years back He placed it on my heart to make a drastic life change and this has been gradually taking place ever since.  In following His new call in my life, and not entirely unlike Abraham,  I left my old life and all that was familiar, my lifelong friends, and my old career, and moved 900 miles to a new life.  He is now calling me to a new career in writing and speaking in order that I may share His word and His love with others.  I am walking in faith even though I do not yet completely understand His plan for provision and am trying to prevent fear from distracting me from being obedient to Him.  Here is where my life and Abraham’s differ as he had wealth and I do not.  The resources I had set aside for this life change are nearly gone. 

We have been told in the Bible over and over again that we are one body in Christ and that when we join together in prayer, He is with us.  Many of you have shared with me that the words He has given me to write have blessed you and it blesses me more than you know to be used by Him in this way and encourages me to remain faithful.  It is for this reason that I am looking to you, my precious readers, for your prayer support as I am facing a critical point in my life financially.  I do realize that the economy has in part impacted my challenge in finding a job, but as I am following a call the Lord has placed on my heart to this entirely new life, I don’t believe the roadblock is entirely based on our national economic crisis.  We all know that the evil one becomes more active as we seek to follow Christ. 

I am in need of solving my financial crisis and soon.  In addition to my lack of income, another factor has impacted my financial challenge.  I have also been dealing with a health problem that has resulted in multiple surgeries to save my eye sight and without employment and insurance, that has added to the financial strain.  I have heard the Lord whisper to me that He desires to bless me by the healing of my eye sight, but this has not yet fully come to pass.  I ask you to please support me in prayer both for the complete healing of my eye sight and to help me to remain faithful to my new vocation in service to the Lord.  My need for financial provision is a pressing concern not just for myself, but also because losing my home will impact my Mom who is elderly and in very poor health and lives in my home with me.   This concern distracts me from my new work for the Lord.  Please pray also for the person or persons that the Lord may be preparing to work with me in this new vocation so that they too will hear His voice.  Thank you and God bless you!