Change

I took a before picture today.  I am hoping that in a month that maybe I can take another picture and that there will be some change.  Here is my before picture.

I am hoping that my clothes will fit better or looser.  I am hoping that my cheeks won't be so round.  I am hoping I will see less pounds showing up on the scales.  Now to get change, I will have to do something.  I will need to eat less and exercise more. I am hoping that eventually I will have an after picture.  If I post pictures but I still look the same than you will know that I didn't change.

I have a God that tells me that I need to change. He cares about my health but He also wants a change in my heart.  Now to get this change, I will have to do something.  I will need to read my Bible, pray more and open my ears to listen for His voice.

I am hoping that a change in my heart will lead to more understanding, compassion and a life that looks more  like Jesus! I want my mind renewed!!  God will look inside and know if I have changed.

What about you?  Are you ready to change?

Romans 12:1-2

New International Version (NIV)

12 Therefore, I urge you, brothers and sisters, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God—this is your true and proper worship. 2 Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will.

What weighs you down?

There are lots of things that can weigh me down.  My weight is an obvious answer but also my thoughts, my actions and my junk piles are among other things that can weigh me down.  I started thinking about things that can weigh me down after a funny incident that happened to my daughter.

She has started working out at school this summer.  The coaches from most of the sports are there and they start out at the football field on the track area around the field.  While they are in that area they do all kinds of things from lunges to running with sled weights.

That is when her funny situation happened.  She was running around the track for the first time with the sled weights.  She said that as she was running she was not aware that the weights behind her were shifting to the side.  She was passing the goal post when she heard a clang and then realized that she was lying on her back.  The sled weights had flown so far to the side that they wrapped around the goal post bringing her down in the process.  She said that everybody on that field started laughing.  She said that the laughter was so loud that the people in the houses across the street probably wondered what was so funny.  The coaches made sure that she was okay and than they also laughed.

Those sled weights are like sin.  Sin sneaks in when I least expect it, wraps around the goal post and the next thing I know I am on my back weighed down with sin.  Have you ever got wet with all your clothes on?  Jeans, shoes everything? I have.  It was so heavy it was hard to walk.  Sin is heavier than that!

My daughter's coaches are the ones that can instruct and explain to her how she should run with the sled weights.  They can teach her how to run without getting them wrapped around the goal post.  She will be able to run around the field with out faltering. She will be able to finish the race and when she takes off the weights she will be able to run really fast.

I have a coach that will instruct me on how to get rid the sin in my life.  He teaches me daily and convicts me of sin that weighs me down.  When I land on my back wondering what just happened He is reaching to pick me up. The devil may be laughing loudly but my coach helps rid me of the sin and it's extra weight that slows me down.  My coach gets me back in the race.  My coach is Jesus.  With His help I will finish this race and one day I will see Him face to face!!

Who is your coach?

Hebrews 12:1-2

New International Version (NIV)

12 Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles. And let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us,2 fixing our eyes on Jesus, the pioneer and perfecter of faith. For the joy set before him he endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.

Laffy Taffy

I like laffy taffy candy!  I really like the banana one.  I find myself going through the bag and only reaching for the yellow, delicious banana ones.  My husband pointed out to me the other day that other people in our household also like the banana ones.  I think he was talking about himself.

I grabbed some of the other flavors the next time I reached into that bag.  I discovered that the grape and sour apple are not bad.  I reacquainted myself with their fruity flavors.  I still like the banana the best but I need to share.  I have to be fair.  The grape and apple need some attention too.

I have found that in reading the Bible there are certain passages that I keep going back too.  I have my favorite places to go to but I need to realize that I need to branch out and seek the fruit in other areas.  There are many flavors to be discovered.  I need to taste of the fruit of Lamentations and Zephaniah!  I wonder what Joel might taste like?

I might like the banana flavored scripture but I need to explore the sour apple and grape.  I wonder what truths I will find?  I wonder where they will lead?

Joel 3:17

New International Version (NIV)

Blessings for God’s People

17 “Then you will know that I, the Lord your God,
    dwell in Zion, my holy hill.
Jerusalem will be holy;
    never again will foreigners invade her.

Zephaniah 3:9-10

New International Version (NIV)

Restoration of Israel’s Remnant

9 “Then I will purify the lips of the peoples,
    that all of them may call on the name of the Lord
    and serve him shoulder to shoulder.
10 From beyond the rivers of Cush[a]
    my worshipers, my scattered people,
    will bring me offerings.

Lamentations 3:22-26

New International Version (NIV)

22 Because of the Lord’s great love we are not consumed,
    for his compassions never fail.
23 They are new every morning;
    great is your faithfulness.
24 I say to myself, “The Lord is my portion;
    therefore I will wait for him.”

25 The Lord is good to those whose hope is in him,
    to the one who seeks him;
26 it is good to wait quietly
    for the salvation of the Lord.

The Cool Breeze

The other day I got into my vehicle after work and it was very hot.  I turned the key and immediately reached down and turned the fan up.  After a few minutes it was still very hot.  I reached down and turned the fan up another notch.  It still didn't get cool.  I could not figure out what was wrong.

I turned all the vents toward me but that didn't help.  It was still hot.  I was almost home when I glanced down and I saw the problem!  The fan was on, but the air condition was off.  I turned it on and within seconds I could feel  the cold air!  It felt so good!!

Sometimes I do this in my life.  I stumble around turning the vents toward me but get nothing but hot air.  I can't figure out what is wrong.  After I realize that everything that I am doing results in hot air I usually discover that I need to turn on the air condition.  Jesus is the Air Condition of my life. Without Him the vents of my life will always blow the wrong way.  He is the cool breeze that brings me back to where I should be!

Is He your cool breeze?

John 1:2-4

New International Version (NIV)

2 He was with God in the beginning. 3 Through him all things were made; without him nothing was made that has been made. 4 In him was life, and that life was the light of all mankind.

John 14:6

New International Version (NIV)

6 Jesus answered, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.

The Journey Continues:The Splendor of our King

Wednesday Richard and I were heading to Oklahoma City for Richard's three appointments and I knew it was going to be a long day.  I wasn't really grumbling(well maybe in my head) but was tired from having to leave at such an early hour when I looked up and saw the Splendor of my King!  It was in the sunrise!  It was in the clouds!  It was in the grass and the trees.  It was in the air that I was breathing!  It was in the cross!!

God reminded me that He is in control.  He reminded me that He made the world and that He made me.  He reminded me that no matter what happens that He is in control.  He reminded me that in the scheme of things one day with many appointments could mean being a witness to someone about the splendor of my God!

Richard's appointments went well.  He has two more chemo treatments of this particular kind.  He will have a pet scan in nine weeks and at that point it will determined what the next step will be.  His counts were good  and he is now off of the steroids, except the bag he takes with each chemo.  He is actually down to one medicine that he takes by mouth.  Hopefully he will be able to be off of that one in the near future.

Thanks again to all the prayers warriors that are praying for us during this journey!!  Richard and I appreciate you so much!!!  :)

1 Chronicles 29:11

New International Version (NIV)

11 Yours, Lord, is the greatness and the power
    and the glory and the majesty and the splendor,
    for everything in heaven and earth is yours.
Yours, Lord, is the kingdom;
    you are exalted as head over all.

The Journey Continues:Update

Thank-you to everyone that has been praying for Richard, I and the rest of the family during this almost four year and counting journey.  Several have been asking again how Richard is doing so I thought I would write a quick post!!

He is very tired and annoyed this past few days and this morning.  He is ready to feel well, have some energy and be able to take a vacation that is not spent in a hospital.  He wants to pour over those maps and plan out a vacation.  He wants to feel well enough to enjoy it though.

His blood counts have continued to be good but he is having some pancreatic problems.  The Doctors are going to do an ultra-sound to see if it could be his gall bladder.  His pancreatic enzymes have been high but that also could be caused by gall bladder problems.  He will see the Doctor on Wednesday, after his chemo.

Thanks again for all the prayers and concern!!  We do appreciate it so much!!

1 Thessalonians 5:18

New International Version (NIV)

18 give thanks in all circumstances; for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.

The Spider Killer

I have killed at least three spiders in the last week.  I saw the spiders and then I killed them!  I knocked those ugly, hairy creatures into another world.  I don't care what world, just not my world!!  One of the spiders I killed and at the same time saved my daughter from a untimely death.  She owes me!!

I must confess that the spiders I killed were on the small side.  Now the one that I killed for my screaming, jumping up and down daughter was big.  I heard her tell a friend on the phone that it was at least as big as her head!!  : ) One of those spiders had the nerve to run toward me but I struck with a swiftness that probably has not been seen since my ball playing days!

I am really not sure what will happen if I have to kill a giant spider or a fast one. Even worse would be if there are multiple spiders.  I might be a spider killer and I wear that name proudly but if a spider is as big as a human head or even the size of my big toe or can outrun me I will probably revert back to the spider dance.  The one were I scream and yell and jump up and down.  The one that my daughter has learned so well!  I might need help with the big or fast ones!

I think all spiders are evil and just like sin!  Whether sin is big or small it needs to be struck down the instant it is recognized.  The longer sin stays the bigger it grows.  Sin that grows and is let to stay around becomes normal.  It needs to be killed.

I need to treat sin just as I have been treating those spiders that I killed.  The minute sin arrives I need to strike swift and kill it!! I need to be as scared of sin as I am of spiders,especially if sin is in multiples.  I need to have a sin dance.  One where I start dancing as soon as I smell sin!  One similar to the spider dance where I jump up and down, yell and scream.  One where I end up on my knees.  I need to be as afraid of sin as I am of spiders!  Sins bite is far worse than that of a spider.

I  do have a Sin Killer!  I don't have to deal with sin alone.  His name is Jesus and He knocks my sin into another world!!  He takes my sin and cleanses me!  Jesus is my Sin Killer, Lord and Savior! He has given me life now and after death.

Do you know my Sin Killer?

Philippians 3:19-21

New International Version (NIV)

19 Their destiny is destruction, their god is their stomach, and their glory is in their shame. Their mind is set on earthly things. 20 But our citizenship is in heaven. And we eagerly await a Savior from there, the Lord Jesus Christ,21 who, by the power that enables him to bring everything under his control, will transform our lowly bodies so that they will be like his glorious body.

John 3:16-17

New International Version (NIV)

16 For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. 17 For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him

The Bowling Churchwomen

1990 was the year that I moved to Enid, Oklahoma.   I had thought that I was okay with the move but once I got to Enid I missed my hometown so much that I wanted to take my family and head back home.  Wellston was where my friends were.  Wellston was where my family was.  My group was there.

I did join a church and made friends but something was missing.  It was my group!  The people in that group were people that I had grown up with and went to church with.  They knew my secrets, they laughed and cried with me.  I also knew their secrets, laughed and cried with them.  I missed them, the intimacy and the silliness.  

I had been at the Enid church about two years when I let the piano player talk me into joining a bowling league.  That was the start of the group! A group that I was a part of and that accepted me just as I was!  By the second year of bowling there were two teams.  The women were all from church.  We were the Bowling Churchwomen!!

Some of the women's husband's would be there cheering us on.  There was also a brother to one of the bowlers that would fill in if one of us could not be there.  It was not a big deal.  We just called him by the name of the woman who was absent.  He fit right in.

This group not only put up with me and my silliness, they kept me sane.  They put up with my jokes(including a fake wedding), Dr. Pepper flying out of my nose from laughter, sadness from divorce and death and  bragging about my children.  In turn I happily did the  same for them.  We were not just a group, we were best friends!

Then change happened.  One member had a job transfer, another's work hours changed, one had grandbabies and before we knew it the group was no longer bowling.  The women of the Bowling Churchwomen may not be together anymore but they are engraved in my heart forever!

God will supply the needs of His children!  God knew that when He gave me that desire of my heart that He also filled a need. 

Philippians 4:19

New International Version (NIV)

¹⁹ And my God will meet all your needs according to the riches of his glory in Christ Jesus.

Come Just As You Are!

Have you ever been involved in a come as you are party?  It is a party where someone will come and get you and you go to the party just as you are.  The choir at the church that I am a member of had something very similar to this the other day.  They went to different people and serenaded them and than brought them to choir if the people decided to come.  After choir there was an ice cream party.  There were 13 visitors in choir Wednesday!!   I am assuming that they came just as they were.

This concept really made me think.  What if somebody showed up at my house to take me to a come as you are party.  What would I look like?  Would I be ready to go join a party just as I am or would I have to say wait I have to change, I can't go like this?  On certain days or even certain times of the day I would be ready to come just as I am but other times I am not so sure!  It might even depend on who the person showing up is.

Jesus has a come just as you are party daily. His party is every minute of every day!  His party forgives of all sin!  His party is a  cleansing party.  He does not care what you look like or what you have done!  Some go to this party but don't get the message.  Some don't realize that coming just as you are could result in a new garment!  Some will leave the party still in their old garments but some are clothed in new life!

Are you ready to come just as you are??

Romans 5:8-10

New International Version (NIV)

8 But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.
9 Since we have now been justified by his blood, how much more shall we be saved from God’s wrath through him!10 For if, while we were God’s enemies, we were reconciled to him through the death of his Son, how much more, having been reconciled, shall we be saved through his life!

Psalm 51:7

New International Version (NIV)

7 Cleanse me with hyssop, and I will be clean;
    wash me, and I will be whiter than snow.

Come Just As You Are 

by Crystal Lewis

Chorus
Come just as you are
Hear the spirit call
Come just as you are
Come and see
Come receive
Come and live forever

Come just as you are
Hear the spirit call
Come just as you are
Come and see
Come receive
Come and live forever


Life Everlasting
Strength for today
Taste the living water
And never thirst again

Come and see
Come receive
Come and live forever

Life Everlasting
Strength for today
Taste the living water
And never thirst again

Life Everlasting
Strength for today
Taste the living water
And never thirst again

Come just as you are
Don't you hear the spirit call?
Come just as you are
Come and see
Christ My King
Come and live forever more 

How beautiful are your feet?

                                     How beautiful are your feet?  I think mine are pretty ugly!!

After many years of walking on my feet, stepping on nails, splinters and gravel, breaking and stubbing toes, suffering a very painful avulsion fracture and then arthritis settling in several toes my feet could be worse.  I think they are ugly though!  My feet can still be used though!! My feet can take me to spread the good news!  

The Good News is that Jesus is Lord and Savior!  He came to earth for you and for me!! He died and rose again because of our sin.  What Christ suffered is beyond my comprehension!   When He knocks will you open your heart and let Him in!!  

Revelation 3:19-20

New International Version (NIV)

19 Those whom I love I rebuke and discipline. So be earnest and repent. 20 Here I am! I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in and eat with that person, and they with me

John 14:6

New International Version (NIV)

6 Jesus answered, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.

If God calls me to tell the good news, even if it is walking to the computer and posting about the Good News, going on Mission trips or telling my next door neighbor I should do it!!  

What about you?  Has God ask you to spread the good news?  How beautiful are your feet?

Romans 10:15

New Living Translation (NLT)

15 And how will anyone go and tell them without being sent? That is why the Scriptures say, “How beautiful are the feet of messengers who bring good news!”

Another bout of nothing in the mind

The last few weeks I have had a very blank mind.  I have had a few brilliant(of course brilliant) thoughts on the very edge of becoming something written that would cause you to sit back and say wow!  Instead my thoughts turned to mush and a thick blanket of nothing!

My thoughts turned to the last time that my mind was so very blank and I thought of how God had used that time to fill my mind with thoughts of him.  He used that time to remind me that when my mind is blank that maybe He is trying to fill it with the pure, holy sweetness of my Lord.  He used that time to remind me that I need to cleanse my mind daily and fill it with His strength and might!

I tried this again.  I felt nothing.  I cleansed my mind daily but still felt nothing.  I sent up prayers and still felt nothing.  I poured over my Bible but still felt nothing.  Yesterday, though, when reading scripture I was reminded of something.

NOTHING, NO, NOTHING will separate me from God!!! NOT even a mind full of nothing!!

Romans 8:38-39

New International Version (NIV)

38 For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons,[a] neither the present nor the future, nor any powers,39 neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.