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Showing posts from July, 2012

More Than Enough

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A few of the verdicts are in:  my dad does have cancer, coupled with an added issue, he is also going blind from macular degeneration - and I didn't get the job. (See: Troubled Water)

The verdicts still out: we have yet to hear about my mother's illness as tests are still going on. My temp job is still on a week to week basis.

There are new additions as well: more financial issues, my only pair of reading glasses broke, I turned my ankle walking to the car, and I have been ill.

With current finances, I am making do with the broken glasses, nursing my ankle, and praying my illness isn't what I think and can be treated at home without the need for a doctor's care or missing work. It feels as though I am living a chapter right out of the Book of Job. The hopeful news about that scenario? In the last chapter God restored everything to Job ten fold.

My devotions comforted and encouraged. Kings 4:42-44: God miraculously feeds a multitude through the prophet Eliseus with tw…
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Troubled Water

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The dribble of issues I faced last week have become a flood. News is still pending regarding my job interview for a non-temp position with full benefits. Those are precious commodities when you don't have them. Then, my dad's prostate cancer biopsy was yesterday, coupled with the news my mother was taken into the emergency room with severe abdominal pain. There is a mystery mass encompassing most of her abdominal cavity. May or may not be cancerous, the jury is still out on that. She sees the specialist on Tuesday, about the same time frame I will hear back on the job - and my dad's biopsy. Troubled water, indeed.

All the rainbows I related in last week's post, Rainbows, Miracles and Promises, were reminders from a compassionate God that He will be with me during these storms, as He has been for all of my life. These signs and reminders pop up prior to a difficult event, a forewarning, giving me a chance to brace myself.  Sometimes they herald a miraculous delivery, o…
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Rainbows, Miracles and Promises

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It was a rough day. Work issues, compounded by a thank you, but no thank you, message on my cell phone in response to a recent job interview, tipped me toward a black hole of doubt and insecurity.  Then the  news may dad would be undergoing a biopsy for prostate cancer pushed me over the edge.

Our merciful God didn't let me stay there. Rainbows appeared. First, a co-worker shared a beautiful book of poetry and art by a young artistic prodigy, filled with poems and art with rainbows. During dinner that evening, we turned on the music channel.  Somewhere Over the Rainbow was playing. Later I logged into Face Book. A friend posted a picture of a Rainbow Cypress. Its white bark displayed all the colors of the rainbow.

My devotions the next morning revealed a special message within all of the references and images of  rainbows.

First was Psalm 105: 5: Remember His marvelous works which He has done....

Second from Streams in the Desert: Even though our circumstance are dire - we must w…
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How to Have a Joyful Mind

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Joy and happiness. Webster's dictionary states the two are synonyms, basically interchangeable. Scripture speaks of joy in a different light. It refers to joy as a sense of contentment regardless of our circumstances. In other words, the peace the world cannot give.

I've searched most of my life for a way to reach this rung in the spiritual ladder. I've tried many different methods: intense prayer, relaxation and mediation exercises, positive thinking and so much more.

They all helped to a degree. Yes, prayer can accomplish anything - if you are praying the right kind of prayer and with the right motivation. Merely begging God to change your circumstances will not leave you feeling joyful and filled with peace, unless you can give the circumstances to Him - completely - and then move on.

That's where I struggle, along with several other issues. Like an alcoholicat an AAA meeting, I must stand up and admit I am a worrier, I am a control freak, I am judgemental of ot…
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Drowning in a World of Irritability

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It's been rough the last few weeks between a busy schedule and a plague of irritability. It's everywhere. From fellow commuters to co-workers to family. I know I can't possibly be responsible for all of it. So, this morning, I asked God how could I cope? I can't walk on eggshells every single moment of the day. He has offered us peace the world cannot give. How do I find it in a world filled with anger, sometimes unjustified anger?

His answer came quickly. The meditation in one of my devotions, Living Faith, yeilded one possibility. Rather than direct all of my worries and concerns toward how others will perceive my  actions,  or me for that matter, I need to ask only one question before I make a decison or take action. Will it please God? If the answer is yes, then I can proceede with confidence. If not, then I had better take a second look at what I am about to do, and my motiviations for doing it.

Of course, if I choose correctly, and my decison is met with critisi…
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