Feeling Restless

Chatting with a good friend recently I said I was in a quandary and expressed my desire to do more.  “Do more of what” I was asked…my reply was “I’m not really sure”.  I just know that deep down I am on fire for the Lord and need a way to let it out.  Recently the tragic events that took place in a family I am close to have stirred things up in me.  You see they have experienced the greatest loss anyone could, the death of their beloved daughter.  I cannot imagine anything more painful than losing a child, yet they have shown all of us what unwavering FAITH in God truly looks like in a way that is indescribable.

Along this journey that we all took with them I had the unexpected boldness and opportunity to share my faith with a few people.  People who do not attend church, people who may or may not believe in God or just people of very little faith.  You see God used the circumstances of this family to give all of us a way to make a difference.  When you have the least likely person you know ask you to tell them about miracles or another to say “I prayed for your friend’s daughter today”; you know that God is working through me to touch these previously untouched lives. What an amazing feeling, to give God the glory and share with others about HIS love for us.

My friend suggested that I start by praying to God for direction, for that truly has to come from Him.  Without Godly direction my efforts will be in vain and pointless.  Already in this process I have begun to have small ideas pop into my head and some things that were unclear to me are becoming obvious.  Doubts are beginning to fade and the quandary is becoming less complex.  God doesn’t want me in a quandary, HE wants me to listen for HIS guidance and when HE speaks for me to be obedient.  Even baby steps of obedience are steps in the right direction.  HE never gives us more then we can handle and HE does not waste any time when it’s time to move.

Philippians 1:6 says “Be confident that HE who began a great work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus”

HE has a plan and a purpose for each of us.  We are not here by chance or accident.  We are not just going through the motions of what seems like our mundane lives.  HE already knows what each day will hold for us from beginning to the end.  Nothing is a surprise to HIM, not one day of our lives.  So yes I am restless…I believe HE has made me restless because HE wants me to do more for HIM and the time is NOW.

I have turned to Jeremiah 29:11-13 to calm my restlessness as I begin my new journey.  “For I know the plans I have for you” declares the Lord.  “Plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future”.   When you call on me and come and pray to me, and I will listen to you.  You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart.

God Bless,

Heidi

The Loneliness of the Holidays

I am about to experience my first major Holiday without both my mom or dad.  It seems surreal that even though I am in my fifties that this is the case.  No mom, no dad, no grandparents, no brothers, no sisters, no aunts, no uncles….it’s a very empty feeling.  Don’t get me wrong, I love my husband, my boys and close friends but it’s just an empty feeling when your mom and dad are gone especially being an only child.

Ever since mom passed in 1999, daddy and I continued our holiday traditions on Thanksgiving and Christmas. We had to…it was our way of coping with the loneliness we both felt when mom was gone.  So what this year?  I feel kind of lost…should I just start something new or continue with the old?  And some days I feel like doing nothing at all.

No pumpkin showed up on my deck for the fall decorating, no dad on my shopping list, no gifts to buy for him to give the boys, no box of oranges, no eggnog or fruitcake to buy (yes, his favorites), no dad at my table tomorrow, no dad for breakfast on Christmas. It’s just all so sadly different.

I know there are many of you out there in this same situation and to you I say…we MUST be strong and carry on!  Let’s not focus on who is not with us or how we wish things could be, but be thankful and enjoy the ones that still are.  I know my mom and dad would be very angry with me for wanting to give up and call off the holidays.  So I will remember them in the continued holiday traditions that they loved so much.  Yet none of this comes without tears in my eyes every time they cross my mind.

2015 has not been a kind year to my family for many reasons and even as of yesterday we lost another dear family member, yet I am THANKFUL still.  With the bad comes the good of daily blessings we all receive that sometimes we take for granted.  With the bad comes the reality that the tough times are only temporary.  With the bad comes knowing that we have a heavenly Father who loves us more then we can ever fathom. And with the bad I know that I will one day be with them again for eternity.

So with this said I hope that each of you that may be experiencing the holiday loneliness that is upon me will look Up to Him and Forward and not look back.   Each new day is a gift from God; it is up to us how we use it.  I am choosing to use it well and no matter how tough the day seems I will be THANKFUL!!!

In every thing give thanks, for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you.  1 THESSALONIANS 5:18

 God Bless each of you and Happy Thanksgiving!!

Love in Christ,

Heidi

The Love of Nanny!

The word Nanny to me is synonymous with anything good, loving, caring and amazing. I know there are many names that children call their grandmothers and they all have special meanings to them, but Nanny is special to me and to my dear friend who just lost her Nanny this week.

in my life I have had two Nanny’s…my grandmother (my mom’s mom) and that is also the chosen name my boys gave my mom.  So what made my mom and her mom a special Nanny?  Mainly it was the unselfish desire to make everyone around them feel special, their love of God and their desire to always make family a priority.  Birthdays and holidays have never been the same since their passing and I know my friend will be experiencing the same sadness.  You see a Nanny is the glue that holds the whole family together, no matter how small or how big your family may be.  She was the center of it all and was the one that everyone could talk to about anything and she loved you no matter your mistakes.  She always knew just what to say to make any situation better.

I have learned from my friend that her Nanny fit this same description to a tee, so I know that their hurt is deep today as she is laid to rest and a new chapter of their family is about to unfold.

To her family I pray that you will continue to honor your Nanny’s memory by continuing on with the many traditions that she so eloquently carried on throughout the years.  She would not want you to loose touch with each other.  Stay close, remember birthdays, and plan holiday events especially at Christmas because she loved that holiday so much.   She has left behind a wonderful legacy that needs to be remembered and honored.

When my boys lost their Nanny in 1999 my boys were only 9 and 5 years old and to this day even though they were very young they will always know how special their Nanny was and how much she loved her “Special Boys”.   To this day we speak of her as if it’s only been a short time since her passing because her memory is still so vivid to us all.

To my dear friend I say…take time to share your Nanny’s memory continually with the younger ones so they too have the opportunity to know the woman that was so endeared by all of your family for many years.  Pictures and stories can bring to life the Nanny they never got the pleasure of knowing very well.

Gone to heaven is not really gone…her memory will live in your hearts forever and you now have been given the most wonderful guardian angel to watch over each of you.

A friend once told me that when they engrave your tombstone the most important symbol on that stone is the dash between the years (1927 – 2015) because that dash represents your life here on earth. So I ask you…how did you spend those years?  What is your legacy?  What will people say about you when you are gone?  Make the most of your DASH and let that represent the wonderful person God intended for you to be.

Do Not Conform…

With Spring and Summer right around the corner, there is talk all around of dieting to get in that swim suit, tanning so you look great, our hair and nails have to be perfect so we think.   Even though out body is a temple and we are commanded by God to care for his temple, think about this message as you plan your springtime transformation.  Be sure that you change yourself in the ways God has intended, not by what the world says.

“Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind…” (Romans 12:2, NIV)

If you watch television for any length of time, it won’t be long before you see products and pills advertised to make you thinner, smarter, younger looking, more successful, less stressed and ultimately claim to change your life. Peer pressure is another source of self destruction and feeling that you need to change.  But the truth is all you need in order to change your life is already in your hand. God has given you the ability and the power to be transformed into the person He created you to be.

Sight has to do with what we can see, but vision has to do with what we can be. The reason some people are stuck at the same level is because their vision is limited. They don’t see themselves growing, increasing, being promoted or getting healthier. All they see is more of the same. More lack. More struggle. More defeat. They’re producing what they’re seeing.

Friend, don’t let that be you! Instead, let the Word of God wash over you and renew your thinking. See yourself the way God sees you. See yourself rising higher. See yourself becoming stronger, healthier and wiser. Change the picture you have of your life, and you will change your life. See yourself the way God sees you and receive the wonderful blessings He has in store for your future!  Do this and you will be BEAUTIFUL everyday!!

Love in Christ,

Heidi

Feeling alone in your own family?

Do you ever truly feel alone even in the midst of your own family?  Alone because you’re the only one who truly believes and “Get’s it”, and the rest of your family just doesn’t understand.  The bible says we should be equally yoked in our relationship and beliefs; I believe this goes for the whole family.  “Do not be yoked together with unbelievers. For what do righteousness and wickedness have in common? Or what fellowship can light have with darkness?”   2 Corinthians 6:14    Well try living unequal for many years, its tough!  It’s tough and it cripples your communication and relationships in everyway.  This breakdown of communication and understanding of each other will eventually lead to your demise.

Accepting Christ into your life is the most important decision you can ever make.  Imagine not even having the support of your spouse at your baptism…that truly hurts to the core but eventually you get past that discouraging experience and realize it’s not important but what is important is what you can do for God and how He shines in your life.  You eagerly become active in your church and its ministries but no one in your family cares or supports you.  They don’t hold you back but definitely are not interested in you, the church or your beliefs.  They just think that they are all fine because they believe in God….that’s all there is to it.  All “good” people go to heaven is their mentality.

Family problems and tragedies arise and no matter how hard you pray nothing changes.  I truly believe that God wants prayers for family issues to come from the FAMILY…everyone in the family.  One person cannot do it all.  He calls for us to pray corporately and continuously.

Then we all have some family members that just cruise through life expecting others to make everything ok and fix what’s broken.  God never intended of ONE person to do it all that is why he gave us a mate and other people in our lives.  God never expects any of us to go it alone.  Thank goodness we have HIM.

So why are we alone in our families?  Because a lot of us live in ungodly homes, work in ungodly workplaces and are just getting through life in this ungodly world.  How much more can we stand?  I thank God everyday that I am only passing through and this place is only temporary, not my permanent home.  Living your life looking forward to your eternal home is all you have sometimes to get you through each day.  Will you be alone then…NO!!!  Finally you will be at peace, stress free and no longer living with the ungodly people who love to bring you down.

Pray for those you live with you that don’t understand you.  Pray for the ungodly; pray they will change before it’s too late.  Love each other the way God love us and loves his church.   God wants us all in heaven, not just a select few.  Spread the gospel and let those around you see the love of Christ radiate from you daily and hopefully one day they too will want to know your Savior.

Love in CHRIST,

Heidi

An Experience Like No Other

Isaiah 58:7 says:  Is it not right to share your food with the hungry and to provide the poor wanderer with shelter?

As most of you know the local churches have begun a program to house and feed the homeless in our area during the winter months. I had the privilege of serving in that ministry of good will last night by serving a hot meal to them.  They were people just like you and me that have fallen on very hard times and just need some support and kindness.  No I do not know their stories but you know they are hurting.  It was amazing to me how happy they all seemed and grateful beyond words for even a friendly “Hello” or “How are you today?”   We talked and laughed with them because they were no different then anyone else.  Remembering that in God’s eyes they are just like us.  God loves them as much as he loves us and he calls each of us to help those less fortunate.  It truly blessed me probably more then them.

Psalm 82:4 says:  Rescue the weak and the needy; deliver them from the hand of the wicked.

None of us know what tomorrow will hold for us and I am sure they never thought they would be in this situation.  Let’s all join in prayer that the homeless in our area and throughout our world will find food, shelter and peace by knowing our Lord Jesus Christ,  for He will deliver them for the pit of darkness if they will only believe and accept his blessings.  Go out and see how you can be a blessing to someone today less fortunate then yourself….there are MANY in need of our help.

Love in Christ,

Heidi