Heather is Healing!

Heather, my sister's girlfriend, is a lovely woman who was told this year she had cancer of the cervix that had spread throughout her body.  After three rounds of chemotherapy, they told her the cancer was terminal. The doctors told her they would put her on a new kind of chemo that would prolong her life.

But when she and my sister were at the hospital, one of the technicians said, "We shoot Heather with glucose, because cancer loves sugar and lights up so then we can see it on the scan. My sister said, "If cancer loves sugar, why don't cancer patients stop eating sugar?"  He scoffed at that and said, "Everyone needs sugar."

Well, Heather has gone on a no-sugar diet and guess what? Her tests are showing the cancer is dying! She is healing! Will this be an absolute cure? We don't know yet, but it sure looks good. We are all over the moon with happiness. 

This no-sugar diet was not easy for Heather. She used to drink soda pop all day and have lots of candy. No more. She has a lot of protein and complex carbs. She is very, very happy at this result.

We just want to praise and thank the Lord for all of this. We know he leads us when we ask him. Heather was ready to die, as I wrote about earlier. She gave her life into his hands and was at peace. Like the Psalm says, "Even if I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for you are with me."

Our Daily Cross.

Photo by, "Geralt", Pixabay User

And he said to all, “If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me. Luke 9:23

I'm reading a book called, "God's Best for My Life," written by, LLoyd John Oglvie. In it he writes this:

"Love means the cross. God's mercy was expressed in the cross. He did not condemn the world, but came in forgiving love."

Then he asks, "What is our cross?"

"We can understand and accept our cross only if we accept the essential meaning of his cross. In his cross he suffered for the sins of the whole world so that mankind might be forgiven. Our cross, then, is forgiving and forgetting what people have been and done."

"The Christian life begins with crucifixion - our own. Becoming a Christian means  a death-like surrender of our life to Christ. We die to our own rights, control of our life and plans for the future. We will be willing to be made willing to receive, do, go, stay, speak and serve as he wills. Christ comes to live within us to express his loving mercy for others through us."

"We forgive, because we have been forgiven. People do not need to measure up any more than we have to measure up in order for God to love us."

"There will be a cross in every relationship and responsibility we encounter today. At the heart of each situation is a point of surrender to seek first the Lord's will. There will be people to be loved and forgiven. Most of all, there will be a constant flow of opportunities to care for people as if caring for our Lord...To make Christ's plans our plans will spell a cross of death to self-will..."

"Our cross is people - persons who need our forgiveness... We cannot carry our cross alone. When we dare to be a forgiving person, we need the Lord's help daily, and many times through the day."

This was an eye-opener for me and I believe he is right. When I think of Jesus on the cross, why he is there, what was done to him, forgiveness is what he gave that day. People betrayed him, slapped his face, spit on him, beat him up, whipped him, laughed at him, lied about him and hated him,

And he taught us, before that terrible day, that we must forgive those who do these things to us. That is our cross. May God strengthen us to bear it with him.

What Career Does God Want For You?

This is the main street of where my daughter works in the Dollar Store.

I heard Joyce Meyer talking about how to know God's will for us. I thought she had some practical ideas.

1. What are you good at?
2. What do you enjoy doing?

She says God wants to show us what to do and he will if we follow his leading. I'm going to give a few examples of people finding their happy place. Lol

Joyce: She said she started out working for God by giving away pamphlets to strangers downtown. She hated doing that. Yes, I've done it and hated it too.

Next, she worked in her church by babysitting for parents while they were in the service. She said it took about two weeks when she and the children decided it wasn't working. Then, she started a Bible Study program in her home. She loved teaching people about God. She found her place.

My Daughter: First she was an office assistant and photographer for a real estate office. She really liked that job, but after 10 years and low pay she decided she needed to do something different. She had always been attracted to nursing so she went to school and $20,000 later she was a nurse. She didn't really like working in a hospital so she went to a nursing home. The pay was good and she loved the residents, but watching people die was too painful for her.

She then took classes in working in emergency situations and got a job way up north in Canada to man the ambulance. But driving on pure ice roads upset her and her family did not like her being away 3 weeks a month. So, she quit.

Next she worked at a drop-in clinic and then a doctor's office. She didn't like either of these jobs because a lot of patients were angry and took it out on her. Her husband was transferred to a mountain town and she got a job looking after a sick and elderly man. She did like this job and loved the patient. But he became sicker and had to go live in a nursing home.

There were no other jobs available in town but working in a Dollar Store. She liked this job because she loved her boss. Then she was made manager of the store and in charge of buying products. Well, she loved this part of the job. She knows what women want for crafts because she is a crafter and she knows what children like to play with and ordered new toys. The store has been making much more money since she was made manager and she is very happy. She found her place.

One time, she was telling me how upset she was that she spent all that money on nurse training for nothing. I told her it wasn't for nothing; she found out what she didn't like and not only that the jobs she had as a nurse over the years paid extremely well. They more than covered the tuition. Also, in the back of her mind she had always wanted to be a nurse. She would have always regretted not giving it a shot.

Me: Well, I had been drawn to archaeology since I was in my twenties. But I had children and was a stay-at-home mom for years. When I went to university in my early 40s, I decided to be a librarian in a museum. But I had a mental breakdown and quit school. I was upset for a few years, but then realized how much my daughter's and grandchildren needed me. If I had had a career, I wouldn't have been available. I'm really glad my life turned out the way it did.

So, I do believe God will show you where your talents lie and where you will be happiest and do the most good. Don't be afraid to try something out and see if it fits. You may love a career you didn't even give consideration to.

The Great Sadness.

I just finished reading, The Shack, by WM. Paul Young. This book moved me as no other. I bought it because I heard Mr. Young on a Podcast at, http://rureal.org/  hosted by, Jon Brandon. As they talked about the book, I was intrigued so I bought it from Amazon.

For me, the story becomes beautiful and inspiring when the main character, Mack, goes to the shack after an invitation arrives in his mailbox. The invitation could come from a prankster, a murderer or God. He isn't sure so he takes a gun, just in case.

In this book, Mr. Young portrays God the Father, Jesus and the Holy Spirit as people he meets. I don't want to say any more than that. Each person who reads this book will react to these portrayals in their own way. I will just tell you my reaction.

I fell in love once again with the Trinity through this book. How easy they are to be with. How loving, thoughtful and patient they are. How different they are than the picture most people seem to have of God. They are fun to be with, which I've always suspected since God gave us all such a sense of humor. Many times I say to God, "Now, that was just funny," and I imagine he finds things funny too.

I entitled this post, "The Great Sadness," because along with the beauty and fun there is tragedy, which the author calls, "The Great Sadness."  I immediately related to that because I was sexually and physically abused by my father when I was quite small up until I was around 11 yrs. old. Even when I was an adult, he could be very crass and exposed himself to me a few times. Of course he always said it was an "accident". I know about "The Great Sadness." Every person who has been abused as a child knows it.

The author himself was sexually abused as a child. He knows "The Great Sadness."  If you are one who also knows it, I hope this book will help you. The author said it took him 11 years of therapy to understand what his character, Mack, understands over a weekend; so although this book may not heal all your pain, it is a good beginning. It is a long road to recovery and there is so much to learn. Joyce Meyer helped me through this too and so did many books on why God allows pain, from Philip Yancey to C.S. Lewis. All these authors helped me. I owe them a great debt.

The last few chapters of this book shook me to the core and seeing the love of God through it was something I was grateful for. The God in this book is a God everyone can love and feel at home with. He is the God of the Scriptures; he called himself a servant when he was here. A servant. Imagine that.

Do You Know Who You Really Are?

Photo by: Runner1928

I remember being at church one Sabbath and everyone was singing, "I Will Not Be Shaken." The chorus repeats those words quite a few times, "I will not be shaken."  I stopped singing, turned to my mother and said, "On the other hand, who knows what I'll do?"

I had finally learned I didn't know myself. That day, I really had no idea if I would continue to live to honor God or not. I had fallen too many times to be confident.

Peter didn't know himself. He said to Jesus, "Even if I have to die with you; I will never disown you." Mark 14:31  He did disown Jesus. Three times.

I also remember a time at a camp-meeting when a pastor said, "Everyone rise who will promise to keep the Sabbath day holy." It looked like everyone in the whole auditorium stood up. I didn't rise, and neither did my mom. We had both found out the hard way our promises to God meant nothing.

I guess, no, I know, this is a good thing. When a Christian realizes what an idiot she can be, it's always a good thing. Pride kind of falls to the ground. Not that it won't try to crawl up again, but at least it has been badly beaten up.

My husband told me when he became a Christian, he thought he would never sin again. Then he grabbed some guy by the throat because of something. As he was choking him, he felt God calm him down. He said he took his hands away, patted the guy on the chest and said he was sorry. He said, "From that moment on, I knew I wasn't going to be perfect."

This is something many Christians find out to their disappointment. And the longer you live, the more the Holy Spirit will reveal things to you. But like Joyce Meyer, I am now glad when God shows me my shortcomings and sins. I know he is doing it for my good. I want to do and say the right things and God knows that about me. So I pray about what he has shown me and ask him to help. He always does and I feel no condemnation.

Shallow or Deep?

Jesus and his disciples had been talking with the religious rulers. The rulers demanded a sign from heaven that would prove to them Jesus was the Messiah. Jesus told them no sign would be given. Then he and his disciples went into a boat to cross the lake.

The disciples had forgotten to bring bread, except for one loaf they had with them in the boat.  “Be careful,” Jesus warned them. “Watch out for the yeast of the Pharisees and that of Herod.”

They discussed this with one another and said, “It is because we have no bread.”

Aware of their discussion, Jesus asked them:

 “Why are you talking about having no bread?

 Do you still not see or understand?

 Are your hearts hardened?

 Do you have eyes but fail to see, and ears but fail to hear?

 And don’t you remember?

 When I broke the five loaves for the five thousand, how many basketfuls of pieces did you pick up?”

“Twelve,” they replied.

 “And when I broke the seven loaves for the four thousand, how many basketfuls of pieces did you pick up?”

They answered, “Seven.”

He said to them, “Do you still not understand?”

Mark 8:14-21

A commentator said many Christians fail to listen, fail to understand the deeper things of God. It is because we don’t take the time to study the Bible. We think about things of this earth much more, “Do we have enough food in the house?”  “Do we need to replace this old table?”  “What shall we do Saturday night?”

Jesus asked them, “Don’t you remember?”  He was talking about the hundreds of loaves of bread he had given to the 4,000 people just that day. Why would they worry about food when they had two examples of Jesus providing plenty of food? Why would they think Jesus was talking about food. Jesus was telling them to remember what he had done in the past so they would not worry about the future.

The disciples many times took Jesus’ words literally when they weren’t meant that way. We make the same mistake today. Most Christians think the parable of the “Rich Man and Lazarus” is about heaven and hell. They seem to think we will be able to see and talk with the people in hell while we are in heaven. Impossible. If we are to be happy in heaven this could not be a literal story.  "Yet a little while and the wicked man will be no more; And you will look carefully for his place and he will not be there."  Psalm 37:10

Jesus was just saying that someone who would let people starve outside their door while they have plenty of food to share will indeed go to hell (grave, death, judgement) while those who suffer and love God will go to heaven. He also told us in that story that when people have decided to not follow God, even a miracle will not convince them. "He said to him, ‘If they do not hear Moses and the Prophets, neither will they be convinced if someone should rise from the dead.’”  Luke 16:31

Are our hearts hardened? This is something we probably don’t know but should ask God to soften our hearts so we understand his great love and goodness. 

We should ask God to give us hearts of flesh and take away our hearts of stone. We should ask him to renew a right spirit within us; to open our eyes, ears, heart, mind and hands to do his will. 

We need to hunger and thirst for righteousness and as he promised, he will fill us with himself. He will become inside of us a spring of water flowing upward to eternal life.

Shallow or Deep?

Jesus and his disciples had been talking with the religious rulers. The rulers demanded a sign from heaven that would prove to them Jesus was the Messiah. Jesus told them no sign would be given. Then he and his disciples went into a boat to cross the lake.

The disciples had forgotten to bring bread, except for one loaf they had with them in the boat.  “Be careful,” Jesus warned them. “Watch out for the yeast of the Pharisees and that of Herod.”

They discussed this with one another and said, “It is because we have no bread.”

Aware of their discussion, Jesus asked them:

 “Why are you talking about having no bread?

 Do you still not see or understand?

 Are your hearts hardened?

 Do you have eyes but fail to see, and ears but fail to hear?

 And don’t you remember?

 When I broke the five loaves for the five thousand, how many basketfuls of pieces did you pick up?”

“Twelve,” they replied.

 “And when I broke the seven loaves for the four thousand, how many basketfuls of pieces did you pick up?”

They answered, “Seven.”

He said to them, “Do you still not understand?”

Mark 8:14-21

A commentator said many Christians fail to listen, fail to understand the deeper things of God. It is because we don’t take the time to study the Bible. We think about things of this earth much more, “Do we have enough food in the house?”  “Do we need to replace this old table?”  “What shall we do Saturday night?”

Jesus asked them, “Don’t you remember?”  He was talking about the hundreds of loaves of bread he had given to the 4,000 people just that day. Why would they worry about food when they had two examples of Jesus providing plenty of food? Why would they think Jesus was talking about food. Jesus was telling them to remember what he had done in the past so they would not worry about the future.

The disciples many times took Jesus’ words literally when they weren’t meant that way. We make the same mistake today. Most Christians think the parable of the “Rich Man and Lazarus” is about heaven and hell. They seem to think we will be able to see and talk with the people in hell while we are in heaven. Impossible. If we are to be happy in heaven this could not be a literal story.  "Yet a little while and the wicked man will be no more; And you will look carefully for his place and he will not be there."  Psalm 37:10

Jesus was just saying that someone who would let people starve outside their door while they have plenty of food to share will indeed go to hell (grave, death, judgement) while those who suffer and love God will go to heaven. He also told us in that story that when people have decided to not follow God, even a miracle will not convince them. "He said to him, ‘If they do not hear Moses and the Prophets, neither will they be convinced if someone should rise from the dead.’”  Luke 16:31

Are our hearts hardened? This is something we probably don’t know but should ask God to soften our hearts so we understand his great love and goodness. 

We should ask God to give us hearts of flesh and take away our hearts of stone. We should ask him to renew a right spirit within us; to open our eyes, ears, heart, mind and hands to do his will. 

We need to hunger and thirst for righteousness and as he promised, he will fill us with himself. He will become inside of us a spring of water flowing upward to eternal life.