God gets the Glory in my life!

This year, pretty much from the beginning, has been one of amazement for me! God has bestowed so many blessings on me and members of my family that I have been overwhelmed at many points. It has been astounding to watch Him at work. You talk about a super-hero? Superman, Ironman, Batman, Spiderman, and all the other heroes over the years got nothing on the REAL superhero of the Universe-- God Almighty!

I was talking to a new friend the other day who knows about all the exciting that have been happening in my life by following my blog. She said to me, "Well, Nicki, God has really been pouring His blessings out in your life lately, hasn't he? To which I answered, "Boy, He sure has and I give Him all the Glory and all the Praise. It's totally been a God-year this year. Thank you Jesus!" And I really feel that way: Everything that has happened of late in my life, has been an outpouring of God's mercy and love and of Him answering prayers.

But a few weeks before I heard those uplifting words, I also heard this comment from someone close to me. "Hey, why don't you quit giving all the Glory to God all the time, and start taking some credit yourself for things that have happened in your life." That sentence kinda blew my mind, and made me start thinking about this journey we call life and who gets the credit for what happens to us, anyway and why?

I think our human nature want us to pound our chest and say "Look at all these great events that have happened because of me,' Aren't I something else?" Don't most of us think that we deserve credit when we do something amazing and we feel proud of ourselves, or others around us take notice of the things we've done? We are a mover and a shaker, right? Should we pound our chest and say, ' Look at me and all the great things I've done and all the things I've accomplished?"

If you are a believer and trust Jesus as your savior and have put your life in His hands, He wants all of you; everything you have, everything you do, everything you are. He wants you to be humble before Him. He wants you to glorify Him through your accomplishments. He seeks to pour out His many blessings upon you and use you to bring other people to Him. He wants to grow His Kingdom through you and me. He can't do that if we aren't humble and want to take the all the credit ourselves. If good things happen to us, it gives us an open opportunity to talk openly about the Lord.  If we're taking credit for everything, God doesn't have a chance to be Glorified!

If I'm a believer and love the Lord and want to bring others to him, so why in the world would I want to take credit for things that are happening in my life, when I know with every cell in my body and breath in my soul that everything in this world happens--- as directed, by the Creator of the Universe, according to His master plan? The Bible says we are beautifully and wonderfully made. God created me in my mothers womb, He knows every hair on my head, and everything about me, so why should I take credit for anything that happens in my life. I wouldn't even be here, if not created by Him. He breathed life into me the day I was born over 55 years ago, and He is charge of every breath since.

My observation is that almost all of us go through life thinking we have control of what's going to happen to us. We are the master of our fate, we are the captains of our souls--or so we think. We plan and set about on our way, with high expectations of our great futures. I'm not saying it's bad to plan. We all need to have some kind of plan for our lives, some dreams to have and goals to set. But just when you think that everything is going along great and all your dreams have come true. CRASH, lookout below! God wants us on our knees, and humble before him. That way he can use us to help a hurting world. It's hard to do that when you're full of yourself. Or as my Dad likes to say :You're smelling yourself!

So, my life was going along great almost 13 years ago when I got stricken with MS. I was a happy wife and mother with two young sons. I had a very rewarding career that gave me tremendous fulfillment. I felt important; I was meeting and interacting with very interesting and exciting people across the country. I was involved with inspiring artists from around the world. I was creating beautiful books and seeing unbelievably awe inspiring artwork on pretty much a daily basis. I was traveling to New York and collaborating with some of the biggest names in the book publishing world. I was going to seminars, conventions, vacations, and still making it to the kids ballgames and school events, plays, concerts, get away weekends with the hubby, and living what I thought was the good life. I was supermom, wasn't I?" Everything was moving along very smoothly, and according to my plans. But how was I with God? Was I humble before Him?

I thought about it every now and then, because I did love the Lord, and I knew I had drifted away of late, but I was too busy for God at that time in my life. On the outside everything looked good. We went to church, bible studies, events at church, but how was I with my Lord and Savior Jesus? I was too busy to really think about it too much. That's when it happened.

Life can change overnight from one trip to the doctors office, and that is exactly what happened to me. One trip and I found out that all my carefully laid plans of how my life was supposed to be were blown out of the water. I was 42 years old, in the prime of life, and I was looking at a doctor with a very grim look on his face telling me that things didn't look good. "Sit down Mrs Watts, we need to talk." Right there, on that day, everything that I had come to know as familiar was thrown over the edge of the cliff. Now, at a moment like that, you can either panic, and say to yourself  "What do I do now? How do I get back control of this uncontrollable situation or you can admit to yourself that maybe,....just maybe, ....you never really had control of your life to begin with."

When you go through a life altering event, like I did, you learn pretty darn quickly that you don't really control a darn thing during your time on this earth. We are all only here for a very brief period and then it's over. Your life is NOT in your hands, it is in the Hands of your Creator, God Almighty! And then the prayers start and you and those who love you begin praying, asking God to save your life, so that you can see your kids grow up, so you can grow old with your husband.

And, if it fits into His Divine plan, God begins answering your prayers and the prayers of your loved ones and things begin to change for the better. That's if He wills it and it is according to his Divine plan.

God spared my life those 13 years ago, because He had more plans for me, He had more work for me to do while I'm making this journey on earth. We all have a time to live and we all have a time to die. It says so in the Book of Ecclesiastes. My time to die was not 13 years ago when the doctors said it was. God showed them right then and there that they were NOT in charge, HE was. I can remember leaving that doctors office and turning to my husband and saying "I don't know how much time I have, but God does, and I plan to spend each minute I have left living for Him and giving Him all the Glory."

So, that is what I have always aspired to do each day, and will continue to do until I take my last breath. Because I believe with everything in me, that everything I have comes from my Lord and Savior Jesus Christ and therefore He gets all the credit, all the Honor, all the Glory and all the Praise and I will be forever thankful to Him for all his many blessings. It might sound weird, but in many ways, getting MS was the best thing that ever happened to me because it brought me back where I belonged, at the foot of the cross."

My verse for today is from: Psalm 100:1-5

Shout joyfully to the LORD, all the earth. Serve the LORD with gladness; Come before Him with joyful singing. Know that the LORD Himself is God; it is He who has made us, and not we ourselves; we are His people and the sheep of His pasture. Enter His gates with thanksgiving and His courts with praise give thanks to Him, bless His name. For the LORD is good; His loving kindness is everlasting and His faithfulness is to all generations.

My prayer for today:

Dearest Heavenly Father:
Thank you that I can come to you for everything: every need I have, every prayer, every little concern in my life. What a pleasure to live with the peace that only you can bring, and knowing that there is nothing too big for you Lord.

Jesus, I pray for people that don't have that assurance, because if they are trying to live on the praises of men, they will soon be sorely disappointed. Only you give true peace, that surpasses all human understanding. Help us to give You all the glory, all the time, so that others may come to know your love and mercy, through us.

In Jesus Name I pray,
Amen

 

Embracing Hope!

Tomorrow is my 55th Birthday! Double nickels as my Dad called it when he turned 55 almost 30 years ago. As I approach my special day tomorrow, (which by the way, I share with my husband of 32 years, he turns 59 tomorrow) my thoughts have been turning to having hope along this journey we all share.

I feel that most my life has been lived with a tremendous amount of hope. Sure, I've had down times, but most mornings I wake up and thank the Lord for opening my eyes for one more day. I ask him to direct my paths and give me the strength to face the challenges of the day. I hope to have a good day, to be productive, to be able encourage someone in their life that day.

The last almost 13 years I've been living with MS, hope has been what has carried me through. Hope and prayers and the belief that God will answer my request for healing in a mighty way, in His perfect time. But I  gotta tell  you that it hasn't always been easy for me, and in many ways, that's often been pretty darn tough. It's hard when you get so used to being sick and you say to yourself, "Self, I guess this is my lot in life, I guess this is all God has for me, I guess I better make the best of it." But God didn't want that for me, so he gave me a lot of hope to hang on to. And hang on I did, with everything I had.The hope for healing is what got me through some of my darkest days.

Do you have hope? Hope in the midst of trials? Hope when things look like they absolutely can't get any better? Hope when you lose a loved one, hope when you feel you've been wronged or betrayed, hope when you lose your job, or house, or can't pay your bills, or smash your car up in a accident, or pay for those new pair of sneakers or piano lessons you want to provide for your kids. Hope when you're dealing with a sick child or parent. There are a million different things that can happen to any of us in the course of 24 hours where we need to have hope to hang onto.

So, the question is.....Where do you get your hope? Who gives you that comfort during the difficult trials of life? We all face them, everyday. And if you haven't yet, you will, believe me. Life is a testing ground, and you will have trials, it's just a matter of time. It's easy to get discouraged and in be in despair about events that are going on in our lives, but I don't think that is the way the Lord wants us to live. I think the Lord wants us to have hope! Hope that a situation will turn around, hope that hearts will change and eyes will be opened to the truth, hope that healing will begin, a new job is on the horizon, hope that relationships will be restored. Plain and simple....HOPE.

Last week, I was up at Moffitt Cancer Center, visiting with a fellow MS'er who had just had her "CCSVI liberation procedure" done. She was beaming and smiling, and saying that she felt better than she had in years. As she sat in a hospital wheelchair in the hallway of a place where there is so much sickness and death on a daily basis, she shared that before she before she had heard of this CCSVI procedure, she had almost given up hope of ever feeling any better. Ann, the nurse in charge of the radiology clinic at Moffitt bent down, took her hand and compassionately said  "You can't give up hope, hope is what holds us together. Even a glimmer of hope is what we hang on to around here with both fists." Truer words were never spoken Ann.

Our human eyes can not see our Lord's infinite resources and faithfulness. He knows what's going on in everyone's lives and he can see the future where you cannot. He knows the "Rest of the Story" as Paul Harvey used to say. He wants us to have hope, He wants us to lean on Him when things seem impossible, when you feel there is no hope, because with Him, all things are possible, if we just believe. So hang on tight to the Creator of the Universe, and don't ever give up your hope!

For me, my hope was realized when God answered my prayers and the prayers of many with a man named Dr. Paulo Zamboni. A devoted and loving doctor who's beloved wife contracted MS and was going downhill pretty quickly. He began thinking outside the box. Dr. Zamboni had hope that he could help his wife in ways that other doctors hadn't. So the research began and almost 10 years later, after many hours of good ole trial and error, his hope for a better life for his wife, has also helped thousands of MS patients around the world, including myself. Just think of the consequences of this one man giving up hope.

If he has lost hope he wouldn't have discovered this radical new procedure to help patients with MS. He wouldn't have given new hope to people who have been sick for years and years. He has changed lives and his revolutionary CCSVI angioplasty surgery will continue to help MS patients for years to come.All because he had hope.Thank you Dr. Zamboni for not giving up hope, many thanks from all of us with MS.

You never know what ideas God will put into someones brains, but He does. You never know who will touch someone's life and turn a situation totally around. You don't know, but God does. So, believe in hope, believe in God and leave the rest to Him. He has broad shoulders, the broadest of all and He can handle it!

My verse today is about from Romans 15:13:

"May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit."

My prayer for today:

Dearest Heavenly Father:

Thank you for hope. Thank you that we can have hope in all situations because we have faith in you and your love and your faithfulness. You tell us to rely on you in everything and that is what I want to do everyday in every way. Help me not to take credit for what happens to me, because everything I have comes from you, you are the provider of life. Thank you for my life of 55 years and all the many blessings I have been given. Help me to continue to live for you each day.

In Jesus Name I pray,
Amen