Mom's victorious journey home~

My Mom is beginning her long journey home.With her earthly life now winding down, she is surely in anticipation of the promise and hope that await her through her love of the Lord Jesus Christ.

It's been a difficult few days for me. Knowing that things were not looking good for my beloved Mom, I was still holding out some hope that she could somehow pull out of this last episode that landed her back in the hospital. But, in thinking about her life these past few years, I came to the realization that, as hard as this is, this is the way Mom would want it. She wouldn't want to linger on and make any of us go through more than we had to.

She's been suffering for years since her knee replacement. She never fully recovered from that, and has had a host of knee problems, along with arthritis and leg pain that have plagued her for the better part of the last 10 years. But Mom has endured. A few years ago, she began falling and Dad was taking care of her the best he could at home, until it got to be too much for him and with my brothers and sister in laws help, they decided reluctantly to put her in a local nursing facility where she could get the 24 hour care that she so desperately needed.

I couldn't ask for a more devoted family who have been by her side and by the side of my Dad, ever since they moved up to TN back in 1997 when they retired. As I've mentioned before, I am in awe of my brother's and sister-in-law's loyalty and devotion to my folks. What a comfort that has been for me as I've lived far away for so many, many years.

             Mom's 80th Birthday at Robert's house in S.C. May 29, 2007

                                                           I posted this pic on facebook yesterday and wanted to share it here also.  
                                                It is one of the sweet memories I have as Mom as a grandma. 

I have many wonderful memories of good times with Mom that I will treasure forever. I spent much of the day yesterday looking at old pictures, remembering our lives with Mom. As my husband and I were talking this morning and I was saying how hard my Mom's passing will be for my Dad, (they've been married 64 years) he reminded me to remember that Jesus conquered the grave! Of course, I knew that, but the reminder was just the wake up call I needed! Thank you Jesus for having those words come out of my blessed husband's mouth!

Jesus came, he lived and he died so that we don't have to fear death! Death is only a passage to a wonderful new life. Mom will be a glorious new creation in Jesus and will she ever shine. Hebrews 2:9 tells us that Jesus tasted death for all of us and through his suffering, he is now crowned with glory and honor! That is going to belong to ALL of us who believe in Jesus Christ! What an amazing thing that is!


"But we do see Jesus, who was made lower than the angels for a little while, now crowned with glory and honor because he suffered death, so that by the grace of God he might taste death for everyone."

                                             Mom was 20 when this picture was taken in 1947. She was so beautiful~


I can just see Mom now. She'll be the bell of the ball, like she has always been. She'll be dressed to the tees, from head to toe; her hair all permed and styled just perfect. Her nails and toes will be perfectly manicured, her face will be perfect again so there won't be any need for anymore facelifts. She'll be talking and having fun, dancing around on those new legs of hers.

And jewelry? Mom has always loved jewelry! Gold, diamonds and pearls are her favorite. But when she gets to heaven, she'll be wearing real gold, real pearls and diamonds will be everywhere! What a joy that will be for my Momma. She'll be reunited with her folks, who she hasn't seen in over 40 years and her brothers. What a reunion that will be! She has so much to look forward to~ I'm so happy for her.

Thank you dear husband for reminding me of our firm foundation in the Lord Jesus Christ! Mom's new and improved life is awaiting her and she will truly have no more sorrow and no more pain! Enjoy this glorious song called Victory in Jesus! It says it all!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UVQ9SgaGGXI

My verse for today is above in red.

My prayer for today:

Dear Lord Jesus:

Please hold my Momma close by your side as you gently take her home to be with you. Comfort her and take away any anxiety she may have. Wrap her in your big, loving arms and ever so sweetly pull her from  her loved ones here on this earth to her new Heavenly Home with you.

Thank you Lord for the promise of a new life for her and for all of us.

In Jesus name I pray,
Amen

Give thanks with a grateful heart!

It's almost Thanksgiving! Isn't it hard to believe that yet another year has rolled by us, our official day of Thanksgiving is upon us, then Christmas will be here and we'll be looking at another New Year staring us in the face before we know it! WOW!

2012? Hard to believe, seems like it was just the year 2,000, doesn't it with all the year 2,000 hype and hoopla, and now here we are 12 years later. It's true what they say about time going by faster as you get older, cause don't know about you, but it sure seems to me like the last 12 years have flown by!

So, let's talk about being thankful. Do you take time, each day to give thanks to the Lord for all your many blessings? It's so easy to look at the bad in our lives, especially when things aren't going our way, but that's not the way the Lord wants us to live. The entire Bible, the book of Life, is a book about giving thanks. There are many verses throughout the Word of God (Old and New Testament,) that instruct us to give thanks, even when we don't want to.

                                                                                Psalm 100 says:                                        

"Make a joyful noise unto the LORD, all you nations. Serve the LORD with gladness: come before his presence with singing. Know that the LORD is God: it is he that made us, we are his people, and the sheep 

of his pasture. Enter into his gates with thanksgiving, and into his courts with praise: be thankful to him, 

and bless his name. For the LORD is good; his mercy lasts forever; and his truth endures to all generations."

Ephesians 5:20 says
"Always giving thanks to God the Father for everything, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ."

I went to breakfast with a dear friend of mine this morning. We were talking about Thanksgiving. Did you know that during the first Thanksgiving, fully one half of all the pilgrims had lost a family member during their ferocious Atlantic crossing? That very first thanksgiving was born of pain and suffering. 

                                                                            The first Thanksgiving in 1621
         
Yet - In the midst of all the terrible loss and suffering, those pilgrims looked to the Lord and wanted to Thank Him for landing them safely in this new land. So, they stopped, gathered together with remaining family and new friends, and thanked God Almighty for everything they had. They did what the Bible wants us to do, to give thanks in everything, good and bad. 1 Thessalonians 5:16-18 encourages us to: "Be joyful always; pray continually; giving thanks in all circumstances, for this is God's will for you in Christ Jesus."


Our modern day Thanksgiving Celebrations tend to focus on the abundance of food, lots of drinking and football. While our intentions are always good, sometimes we don't spend enough time on the "Thanking the Lord" part! There are so many without, in this country and in our world. So many lonely and without friends or family during this holiday of thankfulness and blessings.


If you know someone who is alone, pick up the phone and give them a call. Stop by and pay them a visit if you live nearby. Take them a Thanksgiving meal, or invite them to dinner? There are so many ways you can show them what Thanksgiving is truly about. About sharing God's many blessings with those in your world. Don't you think we should go back to our roots, and focus on what the Lord wants us to be grateful for? For His provision, for our faith, for our family and for our many friends. 

                                                             The family that prays together, stays together...


So, for this Thanksgiving, look up, not in. Count your blessings, not your troubles, and you will have a wonderful Thanksgiving. Give Thanks with a grateful heart!


My verses for today are above in red.
                      
Give thanks with a grateful heart song:  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IBpv-ZzcQD8


My prayer for today:


Thank you Lord for another blessed Thanksgiving. Thank you for the abundance of blessings and provision that flow from your Hand. Help us to reach out to our family and others in your name, showing them your love, mercy and grace.


In Jesus Name I pray,
Amen

Fix your eyes upon Jesus~

This last week, admittedly, I've been overwhelmed with some of the things that have been thrown my way. It seems like everyone in my life, all at once, has a request, or a problem that I need to solve, a tragedy, a heartbreak, a worry, a crisis. You know, it's called "Life." Ever have a day like that? Where you are the one everyone is turning to? It's comforting and also can be a bit inundating as well.

Now, folks who know me think I'm a pretty even keeled gal, and I would agree, but even I, too, can get feeling like "life" is too much for me on any one particular day.

Anyway, I haven't been taking too many naps these days because I really haven't needed them since my CCSVI treatments, but today, I felt I needed to. So, off I went, listening to my dragging body, to lay down and let the world fade away for a brief while.

As I always do when my head hits the pillow and I fade off to a light sleep, I began to pray. I was praying for all the needs that I knew myself and others were facing. And then it hit me, or should I say "He" hit me, with these thoughts "Fix your eyes upon Jesus."

Gotcha! I knew that verse! My head acknowledged the thought He gave me, and I pledged that when I got up I would look it up and begin writing about it, so here it is, from
Hebrews 12:1-4

“Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy set before him endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.”

                                                                          Let us fix our eyes upon Jesus!  
Of course! Exactly! Duh??? It's as clear as a bell. Once I read it through, it made perfect sense. No wonder He put that verse in my head. 


Every worry, every concern, every prayer request, every crisis, no matter what--it all boils down to this one verse. He is the key to everything. Fix your eyes upon Jesus. He will handle everything.


Sounds so simple, doesn't it? But, really, it is astonishingly true! For more detail, if we look at further verses, we can see the Lord's stance on any subject you choose. Don't forget the Bible is "The Book of Life." and accordingly, He has a word for every situation we will ever face. Much has changed over these past 2,000+ years, but the human race still faces the same problems they did in Jesus' time, just "kicked up a  notch," as Emerill would say:


Are you having financial troubles?~~Timothy 6- 6:10

⁶ But godliness with contentment is great gain. ⁷ For we brought nothing into the world, and we can take nothing out of it. ⁸ But if we have food and clothing, we will be content with that. ⁹ Those who want to get rich fall into temptation and a trap and into many foolish and harmful desires that plunge people into ruin and destruction. ¹⁰ For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil. Some people, eager for money, have wandered from the faith and pierced themselves with many griefs.


Are you grieving the loss of someone you love?~~ Matthew 5:4 tell  us:
"Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted."


Do you have a broken heart?~~ Psalm 34:18 says:
"The LORD is close to the brokenhearted and saves those who are crushed in spirit."


Are you sick or know someone who is? ~~ Exodus 15:26 says:

"He said, “If you listen carefully to the LORD your God and do what is right in his eyes, if you pay attention to his commands and keep all his decrees, I will not bring on you any of the diseases I brought on the Egyptians, for I am the LORD, who heals you.”

Do you have a prayer that needs to be answered?~~ Mark 11:24 tells us:
"Therefore I tell you, whatever you ask for in prayer, believe that you have received it, and it will be yours."

Do you struggle with unbelief?~~Matthew 17:20 says:

..."Truly I tell you, if you have faith as small as a mustard seed, you can say to this mountain, ‘Move from here to there,’ and it will move. Nothing will be impossible for you.”

Do you have conflict?~~Proverbs 15:18 tells us:
"A hot-tempered person stirs up conflict, but the one who is patient calms a quarrel."

And on and on it goes. Got a problem? His Word has an answer. Can't you see? The problem is never with God, the problem is with us. We want to try and handle our many problems or the situations that get thrown our way, by ourselves. But, why should we? The Bible has every answer to every problem we will ever encounter in this life! He's made sure of it. The dilemma lies within our hearts. We don't believe that He's capable of doing everything He says He will. 

But it's absolutely, positively true! It is the promise of God, if we live an upright, righteous and blameless life. Now, that's the part that gets us in trouble every time. It's our humanness that gets in the way, every hour of everyday. We are sinners, every single one of us. Not one single one of us is blameless.

                                                      He died for you and He's waiting to give you a New life!

But, the good news is that God is forgiving through his Son, Jesus Christ. So, whatever problem you are facing, turn to your Savior, Jesus and He will help you through. He wants your problems, he died for your sins and problems. He won't judge, he's very forgiving and He wants to be your "Go to" guy. He's just waiting for you. So what are you waiting for? Confess your sins to Him, ask for His forgiveness and turn from the life you have been living to a new life in Him. You'll never regret it. He'll never let you down, and that's a promise!

                 Give your life to Him. You can belong to His Kingdom, right here, right now, on earth!

My verses for today are above in red.

My prayer for today:

Dear Lord Jesus:

Forgive me Lord, for any unbelief I have. Forgive me for not totally trusting in you for every problem I encounter each day. Help others to learn to lean on you for their problems. Help me to reach out, in Your love to help them in any way I can, while gently assuring them of your promises, as stated in your Word.

Help me Lord, to lead others to your love each day, so they too, may have New life. Help me to read Your Word each day and look for Your answers to my problems. For with you Lord, Nothing is impossible.

In Your mighty name I pray,

Amen