Sometimes I Ask God Why? (This post Is Not for Children)

Imagine gong in for a medical procedure and coming out to find you've been violated. I've heard it has happened but never dreamed it would happen to me. The good news is my scopes were great-no Crohn's and I can even avoid surgery for a while.

Waking up in the recovery room was odd. I went in the procedure room with a gown on but I laid naked, except for my socks, under a sheet. When I lifted the sheet, part of the bag that was cut out of the pouch for my stoma laid between my breast. I asked the lady who woke me up why that was there. She didn't know. She took it and threw it away.

The bag laid on top of my stoma, as human waste trickled down my left side. The top sheet was also covered in waste. "Why isn't my bag attached?"

"Derek, must have cut the opening out but forgot to attach it,"she said. Quickly she removed the tape and put it over the human waste on my skin. I started to pull it back off.

"I need a new bag and I need to clean this poop off my skin." She grabbed my hand and stopped me.

"No, you'll be fine. It will stick."

(How many of you reading this would want your human waste left on your skin and just covered with something? I didn't. I was afraid of smelling-not to mention the contamination factor around other people. There are times I hope these nasty people, who do such things, will one day have to live with an ostomy.)

I couldn't understand why my vagina hurt so much riding home. It felt like lots of sharp jabbing and burning pains, that were thrushing upwards. When we arrived at the restaurant I went to the bathroom to find a bloody slimy discharge in my underwear. I wiped it out and even smelt it. Fortunately, it wasn't semen, only my on bodily fluids with a little blood. I didn't say anything to my husband.

Of course I removed that bag, showered and put a new bag on when we arrived home. The next morning I woke up to find some one's art work on my stomach above my stoma.  A side ways "S" had been carved into my belly just above my stoma. No, it wasn't deep-just scratched in with a scalpel or the sharp end of scissors. Dried up blood added to the evidence.

My neck was bruised with two fingers and a thumb imprints right on my jugular vein. Had I started to wake up while someone was molesting me? Did they pinch the jugular to make me pass back out? Why was my vagina so sore? It felt as if someone had rammed their extra long fingers farther into my vagina than it had ever been reamed.

I went outside to help Mark mow. As I pushed the mower it felt as if my innards especially my vagina was screaming out in dire pain. I sat across from Mark at lunch time. "What's wrong-you're awfully quiet today."

I looked up.

"What are those black and blue marks on your neck?"

The tears began to flow. "I think I was Finger F%^ked after I was scoped yesterday!"

"What-Why didn't you do something to stop it!"

"That's pretty hard to do if you're asleep. I think the marks on my neck are there because I did try to stop it."

"Why didn't you stop it?"

"Mark, I couldn't. You must know I'd never want this to happen. Look at my neck-someone pinched my jugular to make me pass back out."

I never wanted anything like this to happen but it has. I don't know why God lets things like this happen. I do know it's Satan's favorite ploy to discourage me. I even considered suicide yesterday. There's no good in giving Satan that victory.

This isn't the first time I've been violated sexually, maybe it will not be my last. I am glad there is a hell for demons and evil men like this. Personally I hope they burn extra hot in hell, while I laugh in heaven.

Please pray for Mark and me. We are struggling. I'm thankful for these verses in Romans chapter eight. I hope they encourage you as well. God bless you.


¹⁸ I consider that our present sufferings are not worth comparing with the glory that will be revealed in us. ¹⁹ For the creation waits in eager expectation for the children of God to be revealed. ²⁰ For the creation was subjected to frustration, not by its own choice, but by the will of the one who subjected it, in hope ²¹ that^[h] the creation itself will be liberated from its bondage to decay and brought into the freedom and glory of the children of God.

²² We know that the whole creation has been groaning as in the pains of childbirth right up to the present time. ²³ Not only so, but we ourselves, who have the first fruits of the Spirit, groan inwardly as we wait eagerly for our adoption to sonship, the redemption of our bodies. ²⁴ For in this hope we were saved. But hope that is seen is no hope at all. Who hopes for what they already have? ²⁵ But if we hope for what we do not yet have, we wait for it patiently.

²⁶ In the same way, the Spirit helps us in our weakness. We do not know what we ought to pray for, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us through wordless groans. ²⁷ And he who searches our hearts knows the mind of the Spirit, because the Spirit intercedes for God’s people in accordance with the will of God.

²⁸ And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who^[i] have been called according to his purpose. ²⁹ For those God foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brothers and sisters. ³⁰ And those he predestined, he also called; those he called, he also justified; those he justified, he also glorified.

More Than Conquerors

³¹ What, then, shall we say in response to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us? ³² He who did not spare his own Son, but gave him up for us all—how will he not also, along with him, graciously give us all things? ³³ Who will bring any charge against those whom God has chosen? It is God who justifies. ³⁴ Who then is the one who condemns? No one. Christ Jesus who died—more than that, who was raised to life—is at the right hand of God and is also interceding for us. ³⁵ Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall trouble or hardship or persecution or famine or nakedness or danger or sword? ³⁶ As it is written:

“For your sake we face death all day long;
we are considered as sheep to be slaughtered.”^[j]

³⁷ No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. ³⁸ For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons,^[k] neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, ³⁹ neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.

God's Awesome Family

  Thinking about making the trip down to Decatur today made me sick to my stomach yesterday.It would be a lie to tell you I'm not afraid of semi trucks since my wreck with one in May. While I was getting ready this morning, I heard the rain hitting pretty hard on the bathroom window. But I had resolved to leave my fate on I-85 with God.

 Yesterday I asked my mom and a few close friends that are always close in my heart to pray for me. I always appreciate the people who care enough to pray. I know God hears their earnest prayers! I experienced many traveling mercies today, thanks to God. It seemed as if I had a gentle bubble around my big ole car.

 Remember when you were a child, and you'd ask one of your favorite siblings,"Would you go ask Dad...?" Anxiously, you waited for their return to see if their persuasion pleased your father. Remember how happy you both were when they came back with a big smile and said, "He said, "Yes!"  :)

Being part of God's family is like that when we share our prayer request with each other. Together we feel the joy of our Heavenly Father's blessing. For those of you who have shared those special blessings with me I hope you know how much I love you. You are near and dear to my heart forever. You are part of my FOREVER FAMILY. I'm even more thankful for a wonderful Savior who goes before us in every situation. We are so blessed to be a part of His love and grace!

Thanksgiving and Prayer  2 Thessalonians 1:3-12 (NIV)

³ We ought always to thank God for you, brothers and sisters,^[b] and rightly so, because your faith is growing more and more, and the love all of you have for one another is increasing. ⁴ Therefore, among God’s churches we boast about your perseverance and faith in all the persecutions and trials you are enduring.

⁵ All this is evidence that God’s judgment is right, and as a result you will be counted worthy of the kingdom of God, for which you are suffering. ⁶ God is just: He will pay back trouble to those who trouble you ⁷ and give relief to you who are troubled, and to us as well. This will happen when the Lord Jesus is revealed from heaven in blazing fire with his powerful angels. ⁸ He will punish those who do not know God and do not obey the gospel of our Lord Jesus. ⁹ They will be punished with everlasting destruction and shut out from the presence of the Lord and from the glory of his might ¹⁰ on the day he comes to be glorified in his holy people and to be marveled at among all those who have believed. This includes you, because you believed our testimony to you.

¹¹ With this in mind, we constantly pray for you, that our God may make you worthy of his calling, and that by his power he may bring to fruition your every desire for goodness and your every deed prompted by faith. ¹² We pray this so that the name of our Lord Jesus may be glorified in you, and you in him, according to the grace of our God and the Lord Jesus Christ.^[c]   

                                                                                                                                                                 

Romans Chapter 8:14-26

¹⁴ For those who are led by the Spirit of God are the children of God. ¹⁵ The Spirit you received does not make you slaves, so that you live in fear again; rather, the Spirit you received brought about your adoption to sonship.^[f] And by him we cry, “Abba,^[g] Father.” ¹⁶ The Spirit himself testifies with our spirit that we are God’s children. ¹⁷ Now if we are children, then we are heirs —heirs of God and co-heirs with Christ, if indeed we share in his sufferings in order that we may also share in his glory.

Present Suffering and Future Glory

¹⁸ I consider that our present sufferings are not worth comparing with the glory that will be revealed in us. ¹⁹ For the creation waits in eager expectation for the children of God to be revealed. ²⁰ For the creation was subjected to frustration, not by its own choice, but by the will of the one who subjected it, in hope ²¹ that^[h] the creation itself will be liberated from its bondage to decay and brought into the freedom and glory of the children of God.
²² We know that the whole creation has been groaning as in the pains of childbirth right up to the present time. ²³ Not only so, but we ourselves, who have the firstfruits of the Spirit, groan inwardly as we wait eagerly for our adoption to sonship, the redemption of our bodies. ²⁴ For in this hope we were saved. But hope that is seen is no hope at all. Who hopes for what they already have? ²⁵ But if we hope for what we do not yet have, we wait for it patiently.
²⁶ In the same way, the Spirit helps us in our weakness. We do not know what we ought to pray for, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us through wordless groans. ²⁷ And he who searches our hearts knows the mind of the Spirit, because the Spirit intercedes for God’s people in accordance with the will of God.
                                                                                                                                                                   
     God Bless you- I'm praying for you too. I love you.

 

Victory always belongs to God

The only book that always applies in any believers life is the Bible. I am so thankful we were given The word of God. It is full of history, grace and wisdom from God to His people.

Mark and I have been reading through the Bible together. I am constantly amazed the way God works things out even when victory over the enemy seems impossible. When God tells us to do something He has a plan that will give us victory. We just have to follow His directions.

Nothing is impossible with God. Failure comes from doing things "our own ideas."
The Bible is full of wisdom and guidance. God's people must constantly seek His Face and grace in prayer and supplication. (Supplication means we go to Him sincerely and humbly.)

Judges Chapter 4:1 Again the Israelites did evil in the eyes of the Lord, now that Ehud was dead. ² So the Lord sold them into the hands of Jabin king of Canaan, who reigned in Hazor. Sisera, the commander of his army, was based in Harosheth Haggoyim. ³ Because he had nine hundred chariots fitted with iron and had cruelly oppressed the Isreaelites for twenty years,  they cried to the Lord for help.

⁴ Now Deborah, a prophet, the wife of Lappidoth, was leading^[a] Israel at that time. ⁵ She held court under the Palm of Deborah between Ramah and Bethel in the hill country of Ephraim, and the Israelites went up to her to have their disputes decided. ⁶ She sent for Barak son of Abinoam from Kedesh in Naphtali and said to him, “The Lord, the God of Israel, commands you: ‘Go, take with you ten thousand men of Naphtali and Zebulun and lead them up to Mount Tabor. ⁷ I will lead Sisera, the commander of Jabin’s army, with his chariots and his troops to the Kishon River and give him into your hands. ’”

⁸ Barak said to her, “If you go with me, I will go; but if you don’t go with me, I won’t go.”

⁹ “Certainly I will go with you,” said Deborah. “But because of the course you are taking, the honor will not be yours, for the Lord will deliver Sisera into the hands of a woman.” So Deborah went with Barak to Kedesh. ¹⁰ There Barak summoned Zebulun and Naphtali, and ten thousand men went up under his command. Deborah also went up with him.

¹¹ Now Heber the Kenite had left the other Kenites, the descendants of Hobab, Moses’ brother-in-law,^[b] and pitched his tent by the great tree in Zaanannim near Kedesh.

¹² When they told Sisera that Barak son of Abinoam had gone up to Mount Tabor, ¹³ Sisera summoned from Harosheth Haggoyim to the Kishon River all his men and his nine hundred chariots fitted with iron.

¹⁴ Then Deborah said to Barak, “Go! This is the day the Lord has given Sisera into your hands. Has not the Lord gone ahead of you?” So Barak went down Mount Tabor, with ten thousand men following him. ¹⁵ At Barak’s advance, the Lord routed Sisera and all his chariots and army by the sword, and Sisera got down from his chariot and fled on foot.

¹⁶ Barak pursued the chariots and army as far as Harosheth Haggoyim, and all Sisera’s troops fell by the sword; not a man was left. ¹⁷ Sisera, meanwhile, fled on foot to the tent of Jael, the wife of Heber the Kenite, because there was an alliance between Jabin king of Hazor and the family of Heber the Kenite.

¹⁸ Jael went out to meet Sisera and said to him, “Come, my lord, come right in. Don’t be afraid.” So he entered her tent, and she covered him with a blanket.

¹⁹ “I’m thirsty,” he said. “Please give me some water.” She opened a skin of milk, gave him a drink, and covered him up.

²⁰ “Stand in the doorway of the tent,” he told her. “If someone comes by and asks you, ‘Is anyone in there?’ say ‘No.’”

²¹ But Jael, Heber’s wife, picked up a tent peg and a hammer and went quietly to him while he lay fast asleep, exhausted. She drove the peg through his temple into the ground, and he died.

²² Just then Barak came by in pursuit of Sisera, and Jael went out to meet him. “Come,” she said, “I will show you the man you’re looking for.” So he went in with her, and there lay Sisera with the tent peg through his temple—dead.

²³ On that day God subdued Jabin king of Canaan before the Israelites. ²⁴ And the hand of the Israelites pressed harder and harder against Jabin king of Canaan until they destroyed him.                                                                                                                   
                                                                                                                            Judges chapter 4 (NIV)

True victory only comes from God. We are Nothing on our own. The only good in any saint is  The Holy Spirit dwelling in us.

We Serve A Risen Savior; He's in the World Today!

 May 16th, 2012 was a beautiful warm summer morning. Mark and I were going to take his car into Cumming GA. to have it serviced. I was following him. At 7:15 am, I entered  I-85 southbound at the Jefferson entrance ramp. Traffic was bottled up because of a skidish driver at the front of the ramp.

I looked over in the Left lane and saw nothing out the window or my rear view mirror. As I entered the left lane I saw a beautiful bright light with lots of beautiful colors in it. It had to be the Angel of The Lord. In fact, I smiled and said, "Well good morning Lord."

The bright light came right into the car and was sitting beside me in the passenger's seat. I remember being amazed at all the brilliance of colors radiating like a huge glowing diamond. But as quickly as that light came in, almost instantly I heard and felt the car being hit.

I never panicked, but knew I was in a lot of danger. Accidents on I-85 often end in death. Immediately after the first impact, my Buick slung around to the left. Now I could see what had hit me. As I looked out my driver door window I saw the grill of an eighteen wheeler. Thankfully the window was up. Had it been down I am certain my face would have melted from the engines heat. It felt like a five hundred degree oven door had just been opened.

Everything was going is slow motion. As I looked back out the windshield the northbound traffic was going so fast. I knew I didn't want to cross that barrier. The voice next to me sounded like Mark's, "Kathy, slip the shifter into neutral, take your feet off the gas. DO NOT TOUCH THE BRAKE!"

Immediately, I put the car in neutral. I never touched the brakes. A vision of one of my first days in   Physical Science reappeared like Deja Vu. As I sat in the front row, he wrote and said, "An object in motion will stay in motion."

I was proving that theory works as the semi pushed me down I-85 sideways. The heat was horrible, I reached up and turned the air conditioner down as low as it would go. My face and left side were so hot. As the semi gained control, he was able to slow down enough to pull his rig off to the left side of the road.

As the force slowed down I was now about a mile and a half from where this all began. Traffic in the right lane was still coming but I was a little a head of it so I slipped the transmission back into drive and put my car on the right shoulder of the road.

The bright light was gone instantly as I made it to the shoulder. I know it was the Angel of The Lord. I still felt His presence in a different way. A man rushed to my driver's door. I couldn't open the window or door it was caved in, but the glass never broke. My seat was broken and pushed sideways-but still in tack. No part of me was broken or bleeding.

The man said, "Lady, how in the hell did you survive getting hit by a semi? He had to be going 80 mph when he hit you."

I couldn't say anything. Several people came to the passenger's door. Someone opened the door, "Lady, you have to get out of the car now."

I just shook my head, "No." Mark walked up, "Kathy, you need to get out now."

"I can't leave me alone." Then a police officer told me I had to get out. Reluctantly, I climbed across the seat and out the door. The officer was afraid the car might explode. The semi had hit my car just above the gas tank. Ironically, His step up on the left side and his gas tank were what made the first impact with my car, but we didn't blow up.

The truck driver said, "Lady, I can't believe you are still alive. Do you know I was going 80 mph as I came over that hill and hit you? God had to have been in that car with you."

I looked up at him and said, "He was."

The truck driver drove for Moses Logistics. He sure wasn't traveling like Moses through the wilderness. I live on Still Water Lane and believe me I know I have walked through the valley of the shadow of death. I fear no evil because Jesus never leaves or forsakes me.

Latter someone called me a liar. They said there is no way you could get hit by a semi and live to talk about it. There are witnesses to that day. Mark was one of them. He watched as I sailed past his car.
My God is not dead-He is fully Alive. He is the same God who delivered Daniel from the Lions den. Just as God delivered Daniel out of the fiery furnace, He delivered me from what could have been a huge explosion on May 16th, 2012. Do you suppose some people called Daniel a liar too?

¹³ Furious with rage, Nebuchadnezzar summoned Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego. So these men were brought before the king, ¹⁴ and Nebuchadnezzar said to them, “Is it true, Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego, that you do not serve my gods or worship the image of gold I have set up? ¹⁵ Now when you hear the sound of the horn, flute, zither, lyre, harp, pipe and all kinds of music, if you are ready to fall down and worship the image I made, very good. But if you do not worship it, you will be thrown immediately into a blazing furnace. Then what god will be able to rescue you from my hand?”

¹⁶ Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego replied to him, “King Nebuchadnezzar, we do not need to defend ourselves before you in this matter. ¹⁷ If we are thrown into the blazing furnace, the God we serve is able to deliver us from it, and he will deliver us^[c] from Your Majesty’s hand. ¹⁸ But even if he does not, we want you to know, Your Majesty, that we will not serve your gods or worship the image of gold you have set up. ”

¹⁹ Then Nebuchadnezzar was furious with Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego, and his attitude toward them changed. He ordered the furnace heated seven times hotter than usual ²⁰ and commanded some of the strongest soldiers in his army to tie up Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego and throw them into the blazing furnace. ²¹ So these men, wearing their robes, trousers, turbans and other clothes, were bound and thrown into the blazing furnace. ²² The king’s command was so urgent and the furnace so hot that the flames of the fire killed the soldiers who took up Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego, ²³ and these three men, firmly tied, fell into the blazing furnace.

²⁴ Then King Nebuchadnezzar leaped to his feet in amazement and asked his advisers, “Weren’t there three men that we tied up and threw into the fire?”
They replied, “Certainly, Your Majesty.”

²⁵ He said, “Look! I see four men walking around in the fire, unbound and unharmed, and the fourth looks like a son of the gods.”

²⁶ Nebuchadnezzar then approached the opening of the blazing furnace and shouted, “Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego, servants of the Most High God, come out! Come here!”
So Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego came out of the fire, ²⁷ and the satraps, prefects, governors and royal advisers crowded around them. They saw that the fire had not harmed their bodies, nor was a hair of their heads singed; their robes were not scorched, and there was no smell of fire on them.

²⁸ Then Nebuchadnezzar said, “Praise be to the God of Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego, who has sent his angel and rescued his servants! They trusted in him and defied the king’s command and were willing to give up their lives rather than serve or worship any god except their own God. ²⁹ Therefore I decree that the people of any nation or language who say anything against the God of Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego be cut into pieces and their houses be turned into piles of rubble, for no other god can save in this way.” Daniel 3:13-29 (NIV)





See where the engines heat burnt the paint? See how the step up ripped into the doors like a can opener? We serve an awesome, protecting Savior!
 Oh, how I  love Jesus! :)

Life Spans...Why are they all different?

Why do you suppose an oak tree's typical life span is three hundred years?  A butterfly's life is typically only two weeks long. The average human lives about seventy-five years .

A live oak tree grows for one hundred years to maturity. During it's second hundred years it lives as an adult. After it's two hundredth birthday it begins the dying process. The limbs begin to grow heavy causing them to droop. As the three hundredth year approaches the limbs touch and finally begin to grow into the ground. After it has burired some of it's own limbs in the soil, new Live Oak shoots appear. Once the new trees begin it is time for the old tree to die.

Human beings mature to the stage of adulthood usually around the age of twenty. Somewhere between the ages of twenty to forty-two they typically produce children. By the time we reach our fifties aging bodies begin the struggle of survival. Generally some form of disease begins in the mid fifty to late sixty year mark. Finally, the diseased human scums to death.

Then there's the beautiful butterfly. After it emerges from it's cocoon, it only lives about two glorious weeks.But in it's short life it soars over plants and trees, as if to say," Look at me; I'm as beautiful as I can be!" How boring our lives would be in the summertime without God's added beauty, grace and freedom we gleen from the butterflies.

 Why does God give all creatures different life spans? There must be a purpose, what is it?

"To everything there is a season,
A time for every purpose under heaven:" Ecclesiastes 3:1 (NKJV)

⁹ What profit has the worker from that in which he labors? ¹⁰ I have seen the God-given task with which the sons of men are to be occupied. ¹¹ He has made everything beautiful in its time. Also He has put eternity in their hearts, except that no one can find out the work that God does from beginning to end.

¹² I know that nothing is better for them than to rejoice, and to do good in their lives, ¹³ and also that every man should eat and drink and enjoy the good of all his labor—it is the gift of God.

¹⁴ I know that whatever God does,
It shall be forever.
Nothing can be added to it,And nothing taken from it.
God does it, that men should fear before Him.
¹⁵ That which is has already been,
And what is to be has already been;And God requires an account of what is past.     Ecclesiastes 3:9-15 (NKJV)²

^" He has made the earth by His power,
He has established the world by His wisdom,
And has stretched out the heavens at His discretion.¹³ When He utters His voice,
There is a multitude of waters in the heavens:
“And He causes the vapors to ascend from the ends of the earth.
He makes lightning for the rain,He brings the wind out of His treasuries.”      ^{Jeremiah 10:12-13 (NKJV)}

 ^{I would love to know your thoughts. Leave me a comment, Thank you.}

Just in case your're wondering....

Just in case you're wondering....Mark ordered an ice cream cake on Wednesday.  :) Can you guess what kind it is? Butterfingers, it'll be hear tomorrow. So if any of you are in need of a sweet treat-come to my house and I'll share my, "I'm sorry cake" from Mark with you.

Several of my friends have expressed their concerns about the direction our nation is heading. I agree, we are in some very serious situations that have the potential of turning even uglier. Please understand that leaders of our nation can only do so much. The People themselves must follow God's promises and warnings. God will never bless any nation who can not follow His simple but necessary commands.

Joshua chapter 23 is very clear about what God expects from a nation.  Verse 6 warns:"Be very firm, then, to keep and do all that is written in the book of Moses, so that you may not turn aside from it to the right hand or the left," Joshua chapter 23:6 NASB...."So take diligent heed to yourselves to love the Lord your God. For if you ever go back and cling to the rest of these nations, these which remain among you and intermarry with them, so that you associate with them and they with you, know with certainty that the Lord your God will not continue to drive these nations out from before you; but they will be a snare and trap you, ....Joshua 24:11-13









If you've read the book of Joshua you know how God gave Israel many victories over several nations as Joshua lead them into battle. The Angels of the Lord went before them, they conquered many nations because the followed God's directions and loved Him with all their hearts. God still asks the same of us today.

¹¹ When Solomon had finished the temple of the Lord and the royal palace, and had succeeded in carrying out all he had in mind to do in the temple of the Lord and in his own palace, ¹² the Lord appeared to him at night and said:

“I have heard your prayer and have chosen this place for myself as a temple for sacrifices.
¹³ “When I shut up the heavens so that there is no rain, or command locusts to devour the land or send a plague among my people, ¹⁴ if my people, who are called by my name, will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, and I will forgive their sin and will heal their land. ¹⁵ Now my eyes will be open and my ears attentive to the prayers offered in this place. ¹⁶ I have chosen and consecrated this temple so that my Name may be there forever. My eyes and my heart will always be there.
¹⁷ “As for you, if you walk before me faithfully as David your father did, and do all I command, and observe my decrees and laws, ¹⁸ I will establish your royal throne, as I covenanted with David your father when I said, ‘You shall never fail to have a successor to rule over Israel.’
¹⁹ “But if you^[a] turn away and forsake the decrees and commands I have given you^[b] and go off to serve other gods and worship them, ²⁰ then I will uproot Israel from my land, which I have given them, and will reject this temple I have consecrated for my Name. I will make it a byword and an object of ridicule among all peoples. ²¹ This temple will become a heap of rubble. All^[c] who pass by will be appalled and say, ‘Why has the Lord done such a thing to this land and to this temple?’ ²² People will answer, ‘Because they have forsaken the Lord, the God of their ancestors, who brought them out of Egypt, and have embraced other gods, worshiping and serving them —that is why he brought all this disaster on them.’” 2nd Chronicles chapter 7:11-22 NIV

As God's people we must always take to heart that He is a very Jealous God. He freely gives us so much, but in return He demands our love and devotion. Never take His Blessings lightly.

I encourage you to read the book of Joshua. Please read 2nd Chronicles chapter 7. Take in this passage with your mind and heart wide open to God. The Bible is still the only book with all the answers to life! Enjoy it, read it and apply it to your life.

It's been one of those days...

This has been one of those days it will be better to just forgive and forget it. While going to one of our normal spots for a walk Mark and I walked the main trail on bad terms with each other. After four and a half miles we finally started talking a little. Roscoe was thirsty so we drove to another spot in that area to let him get a drink and cool off in the creek.

Just before crossing a little bridge I saw a pink flamingo hanging on the bridge. "That's just great," now I get to encounter a group of Realtors who decided not to accept me into their group. (Actually, I never wanted to be a part of their group any way. One of my friends who was part of their group wanted me to join. I told her I didn't care about being part of an "exclusive group."

Sure enough it was the group I feared it was. There they sat, out in the middle of the woods under a dark pavilion, dressed to the hilt but they sure didn't appear to be having much fun. I think the bugs and frogs were more chatty than they were. I refused to look directly at any of them and of course, no one jumped up and said, "Hey Kathy."

Sure, it hurts. But we all feel rejection from time to time right? 

We left and Mark asked if I'd like Dairy Queen. "Well sure, I would," after all Dairy Queen has always been my cure for anything that hurts emotionally since I was a kid. In fact, I refuse to live in any town that doesn't have one.

We stoped in Clarksville GA. I ordered a vanilla cone dipped in chocolate- one of my favorites. I asked Mark, "Do you mind if I run to the rest room?"

"No, go a head I'll be outside."

I finished in the rest room. Mark and Roscoe were out at a picnic table. Almost half my cone sat on a dirty cement picnic table. The other half to two thirds lay on the ground and Roscoe was licking it up as fast as he could. He was eating so fast he was suffering from a brain freeze. Every once in a while he'd look up at me like, "Oh Mom, this is killing my head but it tastes so good."

Mark sat quietly devouring his cone. "What happened to my cone?"

"Most of it is on the ground."

"Okay" Obviously he wasn't gonna say anymore so I picked up the remainder of my cone and started to eat it. The first lick, of  what was left I thought of chocolate turned out to be GA. Mud Fudge-not the Dairy Queen kind either. So I spit it out.

I ate the good parts, which wasn't much and Roscoe appears as full as a fat tick.

Currently, well I'm just trying to be nice. I am not going to fix Mark any supper until he apologizes. By golly, I think he owes me an ice cream cake besides, don't you? It's gonna be a long, long night. If I had the money I think I'd go sleep somewhere else. The back porch swing sounds good to me.

I'd appreciate your prayers. This is one of those days that the only reason I'm still here is because of those vows I took for better or worse, richer or poorer in sickness and in health til death do us part.
Don't worry-I know God said, "Thou shalt not kill."

Maybe I'll go back and read all the 10 commandments.

The Darkness will close in

  Just after 8:30 tonight Roscoe and I were heading out for our daily walk around the neighborhood. Darkness was settling in. When we were less than half a block from home sharp lightening bolts began to light up the sky just ahead of us. Then sharp jolts jabbed just to the east and west of us. Carrying a radio controlled stimulator for Roscoe's collar, house keys and the remote for the garage was a little scary. All of those items attract and conduct electricity.

  This summer has had more severe storm cells than I can ever remember. Many people have been hit and even killed by lightening Last week four family members gathered around a table outside when a lightening strike from the clear sky hit all four people. The mother was holding a cell phone. They all were burnt badly and had to be treated at a local hospital. Times like these it is so important to know who controls the elements of nature. God controls the atmosphere-not "Mother Nature."

   God is always in control. We shouldn't be stupid and temp fate. Yet, I realize that no matter how prepared we are in this life eventually the darkness closes in and the storms arise. We all must pass through these times to make it home to heaven. Just as there was no way to get to my house without walking through the lightening, one day I'll face final war with pain.

  "Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil. For your rod and your staff they comfort me. You preparest a table in the presence of my enemies. I will dwell in the house of my Lord forever." Another one of those ever present parts of scripture that has become in grained in my very body and soul. (Part of The 23rd Psalm)

  What a privilege to have secure words backed up by an awesome powerful Savior.

  For an extra special blessing read and take to heart the 23rd Psalm. Since God holds our future,  let us proceed with confidence and courage to face anything our days may hold.  Jesus goes before and with us every step of the way. He will deliver us safely Home :)

 

We all fail sometimes

  Anyone who has been a Christian for very long can recall a time when they just didn't stand up for God when they should have.  Your palms and brow sweat. "You wimpy coward!" screams out from your very innards making you feel like you could literally curl up and die. Guess what? We have all been there.

  Imagine Peter as he denied Jesus for the third time as that old cock crowed. Just as Jesus told him he would do. As brave and courageous as Peter was he almost gave everything about his life with Christ. Peter feared for his own life as he watched the angry crowd beat and tourer our sinless Savior. Jesus was God but also a sinless man.

  God knows we will fail, that is why we need a Savior. No one, not even a "saint" will ever be "good enough" to make it to heaven on their merits. Jesus accepts us where we are. He ask us to call on Him when we need a helping hand. He's the most understanding friend we will ever know. Jesus is the only helpful constant companion we will ever have .

 "What a friend we have in Jesus-All our sins and griefs to carry, take it to the Lord in Prayer!" Remember that wonderful old song? :)

  When you fail, just remember Jesus stands with open arms waiting to pick you back up. He still loves you and so do many brothers and sisters in Christ that understand forgiveness because of three spikes, the only sinless loving Savior, and His love that says, "You were worth dying for; I Love You."

"For this very reason, Christ died and returned to life so that He might be the Lord of both the dead and the living. You then, why do you judge your brother? Or why do you look down on your brother? For we will stand before God's judgement seat. It is written:

'As surely as I live, says the Lord, every knee will bow before me; every tongue will confess to God."

So then, each of us will give an account of himself to God."              Romans 14:9-12 NIV