Month: October 2024

I have been blessed with the gift of my mother in law. On a regular basis I often hear women talk about their mothers in law. Some speak with warm terms and there is obvious great affection. Then there are those who speak in less glowing terms. Then there are those who speak of what can only be termed as a monster in law. My maternal grandmother had one of the later so I know having a loving and kind mother in law is truly a gift.

Today She turns 85. I doubt she would mind me writing this. Most people I know over 80 are truly proud of that accomplishment. She still lives independently on her farm raising chickens and loves the country life. She wants no other. She loves her church and her God. In many ways over the years she has been a great example of the Proverbs 31 woman. This is something all of us of the female persuasion should want to be. I wish her a happy birthday today and am grateful for the fantastic son she raised who has been such a blessing to me.

It is hard to know what to title a blog. This is especially true when one writes three times a week and a great deal of my subject material centers around the kindness of God. Like many life has not always been easy or kind. I am not an exception on experiencing sickness and dealth of a young child. Like many I am not an exception for experiencing a devastating illness personally and walking through it. Like many I am not an exception that recognizes the grace and mercy of a loving Father to get me through the above.

My life has been full and at this point longer than I anticipated. Each day is a blessing and each moment a gift. I never lose sight of that. I will blog one more time this week and then not back until Nov 4. Remember as you go through your day all the things God has blessed you with. Remember His grace. Remember He is the One true God. Get to know Him in His Word. Ruminate on it. Let it fill your heart and always remember to praise.

Each morning I cannot help but praise God for all that He has blessed me with. Sometimes I am overwhelmed by His generosity. A week from today my sister, her husband, my mother and her husband and myself will be in Maryland visiting my nephew, his wife and family. We are all excited about this opportunity to visit with them and to see things we have not seen before. I will not be writing on this blog beginning next Friday through the following week.

When I consider 9 years ago that I was told I had on average 18 months to live. Now I am still here and doing more than I did when I was healthy and definitely no sign of cancer. Traveling is a small thing for many people but for me it is major when I consider what I faced in the past and now what I am getting to experience. God is bigger than anything we can imagine. He is holy. He is righteous. His mercies are new every morning. Call on Him. Lean on Him. Trust in Him.

Yesterday I made a quick trip into our local Dollar General. Every small town in America has one. The young woman working behind the counter was short in her response and very unfriendly. The look on her face yelled confrontation. In my younger years I would have snapped with something about her lack of personality and perhaps she should be a CPA where personality is not required:) I left the store and stewed on it off and on the rest of the day. This morning as I was reading scripture I was reminded of the the fruit of the spirit, specifically self control. What a sad witness I would have been to snap and get something started. A sad witness to her and other customers in the store. Especially if they knew my testimony on God’s goodness.

It is easy to be drawn into the world. It is easy to want at times to be like the world. The flesh beckons at every turn. Self righteous thoughts enter the brain from every direction. This is pride. It is better to recognize it and resist it with the help of the Holy Spirit then to give in to it and be admonished by that same Holy Spirit. Always choose life. Always choose Christ. Always choose submission to the Holy Spirit. Be truly courageous.

There is something in the Christian community that does not receive enough attention. That something is deception. For many, it is enough to go to church. It is enough to participate in church programs. In reality, is it enough? A common theme throughout scripture is deception. Because of the influence of satan, we cannot underestimate the effects of deception. Often the things we believe to be true are not and those things that appear ridiculous can absolutely be true.

We are very close to an election. Our country is very divided. At this point things do not look promising for a great future as one side will be outraged if it loses either way. Pray for discernment. Ask to not be deceived. Look at the evidence before you and then look again. Through al of this season do not fear. Keep your mind centered on God’s Word. Memorize it in your heart. It is your very best tool to fight deception.

I have had the joy of being married for 38 years. When I was a child, that was not anything special. Most of the people in my parent’s world were long time couples even if their marriages did not look so happy. In today’s environment it seems like something special though it ought not to be. Tomorrow is my husband’s birthday. I won’t tell you how old he will be but it does coincide with being eligible for a certain health care card:)

My husband has been a tremendous blessing to me. He and I have weathered a lot of storms in this life the worst of which was the diagnosis and death of our youngest son. He was also there with me with my own stage 4 diagnosis and he still faithfully takes me for my scans and is present when my oncologist gives us my report. That is the blessing of a loving husband, to stand by you during the hardest of times. He loves his children and grandchildren. Our bond has become stronger through our shared experiences. If you have been as blessed as I, let your spouse know. All of us need encouragement. It is even better if that relationship is grounded in Christ.

Yesterday I had a conversation with my second cousin named Charlotte. Charlotte is exactly one month older than I am. A few months back, she was diagnosed with stage 4 melanoma. It had started on an area on her shoulder and like a lot of us, she did not know what it was and tried treating it herself. She began to have signs of a stroke and that is when the medical team discovered that she had cancer because the CT scan revealed she had 5 lesions in her brain, some in her lungs, in her live and also in her throat. She began immunotherapy treatment and she told me yesterday that the number of lesions in her brain are now 2 and the ones that were in her live are gone.

The above is a wonderful report! She was most grateful to the Lord for His provision. She always has such a fantastic attitude and looks for each day to become stronger and heal more. We are blessed by God in so many ways. His Word comforts us. It strengthens us. It reveals who God is and what He gave for each of us. It also reveals what will happen to those who choose to reject His mercy and be little gods of their own. Please do not fall in the later category. Understand that God is real whether you desire to believe that or not. Embrace His grace. Run to Him. Trust Him in all things. Be courageous for the Lord.

We have a young man, at least by my standards, around 50 who I wrote about previously who experienced a two sided stroke. His family learned that he was a diabetic, a pretty major one as it turned out. He also had a genetic complication of having only two aortas verses the number of four in the majority of people. He also had high cholesterol and high blood pressure. He never knew any of these things because he never took a physical. No one else knew this because he was always in the gym when he wasn’t at work. He is now battling an infection on top of everything else.

Most of us I believe have no clue of what lurks inside of us. We go through life toughening ourselves up against whatever physical ailment we have until it overpowers us. It is tough living in this world. There are constand concerns pulling at each of us. If it is not our health, it is someone that we love. If it is not health issues, it is world issues. If it is not either of those it is the economy. How do we get through all of us and still have peace? God is our refuge and our strength. It is not weakness to believe He exist. It is not weakness to rely on Him. It is quite the opposite, our greatest strength. Choose strength today. Read scripture. Get to know the one true God.

One thing I have learned in these 61 years of living is that I have much to learn. I listen to others and their opinion on how to live according to God’s will and of course have my own opinion. I read scripture and I can see support for their point but then I am not quite sure. Have you ever experienced that? We have so many variations and interpretations coming at us it is hard to discern.

One thing we can do consistently is read scripture. We can also ask the Holy Spirit to guide us in our thinking. With salvation there should always be a desire to grow and learn throughout the remaining days our Father gifts to us. Our lives are after all completely in His hands. Yesterday our community suffered the loss of a young high school senior. It is always tragic when these things happen. I know this first hand. It is God who sustains. It is God who is in control. Keep growing. Keep moving in His direction.

It truly is a time for each of us to be courageous. The world is on fire. Potential Middle East conflict has the ability to escalate into an all out war involving many countries. Some believe it will signify the close return of Christ. Then again it still may not happen at this time. A horrific hurricane destroying parts of North Carolina with over 120 dead and counting. Unbelieveable destruction. Threats from China regarding Tawain and in the middle of all of this, inflation is surging again due to lowering interest rates and results of the longshoreman strike. It is definitely time to be courageous.

Scripture warns us of these things that will take place. It does become a great test for each of us. Where do you stand? Do you still trust God? Do you believe He is still working all things for your good? Many of the above may touch each of us in a personal way with shortages in food and medicine. Medicine is especially hard if you have a sick child and that medicine makes the difference. These are things we face. We were never promised an easy road once we decided to submit our obediance to Christ. In fact we were told the opposite. Know though if you choose Christ, the road may be bumpy, but you will succeed. You will overcome in the end. This is not our home. Hold on to that. Something so much better is still to come!