Thank you God, you make me Brave

So tomorrow is the big surgery day.  Amazing all the little things we do throughout the week. Then
when you know you will be out of commission for a while you can take care of it in 3 days.  I had to vote, shop for a few things to take with me.  By the way, have you tried to shop for a light weight mid length robe? Sure, if I was going away for a romantic weekend or buying something for my 80 year old mother in law I could find plenty... but I don't think I want the hospital staff looking at me that way and I am not feeling 80 just yet.  But I digress, I paid bills, answered volumes of Facebook posts, emails and phone calls from well wishers  and I treasured every single one.  All the while working to keep my mind occupied.  Today I stopped, and took it all in; for the first time; all the people praying, people sharing my storm with others so they could pray in Uganda, United Kingdom, Australia, Canada and across the United States. So many praying, seeking God on my behalf; I am overwhelmed by the love I feel.
I know that God could heal me before the first cut, walk with me through this painful storm, or take me home to see Jesus. But I can tell you that I have an unexplainable peace about the outcome, in my heart I feel God is not done with me yet,  no matter what I will Praise God through it all.

I give you peace only I can give, so don't be worried or afraid.   John 14:27

I remember hearing when I was a child that the bible says "Count yourselves as blessed for the trials you go through".  What?  How could bad things be a blessing?

 Dear brothers and sisters, when troubles of any kind come your way, consider it an opportunity for great joy. James 1:2

I now understand that.  Though I do not want to go through the surgery, recovery and treatments, I know God is with me and God loves me.  My "trial" will be a testimony in some way to someone else. 

So today my prayer is in thanks. 
Thank you God for being bigger than my fears, my cancer and all my circumstances.  Thank you God for being my healer and restorer. Thank you God for always being with me.  Thank you God for your peace, peace I can only get from you.  Thank you God for guiding the surgeons hands and walking with me through yet another storm.  Thank you God for surrounding me with family & friends around the world willing to pray, ask and seek you on my behalf.   Thank you God for everything because You make me BRAVE!

  

Fear: Fight or Flight?

Fear is the emotion or reaction of a perceived threat. How do you react when in fear? Fight or flight? Are you lashing and bashing or running and deserting?

Reactive Fighting

Mary & Martha were afraid for their brother Lazarus, he was very sick so they sent word to Jesus to come right now. Can you just imagine the urgency of their message? They knew Jesus well and knew he was capable of saving their brother. But two days and Jesus didn’t come, Lazarus died.  Then Jesus shows up. Now can you imagine Mary & Martha coming “unglued “ on Jesus?  They see him coming toward the house, “There that little bugger is” says Martha. She drops the pots and pans she was cooking with (you know she is the event planner) and runs out the door, Mary hot on her heels. They both say:

“If you had been here, our brother would not have died.”

John 11:21, 32

Ok so maybe that is all in my head, the girls were more respectful to him than that according to the Bible, but I may have had a moment…out of fear.

What causes your fear? 

Are you afraid of what others think? Are you judging yourself? You are if you assume you know what others think of you.

A miss diagnosis of who you are can be your biggest hindrance in doing what God wants you to do.  Pastor TJ Hankey reminded us this weekend that God saw Gideon as a warrior, not a man hiding in a pit.

 Gideon replied, “But how can I rescue Israel? My clan is the weakest one in Manasseh, and everyone else in my family is more important than I am.”

Judges 6:15

Gideon, I believe had judged himself to the point he had no self-esteem, I mean he was hiding from the world in a pit! So unsure that he, Gideon, could possibly hear from God, he asked for a sign to be sure!  Gideon’s misdiagnosis prevented him from seeing who he could be and what he was capable of doing; holding him hostage in that pit.

So what are we to do?  Fear will always be there, the only way around it is to overcome it.

Emotions-

Don’t let fear direct your emotions- Bow up to yourself and boss those emotions around!

Get Moving-

God has a plan for all our lives, when you hear God’s voice or feel His urging, get moving.

Pray-

God will give you strength, and everything else you need in just the right timing and portions to do His work. You can bank on it.

My Unglued Girls

It’s so great to have a group of friends to hold you accountable, pray for you, encourage you through life’s tough moments & celebrate the joys in life with you too. That’s my connect group.

I love these girls, I’m old enough to be their Mother, but that doesn’t seem to matter.  I am so proud of them; how they, (we) are making so much progress in dealing with our emotions through the book Unglued.  I love how openly we can share our personal “unglued moments” without fear of judgment.

“Therefore, confess your sins to one another and pray for one another, that you may be healed.” James 5:16

Why confess to others?

First I believe this verse is a commandment, maybe not the top 10 commandments, but a commandment nonetheless. 

And I think it means –do it, it’s good for you.

1.    It holds you accountable for your own progress.

Saying things out loud makes it real; it helps you to really think about the issue. Look at the situation from another angle and you could see the humor in your reaction to it.

2.    God loves it when we pray for one another; it is an action of love.

I give you a new commandment – to love one another. Just as I have loved you, you also are to love one another. John 13:34

3.    Praying and really believing in the prayer can help you overcome and be healed. The bible tells us where two or three are together in His name, we can count on God being there too.

Take this most seriously: A yes on earth is yes in heaven; a no on earth is no in heaven. What you say to one another is eternal. I mean this. When two of you get together on anything at all on earth and make a prayer of it, my Father in heaven goes into action. And when two or three of you are together because of me, you can be sure that I’ll be there.”

Matthew 18:18-20 MSG

Yes, I have a fun group of young ladies; they inspire me to be a better “me’. I hope they find their selves encouraged by me their best too and know we are all an imperfect work in progress. I love you “Unglued Girls”!!