A few weeks ago someone in our office received a letter. Now I have only been working here 7 years, so I do not know this person who sent the letter but I found it very interesting. Seems that when he worked here, he was not the nicest person in the world. His attitude was bad and as he explained in the letter, he was just at a bad point in his life. For whatever reason, he left here and moved on, but not without thinking about this place it seems. As the letter went on, he said that he had finally come to a better place in his life and that place included God and family. He apologized for how he had acted so many years ago and even enclosed a check for some snacks he hd gotten out of the machine when he was working late one night that he had not paid for.

Like I said, I don't know this man but I couldn't help but think about a TV show that I really like " My Name is Earl", where Earl basically has a list of all the bad things he has done in his life time and he is going back trying to make them right. The show is really funny, and I guess I really have never thought about it, until the letter showed up in the office.

"For if you forgive men when they sin against you, your heavenly Father will also forgive you” (Matthew 6:14).

Seems to me all he was asking for was forgiveness. It took alot for him (In my opinion) to even sit down and write the letter. He could have gone on with his life, putting it all in the back of his mind and not caring at all. As far as I am concerned, he did exactly what he was suppose to do. But forgiveness is a two way street ya know. You haev the person asking for it, but the receiver has a duty also. God commands us to forgive. Not always an easy task I know. It took me a longtime and I mean a LONG time to forgive some folks in my life for things that were done to me. And there are times that I remember (and I think thats okay) but I try really hard, not to let it consume me like it use to.

If we cannot forgive people for the petty (and sometiems not so petty) things they do to us, how can we expect God to hear or listen to us when we ask for His forgiveness?

I hope you all have a blessed day! It's gonna be a good one.. until next time, Lord willing

"The only way to help yourself is to help others". I read that the other day. Seems an easy task right? So why is it so hard to do? God is very clear in His word when He says that we are to help and serve others. We are to not make it about us, but the world around us. Our lives should be lived making sure that others get to know Christ and  living our lives so that they see Christ in us. I am learning that the quickest way to end a pity party, is to find someone who needs help. We always talk about wanting to be happy. Well seems to me that the happiest Christians, are not the ones loving in big houses, driving fancy cars, trying to outdo each other daily.. the happiest Christians and most fullfilled Christians are the ones that have found joy in serving other people.

Galatians 5:13-14 "For you were called to freedom, brothers. Only do not use your freedom as an opportunity for the flesh, but through love serve one another. For the whole law is fulfilled in one word: “You shall love your neighbor as yourself.”

Lets make it not about us anymore!

Hope you are all having a wonderful day. Be blessed and until next time Lord willing !

We are still studying Nehemiah in my Sunday school class, and I must say I am really enjoying it. It's amazing how a book of the Bible that seems so uninteresting can teach you so much. Nehemiah centered everything he did around prayer. It seems that when he started his journey, he prayed, when  he spoke with the king about help, he prayed and throughout the entire process, he knew who he needed to be getting advice and help from. At the end of class, someone made a comment that kinda stuck with me that whole day...and its one of those things that you KNOW, but it takes someone actually saying it again and in a different way for you to go " hmmmm, I really need to work and think on that." But the comment was (and this is not word for word so excuse me) but when we pray to God, we have to really make sure we are praying right. All of us are sinners and it says in Isaiah 59 - " But your iniquities have separated you from God; and your sins have hidden His face from you so He will not hear you."

I mean REALLY read that..... " your sins have separated you and He will not hear you"

Alright, we have ALL sinned and fallen short of God's glory, we all know that. So when we pray, like Nehemiah did in Nehemiah 1.. he acknowledged the fact that #1, God is almighty and all powerful, the one and only. #2, that he, Nehemiah, his family had sinned against Him by not obeying His commands and he asked for forgiveness. Then, he began to ask for help.

God word is true and He loves each and every one of us, but in order (and these are my words) for Him to hear us and answer our prayers, we have to confess to Him daily when we do wrong. Now I have no clue if this is the "big sin, little sin" kinda deal where one out weighs the other as some people would like to think, but it plainly says that sin separates us from God so if we are separated, it stands to reason that during those times, He has a deaf ear when we pray. NOT that He doesn't love us, but is waiting on us to come and ask for forgiveness. And to be honest, even though like I said, I knew this, I never really thought about it like I should.

I pray you all had a wonderful weekend and a great rest of the day. Lord willing,we will talk again soon.

Dear God,

I am about to have a nervous breakdown. If some of this stuff does not go away soon, I am seriously going to have to be put away. So today, right now.... it's all yours and I am done! I cannot, my body or my mind cannot take anymore stress, disappointments or confusions, and I don't have too.

Amen

We are studying Nehemiah in my Sunday School class .We actually just got started last week, going through the history and all. And honestly, I don't think I have ever read much of that book before in my life. I know Nehemiah was suppose to be really short.. that's about it. But as I have been going through the book, I noticed something.

Nehemiah's task was to rebuild the the city of Jerusalem. It was a task that God gave to Him but as far as I can tell, Nehemiah had no idea how this was to be done. And he knew it and the first thing he did was fast and pray for God's guidance and success in rebuilding the city. As the story goes on, Nehemiah got help from the king for a safe passage and for money to do this. He faced criticism by some and got help from others and in the end, not only did he rebuild the city, but he rebuilt the people also. And throughout the entire story, it was obvious how Nehemiah got any of this done.... pray.

From the beginning to the end, Nehemiah knew who had the ultimate control and he acknowledged that, even after seemingly being overwhelmed from the beginning.

And our lives are no different as I see it. In my own life, there are so many things that can throw me off at any given time and there are times that I let that get to me. Satan likes that. He likes that the sense of feeling overwhelmed and not knowing what the end result will be will keep us from communication with the only one who is able to help us. If we truly give it to God, then leave it alone! It's done, quit bringing it up and really believe that God has a plan for it all. Who knows, He may be using you to transform a nation just like Nehemiah.

Be blessed my friends and until next time, Lord willing.....

Hmmmmm....

For the past few weeks, maybe even months, I have been in some kind of slump. In every aspect of my life actually and I couldn't figure it out. I tried to change things up, do something different but always ended up in the same place..... depressed, mad, sad, confused and just wondering what was next. I got complacent, I got cocky, I was comfortable in my little end of the world and that was all I needed. I wrote, but not really taking my own advice. I use to sit outside and talk to God. Wait for Him to send me answers and He did. I know you don't believe me, but I am really serious. I cannot think of one time when I haven't talked to God out there that I haven't gotten an answer, whether it was my way OR His way, good or not so good as far as I was concerned anyway. I haven't been out there in a while. Months actually and I finally figured out why.... because what I know to be true, what will happen is I will get the answer. Funny thing is.. I think I already might know it and maybe it scares me to get it.. you know the FINAL answer.

There is no doubt in my mind that God hears me when I talk to Him and listens, I mean really listens. I'm the one that is messed up.. wanting to doubt, come up with excuses or alternate answers that MAY work in my favor. NOPE, that is not gonna work and yep, I know this already.

There are alot of funny things (maybe not so funny to you) in life to me. How friends turn into acquaintances, you know, those "seasonal people". How what you THINK is something that is SO good, turns out to be "another learning experience". How what you have been so use to doing turns into " can't do thing like that anymore." Yep, I actually think about those things, alot. My mind is always racing with something. I have been told I am not the easiest person to talk to. I guess I see that. I mean, I just like to say what I think and what I feel and don't necessarily expect you to agree or even like it but respect it for what it is. I think I actually demand that. But I am me.

I was on FIRE for a while there. Words flowed, the thoughts were on point and it all made sense, but like I said, the cockiness set in and God said " Ahhhhhh maybe you have forgotten who is doing all of this, it SURE isn't YOU." And so I sat, trying to figure it out.... I still am but I think maybe it's all starting to make sense.

I read something not long ago and it said " when you start a mission and you have the right mission but realize you have the wrong method, STOP. BUT when you have called something to a halt because of a false start, don't quit. GO back to the source, to God and get the right strategy and then with the proper training.... finish the mission."

I basically quit and stopped, probably with no intentions of starting again, trying to fix what is wrong. Always lessons to be learned I guess. So, I will be back on that patio soon, talking, figuring things out and seeing what answers are sent to me. And no matter what, as hard as it may be... I'll listen and it will be okay.

This past week has been a really busy one for me. With Brianna playing high school basketball, I rarely am home before 8 on practice day and 10 or 11 on game days. And that would be 7 days a week. But this past week was a good one for Bri, she played well, seems to be taking high school grades a tad bit more serious and she turned 15. I literally can tell you every single thing that was said and done the day she was born... down to the phone conversation I had while I was in labor.

But this week, as good as it was for her, kinda hit her hard too. It's no secret that Brianna and her dad are not close and she really does not talk to him alot. But he called her this week, wished her a happy birthday and told her he would come to her game that weekend(the day after her birthday). She was VERY excited. She had told all her friends he was coming and they could meet him. Now Brianna is no dummy.. she has been down a road w/ him that has caused her lots of disappointment and she remembers them all, BUT she was still super excited to have him watch her play that night. Friday came, and I sat behind the team (as usual) to watch my baby start in another high school game. I noticed her look at me during the game alot and then at the door. I had already sent a text wondering where he was. " had a blowout" he text back and I knew right then, he would not come. As the game went on, I watched Bri go from excited , to " can we just go home now". We won that game which put is 2nd in Region playoffs, but he didn't show up and the look on her face showed it all.

As we drove home, I watched her cry and tell me how upset she was and we all know how emotional I can get , but I held it in and explained to her that sometimes as hard as it is, we can't make people do what we want them to do all the time. She could only make sure she was doing what she needed to and all else would fall into place.

As Christians we sometimes lose hope too. Life just happens and we start to doubt the promises God has made to us. But the Bible is not a lie and God does not contradict Himself. When He said ask and it shall be given, He meant it. He forgives and is faithful to us until the very end and He promises us the most important thing of all....that if we hear, believe and do what the Word tell us, we will have eternal life with Him in heaven.

For Brianna right now, it is hard to understand, even at 15, that what is happening here on earth is a temporary thing. Not everyone is willing to keep their promises and do what they say. I pray that she realizes that God NEVER backs down or goes back on His word and he always has her back and is always there!

I hope you all had a blessed weekend and have a wonderful Monday morning!! Until next time, Lord willing....