The Yellow Jeep

 "Everything permissible but not everything is beneficial." 1 Cor. 10:23

 After looking at "safe" cars for my middle daughter.. like hyundi's, hondas and jettas we stumbled on this yellow jeep at a local used car lot. Ok maybe not stumble but she saw it glowing like it had a halo in the back of this lot. It was screaming her name. My daughters eyes got huge as she squealed in delight.."Mom , this car gives me butterflies" , I want it !

She sat in it and you would of thought she was beaming brighter than the jeep. The lot was closing and I told her she would have to come back tomorrow with her Dad.. There was a groan and I knew why , Dad is practical , safe and knows more about cars than we do.

To us girls its just cute , fun and exciting. Very exciting...and did I say she looked adorable in it !!

So, the moment we arrive home she hesitated to tell her Dad , so I did. He was quick to reply about the bad gas mileage its a 4.0L engine ( hmm at 4.00 / a gallon ) . I went on to tell him that they just put 2000.00 tires on them and he replied and who is going to have to replace those tires later. I talked about the new top on it, he responded quickly with the fact they leak , its cold ( it is canvas after all) The list goes on...

I  saw the look on my daughters face has she realized this is not going to happen and I was irritated that he was letting her down . I knew he was right but like her I wanted what I wanted, not thinking of the cost in the long run. Only thinking of giving her the moment of joy. The joy that would only last untill she couldn't afford the gas or the upkeep or worse froze to death.

It wasn't easy for my husband to let her down but he knew what was best and that his love for her was such that he would rather be the bad guy and take care of her future. Father knows best !

So does our heavenly Father. This is why , he warns us of the earthly pleasures that so easily entangles us and causes us harm or struggles in the end. He loves nothing more than to give us joy, but a joy that protects and keeps us safe and is beneficial ...

Goodbye yellow jeep ..we wish you well .

Hmm Hello ..well I will keep you posted to what he finds for her , it will only be what best for His little girl.

Thank you Daddy . ( Abba Father).

Don't grumble against each other, brothers, or you will be judged. The Judge is standing at the door!James 5:9
Such a simple verse to understand; a bit harder to follow. It's interesting to me that many times in the Bible when a warning is presented, it's always associated with a common sin. This verse could have said, "Don't kill another. The Judge is standing at the door." It could have said, "Don't steal." "Don't commit adultery." But no, it has to be something so common as grumbling. Other words used: complain, murmur, and grudge against. All of these words are translated with slightly different meanings today. When we put all of them together we get a good picture. No grumbling against each other. No complaining about each other. No murmuring against each other. No feelings of grudge against each other. Basically, grumbling and complaining about each other leads to less common sins. This is almost the basic level where it starts. Pride and jealousy probably cause some of the grumbling and complaining. Whatever is the cause we need to get to the root and dig it out. What makes us complain about others? Sometimes there is a problem within ourselves that needs some care in order to take away the negative outlook on others. Sometimes we just get in a complaining habit or put ourselves around other complainers. One way, the cycle needs to be broken. Whether it's an outward problem for us or we complain to ourselves and therefore put a sour look on our face, we will still be judged. Christ is the Judge and He is standing at the door. It doesn't matter to our Savior if we're grumbling against those who deserve it or not. The act of grumbling and complaining effects our spirit, our heart, our happiness & others, our example, and the look on our face. The bible also states "If you keep on biting and devouring each other, watch out or you will be destroyed by eachother"—Galatians 5:15.

It's hard to do but when we find ourselves wanting to judge , gossip or complain, we need to change the subject, leave the room, eat a cookie ( but not too many :), or something. Break the cycle and start new habits. Others will notice and maybe even follow our example. See how it goes and remember we can ask God for help and strength. Theme for the weekend: Break the cycle! (I really wish the theme could be: Eat a cookie!)

Childlike Honesty

I was pediatric oncology nurse for 10 years and loved it. The hospital facility where I worked practiced primary care nursing so that whenever a patient was readmitted, they would have the same nurse for continuity of care. This was about the third admission for a little 5-6 yo girl diagnosed with cancer. Since she was diagnosed, she hadn't spoken much for months to anyone, even her mother. One night I came to work with my hair dyed brown when I usually had blond hair. I went into this little girl's room, did my assessment, made some small talk and of course didn't get a reply. Then as I was about to leave the room, she says, "Did you make your hair dark?" I said, "Yes, do you like it?" She says, "No, I think it’s really ugly!" Her mother was so embarrassed that this was her first words in months and tried to tell her that it wasn't nice to say that. I just thought she was telling it like it is! This is what I truly love about children; they will tell you exactly what they think. We all kept very straight faces and just kept right on talking- a little teary eyed. She talked from then on.



Just like children, we need to go to our spiritual Father to gain the knowledge we need to guide us in our spiritual lives. So how honest are we with God? Do we say what is in our heart? Or as we’ve grown older, have we lost the ability to be honest with Him and ourselves? I have found that when I’m not honest with God it shortens my “talks” with Him. Yet once I become like a small transparent child, the floodgates open.


One of my fondest memories is of an encounter with my oldest daughter when she was three and in pre-school. I arrived to pick her up and she was playing on the playground , so I decided to stay and play awhile. She came and sat on my lap and I asked her to tell me about her day. She replied with “You already know”. Confused I explored further, “why do you think I already know”. She looked at me and rolled her eyes stating simply” Mom , you always know everything I’m doing”.


She truly believed her mother was keeping watch on her even in my absence. While it seems the Lord gives an extra intuitive insight into our children’s lives, it is only the Father himself that has that ability. He knows our actions and innermost thoughts and is just waiting for us to come to Him and share with a childlike honesty. It’s only then can receive the answers we are looking for.


I went back to blond and have been ever since.


Therefore, whoever humbles himself like this child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven.Matthew 18:4-6

Fiarse De.

“ When a train goes through a tunnel and it gets dark, you don’t throw away the ticket and jump off. You sit still and trust the engineer.”- Corrie Ten Boom

My tunnel phase : I am comforted that I am moving… forward… but whether I’m going headlong towards a wall, or down a cliff, I still cannot say.



I choose to hold on for the journey and trust my engineer that He will deliver me and the light will come.



Do not be afraid. Stand firm and you will see the deliverance the Lord will bring you today. The Lord will fight for you; you need only to be still. (Exodus 14:13a,14)

"The Lord is close to the brokenhearted, saves those whose spirit is crushed." (Psalm 34:19)

I have seen people so crushed, so hurt, not only are their faces downcast, but their spirit is crushed. God will never crush your spirit; on the contrary, He only wants to build you up. I have seen people who have lost children to cancer , to accidents , to drugs and more. I believe this type of loss may be one of the worst types, yet I have seen families that have risen above their loss and been a conqueror. Their spirits were restored by leaning on God .

While nothing can compare to the pain and suffering of loosing children to death on earth , it can be tremendously difficult to witness your children’s spirit to be crushed by another person , especially Christians in whom they placed their trust. It can be difficult to explain and the loss is real. A spirit that has been crushed by family, friends and those you trusted , especially other Christians can be extremely painful and may have everlasting consequences.. Because , in the flesh there is no prosthetic for an amputated spirit.

I have always reminded my children that man no matter who they are ; whether a professing Christian or not, all mankind possesses a sin nature and if you put all your hope in people it will fail you. While in my head I have this knowledge, I have a heart that tends to want to extend grace and place my hope in the goodness of others. We have a tendency to trust the seen ( people) rather than the unseen (God). We seem to want to lean on other Christians that we unfairly categorize as extensions of our Savior.

I find myself once again in this familiar scenario of one of my children feeling crushed and brokenhearted by people she trusted , to people she had seen as a brother or sister in Christ. To watch her cry , question God and her faith , is painful and provokes anger and desire to protect. I can understand why when new believers are hurt by fellow Christians they tend to walk away wounded or worse yet loose faith.

It is inevitable that these things will happen and you will need to seek answers and healing. Using the examples of those who have face insurmountable loss and pain like the mother who looses her child , it is only by going to God, leaning on Him will you find true healing. He can heal the crushed spirit. He and He alone, can bring you restoration. He alone can lift you up. He can take your crushed spirit and rebuild you into a better, stronger person. If you feel you have lost something in your spirit life, then turn to the Lord, He can and will make you whole again.

When we need someone to lean on, when we need someone to trust in, someone who is mighty to save, tender to heal, someone who will help us, then look no further, turn to the Lord, in all circumstances. The Bible says in Psalm 25:2 , “O my God, I trust, lean on, rely on, and am confident in You.”

I am confident as she leans on you my Lord, she will find all that she needs to lift her up, heal her heart and give her the strength to go on, with a new positive attitude.

Fall.

Its no secret too many that Maxfield Parrish art is my muse. Who can deny the parrish blue ..

Consider it all Joy.

“The condition for a miracle is difficulty; however the condition for a great miracle is not difficulty, but impossibility.”


I woke up at 445 am yesterday morning dreading the day ahead. I knew it was going to be taxing on my mind, body and heart. My prayers that morning wasn’t Lord give me strength, but Lord give me joy. The world in all its abundances can be overwhelming and as a Christian it can be a constant battle to fight the flesh and persecution.

You see, for the next 10 hours I would be spending it with nursing students who were feeling the same way. They are overwhelmed, stressed and quite frankly not sure what their future holds. With all those emotions we must also walk into a hospital where many of the families have lost hope, children are suffering, dying and much of it seems unfair and cruel.

When I arrived at the children’s hospital I saw 7 young students looking as though they really didn’t want to do this today and still reeling over the poor results of their last exam....Again, I prayed Lord give us joy.

When we arrived on the various units the nurses appeared defeated as well. The flu season is in full swing and the units are very busy. There seems to be a sense that we are only seeing the tip of the iceberg and a full blown storm is about to occur at anytime. This promises to be the busiest flu season ever and the H1N1 is a reality.... Lord give them joy.

Then it came... in the form of a little boy. He was about 7, big brown eyes, a head full of dark curls and a smile that lit up the room. You could almost sense he was special. The student was to perform a physical exam while I graded them on their skills. The parents we there and I asked them to share their son’s story of what brought them there. The “story” is what I ask my students to find. Sometimes we focus so much on the disease or task that we miss the story. You see they were on the “floor” that has few promises of joy...the childrens “oncology” unit.

The story; this adorable, spunky and very witty little guy was playing on the playground at school when he smacked heads with another kid and the impact to the head was enough to warrant a visit to the ER. The odd thing was he should have been worked up for his head but because he was vomiting blood they decided to do a CT scan of his abdomen. Because of this CT they found something unexpected. A tumor that we call Burkett’s Lymphoma. He had no symptoms yet from the lymphoma but if it had not been picked up early in another 2-3 weeks it would have been noticeable. The physician told the family in a few more weeks the news would not be favorable, but because it is early and local we can remove it and the prognosis with surgery and chemotherapy is excellent! I couldn’t help but share my “praise God” with them and they said Yes! , it is only from Him. The little boy also claimed the same.

I know the students in that room and I received an answer to my prayers from a little boy who I will call “joy”. It renewed my strength that day and I was reminded of the hope & joy we have from our Savior that came to this earth in the form of a little boy to save us from the weariness of this world. In the end it is all that matters and we are to consider all suffering pure joy, when we choose to follow Him.

Thank you Jesus for this little boy,We will continue to pray for Him to fight the good fight and be a mighty warrior for you.