Go now, a child of God. Choose well the road you take,
And the decisions you make. Keep in mind always that The God you serve continues to call to you, making you more and more every day into the faithful one God wants you to be.

Wednesday, December 21, 2011

God's Will Week Thirty- one

  This is what I got for Christmas last year. 
I spent Christmas day with my dad and my brother.  They had not seen each other in over six years.  I was blessed last year to spend the day with the three people I love the most in the world, My dad, my brother, and my daughter (who took the picture)  I was so blessed, with this priceless gift.  If you read this blog, you know I lost my brother in Febuary; this Chistmas he will still be with us, forever joined in love.   

This year I have been blessed with so much. Yes, memories of having my brother home last year make me a little sad, but I get overwhelmed with how much love I still feel when I have those memories.  Christmas day this year will include a handful more of people.  Instead of a feeling of void, I am looking forward to sharing  the day with even more people I love, and in return they love me back. 

Its great to hear the words, "WE are going to get through this." 

Last week I had the trial of having my car not crank. The engine would spin but not crank.  The car is 8 yrs old and has been well taken care of and only had 54,000 miles on it.  I thought it was the starter going bad.  Not risking the car not cranking at home I drove it to the dealership as soon as it started after four tries.  Mid-morning I got a call from the service department and I heard, "You need a new engine."  After I hung up the phone I wanted to lay in the floor for awhile and contemplate my life while I figured out where the money for this engine would come from. I am already working two jobs and my budget is streached beyond what I make.  I was overwhelmed. 

Laying comatose in the floor is what I wanted to do.  What I did was, lock myself in the bathroom at work and got on my knees and prayed.  I must have been in there for 30 min in constant prayer turning it over to God.  I didnt come out until I heard over the PA that I had a call.  It was the dealership again, bracing myself for more bad news, I answered.  The voice on the other end of the phone said, "Mazda is going to replace the engine. You will need to pay for the new spark plugs." 

You can imagine the elation I had!  I said, "Thank you God!" immediately and returned to my knees once again. 

Not only did God provide for a new engine, he also provided me with a carpool to and from work- for both jobs since I am without a car until the first of the year.  When I get the car back it will be like having a new car. 

God does meet our needs.  In this time of gift giving, someone asked me, "What do you want for Christmas?"  This year I do not want for anything.  I have a very blessed life and I know that all of it came from God.  Even in the difficult situations, God is ever present and I am ever present with Him. 

Psalm 119:147
Early in the morning, before the sun is up, I am praying and pointing out how much I trust in you.

I will celebrate the birth of Jesus.  Birthdays are kind of a big deal.  Me and my BFF celebrate our B'days all month long in the month of August.  I celebrate Jesus' birthday with the ones I love through Advent.  I give  my child advent gifts to open; one everyday to remind her of the gift God gave to all of us, JESUS. 
I made three advent package gifts this year, I gave one to my daughter, one to my boyfriend's daughter to share with her sisters, and one to a sweet child of a co-worker.  I know what an impact these can make in a life and children share with their friends. These Advent gifts work as a ministry, sometimes its not about how many people you reach, its about reaching the right lives, the lives who Jesus is seeking and those seeking him.

Santa is cute in his red and white, as a symbol of the season, but what I believe in is not Santa; I believe in Jesus and that he was born. I'm posting this four days before Christmas.  I have been celebrating Jesus' birth for the past 21 days and counting... Merry Christmas to you and yours.   

Thursday, December 15, 2011

God's Will week Thirty




“Let your Haters be Motivators!” I read this quote this morning. I like it. Sometimes confrontations with others can get the best of us. Then all that is left is the worst of us and that “worst” isn’t pretty. I have a co-worker who has little patience for calls from the public. She gets very irritated when people hem and hum and umhhhaam before they get to what they wanted to say. She said it wastes her time. I understand, I take these same calls. I realized that a lot of these people are lonely and can keep someone on the phone for an extended period of time to talk to someone. I have sense of developing relationships with customers, sure I may only see them a short 2-5 minutes, but within that time I have small conversations. I’ve noticed that a lot of people purchase things from us that are solitary activities. There is not a day that goes by that someone gets excited when I ask what they are making. I enjoy seeing pictures of what people make and I am able to appreciate the work that goes into making anything.

I notice that some of my customers are hoarders. They will admit it. They buy things that they will not use, but have to purchase just to have. I’m guilty of it myself. I sometimes get a glimpse into tiny places they don’t let anyone else see. These tiny places are happy places.

How can this bring out the worst in me? I lose my patience. A full day of questions, can really wear someone down. I noticed on the weekly report, I had over 600 people come through my register. Sometimes I lose patience with the volume of items that people purchase. 100 sheets of paper that are sold individually and are all different can take a little time to ring up. Or several hundred Christmas ornaments can make me a little impatient. My attitude can drastically affect the people around me.

The other day I lost my patience. I was short with someone. I had a bad attitude. I said some things I shouldn’t have said. I told someone I couldn’t do what they asked me to do. I lost control. I had to repeat myself over and over. I’m sure I would have been punished if my boss had seen me. It was probably posted all over the social networks what a bad cashier I am, within minutes of the confrontation. “Good manners is measured in how we are able to deal with others who don’t have any manners.” I admit I was a horrible example of anything resembling good manners.
In my position I am to see this in others and intervene. No one intervened in my situation. I was in the wrong. There is a feeling of guilt that I can’t seem to shake. Its knowing that I can’t right the wrong. I don’t get a do over.

Today’s verse:
“Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for men.”
Colossians 3:23

Remember that Christ is ever present.

I am thankful for God’s mercy and grace, especially the times when I am someone who gives little grace or mercy to others and am not deserving. I don’t like being the person, others hate.

Tuesday, December 6, 2011

God's Will Week Twenty- Nine

frightened sad happy surprised angry
anxious jealous joyful annoyed excited
tired proud confused worried scared
afraid bored grumpy nervous cheerful
lonely loving embarrassed guilty shy
silly curious


Above is 27 emotions.
Last week I had every one of these.
Which equaled one big
CRY.
Thanks Eve.
If you read this blog you noticed I was absent last week. I tried to get a grasp on something, anything to write the blog. I read my bible, I prayed. I had emotions, but I couldn’t get to where I wanted to be to write the blog. I always remind myself, what I write is about recognizing God’s will.

Last week God wanted to search my heart as I searched for Him.

There are times of solitude, but I also know these times are when God is close, ever present, taking care of what we are not able to handle in our moments of being human.
I never got a grasp on what to write last week.
This week I want you to check out the biblical reference to the “12 days of Christmas”

http://www.crivoice.org/cy12days.html

Keep Christ in Christmas.