christianity

Rocked By The Father

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I don’t recall when it started but I remember once asking my grandmother when would it stop. Better yet how would I stop. It had become such a habit, one that embarrassed me to the core. I was in my teens and I was worried I would rub my hair out to a bald spot. She told me one day it would just happen. Not to worry about it. It would stop on its own.

I think it has been going on now for about fifty years, me rocking myself to sleep. I’ve had times not realizing I had stopped and times when it was incessant. I don’t know how my family was even able to sleep with me and tolerate the movements that and the cool air that would rush in between the swaying. They did it because they loved me and they knew it brought me some peace.

Today in service at church I heard the pastor speaking about how God rocks us in his arms and for the first time I fully understood why I do it. The father is comforting me like only he can. No matter how happy or unhappy, tired, fearful or anxious I may have been only the Father’s rocking can bring me comfort and lull me to sweet sleep. No one else has ever been able to completely give me that kind of peace. The peace that surpasses all understanding. Even though I did not understand why I was rocking God knew what I needed and he provided it. In that period of rest God was empowering me with inner strength through his Spirit preparing me to receive the love of Christ so I could continue on in whatever was to come. What a blessing that the Father loves us so much.

Our service today was based on Ephesians 3:14-21 – Paul’s Prayer for Spiritual Growth.

“For this reason I kneel before the Father, from whom every family in heaven and on earth derives its name. I pray that out of his glorious riches he may strengthen you with power through his Spirit in your inner being, so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith. And I pray that you, being rooted and established in love, may have power, together with all the Lord’s holy people, to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ, and to know this love that surpasses knowledge—that you may be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God. Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us, to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, for ever and ever! Amen.”

‭‭Ephesians‬ ‭3:14-21‬ ‭NIV

How is God comforting you and bringing you strength?

I pray this passage speaks to you in some way and you know Christ’s love is available to you.

Thank you for perusing and may God be with you tonight and always.😘

http://bible.com/111/eph.3.15-21.niv

Signs and Wonders

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Good evening Wonderers:

I’m working on the painting “Confirmation” today.  It has been a slow process for me to get it started.  It had been a difficult two weeks emotionally and thank God the idea was here for me to complete.

I was on a high note the week before the Eagles’ game.  It started with me ending up unexpectedly at a birthday party that my granddaughter was invited two days prior. I was not even going to go I was just going to drop them off and circle around a few hours later.  But something told me to go in.  The homeowners were from Philadelphia.  They lived just a block from where I grew up.  One guest owned some Florsheim Shoe Stores which was where my husband worked when we first me.  And everyone was an Eagles fan.  This was Saturday, a week before the game.  I took it as a sign from the Father.

A couple days later I get an email from my friend that there is a quilting guild in my area and they have a impromptu meeting the first Friday of every month.  And since you know I’m working on this quilt I decide to attend.   I end up sitting next to a woman that worked with my husband reminding me how much he was loved by his peers and community.  How awesome is God! Not only was my heart filled with compassion, I met several women who could help me with my quilt.

By Sunday I was ready for the game emotionally.  My son and I watched it together.  The other children went across the street to a Super Bowl party but I could not.  We stayed to watch it in the comfort  of my home and the Eagles won.  I was happy for them.  I was happy for everyone who was rooting for Derrick’s favorite team.  I felt God gave us a victory.  And since Derrick passed right after the game last year, God gave us a better Super Bowl memory.  I went to bed that night feeling God’s unmistakable love.

Something changed.  I noticed I did not want to answer texts and phone calls.  I knew people were concerned but I just did not want to share another moment of missing him with everyone else like I’ve had to do.  I would take this final grief by myself.  

On the 9th I had a doctor come to my home for a visit.  This woman who I had only known for 5 minutes asked how I was feeling this time last year.  Well let me see, this time last year I was standing in front of a group of people offering them comfort at his memorial service when I broke down and whimpered.  She said I was extremely depressed and it angered me.  Not angered as in hate but as in what more could you want from me.  I’ve gotten through getting the children off to school everyday and made sure there was food in the house to eat.  I’ve paid the bills and handled any situations with grace.  What more can be expected from me?

And that brings me back to this painting.  Maybe in theory she is right.  Although I could not see it was missing, where was my joy? Why am I not doing the things I love.  Cooking, singing, taking good care of my family and praising God in spite of it all.  I have my moments but where is the continuous joy.  I had to rebuke this feeling for I know who I am.  I am a child of God.  I am a child of light and, “we know all things work together for the good of them that love God, to them who are called according to his purpose.” Romans 8:28

I thank Jesus for not leaving me there.  Her words were a reminder that God called me to a purpose and I was being distracted by the enemy.  It was okay for me to miss Derrick and weeping may endure for a night but joy Still comes in the morning.  So today I start to paint and I read about the president wanting to cut funding to The Endowment of the Arts among other programs that are here to support the people.  Where would I be without art?  What would our world be without art?  The history of the world as we know it is captured in the arts.  Past, present and future.  How sad our world would be without it.

So for today Wonderers I can only tell you this.  I serve and praise the God that told me to paint.  I trust in him and I await for my Lord and Savior.  When my doctor got the report from the home visit he gave me a referral to talk with someone.  I’m waiting on Jesus and in the meantime I will talk to the many people he has placed on my path with signs and wonders that He has heard my cries and I am not alone.  I will complete “Confirmation” and I humbly hope that it will give comfort to someone else who is also waiting on Jesus.  In Christ we are more than conquerors.

I am winding down to February 15, the day I laid his body to rest for the final time and I am good. I am not alone and I am not depressed. I have all of you and I hope you know you have a friend in Jesus. Tomorrow I have art guild meeting and will get some pointers on my painting and fellowship with other artists and Christians that love the Lord.  I will keep you updated on my progress but here is the First layer.

Thanks for perusing and may God continue to bless you and keep you.

Bold Faith

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Wonderers

God requires us to have a bold faith in his son Jesus Christ. 1John 4:9-10, 15 states, “This is how God showed his love among us: He sent his one and only Son into the world that we might live through him. This is Love: not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins. If anyone acknowledges that Jesus is the Son of God, God lives in them and they in God, (NIV)”

The key verses I attached to this pinwheel are from the Book of Daniel. (2017-18 Standard Lesson Commentary NIV, Vol.24.) These men laid down their lives for their faith in God. The cross does not discriminate. God loves everyone. I will lay my life down for the Lord for I trust in the Lord with all my heart and soul.

Thank you for perusing. May God continue to bless you and keep you.

X Marks The Spot

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Wonderers:

Cloud formations constantly change.  You look at the sky and you see one thing.  You look back and the image has softened or disappeared.  You only have an instant to see, meditate, reflect and share a provoking image but with technology we can now capture an imagine and hold it to analyze our thoughts into words and put all the pieces together and have proof of our experience.  Not that we need proof but sometimes we can not explain the supernatural in words.  We wait on evidence of an unspoken promise.  Confirmation.

Praying for help is the only resource available and I have faith that my supplications and prayer requests are being heard.  I sometimes question if I really am experiencing the supernatural and I did not want to be the person that reveals and connects they see God in everything but guess what….he is in everything so try to convict me if you must but here it goes.

I’m trying to be both parents in my household and I’m praying to be the structure that my husband was to our children.  I’m the unorthodox parent, the fun and flaky disciplinarian.  But my young men need the structure and I cried out to God in desperation for help.  It came to me to do one of my husband’s tricks which I threatened for several days when it came to me I had to actually do it to get the point across.  So you can follow my thoughts process, my husband would talk of sprinkling water on the children if he could not get them out of bed.  Just hearing the water run was enough to get them stirring.  I tried it but they knew I wouldn’t go through with it.  Instead of yelling and getting upset I had to get their attention.  I started to trickle the water on the pillow and the boy sat up and he said, “there’s an “x” on the pillow.  I looked and said, “x marks the spot.”  We had a long talk about expectations and what kind of person I needed him to be so I could be the person God needed me to be.   We left the conversation at that and I took him to school.  You have heard me speak of the road we travel to school everyday and I feel God is with me most on this path and this day was no different.  When we arrived at the entrance of school, he got out and when I looked up this is what I saw.


Coincidence, maybe.  I say it is God confirming he heard my cry and he let me and the boy both know he is with us and he will never leave us.  I went home and prayed for over a few more things that were blocking me from having a clean heart and stilling my joy .  The response:


Keep in mind I live 15 minutes from school so it is not the same sky.  What it is no matter how they got there is this.  God has dominion over the heavens and earth and he loves us enough to answer our prayers.  Be assured he is listening. 

And I think this could be the heart be my next painting.

Thank you for perusing and may God bless you and keep you today and always.

Silos

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Hello Wonderers:

Those that follow me on Facebook know I’ve been on a commitment to represent my artistic abilities in fabric.  Kerrie invited me to Glamp Stitchalot which is next week.  I signed up for a pouch swap that even my son-in-law couldn’t believe.  Well I did and now I have completed it and for the first sewing project I have ever completed all by myself I’m proud.  The person I’m sewing for gave a few examples of things she likes so I also made her a card to thank her for opening the door of creating with fabric.


I think I will do more things.  I can’t wait to attend and feel the creativity of the textile artists.  I can’t call them quilters.  They are artists too.  Now that I am finished today I started a new class that is currently giving me life.

I started a 3-D acrylic painting class at Fewell Park, Rock Hill, SC. with Dr. Bradley Sabelli.  We will be experimenting with paint combined with non-traditional materials to create an original finished product.  Today I was painting with aluminum foil.   Over the next six weeks we will be using almost anything we can come up with.  Time to dig in the closets and see what I can find. 🤗

There is a title for this piece.  I will call it “Shiloh Road” because every morning while driving on this road taking the children to school, when the trees break at this farm especially at the point of the silos, the sun suddenly gets bright and shines down on me.  I respond, “Good morning God”, then thoughts of Derrick come and I sense their presence.  They are with me letting me know how proud they are for being strong and courageous.  It’s the time I feel I am not alone and I remember what I was told, “Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged, for the Lord your God will be with you wherever you go.””

‭‭Joshua‬ ‭1:9‬ ‭NIV‬‬

It’s a coincidence a friend told me to read Joshua this week and the passage came back to me.  I will take you along with me through the process of this painting and here is today’s beginning.


Can you see the foil?  I think the texture is cool.  

Well that’s it for today.  Until next time, thanks for perusing and enjoy the rest of the evening.  Love you all!

Casting Your Cares

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Cast your cares on him Wonderers!

“Give your worries to the Lord, and he will care for you. He will never let those who are good be defeated.”

‭‭Psalms‬ ‭55:22‬ ‭ERV‬‬

http://bible.com/406/psa.55.22.erv

Yesterday I landed myself into the hospital. Why? What happened you might ask? Fear. The same fear I said I was not feeling!

Well I thought I was not operating in fear. So let’s break it down.

Fear is defined in Dictionary.com as a distressing emotion aroused by impending danger, evil, pain, etc., whether the threat is real or imagined; the feeling or condition of being afraid.

For the past few days my oldest daughter had observed that my face was swollen on one side. I saw it but I was not overly concerned about it. Yesterday she asked why was I speaking out of one side of my mouth. Okay! I’m a little concerned now but I move on with my day. “Promise me you’ll call your doctor Mom.” The last words she said to me.

I went on to get some chores completed and true I wasn’t feeling good but nothing really not out of the normal for me except now, I’m feeling impending doom. (Really it could have just been the feeling of impending housework. I like a clean house but I don’t care to do the cleaning). Anyway, the feeling is overwhelming and I start to cry. I pray about it and I then decide to go to urgent care just to get checked out and keep my promise. One ambulance ride and several test later, I get invited to a sleepover at the local hospital.

This morning the mediation is about casting your cares on Jesus. Yesterday I missed the mediation and it was on the topic of fear. This situation comes to mind as being a test. Not that God is testing me but he is convicting me. He did bring it to my attention that regardless of the pending test results he is paying close attention and I have nothing to be afraid of. He is the author of my life and Yesterday I was operating in fear. Fear for my children not for myself. Did I take care of everything. Will they be okay? I even mentioned it in my prayer. I was prepared for his will but what about my children. It was one of them that set this fear in my mind. Maybe the past experience of losing a parent who did not seek medical help influenced her. I had to ask myself am I afraid to be the parent and take the lead and make the decisions for myself and my family? I wasn’t being told by my own intuition that I needed medical attention. I’m not so sure. I do know now fear played a big part of me sitting on this hospital bed.

Fear can come in so many forms. I am not in fear for my future, of being alone or taking care of all the responsibilities left to me to discern. As confident as I am in God’s plans for my life I realize that there are still things I have not surrendered to Him.

If I have anything to fear it will be the hospital bill that’s following this venture. Nope Wonderers, it is already covered. Thank you Jesus!

Thank you for perusing and have a wonderful joyous day.

Walk in Joy!

Denise

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Good morning Wonderers:

It’s Monday and you know what time it is.  Today though, my madness is a little bit different.

Last Friday evening my daughter called waking me out of sleep to tell me to gas up my car because a hurricane was on its way to Texas.  I got up and did just that. (Thanks baby for looking out for your mama!)   Saturday morning when I awoke my mind was telling me to gas up my husband’s car also.  We did not know how bad it was going to get and I might need both cars filled with gas.

I try to ride his car around once a week to keep it running in good condition until someone else takes over the car .   So I take it out and ride around the subdivision.  I look at the gas gauge and I can’t determine whether it needs gas or not.  We’ve had this car since 2007 and today I do not understand how to read the gauge.  I mean there is a white line up to the “F” but there is a red dot at the “E”.  My mind is questioning is it full or is it empty.  So I park the car and pull out the owner’s manual looking for clarification.  That didn’t help, it only confused me more.  At this point I’m thinking I had put gas in it the week prior but I can’t remember to be sure.  (Senior moment.)  So I just decide I’m gonna drive to the gas station anyway.  Either way no harm in taking the drive.  That’s when the miracle happened.

I start the car and only two bars show up at the top of the gauge at “F”.  The lower bars had disappeared.  As if the car was saying, “Denise the car is full dummy.”  I had never seen it do this before.  I was questioning whether it was a magnetic glitch in the gauge or maybe the light was blown.  I just keep looking at it and thinking the two bars were glowing brighter than usual but I still felt I needed to go to the gas station.  So off I went.  At the pump it took $1.99 and it was full.

I got back into the car and on the way home I just started crying.  I mean bawling.  I had been praying for discernment and to trust my intuition.  And right in front of me, here it is.  Evidence that God is listening to my prayers and I was questioning it.  I cried until I started laughing.  All this time and through all the things he brought me through I was still questioning what was real.  It gave me a total new perspective on my past, life with my family, my husband’s love and his passing and for my future.  It made me realize going forward I don’t have to question God anymore.  He is working for my good and he loves me.  My faith has been renewed.  If he can darken the control panel in a car, he can do anything!

Now you may think I’m losing it.  Some may say it was just a malfunction in the panel or maybe my husband.  It’s not the first time something strange happened in his car. (That’s another story for another day.)  What I know is:

God has dominion over every thing and he will use whatever he needs to get our attention and if we call out to him he will answer.   Nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature, shall be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus or Lord. Roman 8:39

Wonderers, have a great day.  Use your magnetic personalities and draw God’s love into your lives.  Thank you for perusing and remember….

Walk in Joy!

a href=”https://dailypost.wordpress.com/prompts/magnetic/”>Magnetic</a&gt;

Rising Above It

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I’m trying to stay focused on God but something happens to me when I hear a lie.  I just go all willy-nilly on a person.  From 0 to 100 and back down to 75 is how my husband used to explain it.  And it hurts.  Not just me but everyone who is in the room, within earshot even.  I hear them questioning what or who set me off.  I didn’t want to be that person,  I don’t even know when she appeared or when I became the one person I swore I would never be.   I pray to bind that personality and I feel the difference when I hear the lie.  I try to stay centered.  Sometime I perfect it with grace.  Other times I catch myself in mid hype and slow down the reaction.  It’s the journey I’m traveling.  The road to the crown is bumpy.  It is my destination so I try to rise above it.

<a href=”https://dailypost.wordpress.com/prompts/willy-nilly/”>Willy-nilly</a&gt;

 

Ride 

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We ride the carousel round and round afraid to get off in fear that if we do, we will miss the last turn, so we ride until it stops.  Why is that?

You had an opportunity to pick the horse.  Maybe you picked the stationary one because you know your limitations.  Maybe you picked the one moving up and down because you crave excitement.  Just going round and round wasn’t enough.  Or worse yet, you settled on the only available horse betting that nothing better would come along or the one you wanted wasn’t worth the work or the wait.

Looking back, were you wrong?  Was your horse worth all you sacrificed for?  Was your horse worth the ride?  Only you know the answer to this question and only you know when it’s time to get off the sadly-go-round.

Is it time for a revision?

Look closely at your life and sort out all that is keeping you circling outside of your destiny.  All that you need to succeed is already in you.  You just need to be assertive on the merry-go-round.  Ride it and build up your courage and strength then get off and live the life that is created just for you.  That’s what you need to remember.  The choice is still yours.  You don’t have to keep riding the dark horse.  You don’t have to keep riding in darkness.  Let him take the reigns and together ride towards the sun. Your destiny awaits Wonderers.

Have I not commanded you?  Be strong and courageous.  Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged, for the Lord your God will be with you wherever you go.  Joshua 1:9

Enjoy the ride!

 

 

Partner

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Good evening Wonderers:

I had an eye appointment and even though my pupils had been dilated I decided I would go on a guilty pleasure trip to Ollie’s – Good Stuff Cheap!  I just like saying that.  I walked around the store not looking for anything in particular and almost made it to the cash register with just a pair of earbuds when I saw a Honeywell Deluxe Steel Security Box.  An impulse purchase.  It caught my eye so I purchased it and took it home with me.  I placed it on the desk and went upstairs to lay down.

This morning with my eyes completely opened I saw the box on the table.  I can not for the life of me even begin to understand why I thought I needed it.  Everything I had personally worth protecting is lost, was lost, is gone.  My partner, my husband, my marriage, the life we were building, my future.  My everything.  It relates to one of my daddy’s sayings, not his originally, and definitely one of Derrick’s favorites, “Don’t lock the barn after the horses got out!”

I really don’t need the box.  Anything I have worth keeping is free.  My life.  My salvation. God’s grace.  Jesus’s love and the blessings bestowed on me are many according to his word and his love for me.  I am just fine.  I am at peace at the life I have now and I pray that you will come to know that God loves you too and if you believe that Jesus Christ came to earth and died for our sins and rose again the riches of his glorious inheritance is yours also.

I’m going to take the security box back tomorrow. I have all the security I need and victory is already mines.

Thanks for perusing.  Until next time;

Walk in JOY!