I was thinking about a request that I have been praying for several weeks. Our 6 week old grand son has had colic and at times cried for hours. I was talking this over with one of my daughters who happened to be out of town at a convention. In about an hour she called me back with a suggested solution that a friend of hers had shared. It seemed this solution might help. We will see.

The Spirit of God spoke to my heart this morning in my devotions. I realized all of my prayers were for deliverance and relief from this situation. I needed to start thanking God for the good things and blessing them, and all else would become small and workable. I started reading about the Feeding of the 5,000, when Jesus had a life lesson for His disciples. There was a serious need, the crowd was hungry and there was no food. Jesus told them to take the food they had, bless it, and the rest would come. This was not a problem for Jesus, because he had supplied manna and quail to feed hundreds of thousands. As they blessed the pitiful lunch of 5 loaves and 2 fishes, the answer came, the crowd was fed and the disciples learned a lesson. Can I learn from this? Maybe yes, maybe no. I would love to, because as long as we are on this earth we have life challenges and needs. We have a God who is capable of taking anything we have and multiplying it into whatever is needed.

We need FRIENDS to share, care and pray with us. How powerful it is for our family to share our requests with each other. We know we have prayerful support, love and council. God intended us to take what we have to help those who are in need. The disciples learned a lesson from Jesus when He said "FEED MY SHEEP". He could literally feed them food, but He wanted them to share the living manna from heaven. Perhaps some of your friends, relatives or neighbors are starving for love, for peace, for joy, for purpose for eternal life - FEED them what you've been given.

Our Heavenly Father: You know the needs that lay so heavily upon my heart. I ask your help in releasing them to you. Give me the strength and wisdom to see the good that I have and bless it. I need a friend who will give me understanding, council and prayerful support. Thank you. In Jesus' name. Amen

I was thinking about a request that I have been praying for several weeks. Our 6 week old grand son has had colic and at times cried for hours. I was talking this over with one of my daughters who happened to be out of town at a convention. In about an hour she called me back with a suggested solution that a friend of hers had shared. It seemed this solution might help. We will see.

The Spirit of God spoke to my heart this morning in my devotions. I realized all of my prayers were for deliverance and relief from this situation. I needed to start thanking God for the good things and blessing them, and all else would become small and workable. I started reading about the Feeding of the 5,000, when Jesus had a life lesson for His disciples. There was a serious need, the crowd was hungry and there was no food. Jesus told them to take the food they had, bless it, and the rest would come. This was not a problem for Jesus, because he had supplied manna and quail to feed hundreds of thousands. As they blessed the pitiful lunch of 5 loaves and 2 fishes, the answer came, the crowd was fed and the disciples learned a lesson. Can I learn from this? Maybe yes, maybe no. I would love to, because as long as we are on this earth we have life challenges and needs. We have a God who is capable of taking anything we have and multiplying it into whatever is needed.

We need FRIENDS to share, care and pray with us. How powerful it is for our family to share our requests with each other. We know we have prayerful support, love and council. God intended us to take what we have to help those who are in need. The disciples learned a lesson from Jesus when He said "FEED MY SHEEP". He could literally feed them food, but He wanted them to share the living manna from heaven. Perhaps some of your friends, relatives or neighbors are starving for love, for peace, for joy, for purpose for eternal life - FEED them what you've been given.

Our Heavenly Father: You know the needs that lay so heavily upon my heart. I ask your help in releasing them to you. Give me the strength and wisdom to see the good that I have and bless it. I need a friend who will give me understanding, council and prayerful support. Thank you. In Jesus' name. Amen

SISTERS AND FRIENDS 2

A few months ago a friend of mine did some research on the subject of FRIENDSHIPS. I became quite interested in this topic because I knew whenever I took the time to talk or be with a female friend, it just felt good. Most of the time, unless the conversation turned negative, it was like a “shot in the arm” for a gloomy day.

I was privileged to have an older sister, who was my TRUE FRIEND. When Beverly said a curse word, I would adopt that word for my own. When Beverly came out with a new fashion statement, I wanted that same fashion statement. Beverly always had flashy cars and drove fast so of course I followed this example. Beverly cared for other people, especially her family and those who needed special attention. She always put others before herself in life.

If I had any challenge or disappointment, of which I did, Beverly would lift me up, giving me a new way to look at things. I loved my Sis, and she loved me. It just felt good being around Beverly as she understood all of my challenges of “real life” situations. I shared things with her things that I would never share with another human on earth. She cared, understood and wanted to help me achieve all that I could achieve.

She would cry with me, laugh with me, eat chocolate with me, ride around in her convertible chasing fire trucks with me, visit the “down and outers” with me, dress up on Halloween with me, talk with me until we had a solution, encourage me to become all I could in spite of myself and always helping me turn negatives into positives. She had a way of turning everything into a “party”.

I remember a time when my Sis got bogged down with Life Challenges of her own. There were happenings in her family that broke her heart and got her down on herself. I remember by this time, I was an adult female, and had learned what women need to hear and what to do. First of all I fixed her a big HOT FUDGE SUNDAE with lots of hot fudge, whipped cream and of course a cherry on top. Next I proceeded telling her all she had done for me in life. My next step was to “lift” her up to an encouraging level. I remember thinking, “she is not budging”, she has “hit bottom”, and I don’t know what to do. Beverly loved God, but hadn’t learned to “release” the heavy burdens of life to Him. (I’m still learning how to do this). All I could do at this point was to take her hands in mine and say a simple prayer. My prayer went something like this:

“Dear Father in Heaven: I know you are there, and I know you know exactly where Beverly is right now. Come down into her life and touch her with just a touch from the Master’s Hand. Give her relief from this heavy burden she is trying to carry. You know every situation and detail of this burden, and we can do nothing, but YOU can. If she has no FAITH right now, I have enough FAITH to believe in YOU to come down now to answer this huge challenge. Thank you Jesus. Amen

I cannot say there was immediate action or reaction, but I can tell you a CONNECTION was made between “my Sis and me along with God and us.” I truly had enough faith because I was desperate. It was devastating for me to see my Sis in a faithless condition when she had always been the one there for me. This is when I learned the emotional drain that Beverly had put in for me. I knew I was taking the mantle from her at this point. “Thank you Beverly for being there for me in teaching and training me to try to carry on your most precious gift”.

A NEW YEAR'S PRAYER

May God make your year a happy one!
Not by shielding you from all sorrows and pain,
But by strengthening you to bear it, as it comes;
Not by making your path easy,
But by making you sturdy to travel any path;
Not by taking hardships from you,
But by taking fear from your heart;
Not by granting you unbroken sunshine,
But by keeping your face bright, even in the shadows;
Not by making your life always pleasant,
But by showing you when people and their causes need you most,
And by making you anxious to be there to help.
God's love, peace, hope and joy to you for the year ahead.
Come, Holy Spirit.
Be with us today and always. Amen

Thank you Sandy, my friend, for this reminder in all of our lives for 2007!