Wednesday, December 3, 2014
Tuesday, December 2, 2014
Saturday, November 29, 2014
Thursday, November 27, 2014
Wednesday, November 26, 2014
Monday, November 17, 2014
The Heart Nose
The Heart Nose!
As I entered the fellowship hall that morning, I was greeted by an array of aromas. Soup was on the menu for Pastor Appreciation Day and our church really knows how to cook. The smells of chili, potato soup, chicken noodle, vegetable soup, cornbread, pumpkin pie, and my favorite- peanut butter fudge; all filtered right into the nose. If I could gain weight by smelling, I would be 500#! It doesn’t take long for those smells to go to the stomach. As with any celebration we center it around our meal. We laugh over food, we celebrate over food, and yes when someone dies, what do we do? We cook; so we cry over food. Something about smelling that food that comforts us. Maybe when a tragedy happens and people; friends and neighbors, bring food it helps us remember the good times, the celebrations, the laughter that was shared over the same dishes.
When I lift the lid on a pot the first thing I do is smell whats inside. Don’t you? Sure we are gonna taste it, but first…the smell. When I smelled potato soup and cornbread, that smell didn’t go to my stomach it went to my heart. I can remember 2009 when I was sick, pneumonia I believe, my mom called me. She already had some mild dementia but was still able to do most of what she wanted with a little help. When I smelled that, it took me right back as if it was yesterday. Mommy would always make me potato soup and cornbread when I was sick, it always cured everything. No matter what sickness I had or even how bad it was, Mommy's soup and cornbread made it better. I tuck those little smells and memories away, they are down deep and hidden away. Now when I have a bowl of that potato soup I can feel all the love Mommy had for me. I remember the countless times she made it while I was at home and then after I married with kids of my own, they learned that same smell that went straight to the heart.
With the arrival of fall and chilly weather we have had a campfire on Sunday evenings. They warm the hands but also the heart. We gather around the fire and we listen to the age old familiar stories of Jesus and how He loves! One of our neighbors said he was outside doing chores when he smelled smoke from our fire. Looking at his watch he realized he was late for youth and campfire so he came on by and joined our circle of friends. Its amazing to me how smells can trigger so much in so many. When I smell a wood fire I smell home! I don’t smell smoke I smell love. I remember cold frosty mornings when Mommy would start a fire in the old cook stove in the kitchen to make biscuits and gravy. Thats a whole smell in itself. When I smell that fire burning, I also remember Mommy going up and down those stairs all winter long to check the fire. To poke it up to keep the coals hot. To take out the ashes and everything would be covered in the dust from the ashes. I remember one time Mommy trying to teach me how to light the fire. She had me to roll up a newspaper upstairs and I lit it from the wood stove. She told me to carry it downstairs to the wood stove and light the kindling. Well as I carried it downstairs the flames dripped on my hand and melted it like butter, still got the scar.
I can remember cutting firewood with Daddy and Steve all day long and stacking it in ricks, every little piece had to be just so! So when I smell a fire burning, the smoke drifting to my nose, I smell home, I smell love. I smell hugs and unconditional love all wrapped up in the smells that waft through the air to my nose and they go straight to my heart
Ephesians 5:2
And walk in love, just as Christ also loved you and gave Himself up for us, an offering and a sacrifice to God as a fragrant aroma.
Tuesday, October 28, 2014
It Came to Pass
Every morning I look at the person in the mirror. The reflection that looks back at me is someone that has survived deep hurt. And as I look at her I wonder how she has managed to go on. How does she put one foot in front of the other? How does she go to work every day? How does she smile at trivial jokes when her heart is broken still? How do you get over such trials without scars so deep that you can continue on?
No matter how you feel get up, dress up, show up and never give up!
So many days I see the look of defeat in her eyes; wounded, but still if I look past that I can see a glimmer of hope.
It didn’t come to stay, it came to pass
That is how she carries the burdens. Some days when I remember my life, our life, happy days, even sad days; I remember with such a sadness for what I’ve lost that it overshadows the goodness. I forget I need to say thank you God for what was. So many special moments, days and even years that God blessed me with, blessed my family. And I wasn’t promised any of it. Nothing is forever. Sometimes thats how we make it through the sad times and the hardships. We remind ourselves every day that nothing lasts forever. Just as the bad times don’t last forever, so it is with the good times.
It didn’t come to stay, it came to pass…
Life is so busy now, we rarely get to just sit and take anything in! When I get to sit on the porch and drink a cup of coffee with the dog and wrap up in a blanket through a thunderstorm, I have to thank God. Why? Sometimes thats the only way we will slow down. God sends us a storm to slow us down. He gives us time to reflect on what was, what is, and what's to come! Sometimes when I do this I get a notion in my head of how I want my life to be and then I start to make plans. But then I am reminded- WHOA! Slow down, put on the breaks! And just like He sends us a thunderstorm, sometimes He sends us a storm in our life to get our attention. To slow us down. Reminds me of that song, “I beg your pardon, I never promised you a rose garden”. Thats what I imagine God is saying, “I beg your pardon!” We need to reflect, get closer to God, but not to make our plans. To listen to His plans for us. When we do that we can’t help but find the joy in our journey. And just as my favorite scripture tells me in
Jeremiah 29:11(NIV)
11 For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.
He has a plan for us, for me! I don’t have to figure it out. All I have to do is get out of bed and ask what is your plan for me today….then do it! At one time I liked making plans. I liked knowing where my future was headed, I liked knowing what I was doing in a year from now. But not so much anymore. Just the fact that I know God has plans for me is enough. I know that whatever is tossed at me is part of the plan. I just have to roll with it, smile and wonder sometimes what He is up to! somedays I just say out loud “God, what were you thinking!?”
Proverbs 3:5-6(NIV)
5 Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding;6 in all your ways submit to him, and he will make your paths straight.
Isaiah 55:9 (NIV)
9 “As the heavens are higher than the earth,
so are my ways higher than your ways
and my thoughts than your thoughts.
As I come to know my Heavenly Father, I have discovered so many things. He is stern, yet approachable. He means business, but He has a sense of humor. He wants me to succeed but He also wants me to learn as I travel that path. He is more concerned with the growth of my character than with my bank account or degrees. I have discovered a true friend. One that I can talk to but one that talks to me if I slow down to listen. As I try to figure out my plan and purpose I am trying to enjoy the ride. If I can lift someone up during that ride then I have succeeded in doing some small part of Gods plan.
Look for people before you, beside you, and behind you in the journey.
1 Thessalonians 5:11(NIV)
11 Therefore encourage one another and build each other up, just as in fact you are doing.
Offer a smile or a kind word, trust me, the one that receives the blessing will be you!
Go to the Lord and find out exactly what He wants you to do. Don’t decide your course of action and then ask God to bless your plans! Go to Him and say, “Lord what are your plans?” His plans! His will! No brainer! Already blessed!
God always talks to me through my own words and its often after they get cold. These words have been hanging around for a week now! God gives me a scripture here and there, I add a few words but then when I add them all together and read them I get it! What He’s trying to tell me! So as I read this now, the person I was at the beginning, the reflection I saw? That is not who He wants me to be!
Proverbs 4:25 (NIV)
25 Let your eyes look straight ahead;
fix your gaze directly before you
Sure I have had the hurt, we all have those hurts, those scars, and they are all different. But I have learned and grown from those wounds. I have a closer relationship with God, my heavenly father, my friend. The one who is always there. He is never too busy. He doesn’t say I can’t listen right now someone else needs me. He’s always there! Always! I almost feel sorry for those who have never endured a trial in their life, because they have never needed to depend totally on their Heavenly Father! So I don’t see a defeated, sad, hurt, reflection looking back at me! I see a person who is scarred, but not broken. I see a woman who wants to learn to love again...and wants to be loved. But most of all I see that reflection looking at me and saying you can do this.
Psalm 32:8 (NIV)
8 I will instruct you and teach you in the way you should go;
I will counsel you with my loving eye on you.
There is nothing that you can’t do as long as you remember who you belong to. You are a child of the King! Let Him lead the way and you follow!
John 16:33(NIV)
33 “I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble.But take heart! I have overcome the world.”
Remember you are loved!
Song of Songs 2:10(NIV)
10 My beloved spoke and said to me,
“Arise, my darling,
my beautiful one, come with me.
Ephesians 2:10(NIV)
10 For we are God’s handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.
It Came To Pass (The Martins)
Sickness must be present for healing to take place,
Lives must be broken so they can be restored,
We must stop looking at our hard times
Like they were dead end roads
But avenues to prove that He is Lord
(chorus)
It didn’t come to stay it came to pass
The Lord will move that mountain if you’ll ask
The trials that we see today won’t last
It didn’t come to stay it came to pass
If I should live by sight I would be beaten down
Because I can’t see past these walls of circumstance
But faith will be my substance
And my hope is in the Lord
And He will turn my sorrow into dance, oh
and He will turn my sorrow into dance
Weeping may endure for the night
but I’ll find my joy tomorrow….tomorrow.
Saturday, October 18, 2014
Friday, October 17, 2014
Wednesday, October 15, 2014
Saturday, October 11, 2014
Timmy Wayne
They did the procedure on Timmy Wayne and they couldn't find the extra electrical pathway, so they kept him overnight to monitor his heart and kidneys. The kidneys are repairing their selves slowly. I haven't heard anything yet this morning. But if all went good, they will send him home today with a special monitor to wear for a month. It will keep track of the electrical signals and when he has an episode, It will give the doctor the info to find the pathway. They will then go in and try again.
Friday, October 10, 2014
Timmy Wayne
Timmy Wayne is having a procedure today on his heart. He has been having problems for almost 4 years now. His heart will speed up and double his heart beat at times. He has been in and out of the hospital for this. This past week he had two spells back to back. This was too much and it deprived the kidneys of blood and oxygen and he went into the hospital diagnosed with acute kidney failure. This time he went into Montgomery regional instead of Carillion. The doctors had to find what was causing the kidney failure. Tim was in his room when the doctor came in, he told the doctors about the conversation we had with my niece in Texas that works with all of the heart specialist there. From his symptoms she said she thought he had Wolff Parkinson White syndrome. Tim said the doctor said he and his team were thinking the same thing. The then transported Timmy Wayne to Salem to Lewis Gale Hospital. He was immediately seen by an Electrophysiologist. Today at 3:00 they will be taking him down for a heart catheterization where they will search to find the extra electrical pathway to the heart. While they are in his heart they will do the ablation to stop this. He should come out of this feeling like a new man I'm told.
Tim is with him and will remain there until he leaves the hospital. Timmy
Wayne requested we not tell his mother.
Everyone please keep him in your prayers today .
Love you all,
Cindy
Tim is with him and will remain there until he leaves the hospital. Timmy
Wayne requested we not tell his mother.
Everyone please keep him in your prayers today .
Love you all,
Cindy
Monday, September 29, 2014
I Still Believe
To say I have looked forward to this weekend is an understatement. Ever since the Extraordinary womens Conference last year I have experienced a revival in my heart. But like with anything you have to fan the flames to keep the fires burning. Well after about 6 months the flames began to die. The embers were still there, smoldering...just waiting for the fan. This conference is my fan. I had my ticket and the room had been reserved for months! The closer the time came the more Satan began interfering in my life. Every day I got out of bed, something different hurt. My steps became fewer then the stomach virus struck. It took me a while to figure out that there was a huge blessing waiting for me at this conference.
On Wednesday morning I was feeling pretty low and had a fleeting thought that maybe I wouldnt go. God gave me this verse:
Hebrews 10:35-36 (NIV)
35 So do not throw away your confidence; it will be richly rewarded.
36 You need to persevere so that when you have done the will of God, you will receive what he has promised.
Persevere! As I look back at the scripture I posted on facebook on Monday, God was giving me fair warning.
Psalm 73:26 (NIV)
26 My flesh and my heart may fail,
but God is the strength of my heart
and my portion forever.
God was telling me then to watch out! But I didn’t see it til it actually hit. After I realized it was just the devil trying to steal my blessing I decided right then and there I would be here where I am sitting amongst 10,000 women if I had to be carried in. A friend asked me earlier in the week if I prayed for patience...I used to. Not anymore. I pray for strength.
Joshua 1:9 (NIV)
9 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.”
Isaiah 41:10 (NIV)
10 So do not fear, for I am with you;
do not be dismayed, for I am your God.
I will strengthen you and help you;
I will uphold you with my righteous right hand.
God was giving me the strength I needed. It took me a while, yes I know I am a slow learner, but I started taking that scripture with me all day. I re read it at work, before I went to bed and in the mornings when I got up I thanked god for that strength I knew He was giving me. No matter what you yourself plan, no matter what Satan does to interrupt these plans, if God has a plan it will happen.
Isaiah 14:27 (NLT)
27 The Lord of Heaven’s Armies has spoken—who can change his plans? When his hand is raised, who can stop him?”
I don’t always like waiting for this plan because Gods time does not equal my time. I want it and I want it like yesterday. But here that patience thing I prayed for ONCE! Well He didn’t forget that prayer. He is fine tuning me. Working on my masterpiece. He is the artist, the potter, I am the clay.
Here is a quote I had to read a few times before I really said “yeah I get it”
“I never had a trial I wanted to have but I never had a trial I wasn’t glad I had” Jack Hyles
sometimes I am so busy weaving in and out of trials, climbing up and down the mountains that I forget to just be bold and love life. No matter what comes my way I just need to embrace it and love life. I need to thank Him for the valleys that I walk through because without them the top of the mountain wouldn’t be so sweet.
As I entered the civic center friday evening I could feel the electricity of 10,000 women coming together to praise God and worship together. Like I said I knew there was going to be a blessing so I was ready to sit back and soak it all in. I had made it! The devil couldn’t stop me now!
Proverbs 16:9N(NLT)
9 We can make our plans, but the Lord determines our steps.
Our first speaker was Chonda Pierce and I was ready; prepared for the tears I knew would come. Chondas husband had died 2 months before and she is a comedian so I knew what her routine was going to be based on and I was right. She related how life had changed after the death of her high school sweetheart. And no matter how many times you hear this story, they are always the same; the loss, the anger, the loneliness. And no matter who you are you have to go through this. She sang a song I have sang many times, “I’m Gonna Make It!” It took me a year before I could sing that song without tears. And here she was 2 months out and she was singing it, I joined her singing from my seat and yes the tears flowed. To all my friends who have lost their spouse, I would just love to hold you all close and tell you it will all be alright but the truth is I can’t because I am not there yet. Even after 2 years….not there. And I often wonder will I ever be there. There are so many days I just want to throw in the towel. I am ready to give up but then there is that still small voice I hear, which I have come to recognize as God saying, “Don’t quit, just before the miracle!” I know my miracle is coming, once again patience.
Psalm 5:3New (NIV)
3 In the morning, Lord, you hear my voice; in the morning I lay my requests before you and wait expectantly.
I tell God what I want. I thank Him for what He has given me. And at times I have been angry at him for what He took from me but that again is something you have to go through to get through! But I know God answers prayers. He answers every single prayer I pray. And as I pray I expect . When you find out you are expecting a baby, don’t you get ready? You buy baby stuff. You prepare the room. YOu even discuss it with your other children to prepare them. Well as I have prayed, its like giving birth. I am preparing my life, getting ready. I know you think I am crazy. But I know God is going to come through for me. thats the only way I can get through the day. I trust in his promises that He made to me; because He loves me!
1 Corinthians 13:7(NIV)
7 It(love) always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres.
Our first night was coming to a close and I felt that hearing Chonda’s story and her experience was the blessing god had for me. She was where I had been. all of her fears and anxieties so much like my own let me know that I was on the right track. We came down early out of the stands to avoid the rush. Jeremy Camp was singing and he was singing his last song. But I couldn’t bring myself to leave. As he finished the song he started telling a story of his life 13 years before. He married in 2000 and his wife died in 2001 of ovarian cancer. Here was this normal appearing young man, 36, on fire for God. He was re married, had 3 children and sings the most amazing songs of what god has done for him. He was 13 years past the most devastating time in his life and he was praising god. Oh yes, I can see why the devil didn’t want me here this weekend, He didn’t want me to see how others that had been broken had been peiced back together with God as the super glue.
Psalm 61:2(NIV)
2 From the ends of the earth I call to you, I call as my heart grows faint; lead me to the rock that is higher than I.
Our struggles and trials don’t go unnoticed by God. I won’t say they are from God, but I do think he allows them to happen so that he can see what we are made of. He wants us to be like Jesus so sometimes he heats us in the fire. I firmly believe no matter what bad things happen in your life, god will make something good happen out of it.
Romans 8:28(NIV)
28 And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who[a] have been called according to his purpose.
The EWomens conference this weekend has ignited the embers that were just smoldering. The speakers and song leaders have fanned the flames. Its up to me now and the 10,000 women that have sparks ready to jump off and ignite new fires. Take these sparks back into our churches, our homes, our schools and let the fires fall.
Jeremy Camp wrote this song after his first wife died:
I Still Believe
Scattered words and empty thoughts
seem to pour from my heart
I've never felt so torn before
seems I don't know where to start
but it's now that I feel Your grace falls like rain
from every fingertip, washing away my pain
[Chorus:]
I still believe in Your faithfulness
I still believe in Your truth
I still believe in Your holy word
even when I don't see, I still believe
Though the questions still fog up my mind
with promises I still seem to bear
even when answers slowly unwind
it's my heart I see You prepare
but its now that I feel Your grace fall like rain
from every finger tip, washing away my pain[Chorus]
The only place I can go is into your arms
where I throw to you my feeble prayers
in brokenness I can see that this was your will for me
Help me to know You are near
And that is what it’s all about...Faith.
Hebrews 11:1(NKJV)
11 Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.
And I have the faith that God will take care of me. That’s one of his promises. I still believe…..
Friday, September 12, 2014
How do you say goodbye?
Numbers 6:24-26
The Lord bless you and keep you; the Lord make his face shine on you and be gracious to you; the Lord turn his face toward you and give you peace.
How do you say goodbye? When I visit family and friends it's always hard to say goodbye. I say prayers of blessing for them until we meet again. I pray for safe travels just as I'm sure they do for me as I leave until we meet again; that may be Christmas, Easter, next summer, but we will meet again. Sometimes there are tears especially when parents say goodbye to their children and grandkids. When you love someone you want the best for them. That always involves turning them loose or setting them free. I know I shed a few tears when my kids went to kindergarten. Then when they went off to college...more tears. When Emily married Zac...yep more tears. But even as the tears slid down my face the sadness was mixed with happiness because I knew that the life that waited for them was going to be spectacular. It was their time and as it says in Ecclesiastes there is a time for everything.
Ecclesiastes 3:1-8
A Time for Everything
3 There is a time for everything,
and a season for every activity under the heavens:
2 a time to be born and a time to die,
a time to plant and a time to uproot,
3 a time to kill and a time to heal,
a time to tear down and a time to build,
4 a time to weep and a time to laugh,
a time to mourn and a time to dance,
5 a time to scatter stones and a time to gather them,
a time to embrace and a time to refrain from embracing,
6 a time to search and a time to give up,
a time to keep and a time to throw away,
7 a time to tear and a time to mend,
a time to be silent and a time to speak,
8 a time to love and a time to hate,
a time for war and a time for peace.
This week I have watched as friends said goodbye to their loved ones. They knew it was coming; departure was inevitable. A time to be born...a time to die. But we love them so much we want the best for them. And it doesn't get any better than going home to live with Jesus. And yes tears are OK; sadness for us because we are left here but happiness for them because they have an eternity to live and dwell in Heaven. Danny's last week here on earth, I did a lot of praying. Preparing for that goodbye that I knew was coming. And just as I pray for safe travels for loved ones when I leave them or they leave me, I prayed for his safe journey as he departed this life. And just as I prayed for him I know without a doubt he prayed for the ones he loved that he was leaving; me, his kids, his parents. I am sure he petitioned God for many things for those he loved and I believe God heard and is still answering those prayers today and will in the future as I am sure he prayed for his grandchildren that aren't even here yet. So to my friends who are saying goodbye to their loved ones, remember this. If you know Jesus as your lord and savior this goodbye will be be brief, even if it feels like forever on some days! You will be reunited! We all will be reunited with the ones we love. That's a promise I hold on to everyday. That's why it's so important to ask Jesus into your heart. Salvation and a life eternal where you can praise God forever plus see all those that have gone on before, that's what it's all about because I do believe we will know our family when we get to heaven! I can't wait!
Luke 9:61 (NIV)
61 Still another said, “I will follow you, Lord; but first let me go back and say goodbye to my family.”
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