A Splintered Tooth

I had a tooth on which a crown which had come loose because the tooth split. The roots were in two separate pieces and it looked splintered near the bottom. My dentist told me there was no hope for the tooth and it would need to be pulled. We set an appointment for a week later. I worried because I'd had another tooth pulled years prior and the dentist hadn't been able to numb me completely. That dentist didn't believe that I could feel the nerve pain. They said I only felt pressure.

I prayed and asked God to be with me through the upcoming ordeal. On Friday, I drove to the dentist, a little nervous, but knowing that whatever happened, God was with me. I shared my prior experience with my dentist and she assured me she would ensure I was completely numb before pulling the tooth. And she told me she would stop at any time if I felt pain. She also offered laughing gas, which I refused. While I sat and waited for my mouth to numb, I prayed and then opened an inspirational novel to read.

Finally, the time came to pull the tooth. I felt nothing beyond a little pressure when the tooth came out. The splintered half came out in one piece, and so did the other half. The dentist told her assistant, "God was with us today. This was the toughest extraction we've ever seen, yet it went the smoothest."

What an uplifting experience to hear my dentist say those precious words. God was with us. He'd assured me he would be with me. God never lets us down in times of need.

God lifts us from sin as easily as the dentist lifted the tooth from my mouth. All you need to do is believe in Him.

What is Hope?

When I started this blog, I wanted it to be about hope and how to keep hope alive. These are trying times for many throughout the world. The media plays upon these events through television, newspapers, magazines, and radio. Experiencing second hand tragedies through the media can be very depressing. So, how do we keep hope? And what is hope?

There is a wonderful passage in the Bible which truly speaks to my heart about hope. Romans 8:22-25 "We know that the whole creation has been groaning as in the pains of childbirth right up to the present time. Not only so, but we ourselves, who have the firstfruits of the Spirit, groan inwardly as we wait eagerly for our adoption as sons, the redemption of our bodies. For in this hope we were saved. But hope that is seen is no hope at all. Who hopes for what he already has? But if we hope for what we do not yet have, we wait for it patiently."

Hope is the faith within our hearts and souls, the belief in Christ Jesus that God is with us and will provide. God's word through Paul, a servant of Christ Jesus, tells us that in order to have hope, we must learn to be patient. We must be still, have faith, and wait without grumbling to keep hope alive.

God bless.

When God Calls...

When I began the journey of moving my mother into our home, it was with great trepidation. She hadn't been the ideal mother. I'd never felt loved or cared for. She wasn't demonstrative, except for her bouts of anger and resentment, hair-pulling and fists on the back. But she is my mother. The only mother I'll ever have. So, we made plans and moved her here last May.

Over the past months, God has shown me how to forgive and move forward. In the first few weeks, she lashed out and said hateful, hurtful things. I cried. I wrestled with why I could never be good enough to earn her love. She told lies. She tried to create a wedge between my husband and I. But what she knows, and probably is the source of her resentment, is that my husband and I have a bond of love strengthened through our faith. None of her marriages were the kind I have. I know she's jealous. And I know the devil uses that as a weapon. But satan has no place in our house. Finally, I realized that I had to stand up to her and not let her run over me. I had become a martyr. She's changing. A little at at time. Through it all, I've drawn much closer to Jesus, and my faith has grown tremendously. God always has a plan for our lives, and even in the midst of the darkness, He walks with us and promises us a place in heaven if we accept Him as our only Lord and Savior.

Be still and listen, and when God calls, answer.

Forgiving Enemies - A Test of Faith

This year has been one of testing faith for me. I've always known a weakness when it comes to forgiving my enemies. Satan knows this and he uses this against me. He wants to shake my faith. But I have no room for Satan in my heart. The Lord resides within me and he supports me and loves me unconditionally. I find that hard to comprehend. He loved me and he loved all of you so deeply and so unconditionally that He sacrificed His beloved son to die on the cross. Jesus was scorned and torn from head to toe. From a crown of thorns, his back ripped and raw from a brutal beating-a beating to near death, to nails driven through his hands and feet. Can you imagine? This was done to save us. When I think of this, my body tingles inside. How could He love us so much?

With such unconditional love, how then can I be more like Jesus? How can I, a mere human, who has given her life to Christ, learn to be as forgiving as Jesus? He called his betrayer, Judas, a friend. He washed his feet at the last supper knowing that Judas would betray him in just a short time. Satan has been trying to chip away at me to find a vulnerability so that I might betray Jesus as well.

We brought my mother to live with us. Every day I struggle with forgiveness and with loving her unconditionally. But I pray for her and with her. The Lord sustains me. As I get closer to a new phase of my life--retirement--with no substantial savings to fall back on, I have been working hard to have full faith that God will provide for us. I know He will. So, Satan continues to attack. I told you a few weeks back that someone broke into our home while we slept and stole our television. That television was only a "thing". God protected us, his precious children. What we lost was material only. So I prayed for the salvation of the thief, that he might come to know Jesus before judgement day. It is up to God to be the judge. Satan did not win that battle.

Yesterday I realized my debit card was missing. The last time it was used was at a restaurant for lunch the day before. My heart sank. I opened my bank account online and saw someone had gone on a spending spree and zeroed out the account. The thief had purchased multiple tanks of gasoline, purchases at a carryout, purchases inside gas stations, purchases at a bar late at night, and the purchase of jewelry at an astounding cost of $1,388.00. What would we do? Shaking and terrified, I called the bank to learn that I can only dispute the charges after they post against the account. They did close the debit card so no further purchases could be made. Once I dispute the charges, it will take several weeks to determine that they are fraudelent and I will receive the funds back. I contacted the police and made a report, I contacted the restaurant and gave them details, I called the mall where the jewelry purchase was made and learned they will release video surveillance to the police. I continued to feel violated all day long. I prayed to God to keep me balanced and thanked Him for being with me. Then I realized I needed to forgive this enemy as well. How could I do that? I felt so personally violated. So, I prayed that this thief would be caught and in so doing his life of crime would be thwarted. I prayed that he would find salvation before judgement day. I haven't forgotten. But as each hour goes by, I know that I'm letting go of the anger. I went to Bible Study last night and in doing so, I received God's reassurance and grace. So many people are suffering through things I cannot imagine. My loss is temporary and is only material. God has provided a means to get through this minor fire.

He is ever loving, ever present, and ever my Father. Satan has lost another battle.

Satan's Stumbling Blocks

When Jesus was tempted on the mountain, He immediately recognized Satan and saw through his taunts. Even in His weakened state, He remained strong. For us, however, it is harder to recognize Satan. He is sneaky, cunning, and relentless in his quest to take our souls.

Satan's main stumbling blocks for me are self-doubt and fear, which lead to indecision. When praying for answers from God, I have tried to listen, but instead the outside influences of the world around me begin to distract and the voice I hear is that of Satan instead.

For me, pushing aside the self-doubt and fear has been difficult. My saving grace lay in constant prayer, immersing myself in God's word, and allowing Him to enter my heart completely. Faith is such a comfort and joy.

I realize Satan still has a few stumbling blocks for me, but with God all things are possible. I can banish Satan's temptations through the power of the cross.

May God bless you today.

The Lord is My Shepherd

"The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want." When I was a little girl I memorized Psalm 13. At that time, all it meant was earning a bible. I was so excited when I received that black bible with my name engraved on it. The words I'd memorized meant little to me as a child of six. Only in recent years have I looked back at these words and found comfort and peace. These nine words are like a soothing salve to heal small doubts and fears.

The Lord is my shepherd - He leads me where I should go. He is always with me. He has a purpose for my life. He is my salvation.

I shall not want - He will provide what I need. I needn't worry about storing up warehouses full of gold and food, for the Lord knows my needs and He will provide. My faith needs to be fed continuously and He provides those opportunities in abundance. He is my salvation.

Intruders

Lately we've had spiders of various kinds invading our home. They are silent intruders who show up in the least likely places to freeze my progress. I'm so afraid of spiders. I don't know where the fear came from, but it's truly debilitating. I've had a hard time learning to stand up to the challenge of banishing these eight-legged intruders. Once they are gone, the fear, too, is gone.

The devil works in the same way. Throughout the day he sets intruders on a path to invade my thoughts. Negative thoughts lead to self doubt. Self doubt is the devil's joy. But the threat is unseen. With spiders, the threat is visible. Spying the devil at work inside me is difficult. The devil sets his intruders on a treadmill inside my life that moves me in a path opposite of the path Jesus would have me walk.

But I have the ultimate weapon. I have God. God lives in me and through me and walks with me. With Him, I have the power to banish the devil. I speak aloud and tell the devil he is not welcome and that I will walk with God. I pray. I feel the power of His eternal love and the warmth and hope that replaces the self doubt.

Hope is eternal.

May the joy of the Lord fill you today.

The Futility of Wealth

As a country, we have become complacent and greedy. So have our people. We have long enjoyed "The American Dream." People from other countries have sought their dreams by coming to America. Many have succeeded. Crime rates have grown. Some believe they shouldn't have to work to have the dream and they seek to rob others so that they might live in luxury.

I prefer to seek happiness in the simple things. God provides what I need when I need it. I walk in faith knowing He walks with me. He doesn't promise our path won't be strewn with rocks, or an occasional mountain, but He never abandons me.

Ecclesiastes 5:8-12 (New Living Translation, The Holy Bible)

"Don't be surprised if you see a poor person being oppressed by the powerful and if justice is being miscarried throughout the land. For eery official isunder orders from highter up, and matters of justice get lost in red tape and bureaucracy. Even the king milks the land for his own profit! Those who love money will never have enough. How meaningless to think that wealth brings true happiness! The more you have, the more people come to help you spend it. So what good is wealth--except perhaps to watch it slip through your fingers! People who work hard sleep well, whether they eat little or much. But the rich seldom get a good night's sleep."

Dressing to Please God

This morning as I dressed for church, I thought about how much trouble we put into our clothing, makeup, and hair to look pleasing to other people. Today, many people commented on my purple suit and how good I looked. At one time, I might have loved to hear such compliments, but they don't do anything to warm my heart these days. I've learned that God doesn't care what I'm wearing. He doesn't care if my face is void of makeup. He doesn't even care if I took time to style my hair. God sees me as I really am. He looks inside my heart and knows if I'm dressed to please Him.

I suppose I dress to please other people, to blend in, or perhaps to feel a part of the crowd. Too many times, we look at the outer appearance of our friends and acquaintances. We make judgements based on our first impressions.

Instead of looking at the tatoos, the piercings, and spiked hair, black nail polish and lips, we should look into a person's eyes. Only there will we see the reflection of what is inside. Is it a frightened soul, a timid soul crying out for acceptance? Is it someone who has been hurt and hides behind their exterior coverings? God knows. God sees. And God loves all His children. Thank God for that!