It's impossible to turn on the TV or radio, open a newspaper or magazine or even stop by the corner coffee shop without hearing people's opinion on gun control. After the mass shooting last month in Connecticut, and all the other tragedies over the last few years, the fingers are flying and pointing in every direction. Every interest group has someone else to blame. I'm not going to get into the political conversation. I don't believe that's the answer. The answer is God and sharing the love we can fully receive from God if we just open our hearts, minds and let Him work within us.
Satan is finding a way to make an impact. He is finding those who are lost, those who are needing something greater than we as a society are able to provide them for one reason or another. He is finding the weak and the scared and the lost and those who feel unloved. He's not only reaching the ones responsible for these horrific acts, but he is promoting doubt, confusion, and chaos among those who are on the fence about whether or not God exists, whether or not God loves us, and bringing up the question of "Where was God?" "How could a God that loves us let this happen?"
I don't know all the answers. The Bible says we won't have true understanding until we are in Heaven with him for eternity. But here is what I do know.
God was right there. He was holding the hands of those 27 victims in Connecticut. He was there to quickly usher those little ones into His arms. He was there to give strength to the teachers and administrators. He was there to shelter the children who were spared. He was there to guide the first responders through what had to have been the worst thing most of them have ever seen or ever will see. He was there with the parents who celebrated when they heard their child was safe and gathered them into their arms. He celebrated with them. He was there to catch the ones falling to their knees as they were told their little boy or little girl would not be coming home. He wept with them. He cried with me as I sat at my computer and watched the story unfold. He cried with me as I shared the tragedy with my husband. He was with my children as they talked to me about how scared they are it will happen to them and he was there with me to tell them that while I can't promise it will never happen in their school, I can promise them that God will be with them and he will protect them. And he has been there in Aurora, he was there in Arizona, he was in Columbine, he was at Virginia Tech, and he was there in all the similar tragedies and with all those involved.
I was reminded of that today as my daughter shared something that happened at school today. It is so hard to protect them from all the dangers they may face on a day to day basis. I am making a conscious effort to make sure that all of them understand and know that God loves them. God is with them. God is in control. It may not end up the way we want it to every time, but it will end the way God sees is best for us. We may not understand it. We may not be able to explain it. But, we can know that we are loved, protected and never alone.
God's love is the answer. Could that love be shown through more gun laws and legislation? Could that love be shown through less? Absolutely! God's love can transcend all things. God's love can push Satan out of the stronghold he has taken on those that are lost and hurting, looking for a way to be seen and heard. God's love can conquer all.
I continue to pray..."Your Kingdom come, Your will be done!"
Thursday, January 17, 2013
Sunday, January 13, 2013
Leukemia
Leukemia.
WOW! What a scary word! It takes my breath away every time I say it!
We got word yesterday that my husband's step-daughter is facing leukemia with her 2 year old son. She and her husband also have a 4 year old son and a newborn baby girl. As a mom of four I can not possibly begin to imagine the fear, pain and uncertainty that she and her husband are feeling.
I watched a live video stream of our old church home this morning. The pastor is doing a sermon series on prayer. He talked about Jesus's prayer as he was in the Garden "Father, if it is Your will, take this cup away from Me; nevertheless not My will, but Yours, be done." (Luke 22:42 New Kings James Version). He taught that as we pray for those things our human spirits want, feel we need and desire, we must pray as the Lord's Prayer says "Your kingdom come, Your will be done".
It's so hard sometimes to not ask God to just fix it. Not that he wouldn't answer that prayer, but we have to remember to surrender the situation to HIS will. Surrendering whatever we are facing means completely turning it over to Him, not giving it to him IF he does this, or IF he can do that. It means accepting His will and trusting and believing that He will provide the strength, understanding and love necessary to get through it.
Heavenly Father, thank you for your love that radiates through my life every day. Thank you for all the ways you continue to bless my family. God, today I ask you to fill the hearts of these young parents with your love, comfort and strength. I pray that your kingdom come into their lives, that your will be done with this little one, and that the rest of us can get out of your way and let you work as you see fit in this situation. Thank you for the assurance that this sweet little one has you holding him every moment. May your love be shown to all that are touched by this and may it fill our hearts with peace. Thank you for sending your Son to die for a sinner like me so that I may have the promise of eternity in Heaven with you. Amen
Our family appreciates you joining us in praying for this sweet little boy and his family.
What's Love Got To Do With It?
We were searching for something to watch between football and the news tonight and settled on "Storage Wars". If you haven't seen the show, it's a show about storage units that have been abandoned. Buyers come to the auction, only get to peak inside, bid and hope they get some good stuff to resell.
I was reminded of a time in my life when I didn't quite feel as blessed as I am now. The marriage I was in at the time was toxic and I was doing a great job of making that worse on a daily basis. We went through a period of time when we were evicted (a couple of times), had a car repossessed, had our storage unit auctioned off, had some legal issues and filed bankruptcy. I may not have been a drug addict or had a drinking problem, but I was in a really bad spot.
My decisions during that time were far from the right ones. I made choices that hurt a lot of people, damaged my family, and caused more problems than we started with. But I felt, with each of those decisions, that it would be worth it all in the end. I was striving at every turn to feel love. I knew that about 2% of the time, he could be the guy I fell in love with when I was 16. I felt as though the decisions I was making would make him love me the way I desperately wanted to be loved. I thought I could love him enough to love me in return. Instead, my choices were pushing us further and further apart and the guy that made up that 2% I adored was no where to be found.
In my current marriage, I feel love in every second of every day. We got married at a courthouse by a Justice of the Peace. I had the large church wedding the first time and really just wanted to have a celebration of our love together. I really didn't know what to expect from a courtroom wedding, but I knew that I wanted nothing more that to marry him. We walked into the courtroom and it was filled with people who were trying to stop from either being evicted or having their homes repossessed. Talk about a buzz kill! But, we were first on the agenda so the judge called us up and introduced us to the court.
He asked a couple of questions about our intentions and then said something neither one of us will ever forget. "God is Love. If you love God, receive his love and truly love one another, this marriage will work. If you choose to put him first, you will make it. Don't ever forget, GOD IS LOVE." After the rest of the formalities of the ceremony, the room of people that were facing a very difficult day ahead of them, stood and clapped and cheered as we walked out of the courtroom. God's love was spread to that room of people that day. I have no idea if they still had their houses to go home to, but they heard about God's love and that made it worth being there.
I now know that love is the greatest gift of all. I have heard that all my life, but now know it first hand. Most of us grow up knowing our parents love us and we tend to take that for granted. They are supposed to love us, right? But when we grow up and we have to find love, give love, share love and extend love to those who are hardest to love, it gets complicated. But it really is simple. GOD IS LOVE! Seek it, find it, receive it, return it, share it, express it, expand it, live it and embrace it. That is where it starts. The rest depends on it.
As this journey continues, my prayer is that God's love will be felt by all of those I come in contact with. I want to reach those who need to feel the love that I feel thanks to the love of God filling my husband's heart, filling my heart and guiding both of us through our lives. I want them to feel the love the love of God that my parents felt and still feel as they continue to guide my sisters and I. I want them to feel the love of God I am sharing with my children as they grow.
What's Love Got to Do With It? EVERYTHING!
I was reminded of a time in my life when I didn't quite feel as blessed as I am now. The marriage I was in at the time was toxic and I was doing a great job of making that worse on a daily basis. We went through a period of time when we were evicted (a couple of times), had a car repossessed, had our storage unit auctioned off, had some legal issues and filed bankruptcy. I may not have been a drug addict or had a drinking problem, but I was in a really bad spot.
My decisions during that time were far from the right ones. I made choices that hurt a lot of people, damaged my family, and caused more problems than we started with. But I felt, with each of those decisions, that it would be worth it all in the end. I was striving at every turn to feel love. I knew that about 2% of the time, he could be the guy I fell in love with when I was 16. I felt as though the decisions I was making would make him love me the way I desperately wanted to be loved. I thought I could love him enough to love me in return. Instead, my choices were pushing us further and further apart and the guy that made up that 2% I adored was no where to be found.
In my current marriage, I feel love in every second of every day. We got married at a courthouse by a Justice of the Peace. I had the large church wedding the first time and really just wanted to have a celebration of our love together. I really didn't know what to expect from a courtroom wedding, but I knew that I wanted nothing more that to marry him. We walked into the courtroom and it was filled with people who were trying to stop from either being evicted or having their homes repossessed. Talk about a buzz kill! But, we were first on the agenda so the judge called us up and introduced us to the court.
He asked a couple of questions about our intentions and then said something neither one of us will ever forget. "God is Love. If you love God, receive his love and truly love one another, this marriage will work. If you choose to put him first, you will make it. Don't ever forget, GOD IS LOVE." After the rest of the formalities of the ceremony, the room of people that were facing a very difficult day ahead of them, stood and clapped and cheered as we walked out of the courtroom. God's love was spread to that room of people that day. I have no idea if they still had their houses to go home to, but they heard about God's love and that made it worth being there.
I now know that love is the greatest gift of all. I have heard that all my life, but now know it first hand. Most of us grow up knowing our parents love us and we tend to take that for granted. They are supposed to love us, right? But when we grow up and we have to find love, give love, share love and extend love to those who are hardest to love, it gets complicated. But it really is simple. GOD IS LOVE! Seek it, find it, receive it, return it, share it, express it, expand it, live it and embrace it. That is where it starts. The rest depends on it.
As this journey continues, my prayer is that God's love will be felt by all of those I come in contact with. I want to reach those who need to feel the love that I feel thanks to the love of God filling my husband's heart, filling my heart and guiding both of us through our lives. I want them to feel the love the love of God that my parents felt and still feel as they continue to guide my sisters and I. I want them to feel the love of God I am sharing with my children as they grow.
What's Love Got to Do With It? EVERYTHING!
Saturday, January 12, 2013
Donation of Household Goods
We have a sofa we bought about 7 months ago that we have not been using. We found another one we fell in love with and so we moved the other one out onto our covered patio until we decided what to do with it. We got one of those cards in the mail the other day that read "We pick up household goods and furniture" so we called and found out that its a resale/thrift store that uses the money made in the store to support a local charity. We made the appointment and they sent the truck today.
Any of you with toddlers know that it is virtually impossible to keep furniture spotless unless you wrap it in plastic wrap. You may also be familiar with the kind of fabric that stains with a drop of water. Well, we had both with this situation and so there were a couple of small water stains on the cushion. Otherwise, it is a very modern, nice and fairly expensive sofa. Needless to say, they wouldn't take it. They said it didn't fit into their guidelines for donated items.
While I understand not taking old, worn out, ripped and torn items to try to resale, my initial thought was "are you kidding me? We are trying to GIVE this sofa away that we spent X number of dollars on less than a year ago and you won't take it because of a couple of water stains? Someone could really use this!" Then my husband very calmly said "OK. I understand. Could you use these other items?" We had some toys and clothes our son has outgrown. They had no problem with those items, thanked us and went on their way. Then we loaded the sofa into our Suburban and drove it to a donation location we new would accept it. The manager of the store took it without any issues and we went on our way.
After leaving the store, I realized that I had mixed emotions and thoughts about our donation. While I know the store where we dropped of the sofa is an organization that helps people in lots of different situations, I did not have a direct connection with the person who will use that sofa. I don't know if that donation is really going to make the person who buys it feel the love of God that we were trying to share in our donation. And, would the person who desperately needs the love of God AND a sofa be able to purchase it in that store?
This brought my husband and I to a discussion of how we could address that in the future. We came up with several ideas that we are going to be exploring and sharing with all of you as we move forward on this journey. One of which is establishing a non-profit organization that accepts donations, direct or indirect, and then finds a person, people or family that could benefit from a GIFT. Not a purchase but a GIFT. Along with this gift would be sharing the love of God with the recipient and how they could, despite whatever their personal situation is, pass that same love on to those they come in contact with every day. That's how a true difference is made. One person, one family can't make a profound difference in their own little corner of the world without people they touch passing along the blessing.
I would like to encourage you to share with us your thoughts and any ideas you may have regarding this desire to truly reach the people who really need to be reached. Is your family, community or church finding ways to reach those around you who need it most? We look forward to hearing how you are sharing the love of God with others.
Any of you with toddlers know that it is virtually impossible to keep furniture spotless unless you wrap it in plastic wrap. You may also be familiar with the kind of fabric that stains with a drop of water. Well, we had both with this situation and so there were a couple of small water stains on the cushion. Otherwise, it is a very modern, nice and fairly expensive sofa. Needless to say, they wouldn't take it. They said it didn't fit into their guidelines for donated items.
While I understand not taking old, worn out, ripped and torn items to try to resale, my initial thought was "are you kidding me? We are trying to GIVE this sofa away that we spent X number of dollars on less than a year ago and you won't take it because of a couple of water stains? Someone could really use this!" Then my husband very calmly said "OK. I understand. Could you use these other items?" We had some toys and clothes our son has outgrown. They had no problem with those items, thanked us and went on their way. Then we loaded the sofa into our Suburban and drove it to a donation location we new would accept it. The manager of the store took it without any issues and we went on our way.
After leaving the store, I realized that I had mixed emotions and thoughts about our donation. While I know the store where we dropped of the sofa is an organization that helps people in lots of different situations, I did not have a direct connection with the person who will use that sofa. I don't know if that donation is really going to make the person who buys it feel the love of God that we were trying to share in our donation. And, would the person who desperately needs the love of God AND a sofa be able to purchase it in that store?
This brought my husband and I to a discussion of how we could address that in the future. We came up with several ideas that we are going to be exploring and sharing with all of you as we move forward on this journey. One of which is establishing a non-profit organization that accepts donations, direct or indirect, and then finds a person, people or family that could benefit from a GIFT. Not a purchase but a GIFT. Along with this gift would be sharing the love of God with the recipient and how they could, despite whatever their personal situation is, pass that same love on to those they come in contact with every day. That's how a true difference is made. One person, one family can't make a profound difference in their own little corner of the world without people they touch passing along the blessing.
I would like to encourage you to share with us your thoughts and any ideas you may have regarding this desire to truly reach the people who really need to be reached. Is your family, community or church finding ways to reach those around you who need it most? We look forward to hearing how you are sharing the love of God with others.
Friday, January 11, 2013
Beginning the Difference Path
"Make a Difference"
This is something I hear every day in at least a dozen ways. Some are shouts, some are whispers, occasionally it's a bang on the head but the message is the same..."Make a Difference"
I recently read a book called "Kisses from Katie" by Katie Davis and was amazed at the courage, strength and unyielding faith of this young woman. What a challenge God laid out before me to make a difference in my own little corner of the world. If you haven't had the opportunity to hear Katie's story, I encourage you to do so.
I have always had good intentions but have never followed through with the desire to help people, to be the one that steps up to get the job done and makes a difference. However, God has laid it on my heart that now is the time. My family is beyond blessed and I have so many ideas, thoughts, desires and true passions that I have to share. This is no longer something I think about occasionally This is my mission to spread the love of My God to my corner of the world and make a difference.
Now the challenge is where to start. There are definitely plenty of options. Simply search for volunteer opportunities and one could spend hours looking through multiple pages of options. That's always been part of the problem before...too many options...not enough time to find the right thing to fit into my schedule.
And so begins Lola's Difference Path. The name for this blog begins with my nickname from my husband, LOLA. There are many different versions of what that would stand for, but for us it means Love Often, Love Always. My husband loves me in many different ways everyday. We have a motto around our house that we live in a "safe and non-threatening" environment at all times. Everyone is able to express themselves in a healthy, respectful way at any time. As long as that healthy and respectful boundary is maintained, there are no repercussions for ones thoughts and feelings. This is by far, the most meaningful way that he loves me minute by minute, hour by hour, day by day. This love we share is what brought me out of a very difficult time, reminded me of the unfailing love of my Heavenly Father and continues to challenge me to seek God's direction, share His love with others and be the woman He desires me to be. The rest of the name is simply my desire to make a difference and choosing a new path to get there.
This blog will serve as the record of my journey as I seek the ways I can make a difference in this little part of my world and watch as that difference spreads to others. I am so excited to start this journey and see the direction that God sends me. My prayer is that others can experience the love my family shares that comes from the love, grace, forgiveness and faithfulness of our God. Thanks for joining me on this journey. I hope that you find blessings in following our family.
This is something I hear every day in at least a dozen ways. Some are shouts, some are whispers, occasionally it's a bang on the head but the message is the same..."Make a Difference"
I recently read a book called "Kisses from Katie" by Katie Davis and was amazed at the courage, strength and unyielding faith of this young woman. What a challenge God laid out before me to make a difference in my own little corner of the world. If you haven't had the opportunity to hear Katie's story, I encourage you to do so.
I have always had good intentions but have never followed through with the desire to help people, to be the one that steps up to get the job done and makes a difference. However, God has laid it on my heart that now is the time. My family is beyond blessed and I have so many ideas, thoughts, desires and true passions that I have to share. This is no longer something I think about occasionally This is my mission to spread the love of My God to my corner of the world and make a difference.
Now the challenge is where to start. There are definitely plenty of options. Simply search for volunteer opportunities and one could spend hours looking through multiple pages of options. That's always been part of the problem before...too many options...not enough time to find the right thing to fit into my schedule.
And so begins Lola's Difference Path. The name for this blog begins with my nickname from my husband, LOLA. There are many different versions of what that would stand for, but for us it means Love Often, Love Always. My husband loves me in many different ways everyday. We have a motto around our house that we live in a "safe and non-threatening" environment at all times. Everyone is able to express themselves in a healthy, respectful way at any time. As long as that healthy and respectful boundary is maintained, there are no repercussions for ones thoughts and feelings. This is by far, the most meaningful way that he loves me minute by minute, hour by hour, day by day. This love we share is what brought me out of a very difficult time, reminded me of the unfailing love of my Heavenly Father and continues to challenge me to seek God's direction, share His love with others and be the woman He desires me to be. The rest of the name is simply my desire to make a difference and choosing a new path to get there.
This blog will serve as the record of my journey as I seek the ways I can make a difference in this little part of my world and watch as that difference spreads to others. I am so excited to start this journey and see the direction that God sends me. My prayer is that others can experience the love my family shares that comes from the love, grace, forgiveness and faithfulness of our God. Thanks for joining me on this journey. I hope that you find blessings in following our family.
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