One of Many

As much as we think we are the center of the universe, it doesn't make it so.  After all, we see things from our own perspective ONLY.  We make judgements based on our own knowledge.  Our understanding is based on the facts we possess and our own comprehension.  It's natural that we view all of life as it relates to ourselves.

We have to learn that though we are all individual and unique, we are meant to be a part of a body.  For instance, the 23rd Psalm illustrates how God relates to us as individuals:  "The Lord is MY shepherd.  I shall not want.  He maketh ME to lie down in green pastures.  He leadeth ME beside still waters....  etc.
Ephesians 4:11-13 explains how individuals are part of a body:  "It was he who gave some to be apostles, some to be prophets, some to be evangelists,  and some to be pastors and teachers, to prepare God's people for works of service, so that the body of Christ may be built up until we all reach unity in the faith and in the knowledge of the Son of God and become mature, attaining to the whole measure of the fullness of Christ."

I think this is why God allows you and me to deal with Parkinson's Disease.  Because it prepares us for works of service, so that we and the body of Christ may be built up until we all reach unity in the faith in the knowledge of the Son of God and become mature, attaining to the whole measure of the fullness of Christ.

Jesus learned obedience through the things He suffered and you and I are no different.  Suffering teaches us! We will not always suffer with this disease.  But while we do, let us learn well the lessons that God would teach us, and be mindful that we are one of many.

Tracking Storms

We all have our limits.  We have boundaries beyond which we are not comfortable.  We want things to stay manageable.  It is more comfortable to have a list of dos and don'ts with predictable outcomes, than to live with uncertainty and have to ride out life's storms moment by moment.  But life isn't just a set of rules where you can choose which way your life will go.  Just because you do what you believe to be right, you are not guaranteed smooth sailing.  Hurricanes happen.  Diseases happen.  Heartache is real.

But so is God.

 Like tracking a hurricane, we may be able to guess what direction our life is taking by reading the warning signs, but we really don't know for sure where landfall will be or how violently the winds will blow and the floods will rise, or what damages we'll be dealing with in the aftermath of a sudden storm.

I remember years ago when Hurricane Parkinson first threatened to blow through my life, and then when it began tracking straight for me, then when the super storm hit..........  I was helpless to change it's course and had no control over the damage inflicted.  It was the worst I had ever been through.  I was called upon to reach for courage I previously did not know I had.  There were days of defeat and despair as I tried to deal with rebuilding.  There were days when I didn't have the tools necessary for reconstruction.

But God was there.  And He still is.

The initial breach of that storm is long past but not a day goes by that I am not reminded of it.  I will never be the same.  But then, I think that's why God allowed this dreadful hurricane to hit me.  I have learned that God is sufficient when I have nothing.  I have learned that God is always with me when what I fear most is being left alone.  I have learned that God makes sense of what I see as senseless.  I have learned that though I don't have all the answers............  God does.  I have come to love Him more than I ever did before..................

I'm Tired and Don't Have Much to Say....

Today power is slowly being restored.  The shelves at the grocery store have dairy and meats again.  Many places are closed though - like MacDonalds down the street.  I can't get through to my neurologist to have one of my prescriptions refilled.  Their phone lines are down.  And people are lined up at gas stations with a 2 hour wait to fill their cars with gas.  Mind you, there is no gas shortage but people THINK there is.  Some gas stations have lost power and without electricity the gas can't be pumped,  Also the tankers are having a hard time getting here to deliver gas because of the roads.  My husband and I will probably get up in the middle of the night to try and find gas.

It has gotten cold and like the mood, the sky is gray and cloudy.  I'm already so sleepy.

There is no way to be here and not be stressed, but I'm reading Scripture and praying very often.  This keeps me in perspective.  It keeps me from bringing on despair by thinking Truth.  Well, I'm going to bed now .  Good night.

Our High Calling in the Midst of Hell.

Today is the 2nd morning after Hurricane Sandy.  There is devastation all around us, yet it does not come near to this family.  There are many who are trying to begin the monumental task of putting their lives back to order.  There are many who have lost everything like the people from Queens whose homes (80 of them) burned to the ground leaving nothing but cinders and charred trees.  How ironic to flee for your life from homes overcome by floods of record breaking proportions, only to watch sparks from a transformer ignite first one home, then another as they burn and leave nothing but the charred remains of a life remembered.

I've heard that Fire Island may now be 2 islands.  I have heard no word of whether or not those who refused to evacuate there have survived.

Some people on Long Island (like Long Beach) find themselves unable to drink or bathe because their water is contaminated with sewage.

Schools are still closed today and shelters may see even more coming for shelter tonight as temperatures dip to low 40s.  Without power that is very cold.  West Virginia and Pennsylvania are dealing with snow.  I heard this morning that the best case scenario for people without power is that they may not get any for a minimum of 7-10 days.  Many businesses are closed and the subway tunnels are flooded witth salt water.  Railway lines are washed out and miles of track need to be checked.  Flights have been cancelled.  Wall Street closed for a record setting 2 days.  Traffic lights are not working and I heard this morning of a 20 yr old man killed as he rode his motorcycle through an intersection.  Yesterday New Jersey's governor said there were parts of his state he could not even inspect by helicopter because he was told there was just no place to land.  At least one hospital evacuated newborns as they carried them down 19 floors of steps while hand respirating them.  Trees that are older than the people who had them have come crashing down into the middle of their homes.

We give thanks to our heavenly Father from whom comes all good gifts.  We are safe.  We are His sheep.  We are not lost, but found.  Please pray for those who are frightened and hurting.  Invite God into this terrible scene.  He won't go where He is not wanted, but then that's where we (those who know Him intimately) come in.  God is calling you to pray for the helpless, who either cannot or will not pray for themselves.  Pray for them as if they were family and dearly loved.  This could be you.

Take to heart God's words from 2 Corinthians 1:3-5

"Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of compassion and the God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our troubles, so that we can comfort those in any trouble with the comfort we ourselves have received from God.  For just as the sufferings of Christ flow over into our lives, so also through Christ our comfort overflows."

It is a high calling - an honor and a responsibility that we should not ignore.  Pray, dear Reader!  Pray as if this were you.  And one day, it could be.............

The Aftermath

Last night, amidst the wind and fury, I sang hymns praising our God.  You may think it my imagination (but I know better) , but as I sang, the winds died down, and when I paused in between songs, the howling wind seemed to rise in a fearsome crescendo.  However nothing could steal the peace that my heavenly Father had anchored in my heart.

This morning, there is not so much as a tree branch fallen on our property!  Our only damage is a single strip of siding blown loose, and an overturned porch swing!  Tell me that God's hand was not protecting us....!!!

Tears of thankful joy flow down my cheeks as my husband and I offer up a prayer of thanks and praise to our great God.  Praises to the One who leads me beside still waters and guides me through the valley of the shadow of death!

Psalm 24

"The earth is the Lord's and everything in it, the world, and all who live in it; for he founded it on the seas and established it on the waters.
Who may ascend the mountain of the Lord?  Who may stand in his holy place?  The one who has clean hands and a pure heart; who does not trust in an idol or swear by a false god.  They will receive blessing from the Lord and vindication from God their Savior.  Such is the generation of those who seek him, who seek your face, God of Jacob.  Lift up your heads, you gates; be lifted up, you ancient doors, that the King of glory may come in.  Who is he, this King of glory?  The Lord Almighty - he is the King of glory."

What Should I Do?

How much should I trust the medical community?  How far should I go in allowing procedures, taking recommended drugs and adopting exercises?  Well, this is something I cannot decide for you.  What is good for me, may not be the thing for you.  What I CAN say with certainty is that you must totally rely on your heavenly Father to guide and direct you.  Pray.  If you are not hearing Him, then ask Him to help you to hear.  Prayer is like anything else.........  If we rarely exercise our prayer "muscles" then they will be weak.  We won't have such good hearing when it comes to Him speaking to us.  This does not happen over-night.  The Bible tells us to pray without ceasing.  It's like breathing.  We are not constantly sending up structured prayers for specific things, but rather it's like walking with a friend - we are in-step with one another, we are aware of the other's presence, though our thoughts run unhindered from thing to thing.  When our friend speaks, we hear and vice versa.
Also, God has different work for different ones.  He uses us to spread the gospel in unique ways.  I know that on my journey through this life, I have talked to and shared with certain people that had I not been doing what I was doing, I would not have had that opportunity.  What have seemed like problems in my life have turned out to be exposure to people and places where not only others were blessed by my life, but I was blessed also by their lives!
I would venture to say that it is not just a matter of what is good for us, but a matter of knowing our place within the body of Christ.  We are not here on this earth only to save our lives, but through Him to give life.  This is what the Bible has to say about this:  John 12:24-26   "...unless a kernel of wheat falls to the ground and dies, it remains only a single seed.  But if it dies, it produces many seeds.  The man who loves his life will lose it, while the man who hates his life in this world will keep it for eternal life.  Whoever serves me must follow me; and where I am, my servant also will be.  My Father will honor the one who serves me."
You will be safe if you go where the Lord tells you to go and do what the Lord tells you to do.
You must have a relationship with Him so you can hear Him, you must obey, and you must trust Him.  He is our Shepherd.  He is there to guide us and take care of us.  He will not harm us.  A good shepherd knows each sheep.  The life of the sheep is totally dependent upon the shepherd.  The sheep doesn't know what to do or where to go.  Your Shepherd will lead you to green pastures and beside still waters.  HE will guide you in the paths of righteousness.  /Read Psalm 23 if you need to be reminded.

Face Giants by Remembering God

Our lives are populated with giants.  Giants are really big problems and they show up in our heads, our friendships, at work, at church, in marriages, at the doctor's office, in our families and every other place we go.  They must be faced and overcome or they will devour us. 

L. B. Cowman in Streams in the Desert says:  "'We will be stronger by overcoming them than if there had been no giants to defeat.'  In fact, unless we have overcoming faith, we will be swallowed up - consumed by the giants who block our path.  'With that same spirit of faith' (2 Cor 4:13) that Joshua and Caleb had, let us look to God, and He will take care of the difficulties."

Cowman says it so much better than I can, so the following is taken from the same devotion book as above:  "We encounter giants only when we are serving God and following Him.  It was when Israel was going forward that the giants appeared, for when they turned back into the wilderness, they found none.


Many people believe that the power of God in a person's life should keep him from all trials and conflicts.  However, the power of God actually brings conflict and struggles.  You would think that Paul, during his great missionary journey to Rome, would have been kept by God's sovereignty from the power of violent storms and of his enemies.  Yet just the opposite was true.  He endured one long, difficult struggle with the Jews who were persecuting him.  He faced fierce winds, poisonous snakes, and all the powers of earth and of hell.  And finally, he narrowly escaped drowning, by swimming to shore at Malta after a shipwrick nearly sent him to a watery grave.

Does this sound like a God of infinite power?  Yes, it is just like Him.  And that is why Paul told us that once he took the Lord Jesus Christ as his life in his body, a severe conflict immediately arose.  In fact, the conflict never ended.  The pressure on Paul was persistent, but from the conflict he always emerged victorious through the strength of Jesus Christ.


Paul described this in quite vivid language:  'We are hard pressed on every side, but not crushed; perplexed, but not in despair; persecuted, but not abandoned; struck down but not destroyed.  We always carry around in our body the death of Jesus, so that the life of Jesus may also be revealed in our body" (2 Cor 4:8-10)."

Don't be dismayed and lose heart because tragedy has struck and you are faced with the impossible.  You will make it through your day - one day at a time, one hour at a time, one minute at a time and one decision at a time.  The mountain of accomplishment is scaled one persistant step at a time - one effort at a time - one bit of knowledge at a time.

The giants will be defeated through continuous application of Truth and the works which flow from this Truth.  Rabbi Michael L. Munk in The Wisdom in the Hebrew Alphabet says, " Do not believe that you have tried and failed.  Rather understand that you have not tried hard enough."

When you see giants, take a step back and remember Who God is then remember who your are.  Then taking one step at a time make choices and let your actions be in agreement with those two things.  Getting through your day is a process and it occurs time after time as the days go by.

An Excellent Point of View

This morning I read the devotion from L. B. Cowman's Streams in the Desert:

Sorrow, under the power of divine grace, performs various ministries in our lives. Sorrow reveals unknown depths of the soul, and unknown capacities for suffering and service. Lighthearted, frivolous people are always shallow and are never aware of their own meagerness or lack of depth. Sorrow is God's tool to plow the depths of the soul, that it may yield richer harvests. If humankind were still in a glorified state, having never fallen, then the strong floods of divine joy would be the force God would use to reveal our souls' capacities. But in a fallen world, sorrow, yet with despair removed, is the power chosen to reveal us to ourselves. Accordingly, it is sorrow that causes us to take the time to think keeply and seriously.

Sorrow makes us move more slowly and considerately and examine our motives and attitudes. It opens within us the capacities of the heavenly life, and it makes us willing to set our capacities afloat on a limitless sea of service for God and for others.

Many people live casually on the outer edge of their own souls until great thunderstorms of sorrow reveal hidden depths within, which were never before known or suspected.

God never uses anyone to a great degree until He breaks the person completely. Joseph exdperienced more sorrow than the other sons of Jacob, and it led him into a ministry of food for all the nations.

Pointless or Purposeful

There are so many things I have learned because I have PD. I can tell you these things and hopefully inspire you to also look and see what experiencing the pain of this disease has done for you. If you aren't finding anything, then I would say that the pain and anguish this disease has put you through has all been wasted.
There are two kinds of pain: 1) - pointless pain and 2) purposeful pain. Pointless pain gains you nothing and makes you bitter. Purposeful pain grows you up and teaches you about people.

So, either way you can have pain but will it be pointless or purposeful?

What Does Quarried Stone Have to do With Hope?

As disease progresses in your body, the temptation to lose hope that we will ever see better days becomes greater and greater. We desperately want to be healed but the hope for this begins to ebb away like the tide going out, as days and weeks turn to months and years. The Bible says that "hope deferred makes the heart sick."

What precisely is hope? Noah Webster says (in his 1828 dictionary) that it is "to cherish a desire of good with some expectation of obtaining it, or a belief that it is obtainable." It's not the same as a wish.

If we break down the idea of hope we find that it's substance is faith ("Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen (Hebrews 11:1). So when we hope for healing it means that we desire what cannot at the moment be seen, but despite this we entertain some expectation of possiby receiving this miraculous gift. When it doesn't come we become heartsick. So how do we avoid the painful and dreadful loss of hope?

At one point in my life, I experienced the final death of the hope for healing. I asked God to let me die and bring me home to be with Him. There was no drama - just a sincere request for death. I couldn't imagine living any longer with nothing to live for.

Isaiah 49:23b says, "Those who hope in Me will not be disappointed."

So, here is the answer: we are to hope in the giver of good gifts - the One who CAN heal. Yes we still want freedom from disease, but hope within the context of the God who has the knowledge and power to give it. And we do that by looking back in our own lives and also in the history of His relationship with His people to see how He has made promises and fulfilled them. Then we are encouraged and strengthened to wait but a little longer.

Isaiah 51:1-5 says "Listen to me you...who seek the Lord; Look to the rock from which you were cut and to the quarry from which you were hewn; Look to Abraham, your father, and to Sarah, who gave you birth. When I called him, he was but one, and I blessed him and made him many. The Lord will surely comfort Zion and will look with compassion on all her ruins (the ruins of PD); He will make her deserts like Eden(the deserts of PD), her wastelands (the wastelands of PD) like the garden of the Lord. Joy and gladness will be found in her, thanksgiving and the sound of singing.... My righteousness draws near speedily, my salvation is on the way and my arm will bring justice...."

Here is our promise for healing!!! God is speaking DIRECTLY to you who belong to Him! He says to you who seek the Lord (and His healing). Don't look to technology or research or the medical community for your healing (though many times He will use those things to heal) but look to He who makes promises to His people and then in the midst of impossibilites does wonders. For many long years after God promised a child to Abraham and Sarah, they waited, seemingly barren. But Isaac was born to them in their old age - when for "man" - it was not possible. God fulfilled His promise to them, and He will fulfill His promise to His children - IN HIS OWN TIME. Wait on God you who are heartsick and weary.

"COME TO ME, ALL YOU WHO ARE WEARY AND BURDENED, AND I WILL GIVE YOU REST." Matt. 11:28

In a Word, Jesus

Throughout the years I have had Parkinson's Disease, the one thing that has comforted me most has been Jesus. Without Him nothing would mean anything and all that we suffer would be without purpose. No blessings would be brought forth and nothing good would come from the bad things we go through.

If I could tell you just one thing and nothing more, I would tell you that every pain I've ever had has found it's relief in Jesus. I have risen above every tragedy and found comfort in Jesus. His Word has guided me whenever I needed guidance. He is the answer to every tough question and the revealer of mysteries. He doesn't just get me through the darkness - He IS the Light. In a word, - Jesus. I know what He has done for me in my life. I know His voice and I feel His love. His ways and plans may be impenetrable but I can trust Him. He makes sense of my life. He is the best thing that ever happened to me. This is what I would tell you.

The Past, The Present, and The Future, Part 2

It has been a thing I could not truly comprehend - that someone could love me and not hurt me continually. For the most part, this is all I have ever known. "Love" has always hurt. The people who were supposed to love me, hurt me. Someone's verbal admission of "love" for me went hand-in-hand with suffering of the worst kind that must be endured with no end in sight (after all the Bible tells us "love never ends"). The focus is on the pain - not mine or anyone else's well-being. Nothing could be farther from the truth!

If we don't know what true love is, then how do we protect ourselves from what is not love? I have spent my life choosing to be around people who want someone to make them happy, and I had become someone who only knows how to give until there was no life or love left within me. This is what I thought it was to love someone. This is what I knew how to do. The sick cycle went on and on as I hoped to finally earn the love I so desperately needed. I tried to accomplish just once being useful enough to be loved. Each succeeding failure brought the thought that perhaps I had not tried hard enough.

My need for love and the powerful drive behind it to find it kept the cycle going. I wasn't intentionally failing. I was just trying to find what is necessary for life.

The sin of my parents (intentional or NOT) left me like a bird with a broken wing, unable to leave the nest THEY built for me - unable to trust God - not able to believe that He would not let me plummet to my destruction, but would swoop beneath me and carry me like the mother eagle as she teaches her young to fly and soar on the edges of the wind, high and far above their enemies.

So, to hear that God is love, brought me to a tense awareness of the notion that my salvation and sanctification are and will be inseparable from the pain I have always known that is beyond my ability to endure. The logical conclusion of that erroneous premise is that I am lost - beyond saving.

The truth is that God IS love. Our parents may not have loved us with God's love, but here is what He has to say about that: "For my father and my mother have forsaken me, but the Lord will take me up."

I thank Him and praise Him that He does not leave us with broken wings, hopelessly stuck in the cycle that repeats again and again leaving us in bondage. I praise Him that He is real love, and He is truth, and it is a very good thing!

"You shall know the truth and the truth shall make you free." John 8:32

"Yet those who wait for the Lord will gain new strength. They will mount up with wings like eagles. They will run and not get tired. They will walk and not become weary." Isaiah 40:31

Count Your Blessings

The wind is whistling and howling outside of my window tonight. The rain is falling in sheets. It was completely dark by 4:30.

I'm so comfortable in my house. I'm so grateful. What could be better than a full stomach, a soft bed with warm blankets and lots of pillows and looking forward to a deep rest.

You can't be grateful and complaining at the same time. Forget your troubles. Let go of your problems just long enough to count your blessings.

I'm off to bed now! Sweet dreams..............

Set Them Free

Dear Lord,

With all of my heart I ask your blessings of grace, mercy and forgiveness upon all of those less fortunate than me. I lift up to You those who don't know You yet. I call forth Your tender mercies that are new today for those in my heart. Help me by some miracle to be a light, an inspiration and a comfort to everyone You will bring me into contact with today and everyone in my past. Even if it's only through a memory they have of me.

I forgive and release every person who has ever sinned against me. I ask for a full pardon where there has been injury, pride, and unforgiveness. Let no one be held accountable for wrongs done to me, but set them free through forgiveness.

May every mistake I have ever made be used to lead people to the Truth, and let my life be a prayer today. Help me to joyfully give the kindness and love that I desire to receive.

Father, somehow use this flawed life of mine to work beautiful things into the lives of everyone You will bring me into contact with. Thank you for limitless grace.

"For Nothing will be impossible with God"

On this Christmas day in 2011 I rejoice and rise up from my bed of sorrow, because nothing but NOTHING is impossible with my God. Yesterday and today my heart has been heavy for someone who was once very close to me. I am tempted to give in to the hopelessness that seems to color this person and the predicament that has resulted from bad choices.
Maybe on this day of joy there is a heartache that you have, and all hope has fled. There seems to be no way of lifting you out of the thick mist of despair over that which grips your heart.
Nothing, nothing, nothing is impossible with God! Who would have thought it possible that the Creator of the Universe would leave His perfect home and enter the world as a tiny helpless life to grow in the belly of a young, unknown, unmarried Jewish girl? He voluntarily became totally dependent upon that young woman to satisfy His hunger, meet His needs and comfort Him in distress. He exchanged His glorious radiance for uncomely flesh. He submitted to the boundaries and limits of time for 33 years. He did all of that for you and for me - and for those we have heartaches for.

Then, perhaps the most impossible thing He ever did was to let the people He created abuse Him to the point that He was no longer recognizable as human. And He let them hang Him on a cross until this beautiful Son of God was dead.

Nothing is impossible with God! Fall down on your face before this mighty Saviour and ask, seek and knock. Nevermind that you cannot see an answer or imagine a remedy. Pursue Him diligently. Though your mind be broken, your ears deaf and your eyes blind - know and do not doubt that He is the God of the impossible!

Do You Feel Alone?

Disease isolates us in a way that people without disease don't experience. Certain seasons or times of year can isolate us and leave us to battle our thoughts and feelings of aloneness. Today's devotion for me this morning, really speaks to this, and I'd really like to share it with you.

"'I am not alone, for my Father is with me.' (John 16:32)
It is certainly unnecessary to say that turning conviction into action requires great sacrifice. It may mean renouncing or separating ourselves from specific people or things, leaving us with a strange sense of deprivation and loneliness. Therefore the person who will ultimately soar like an eagle to the heights of the cloudless day and live in the sunshine of God must be content to live a relatively lonely life.

There are no birds that live in as much solitude as eagles, for they never fly in flocks. Rarely can even two eagles be seen together. And a life that is dedicated to God knows divine fellowship no matter how many human friendships have had to be forfeited along the way.

God seeks 'eagle people,' for no one ever comess into the full realization of the best things of God in his spiritual life without learning to walk alone with Him. We see Abraham alone 'in the land of Canaan, while Lot lived among the cities...near Sodom' (Gen. 13:12). Moses, although educated in all the wisdom of Egypt, had to spend forty years alone with God in the desert. And Paul, who was filled with all the knowledge of the Greeks and who sat 'at the feet of Gamaliel' (Acts 22:3 kjv), was required, after meeting Jesus, to go 'immediately in Arabia' (Gal. 1:17) to learn of the desert life with God.

May we allow God to isolate us, but I do not mean the isolation of a monastery. It is in the experience of isolation that the soul no longer depends on the continual help, prayers, faith, and care of others. The assistance and inspiration from others are necessary, and they have a place in a Christian's development, but at times they can actually become a hindrance to a persoon's faith and welfare.

God knows how to change our circumstances in order to isolate us. And once we yield to Him and He takes us through an experience of isolation, we are no longer dependent upon those around us, although we still love them as much as before. Then we realize that He has done a new work within us and that the wings of our soul have learned to soar in loftier air.

We must dare to be alone, in the way that Jacob had to be alone for the Angel of God to whisper in his ear, 'Your name will no longer be Jacob, but Israel' (Gen. 32:28); in the way that Daniel had to be left alone to see heavenly visions, and in the way that John had to be banished to the Isle of Patmos to receive and record 'the revelation of Jesus Chhrist, which God Gave him' (Rev. 1:1).

'He has "trodden the winepress alone" (Isa. 63:3) for us. Therefore are we prepared for a time of 'glorious isolation' rather than to fail Him?

L. B. Cowman in Streams in the Desert

Calling Back For You

I just read a most encouraging message this morning in my devotions and I'd like to share it with you.

"Life is a steep climb, and it is always encouraging to have those ahead of us 'call back' and cheerfully summon us to higher ground. We all climb together, so we should help one another. The mountain climbing of life is serious, but glorious business; it takes strength and steadiness to reach the summit. And as our view becomes better as we gain altitude, and as we discover things of importance, we should 'call back' our encouragement to others.
'If you have gone a little way ahead of me, call back -
It will cheer my heart and help my feet along the stony track;
And if perhaps, Faith's light is dim, because the oil is low,
Your call will guide my lagging course as wearily I go.
Call back, and tell me that He went with you into the storm;
Call back, and say He kept you when the forest's roots were torn;
That, when the heavens thunder and the earthquake shook the hill,
He bore you up and held you where the lofty air was still.

O friend, call back, and tell me for I cannot see your face;
They say it glows with triumph, and your feet sprint in the race;
But there are mists between us and my spirit eyes are dim,
And I cannot see the glory, though I long for word of Him.

But if you'll say He heard you when your prayer was but a cry,
And if you'll say He saw you through the night's sin-darkened sky -
If you have gone a little way ahead, O friend, call back -
It will cheer my heart and help my feet along the stony track.'" by L. B. Cowman - Streams in the Desert

To those of you who may be behind me, I'm calling out to tell you that He is true and faithful and truly able to deliver. From this glorious heighth that I have come upon, the view is stunning! Keep coming! Climb on, one step at a time. If you have fallen then start again. Don't give up! You are not alone. I am but a step before you. Hear my voice, calling back to you and cheering you on! He is your safety net. He will make a foothold in the rock for you. Trust Him! He will not fail you.

Patience Will Guard Me

I haven't been writing to you of late, and I apologize for my absence. It's not that you are forgotten. You are very much in my thoughts and in my heart.
As always, this time of year is stressful to me. As many wonderful things there are going on in my life at this time, there are also worries and things to deal with that are not so wonderful. It takes alot of my energy to send those worries away from my door. Sometimes I feel like all of my time is spent slamming the door on temptations of all kinds, so that they don't invade my thoughts and burden my heart. Today I'm going to try a new strategy. I' m going to dwell on Truth and fill my mind with it BEFORE Depression, and Sadness and all of their cousins begin their disruptive incessant knocking at my door. This is what I will meditate on today: The Bible tells us that God is love. In 1 Corinthians, we read that love is patient.... So I can deduce that God is patient.
How wonderful my day will be as I think about the fact that God does not get impatient with me. Not when I am slow writing my name, or slow to understand the point that someone is making. Not when my walk is slower than everyone else's and my friends have to go at a slower pace so that I am not left behind. God doesn't get impatient with me when I forget that I have already told everyone the same story more than once, or when I forget what I am saying mid-sentence. Even if those around me are impatient with me,I will remember to be patient with their impatience!
Noah Webster defines patience in his 1828 dictionary as: "the sufferings of afflictions, pain, toil, calamity, provation or other evil with a calm unruffled temper; endurance without murmuring or fretfulness; a calm temper which bears evil without murmuring or discontent."
That's our God. That's our Saviour and Redeemer. I will think of all things today in light of this truth. And I will remember if God is patient with me, then I should be patient with myself. I will remember the hope He gives for restoration and total healing one day.

Have you tried coconut oil?

I just read that diseases like Parkinson's Disease can be tremendously helped by adding certain foods to your diet. I encourage you to google PD and coconut oil. As I understand it, our brain needs glucose to function, but when we have PD the cells become insulin resistant, so the brain is starved for glucose (the fuel that powers the brain). But if we eat certain foods - like coconut oil - the liver can break that down into keytones which is an alternate way of feeding the brain. Reportedly tremors can disappear and cognitive function improves.
Of course, one should check with a doctor before altering the diet, but I can tell you that I added some coconut oil to a bowl of kaaska this morning! I urge you to pray for heavenly knowledge and wisdom then look this up. God heals in many ways, and I know that you have prayed many a prayer for healing.
You can get coconut oil at a health food store, or even online. Buy organic, cold pressed, virgin or extra virgin coconut oil, if you decide to try it with me. God loves you precious ones, and He knows the answer to every mystery.

The Scary Stuff

The winter doldrums have set in here. I feel defeated by a bunch of things. Anxiety is knocking the door down. Old fears are resurfacing. Doubts are persistant. Even the sky is dark and cloudy. It's about 4:30 and it's practically dark.
I thought it might make me feel better to write to you. Maybe some of you will comment back.......... We all have days or at least moments like this. As I have gotten older, these times come fewer and farther between. But they hit the dead center of the bull's eye of my worst fears. What are your worst fears? And when they knock at your door like the yapping of a dog insistent on registering his displeasure at being left outside, how do you handle them?
I think the fact that it's the holidays make it worse. There are too many good and bad memories that seem to show up year after year. And if we didn't have certain expectations, it wouldn't hurt when they are not met.
All these battles take place in my mind, and they are spiritual battles, which must be fought in the spiritual realm with spiritual weapons. We must gird our loins with truth (God's Word), put on the breastplate of righteousness, shod our feet with the preparation of the gospel of peace, and take up the shield of faith, the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit.
The other thing is to fill our minds with good thoughts. I don't mean just ignore whatever is not good, but to replace it with truth.
I hope things are good with you. Let me hear from you!