Something Quite Miraculous

Today something happened. Something that I think is quite Miraculous.
Something that I believe is more than chance.
God answered someones prayer.

Several months ago, I contacted Open Door Ministries. ODM is an organization that connects women in prison to volunteers.

I contacted them out of the desire to share Jesus to women in prison through the form of letters.

When I went to Open Door, they told me of a lady named Anje. They told me that she wrote beautiful stories about the wonderous workings of God in her life.

There is a lot of red tape to go through before I could begin writing Anje and other women in prison. Background checks, letter of recommendation, videos to watch...etc, etc....

Yesterday, it was pressed upon my heart and mind to begin wrapping up the process so that I begin sharing Anje's stories.

It seems that I haven't had a lot of time lately. Between work, taking care of my boys, writing my blog, visiting with my sister from North Carolina....things have been a little hectic...

But I have been thinking of Anje lately.

Today, I retrieved my email and lo and behold, there is a message waiting from a lady who attends my church.

She has known Anje for over twenty years. She told me that she drew Anje to Jesus over twenty years ago. She told me that Anje lost her son and was very grieved. She turned away from God out of anger. She developed addictions as a way to deal with the pain. Her addictions caused an accident that killed someone's son.

Oh, what a tragedy! I am so sad for everyone involved!
Anje rediscovered Jesus in prison. She writes beautiful stories. I know this because one of the ladies at Open Door shared one of her stories with me.
Jesus gives her dreams and speaks to her.

As I was reading this message, the lady at church told me that she was speaking with Anje and Anje was telling her about a lady that wanted to include her stories on a blog. (that would be me)

Anje has been looking forward to sharing her stories on my blog for months but it seems that it hasn't been able to happen.

Until today.

God provided a way for Anje to begin sharing her stories. The lady at my church offered to send me some.

Of course, I had no idea that the lady at church even knew Anje. I believe God orchestrated all of this because He wants Anje's stories to be told.

I find it to be quite miraculous.

There is a hole in my heart still for all those involved.
Please take a moment to pray for peace in the family that was affected by the tragedy.
Please pray that they find complete restoration and God heals them.
I cannot imagine what it would be like to lose a child.
I can't blame Anje for turning to drugs to mask the pain of losing her own child.
I only pray that Jesus works to completely heal, to let each person involved be reassured that thier child is waiting for them in a Wonderous Place.
Each child is resting in the arms of Jesus.

9/11 Cross

In the midst of all the rubble and tragedy of 9/11,

there stood a cross...

reminding us that,

even in the midst of chaos and tragedy,

there is still hope.

Some people would chock up finding the cross amonst the rubble to coincidence or chance..

but I know different...

That cross appeared for a reason.

To give people hope.

I was reading an article about a family that lost a loved one during the attacks of the World Trade Center...as soon as they saw the Cross, they knew everything was going to be O.K.

They said they felt the very presence of Jesus.

It's amazing how two beams intersected in the middle can come to represent so much.

Only God can leave handprints like that.

Only God can give that kind of hope.

I hear they are building a memorial and placing the cross there. I pray that it is a beacon that shines and reminds people from all nations and denominations, that Jesus provides hope, even in the rubble of our lives,

there is the Cross

Expect the Unexpected...

I would like to include one more excerpt from Franes J. Roberts book, Come Away My Beloved...

I was deeply blessed reading it and I hope you are too...

A few months ago, I attended a church service and a pastor told us that Jesus gave him a message for us...

Expect the Unexpected.
As I was reading "Come Away my Beloved," I came across a chapter entitled none other than
"Expect the unexpected"

It bids us to throw caution to the wind. To let go and Let God...

Expect the Unexpected

My child, let Me speak to you, and let My Spirit direct your life. I may lead you in unexpected ways, and ask things of you that are startling, but I will never

guide you amiss.

Across your path shall fall the shadow of My hand, and wheresoever I direct you,

there shall come forth from your ministry that which shall glorify Me.

Do not walk according to your natural reasonings, but obey the promptings of the Spirit,

and be obedient to My voice.

I need those who will be completely flexible in this way, because there are a mulitude of souls

who are seaching for Me, and would never come into contact with Me in a personal through the channels of the organized church.

You sahll go as Phillip went-at the behest of the Spirit-into places that are out of the way, and bring Light on My Word to those who are in need.

Stay in an attitude of prayer and faith, and I will do all the rest.

chastening

As I was reading, "Come Away My Beloved," by Frances J. Roberts...
I was both challenged and inspired...
I would like to include an except from her book.. Read it, and be blessed

Chastening...

Have I not said that unless you experience chastening, you may wll doubt your sonship? Why then, should you shrink from my rod of correction? You are not the teacher, but the pupil; not the parent, but the child; not the vine, but the branch.

Discipline and correction must come if you would be brought into conformity to My divine will. Shun nothing My hand brings to bear upon your life.
Accept My blessings and My comfort, but do not despise My sterner dealings. All are working toward your ultimate perfection.

Do you hope to be made perfect apart from the corrective process? Do you expect to bear large fruit without the pruning process? No, my children, either bend in submission to My hand, or you will break in rebellion.

Godly sorrow yields the good fruit of repentance, but if you are brittle and unyeilding, you shall know a grief of spirit for which there is no remedy. Keep a flexible spirit, so that I may mold you and shape you freely- so that I can teach you readily, nor be detained by your resistance.

I need disciplined Christians. To entertain self will is to court disqualification. You cannot do My work to My satisfaction except you do it in accordance with My specifications. There are not many blueprints for one building; there is only one. Even so, to change the figure, there are not many different husbandmen. I am the husbandman. If you refuse My loving care of you, you shall be cut down by others who have no concern for your soul. Even as I said of the salt: if it lose its savor, it is good for nothing but shall be trodden under the foot of man. If the branch bear no fruit, men shall gather it and burn it.

Do not relax in a false peace. Do not negate My love by refusing My discipline. My love is not indulgence. I have much to accomplish in fulfilling My will. I cannot pamper your will when it is running counter to Mine.

Be no longer spoiled children, allowing the old nature to invade your spiritual fellowships. For while there are jealousies and competition and suspicions, you are yet allowing the carnal nature to reign-even to infiltrate your spiritual gifts.

Intro to "His Little book of Light"

Dear Lord,

By the same Spirit that created the Universe, by the same wonderous threads of light that stitched the ocean to the shores,

mend the hearts and minds of those that seek you.
Humble us, O' Lord...that we may walk in meekness
and shun greed.

This life is marked with grief. Tragedy and wrongdoing is abundant.
But Lord, teach us to hold onto the Promise of your Word.
Teach us to cling to every prayer, every syllable, every lesson.

Let us take comfort in your Presence, where nothing else is needed, and all
is Sacred.

In your Light, Lord, there is perfection. In your Light, there is an undescribable Peace.
There is a joy that knows no limits.

It is the Light of Heaven...and It never dims, never falters, never wavers.

Your Light is a Light that lives. It is a consuming fire.

Dear Lord, I thank you!

For, I have seen that Light in my dreams.

I have experienced It's wonder and awe.

"For God, Is a Light,"

I have tasted a very small portion of the Living God..
and I hunger and thirst for more!

I have set my foot inside Eternity...

today, and for the rest of my days, I long to share that Light with others.
The Light where love lives..
The Light where kind words flourish..
The Light that clothes the naked, feeds the hungry, takes care of the orphans...
The Light that speaks to us and calls us to be disciples...

In Your Light, Lord, no harm or lies can live...

So reader, be encouraged. Be inspired.
Seek Him. Breathe Him..
Give Him your time, Surrender...
He will bid you to take these little pieces of Light
and make them grow.

In each of us there is a candle...we are wicks..made for His Holy Spirit...
we determine how large we want our flame...

Do not hide your Light, dear reader.
together, we can become a huge fire..
a fire consisting of His wonderous Spirit...

His Light,
It grows when we spread it..

You can touch thousands....

Dear Blog Readers,

Tonight, I want to remind that you, yes you, can touch thousands of lives. Not just one...but thousands...

Last night, I was lying in bed..and all of sudden, I became instantly aware of the passing of time. With each passing moment..with each ticking of the clock, a living, breathing soul is lost to darkness....

Last night, I had been tempted to watch the news....or fritter away time in some self indulgent way,....I was lying there doing nothing...and It hit me....

The sense of urgency that I sometimes feel, returned to me...

I began to feel the call of the Holy Spirit, beckoning me.....so I sat in my big, fluffy red papasan chair...and I asked Him to help me write...

And He did!

So I wrote....I wrote a letter to a boy I know who is very lost...
and I began my book, "His Little Book of Light"

I have always dreamt of writing a book...
Yesterday, I recieved a book in the mail entitled, "Come Away My Beloved."
It was written as if Jesus is speaking to us...
It encouraged me. It inspired me...
I began to pray all day yesterday. I realized that I have grown somewhat slack in my walk with God.
I realized that I want more...I need more of Him...
I want to write. I want to encourage others, but I cannot do it on my own...
Words from my mouth are meaningless unless I learn to truly inhale and exhale the One who Breathed Life in me....

One day, a long time ago Jesus told me that I would touch thousands...
Dear Blog Readers, whoever you are, so can you...
If it is your desire, have the faith...ask Him to use you in great ways...
He will...
Ask and it shall be given unto you"...

I know there are so many lost people out there. The widow, the orphan, the sick, and the poor...
He has called us to Act...
and yet, so often, we adopt ways that are self indulgent...

Today and every day, Let us learn to ask, Jesus, what can I do for you? and not the other way around.... Jesus, what will you do for me?

Life for stale love

My "marital situation" is one of the things in my life that causes me confusion. I have forgiven, but I haven't forgotten. One thing I have learned in my life is that words kill.
Jesus gave us instructions on how to speak. He told us that the tongue is like a flame that can set fires. It is dangerous. But, yet...our words can build...they can mend and put together..
they can act as honey to soothe...
I wrote the following piece about a month or so ago....It's an introduction to a poem..and a poem...
I know that Jesus wants all marriages to suceed...but I also know that Jesus doesn't want wives or husbands, for that matter...to be lied to..cheated on....put down...etc. The bottom line is that it takes two.....

the intro...

Life for stale love
…….a long time ago, I wrote a poem about my marriage…It was becoming very dull and monotonous…there was an insane amount of lost trust, boredom, broken promises..etc..etc…..this poem illustrates some of my disallusionment ..but also shows that there is Hope!
I have been separated for a year. I believe that God wants marriages to work. I know he does. Marriages are unbeliveably hard to keep together these days. It seems that corruption is running rampants in people’s hearts, minds, and souls….
Many people don’t believe in the Bible. Many people are disallusioned with “religion” and church..because of the hurt that people cause. I haven’t always lived a Christian lifestyle, but I have had so many experiences with the supernatual…the more I seek, the more I find….
Marriages….I believe that God can use His Light to thread together what has been ripped and shredded…the hurt that emanates in people’s lives..
the question is: Will we let Him? It’s hard to forgive. It’s hard to let go. I have found a true beauty in letting go of the hurt and anger that once consumed me! There were nights when I couldn’t sleep. I seethed with anger and resentment. I plotted revenge. I hated! But Jesus showed me that I am worth more. I don’t have to endure abuses, adultery..or any mistreatment for that matter…but He still wants things to work..
He wants us to surrender our lives, give ourselves wholly and totally to His care and command…He will lead us into Truth..and Light…and in that Light is the most surreal sense of peace..and a divine depth and beauty that no words can express…
I hope you enjoy my poem…I am going to try to recreate my past in words…and then introduce the Light…the Light that cures all, sees all, and wonderfully threads together brokenness…..

The poem....

Dear D,
There was such hope for our relationship. Mexico, traveling ….Glamis..
I bought two ATVs for our little dream. I thought we would rip the sandunes in half.
A long road was paved in my mind. A road of possibilities and dreams. I thought the road was carved with yellow bricks, winding and carving like a freshwater river…leading into great and wonderful places.
But it seems that the river was only a puddle of mud and the yellow brick has evaporated and turned to dust.
Bone dry.
I feel as if you left me a trail.
A trail of breadcrumbs…broken promises…that you wanted me to follow. Broken promises…. the strength of words…words that leave a trail of hope..they are like a carpet being pulled from under the feet…I am left sitting in the dirt.
So, the trail of rotten breadcrumbs led to a dead end..a place where airports seemed to be closed and all travel ceased.
Mexico, it seemed, had been blown off the map. Lost, somewhere in space and time…
But is all lost?
I know our love was a dead, stale thing…it had changed. Metamorphasized..turned into something green…and putrid
The wine we drank, our special cup of promises, had turned sour….We had turned to mold, the substance of all things sticky and green..weighted down with a slime that smothers out life…
and changes the composition of things….
We chose darkness…and it killed.
The fruit, D. We chose to eat from a tree from which we had no business eating from..
I can see us..waltzing into Eden..to the sound of invisible flutes…We were like adders summoned to dance by sound…
so..
We coiled around each other..and gained knowledge…but we somehow managed to squeeze the life from one another. ..The coils were like vines that pulled from the gut the smell of rot….
dead leaves, turned dry..only used for burning.
Fire, D.
I longed for fire. For the colors..the dazzling reds, the full, bright oranges…the dancing of the flames….
It seemed we tangoed into an oven for want of colors but found we were singed by the licking of the flames.
Isnt’ that what darkness does? It lures like bait..then destroys..
But is all lost?
D, we became content in our routines… the daily cogs that spin..the rusty cables..those mechanical things that mete out time in measures of 30 minute sitcoms.
Cheers, D.
Salud…a toast to a lifeless marriage.
The wine, D.
We watched.
We watched life flitter past, but we chose not to embrace or sail on its wings. We were lost in the “knowledge.”
Dumbed by it somehow.
We were bats with photophobia, fearing Light.
Fearing the Son.
Fearing Mexico
and the sound of our own voices.
Our voices were lost in the coils of our bellies.
Trapped in emptiness wider than canyons run deep. Our bat cave, D. Our humble abode. The little white trailer, where weeds ran rampant and flowers refused to grow.
Or perhaps, they grew….I just didn’t notice.
We lived in our own little cavern of darkness….
I had a want of Light but I was stubborn and refused to fly toward it….
we were bats, D.
Bats drowning in the stale wine of broken promises….eeking out little red bubbles of lies..
I HATED!
I’m sorry, D but I hated.
I hated the pools of drool by your pillow. To me, they were little puddles of lies seeped from a dark heart…pools that carved rivers of tears across my face and kept me up at night drowning in anger…
Hating. Hating the broken promises….
hating Mexico, for fear of never feeling the sun on my back or the wind in my hair….
hating the television….it seemed like I was replaced by episodes of shows….
you left Cheeto fingerprints on the remote..but no fingerprints on the still of my back..on the delicate parts of my shoulder…or perhaps you did….
Perhaps, I didn’t notice..the lies drowned out so much….the sound of white noise….drowned out too many sounds..
Life back then was life an endless game of Chinese water torture.
Drop. Drop. Drop…
but there was no water falling on my head…..all was dry…ash…reminding me that nothing sacred lived in our little white trailer.
I dreamt, D.
I dreamt.
I dreamt in color…My life was black and white.
Old reruns of shows. Nothing new. I longed for the ocean….I loved the waves…simply because they progressed. They seemed to move forward…towards something….They seemed to embrace the Light..with strong strong arms…they held it to their watery chest…
D, when God beckons the waves to move…They Move! They Go!
D, I tried mushrooms once. The slimy fly covered concoction that grows from cow dung. I thought I could squeeze out a song. But no song came. Well, songs came..but they had no meaning..they were cloaked in futility…dead words on a dead page.
NO song…only confusion, D.
And a fuzzing of the walls…The fuzz that grows on things of rot….
D, I remember when I wanted my life to end. There were tiny white pills…little white disks of death..a few found their way into my gut..and summoned death…but funny, they acted like little boomerangs…that somehow flew into my still beating heart and woke it up…
funny how sometimes being so near Death, bids us to Live…to reach out for the Light…
D, Is all Lost?
No, D…it isn’t… You see, there has always been that Light…It is a Light that is pure..and when it is embraced, it metes out time in measures of eternity…
D, It shines like rivers of living water into dry and dusty lives….It longs to flood the canyons, D.
That Light saved me, D. The Light has a name, D. Jesus. No, He isn’t the man they ridicule on sitcoms…He is the Son of God and In Him, there is a true power.
He takes the dead things and makes them live again.
He made me forgive you, D. Even when I didn’t want to forgive. But He showed me that I don’t have to live in the shadow of lies and I don't have to walk the trail of broken promises. He showed me that I am more than the substance of rot…that sharing love makes good things grow…
D, Jesus showed me Mexico. I haven’t looked back. That place of promise and beauty, where the sun shines and birds make nests in all places under the sun.
I can see Him, shaking out my life like shaking out dusty linen….and breathing something like prisms into my very core…that is part of His power….
D, when I went to visit you the other day…..I want to thank you for your kindness..for handing me the Dr. Pepper and offering me a place to stay….
I began to wonder….if simple, tiny acts of love can act as a needle to thread together all that has been broken.
For, it’s no wonder, that my Jesus wants marriages to work! I am sad that people have quit altogether over lesser things than I have endured….I’m sad, D…
Because the past still exists and the hurts still remain…I can see us….we are standing on opposite shores…Jesus, is on an island in the center….If we look at Him together, our eyes will meet…..and the Light will produce a rainbow in our lives….but if we look in opposing directions….then, we can remain friends and call it a day…..but, D..I will never go back into that cave.
I know where my eyes are, D….They are on the Man that showed me Mexico…He loves you too, D… Find Him…He’ll take you out of the cavern and show you sunshine.

Forget the former things; do not dwell on the past.
See, I am doing a new thing! Now it springs up; do you not perceive it? I am making a way in the desert and streams in the wasteland.
1“Come, all you who are thirsty,
come to the waters;
and you who have no money,
come, buy and eat!
Come, buy wine and milk
without money and without cost.
2Why spend money on what is not bread,
and your labor on what does not satisfy?
Listen, listen to me, and eat what is good,
and your soul will delight in the richest of fare.
3Give ear and come to me;
hear me, that your soul may live.
9“As the heavens are higher than the earth,
so are my ways higher than your ways
and my thoughts than your thoughts.
10As the rain and the snow
come down from heaven,
and do not return to it
without watering the earth
and making it bud and flourish,
so that it yields seed for the sower and bread for the eater,
11so is my word that goes out from my mouth:
It will not return to me empty,
but will accomplish what I desire
and achieve the purpose for which I sent it.
12You will go out in joy
and be led forth in peace;
the mountains and hills
will burst into song before you,
and all the trees of the field
will clap their hands.
13Instead of the thornbush will grow the pine tree,
and instead of briers the myrtle will grow.
This will be for the Lord’s renown,
for an everlasting sign,
which will not be destroyed.”