The Next Adventure: Brazil

Hello there my friends and Blog followers!!
Let me first say that the amazing thing about being a Christian is that you never know where God may take you, IF you are willing to listen and to do His will. Sometimes His will is not our will and when He asks us to do something, it's not always easy and most times we have to think about it. God wants obedience, He wants us to act upon what He is telling us to do, doing nothing or ignoring His desire for us is disobedience and therefore we are sinning against Him.
Several days ago my life was humming along, nothing exciting going on, oh I had a few things coming up that had my thoughts and concerns. For example, the students I cook for will be graduating and that leaves me wondering what I will do for the summer. I did obtain my nursing license and therefore I thought(I)would of course be working as a nurse somewhere in Broussard of Lafayette. Next I am having surgery on my right foot, a simple procedure but it will require some time off for healing. I'm also looking forward to a trip to Florida with my granddaughter Julia. So when I got the nudge and I mean it was a very big nudge something I couldn't ignore if I wanted to, to go to Brazil, I was blown away to say the least!
As I go day to day, it amazes me how God orchestrates everything flowing in that direction. Everything I read pertains to His love and His direction and His provision. I could have never come up with this plan on my own.
So, this is the beginning of something big, it is not just about Brazil but what God has in store for us when we return. He is going to be teaching and training us in something great to bring back to the states to teach and train others. I wholeheartedly believe this.
What God calls for He provides for, I can't wait to see how He is going to work all this out. I'm trying to let Him do it all but sometimes my human nature gets in the way and I want to help Him out, then He gently reminds me, He has my back!

Monday morning we have two dates, one with a sweet lady from our area who is in Brazil right now, finishing up her 6 months. We plan on a skype date to pick her brain. An E3D staff member who made all the arrangements for the 6 students who went to Brazil for a 3 week period just recently. Between the two we should find out about finances, airline tickets, where we fly out of and where we fly into, simple stuff, haha. Stay tuned I will be blogging frequently to keep all of my blogger buddies up to date!

Run The Race!!

As I was reading my devotions today I was strongly impressed to write about it. That's how God works with me, He gives me a nudge and He forms my words. Today the devotion I was reading was titled "watch where you are going" and it was about running a race. It was about a runner and how he was accidentally tripped up by another runner, but he picked himself up and with an amazing burst of speed continued with the race and was able to catch up with the lead runners and with only 20 yards to go he gained 3rd place, good enough to qualify for a place in the finals! Just then he looked over his shoulder to his left, when he didn't see anyone, he slowed his pace. To his great surprise another runner , charging hard, passed him on the outside only a yard before the finish line, eliminating him from the final race! 1 Cor. 9:24 says "Do you know that in a race, all the runners run, but only one gets the prize? Run in such a way to get the prize!"
We all have our own private race to run. Jesus Christ is at our finish line, He is our prize. Sometimes, don't we look at our lives and say " wow, I'm not doing so bad, I can slow down a bit, take a week off of church, take a day from reading our bibles or praying", NO, we can't slow down, we need to continue this race to the end. Don't falter, don't look from side to side or back(remember Lot's wife,Gen. 19:26). Our adversary the devil, is roaming the earth like a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour, 1Peter 4:8
Watch where your going!

Formed by God

Formed: organized in a way characteristic of living matter.
Organize: to arrange or form into a coherent unity or functioning whole.

Psalm 139:13-17 says: For You formed(organized in a way characteristic of living matter)my inward parts; You covered me in my mothers womb.
I will praise You for I am fearfully and wonderfully made, marvelous are Your works, and that my soul knows very well.
My frame(something composed of parts fitted together and united)was not hidden from You, when I was made in secret, and skillfully wrought in the lowest parts of the earth.
Your eyes saw my substance(essential nature; fundamental or characteristic part or quality),being yet unformed.
And in Your book they all were written, the days fashioned for me, when as yet there were none of them.

How could any one on earth, after reading this passage, deny there is a God? Even if this is the only passage in the Holy Bible one ever read, this makes it so evident that God is our ultimate creator.

He knew us before we were ever thought of. He thought of us first! He wanted us, He loves us and has a plan for each and every one of us! Even if we are not living out the plan HE has for us. His ways are not always our ways. However IF you and I are seeking Him then He is faithful to reveal His mighty plan for us. And trust me His plan is way better than any plan we can devise for ourselves.

So, here is the deal "seek first the Kingdom of God and His righteousness and all these things shall be added to you" Matt 6:33
In other words, start seeking God instead of what this world has to offer(which by the way is nothing)start reading His word, start asking Him what His will for your life is instead of trying to do things on your own, try it His way and see if things don't start to turn around(for the better) for you!

God Cares About the Small Stuff

God cares about the small insignificant things in our lives. I have this green shirt that really needed a baubly necklace, but look as I might I could not find one, the right one. Looking through my closet I was a little sick of what I saw, although adequate I really wanted to see something new, who doesn't?
I was given a gift certificate for a pedicure last Christmas. God blesses us in unusual and unexpected ways. As I was walking today, I began to praise God for His wonderful blessings, the ability to see His wonderful creation, to feel the sun and cool breezes on my skin, the ability to use my feet and legs to walk and enjoy this beautiful day. I stopped by the church office to visit some friends and while I was there I noticed a tray of jewelry that someone had left for whoever wanted it and a sweet bauble necklace was there with the color green in it perfect for my green shirt!
Last week my friends sister gave her some clothing and she told me to look through it and take whatever I wanted, several shirts, a new skirt and pair of sweat pants later I had replenished my wardrobe! For each nearly new piece of clothing I received I gave one of my shirts to Goodwill.
"Give and it shall be given to you, pressed down shaken together and running over, what you give will be given back to you." Luke 6:38
God cares about the small stuff!

The cleansing has begun! Day 1

I'm taking you, whoever you may be that is reading this blog, along on a lifestyle change journey. I won't write about it daily as that would get old quickly. My plan is once a week, you can handle that right? I won't bore you with details and I will try to make this as pleasant as possible with some humor and scripture thrown in.
Ok so this boat started sailing early this morning when I was awakened from a rather sweet sleep. My belly was rumbling like a freight train that passes by this campus frequently and I made it to the rest room just in time! Whew, so this is what that hot lemon juice does to ya after the 3rd day. Yes, I started the hot lemon juice 3 days ago, before I actually started the "plan". I will refer to this 17 day diet as the "plan" cuz we all know diets never work. This "plan" is going to work!
The cleansing feels good, I feel like this new wonder(hot water and lemon juice)has cleansed each and every organ, cell and blood vessel in my entire body, it's quite refreshing actually.
My new motto for this time of my life is "I will succeed". Sometimes our circumstances try to dictate our desires and wants. But if we keep a positive attitude and keep our eyes on the goal then the race can and will be won and we can and will succeed in whatever we set out to do. One more very important tidbit and this is all free advice, keep God in whatever you are doing and you can't help but succeed!
I plan on being frank and honest in this blog, it keeps me humble, so here is what I didn't do all other times I have tried to downsize myself, I failed to include God, so of course it never worked, I should have know better, oh well, I do now.
Oh and YES Virginia there is a devil and he does try to keep you from your goals and he is real and he will do everything possible to thwart your plan, but guess what, He that is in us is greater than he that is in the world! He is already defeated. I put him under my feet and just like a cartoon character, he is squashed like a bug! And just like a cartoon character he will be back again with a slightly different attack but if we are always aware he has NO hold on us!
My weight has been up and down all my adult life, it all started after babies and then escalated, I was a slim 130 pounds back in pre-baby days and haven't seen that number since. Right now I'm the heaviest I've ever been hitting very close to 200. So, I said I would be honest and this is me doing that, so, on that note, I will be back next Friday with an update and a downsize!

Moving on, moving up enjoying life

Life is about moving, moving forward not backward. If you are not moving forward then your stuck. I, myself, need to do things, change things up a bit have new challenges. That is precisely why I am beginning this new journey, and no I'm not moving again, at least not in the next month or so, JK, until God moves me I'm staying put. But I am moving, I started walking a few days ago. I did this because I finally realized I need to get healthy. I know, I know some are saying "at your age I'd take it easy too", that is the problem I've been taking it easy far to long and now I need to move!
My present job is not exactly strenuous, yes, I'm on my feet a lot but not working my cardiac muscle like it should be worked, so I have a plan! Walking is part of it and the other part is what I put in my mouth.
Many years ago when I was a very young woman and my mom was still with us, she had a saying "I don't live to eat, I eat to live". I often wondered about that saying and now I know. I want to give that a try. I have lived to eat far to long and now I want to try the other way.
Stay tuned for the next part of this journey and I will tell you what I'm about to do, I think you might like it and if you need to get healthy or stay healthy you might want to try it too!!
Till next time, this traveler is signing off.

Cynical vs Skeptical

lCynical:

bitterly or sneeringly distrustful, contemptuous, or pessimistic.Cynical

Skeptical:

1.

inclined to skepticism; having doubt: a skeptical young woman.

Peter in the bible was a bit of a cynic, in that, he denied that he would deny knowing Christ, but deny he did and then felt contemptuous of himself after he did it. John 18:25 But Christ loved him anyway and forgave him. What a marvelous god we serve!

Thomas was very skeptical in that he needed to actually put his fingers in the very places that Christ had been injured on the cross in order to actually believe that Christ has risen from the dead. When He allowed Thomas to do that he, Thomas fell on his knees saying My Lord and My God. Christ said "you have seen me and believe , blessed are they that have NOT seen and believe". John 20:27

Someone once called me a skeptic, in fact I was at a woman's conference and went up for a word from God from the speaker, I never thought in a million years that I would be called a skeptic. Why, I thought I was one of the world's greatest believers, Ha, God had my number, He knows what goes on in the deepest recesses of our hearts, you can't fool God! Not that I was trying mind you but sometimes we don't even know what is down there and it takes a conference or a man or woman of God to draw it out by the power of the Holy Spirit, then we can begin working on it.

This woman was laughing and speaking to me, not mocking, she must have gotten a deep revelation from God about me and thought it was funny, I never thought I was a skeptic, but from that point on my faith in God and His word was strengthened.

I thank God He has given me a soft and pliable heart, a heart He can work with. Some of us go through life with unforgiveness, bitterness and a hardened heart, not just against God but against each other or supposedly, the hand that the world has dealt us.

A person once said to me "why should I believe in God, what has He ever done for me"? My response was "what have you ever done for Him"? This person in my opinion is a cynic.

I was prodded by the Holy Spirit to write this article, I'm not sure why but perhaps some who read this will see some cynicism or skepticism in themselves and will bring it before the Lord so He can reach down in those depths that only you and He can see and get rid of it!