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THANK YOU LORD!

There is a new song out by Chris Tomlin called “THANK YOU LORD.” It is just all about giving God praise and thanksgiving. I was thinking about this song the other night, while watching the news. Sinful nations, fire, flooding, loss of life and property. How does a person find thanksgiving in the middle of all that? When a person loses everything, how can they be thankful? Jesus told us we would have trials here on this earth. We all go through problems every day. How can we be thankful on those bad, stressful, painful days?

In 1999, my aunt and uncle went through the Moore, Okla. tornado. Everything they had was destroyed. When my uncle came out of the cellar, their home was flattened, except for one wall that still had a dresser standing and a clock on the wall above it and the walls around the bathtub. They did not even have a toothbrush. My aunt took a long time to come out of the cellar. She was petrified!

A few months later, when I was able to talk to her, I asked her how she was doing. She said she never asked God why me, but rather thanked Him for keeping them safe. She said why not me? Just because she was a Christian did not mean that she would not have grief, fear and sorrow. She said when you lose everything, that is when you begin to realize what is truly important in this life. We have the promise, as followers of God, that we will have a home in heaven one day. That is our goal-our promise-our peace from this world when things don’t go the way we would like. All they lost that day was just stuff. Sure, there were some irreplaceable items. My uncle’s bible was one of those things. A farmer later on, found my uncles bible in his field with his cows.  I was so blessed to get to thumb through that bible before he passed away. At his funeral, my cousin had that bible displayed. It was duck taped together. When you looked into that bible, I don’t think there were any verses he had not highlighted. (It was multicolored, so I wonder if he had a system with those colors. I wish I would have thought to ask him.) I am sure that on the day he got that back, he thanked God.

Those of you who have been reading my blogs, or have read my books, realize that I have gone through some struggles. Struggles at times that I questioned why. Struggles that threatened to pull me into the darkness. Struggles that I never thought I would get through. Struggles that I did ask why me! But then I realized that instead of saying why me, I should try to find the things I was thankful for. I started journaling. Part of that journal was to thank God for something each and every day. One day, when life was especially hard, I had trouble finding one single thing that I had to be thankful for. I started pouring out my heart to God in prayer. I took a deep breath of peace that only God can give. All of a sudden, I was able to fill that page with thanksgiving. 

Philippians 4:6-7 reads “Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God; and the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.”

Did you notice that word thanksgiving in the verse above? That word is used with the word anxious. The type of prayer that these verses are talking about are when we are stressed, worried, times when we ask God why me? This scripture is helping us to see that we still have things to be thankful for, even in the middle of the rough happenings of this world. When I have started remembering to be thankful in the middle of the storm and took it to God, I have felt that peace that only God can give. Who would have thought by being thankful in our pain, that God will give us peace, to help our hearts and minds to heal, breath and keep our hearts safe!

The book of the bible that I go to about praise and thankfulness, is Psalm. Most of these chapters were written by David. A lot of them were prayers during times of distress-times of fear-times he felt alone. But there are also so many chapters that he expresses his love and thankfulness for God in the middle of his pain. Some of those chapters are: Psalm 92, Psalm 100 & Psalm 107. Some of the verses are: “It is good to give thanks to the Lord, and to sing praises to Your name, O Most High…”  “Make a joyful shout to the Lord, all you lands!”   “For the Lord is good; His mercy is everlasting, And His truth endures to all generations.”  “Oh, that men would give thanks to the Lord for His goodness. And for His wonderful works to the children of men.”    “Oh, give thanks to the God of heaven! For His mercy endures forever.”  And the last words of Psalm, “Let everything that has breath praise the Lord. Praise the Lord!”

Pull the song up that I mentioned above. It is a happy song. It lists several things the writer is thankful for. Today if you are feeling down. If you are feeling that the world is against you. If you are feeling all alone. Remember to be thankful. Sit down and write down how many things you can list. Before you know it, you will be feeling better and you will remember that this, here and now, is not what is important. Yes, it is important while you are here to follow God and do his commandments. But the true thing for us to be thankful for, is that we are promised a home with Him one day when we leave this life here on earth. On the days that I get up and hurt all over, because of fibromyalgia, I try to remember that this is not my home. God is waiting for us, where we will have no pain, no sorrow, no stress, no loneliness, no fear!

After you read this blog, stop, bow your head or raise it up, and pray a prayer of thanksgiving. Sit down and make a list of what you are thankful for in your life. Before you know it, you will have filled that notebook up!

Remember, to say several times a day, THANK YOU LORD!

Till next time!

                                  Keela

PITY PARTY

DATE:   TODAY

TIME:  NOW

ATTENDANCE:  ONE

Have you ever had a pity party? I just had one. Today when I woke up, I realized I was supposed to be on an airplane to go to Virginia to see my four little grandbabies, who are all under the age of twelve. Last time I saw them was last November. Before covid, I always flew out to see them twice a year, once in the spring and once in the fall. This last spring, I did not go because their dad came home from deployment after being gone for about six months. There are a lot of adjustments that a military family goes through and I just did not want to be a distraction from any of those precious reunions. So, needless to say, I was really looking forward to this trip, but then my knee had other ideas. I need to have surgery. I am using a walker. Cannot stand for longer than a couple of minutes. I cannot maneuver stairs, getting in and out of cars that are “high” off the ground or anything that puts pressure on that knee. In other words, I cannot travel, thus the reason I had the pity party!

I decided to turn on the Hallmark channel and get lost in one of my movies that I love to watch on that channel. What comes on instead, is the news of what is going on in Afghanistan and that reality hits me square between the eyes. Sure, not going to see my little ones has broken my heart, but they are safe. Part of that safety is because of their dad and other brave men and women who serve our country. Also, they are being raised in a Christian home so they can have the hope of eternity with the Lord one day. Another safety, for their eternal future.

I love the Psalms. David in Psalm 142, was hiding in a cave from Saul, who was searching for him. Saul wanted to kill him. I think that is a good reason to have a pity party, don’t you? David turned to God (who is, of course, the first place we should turn to, instead of the Hallmark channel for comfort). These are just a few of the verses from that chapter.

“I cry out to the Lord with my voice. With my voice to the Lord I make my supplication. I pour out my complaint before Him, I declare before Him my trouble. When my spirit is overwhelmed within me, Then You knew my path, …I cried out to you, O Lord, I said You are my refuge…Attend to my cry, for I am brought very low…”

Verses like that one, give me comfort to know that it is ok to feel low, to feel sad, to feel pity for yourself for something not going the way that you had planned and been looking forward to. Even, a mighty man of God, David, felt low and cried out to God.

But then God gives us verses that show us that we need to get out of those feelings and realize that God is by our side. I decided to find in Psalm a good verse to include in this blog that was to show how we needed to get out of that pity party. Well, there are too many to list here! The one I will show here is in Psalm 27:13-14.

“I would have lost heart, unless I had believed that I would see the goodness of the Lord in the land of the living. Wait on the Lord. Be of good courage. And He will strengthen your heart. Wait, I say, on the Lord.”

So, when I saw the news this morning about Afghanistan, I turned off the tv. Wiped away my tears. Got up off the couch. Pushed my walker. Dragged my foot. Opened my Bible. Turned on my computer and started this blog post.

Sometimes, (well really, truthfully, most times), God has to hit me square between the eyes, before I get the message, He is trying to give me. It is ok to have a pity party from time to time. It is not “fair” that I did not get to go see my grandbabies? Do my arms ache to get to hold them? Yes! Is my heart broken? Yes! But the reality is: they are safe, I am safe-if my knee would have given out while there it would have been so much worse, if all goes well, they are coming at Christmas time-that is only a few months away, God is still in control and I have to continue to trust in His goodness and His timing.

One thing I do want to point out here is that when we throw ourselves a pity party, there is a reason for it, just like when we throw a party of any other kind. A pity party is because WE ARE IN PAIN for some reason! We need to acknowledge that pain. We have to feel that pain and understand why we feel that pain. Unless we do that, we cannot begin to put that behind us. Let yourself realize it is ok to feel that way.

But next time, you throw yourself a pity party, remember it is ok to be in it for a bit, but then: dry your tears-take a deep breath-close your eyes-pray to your God and hand it over to Him-spend some time in His word “…and the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your heart and minds through Christ Jesus.”    (Watching a good movie on the Hallmark channel or reading a good bookwon’t hurt either!)

Pity Party’s! I would invite you next time I have one. But I don’t think you would want to come!

Till next time!

                            Keela

IS HE THERE?

My husband was standing in the hallway of our duplex, with his hand on the wall, trying to catch his breath, like so many times before. I blinked. And he was gone.

I watch a series on the UP channel called Heartland. The show I watched today was a sad one. The husband of a young couple had passed away. The young wife thought she saw him everywhere. But then, all of a sudden, he was gone. It made me think about, after my husband left this earth and the many times, I thought I saw him in that duplex, where we lived before, he died. My kids knew I needed to find another place to live. Too many tough, painful memories there. The good Lord helped me to find the home I am in now, in an adult community.

When someone close to you dies, your whole life is turned upside down. The grief hits you at the least unexpected times. When I watched the episode of the show, it made me think about the many times I thought I saw my husband after he had passed away. I bawled the entire show, partly for what the young girl was going through and partly for what I had and am still, from time to time, going through today.

There are times that I have questioned, is God there? Why am I going through this painful time in my life when everything is falling in around me? You have been there too. It is not that you don’t have deep faith, but things are just not going right and the pain seems unbearable and you wonder if God is hearing you-Is He there?

Maybe you are going through a divorce. The pain is unbearable. Is He there? Maybe your child has just died of an overdose and you are blaming yourself for not seeing the signs. Is He there? Maybe you have been bullied and told you are no one-a nobody. Is He there? Your confidence has been shattered by unkind words or actions by another. Is He there? Maybe you have lost your home to foreclosure and you are standing in front of a judge because there is no other way out but through bankruptcy. Is He there? Maybe you are at the funeral home staring, through a flood of tears, at a loved one who has died. Is He there? Maybe you are working twelve-hour days, while your husband is in a hospital room and you do not know how you are going to make it because you are so tired and beaten down. Is He there? Maybe you have lost your job and you are “the bread winner” of the family. You keep being turned down by job opportunities. How will you pay your bills and take care of your family? Is He there? Maybe you feel the only way out from under all the pain is through taking your own life. Is He there?

There are so many other hard scenarios that I could write here. Ones that I have experienced or know of those who have experienced them. Times when our lives are spiraling out of our control. When we feel helpless and hopeless. Times when we wonder why God let these things and feelings happen to us or to those we love.

I am sure, by now you know the answer that I will tell you to the question, Is He there? Of course, He is there. We succumb to our own pain and despair and forget to reach out to Him through prayer. All we can feel is our own humanness and our own pain. We forget that He is the FIRST one that we should reach out to when we go through the trials of this life and ask that question. We may not get an answer from God, the way that we think our problems should turn out or in what we feel is a timely manner. But we have to have faith that God is working all things for our good.

At the time we were going through our bankruptcy and foreclosure, I prayed so hard for God to help me figure out how to keep our home. But it was not for my good. Looking back at that time in my life, I see that He was answering my prayer. That home was a raised ranch and my husband could not do hardly any steps towards the end of his life. I now see, that when my husband passed away, that if I had that home, my children and I would have had to sink a lot of money into that raised ranch to get it ready to sell. It ended up I was renting a duplex and I did not have to worry about trying to sell that house and fixing it up. I could not see at that time of my life that God was working for the best for my future!

These verses in Jeremiah 29:11-13 have always spoken to my heart, giving me hope and peace. Jeremiah is telling the Israelites that God will bring them out of the Babylonian captivity in the future. “For I know the thoughts that I think towards you, says the Lord, thoughts of peace and not evil, to give you a future and a hope. Then you will call upon Me and go and pray to Me, and I will listen to you. And you will seek Me and find Me, when you search for Me with all your heart.”

Romans 8:28 reads, “And we know that all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are the called according to His purpose.”

Isaiah 55:8-9 reads “For my thoughts are not your thoughts, Nor are your ways My ways, says the Lord, For as the heavens are higher than the earth, So are My ways higher than your ways, And My thought than your thoughts.”

Psalm 27:14 reads “Wait on the Lord, Be of good courage, And He will strengthen your heart, Wait, I say, on the Lord!”

The day I am finishing up this blog, would have been my husband and my 48^th wedding anniversary, if he had lived. As I just typed that, it felt like a dagger went through my heart and tears came to my eyes. The pain is still there and hits me hard from time to time, especially on days like today, even though this October he will be gone twelve years. There were many times during those last ten years of my husbands’ life when I questioned, “Is He there?” My husband changed during the last ten years of his life because of the illness that ravaged his body, which sent me on the “roller coaster ride” with him. That question would hit me hard at times and I would struggle. But if I would remember to reach out to Him in faith and lean on His truths and promises, I could find the peace only God can give.

The verses above gave me and should give us courage that God has a plan for us and our future. A plan for good and not evil. He has a plan for us to help others, through what we have gone through, to realize that there is Hope, that there is a Light that will lead us through the hard times here on this earth.  The next time you question, “IS HE THERE?” answer with a strong, YES! We just have to reach out of ourselves to Him! Thank you, God for Your promises!

Till next time!

                                       Keela

(Some of that “roller coaster ride” with my husband is in my first book, “Finding the Light in the Darkness.”)

ENTITLED

As the person behind me, whizzed around me when the stop light turned green, he gave me the finger (won’t tell you what finger but you can guess). He had followed right behind me in the left lane on the side road. The person could have gone around me at any time. There was not anyone else on that road.

The man on the phone was cursing me out at work. He wanted to talk to the doctor right that second. The doctor he wanted to talk to was in surgery. There was no way that he could talk to her at that moment nor was there any way I would ever interrupt a doctor in surgery! If your pet was the one under anesthesia, would you want the doctor to be interrupted in the middle of that procedure?

A lady called one day at work. I did not have an answer to her question. It was a medical question about her pet. I am a receptionist. Never gone to college for the medical part of my work. She called me incompetent because I told her I would have to have a technician call her back. The same lady had an appointment for her two dogs. When she got there, she came to the cat door and pounded on the door. She had hurt her foot and had a boot on. I immediately went to the dog door and told her to come in that lobby. She just threw the two leashes of her two big dogs at me. I was so thankful that I was able to get both of the leashes before they took off. She fussed at me the entire time because we did not have good enough parking. She was handicapped and felt I needed to tell the doctor to get better parking for her. You can be sure that I took her immediately to an examination room.

Airplanes are requiring people who are flying with them, to wear a mask. There have been many cases of a person not wanting to wear their mask and they lash out at the stewardess. In one such case, he punched her and knocked out a couple of the stewardess teeth.

Why do people feel they are entitled to be first, to not follow the rules, to call you names, to feel their problem is more important than another? I am sure you have come across someone like that in your life. People like that, are only thinking of themselves. They are not thinking of how their actions affect another or the impression they are leaving with them. Also, they do not realize how selfish they are being. They are totally thinking of themselves! When someone feels entitled, they have the belief that they deserve privileges or recognition for something that they did not earn. They believe that the world owes them something in exchange for nothing. They are looking for what they can get instead of what they should be giving.

Let’s see what scripture tells us about being entitled. In Matthew 20:20-28, we are told of the mother of two of Jesus’ disciples, James and John the sons of Zebedee, who came to Jesus asking Him if her sons can sit, one on the right and one on the left, of Jesus in His kingdom. (Compare to Mark 10:35-45, it does not mention their mother asking but the disciples themselves asking.) As a mother of two sons myself, I can understand wanting to have them one on the left and the other on the right of Jesus. We as mothers, only want the best for our children. We want them to become important and successful. The mother above, felt that her sons were entitled to that prominent position.

In Matthew 25:1-13, is a parable told by Jesus of five foolish and five wise virgins who took their lamps out to meet the bridegroom. There are so many lessons we can glean from this scripture, but have you thought of it this way? Five of them took oil for their lamps and five took no oil. The bridegroom was delayed and they all slept. When he was coming, the five wise were ready. But the foolish five who had no oil, pleaded with them to share their oil.  They were told to go get some oil for themselves because they did not have enough for themselves and them too. While they were gone, the bridegroom came, closed the door and would not let them in. The five foolish felt they were entitled, even though they were not prepared, to get oil from the wise.

In both of the examples above, there are many lessons we can learn. In the first one, Jesus makes the point that He came to serve and not to be served. In the second one, Jesus is making the point that we need to be prepared when He comes to take us to our eternal home. I also see the entitlement they felt they had, in the first by feeling her sons had the right to sit by Jesus side and in the second, to not be prepared themselves.

Matthew 23:11-12 reads, “But he who is greatest among you shall be your servant. And whoever exalts himself will be humbled, and he who humbles himself will be exalted.” Jesus was talking to the scribes and Pharisees that their actions were only to be seen by men and they needed to “take it down a notch” and become humble. This verse speaks to me also, that those who feel they are the only one who should get their needs taken care of before another or someone who feels they are more important than another, need to realize that we are put on this earth to help and serve each other. Not for our own glory!

There are always going to be people like the ones I mentioned at the first of this blog, who feel they are entitled. People who are only looking at themselves and what they can get or who they can push around or have actions that they feel makes them seem more important to get their way or feel by how they act they are more important than you are. Our humanness, makes us want to become angry and snap back at them. Think about all Jesus went through while on this earth. But yet through Jesus’ words and actions we can learn so much. Even at the cross Jesus said, “Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they do.”  Even then, He was putting others before himself.

There will always be times that we start to feel entitled to get something or be someone. Start watching yourself and your actions, and learn to recognize those feelings. Turn that entitlement into servitude. The scripture tells it much better than I can.

Ephesians 4:1-3 tells us, “…walk worthy of the calling with which you were called, with all lowliness and gentleness, with longsuffering, bearing with one another in love, endeavoring to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace.”

Philippians 2:2-4 reminds us, “Let nothing be done through selfish ambition or conceit, but in lowliness of mind let each esteem others better than himself. Let each of you look out not only for his own interests, but also for the interests of others.”

Till next time.

                                      Keela

OPEN MY EYES

Hebrews 11:1-3 “Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen. For by it the elders obtained a good testimony. By faith we understand that the worlds were framed by the word of God, so that the things which are seen were not made of things which are visible.”

In another blog, “BARNS,” I talked about a barn that I see everyday on my way to work, that it is amazing that it is still standing. One corner, looks like it will topple at any time. But it is sitting on a strong foundation, causing it to stand tall. Well, the other day on my way to work, I noticed a house sitting back on a property, that I had never seen before. It is obvious that it was built many years ago. It is one of those houses that are flat on the front and have a porch with pillars holding it up. I have gone this same route to work but never saw it before. Does that mean that it was not there all this time? No, of course not. It has stood tall for, possibly, 100 years.

I want to tell you of a time in my life, that God reminded me, through His nature, that He is still faithful and by my side, even if I do not actually see Him. I had taken my husband to the emergency room at 5am one morning. Made sure he was all settled and left for my twelve-hour day, working my two jobs. After those long hours, I went home to get some things for my husband. Took our dog with me in the car and headed up to the hospital. After checking on him, I had to go to Walmart to get a couple of things. When I was leaving there, I could hardly put one foot in front of the other. I was so tired! But I could see my dog looking at me from the car and that helped me to make it. Sighed a sigh of relief and started the car. As I started out of the parking lot, I immediately knew something was wrong. I heard the thump-thump and knew I had a flat tire. I pulled back into a parking spot. Reached for my phone. Did not have it. In the hurry that morning, I had left it plugged in at home. Saw a young couple and asked them if I could use their phone. She said of course. As they got back in their car, she told me she would pray for me. After calling my son to come help me, I got my dog out of the car and leaned up against the car and started to cry. Not just a little cry but a gut-wrenching cry. I felt that the world had decided to dump on me that long tiring day. With my eyes closed, I raised my head while praying. I opened my eyes and saw the most beautiful display of stars I had ever seen. Were those stars there or did they just all of a sudden appear? Of course, the answer to that is, they were there already. I just had to raise my head through my tears, and be reminded of a God given display of His goodness-His promises-His faithfulness to always be there. Sometimes, we just have to open our eyes and remember that even though we cannot actually see Him, He has given us so many things to help us to have faith that He is real-a baby’s first smile-the beautiful display of the sunrise of a new day-the beauty of the spring and the fall-yes, even a display of His stars with the knowledge that He is always there for us.

The verse above, comes in a chapter of the Bible, that is often times called the hallmark of the faithful men and women who have faced almost impossible situations but kept their faith in God. “Substance” in the verse above, is the reality that there is a God and faith treats “things hoped for” as reality. “Evidence” means proof or existence. Faith itself proves that what is unseen is real. It is more than just belief that God exists. Faith is the realization that we cannot live, in this world, without Him. If we have no faith, we have no hope of a life after this one. We hope for a home with God one day when we leave this world. This world gives us no hope at times. I still had to go to work the next day. My husband would still be in the hospital the next day. But God instilled in my faith, once again, that there is the reality that God exists and He gave me hope, even through the rough times, that God is real and one day I will live forever with Him in heaven. Through the reality that there is a God, we are assured that He spoke this world into existence.

Through God’s faithfulness, we have the evidence of His reality that gives us hope. I feel our faith involves more that belief in God. Our faith comes from deep within. We need to have faith that no matter what happens in our lives, that through our faith, that we can keep putting one foot in front of the other, even when this world seems to get pleasure out of dumping on us.

I have had many days that I felt the world has dumped on me. But once I get back to my faith in God, through His faithfulness, I realize that this world is just temporary. I cling to the faith that there is hope in the promise of heaven when I leave this earth.

This pandemic has shown us that even though we cannot see Covid, that its evidence has been everywhere. It has been a silent-unseen reality by so many who have passed away from it.

That house I just saw, did not mean it had not been there before. Those stars I saw that night did not mean they had not been there already. Covid, even though we cannot see it, has given us the evidence it is there. God gives us so much evidence of His existence even though we cannot see Him.

The next time the world dumps on you, turn your thoughts to God and His faithfulness. The evidence of His reality is everywhere. We just need to open our eyes and gather in His faithfulness-His reality-His love. Is the world dumping on you? If so, open your eyes to the reality that God exists, even if we cannot see Him.

Till next time.

                                    Keela