Thursday, October 15, 2009

Pain and Prayer

It has been a while since I did any blogging. I started back to work in September, but had to take medical leave the end of the same month. My fibromyalgia and chronic fatigue became unbearable. It was really hard to walk away from the job I love so much. And it was even harder to humble myself and go to the doctor. I have never wanted to be a "drug addict" and knew that the only thing that would help my suffering would be some new medications. The Lord gave me comfort and reminded me to trust in Him. He also encouraged me to remember that my body is the temple of the Holy Spirit and that I am to glorify God with my body, as well as my soul and spirit. I don't belong to myself!
So, I dragged my precious husband along with me to the doctor's office. (I needed the support.) The doctor did give me some new medications to try and scheduled a bunch of tests. A week later, I learned that I have extremely low levels of vitamin D and thyroid T-4. (No wonder my "bones hurt" so much.) Now, after two weeks, I am feeling so much better. I have stopped one of the medications because the side effects were just too much. But the medication for my thyroid and the other for the fibro pain, are wonderful. I haven't been this painfree in years.
I am not suppose to go back to work until the beginning of December, but I am hoping that I can return sooner. It is up to the Lord.
So, what is the Truth and Blessing from this experience? The truth, of course, is that every christian's body belongs to God. If He decides that it is time for pain, even if it is for a long time, we should just rejoice and trust in Him. I know that there are times when I complain about this condition, but I have also realized that this is a blessed time to be able to pray. And I do pray. Much more than I ever have before. So, that becomes the blessing. We are so blessed to be able to talk to the Creator of the whole universe, whenever we want, about whatever we want, and where-ever we want. WOW!!! WHAT A TRUTH AND BLESSING.

Tuesday, August 18, 2009

Blessing from Isaiah


I was reading in the book of Isaiah this morning. It has become more of a blessing to me the last couple of times that I have read it. The beginning of chapter 49 really got to me. I don't know exactly who these verses are referring to. It could be Isaiah himself, or the nation of Israel, or it could just be talking to me. That's how the Lord used it this morning as I read through it.
In verse one it says,..."The LORD hath called me from the womb;"... In verse two it say, ..."in the shadow of his hand hath he hid me, and made me a polished shaft; in his quiver hath he hid me;" And in verse three,..."And said unto me, Thou art my servant,...,in whom I will be glorified."
Every day, that is my prayer, that the Lord be glorified in me. From the time I was conceived, I have attended church. (Yes, my parents always took me with them.) I didn't truly understand that I needed to accept Jesus Christ as my own personal Saviour until I was sixteen. And I had much sin in my life when the Holy Spirit did a mighty work of revival in me when I was 30. But since that time, I have always wanted to glorify the Lord in my body so that others would know I am a christian. However,...
Verse four of Isaiah 49 is my "truth"...,"Then I said, I have laboured in vain, I have spent my strength for naught, and in vain:..." I think back on the last twelve months and I realize how much time, money, and energy I have wasted on that which amounts to nothing. It seems as if it was all in vain. And I am so ashamed!
I know that when I had to have the second surgery on my knee in 2008 and went through six more weeks of being wheelchair bound, and then endured months of continual sickness, that I became discouraged. I allowed it to control and overwhelm me. I had become a very self-centered woman. In the last couple of months I have tried to reclaim that which was lost, but it cannot be done. It is done and gone. So, what can I do? Confess and forsake my sinful past, surrender everything once again to my Lord, and obey His will.
I thank God for my "blessing" in verse five,..."And now, saith the LORD that formed me from the womb to be his servant,...Though Israel be not gathered, yet shall I be glorious in the eyes of the LORD, and my God shall be my strength." I can do nothing, but He can do all things, and through Him I can do that which He desires me to do. And may it all be for His glory.

Monday, July 20, 2009

30 years

Last week my beloved husband and I celebrated our 30th anniversary. What a miracle!
A couple of weeks ago I was putting together a photo album of pictures that were taken of Jerry and myself before we were married. They were from our months of dating. We had no knowledge of what lay before us. We were living on joy and fun, never realizing what would come. Dreaming of all the blessings that we thought God would bestow upon us: children, careers, house, material goods, spiritual growth... Never could we have imaged that any of those things would come with consequences. We figured we were good christians and that God would surely make our marriage be all sunshine and butterflies, hearts and sweetness.
Now that I look back over the 30 years, I am amazed that we are still married, let alone very happily married. God has done so much in our lives. The blessings came in ways that we would have never imagined. They came in the five miscarries. They came in the disabilities of our only child. They came in mental illness. They came in trials and tribulations. They even came through bitterness and hatred.
Romans 8:28 promises that God will work out everything for the good....of those who love him. There were so many times when our stinking sin tried to ruin everything, but God, in his amazing love and patience, won every victory. Once we confessed our sins (which is a daily need), God forgave us and cleansed us and did miraculously in us.
I truly believe that my marriage is all due to the Lord. He is the one who has kept it together, strengthened it, and made it what it is today. For that, and for so much more, I give all the praise, glory, and thanksgiving to my Lord and Saviour, Jesus Christ.

I am not condemned

I have been enjoying our Sunday school lessons. Our ladies class has been studying from the book "Really Bad Girls of the Bible" by Liz Curtis Higgs. This last week we were reading about the woman taken in adultery that was brought before Jesus. (see John 8:1-11)
Not that I can identify with her, except for the fact that Jesus says to her in verse 11, "..., Neither do I condemn thee:..." I too am not condemned by the LORD. Romans 8:1, "There is therefore now no condemnation to them whick are in Christ Jesus, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit."
As a person who struggles with depression, it is easy for the mind to condemn myself. When I feel the worse, is when my stupid self talk says to me that I am no good, that I am a failure, that even God condemns me. But as a person who is saved and who has the Truth, I must constantly tell myself the truth in love. And the truth is God's Word. What a blessing to see that I am not condemned because I am in Christ Jesus. That is the Truth (no matter what I think!)

Sunday, June 14, 2009

Miss Conception

When I was a child we always had Sunday breakfast together as a family before we would all go to church. My dad wasn't much of a talker. I think it was mostly from years of my mother cutting down everything he said. Anyhow, when I would come to the breakfast table my dad would always say "Here she is miss _________" and he would fill in the blank with something funny like: miss ellanious, miss chevious, miss terious, or whatever would work together with "miss" as the prefix.
However, I never recall him saying "Here she is miss conception". It would have sounded really weird if he had and my child-like mind at the time would not have been able to figure out what it meant. Now as an adult, I would love to hear him say it, especially this morning because that is exactly how I feel after attending a wedding last evening.
We were invited to a wedding for the daughter of a family that had left our church years ago. I don't think they left for the best of reasons, but I hold absolutely no ill feelings towards them at all. My daughter and I were delighted to go to the wedding. It would be nice to see old friends once again. What surprised me the most was how many times these old friends told me that they were surprised that I would come. Wow, did I ever hear my dad say (in my head, of course) "Here she is Miss Conception."
I once attending the church were this wedding was held. I was a very active member there from 1976-1980. I met my beloved husband there and together we served the Lord. We left the church after some really nasty stuff took place with the pastor. We were young and didn't know how to correctly deal with the conflict, so we joined the church we now attend. For the last 29 years we have served in our church and have grown spiritual by leaps and bounds. There have been times when we were tempted to just up and leave, but never did we have the Lord's blessing. So, we have stayed and God has blessed us richly because of it.
When Jerry and I got married, it was for life. When things got rough and we were tempted to walk away, it was commitment that kept us going. It is the same way with our church membership. We are commited to the Lord and to His church. If there are problems, we seek the Lord and His will, and try to do what God would want us to do.
Do I fault the folks who left our church years ago? Do I hold any bad feelings towards them? Not is the least. I am just so thankful to God that these folks still love and serve the Lord. I know of way too many people who have left not only our church, but also our Saviour, and are now live only for themselves.
I am glad that I went to this marriage. It was good to see old friends again. And I hope that Miss Conception can go away and never come back again.

Saturday, June 13, 2009

My Job

Yes, I do have the best job in the world. Why? Because it is my ministry.
I work as a Para-Educator at an elementary school nearby. I have worked there for four years and love it. Monday, June 16th, marks the end of another year and it has been my best so far. I have been blessed to work with two wonderful teachers who have trusted me and allowed me to work with all of their students. The first two teachers I had, were not so sure how to handle having another adult in their classroom and only wanted me to work with the one student to whom I had been assigned.
I was hired to work with one child who needed a lot of physical assistance, but this year I was assigned to him and his brother. It made my days very busy and I had to be extremely organized. Once I got the routine down, I was able to expand my job and work with many other students. It was my dream come true.
Ever since I can remember I have wanted to be a teacher and this job is as close as I now want to come. A couple of years ago I considered going on and getting my degree and teaching certificate, but once I realized all of the "junk" teachers have to put up with, I realized how blessed I am in my job. I get to have all the "fun" and don't have to worry about all the "politics".
God's Word says to delight ourselves in the Lord and He shall give us the desires of our heart. He has truly done that for me. Yes, it took many years for my desire to be fulfilled, but I am so thankful that God allowed me to become a Para when He was ready for me to be one. He knew that I would have daughter that would need me to be close for much longer than normal. He knew that I would have some mental issues that would need to be dealt with before He could ever use me as His "minister". The Lord is worthy of all trust.
My job title may be Para-Educator, but I truly believe that my job is a ministry from the Lord to meet the needs of the children that He allows me to minister to. He loves them through me and I am so grateful.

Sunday, May 3, 2009

Washington weather

"Truly the light is sweet, and a pleasant thing it is for the eyes to behold the sun:" Eccl. 11:7
I have lived in western Washington for over 43 years and still can't stand the rain. I fully understand the verse above and love the sun. However the weather around here can more correctly be defined in Eccl. 11:3, "If the clouds be full of rain, they empty themselves upon the earth,..." Ever since I was young I have wanted to move away to a sunny location. I vowed when I was a teenager that I would make my escape the moment I graduated from college. Then I planned on moving to Florida and going the a university and making my residence in sunny California. Well, it never happened. Instead I got married to a wonderful man from Wisconsin who fell in love with western Washington once the Navy brought him here. He never wanted to move anywhere.
There have been many times when I was so sick of the clouds and rain that I was just ready to pack up and take off to anyplace sunny. However, common-sense, my conscience, and the Lord interviened. God used his word to teach me to be content. Philippians 4:11, (Paul's writing, but my desire) "Not that I speak in respect of want: for I have learned in whatsoever state I am, therewith to be content." I know this means whatsoever state of living, but I like for it to mean the "state of Washington". And in I Timothy 6:6 God says, "But godliness with contentment is great gain." My desire to be a godly woman is so much stronger than my desire to live someplace where there is more sunshine.
Jerry often says to me "without the grey there wouldn't be the green." And he is so right. I don't think that there is anyplace on this earth that is more beautiful than western Washington on a sunny day. And I don't think that there is a people that appreciates the sunlight more than a true Washitonian. As a christian I know that this world is not my home and that some day (and for all eternity) I shall have a heavenly home with my Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. But while I am alive on this globe I am truly blessed by the truth of God's word, "Truly the light is sweet, and a pleasant thing it is for the eyes to behold the sun (and the Son)."

Sunday, April 26, 2009

Special Olympics

I never realized how blessed I am until Bekah got involved in Special Olympics. The Lord has used it to teach me how to be "real". These athletes are the most "real" people I have ever met. They never try to be anything other than who they are. Talk about "self-esteem"...they don't need it because they already have "self-acceptance". They are perfectly happy with the way God created them.
I use to have these lofty dreams and goals for Bekah. She was my only child and I thought she had to exceed all others and that she had to do it according to my plan. I figured she would be the smartest, prettiest, have the most friends, be the most popular, be the kindest, be the most godly young lady that the world has ever seen. (I truly can't believe how selfish I was.) I never wanted to believe nor accept the fact that my daughter had any sort of disability. (Even though it was hard to miss!) I keep believing that one day she would just be "normal" and all of my dreams for her would come true.
But then the Lord got a hold of my sinful pride and shook me to the core of my being. Rebekah was exactly the way that the Lord created her and allowed her to be. And that if I wanted the joy and peace of being her mother, that I had better accept her and truly love her the way she was.
I remember when Rebekah was in the worse of her psychosis. She was seeing people attacking and persecuting her. She could see them stealing her things. She could hear them lying about her and laughing at her. She was angry and full of rage and hate. She would throw things at these imaginations. She would hit and pinch herself. She would scream and yell. And I would cry and cry out to God. And the Lord gently spoke to me and asked me if I would be like Abraham and "sacrifice" my child to God? I couldn't understand. Then the Lord asked me if I would sacrifice all of my dreams and goals and give my child fully to God? Such peace flooded my soul when I finally surrendered Rebekah 100 percent to the Lord God almighty.
It was a few months after that when Rebekah asked if she could join Special Olympics as she had such a competitive spirit. Reluctantly, I agreed. I was still afraid of her being classified "special needs" or "handicapped".
So, I decided that she could go and I would attend all of the practices with her. And I am so glad that I did. It was there that I fell head over heals for these athletes and learned to fully love and accept my child exactly the way she is. Sure these folks aren't "normal" according to most of the world, but they are supernormal to me.
I am so thankful to Jesus Christ for bringing Special Olympics into our lives. Rebekah shines and accels and is herself. She is comfortable and has so much fun. And I am at peace. Thank you Lord for the truth and blessings you have brought to me through this group of special people.

Saturday, April 18, 2009

Happy Birthday

Today is my precious daughter's 27th birthday. She is truly a gift from God. I would love to tell you about this special lady. (It seems so weird that she is old enough to be a lady.)
Rebekah Elizabeth which means "bound to the promise of God" was the only child we would be blessed to have. At the age of three the doctor began to finally notice that there was something different about Bekah. (We had some idea, but didn't want to admit it.) She went through a lot of testing and it was determined that she had minimal organic brain disfunction. (Fancy words for "we don't want to label your child".) We were lead to believe that with the correct schooling and training our child would be "normal" by the age of 12. We worked and waited and worked and waited, but instead God used our daughter to teach us to love unconditionally and to accept our daughter for the special person that she was.
When Rebekah turned 16 we knew that things would never be "normal" and that our child was developing a mental illness. That was the saddest and scariest year of our lives. Finally she was put on medication that got things under control. And after much more testing, it was confirmed that our daughter was autistic. It was actually wonderful to know for sure what was causing Bekah to be the different, but wonderful person that she was.
These last few years have been the most enlightening of all. Rebekah is able to communicate more effectively who she is. She is intelligent, faithful, patriotic, godly, loyal, commited, athletic, inquisitive, thoughtful, serious and silly, strong, determined, focused and so much more.
The Lord has used this special person to teach me so many truths and blessings. I know that I would not be the person I am today, if it wasn't for the birth of my daughter 27 years ago.

Tuesday, April 14, 2009

ARG!!!!

Anyone want an adult kid??? I am ready to give mine away. There are things she does (Or doesn't do) that drive me crazy. And right now, I am steaming.
But then the Lord comes along and reminds me of all the times that I mess up and all the times that he continues to keep me as his child, and forgive me, and clean up my messes. What an amazing Father he is. How he can continue to love someone like me who just messes up all the time, I cannot comprehend. I just know that he does. How do I know? Because his word, the Holy Bible. He promises that he will never leave me nor forsake me, and that nothing can separate me from the love of God. Nothing! When I accepted Christ as my Saviour, I became a part of his body...and he is not a masochist. The Father no longer sees me and all my sinfulness; he sees his holy son. Thank God!
So, I too can continue to be a mother to my adult child no matter what she does (or doesn't do) that drive me crazy. God also says in his Word that I (me) can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me. When mind says that I can't go on, the Holy Spirit comes along and encourages me in the Word. I can do all things (including those things that seem to overwhelm me) through Christ (not in my own power, but in his almighty power). Amen!

Sunday, April 12, 2009

Easter and CFS

I am so glad that we had our Easter family dinner yesterday. It was nice to have family here and to be able to prepare everything and not have to worry about it during church services. And I thank God that he held off my CFS attack until today. It isn't the greatest way to enjoy Easter Sunday, but this too shall pass.
This is the first time that I have had a full-blown CFS attack since I stopped taking perscription medications for my fibromyalgia. Part of me had hoped that my CFS was connected to the medications, but now I accept the truth. I have CFS (chronic fatigue syndrome) and fibromyalgia. I am on the verge of tears as this is very frustrating and there is nothing I can do to get rid of either disorder.
I know there are those who don't understand nor believe that there are such disorders. But it is real and it is awful. Let me discribe today for you. I woke up feeling just like I had the flu. My throat hurt, I was nauseuos, I ached all over, and I wanted to do was sleep. I ate a piece of toast and went back to bed. I slept for two hours and woke up feeling the same as I did in the morning. I was able to eat a bowl of cereal. Within half an hour, I was back to bed. Again I slept. This time for nearly three hours. My throat and stomach felt better and I was ready to eat some leftovers for dinner. I've been able to stay awake, but am very tired and am just sitting here.
I have to live with the fibromyalgia on a constant basis. There are days when the pain is much worse, but the pain is there all the time. The pain is the worse in my elbows, knees, and right ankle. When it is bad, it hurts everywhere.
Daily exercise on my stationery, recumbent bike, as well as the exercise I get at work, do help me to feel better. I did water aerobics last summer and they helped the most. I wish I could have my own pool here at home. This summer I shall be able to go back to the aerobics class at the pool, but I just can't fit it into my schedule right now. Plus, I am just too worn out in the evening when I am working at the school.
So, what is the truth and blessing in all of this? I know that I am "fearfully and wonderfully made" and that "all things work together for the good of them that love God". Things could always be worse and I am so thankful to the Lord that He is sovereign, almighty, God of love and grace. He has blessed me so very much and I am grateful for CFS and fibromyalgia. These disorders allow me time to rest and spend time focused on the Lord.

Friday, April 10, 2009

Spring

I love this time of year. Spring, especially April, is a time of rebirth. I think that is why God chose it to be the time of Passover and the beginner of the new year in the Jewish calendar. The flowers are finally in bloom. My flowering cherry trees are a bright pink even on a dull, cloudy day. And the daffodils are a spot of yellow sunshine in the midst of the rain.
It was during this month that my beloved and I were "born-again". Our rebirth took place when we accepted Christ Jesus as our own personal Saviour. I was a messed up teenager living with a family in Colorado and Jerry was a sailor on his ship in the Philipines. We didn't even know each other and were half a world away, but both of us were saved within two days of each other: he on the 14th and me on the 16th.
A precious birth took place during this month almost 27 years ago and that was the birth of our daughter. Little did we know that she would be our one and only. We are so thankful for Rebekah. God has richly blessed and changed my life because of her.
Birth and rebirth, but the greatest blessing of the month was a death. The death of an innocent lamb. That was the focal point of Passover. A pure and perfect lamb was slain and its' blood was applied to the door of the house. When the death-angel passed through the land of Egypt, where the Jews were being help in slavery, it slayed the first-born of every household. Unless, the blood of the innocent lamb had been applied. This blood protected those within from the wrath of God.
Almost 2000 years ago another pure and perfect lamb was slain and his blood was shed. Jesus Christ, the perfect lamb of God, that died upon the cross, shedding his blood to pay the penalty for the sins of all the earth. Those who believe on him and receive him as their Saviour, when the death-angel comes, will be protected from the wrath of God. Is the blood applied to your life? Why don't you pray right now and ask the Lord Jesus to be your personal Saviour?!
Birth, life, death, and rebirth...that is why I like this time of year so much.

Saturday, April 4, 2009

Guardianship

Who wants to be a parent to an adult child for the rest of their life? We never thought we would be one of the blessed few who are in this position. When our daughter was born almost 27 years ago, we had all sorts of dreams, desires, and goals for her. Instead, nearly all of those have gone by the wayside and new ideals have been born. So, here we are getting ready to become her legal guardians. Becoming "legal parents" to our adult child. It almost makes me want to scream. "This should not be happening!"
And then Truth comes to light. I am an adult child of my Father. And He will always provide and care for me. When I accepted Jesus Christ as my Saviour, I became one with him. But at that same time, God the Father also adopted me. That's what the Bible means when it says that we are heirs and joint-heirs. As a part of the body of Christ, I am an heir. As an adopted child, I am a joint-heir. That is an awesome deal when you really think about it. Heir and joint-heir! God the Father has become my eternal-guardian parent.
So, it may not be the "norm" to become a "legal parent" to my adult daughter, but it is a blessing. I am very grateful to the Lord for allowing our daughter to be the special person that she is and for allowing us to be her parents for as long as we live.

Thursday, March 26, 2009

Ministry

Last Sunday we had a wonderful missionary at our church, John Cook who is ministering in Canada. He spoke about finding the ministry that God has for you to do. Mostly it was focused on being a missionary. But it could be applied to any christian who is seeking to do God's will. I think one of the things that he said was very important and this is it in a nutshell: You won't get a burden in the church, you have to go out and see the need. I thought about that for a long time and have to agree with him.
I am prone to "guilt-trips" and was on one Sunday night when Brother Cook was preaching this message. I began to think that I wasn't in God's will because I work outside of the home. For the last few months I have been thinking it would be so much easier to stay home. Work has not been as much fun this year as it has been the last three years. So, I was feeling guilty about being there. However, the truth is that my job is a ministry that God gave to me. I fully believe that with all my heart.
From the time our daughter was born until the day she graduated from high-school I have been a "stay-at-home" mom. There were times when I worked on a short-term basis, but it was only for a few weeks at a time. I believe God's word that says that the young women are to be keepers at home. It was such a blessing when I realized that my home was my number one ministry. But when our daughter went to college I went with her and finally obtained my associate degree. (It had only taken me 25 years to finish what I had started when I was 18.)
Once I graduated from college, I knew that the Lord had another ministry for me outside of the home as a para-educator. I just didn't know where nor when. And I was content to just wait.
It didn't take long for God to open the door and tell me to walk on through. When I interviewed for the job, I knew that this was the one. When I was offered the position, I knew this was the one. And when I began the job, I knew that this was the one that God had chosen for me.
The thing that had become "wrong" with my job was that I had forgotten that it truly was a ministry from the Lord and for the Lord. It wasn't "My Job", it was "my ministry". And last Sunday night the Lord reminded me of that fact.

Monday, March 16, 2009

dealing with depression

Life can be hard. But I have learned so much along the way. And I am thankful for every moment of it. Thought I would write about something that I have had to deal with since I was eight years old. Depression. Don't do anything, except continue to read this with an open mind.
I can remember my first bout of depression like it was yesterday. My family was on a camping trip to Tillamook, Ore. We were on our way to town and an overwhelming sense of sadness filled my mind. I just wished I could die. I was crying for no reason and my mom had no sympathy for me. (Unknown, at that time, was that my mother also had depression.) Here I was a little, innocent child with feelings that I couldn't understand and couldn't control. All I could do was cry.
Since then I have had to deal with depression. I just never wanted to deal with it, nor to even admit that I had a problem. It was extremely embarrassing to admit that there was anything wrong with my mind. My pride was just as bad as my depression.
It was only a few years ago that I finally realized that mental illness is not a sign of weakness nor is it a sin. I have used prescription medication to help control the overwhelming feelings, but have recently decided to try a more natural approach. The side-effects of the prescription medications were worse than I could handle. So, I am now taking SAM-e, excercising, and realizing that "this too shall pass" when the depression gets bad. Most of the time, I feel fine and that is what I try to remember when I feel overwhelmed.
So, what is the truth that I have learned from the Lord? The greatest thing....that God loves me no matter what I think. I am accepted and loved in Jesus Christ, and that is what God sees when he looks at me. God doesn't see me; he sees his perfect Son. What could be more glorious? I am in him and he in me.

Monday, March 2, 2009

The Greatest Truth and Blessing

The greatest truth and blessing that ever happened to me occured on April 16, 1976, Easter Sunday morning. That was when I truly accepted Jesus Christ as my personal Saviour.
I had been attending church from the time I was conceived. I made my first physical visit to church when I was a week old and had been attending ever since. My parents and siblings always went to church. It was just a part of our weekly routine. We attended a southern Baptist church and when I was eight years old I walked down the aisle. I thought that was all I needed to do to have my sins forgiven and an eternal home in Heaven. I can't remember a time when I began to believe in God. I always did. I read my Bible from the time I was eight and even got baptized then. I was pretty sure that I had a secure future in Heaven because I had walked to aisle and I believed in Jesus.
However, a couple years later, my folks decided that the Methodist church was the place for us. As a young teenager, the church taught me that I had to keep the ten commandments as best I could and do enough good deeds to get me to Heaven. Personally, I had a hard time with that because I had become very rebellous and hateful. I still attended church and believed in God, but was beginning to doubt what I was hearing. How could I know the truth?
Well, when I was sixteen, I couldn't get along with my parents anymore and went to live with another family half-way across the USA. This family was attending a different type of Baptist church, an independent Baptist church. I had never heard of them before. I figured a baptist church is the same as any other baptist church. So, I attended with them. It was easy to fit in with everyone there, because I had already heard much of what they said. However, there was something different. I kept hearing about Jesus and what He had done for me. I kept hearing that I needed to accept Him as my own personal Saviour. I thought that I had done that when I had walked down the aisle when I was eight. But something was really missing from my life.
I lived with this family for several months and began to realize that I was not going to go to Heaven when I died. I began to become convicted and started feeling guilty for the sins I had committed. Never before I had felt sorry for the wicked things that I had done. My mind felt shock. I came to understand that even though I had walked an aisle, I had never prayed and asked Jesus to save me from my sins, to forgive me, to accept Him as my Saviour.
On that Easter Sunday morning, the preacher's message was very clear. He spoke about the death of Jesus on the cross to pay the penalty for my sins. He talked of the burial as a sign of the covering of my guilt. And he preached of the resurrection of Jesus as proof of His power as God. I was fully convinced of the love that God had for me and my great need of Him. When the invitation was given to come and pray, I was one of the first ones to go. A sweet lady talked to me and together we prayed. I can remember clearly that moment when I was on my knees, crying and praying. It was as if the room was empty except for Jesus and me. I accepted Him and He accepted me.
From that day, until this very moment, I know without a doubt that Jesus is my Saviour, my sins have been forgiven and cleansed, and that I have an eternal home in Heaven. There is so much more that He has done for me, but I will write about those later. Truth and Blessings.

Sunday, March 1, 2009

My Name Means Truth

I was born on December 7th, which is Pearl Harbor Day. "The day that will live in infiny.", according to President Roosevelt. Although I was born several years after that fateful day, it was still on the mind of the doctor who delivered me. He suggested that I be named Pearly Mae, since everyone born, at that time, in the southeast had two first names. My mother thought otherwise and named me after an aunt of my father. Alice Elizabeth...a name that I hated. It didn't matter that it was better than Pearly Mae, I still thought it was a horrible, old-fashioned name. The popular names were Cheryl or Sheri, which was what I wanted to be named. When I was in fourth grade I tried to "spice up" my name by spelling it with a "y" instead of the same old boring "i". Alyce seemed more exotic than Alice. However, my best friend, who had the beautiful name of Kathleen, made fun of me and that ended the new spelling of my name. From then on I was just plain Alice.
Of course in junior high I got called "Alice in Wonderland" a lot which caused me to hate my name even more. I was the only Alice that ever attended any of my schools and I never knew another Alice except for my great-aunt, until I was an adult. As a teenager it just wasn't cool to not be like anyone else. So to be the only Alice was hard. Whenever anyone asked me for my name, I would cringe and speak in the softest tone I could muster. Which caused me to have to repeat my name until it was loud enough to be heard correctly.
It wasn't until after the age of thirty that I finally came to appreciate my name. One day while I was reading my Bible, I came across a verse that I had known for years. It is found in John 17. Jesus Christ is speaking to His Father and Jesus says..."sanctify them through thy truth, thy word is truth." I wondered what the word "truth" was in the ancient Greek. So, I looked it up and was surprised to find that the Greek word for truth is "Alathyce". It was the orginional spelling of Alice. I was so joyous to have my name connected with God's Word. (I have always believed that the Bible is God's Holy Word, and that it is the Truth. And when I was a child I remember looking up the meaning of my name. Alice = truthful, loyal. But to realize that Alice comes from the ancient Greek word for truth, was a blessing to me.)
When I was pregnant with our daughter I knew that I wanted her to have my middle name of Elizabeth. So, I researched the meaning of that name which is "God of the oath, or Promise of God". So, my names mean "Truth of the Promise of God" or "Truth of God of the oath".
God's Word is Truth. He is the God of Truth. He keeps His Word. If you desire to know the Truth, then you need to read His Word.
I am so glad to have the name of Alice Elizabeth, because whenever I think of the meaning of my names, I think of the most precious book in the world. The Bible is my Truth. Alice, my name means truth.

Saturday, January 31, 2009

Introduction

Just a little bit about my website. I hope to use this blog as a place to tell you about me and the blessings I have obtained by hearing and obeying the truth. I hope to impart truth to you and to be a blessing.