Best Friends, Cousins, and Sisters

I  have some of the greatest friends ever. Some of my friends are so close to me that I would call them my sisters. They have been there for me when I needed them the most. I am so thankful that God has placed them in my life.

First there is Andrea. She has a good heart. She loves to help others. She was not only my friend, but also a good friend to my Mom. I can count on Andrea for anything that I need. Andrea has gotten me to do Yoga. I love doing it with her each week. She knows when I need a pick me up and brings me such wonderful gifts.

Then there is my friend Jackie. We met at work. She showed me the ropes and we have been friends since. I can talk to her about anything and she will listen. I love her kids. Jackie is awesome. She has a heart of gold. Jackie would do anything for anyone.

Then there are my cousins. I have some of the best. There is my cousin Shawna. We have practically grown up together. I am thankful for all the time that we have spent and continue to spend together. She is awesome and has a good heart. She is always there when I need her. I am so thankful to have her. I am so thankful that she was there for me the day that Mom went to be with Jesus.

There is my cousin Holly. We don't see each other much, but we have been close. She would come to visit in the Summers. We always hung out. She and I have been through a lot of the same things. We have helped each other out. She is a blessing.

Then there is my sister Mary. I can't say enough good things about her. She and I have been through so much in our life. This past Summer when we lost Mom brought us closer. I am so glad that I have her in my life. She is such a blessing.

I am thankful that God has placed the ladies in my life. God has blessed me with wonderful ladies who have been there for me when I needed them.

Grief

Recently a friend's father went to be with Jesus. It was not long after that someone we knew told my friend that the appropriate time for grieving was over. That my friend needed to put a period on the grief and move on. That got me to thinking. This person had no right to say what they did. My friend was just beginning her grief journey.

For everyone the grief journey is different. We all go through the steps of grief different. The amount of time that it takes for someone to grieve a loss depends on the person. It has been almost 6 years since my Grandpa passed and I still grieve him quite often.

Since my Mom went to be with Jesus in July one of the things that I have noticed is that sometimes I can be doing something or remembering something and just start crying. I know that it is good to cry. It is part of the healing. We all need a good cry now and then.

It is also good to talk to someone who has recently been through the grief journey. They can relate to how you are feeling. Talking about how you are feeling is a great thing to do as part of the healing process. I have friends and family that I talk to often about how I am feeling. They are supportive and understand.

Another good thing to do is pray. I do that often when I am sad. My Mom was a huge believer in the power of prayer. Prayer can heal. God know what you are going through and he will help you through it.

So if you are ever faced with someone telling you that your grief journey is over. Just smile and know that it is over when you feel ready to put a period on it. Don't let anyone ever tell you how to grieve. It is up to you. Take all the time that you need. God will be with you every step of the way.

Snow

I am not one to like snow at all. That is a fact. I hate to drive in it and I hate that it has to happen. Snow is depressing. You are stuck in your house with no place to go. Then there is the thought of the ice that comes with or after it. Also not to mention that there may be power outages due to the snow. All of this is something that I don't want to think about.

My friend Carol made an observation recently. She observed that I have made a change in my thought about Snow. I have mellowed a little. Fact is that I have come to the conclusion that snow is going to happen no matter what. That is a fact of life. I just need to get over it. I need to just deal with the fact that snow happens and puts a damper on my life.

I look back on my hate of snow and attribute it to my Grandma Rittenour. She hated snow. So much so that when the first flake of snow fell she stopped driving. She made Grandpa due all the driving. If she had her way she would not have even gone out of the house in Winter. It was that bad. I think all of this rubbed off on me.

In the past year or so I have had to do some growing up of sorts. When Mom retired I had to do more of the driving in winter than I had before. I am not the best driver by any means and to put me on the road with snow is not a good thing. I panic and get nervous. Once I drove home from work in a snow storm and kept talking out loud the whole way home to keep it together.

I think last Winter is what sent me over the edge about snow. We had too many snow storms close together for my liking. I think when we have little storms spread out I do better. This Winter has been better for me as far as snow goes.

So as far as snow goes I am getting over my dislike of it. I am moving on. I know that one day I am not going to have people to drive me in the snow and I am going to have to take myself places. So I need to get use to snow and driving in it before then.

As my sister says I need to have more confidence in myself than I do. I can do it if I set my mind to. I am going to get over this snow thing I have going on. It will take time, but it will happen.

How to make a Church survive

Recently I had been thinking about my church and how we are lacking adults in the 20-40 year range. We have more people in our church in 60+ range than anything else. My thought was how to get more young adults in the church. Then it hit me. My church has issues.

First is that we can't get along. We have some in the church that want to run things and don't think of others feelings. Then there are some are what I call disconnect Christians who only come to church when they feel like it. They simply don't care.

All this is why we can't get people into our church. People come to church and they see that we are having issues and don't want to have any parts of us. Then what happens is that in the end I get blamed for all the problems. That also drives people away.

So how are we going to survive with me at 36 and the next oldest person at 50? The thing that we have to work on is getting everyone to get along first. Then we need on getting people connected to church. See what would get them to come to Sunday School and Worship every Sunday. Then when people see that we are a unit then our church will grow.

You can't work for the Lord when you are not united. Another thing is that when one or more people feel that they have to be in charge then people begin to resent them. They begin to feel that unless they give in to this person or persons that they are not a part of the church. One person taking over the church is taking the focus off what is important.

Also the Pastor may be the problem. When the Pastor of the church is not doing his or her job then people feel that church is not important. You have to support your Pastor to get them to feel equipped to do their job. A Pastor is a key part of the church and people look up to them for spiritual guidance. When they are not living up to their job then the church falls apart.

Unity is what it is all about. Putting the pieces together to make sure that everyone is working together for a common purpose. If your church can't be unified then there is no hope of growing and moving forward.

Unify you church.

Never Gonna Steal My Joy

Do you ever have that one person that really gets to you? That one person that zaps the energy right out of you? The one person that the mention of their name makes you feel tired? That one person that when you are not around them you feel like you have more energy?

That is exactly me everyday. I have that one person that zaps the energy right out of me. This is a person that I would rather not have to see each day, but I know that I have to. So what do I do to deal with this person?

Well, the most important thing that I do is pray. I pray for the situation that I am in and for this person. Then I pray that the Lord will use me and this person to glorify him. That my day would be used to glorify him.

Then I say "Never Gonna Steal My Joy" through the day. That helps give me confidence to know that I am going to have a great day. I am not going to let anyone get me down.

So what is a joy stealer? This is someone that has to be in total control of everything. Someone that if things don't go their way then they tend to blame others around them that don't conform to their beliefs. These Joy Stealers are people that don't have their own lives in control so they feel they need to compensate by controlling others.

I have dealt with people like this. I dreaded going to work everyday. I would pray that these people were absent. I would count down the hours till the day was over and the days till we were on vacation. I had my joy stolen each day cause I let it happen.

No more. I do not let anyone steal my joy. When someone wants to steal my joy I just walk away, take a breath, let God have it, and don't let it get to me. I even just listen to what the person has to say and then just say yes. I don't have to agree with this person, but I do have to be polite.

I just let God take control of the situation. In the end things will work out for his glory. That is all that really matters.

So if someone is trying to steal your joy just think of the words to Mandisa's song Never Gonna Steal My Joy.

Will We See Snow This Winter?

I live in West Virginia and so far this winter we have been lucky to not have any snow fall. We have had some flurries, but nothing to amount to anything. I also work in the school system and for me this Winter has been wonderful. The less snow the better.

Last year a law was passed in West Virginia that stated that all schools has to go 180 days. Any days missed had to be made up. That means going to school possibly up till July. Not a fun prospect if you ask me.

Then there is driving. I am not the best driver in the world. I most certainly don't like to drive in the snow. I would rather stay home than go out with snow on the road.

The past few days we have saw really cold temperatures here. I will take that over the snow any day. That brings up the question. Will we see snow? My thought is no.

This is an El Nino year. If the El Nino stays strong like it has been it is likely that we will see little to now snow at all. It seems that February is the most active month for snow during the winter. There is a high possibility that we could see snow then, but unlikely given all else that is going on.

I may be wrong, but it is high time that we have a break from snow for a few winters. Last year we had bitter cold temps and many snow events with almost 2 feet of snow. We missed lots of days of school causing us to have to go to almost the end of June to get it all made up.

So a break from snow would be nice. We will just have to wait and see what happens. I am putting it all in the good Lord's hands.

Grace

Last evening my sister and I were in Wal-Mart in the frame/art section when some canvas prints caught my eye. The one that really got my attention was the one about grace (see above picture). I had to show my sister the picture since I thought it sure was our Mom.

What is Grace?

 Grace is God's unmerited favor. That is, grace is God doing good for us that we do not deserve. In the Bible, grace and mercy are like two heads of the same coin. Mercy is God withholding judgment or evil that I deserve; grace is God giving me blessing or good that I do not deserve. Because of God's mercy, I do not receive the judgment of God against my sins; because of God's grace, I receive eternal life and a promise of heaven though I do not deserve them. Both mercy and grace come to me though the Lord Jesus Christ.

Grace can also be defined as God's sufficiency or God's fullness in the life of the believer. God told Paul, "My grace is sufficient for thee: for my strength is made perfect in weakness" (2 Corinthians 12:9And he said unto me, My grace is sufficient for thee: for my strength is made perfect in weakness. Most gladly therefore will I rather glory in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me.
See All...). That is, the grace of God in Paul enabled him and empowered him in his weakness. Another verse states, "And God is able to make all grace abound toward you; that ye, always having all sufficiency in all things, may abound to every good work" (2 Corinthians 9:8). God's grace working in us supplies the sufficiency whereby we may abound to every good work. I like to call grace "God's enoughness." By this I mean that God is enough for us no matter what the situation we face.

How do I live with Grace?

First, you can be thankful for God's grace which saved you from the punishment for your sins. When was the last time you said "thank You" to God for the Lord Jesus, who died for your sins and rose again?

Second, you can depend on God to give you grace to live for Him each day. Everything that you do is by God's grace. Can others tell by what you do and say that you are depending on God?

Third, you can be kind to others and forgive them when they hurt you. The Bible says, "Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other, just as in Christ God forgave you" (Ephesians 4:32). Because God has shown His grace to you by forgiving you for your sins, you should show His grace to others by forgiving them when they do something against you.

Ask God to help you be thankful for His grace, depend on His grace and show His grace to others today!

So why does the canvas remind me of Mom?

Mom lived a Godly life. She was one that would pray for others. Sometimes they would ask her and other times God would show her the need. Mom was one that when people did her wrong she would pray about the situation and then find a way with God's help to forgive them.

Mom always taught me that when someone does you wrong you need to forgive them. I learned that this forgiveness does not mean that the hurt goes away, but it does mean that you have given them grace just as Jesus has.

I learned over the years that living with grace is something that you strive to do as part of a good Christian life. You learn to accept what God has in store for you and live a life pleasing to him.

Is my life like the canvas?

Yes my life is like the canvas. After Mom died  I began to want to be more like she was with the faith. I delved more into the word, prayer, and seeking what God had in store for me. Since doing all of this I have saw God's blessings for me everyday. I can hear when he speaks to me cause I listen to him.

I have learned to forgive those that wrong me. A simple God Bless You is a way of telling people that no matter what they have done to you that you are not going to let it get to you. I practice that daily. God showed us his selfless grace and we need to show selfless grace to others.

Another thing that I have done is to put others first. God put us before himself when he sent his son to die on the cross to take away the sin of the world. If we put others before self we will see God's grace and blessings pour out on us each day.

Living a life of grace is the best thing that we can do. It will help us to keep God first in our lives.