It was a year ago, today, that I received a surprising diagnosis of invasive breast cancer. God was my only lifeline then, and He continues to be my lifeline today. The cancer was removed in January of this year, with clear margins, and none was found in my lymph nodes. I have been remarkably healthy this past year, despite my health trials. On this day, a year ago, all I could say was, "My soul, my soul magnifies the Lord, for He has done great things for me"! Bill says God heard my praise before He heard my prayers. I was mindful of all the blessings He had already given me and, in Him, I had to continue to put my trust. I knew that whatever was to come, I could only get through it with God's help.
So, today, as I revel in God's faithfulness, I am reminded again of Mary's song in Luke 1:46-49. I will always sing this song with praise and thanksgiving:
"My soul glorifies the Lord and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior, for he has been mindful of the humble state of his servent. From now on, all generations will call me blessed, for the Mighty One has done great things for me - holy is his name".
Last week, Bill had me read this scripture at the end of the Celebrate Recovery service. With joy in my spirit, I readily agreed to read the scripture because of what it meant to me and the hope I thought it would instill in others. I became all choked up with emotion and gratitude and could barely get the words out. Initially, I thought, "Great, I've really blown this"! But then I remembered who God is, and knew He would use His words as He intended. It didn't matter that my delivery wasn't perfect; wasn't even good, really. What matters is that He used my testimony to portray His faithfulness. And I'll be singing that song forevermore.
Thursday, December 16, 2010
Tuesday, November 23, 2010
A snuggie and a cup of joe
Seriously, the relationship between me and this blog is in deep trouble! I have been emotionally and physically unavailable and I'm in dire need of a cup of joe. Even if no one else is around to share a cup with me, I need to get back into my happy zone. Writing is a place that makes me happy. I may be random, but I'm in my sweet spot, nontheless, when I can express my thoughts...deep or shallow, funny or sad...and just be me. Is it always pretty? No, but it is usually somewhat interesting to say the least.
Today's random thoughts are jumping to my constant struggle with cold weather. It got below freezing here today and I am now officially accepting sympathy cards for my grief over the loss of warm weather. I kid you not, this is really a challenge for me. We left 70 degree weather in Lexington this past weekend and now I'm watching my University of Kentucky Wildcats play basketball in Maui as I sit here in the frigid cold. They keep showing pictures of the landscape in Hawaii. Oh, how I would love to be there cheering them on...in person.
As I'm lamenting the onset of wicked winter in the Northwest, I have to snap back to a happy place and count my blessings. It's high time for a psalm and song of praise to bring me up out of the pits of my despair. For goodness sake, we're about to celebrate Thanksgiving this week and I'm whining about a little cold weather. I've got so much to be thankful for - it almost embarrasses me that my focus is on a little discomfort that can be covered up with a snuggie a good warm drink.
This all sort of reminds me of my prayer life and the time I spend with God. Even though my time with Him is sweeter than anywhere else in life, I kinda go AWOL on Him every once in a while and find myself in a cold season. How does He respond when I find myself out in the cold? He opens His arms and envelopes me like a warm blanket just out of the dryer. He doesn't berate me for how long I've been gone. He just lets me say anything I want, even the random stuff, as if He was having coffee with Carolynn! If I close my eyes, I can feel my toes in the sand...right by His footprints. I think I'm going to snuggle up in my snuggie, get a nice cup of coffee and take a walk with my Father. We've got some catching up to do because I've been gone far too long.
Today's random thoughts are jumping to my constant struggle with cold weather. It got below freezing here today and I am now officially accepting sympathy cards for my grief over the loss of warm weather. I kid you not, this is really a challenge for me. We left 70 degree weather in Lexington this past weekend and now I'm watching my University of Kentucky Wildcats play basketball in Maui as I sit here in the frigid cold. They keep showing pictures of the landscape in Hawaii. Oh, how I would love to be there cheering them on...in person.
As I'm lamenting the onset of wicked winter in the Northwest, I have to snap back to a happy place and count my blessings. It's high time for a psalm and song of praise to bring me up out of the pits of my despair. For goodness sake, we're about to celebrate Thanksgiving this week and I'm whining about a little cold weather. I've got so much to be thankful for - it almost embarrasses me that my focus is on a little discomfort that can be covered up with a snuggie a good warm drink.
This all sort of reminds me of my prayer life and the time I spend with God. Even though my time with Him is sweeter than anywhere else in life, I kinda go AWOL on Him every once in a while and find myself in a cold season. How does He respond when I find myself out in the cold? He opens His arms and envelopes me like a warm blanket just out of the dryer. He doesn't berate me for how long I've been gone. He just lets me say anything I want, even the random stuff, as if He was having coffee with Carolynn! If I close my eyes, I can feel my toes in the sand...right by His footprints. I think I'm going to snuggle up in my snuggie, get a nice cup of coffee and take a walk with my Father. We've got some catching up to do because I've been gone far too long.
Wednesday, September 29, 2010
Spa Days with Jesus
I was at a women’s event a couple of weeks ago and two different people approached me and said they knew me from somewhere. I just smiled and said “I have one of those faces”. I got to thinking about it later, and I thought, “Wouldn’t it be cool if what people recognized in me was Jesus?!”
We go to all sorts of trouble to “doll-up” our outer appearance, but what are we doing to beautify our inner self, our character, so that none can compare to the beauty that is within us? I think this intensive beauty regimen is available and I think it’s rather inexpensive, depending upon the way you view things. Inexpensive, in that it really costs you nothing monetarily; costly in that you might have to reach a point where you surrender your precious control to Jesus. Yet, He can do so much for us when we turn over that one little thing. He can make us into His likeness, a beauty none of us can manufacture on our own.
I am starting to find that the closer I get to Jesus, the more I want to know Him and be known by Him; the more I am becoming like Him on the inside. I’m no rocket scientist, but even I can tell you that the result of a spa day with Jesus could be nothing less than incredible; so beautiful that the love and authenticity on the inside will begin to show on the outside. Imagine the sweet fragrance lingering in the nostrils of those you’ve spent time with, making them feel like beautiful music has just washed over them. That seems a little unnatural, huh? Yea, you got that right – connecting with our Lord on that level would have to be supernatural.
But, oh, don’t you want to know Him that way? I know I do! How about scheduling some Spa days with Jesus? I could use a little exfoliation to work away some rough spots; a little intensive conditioner to smooth the harshness in my soul; a little deep cleansing to draw out the dirt and grime in my life and wash it away; a little massage to let me know that the hands of Jesus are all I need to work out the stress in my life and to give me peace and serenity.
YES…I’m scheduling lots of spa days and I’m urging you to do the same. Wouldn’t it be cool if people started recognizing Jesus in us and saying, “Don’t I know you from somewhere?” Let’s hope so.
We go to all sorts of trouble to “doll-up” our outer appearance, but what are we doing to beautify our inner self, our character, so that none can compare to the beauty that is within us? I think this intensive beauty regimen is available and I think it’s rather inexpensive, depending upon the way you view things. Inexpensive, in that it really costs you nothing monetarily; costly in that you might have to reach a point where you surrender your precious control to Jesus. Yet, He can do so much for us when we turn over that one little thing. He can make us into His likeness, a beauty none of us can manufacture on our own.
I am starting to find that the closer I get to Jesus, the more I want to know Him and be known by Him; the more I am becoming like Him on the inside. I’m no rocket scientist, but even I can tell you that the result of a spa day with Jesus could be nothing less than incredible; so beautiful that the love and authenticity on the inside will begin to show on the outside. Imagine the sweet fragrance lingering in the nostrils of those you’ve spent time with, making them feel like beautiful music has just washed over them. That seems a little unnatural, huh? Yea, you got that right – connecting with our Lord on that level would have to be supernatural.
But, oh, don’t you want to know Him that way? I know I do! How about scheduling some Spa days with Jesus? I could use a little exfoliation to work away some rough spots; a little intensive conditioner to smooth the harshness in my soul; a little deep cleansing to draw out the dirt and grime in my life and wash it away; a little massage to let me know that the hands of Jesus are all I need to work out the stress in my life and to give me peace and serenity.
YES…I’m scheduling lots of spa days and I’m urging you to do the same. Wouldn’t it be cool if people started recognizing Jesus in us and saying, “Don’t I know you from somewhere?” Let’s hope so.
Monday, August 16, 2010
To “SUMMIT” up!
We are sitting in John Wayne Airport in Orange County, CA, after spending 8 days in beautiful Southern California. Thirty-nine of us from Heartland Community Church in Rockford, IL, attended the Celebrate Recovery Summit at Saddleback Church the last half of this past week. What a great time of worship and learning how we can better react and help ourselves and others with hurts, hang-ups and habits!
Many of the 3000+ attendees at this conference have been transformed by the biblical principals modeled through Celebrate Recovery – a Christ-centered recovery program based on the Beatitudes that Jesus taught in the Sermon on the Mount in the book of Matthew. The bible says that those who have been FORGIVEN much LOVE much. We like to say, “And they worship and live accordingly!” Worshipping our Savior, Jesus Christ, with 3000+ grateful forgiven people, who are learning to trust God and let go of their past, was so incredibly authentic and real. One can’t effectively do that, unless they’ve learned to trust their one and only higher power, Jesus Christ. He, alone, can forgive and transform; take all the junk in our lives and allow us to start anew.
Many people hear “recovery” and think it is something that is only for “those people” and not for them. That is a belief that comes from what I believe is either lack of knowledge about what Celebrate Recovery is really about or denial that they have any issues – hurts, hang-ups or habits of their own. Either way, many people would be very surprised to learn that by REALLY APPLYING the principals of Celebrate Recovery to their lives, they can learn how to better react to the things that have caused them to be hurt in life, can seek forgiveness for the hurt they have caused others and can learn to live in the present and for the future – not in the past.
So let me ask you, “Have you ever been hurt by anyone in your life or have you ever hurt anyone else? Do things from your past still cause you to struggle with your relationships in the present? Do you find yourself feeling angry or bitter and always having issues with others?” If your answer to any of these questions is “yes”, then please allow me to say that you too could be a perfect candidate to attend Celebrate Recovery!
Oh yes, Celebrate Recovery is still for those who have had drug and alcohol addictions, but we find that those issues are largely caused by underlying hurts and hang-ups. So, instead of thinking you’ve got it all together, when you really don’t – consider that becoming one of “those people” could be the best thing you could ever do. After all, Rick Warren is a pretty smart man and I think he’s on to something when he said during the opening session, “There are two kinds of people in the world; those who know they need recovery and those who don’t!”
So, which kind are you? Do you know you need recovery from your issues or are you in denial that you even have any? Ask other people in your life. They may be able to enlighten you. Better yet, pray that God will enlighten you to anything in your life that He wants to change or heal. Many of “those people” have done just that and have applied the principles of Celebrate Recovery to their lives and renewed their minds, causing them to be transformed by the love and power of Jesus Christ.
Since there are no perfect people, I think a fair share of us have some issues. We can continue to deny them and/or let them rule our lives and ruin our relationships OR we can choose to let God heal us and help us to be free from our hurts, hang-ups and habits. Are you ready to stop letting your issues wreck your life…then “Here’s your sign”….it’s Celebrate Recovery!
Do you want to get well? Find a Celebrate Recovery near you by visiting the web page at http://www.celebraterecovery.com/?page_id=4
Many of the 3000+ attendees at this conference have been transformed by the biblical principals modeled through Celebrate Recovery – a Christ-centered recovery program based on the Beatitudes that Jesus taught in the Sermon on the Mount in the book of Matthew. The bible says that those who have been FORGIVEN much LOVE much. We like to say, “And they worship and live accordingly!” Worshipping our Savior, Jesus Christ, with 3000+ grateful forgiven people, who are learning to trust God and let go of their past, was so incredibly authentic and real. One can’t effectively do that, unless they’ve learned to trust their one and only higher power, Jesus Christ. He, alone, can forgive and transform; take all the junk in our lives and allow us to start anew.
Many people hear “recovery” and think it is something that is only for “those people” and not for them. That is a belief that comes from what I believe is either lack of knowledge about what Celebrate Recovery is really about or denial that they have any issues – hurts, hang-ups or habits of their own. Either way, many people would be very surprised to learn that by REALLY APPLYING the principals of Celebrate Recovery to their lives, they can learn how to better react to the things that have caused them to be hurt in life, can seek forgiveness for the hurt they have caused others and can learn to live in the present and for the future – not in the past.
So let me ask you, “Have you ever been hurt by anyone in your life or have you ever hurt anyone else? Do things from your past still cause you to struggle with your relationships in the present? Do you find yourself feeling angry or bitter and always having issues with others?” If your answer to any of these questions is “yes”, then please allow me to say that you too could be a perfect candidate to attend Celebrate Recovery!
Oh yes, Celebrate Recovery is still for those who have had drug and alcohol addictions, but we find that those issues are largely caused by underlying hurts and hang-ups. So, instead of thinking you’ve got it all together, when you really don’t – consider that becoming one of “those people” could be the best thing you could ever do. After all, Rick Warren is a pretty smart man and I think he’s on to something when he said during the opening session, “There are two kinds of people in the world; those who know they need recovery and those who don’t!”
So, which kind are you? Do you know you need recovery from your issues or are you in denial that you even have any? Ask other people in your life. They may be able to enlighten you. Better yet, pray that God will enlighten you to anything in your life that He wants to change or heal. Many of “those people” have done just that and have applied the principles of Celebrate Recovery to their lives and renewed their minds, causing them to be transformed by the love and power of Jesus Christ.
Since there are no perfect people, I think a fair share of us have some issues. We can continue to deny them and/or let them rule our lives and ruin our relationships OR we can choose to let God heal us and help us to be free from our hurts, hang-ups and habits. Are you ready to stop letting your issues wreck your life…then “Here’s your sign”….it’s Celebrate Recovery!
Do you want to get well? Find a Celebrate Recovery near you by visiting the web page at http://www.celebraterecovery.com/?page_id=4
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