A prayer answered....

 Yesterday was a good day.  I had a nice lunch with my 'old' friend and a good conversation.  We have agreed we need to meet more often than just whenever we think about it.  So I have already scheduled a date in February and we have it on our calendars.  Friends are also important.  I'm glad her husband saw to it that she would be taken care of when he passed.  And she is.  She misses him, of course, but financially, he left her in a good place.  And that is a good thing.

Yesterday afternoon my youngest called and said his daughter was coming over, and later he called that they had reconciled.  How grateful I am to God that He heard my prayers for this child and for this reconciliation, and He answered that prayer!  All praise to Him alone.  I am sad she is moving further away, but she is making her own choices.  I struggled with it at first... but then God reminded me I have another granddaughter who lives in another city.... they all live their own lives.  I just need to make more of an effort to go see them.  It's just harder with hubby being a bit 'reckless' in his driving and won't - as a rule - let me drive.  I'm anticipating a drive to Tucson in a few weeks (I'm hoping).  

A friend at work told me about a women's conference at her church the end of February - and I really want to go.  It's an hour's drive away and on a Friday evening.... and I wasn't sure hubby would let me.  But I boldly told him last night about it, and I really wanted to go.  I would take off work early and drive there in daylight.  It's from 5PM - 9PM... and I will just rent a room at a nearby hotel and stay there and then return home the next morning.  Win Win - right?  And get this - he is all for me going as long as I don't drive back home late at night.  I will register today for the session.  

I did go one step further.  I invited my little sister to fly out here on that Thursday, go to the conference with me on that Friday, we would stay at the hotel and come back home on Saturday, and she can fly out on Sunday.  It's much cheaper than the Wild Women of God conference she wanted to go to... will see if her husband will buy a ticket for her to come out.  He may not, because she has threatened many times to leave him and come out here to live.  Even if she doesn't come, I am going to the conference.  It gives me something to look forward to.  And if I have a night alone and a morning alone, my wish will come true. 

Matthew 17:14-21 (NKJV):  "And when they had come to the multitude, a man came to Him, kneeling down to Him and saying, "Lord, have mercy on my son, for he is an epileptic and suffers severely; for he often falls into the fire and often into the water. So I brought him to Your disciples, but they could not cure him."

Then Jesus answered and said, "O faithless and perverse generation, how long shall I be with you? How long shall I bear with you? Bring him here to Me." And Jesus rebuked the demon, and it came out of him; and the child was cured from that very hour.

Then the disciples came to Jesus privately and said, "Why could we not cast it out?"

So Jesus said to them, "Because of your unbelief; for assuredly, I say to you, if you have faith as a mustard seed, you will say to this mountain, 'Move from here to there,' and it will move; and nothing will be impossible for you. However, this kind does not go out except by prayer and fasting."

There area lot of things that will not happen unless we pray and fast for them.  That little word 'However' in that last sentence is the key that unlocks the statement 'nothing will be impossible for you'.  Jesus told the disciples they needed faith, even faith as small as a mustard seed.   Remember when, after John the Baptist baptized Jesus that He went up the mountain for forty days and forty nights and fasted and prayed?  

If Jesus thought He could just pray and it be done without fasting, why would He have fasted like He did?  I've never completed a 40 day fast in any form.  Well, maybe I have, but it would have been just doing without dessert or something like that.  I do love my food.  The most I have gone without food is three days, and I was easily able to do it because God told me to do it.

Those three days are still vivid in my mind, although they were several years ago.  I remember... God told me one day as I prayed to go on a 3 day fast to pray for others who were going on a trip to a conference.  In fact, I was to go to that very conference, but He told me to stay home and pray for them.  So I obeyed.  I told hubby and he didn't give me any grief.  I cooked him his meals and sat with him as he ate with no problems at all.  I did not grow weary in my fast; I did not have hunger pains.  I spent much more time in prayer those three days.  And what an experience those that went to the conference had!  But I wasn't jealous; I had my own great experience.  I was obedient to God's Word to me at that time and because I obeyed, He gave me my own experience with Him.  

One may think it is easy to fast and pray, but it is not.  Even if it is just giving up desserts for a specific time - fasting is not dieting.  It is spending more time in prayer; more time seeking God for an answer to what is on our heart.  Which is probably perhaps a reason - even though I have prayed and fasted 'some' - that some of my prayers have not been answered.  I keep praying - and I am praying even through this fast for these things to happen; but they all have to be in God's timing.

I pray for my children's salvation.  Oh that they would turn to Jesus and let Him lead them!  Oh the life they could have!

I pray for my grandchildren's salvation and reconciliations.  O that they would feel the stirring in their heart to know Him as Lord.  That they would let go of the past and reach for the future of all that God has for them when they seek Him!

I pray for my great-grandchildren, that their parents would teach them of Jesus, that they will know Him as Lord.  O for the goodness of things God has prepared for them!

I pray for healings of friends and family.  I pray for their salvation.  Oh that I could be a witness of God's goodness that He has for them!  He alone is steadfast and sure.  He alone will not turn away when things are tough.  He alone will walk with us through the darkest night!

Oh, that all my prayers would be answered!  I will not see all my prayers answered... but I am confident that God will bring them all to pass in His timing.  He's that good.  

What are you praying for?  Don't give up.  Keep praying for that wayward child, that spouse who does not seek the Lord.  Ask for the favor of the Lord.  And see His hand provide.

Blessings!

God sometimes answers before I ask...

 In regards to the sister situations of which I spoke about yesterday, it's all good.  No, the younger sister is still not going to take care of the older sister (of which I can't blame her), but things will work out.  The younger is going to work for resolution of her own issues, and the older sister, well, she just doesn't realize how bad her apartment is with these pets that belong to her son.  I'm staying out of that.  The last time I was back to visit, I called the older sister 3 times and each time she refused for me to come over.  She told me later she was too embarrassed for me to see what she is living in (the dog is never let outside, so you know what that means).  But God has answered in that the younger sister isn't quite so angry and upset as she was the night before.  But then too, she had a migraine, had sat in the ER all day, and had not eaten all day. By the time she got home, she was throwing up.  I had told her to go to the cafeteria and get something to eat, but she didn't.  So glad I live out of state.

Drama, always drama.  Sigh. I got a phone call from the youngest son last night and he told me of an incident that happened over the weekend at his house.  I have prayed so much for this son, and I know that God is working on him, and he knows it too.  He just continually fights against it.  All I could say throughout the discourse was 'wow'.  How can someone live like that?  I just told him he gave me more 'ammunition' to pray for him about.  Lord, hear my prayers!

And, come to think about it, I had contact of some sort with all three of my children yesterday!  It was our 'girls night out' so I had dinner with my daughter and we had some crochet time.  On the way home my youngest called me with his latest escapade, and after I got home my oldest son text'd me (after his brother had called him about it all).  I think we both were just shaking our heads over 'what was he thinking?'  Invited out for breakfast on Saturday and looking forward to that.  Tried to think of some inbetween places last night; hubby suggested Black Bear Diner.  

Needles of Hope was postponed to this Saturday and I can go late if need be.  Not worried about it by any means.  I need to get baby blankets out and measure them; they should be a minimum of 30 inches and I think I stopped a bit short on some so need to add a row or two before turning some in.  I'll keep a couple out for a 'gender reveal' on Saturday night of the granddaughter's.  I need to send a couple up northeast to another grandchild who has a baby on the way.  At least I know that one is a male.  It could prove to be a busy weekend, which could be a good thing.

I cancelled my endocrinologist appointment for Friday morning.  I've thought about it for some time and prayed about it, wondering if I should check into reclast or prolia.  I have lots of information about both that my brother had sent me.  He took Fosamax for about 5 years, then switched to Reclast for about 5 years and is now on Prolia.  With walking every day and working out, his bones are back to normal (no osteoporosis).  But he wishes he hadn't switched to Prolia, but never said why.  My Fosamax was causing bone pain and extreme tiredness in the beginning, but since I've been on it now weekly for about 6-7 months, I've either become accustomed to the tiredness or it just doesn't bother me anymore.  I don't have the bone pain anymore, just at the beginning.  So, I decided I will just stay on the Fosamax for awhile.  I don't go back to my doctor until August so will see how I am then.  I can always call and reschedule my appointment with the endo if I need to.  But for now, I'm not going to change.  Besides, I looked up prices (after I canceled my appointment).... Reclast would cost me about $70/month (with my insurance) and it is a 15-minute infusion into my veins every month, I think it said.  Prolia is nearly $300 a month (with my insurance-without insurance it's $1500 + or -) and it is an injection I think every six months.  Naw, I'll stick to Fosamax.  With my insurance, I get a 90 day supply of pills for $1.48 with my insurance.  I can easily afford that. :-)  But I didn't check costs until after I cancelled.

This Sunday is Palm Sunday.  It's hard to believe how fast this year is flying by.  My daughter and I counted up last night - we have 29 days until Jailbreak Getaway!  We've rented an airbnb this year in Star Valley and are looking forward to getting away for 4 days.  Before that, though, I have reserved a room up north for hubby's birthday weekend.  I had enough points to get one night free and only have to pay for one night.  So looking forward to that one too.  That getaway won't be as active as Jailbreak.  Still, I'm looking forward to a day off work and getting out of town.  

As I sit here and think about how good God has been to me, and how He answers my prayers (no, not always in the time frame I want them to be, nor exactly as I want them to be answered), I am often reminded that everything is done in His timing.

2 Corinthians 9:8 (NIV):  "And God is able to bless you abundantly, so that in all things at all times, having all that you need, you will abound in every good work."

God has blessed me abundantly, and continues to do so.  I have three wonderful children, and although they are not following the Lord now, I believe that they will believe, and will choose to be a follower of Jesus before I die.  I'm trusting the Lord for that.  The Lord has always provided for all that was needed.  I can remember weeks of having no money even for food, and yet, the Lord provided a way to make what we had stretch and meet our needs.  He has always left us to our own choices, but that is how we have learned to do better with those choices.  And when we put Jesus first, we know that when we make Him Lord of all our lives, He provides all that we need.  

Have you ever sat back and thought back over your life and seen God's hand over you and your family?  Things perhaps like provision when there was no job.  Or a good job when there was a need.  Or healing when there was a sickness.  Restoration of relationships when they were strained.  Provision when there was none.  I can see God's hand all over my life.  He has taught me so much, and I know I have yet so much to learn from Him.

And that is where my dependency comes in.  When I seek and depend on God to provide even a friend's call when I am struggling, when a crisis happens and I don't know what to do and He provides exactly what is needed, I know that I know that I know - God is watching over me and taking care of me.

And He is watching over you and your loved ones as well.  His eyes never look away; He always knows what you need.  He is a good, good, Father.   Stop and tell Him thank you.  Just say the words.  You may not know what else to say, but 'Thank you, Lord', says it all..

Blessings!

God still answers the little requests....

 Yeah, I whispered a little prayer before I tried to do timecards yesterday - and God got me exactly where I needed to be to complete what I needed to do.  I got started on it then the admin in Colorado sent me a meeting request to watch her do a couple timecards - that helped a lot for me to understand.  Then, one of the new people I have to support sent me a meeting request to join her with one of her people to be shown how to do timecards - so we both watched and asked questions and got answers.  I understand a lot more of what is to be done - and it really is quite simple - but the people in the past I had asked to show me had jumped all over the place and I couldn't see what happened when we did this or that.  Since they needed to be approved yesterday, I got to see what happened when we approved (it changed colors).  I was done in no time at all.  Now the next one in two weeks will be more difficult - I will have about 18 more people to go through and approve timecards - and 3 of those are hourly and they work at different facilities sometimes which requires different pay codes.  THAT I am not looking forward to.

Overall, once I got through the timecards yesterday (thank you, Lord), the day was 'empty' of meetings to schedule and I ended up doing some crocheting the last hour while sitting at the desk.  I did get the potato soup and ham and cornbread made and it was ready to eat by 4PM as well.  I like eating earlier in the day so that I can get dinner out of the way.  Hubby thought it was a bit early (really!!) but I reminded him that many days I have fixed dinner to be eaten at 4-4:30PM so that we can get it out of the way.  Only he usually wants to go out to eat.  Of course he did have breakfast out with his friend yesterday morning so had a big breakfast.

Today it is my turn - I am having lunch with my favorite boss and another friend.  I don't have to drive all the way to the office area, but just over to 7th Street, but it will still take a little time to get there.  And it's ok.  We'll meet up for lunch and I'll take some things I made for Christmas and pass them on.  I still have a few jars of salsa.... I must have made more than I thought - or some just didn't want any this year.  I thought I had made 'just enough' for everyone - but still have 5-6 quarts in the refrigerator.  I'll get rid of a few of those today.  Sure don't want it to go to waste. Made me think of a friend of mine who loves my salsa - he will pour it into a bowl and heat it in the microwave -and eat it like soup!  The first time I saw him do that I'm sure I had a strange look on my face of 'what in the world are you doing?'  No, I haven't tried that - but it could be a hot tomato soup!

Saturday will be January 1 and 2022 will begin.  I wonder what the new year will bring.  I know I have my own thoughts and wishes for the new year - and they will remain between God and I.  He knows my every wish, my every hope, my every dream.  I don't get a lot of them, but it is usually because He knows best for me and is protecting me from getting the very thing I may be wishing for!  No, I'm not talking about good health and wealth, but other things.  Part of me is ready to begin the 21 day fast and the other part is trying to tell me 'naw, you don't want to give up good food'.... but the food isn't the important thought.  I want to get closer to God; a lot of things have happened this year that should have driven me faster to my knees, but I allowed my pain to get in the way and just tried to move past it.  I would have done much better getting on my knees.  

And that's the way I want to start out the new year - on my knees praying and praising the Lord.  For those of you who KNOW of God, and refuse to allow Him to govern your life and make you whole, you may not understand that.  I want to know more of His heart, not just know more of Him in my head.  I want to walk so close to Jesus that every step I take, every move I make, is because of Him.  The past few years things have happened that have broken me.  And instead of running TO - I have dragged my feet... this is the year of change.

Why don't you make the decision to 'change' with me?  I'm not saying you have to do what I do - but how about just you and Jesus having this conversation - "what would You want me to do this year - for You?"  It may mean changing a lifestyle; it may mean to start tithing on a regular basis; it may mean watching what you put in your mouth (food and drink); it may mean to be aware of what you are watching or reading.  I know I have heard this comment many years ... and you have to...  but I read it again the other day - or heard it - and it has stuck with me.  

Are you doing what you could do with Jesus?  Are you watching what you would be ok with Jesus watching?  Are you doing things that Jesus would approve of?   Some of that I'm ok with... Jesus could be right there with me and I know I'm 'good'.... but what about some other things ..... would I want Jesus to see me doing that?  Would I expect Him to approve of my behavior of......  If Jesus is with you always... would He do the things you are doing?   I don't know about you... but I know that I need to re-evaluate many things .... how important are they to me that I would put them over Jesus?  I need to read more of my Bible and get His Word IN me.... not just read my daily assignment.   I need to watch my tongue more and hold in words that should remain unspoken.  I need to put others before myself and be watchful of how I can help them see Jesus in me.  

No, I don't need to push Jesus on anyone.  I need to let others see Jesus living and working IN me.  

John 13:34-35 - "A new command I give you: Love one another.  As I have loved you, so you must love one another.  By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another."

Lord, help me to love others the way I want You to love me.  Unconditionally, whether I agree with their lives or not.  Help me to love the unlovely.  Help me to love the needy.  Help me to love those who hurt me.  Help me to love as You love me.  With open arms, You love me.  Help me to love like You, Jesus.  I know it won't be easy; I know I will fight tooth and nail over some people, but it's not about me.  It's about You.

2022 - "It's all about Jesus".....  the Rapture is coming soon.... are you ready?

Blessings!