Good News

Well, the brain tumor is still there but it hasn't grown any at all. So that is good news. Both the neurologist and neurosurgeon feel that we have nothing to worry about at this time. They both were very impressed with the improvement of my speech, blood pressure and the fact that I am having less attacks from migraines. :D They said that they will repeat the MRI in one year. If that shows the tumor has not grown any at that time, then they will repeat the MRI five years after that. They said that this thing may just sit there for the rest of my life and never grow. I just smiled and said "That's alright with me, Praise God."

So God didn't remove the brain tumor. That's OK, He did staunch it's growth! Isn't our God an AWESOME GOD?

When I went to Ladies Convention I was having problems with my blood pressure being to high. I was also having migraines almost on a daily basis. On the last day of Ladies Convention I was praying at the altar and I felt the Lord come down and touch me in a mighty way. I felt a sister come up from behind me and lay her hand on the back of my neck and when she did I felt warmth run up and down my spine and into my skull. I did not have a migraine from that day forward until the week of Youth Convention. So that was about 3 weeks with no migraines. Hey, for me that was fantastic. On the Friday before Youth Convention was to begin it felt as though someone walked up behind me and slammed a baseball bat into the back of my head and I suffered with a migraine for 9 days straight. It was almost unbearable. I knew it was nothing but a trick of the devil doing his best to try and keep me from attending the services at Youth Convention just like he did when he attacked me with sickness during the time of Ladies Convention. But I purposed in my heart that I was going to attend every service come hell or high waters in spite of those migraines and I did. It was worth it too. What wonderful messages I heard!

You know, I have made up my mind that regardless of what comes my way, I will serve the Lord. He has been so good to me. Migraines or no migraines, brain tumor or no brain tumor, I will serve the Lord. God has everything under control in my life and I have nothing to worry about. I just need to "Trust in the LORD with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding." (Proverbs 3:5) He will see me through any situation that comes my way and I will never walk alone, for He holds my hand.

Waiting In Anticipation

I spoke with my neurologist Friday morning and I have an appointment with him at 9:00am Monday morning on March 31st to get the results to my last MRI for my brain tumor. Then I am to see the neurosurgeon as soon as I leave his office at 10:45am that same morning. I will let everyone know the results as soon as I can. I do know that my God is on the throne and will take care of me, that He promised. I am still believing for a miracle. ;)

Everyone have a great weekend and a lovely Sunday Service in the Lord!

Open My Eyes

The new owners have done many repairs to the apartment complex since taking over and after the fumigation is done the paint job on the outside of the building is next. Well, the new windows are going in now and they sure do look nice. They are suppose to help keep out the heat in the summer and the cold in the winter. I will admit this place definitely needed to have new windows installed years ago. At first they were only going to replace the windows that were so messed up that you could not see out of them. No matter how hard you tried you could see nothing through those windows. Then after further thought, the owners decided to go ahead and replace all windows with updated energy efficient windows.

I was looking at the old ugly windows being taken out and the beautiful new windows going in and I thought, WOW! What a difference! First of all in the appearance alone. Even without the paint job the windows make such a difference in the looks of the place from the outside. Then from the inside one can actually look out of the window. CLEARLY! That is how bad a lot of the old windows were. They were double paned windows and I guess somehow moisture got in between the panes and it just messed them up and YUK! You could no longer see through the windows. The new windows are double paned as well but they are supposed to be sealed somehow so that they do not get messed up like the old ones did. They also cut down on more of the outside noise than the old windows. All in all, much better windows.

As I was looking at those windows I thought that is how it is with our spiritual eye sight. We must make sure that we can see clearly. We cannot allow things into our life that will obscure our vision. If we don't keep our spiritual eye sight sharpened and clean so that we can see clearly, then our spiritual vision will become blurred, fuzzy, and hazy. The way we should go will then grow dim and vague and become unclear to us. We will then become so muddled and disorientated that we could find ourselves on a path that we never intended to take.

We need to pray, "Open thou mine eyes, that I may behold wonderful things out of thy law." Psalms 119:18

Remember that "Thy word is a lamp unto my feet and a light unto my path." Psalms 119:105.

There are wonderful things in God's teaching to us. In fact, they are so wonderful that when you really see them, they change you. 2 Corinthians 3:18 reads, "But we all, with open face beholding as in a glass the glory of the Lord, are changed into the same image from glory to glory, even as by the Spirit of the Lord." This is why reading and knowing and meditating on and memorizing the Word of God is so crucial.

If God does not open your eyes, you will not see the wonder of His Word. You will not able to see and understand the spiritual beauty of God's word on our own. You may be able to see the surface of it's meaning, but you can't see the wonder, the beauty, and the glory of it in such a way that it wins your heart.

We cannot see the beauty and the wonder of God without His help. We should ask him to "Open my eyes." When we do this we are allowing Him to come in and illuminate our life and replace our dark, shadowy, murky vision with His wonderful marvelous light.

The apartment complex getting new windows has made a difference inside and out. On the outside the place looks so much better. From the inside one can see out through the windows clearly. The same goes for us when our spiritual vision has been restored. On the outside we will look better because we will shine with the glory of God. From the inside we will see things clearly for we will be looking at things through the mind of Christ. All of the obstacles and debris will have been removed from our vision. Then we can go forward with a clear vision for Christ.

Fumigation

On April 1st, the apartment complex I live in is going to be fumigated for termites. Oh the process of preparing for this lovely activity. I am so excited I can hardly contain myself. NOT!!! I mean, there is so much work to do, especially if you have babies involved. Did you know that you have to remove their crib and playpen mattresses completely out of the house? There is going to be so much bagging going on around here that I am beginning to feel like the bag lady in town. Don't get me wrong, I'm glad that it is FINALLY being done. I am sick and tired of cleaning up after these pesky things. They leave their sawdust everywhere. We now have new owners and this has needed to be done for years. But that doesn't make preparing for the fumigation any easier.

These termites have caused so much damage that the new owners have had to replace a lot of the wood on the outside of the buildings and some on the inside before they could even think about doing a new paint job. I began to think about all of the preparing the tenants have to do in order for Terminix to come in and tent this place to get rid of the termites that are literally eating up this complex. I also thought about the poison that has to be sprayed into the buildings to get rid of these pesky critters to save the buildings. All of this is a necessary process. If not done, the buildings will become rotten, and unsafe to live in. The termites will literally destroy this complex.

That's how sin is. One little sin will come into our life and start eating away at us. If we don't get rid of it, it will start to multiply. Next thing we know, there is a host of sin eating away at us. Destroying the temple of God, which we are. "Know ye not that ye are the temple of God, and that the Spirit of God dwelleth in you?" 1 Corinthians 3:16

God can not live where there is sin. If we do not get rid of the sin in our life then He will have to move out. "Because it is written, Be ye holy; for I am holy." 1 Peter 1:16 "Speak unto all the congregation of the children of Israel, and say unto them, Ye shall be holy: for I the LORD your God am holy." Lev 19:2

When sin comes into our life and we do not get rid of it like we should, it then consumes us like the termites consumes a building. It will eat away at us until there is nothing left. Sin will leave us void, empty, vacant, unfilled, bare, and drained. These termites did not do all this damage over night or in a week or month or even in a year. But it has been a process of of 6 years that I know of myself maybe even longer. That is how sin is. You don't lose out with God over night. It happens over a process of time. Like I said before, it starts with one little sin that was not removed from our life. Maybe it was a bad attitude, or a lie. What ever it was that we did wrong and we didn't make right starts to multiply from there. Next thing you know we have a host of sins hanging around our neck and we are being drug down and we can not worship and get the victory like we need to.

There is only one answer to this situation. We need to go to the Throne Room of God and go through the process of bagging every thing that is good and of value in our life into the protection bags and then have God send down His Host of Terminix Angels and have them put the fumigation tent around us (Surround Me Oh Lord) and God needs to purge us. We need to let Him search every inch of our inner being and remove anything within us that is not like Him. We need to pray, "God please don't take down the tent until we are clean and free from all impurities." Then and only then can He kill off the sin in our life that has been dragging us down. Then we can get the victory and arise and go forth and do a work for the Lord.

It is so much easier to get rid of sin when it first tries to attach itself to us than to wait until it has almost destroyed us. But if you are to the point that you feel that you just can't go another step because of the sin in your life, then just step into the throne room of God. Let Him fumigate your life and make the necessary repairs that are needed. He will set your feet back on the right path and your life will be beautiful again. Believe me, it will be worth it all

Going Up Yonder

"All you have to do is know where you're going. The answers will come to you of their own accord." —Earl Nightingale

If anybody ask you

Where I'm going

Where I'm going soon

I’m going up yonder

I’m going up yonder

Going up yonder

To be with my Lord.

"Hast thou not known? hast thou not heard, that the everlasting God, the LORD, the Creator of the ends of the earth, fainteth not, neither is weary? there is no searching of his understanding. He giveth power to the faint; and to them that have no might he increaseth strength. Even the youths shall faint and be weary, and the young men shall utterly fall: But they that wait upon the LORD shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings as eagles; they shall run, and not be weary; and they shall walk, and not faint." Isaiah 40:28-31

Oh I can take the pain,

The heartaches that life brings,

The comforts in knowing,

I’ll soon be gone.

"God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble." Psalms 46:1

"He that dwelleth in the secret place of the most High shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty. I will say of the LORD, He is my refuge and my fortress: my God; in him will I trust." Psalms 91:1-2

"Because he hath set his love upon me, therefore will I deliver him: I will set him on high, because he hath known my name. He shall call upon me, and I will answer him: I will be with him in trouble; I will deliver him, and honour him." Psalms 91:14-15

God gives me grace

To run this race,

‘Til I see my Savior,

I see him face to face.

"And then shall they see the Son of man coming in a cloud with power and great glory. And when these things begin to come to pass, then look up, and lift up your heads; for your redemption draweth nigh." Luke 21:27-28

I’m going up yonder

I’m going up yonder

I’m going up yonder

To be with my Lord.

I’m going up yonder

I’m going up yonder

I’m going up yonder

To be with my Lord

I know where I'm going and I know where my answers come from. Furthermore, I know I can make it for I know who holds my hand and who guides my steps on the path that I must walk for "Thy word is a lamp unto my feet and a light unto my path." Psalms 119:105.

No Time To Sit Back

I have heard comments before like, "I've done my part. Now let someone else do theirs." Then I have heard some say, "I have put a lot of blood sweat and tears into this place now let some of the new ones do their part." Others have said, "I'm getting old and tired. I can't do the things I used to do. It's time for me to sit back and relax." I wonder where we would all be today IF Jesus would have said "I did my part on Calvary. Now the rest is up to you." What a world of hurt we would be in.

I know that as time goes on and we get older some can not continue on doing some of the things they use to do physically. Their bodies begin to wear down. Maybe they can't go out and do visitation like they did when they were younger. Some can't clean the church like they did when they were spring chickens or help out doing yard work around the church because they just aren't physically able. But does that mean one just quits doing any and everything for the Lord? Do we just start sitting back and doing nothing because we are getting older? I say no! Now is not the time to stop working for the kingdom of God.

I am 54 years old and I have some physical problems. I may have been diagnosed with a brain tumor but that does not give me the option to sit back, feel sorry for myself, and do nothing for my God? NO!!! There are still souls to save. I may not be able to go door knocking like I use to but I can still witness to the cashier at the store, the waitress at the restaurant, my grandson's teacher, my doctors, and etc. I can still pray with those who are seeking God in the altar.

Maybe you can't get down physically with those praying in the altar but you can move in closer and pray earnestly and touch the throne of God for them. We can still be prayer warriors. We can still fast and pray for the needs of our brothers and sisters in the church and our pastor and his family. We can put a smile on our faces and greet visitors when they come into the house of God and make them feel welcome. We can worship and praise God during song service and bring down the Spirit of the Lord so that God can do a work in the souls of people that are in need.

We are to be an example to the younger generation. If we are just sitting back and showing no interest in the work of God, then they will soon have no interest in God's work as well. We need to instill a love and desire to do a work for God within our young people. The bible says, “Train up a child in the way he should go and when he is old, he will not depart from it". (Prov 22:6) We have a responsibility here to the younger generation as saints of God whether we want to admit it or not. You might say, "but they're not my children." Well, I got to looking at the scripture and it does not say train up "YOUR" child but train up "A" child and all of the children in the house of God are our responsibility. We as a whole are to be an example unto them. They are watching us. How we conduct ourselves. How we worship, pray, and live our lives unto the Lord in and out of the House of God.

I have thought about the pillars of the church that have gone on to meet the Lord and oh how I miss them. Blessed Saints of God. Wonderful men and women who truly loved God and knew how to worship and really live for God. Who were faithful to Him. True prayer warriors. They were beautiful examples to me. They taught me by EXAMPLE how to truly live for God all the way to their last breath. For that, I will forever be grateful.

I can sit here now and close my eyes and I can see Papa Dude and Sis Bert. Such a beautiful couple. Though Sis Bert had a stroke and could not walk, that did not stop her praise. I see her now with tears streaming down her face with her hand in the air worshiping our God. I see Bro. and Sis. Anders. Such beautiful spirits they had. I spent many hours in their home as a teenager. They were so good to me. Such a Godly example to a girl raised in a sinner home. Brother and Sis Atchison were another example to me of what a Christian should be. Sis. Miller, What a wonderful woman she was. Standing firm in the word of God. She was faithful to the house of God. She taught me to never lose faith in God that He will always come through for you. Pastor Wilson, MY FRIEND! What can I say about Him but that I miss him so much. He taught me a lot of valuable lessons that I shall never forget. Bro I.H. Terry is another great example in my life. Never once did they just sit back and say, "Let someone else do the work for I've done enough." They kept on working for the Lord and being an example to me and the younger generation until their very last breath.

So my question is, Are you going to continue working for the Lord no matter what? The children and young people are watching US! What kind of example are we going to be? Are we teaching them how to REALLY worship and praise God? How to work in the altars? How to witness and win souls to the Lord? How to be a real Christian? How to be about our Father's business? How to be prayer warriors? How to reach out to a lost and hurting world? Are you willing to help Train up a child in the way that he should go? Or are you going to be one who is looking for an excuse to sit on the side lines and just kick it and say "I've done my part, now let someone else do the rest." Personally, I feel our work is never done until we either go by way of the grave or we are taken out of here by the rapture. Until either one of those moments happen I say press on. Our children need Godly examples to follow. We are now to become the pillars of the church for an example unto the youth of today.