I have no idea if this is Biblical or not, but I heard this yesterday and I'm going to go with it today!
God doesn't hear the words of our Prayers as much as the INTENSITY of them! Regardless, please Pray for CJ!
This precious little boy is the grandson of my friend, Annette's friend! You can read about him on her blog. I don't know him personally, but God does!
I am sitting here on the floor of the airport in Philadelphia (with my laptop plugged in the wall) waiting for an airplane to hopefully get me home tonight. My connecting plane was canceled. I'm so glad I don't have my mother's dog with me right now. I disappointed my family by not agreeing to bring "Baby girl" with me as a carry on! I'm feeling better about my decision now. :) Anyway, long story short I wanted to share what has been lingering from this week's Cover to Cover readings of the Bible.
This week I've been thinking about how much more I enjoy reading about Grace and Hope in the Bible than consequences for not obeying God. I haven't wanted to think about it. As I mature, I am beginning to realize I want more. I want to know the whole story, not just the parts I have needed so desperately. Until now, I've needed reassurance that He loves me unconditionally and I can finally say I Believe Him and His promises.
I realize the verse I am about to share is one most of you already know. I know it's a verse that some have claimed as their "life verse". By the way, I don't have one. Do you? I'm still a baby Christian. How long can you be one?
Jeremiah 29:10-13 This is what the LORD says: "When seventy years are completed for Babylon, I will come to you and fulfill my gracious promise to bring you back to this place. For I know the plans I have for you," declares the LORD, "plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future. Then you will call upon me and come and pray to me, and I will listen to you. You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart.
Jeremiah 10:23 I know, O LORD, that a man's life is not his own; it is not for man to direct his steps.
I guess I'm right where I'm supposed to be. We go through life wanting to know how the story ends. We want to know the whole story. We want to "get it"! At least I do. I Believe the Bible is 100% truth. According to His Word, nothing we have to go through in this life was meant to harm us. Nothing. We will understand soon. This past weekend I spent a lot of time talking with my sisters. We were talking about our childhood and some of the not so pleasant memories. I'm glad we are forgiven, especially as parents trying to do our best!
We had a lot of fun doing a personality test and learned a lot about ourselves and each other. We had a lot of laughs, especially when (the first time) it said I should be police officer or judge. I didn't like the results, so I took the test again. I used the excuse that I took the test quickly. I guess when I am in a hurry, I don't treat people well and am not a good listener. I better slow down. The next time I took it, I was glad to hear I would make a good nurse or teacher. There was one question that asked if we believe life is complicated or simple. I believe it's simple. We are called to Love God and Love His people. I better listen to God's Word and seek Him with all my heart so He will reveal His will for my life!
PRAISE GOD for taking such good care of me every step of the way!
I better get back to my gate to see if I'll be going home tonight! Thanks for your patience and for letting me ramble. Love and Peace, Angie xoxo
p.s. Mom is going to a Nursing Home for rehab for awhile, so hopefully she'll learn to control her Diabetes. I'd appreciate your prayers for some miraculous healing in her life!
p.p.s. I SO want to change the title of this post to... There is a Drama Queen Sleepless in Philadelphia tonight. I'm stuck in the airport until 7:30AM. It could be worse. I could have a dog with me. And... I have SO much to be grateful for tonight! I'm praying for CJ tonight and all of you... one at a time!
Good Morning, Sweet Friends! First of all, thank you so much for all of your prayers for my mother. She is doing so much better. It turns out she didn't have the heart attack after all, but her blood sugar was SO out of control that she needed some immediate attention. We talked with the doctors this morning and discussed the next step concerning her living situation.
The reason I wanted to do this post today is tell you about last night. We got a call from the hospital at 2:00 in the morning. The nurse asked us to come help calm her down since she was having a panic attack. At first I told my sister to go alone (out of my selfishness). You should have been in my mind to hear how I was justifying not going. Something inside of me (The Holy Spirit) made me get my lazy you know what out of bed and go too. I picked up my Bible and went. Yes, I decided to obey.
I could not remember where to go to find the perfect verses that talked about fear and trusting God. (It was the middle of the night.) I looked in the back of my Bible and found Psalm 91. To say I was nervous is an understatement. The lights were bright. We were right outside the nurse's station. Mom was breathing fast and she was definitely panicking. I told her we would pray. We got a cold washcloth for her face and I began to pray. It was messy. God had me read Psalm 91 and we stopped several times to personalize it. On Eagles Wings came to mind and I now know it comes straight from there. It was a very familiar song to us. We sang that song and personalized it, too. It totally calmed her down. It was such a special time.
Psalm 91:2 I will say of the LORD, "He is my refuge and my fortress, my God, in whom I trust."
Psalm 91:4 He will cover you with his feathers, and under his wings you will find refuge; his faithfulness will be your shield and rampart.
I will catch up on reading your blogs when I get a chance. Know that I appreciate your prayers and am so grateful for the support of you all. Our God is SO BIG!
If you wouldn't mind, please pray for my mother, Theresa Karnowski this evening and tomorrow. Apparently she had a heart attack today and her blood sugar went up to 800 (Normal is 60-100). I am on a plane very early in the morning to go to North Carolina to see her. Thank you so much from the bottom of my heart!
Wow, I can't believe another week has gone by and it's already time for another Cover to Cover post about what lingers for me in this week's readings. I'm so excited that Nicole has decided to join us!
My favorite verses this week were easy to choose. Beth Moore's Daniel Study is still quite fresh in my mind. I want to be a Daniel in this Babylonian culture (of self-absorption and over-indulgence). We memorized these verses. Daniel 2:20-23
"Praise be to the name of God for ever and ever; wisdom and power are his.
He changes times and seasons; he sets up kings and deposes them. He gives wisdom to the wise and knowledge to the discerning. He reveals deep and hidden things; he knows what lies in darkness, and light dwells with him.
I thank and praise you, O God of my fathers: You have given me wisdom and power, you have made known to me what we asked of you, you have made known to us the dream of the king."
I want these next verses to more than linger...
Jeremiah 9:23-24
This is what the LORD says: "Let not the wise man boast of his wisdom or the strong man boast of his strength or the rich man boast of his riches,
but let him who boasts boast about this: that he understands and knows me, that I am the LORD, who exercises kindness, justice and righteousness on earth, for in these I delight," declares the LORD.
I pray I don't boast about anything, but when I read this, I had to take an honest look at myself. Do I brag? Yes, I have to admit that at times I do. I so want to brag and tell you that I won the longest drive contest at the Hearts of Hope golf outing I participated in on Friday. I want to brag and tell you that I won a facial and massage. But I won't. Wait a minute, I just did! See what I mean? I SO need God in my life! I'd rather boast about one thing: God! He has been so kind to me! I do know Him, and I know He wouldn't want me boasting. He deserves ALL of the Glory for anything good that happens in my life! Dear Lord, please forgive me!
Have a great week! He's all we need! Love, Angie xoxo
p.s. Please, whatever you do, don't congratulate me...thanks!
As they went from town to town, a lot of people joined in and traveled along. He addressed them, using this story: "A farmer went out to sow his seed. Some of it fell on the road; it was tramped down and the birds ate it. Other seed fell in the gravel; it sprouted, but withered because it didn't have good roots. Other seed fell in the weeds; the weeds grew with it and strangled it. Other seed fell in rich earth and produced a bumper crop. (100-Fold)
"Are you listening to this? Really listening?"
His disciples asked, "Why did you tell this story?"
He said, "You've been given insight into God's kingdom—you know how it works. There are others who need stories. But even with stories some of them aren't going to get it:
Their eyes are open but don't see a thing, Their ears are open but don't hear a thing.
"This story is about some of those people. The seed is the Word of God. The seeds on the road are those who hear the Word, but no sooner do they hear it than the Devil snatches it from them so they won't believe and be saved.
"The seeds in the gravel are those who hear with enthusiasm, but the enthusiasm doesn't go very deep. It's only another fad, and the moment there's trouble it's gone.
"And the seed that fell in the weeds—well, these are the ones who hear, but then the seed is crowded out and nothing comes of it as they go about their lives worrying about tomorrow, making money, and having fun.
"But the seed in the good earth—these are the good-hearts who seize the Word and hold on no matter what, sticking with it until there's a harvest.
I just wanted to share a few notes, so I won't forget what we learned from Beth Moore this weekend! It was such a Blessing to be one of the 70,000 women in 715 locations around the world via Simulcast!
In order for us to be a women of substance and have maximum impact (A 100-Fold Harvest in our lives and the lives of our family line), we must learn to discern God's voice. She gave us 7 Phrases to help us remember...
1). Treasure the Wonder. God wants to reveal Himself to us through His Word. They are the "secrets" and we all know that when someone tells us their secrets, we have a more intimate relationship with them. He wants to speak to us, since all Scripture is God-breathed. He will keep showing us more. He wants us to be "Competently Competent"!
2). Protect your Heart. ...from the evil prey. God's Word is not up for grabs! It is hidden in our heart and we must protect it so there is no room for satan.
3). Expect the Test. The Greek word for testing is "Peirasmos". It means trials (God) to make us stand and temptations (Satan) to make us fall. God's promise in Psalm 126:5-6 tells us that those who sow in tears will reap with songs of joy. God will prove true and genuine during the testing. He will get the fake out of us. She also reminded us that our children do not expect us to be perfect, just real!
4). Dig the Roots. Roots are established in LOVE. My roots are as deep as how loved I feel. We must know that we know that we know that we know that we are loved unconditionally! She talked about 2Kings 19:30. "Take root below and bear fruit above". God loves us in the testing. We should always remember the song, "Jesus Loves Me This I Know... for the Bible tells me so". We should remember that song whenever we are going through life's most difficult trials... such as when our husband leaves us, or we get that diagnosis, or our spouse dies, or we lose our job.
5). Stop the Choke. Anxiety chokes the Word out of us! We never need the Word more than when we are worrying! We cannot hear the Word when we are anxious because it gets choked out. Do not be anxious about anything... (Phil 4:6). Also, if we are immature and want the "riches" of this world we will be choked. We want life to feel good. He is the only one who can make us rich in every way!
6). Retain the Word. She suggested that when we read the Bible, we ask God to show us one verse that can apply to our lives to sustain us throughout our day! She talked about sowing the seed in the morning because we have the capacity to learn more first thing!
7). Press fourth to your 100-Fold. Persevere. It takes time to reap the harvest. We cannot quit! We can't be people who start things and don't finish before the harvest comes! We need to Believe God for finished work!
He Loves you so, sweet blog friends and Siestas! Angie xoxo
p.s. At the end of the conference when we held hands and looked the woman next to us straight in the eyes (almost uncomfortably too long) for the commissioning, I noticed the woman I was paired up with was one of my patients! I had been sitting next to her all day long and never realized it!
What a day! I have no words... just a song in my heart, to show my gratitude for such a wonderful day, full of miracles, wonder and a secret Word that I'm protecting with all I've got! I know this doesn't make a lot of sense, but trust me, it was a good day!
