Month: January 2023

Isaiah 43:19 “See, I am doing a new thing! Now it springs up; do you not perceive it? I am making a way in the wilderness and streams in the wasteland.”

Today I am super excited because I am able to get my shoes on! I know that might sound weird but, for the last 12 plus months I have not been able to wear regular shoes and I was only able to wear oversized slippers. Because I was embarrassed by my limitations, I didn’t go many places. Also, during this time period I was not able to walk very far without losing my breathe, so that also limited my ability to go anywhere.

This all stems from my kidney disease and losing the function of my kidneys; causing me to retain an extreme amount of fluid thus causing my body to swell and also limiting my ability to breathe properly.

It was a long journey from the time that I started having these issues to where I am now, attending weekly dialysis treatments. It was a lot that I went through during this time (which I may share in a different post) emotionally, physically, and spiritually. Not knowing what to expect can cause an overwhelming atmosphere.

But today I feel so optimistic for my future. Even though right now I have to have dialysis each week the process has me down over 30 pounds of fluid and as I stated before I can put on my regular shoes now and I even can walk longer distances! I had an appointment with my surgeon the other day and the last time I visited the office I had to have a friend take me and I had to be confined to a wheelchair because of the fluid and breathing issues. But this time I took myself to the appointment and the surgeon says, “Weren’t you in a wheelchair last time?” I answered, “yes sir I was.” But I was proud and thankful that I was able to walk from the parking lot all the way to his office without the assistance of a wheelchair. I was super glad that he noticed a difference in me, because I had only been going to dialysis for 2 weeks at that point.

God is doing a new thing with me, not only physically but spiritually as well. I have never fully depended on God (as well as I should have) but I am learning to trust Him now more than ever. I am grateful for the lessons that God teaches us even in the midst of a storm. He loves us so much. I understand that we live in a fallen world and things happen; sickness and disease happen, accidents happen, and disappointments happen. But one thing I am learning is that God really is who He says He is regardless of what we may think the outcome should be.

I am looking forward to living my life in this new space and doing all the things that God has for me to do. I have grieved the loss of the function of my kidneys, but I am open to whatever God is doing with my health supernaturally. And it is what He deems to be the best for me that I stand in agreement with because He is sovereign.

Be blessed L.

Have you ever had an experience that has shaken the foundation of your faith? We learn about walking in faith and believing God. But what happens when you are believing and trusting God for something, and it never happens, or it doesn’t happen in the way that you were expecting?

What can happen to your level of faith when you have prayed and fasted and asked God for a healing for a loved one and they do not get healed (in the way that we could see) and they pass away. We can immediately become discouraged in the fact that why wouldn’t God heal them. But as I have asked God for revelation in my own situation, He has slowly allowed my eyes to see in His perspective.

The word of God tells us in 1 Corinthians. 13: 9 – 10 “We know in part, and we prophesy in part. But when that which is perfect is come, then that which is in part shall be done away.” KJV

This tells me that we only see things in part, and we don’t see things in their entirety or from an eternal perspective like God. I understand now that my loved one was healed just not in the way that I would have wanted to see them healed. It takes me to the fact that if I say I believe and trust that God is a healer, then that is what I will continue to believe whether I understand the type of healing that was applied or not.

It puts things in perspective that even in the tough situations that we face because we live in a fallen world, but we have faith that God is who He says He is, and His word is true even though we may not understand. We can’t just believe God when things are glorious in our lives, we have to continue to trust Him especially when things go awfully wrong.

There is still a part of life that has yet to be revealed, which is eternity. Death is not the end of life but the beginning. And when we begin to see life in the perspective of God, we will begin to see people and situations in a new way, and we can grasp the eternal view.

I asked God for new eyes to see in a more eternal way, so that when I pray, I can be sure that I am seeking the correct things to pray for someone, not just what I see with my natural eyes. I am continuing to learn to depend on the Holy Spirit for discernment of God’s perfect will. I challenge each of you to seek God for a deeper understanding of your perspective and for divine revelations.

Be blessed L.

Can we agree that if we could see a clear outcome with our storm, it would be easy to walk through it?

Unfortunately, that is why it is called a storm because it is unplanned, the characteristics are uncertain, and the outcome is nowhere in sight. No matter how much we try to figure out the path of the storm is not clear. That is where faith comes in.

Facing any type of uncertain challenge of life can be extremely scary. It is our human nature to question the unknown or try to logically figure out something with our intelligence. But when we can’t we have to learn to understand and activate our faith.

I feel like the basis of faith is trust. However, unlike the faith that we may have that our car is going to start when we turn the key, there is a deeper meaning to the faith that the Bible teaches us about. The faith that God tells us about in Hebrews 11:1 says: “Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.” Which in our everyday lives means that we have to believe even though we do not have physical evidence of what we are believing for at that time.

Our faith or my faith I should say is built on the foundation of what God’s word says. If you read through chapter 11 of Hebrews, you will see a record of believers who walked in faith in some very challenging circumstances. Yet they trusted God in the midst of their storms and were victorious.

You may be asking how you can walk in faith when you are facing a life altering situation? I would say it is not easy at all, at least not at first. It isn’t easy to walk in faith when your body may be experiencing pain on a daily basis. It may not be easy to walk in faith when the doctor says you have a disease that is not curable, and you may never recover. It may not be easy to walk in faith when you don’t see a way to help your addicted son or daughter get the help they need. It may not be easy to walk in faith when you have prayed for healing for a loved one and they die. This walk of faith is not easy, nor is it for the faint of heart.

First, you are going to need to believe and understand who God is and what He promises in His word. Then you are going to have to learn to trust Him. How do you build trust? You get to know that person by spending time with them which builds trust. Also, you need to remember. Recall all the times that God has been faithful and a blessing to you over your life or the life of a loved one. When you read His word, you can see more evidence of His faithfulness and in turn learn how to trust Him for your own life.

No, it isn’t going to be easy doing what 2 Corinthians 5:7 says: “For we walk by faith, and not by sight.” But it will be well worth the effort of learning to walk by faith and having hope in a God that is able to do the impossible than to walk by sight and never experiencing a hopeful future.

Be blessed L

Every day is a challenge. Since I have been dealing with my health issues it seems like something different comes along each day to test my faith.

When you have something to focus on or a specific goal you are trying to accomplish the setbacks aren’t so hard to take. But when you have nothing to strive for it seems like your days will begin to morph into a big ball of nothingness.

Each day I am trying to focus my attention on God and His desires for me. But it gets hard some days when my body is physically failing me in one way or another. It’s hard to stay courageous and strong when the daily tasks of life take its toll on you. It’s hard when you are grieving days when you were healthy, but now your life is different. It is easier said than done.

When I look to Jesus, and I think about all the benefits that He has allowed me to have in my life and all the blessings that He has bestowed upon me I can push on another day. I am trying to keep my focus on God for He is the one who has all the answers. The joy of the Lord is my strength.

The more I learn to focus on God and His word, the less time I have to focus on my situation. My illness doesn’t get any glory, and neither will I continue to allow its effects to determine my life. I will allow the word of God and His love for me heal me from the inside out. The word says that I am more than a conqueror in Christ Jesus. Psalm 16:8 says: “I will keep my eyes always on the Lord, with Him at my right hand, I will not be shaken.” NIV

I know that the Lord has more plans for my life on this side of heaven and I shall fulfill that destiny. So, when those tough days come along, I will remind myself to focus on God and His promises and to take every thought captive under the authority of God’s word.

Be blessed L

My mother and I talk a lot about the state of the world and the things we see happening to people we love and just people in general. It has become a sad conversation when all you hear about is death, sickness, destruction, and just one negative situation after the other.

So, we ask ourselves what are we supposed to be doing? What are God’s children supposed to be doing during these times? One part of the answer is for us to pray.

Not only should we be praying but, we should be studying about how to pray so that we are effective and productive in shifting the atmosphere and the situations around us and in the lives of others. And in order to be effective in prayer you need to believe that God is who He says He is and will do what He says He will do. And then to take it a little deeper you need to know what it is that God says He would do and who He is. Dust your bible off this year and get to know God!

James 5:16 says; “Therefore confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous person is powerful and effective. NIV In the King James version of the bible it talks about a fervent prayer. I looked up the definition of fervent and it means displaying a passionate intensity. That is what we need in our prayers is passion and compassion for the things that we are concerned about.

My mother told me that God had instructed her to gather a group of women that would come together and pray. But not only would this group be praying but we needed dedicated women who understood the assignment of prayer. We couldn’t just come together to pray these generic, surface prayers but we needed to listen to the voice of God through the Holy Spirit for direction on how we should be praying. We needed to know what to pray against and what to pray to be released, we needed to pray God’s word over certain situations and most importantly we needed to pray with expectation.

As my mother gathered the names of some of the women that fell on her heart to be a part of this group, she also realized that not everyone would be disciplined to join and that was okay because it is more about being obedient to God than to have any certain amount of people. As we navigate this time of covid we are trying to get our footing established with this assignment.

Even though we are a small group at this point we are making a difference I believe. Even in my own life I can say I have seen and felt the results of prayer of one of my friends who is a part of our praying women’s group. One quick testimony about the power of prayer is one day I was in training for my new journey of dialysis, and I was having some extreme pain during the procedure. At that same time my friend texted me asking how I was doing, and I explained to her what I was going through at that very moment. She didn’t even hesitate, she said I am praying for you right now. Within minutes the pain I was experiencing stopped! I immediately advised my friend that her prayers came through and God heard and answered them for us. That is the power of prayer that is still relevant today and is needed now more than ever.

I challenge you to learn to pray and grow your relationship with God this year.

Be blessed L