Today was computer work, printing, packing, laundry...you are right time for a trip to Haiti. For Patrick, that is. He leaves tomorrow. I leave a week from tomorrow, God willing.

So yes, a lot was accomplished...but are my accomplishments what makes my day good or bad. I'm afraid that is often the case for most of us. We "rate" a day by what we have done. What is it that makes this day a success or failure. What is it that makes it worth our time. Or should I ask, how do I make time worthy?

Living in the praises of Jesus, no matter what. Just praising Him. Yes, in spite of trouble, problems, even missing the mark. Did you know you are not a failure until you refuse to get up again after you fall?

We are not failures. We are precious in the sight of God. We don't get it, do we? Well I do wonder what He sees, but I know. He sees Jesus in me.

You have something to shout about...JESUS IN YOU...we are blessed. Let's share our blessing.

God bless you. God is good.

What a promise!

Psalm 73:23-24 "Nevertheless I [am] continually with thee: thou hast holden [me] by my right hand. Thou shalt guide me with thy counsel, and afterward receive me [to] glory."

That God holds me constantly with His right hand, He guides me with His counsel, He is always with me, and will receive me to glory. Oh that I would always have my eyes on Him. I want to be passionate for His Word, to serve HIm always.

This really is a great way to end the day, so full of activity. As it always is right before Patrick leaves for Haiti (Friday). Lists, packing, shopping, notes, laundry, and the list goes on. But it is with great joy that I do these things. Two months ago, I wasn't able to do this myself. I'm so happy. I am thankful for the ability to work. That is a blessing!!

There are many of you out there that would love one day on a chair to rest, read and do whatever. Yes, that is nice when it is a rest we choose. Sometimes God chooses a rest for us in ways that we never would. Praise HIm from whom all blessings flow.

Just in case you missed the announcement yesterday...our new website is launched...check it out...www.livingwordhaiti.org

God bless you. God is good.

Finally!

First of all, our new website has been launched. Please check it out!! www.livingwordhaiti.org

My doctor appointment went well. He was pleased with my progress and is sure that I will be ready soon for my permanent prosthesis. It was so much fun to walk into his office without a cane!!

So this is 2 "finally-s"——a new webpage and no cane to the doctor's office.

Philippians 4:8 "Finally, brethren, whatever things are true, whatever things are noble, whatever things are just, whatever things are pure, whatever things are lovely, whatever things are of good report, if there is any virtue and if there is anything praiseworthy—meditate on these things."

This is another finally...what are our thoughts? What consumes them? It is sad how often unjust, unlovely, wrongs that others have committed against me, less than praiseworthiness creeps into our thoughts. Then we wonder at the stress we are in! Oh help us Lord to meditate on those things which are true, noble, just....

God bless you. God is good.

Time for Trauma or Treasure.

I'll take the treasure. And I know Haiti will too. Our hearts still hurt for those who lost "what they didn't have" in the Friday storm...a home? Well a tent. At least they had a cover over their heads. But now...I wonder where they will sleep or should I say, are sleeping?

Today was busy, real busy in the "office"...and I'm not done, but will stop for the day. Actually I did have some play time with Nate this morning. Always so much fun.

The greatest treasure is eternity with our Lord. Laying up treasures where they can't be taken or rusted out. I think those "treasures" are those we help into the Kingdom. How many opportunities have I missed? We know when we have earthly treasure, we seem to put a lot of time into it. All that will pass away. But we can invest in those who need a helping hand.

Tomorrow it is off to the doctor again. This is the longest that I have gone without an appointment. I'm excited. The last time I was still using a cane to hobble along. Now...I never even take it out with me.

I hope your day was good and went well.

God bless you. God is good.

As a Child

Matthew 18:4 "Therefore whoever humbles himself as this little child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven."

Children come with no agenda, just being...today at the dinner table we were getting ready to pray. Our grandson usually folds his hands. Today he looked at his grandpa, then used only on hand to pray instead of both his hand. It was so special.

Then this afternoon he was playing at our house. He was showing grandpa one of his books. It has a butterfly, and he always locks his thumbs pretending to fly like a butterfly. He wanted his grandpa to do it too. So Patrick did it with one hand. That wasn't enough. He peeked up his shirt sleeve, then said, "No hand." Smile.

Children watch and follow what they see their parents do, and other adults they are around. They observe everything. And us? Why is it so difficult for us to imitate our Heavenly Father?

Worship time at church this morning was so awesome. We do have a wonderful awesome God!!

God bless you. God is so Good.

Psalm 121

This morning I was listening to one of my favorite French artists Constance. She sings a beautiful rendition of Psalm 121. (you can listen to her on YouTube) Caused my spirit into quietness and assurance, knowing that God is my protection. He does keep me in every situation. He guards my goings and comings. He doesn't sleep nor slumber. Yes, my help comes from the Lord. He is my shade. He keeps Israel. What more can we need? I have been troubling over my upcoming trip to Haiti. I trust Him to protect me, or in a clear way showing me that now is not the time to go. With yesterday's storm, and Monday's strong tremor in the village, I became even more troubles. Lord, help me to rest in You. I am not in control, but You are! Almost every day now, I add another prosthetic sock to make the prosthesis more comfortable to walk in. What this means, is that my "Peggy" is decreasing in size and preparing for the permanent prosthesis. This usually takes 6-8 months after the beginning of the prosthesis. When I need 10 socks, then it is time for the permanent one. I'm on month 2 and yesterday I was wearing 5 socks. Have a wonderful weekend. Pray for Haiti. The storm yesterday added another hardship to the already devastated country. God bless you. God is Good!!

What next?

Just received news that hurricane force winds and rain hit Haiti today. I'm thinking Tropical Storm Matthew. Tents were flying everywhere and many people were hurt. I wonder what people will do now. The needs continue to be astronomical!! My heart is crying for them.

Our God is greater than those needs. I think of the verse in Proverbs 18:10 "The name of the LORD is a strong tower; The righteous run to it and are safe." To know His name, and many in Haiti do not know the name of the Lord.

Today was another good day...enjoyed Nate and a friend who came to play SkipBo. Fun. Now it is off to serious packing, putting things in storage, getting ready for our trip to Haiti. Walking is still good. Not much pain at all.

Blessed be the Name of the Lord.

God bless you. God is Good.

Time

What have I done with the time the Lord gave me today? Have I truly used it for His glory?

I'm thinking of the verses in Ecclesiastes 3 "In everything there is a time and a season..."

The season is always right to praise Him, to worship Him. Always. Nothing is so bad that we can't praise Him. Or is it? I can praise Him, and "Lord, help me to do so." Isn't it sad that we think we are so in control, and yet we can't even praise Him without His help.

Today I am wearing 4 "socks" which means my "Peggy" is getting smaller and on the way to a permanent prosthesis. I will wear 10 "socks" before I am ready for that. Rachel and I had a great time for a couple hours this evening...riding the country roads, enjoying the trees and nice houses, of course. Was so relaxing and fun.

God bless you. God is so good.

Thank you Lord

I praise the Lord for the ability to walk again. It is so good to go to the store and be able to walk instead of ride the electronic carts. Ok so yes, I need the regular grocery cart to help me along. But I am walking!! I remember kitchen work was so difficult. Now I can put things in the fridge, carry things to the table. And I can carry the laundry basket to the laundry room....yes, the clothes are in the basket. :)) So I'm not carrying an empty basket around. ha.

Another blessing...a friend called today...I've tried and tried to find her, and now I am connect with her again.

God is so good. And it is so true...why not serve God? We won't get better than that. Yes, we may suffer because of it, but we will suffer if we choose satan. He doesn't have any blessings to share. But our God does!!

God bless you!! God is so Good!! All the time!!

Rest

Today was a restful day. Quiet. Some cleaning...and yes, I ran the vacuum again. Much better this time. Of course the day was topped when Nate came to visit. What a joy he is!! Loves to "read". Today we read the story of Jonah.

I wonder if I would have told if I would had been the one who caused the storm. And even told them what to do...throw him overboard?! We know the end of the story, but Jonah didn't. I am sure Jonah thought he was on his way to death. But God wasn't done yet. Can we force God's Hand? I don't think so.

We need to pray in God's will, not ours. We need to be ready when God calls us to do His bidding. It may be a big mission, or it may simply be to give a cup of water to a thirsty soul. God doesn't look on His commands as big or little. If God says to do it, we must. May I add that giving a cup of water is a spiritual act. We don't often see it as such.

We just need to be aware of His calling and do it.

I pray you had a good day, even in suffering it can be good.

God bless you. God is Good.

Home Again

Our 2 weeks on the road was great!! We visited many friends, churches and our family. As good as it is, it is so good to be home again!!

My walking improved greatly in the past 2 weeks. I had lots of practice going up and down stairs. I still haven't mastered it without holding on to a rail. But I see progress.

We have the blessing of coming home, but those in Haiti in tents are not "home" yet. I'm not sure they have hopes of returning to a house they could call home.

We have returned to our earthly home, but we are not really "HOME" yet. There is much work to be done. May we all not be discouraged and weary of doing good. Let us fight the fight of faith together. One day we will all be home with our Heavenly Father, and Jesus who is our Lord. What a homecoming that will be!!

God bless you. God is good.

David's Credentials

I Samuel 16:7 & 18 "For the LORD does not see as man sees; for man looks at the outward appearance, but the LORD looks at the heart." "Look, I have seen a son of Jesse the BethlehemIte, who is skillful in playing, a mighty man of valor, a man of war, prudent in speech, and a handsome person; and the LORD is with him."

I love the story of David. We can learn so much. God did not choose a king according to outward appearance. I'm thinking how much wiser choices we would make if we were not so concerned about outward appearances. I love when the servant gave the credentials for someone to play music for Saul when the distressing spirit fell on him. David was a young shepherd boy, yet he was considered a man of valor, man of war and prudent. The icing on the cake is "and the Lord is with him." That is so important. The most important.

I am walking more and more. Confidence is building. Today I purchased a ticket to visit Haiti in October. The first since the quake. People have asked how I feel about that. My answer is "I don't know." Rachel will travel with me. Patrick will go before and meet us there.

Be blessed. God is Good!

Prayer

"Prayer is designed to adjust you to God's will, and not to adjust God to your will." (Blackaby)

When my sister read this to me this morning, it just really reminded me how selfish our prayers often are. I was in a Christian bookstore a few days ago. I saw a book, and don't remember the title. But I do remember what was under the title...to teach you to pray to have God do what you want Him to. Oh my!! How far have we come!!

Is this really what I want? To have God do what I want?? I'm not so sure that it would help me become the person God would want me to be.

Less pain, more walking. I need to work hard to prepare for my trip to Haiti in October. Patrick is doing well.

Be blessed. God is Good.

Bear the cross

The following was sent to me from a friend. I do not know the author...but felt it was worth sharing. I certainly needed to read this today. To bear the cross simply...no self-love, loving God without complaining the suffering chosen for me. I really am challenged about the part that I am bearing the burden for someone who is unable to bear it for himself.

To bear the cross simply, without letting your self-love add all sorts of dilemmas to it, will make your life easier.

When you accept the cross and simply allow it to do the work God intended, you will be happy because you will see what good fruit it is producing in you.

When you love God, it will not matter to you what you must suffer on His behalf.

The cross will make you over in the image of your Beloved. Here is real consolation --- a true bond of love.

You are bearing the burden of some old ones who can no longer bear their own.

Reason weakens at so old an age. Goodness, unless deeply rooted, lessens.

All the strength seems to go to the temper!

Accept and welcome this burden as the cross.

It is a blessing that you have some free hours to rest in peace in the bosom of the Lord.

This is where you will refresh yourself and gain strength to go on.

Take care of your health and try to take some time to rest and enjoy yourself.

As others grow older you should expect less and less of them.

Don't expect too much of yourself, either.

Be blessed. Be a blessing as you are blessed.

I'm back

I am finally back to a blog. God is so good. We have been able to meet with many friends, family and new acquaintances. Today was a great coffee day with my sister.

Patrick's message text has been "What are your credentials?" What is it about us that makes us important to others? Do we have the same credentials as Paul and John write about in Revelation and Corinthians? Their credentials were that they are brothers in suffering. God wants His children to know that when we suffer, we need not be amazed. Our suffering for His sake will be our glory in eternity. We need not focus on our suffering today, but on our eternal Home with Him. We are strangers in this land, we are not home yet.

You need not pray for suffering. It will come, if you serve the Lord or not. Satan will make you suffer too. So why not suffer for the Lord and be blessed.

Walking is better every day. I have now been able to stand to speak in meetings rather than sitting. YES!!

Be blessed.

God is my God

Psalm 48:14 "For this God is our God for ever and ever: he will be our guide even unto death."

God is our God for ever and ever. Do we share this with our children and grandchildren? Do they know that God has promised to be our guide until the end? Through the Old Testament we read over and over how the laws of God were passed through the generations. The stories of His greatness were told.

Don't we spend more time discussing the scores of a sport event than the greatness of God? I'm not bashing sports, but I just wonder. Would the teens of today be more excited about God if we were showing the them to excitement of serving God, more than a ball game. I'm just saying.....

Walking is better and better every day. Traveling is wonderful. Agape stays busy taking us to where we need to go.

God bless you. God is good.

On the Road

Good morning

We are ready for the road for the day...meetings all day.

My sister is training me to drive the golf cart, this is to prepare me for driving a car. At least that is her idea. And it does give me a sense of driving. I push the pedal but can't feel it. ha. I will continue the training while I'm here.

Life provides joys and sorrows, challenges, trials. God gives us the answers to all of these. He does not give us the "why" always, but He does give us the answer "Come unto Me." What more can we ask. He has the plans for our lives, the days numbered. We just need to trust Him to care for us.

Trust Him today. Run into His open arms.

Be blessed

Rest

What do you need rest from? Do you need rest from work? worry? pain? hurting relationships? Rejection?

Jesus promises to give us rest...."Come unto me all you who are weary and heavy laden, and I will give you rest." What a promise! Why do I worry then? He promises to take my burdens and give me rest.

Rest my dear one...give it to Jesus...He knows our burdens...we can trust Him.

We are enjoying our time with friends and family...our speaking schedules start Wednesday. Pray for us as we share God's Word and what God is doing in Haiti/in our lives.

Walking is improving every day. It feels so good, well at least most of the time. There are still adjustments, but it is much better.

God is Good. God bless you!!

When I say

When I say I can't, He says "When you are weak, then am I strong"

When I say I am tired, He says "Come unto me, I will give you rest."

When I say no one loves me, He says "I love you with an everlasting love."

When I say I can't forgive, He says "I forgive you"

When I say I'm afraid, He says "My peace I give unto you."

When I say I'm so alone, He says "I will never leave you."

When I say I don't know how, He says "Is anything too hard for the Lord?"

The list could go on and on...you fill in some that is personal to you. Our Lord is very interested in us personally. His promises are true and can be counted on. NO MAN can annul God's promises. We can hold on to HIM.

Traveling is good. Walking is good. We are praising God for His goodness.

God bless you. God is so good.

Wrestling

Good morning

Wrestling in prayer that is...not the sport. How often do we wrestle in prayer? That is where I am now, wrestling...needing an answer. Still none. I know God has the answer, He just hasn't shown it to me yet. Patience, wait. The answer will come in the right moment.

We had a great trip to Indiana. We praise God for safety. We have a fairly tight schedule while here, so if I don't get to blogging each day, don't give up on me.

I'm scheduled to visit Haiti in October. I am struggling with this...pray that I would have peace.

God is so good. He is our only HOPE in this dark world. We are the light.

God bless you. Have a great weekend!!

Lord is my Stability

Isaiah 33:5-6 "The LORD is exalted, for he dwells on high; he will fill Zion with justice and righteousness; and he will be the stability of your times, abundance of salvation, wisdom, and knowledge; the fear of the LORD is his treasure."
This was the scripture that greeted me this morning in my study. This is a powerful promise to God's people. It is not just salvation, but abundance of salvation. The fear of the Lord is my treasure. He is the stability of my times.
I realize I personalized this verse. I felt it was speaking to me. In the times, when everything is more confusing, economy is down, people lose their jobs, homes...but He the Lord is our stability. Isn't this good news!! I love it. I need to remember this when I go to Haiti next month. I must say, that thought is a bit disturbing. Too many memories.
Today was preparation day for our trip to Indiana and Michigan. We look forward to seeing family and friends. We look forward to worshipping with fellow believers and sharing in their church family.
Pray for traveling safety. Pray for Rachel, it makes her sad that we are leaving. She returns to GA to Pat. It is a bit difficult to think our family is going different ways now. But our hearts are bonded.
God is good. May you be blessed!!