Brrrrrr!!! Its 28 here in Lilburn...love it!
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Its been awhile since I posted on this blog....God has been laying something heavy and strong on my heart for the last few weeks...I want to share it with you.....
Faith....what is it?????
God has shown me what true faith is. We can say all day long that we have faith that our car will start, that our water will come on when we turn on the faucet, that we will surely have bills come in the mail....but...is that faith? Or is it just life, because we know those things happen every day.
I might have eluded to this in a previous post...but, its part of what is on my heart..so bare with me... God has had to break me, to show me what I really need. Its not a new car, its not a brand new fancy house, its not the newest and most expensive clothes...its HIM.
I know this is for someone out there, I feel it in my heart...so please, if this is something God is dealing with you about, this could be for you.
We go thru life, saying, we "need" this job...we "need" this much money to live, we "need" this person or that person in our lives...but, do we really? WE think we do, but sometimes God shows us just what we really need. I was one of those people...He showed me a few years ago, and He has shown me most recently!
I "needed" the money that was being brought into the salon, in order for it to stay open. There was NO way I could run it if any of the girls left me. I endured lots of heartache and frustration, because this is what I believed! God showed me that HE was ALL I needed...I didn't need money from anyone else, I just needed to rely on Him...from that point on, I had faith that HE was going to take care of things...actually, He already had, I just had to believe it....for 3 years, He did just that, I relied totally on Him....every bill was paid, every need was taken care of, and in the mean time, I was able to share Jesus with many other ladies that came thru the salon. That was my mission field....I can see now why I was there, and why He didn't want me to close the salon at that time..
I have grown in faith over those years since then....recently, I slacked off just a bit....I had been doing some work, (almost exclusively) for someone else, it was good, but then became sparadic, and there was some frustration involved, and not alot of money, but what I did have helped alot. I kept saying, once again, I need that money, I have to endure everything to keep it going...then, right after I verbalized that, HE was right there again, showing me that I need NO ONE or NOTHING but Him...just rely on Him...for ALL things..... I released that feeling of need of others, and He has supplied all of them since then. He wants to do it, but until we let Him, He is just waiting on us!
We NEED to be serving the Lord, we NEED to be telling others of Him and giving them the opportunity to know Him too. Its our responsibility...its what He expects of us.
If you are in a situation similar...let go. Just let go of what or who you THINK you need....let God be ALL that you need!
If we say we have faith, but we continue to "need" other people or things to make it, then we have no faith. We do not need that person in our life just because they have what we think we need to survive...its not true. Can you imagine just what God will do if we let go of that, and truly trust Him for everything, just let let that go!!!!! We are missing so many blessings because we fail to believe totally.
God laid this on my heart....please be in prayer and realize that faith means believing...even tho we haven't seen.....God bless us all......
Friday, November 14, 2014
Friday, October 3, 2014
Counting my blessings..
Hello again, on this cool, rainy Friday...70 beautiful degrees in Lilburn!
We had an exciting day in our family yesterday! We gained another member!! Evie Michelle Massey, 6 lbs 5 oz of pure joy! We are thankful to God for His protection over the mother and the baby. How many times do we really think about their safety????
As we left out of Stephanie's room, so she could rest some before the big event, we heard a code blue for labor and delivery. We felt so afraid for someone, someone we didn't even know. We prayed right then and there....a few moments later, we hear terrible sobbing, and someone coming out of the ward, having to be helped to walk by a nurse. The nurse went back into the ward, my friend and I( the other Nana to Evie), walked over to the sobbing lady. It is her daughter. She is in labor with her third child. She began to have a seizure, then stopped breathing. They rushed her to the OR, where they did an emergency c section on the baby.
I went over and just held this lady, as she cried for her only child, not knowing if she was dead or alive. I prayed with her, we stayed with her until the Dr came out and called the family back. Not good news.
Sadly, this young mother did not live to see her new son. This is almost non existent in todays world. The baby sometimes doesn't make it, but the mothers almost never die during childbirth anymore. Sad...
Sadly, the little baby boy was transported to another hospital, because he began to have seizures. I have no idea what was or is going on today, but I know that I had the opportunity to share Gods love with two hurting, grieving people.
We never know when it is our appointed time to leave this world. My prayer is, that this young mother knew the Lord, that she is now in Heaven awaiting the rest of her family. This makes me realize more than ever, that we have to share Jesus with everyone we meet. We NEVER know when our last breath is coming. WE have to be ready, to know that we know that we know that we will be with Jesus when our last breath comes.
I pray today, for each one of you. That if you do not know without a doubt that when you die, you will be with Jesus in Heaven, that you will do so today, right now. We are not promised out next breath, and once its gone, there are no more chances. We are shown over and over that age is not a factor in when we will die. Please please make that decision today. If I can help you, I want to. I am here for all of you.
Until the next time, God Bless us all! :)
We had an exciting day in our family yesterday! We gained another member!! Evie Michelle Massey, 6 lbs 5 oz of pure joy! We are thankful to God for His protection over the mother and the baby. How many times do we really think about their safety????
As we left out of Stephanie's room, so she could rest some before the big event, we heard a code blue for labor and delivery. We felt so afraid for someone, someone we didn't even know. We prayed right then and there....a few moments later, we hear terrible sobbing, and someone coming out of the ward, having to be helped to walk by a nurse. The nurse went back into the ward, my friend and I( the other Nana to Evie), walked over to the sobbing lady. It is her daughter. She is in labor with her third child. She began to have a seizure, then stopped breathing. They rushed her to the OR, where they did an emergency c section on the baby.
I went over and just held this lady, as she cried for her only child, not knowing if she was dead or alive. I prayed with her, we stayed with her until the Dr came out and called the family back. Not good news.
Sadly, this young mother did not live to see her new son. This is almost non existent in todays world. The baby sometimes doesn't make it, but the mothers almost never die during childbirth anymore. Sad...
Sadly, the little baby boy was transported to another hospital, because he began to have seizures. I have no idea what was or is going on today, but I know that I had the opportunity to share Gods love with two hurting, grieving people.
We never know when it is our appointed time to leave this world. My prayer is, that this young mother knew the Lord, that she is now in Heaven awaiting the rest of her family. This makes me realize more than ever, that we have to share Jesus with everyone we meet. We NEVER know when our last breath is coming. WE have to be ready, to know that we know that we know that we will be with Jesus when our last breath comes.
I pray today, for each one of you. That if you do not know without a doubt that when you die, you will be with Jesus in Heaven, that you will do so today, right now. We are not promised out next breath, and once its gone, there are no more chances. We are shown over and over that age is not a factor in when we will die. Please please make that decision today. If I can help you, I want to. I am here for all of you.
Until the next time, God Bless us all! :)
Wednesday, October 1, 2014
OK! Lets try this again....
Was I gone long? Seems like forever! Lets see, where were we??
Obedience....what does it mean? As I mentioned in a previous post, one of our salon clients mentioned obedience, Gods will.....That spoke volumes to me....I knew I wasn't being obedient...I was getting better, but I wasn't where I needed to be with my relationship with God.
One day, out of the blue, I found myself in an almost empty salon. Some of the girls had retired, some had moved on, and one, well, she just left without notice, without saying a word. The last thing she said was on Friday afternoon as I was leaving work, "Have a good weekend". I had no idea she would be packing up and moving out as soon as my tail lights were out of sight.
There had been many years with this person...who I always thought was my friend. I guess you find out who your true friends are at some point. We worked together for along time, but for the previous few months before she left, there was tension. It made it hard to come to work each day, and hard to be in the mood to make women feel good about themselves, but I did it, with the help of God of course! I kept thinking to myself, "I can't say anything to her, she will leave, and I need her money to keep the salon open, I have to just deal with it"..........................................
So, that next morning, I walk into an empty station where she once was. My first thought was, How am I going to do this?????? Within seconds, my next thought was, Whew! The tension is no longer in this building, it felt so different! Then it was just like I heard God say, "Now, WHO do you NEED??" I immediately realized that God was using this to show me that I need HIM...not her money, not anyone elses money....just HIM. This is the day that my eyes saw things so much more clearly. From that point on, I began to trust God for everything.
Then next Tuesday, the first day open since she left, I was at the salon before anyone else came in, I had the radio on, and I had my paper, pen and calculator, trying to figure how this was going to work. Then.....on the radio, the song "while I'm waiting" came on.....I had never heard it before....and in that song, it says, I will move ahead bold and confident, taking every step in OBEDIENCE!! God also used that to speak to me...I had a long talk with my Heavenly Father after that song, and I knew that everything was going to be ok. I didn't know if the salon would stay open or close, but I knew that it was going to be ok.....
Sometimes He has to knock us down to make us look up. For this, I am thankful. For this "storm" in my life, I thank Him. There is so much more He did from this point on, and tomorrow, I will fill you in on more. :)
I am still praying for everyone that reads these words...If there is ever anyway I can help you, please don't hesitate to contact me. I am here for you! Until tomorrow, God Bless us all! :)
Obedience....what does it mean? As I mentioned in a previous post, one of our salon clients mentioned obedience, Gods will.....That spoke volumes to me....I knew I wasn't being obedient...I was getting better, but I wasn't where I needed to be with my relationship with God.
One day, out of the blue, I found myself in an almost empty salon. Some of the girls had retired, some had moved on, and one, well, she just left without notice, without saying a word. The last thing she said was on Friday afternoon as I was leaving work, "Have a good weekend". I had no idea she would be packing up and moving out as soon as my tail lights were out of sight.
There had been many years with this person...who I always thought was my friend. I guess you find out who your true friends are at some point. We worked together for along time, but for the previous few months before she left, there was tension. It made it hard to come to work each day, and hard to be in the mood to make women feel good about themselves, but I did it, with the help of God of course! I kept thinking to myself, "I can't say anything to her, she will leave, and I need her money to keep the salon open, I have to just deal with it"..........................................
So, that next morning, I walk into an empty station where she once was. My first thought was, How am I going to do this?????? Within seconds, my next thought was, Whew! The tension is no longer in this building, it felt so different! Then it was just like I heard God say, "Now, WHO do you NEED??" I immediately realized that God was using this to show me that I need HIM...not her money, not anyone elses money....just HIM. This is the day that my eyes saw things so much more clearly. From that point on, I began to trust God for everything.
Then next Tuesday, the first day open since she left, I was at the salon before anyone else came in, I had the radio on, and I had my paper, pen and calculator, trying to figure how this was going to work. Then.....on the radio, the song "while I'm waiting" came on.....I had never heard it before....and in that song, it says, I will move ahead bold and confident, taking every step in OBEDIENCE!! God also used that to speak to me...I had a long talk with my Heavenly Father after that song, and I knew that everything was going to be ok. I didn't know if the salon would stay open or close, but I knew that it was going to be ok.....
Sometimes He has to knock us down to make us look up. For this, I am thankful. For this "storm" in my life, I thank Him. There is so much more He did from this point on, and tomorrow, I will fill you in on more. :)
I am still praying for everyone that reads these words...If there is ever anyway I can help you, please don't hesitate to contact me. I am here for you! Until tomorrow, God Bless us all! :)
Is it still Tuesday??
Whoa! Its 5:25 already??? Its been a busy day! But here I am! :)
Ok, I just erased twice, so I think I need to go ask God just what it is He has for me to post today....Don't go away, I will be back, as soon as HE gives me the words......:)
Ok, I just erased twice, so I think I need to go ask God just what it is He has for me to post today....Don't go away, I will be back, as soon as HE gives me the words......:)
Tuesday, September 30, 2014
God is good, ALL the time!
Tuesday! This is the day that The Lord has made, I will rejoice and be glad in it!!
I missed you yesterday! But I didn't forget to pray for all of you!
Today is a busy day, but I wanted to leave you with a thought....
Do you trust God for everything? Do you think He can do everything? Right now, I am talking about our needs. The things we need to go about our lives, each day. That could be a job, our health, food on our table, money for gas, clothes, etc.
We sometimes, more than not if we really were to be honest, we don't thank God for these "little" things, that are truly BIG things...God has put me in a place, that I HAVE to rely on Him for everything...and I am grateful for it all!
I have to rely on Him just to walk everyday! My knees are not as young as my age, ;), so to be able to move around, I have to rely on God to help me. And I give HIM all the praise and Glory for that. I have to rely on HIM for ALL my needs. I am grateful that He has put me in the place that HE has, because it makes me HAVE to rely on Him for everything. Yes! That means I am grateful for the knee problems, I am grateful for the financial part of my life, I am most grateful for His love, the love that only a Heavenly Father can give to His children, eternal life, blessings abundant, and joy unspeakable!
God continues to prove Himself to me. He is faithful, I need to be faithful to Him. I am giving Him all the GLORY today for what He is doing in my life! He is showing me just what I "need" in life, not what I think I need....and probably shaking His head saying, "ok my child, I am going to show you yet again!!"
Have a wonderfully blessed day, and please please, remember to thank God for all the things in our lives that we take for granted each and every day!
I will be praying for you! Until the next time, God Bless us ALL!
I missed you yesterday! But I didn't forget to pray for all of you!
Today is a busy day, but I wanted to leave you with a thought....
Do you trust God for everything? Do you think He can do everything? Right now, I am talking about our needs. The things we need to go about our lives, each day. That could be a job, our health, food on our table, money for gas, clothes, etc.
We sometimes, more than not if we really were to be honest, we don't thank God for these "little" things, that are truly BIG things...God has put me in a place, that I HAVE to rely on Him for everything...and I am grateful for it all!
I have to rely on Him just to walk everyday! My knees are not as young as my age, ;), so to be able to move around, I have to rely on God to help me. And I give HIM all the praise and Glory for that. I have to rely on HIM for ALL my needs. I am grateful that He has put me in the place that HE has, because it makes me HAVE to rely on Him for everything. Yes! That means I am grateful for the knee problems, I am grateful for the financial part of my life, I am most grateful for His love, the love that only a Heavenly Father can give to His children, eternal life, blessings abundant, and joy unspeakable!
God continues to prove Himself to me. He is faithful, I need to be faithful to Him. I am giving Him all the GLORY today for what He is doing in my life! He is showing me just what I "need" in life, not what I think I need....and probably shaking His head saying, "ok my child, I am going to show you yet again!!"
Have a wonderfully blessed day, and please please, remember to thank God for all the things in our lives that we take for granted each and every day!
I will be praying for you! Until the next time, God Bless us ALL!
Saturday, September 27, 2014
Happy Saturday!!
Greetings!! Its a beautiful day to have an anniversary! Happy Anniversary Mr. Hunt! :)
Today is our 12th anniversary, and tomorrow is The Lords Day!! So...I will be back Monday and look forward to hearing how things are changing in your lives, because of prayer!!
I will be continuing to pray for each of you!
Until Monday, God Bless us all! :)
Today is our 12th anniversary, and tomorrow is The Lords Day!! So...I will be back Monday and look forward to hearing how things are changing in your lives, because of prayer!!
I will be continuing to pray for each of you!
Until Monday, God Bless us all! :)
Friday, September 26, 2014
TGIF!!
It's Friday!! 70 degrees and overcast in Lilburn!
Forgiveness, that is what I am talking about today. Again, one of the hardest things to do, at first. After you truly do it, you find that it gets easier and easier! This is because you realize what it does for you, how it releases your feelings of resentment, anger and pain. I didn't say you would forget what someone did to you, I just said you can forgive...
Several years go by, and God is continuously dealing with me... About obedience, and forgiveness. It seems like everywhere I turn, I hear both of those words...its like a big banner in front of me..."Obedience...Forgiveness".....everywhere!
At this point in my life, I am not being obedient. I am only going to church, "when I feel like it". I am still living my life in the secular world....
One Sunday morning, we decided to go to a church near us...just to go...(my daughter and her husband had visited here a couple of times) We go in, sit down, and I see this man standing on the platform...he looks familiar, but I don't know anyone in Atlanta, so I shrugged it off. As the minutes went by, I am still going over and over in my mind...I know this man...but who is he????
I finally look at the bulletin..and here is this familiar name...Danny Odum! I DO know this man! He is the son in law of my long time next door neighbor from Florida! Coincidence??? I might have thought that at the time, until I learned, there is no such thing...we will talk about that later....
As it turns out, we continued to go to this church...not regularly as we should, but when we did go, this is where we went. It was a place that God used to show me some things also...although at the time, I didn't see that...hidden blessings are everywhere!
At this time, I was in the "pit"...I couldn't seem to climb out of...There was a guest preacher at church this one Sunday morning...and he preached right at me! How did he know what I was feeling, what I was going thru? He preached about Joseph and how he was in that pit.....it was ME! I knew this was God speaking to ME! After the service, I went up to speak to the preacher, and told him how this was for me that he spoke...he said, the one thing he forgot to say but intended to, was that Joseph was in prison for 13 years. He didn't get out overnight. That statement has stayed with me, all these years....and it was for a reason, it was not a "happenstance"....
Several years are going by, and I still am not where I need to be...why Lord? Why am I not getting out of this place I am in???
Tyler Perrys movies/plays, clients coming into the salon speaking things that stand out in a huge way to me....books I read...its all right there, Gods word, every time I opened it, it was right there! Why was I not getting it???
One summer, about 3 years ago, I got it! By this time, I am going to a little church in Lilburn, White Oak Baptist Church, and the Pastor is none other than ...are you ready for this??? Danny Odum! Coincidence? I think not! I am starting to get it, but something is still missing....
I am at the salon, its busy at that moment, and I get a phone call, asking me to spend the day with them the next day. (I know, I didn't say who it was, but let me just say, it was someone I needed to forgive, and to also ask forgiveness) My first thought was, why? I haven't even seen these people in years, and the salon is busy, I can't leave. God DOES have a sense of humor, I look down at the appointment book, and there is NOTHING on the book for the next day. That NEVER happens! Well, I figured God was telling me to go...so I said yes.
They came by to pick me up the next morning...I had already prayed and asked God to help me, help me to forgive, and help me know what to say. So, they came into my home, and we all stood in my foyer, I told them that I needed to forgive them, and that I wanted to ask forgiveness from them also. It was a good thing. I could immediately feel all the resentment, bitterness, anger leave my heart!!! I knew that it was real for me!!
We all stood there, holding hands, and we had prayer. :) I spent the day with them, and it was a good day.
My life started to change in a HUGE way! Oh I still had problems, as long as you live in this world, we will have problems..but thank you Lord, we have someone to help us thru them! My whole life started changing...I was reading God's word more, my heart was more in tune with Him, I saw hidden blessings showing up that I never saw before! Hallelujah!
Jesus died on the cross to FORGIVE our sins, MY sins...how could I not forgive the wrongs done to me? They are so tiny compared to what God did for me!
This is only the beginning....but for me, it is SO important to think about the Cross, where Jesus died to pay for ALL our sins. He could have stopped it at any moment, but he loved us enough to continue, to go thru the pain and agony he must have endured, so that WE could have life eternal, and be with HIM in Heaven!
Tomorrow, we continue....but today, I challenge you to pray! To ask God to give you a forgiving heart, to help you to forgive those things, those people that have hurt you....I will be praying for you. No, I don't know who you are, but God does, and He will know who I am praying for when I pray.
Until next time, God Bless us all! :)
Forgiveness, that is what I am talking about today. Again, one of the hardest things to do, at first. After you truly do it, you find that it gets easier and easier! This is because you realize what it does for you, how it releases your feelings of resentment, anger and pain. I didn't say you would forget what someone did to you, I just said you can forgive...
Several years go by, and God is continuously dealing with me... About obedience, and forgiveness. It seems like everywhere I turn, I hear both of those words...its like a big banner in front of me..."Obedience...Forgiveness".....everywhere!
At this point in my life, I am not being obedient. I am only going to church, "when I feel like it". I am still living my life in the secular world....
One Sunday morning, we decided to go to a church near us...just to go...(my daughter and her husband had visited here a couple of times) We go in, sit down, and I see this man standing on the platform...he looks familiar, but I don't know anyone in Atlanta, so I shrugged it off. As the minutes went by, I am still going over and over in my mind...I know this man...but who is he????
I finally look at the bulletin..and here is this familiar name...Danny Odum! I DO know this man! He is the son in law of my long time next door neighbor from Florida! Coincidence??? I might have thought that at the time, until I learned, there is no such thing...we will talk about that later....
As it turns out, we continued to go to this church...not regularly as we should, but when we did go, this is where we went. It was a place that God used to show me some things also...although at the time, I didn't see that...hidden blessings are everywhere!
At this time, I was in the "pit"...I couldn't seem to climb out of...There was a guest preacher at church this one Sunday morning...and he preached right at me! How did he know what I was feeling, what I was going thru? He preached about Joseph and how he was in that pit.....it was ME! I knew this was God speaking to ME! After the service, I went up to speak to the preacher, and told him how this was for me that he spoke...he said, the one thing he forgot to say but intended to, was that Joseph was in prison for 13 years. He didn't get out overnight. That statement has stayed with me, all these years....and it was for a reason, it was not a "happenstance"....
Several years are going by, and I still am not where I need to be...why Lord? Why am I not getting out of this place I am in???
Tyler Perrys movies/plays, clients coming into the salon speaking things that stand out in a huge way to me....books I read...its all right there, Gods word, every time I opened it, it was right there! Why was I not getting it???
One summer, about 3 years ago, I got it! By this time, I am going to a little church in Lilburn, White Oak Baptist Church, and the Pastor is none other than ...are you ready for this??? Danny Odum! Coincidence? I think not! I am starting to get it, but something is still missing....
I am at the salon, its busy at that moment, and I get a phone call, asking me to spend the day with them the next day. (I know, I didn't say who it was, but let me just say, it was someone I needed to forgive, and to also ask forgiveness) My first thought was, why? I haven't even seen these people in years, and the salon is busy, I can't leave. God DOES have a sense of humor, I look down at the appointment book, and there is NOTHING on the book for the next day. That NEVER happens! Well, I figured God was telling me to go...so I said yes.
They came by to pick me up the next morning...I had already prayed and asked God to help me, help me to forgive, and help me know what to say. So, they came into my home, and we all stood in my foyer, I told them that I needed to forgive them, and that I wanted to ask forgiveness from them also. It was a good thing. I could immediately feel all the resentment, bitterness, anger leave my heart!!! I knew that it was real for me!!
We all stood there, holding hands, and we had prayer. :) I spent the day with them, and it was a good day.
My life started to change in a HUGE way! Oh I still had problems, as long as you live in this world, we will have problems..but thank you Lord, we have someone to help us thru them! My whole life started changing...I was reading God's word more, my heart was more in tune with Him, I saw hidden blessings showing up that I never saw before! Hallelujah!
Jesus died on the cross to FORGIVE our sins, MY sins...how could I not forgive the wrongs done to me? They are so tiny compared to what God did for me!
This is only the beginning....but for me, it is SO important to think about the Cross, where Jesus died to pay for ALL our sins. He could have stopped it at any moment, but he loved us enough to continue, to go thru the pain and agony he must have endured, so that WE could have life eternal, and be with HIM in Heaven!
Tomorrow, we continue....but today, I challenge you to pray! To ask God to give you a forgiving heart, to help you to forgive those things, those people that have hurt you....I will be praying for you. No, I don't know who you are, but God does, and He will know who I am praying for when I pray.
Until next time, God Bless us all! :)
Thursday, September 25, 2014
Happy Thursday!
If this weather gets any more beautiful, I don't know if we can stand it! 68 degrees in beautiful Lilburn!
I trust that everyone is having a beautiful start to your Thursday! Mine has been awesome! God is good, all the time! And all the time, God is good!
Funny how things happen sometimes....you keep hearing the word," forgiveness", and you hear "in His will"....This is how I first started realizing that God was trying to show me something, trying to make me understand how my life was going to change...but not until I could forgive the ones that had done me wrong, ask forgiveness from them, and continue to ask God each and everyday what His will for my life is!
Movies, hair clients, books, memories of the past...all these things were instruments being used by God to show me what I had to do!
First, it was forgiveness! I was watching Good Day Atlanta one morning before work. There was a young new actor, writer, CHRISTIAN gentleman on the show. He was releasing his first movie. It was called, "Diary of a mad black woman"!! Yes, Tyler Perry! I listened to his story, and it touched my heart! I had never heard his name before that morning...but little did I know how much his plays/movies would touch my life, and help me on my walk with my Jesus!
I decided I wanted to see everything he has ever written! So, Scott goes to the movie rental store, and rents everything they had by Tyler Perry. The first one I watched was, "I can do bad all by myself"...wow...it was huge for me. I laughed, cried, shouted praise to God, through out the entire play. God spoke about forgiveness thru this play. This is when I realized for certain, that I HAD to forgive...its one of the hardest things you have to do, but a necessary one...and the one thing that can set you free....but...it wasn't that easy...
I was searching still, for peace, I knew that God was working in my life, but I just couldn't get to where I needed to be, and I couldn't understand why.
One day, while the salon was quiet, there was just me and one hair stylist, and her very good friend/client in that building..he started to tell us how God had touched his life, and healed him of his cancer, and how he had to forgive in order to be in Gods perfect will. Ok! That was the next thing God was trying to tell me, I can't be in His perfect will, if I am not totally surrendered to Him, if I am not obedient...Forgiveness, in HIS will...wow...
I KNEW I had to forgive...but how? When you feel that you have been treated so badly, and you have this resentment built up inside of you, HOW? How do you forgive???????
I hope that there are people actually reading this, because with each word I type, I feel that God has someone that needs to hear something I have to say. I am praying for that person right now....
Until tomorrow, God Bless us all! :)
I trust that everyone is having a beautiful start to your Thursday! Mine has been awesome! God is good, all the time! And all the time, God is good!
Funny how things happen sometimes....you keep hearing the word," forgiveness", and you hear "in His will"....This is how I first started realizing that God was trying to show me something, trying to make me understand how my life was going to change...but not until I could forgive the ones that had done me wrong, ask forgiveness from them, and continue to ask God each and everyday what His will for my life is!
Movies, hair clients, books, memories of the past...all these things were instruments being used by God to show me what I had to do!
First, it was forgiveness! I was watching Good Day Atlanta one morning before work. There was a young new actor, writer, CHRISTIAN gentleman on the show. He was releasing his first movie. It was called, "Diary of a mad black woman"!! Yes, Tyler Perry! I listened to his story, and it touched my heart! I had never heard his name before that morning...but little did I know how much his plays/movies would touch my life, and help me on my walk with my Jesus!
I decided I wanted to see everything he has ever written! So, Scott goes to the movie rental store, and rents everything they had by Tyler Perry. The first one I watched was, "I can do bad all by myself"...wow...it was huge for me. I laughed, cried, shouted praise to God, through out the entire play. God spoke about forgiveness thru this play. This is when I realized for certain, that I HAD to forgive...its one of the hardest things you have to do, but a necessary one...and the one thing that can set you free....but...it wasn't that easy...
I was searching still, for peace, I knew that God was working in my life, but I just couldn't get to where I needed to be, and I couldn't understand why.
One day, while the salon was quiet, there was just me and one hair stylist, and her very good friend/client in that building..he started to tell us how God had touched his life, and healed him of his cancer, and how he had to forgive in order to be in Gods perfect will. Ok! That was the next thing God was trying to tell me, I can't be in His perfect will, if I am not totally surrendered to Him, if I am not obedient...Forgiveness, in HIS will...wow...
I KNEW I had to forgive...but how? When you feel that you have been treated so badly, and you have this resentment built up inside of you, HOW? How do you forgive???????
I hope that there are people actually reading this, because with each word I type, I feel that God has someone that needs to hear something I have to say. I am praying for that person right now....
Until tomorrow, God Bless us all! :)
Wednesday, September 24, 2014
What a Beautiful day!
What a beautiful day! Its 78 degrees in my beautiful hometown of Lilburn GA! Have I said that I LOVE fall? :)
Have you ever sat back, and started thinking about past events in your life? Good or bad, either one...I can remember when I was going thru some hard times, I was always sad, asking God why me?? I thought I was a good person, I was a Christian, maybe I wasn't in the center of God's will, but I went to church, I was involved in activities there, I did all the "right" things. I managed to "get past" these things, not giving any credit to where it was due. I just "got past them".
It was years, many years later that I realized this, instead of asking "why me", I said, "why NOT me"? What made me so special that it couldn't happen to me?
Things started happening in my life after I had been living in GA for a few years. Financial, relationship, my sense of worth, my independence was gone, I had no self esteem. Let me back up, just a tad.....
I had been totally dependent my entire life. Growing up, marrying so young, I was always dependent on someone. Until one day, I woke up, and I was Judy, the real Judy. I realized I had been who everyone else wanted me to be all my life. I wanted to please everyone I loved, so I did as I thought they wanted me to do. All this time, never really giving any thought to what GOD wanted me to be, or do. So, I changed my life! I got a job, started being independent. It was liberating. Still, I wasn't seeking whom God wanted me to be...that comes tho, just hang in with me......
Now, as I was saying.....Things started changing after I moved to GA. I was not following God, in any way shape or form. I knew what was right and wrong, I just did what Judy wanted to do. It was fun, for awhile, then I became miserable, and didn't really even know why. Things started going south with my relationship, with my finances...I was sad inside, I was putting a fake smile on my face for everyone else. I could hide it pretty well, after all, that's what I had been doing my whole life!
After about a year of the sadness deep inside, the feeling of not knowing what was wrong, not knowing which way to turn, my world fell apart! I had left work, gone home, I cried all the way home, not knowing why. I let my dogs outside, and I sat with them, as I was crying uncontrollably. I had NO idea why, or how to stop....after what seemed like forever, I lifted my head to the sky, and I said, "God you have to help me, you have to show me what to do! I don't know where to go from here, I don't know how to fix whatever is wrong inside!"
Instantly I stopped crying, and my heart felt much lighter than it had in a very long time. God had been waiting for me to ask. He is always right there with us, but He gives us free will, and will never force us. He just waits, patiently. Thank God I reached out, because from that moment on, all sorts of things started happening in my life! More bad things, but things that would make my faith grow and make me stronger for what was yet to come.
And with this, I will leave you until tomorrow.
My prayer is that if something I say, or share, can help someone else, then its worth bearing it to the world.
Until tomorrow, God Bless us all!
Have you ever sat back, and started thinking about past events in your life? Good or bad, either one...I can remember when I was going thru some hard times, I was always sad, asking God why me?? I thought I was a good person, I was a Christian, maybe I wasn't in the center of God's will, but I went to church, I was involved in activities there, I did all the "right" things. I managed to "get past" these things, not giving any credit to where it was due. I just "got past them".
It was years, many years later that I realized this, instead of asking "why me", I said, "why NOT me"? What made me so special that it couldn't happen to me?
Things started happening in my life after I had been living in GA for a few years. Financial, relationship, my sense of worth, my independence was gone, I had no self esteem. Let me back up, just a tad.....
I had been totally dependent my entire life. Growing up, marrying so young, I was always dependent on someone. Until one day, I woke up, and I was Judy, the real Judy. I realized I had been who everyone else wanted me to be all my life. I wanted to please everyone I loved, so I did as I thought they wanted me to do. All this time, never really giving any thought to what GOD wanted me to be, or do. So, I changed my life! I got a job, started being independent. It was liberating. Still, I wasn't seeking whom God wanted me to be...that comes tho, just hang in with me......
Now, as I was saying.....Things started changing after I moved to GA. I was not following God, in any way shape or form. I knew what was right and wrong, I just did what Judy wanted to do. It was fun, for awhile, then I became miserable, and didn't really even know why. Things started going south with my relationship, with my finances...I was sad inside, I was putting a fake smile on my face for everyone else. I could hide it pretty well, after all, that's what I had been doing my whole life!
After about a year of the sadness deep inside, the feeling of not knowing what was wrong, not knowing which way to turn, my world fell apart! I had left work, gone home, I cried all the way home, not knowing why. I let my dogs outside, and I sat with them, as I was crying uncontrollably. I had NO idea why, or how to stop....after what seemed like forever, I lifted my head to the sky, and I said, "God you have to help me, you have to show me what to do! I don't know where to go from here, I don't know how to fix whatever is wrong inside!"
Instantly I stopped crying, and my heart felt much lighter than it had in a very long time. God had been waiting for me to ask. He is always right there with us, but He gives us free will, and will never force us. He just waits, patiently. Thank God I reached out, because from that moment on, all sorts of things started happening in my life! More bad things, but things that would make my faith grow and make me stronger for what was yet to come.
And with this, I will leave you until tomorrow.
My prayer is that if something I say, or share, can help someone else, then its worth bearing it to the world.
Until tomorrow, God Bless us all!
Tuesday, September 23, 2014
Quote for the day...
"Love is an action, not a feeling. Love is a choice. In fact, love is a commandment."
Mack Timberlake
Mack Timberlake
Recipe!!
I ran across this recipe my Grannie used to make when I would spend time with her in the summer...my Granddaddy LOVED it...well, so did I! LOL Hope you enjoy!
Old Fashioned (that was my addition, its not the name of the recipe..lol)
Egg Custard Pie
1 unbaked pie shell
3 large eggs
1/2 cup sugar 1/2 t. salt
1/2 t. nutmeg
1-2/3 cups milk
1 t. pure vanilla extract
Pre heat oven to 350 degrees. Whip up your eggs, (Grannie said "don't over beat them!")
add sugar, salt, nutmeg, and milk. Mix well and pour into your unbaked pie shell. Bake about 35-40 minutes. Take from oven and let cool! Yum!
Old Fashioned (that was my addition, its not the name of the recipe..lol)
Egg Custard Pie
1 unbaked pie shell
3 large eggs
1/2 cup sugar 1/2 t. salt
1/2 t. nutmeg
1-2/3 cups milk
1 t. pure vanilla extract
Pre heat oven to 350 degrees. Whip up your eggs, (Grannie said "don't over beat them!")
add sugar, salt, nutmeg, and milk. Mix well and pour into your unbaked pie shell. Bake about 35-40 minutes. Take from oven and let cool! Yum!
September 23, 2014
Happy Fall Y'all!!! :)
What a beautiful morning! The sun is shining, the birds are singing, and its a crisp 66 degrees in beautiful Lilburn!!
Today, I am going to tell you a little about myself. :)
My mother and I lived with my grandparents until I was about 4 years old. I have many many wonderful memories of my Granddaddy, Grannie, and all my aunts and uncles! (There were 8 children in that family!) I remember living in a 2 story house, that housed a little store in the bottom that my grandfather ran. I remember me and my aunt going in and him giving us ice cream! Double scoops! The store later changed to a pool hall. Yes, I said a pool hall. :)
This is where I heard all the newest and best songs that were coming out on the radio! My uncle was in charge of getting the music for the juke box!! What memories!!
I later moved with my Mother and her new husband to Youngstown, FL. I lived next to my new cousins, Mark and Ricky. I LOVED being with them and their family. It too was a large family. Lots of wonderful memories of being on their farm. Cows, chickens, sheep, pecan trees..it was so much fun roaming the huge fields with my cousins...we three became very very close!!
I attended Youngstown Elementary School....guess who my first grade teacher was? My Aunt!! I didn't get special treatment tho. LOL..she was an awesome teacher. She also taught me in 3rd grade.
I will skip all the years up until I was 17 years old. I married my first husband when I was 17. Yes, very young, and I would not recommend it to anyone, but, I was blessed in many ways because of it. There are hidden blessings in our lives, that we don't see until maybe years later, and sometimes we may not see them at all.
I started having children right away, I have 3 lovely, intelligent, successful children. I am so proud of all of them. They are blessings, for sure!!
My first marriage ended after many years, and I moved to Atlanta, Ga. I became involved with my now husband, Scott. We got married after I had lived here for 4 years. My life began to take a whole new path. Some good, some not so good. But, God can take bad things and make them into good. And into good He did! My husband accepted the Lord on the last day of 2013! Thank you Jesus!
As time goes on, I will be adding a little snippet from time to time, to show how there are so many hidden blessings in our lives...we have to have our eyes open, and our hearts in tune with God, and we can see so many!!!
I want to wish all of you a wonderful, hope filled day! Until we meet again, God bless us all!
Happy Fall Y'all!!! :)
What a beautiful morning! The sun is shining, the birds are singing, and its a crisp 66 degrees in beautiful Lilburn!!
Today, I am going to tell you a little about myself. :)
My mother and I lived with my grandparents until I was about 4 years old. I have many many wonderful memories of my Granddaddy, Grannie, and all my aunts and uncles! (There were 8 children in that family!) I remember living in a 2 story house, that housed a little store in the bottom that my grandfather ran. I remember me and my aunt going in and him giving us ice cream! Double scoops! The store later changed to a pool hall. Yes, I said a pool hall. :)
This is where I heard all the newest and best songs that were coming out on the radio! My uncle was in charge of getting the music for the juke box!! What memories!!
I later moved with my Mother and her new husband to Youngstown, FL. I lived next to my new cousins, Mark and Ricky. I LOVED being with them and their family. It too was a large family. Lots of wonderful memories of being on their farm. Cows, chickens, sheep, pecan trees..it was so much fun roaming the huge fields with my cousins...we three became very very close!!
I attended Youngstown Elementary School....guess who my first grade teacher was? My Aunt!! I didn't get special treatment tho. LOL..she was an awesome teacher. She also taught me in 3rd grade.
I will skip all the years up until I was 17 years old. I married my first husband when I was 17. Yes, very young, and I would not recommend it to anyone, but, I was blessed in many ways because of it. There are hidden blessings in our lives, that we don't see until maybe years later, and sometimes we may not see them at all.
I started having children right away, I have 3 lovely, intelligent, successful children. I am so proud of all of them. They are blessings, for sure!!
My first marriage ended after many years, and I moved to Atlanta, Ga. I became involved with my now husband, Scott. We got married after I had lived here for 4 years. My life began to take a whole new path. Some good, some not so good. But, God can take bad things and make them into good. And into good He did! My husband accepted the Lord on the last day of 2013! Thank you Jesus!
As time goes on, I will be adding a little snippet from time to time, to show how there are so many hidden blessings in our lives...we have to have our eyes open, and our hearts in tune with God, and we can see so many!!!
I want to wish all of you a wonderful, hope filled day! Until we meet again, God bless us all!
Monday, September 22, 2014
A new blog! Yippee!!
September 22, 2014
It was a dark and rainy night....OH WAIT!! That is a different blog! :)
Welcome to Hidden Blessings! This will be a place to laugh, cry, pray and join together to help us get thru bad times, enjoy good times, and just be together to lock out the pressures of our daily lives!
Please come back and see what Hidden Blessings is all about. I hope that you will in time, understand why the name Hidden Blessings....it was given to me by God, and I will only praise, and honor Him thru this which He has lead me to.
See you tomorrow! God Bless us all!
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