The Lord's Answer (cont.)

Yes, was my answer! I definitely wanted the position. I had about three weeks to find a place and move to Maryland. Once I was here, I had new teacher training and all kinds of things to do. I was stressed and frustrated with some of the things going on in my world. I missed my family and I just wanted us all back together again!



The first Sunday that I was here, I visited the Capital Church of Christ in Annapolis, MD. I had a wonderful time! I met the minister's wife  and she and other sisters at the congregation welcomed me and they asked why I had moved to the area and I told them because of a job opportunity. They asked which school I would be teaching at and I told them. They asked me why I had chosen Annapolis. I told them that I actually did not remember applying here. Well, at that time the minister's wife told me to hold my thought. I wondered what she was doing. She walked across to the other side of the building and came back hand in hand with another sister. She introduced us. Let's call her Mrs. L. She asked me to tell the sister what I had just told them about not knowing when I had applied. I told her that I did not remember when I had applied here. Mrs. L. said "I remember exactly when you applied! It was three years ago!" So, now, I was perplexed, because I did not know who she was. She said, "Yes, I know you don't know who I am, but I am the principal's secretary and I held on to your application for three years. I don't know why I held on to your application, but something would not let me throw it away. She said, "Usually, I throw away all resumes once hiring is over for the year, but I could not throw yours away. We even moved from our old building and I took your resume and put it in a file and brought it over with me. When the position became available, I immediately slid your resume to the principal and he called you!"

I was floored! I could do nothing but cry! All I could think of was all of the days I cried and prayed for a position that would pay me what I am worth! I thought of all of the hard work and all of the things I went through with Georgia and my certification. I said, "You mean all of this time He has been working it out!?" You know I knew that he had been working it out the entire time, but just to see and hear the way He had worked it out is sometimes unheard of! God had my back then and still has my back now! He knows what I need and He is still working things for my good! On Thursday, December 13, 2012, I was finally certified as an administrator. It has been a long road! I completed my Ed. Specialist and I took the GACE, Georgia teacher's assessment, and passed and was still denied my administrator certification, because my degree was gained from a school outside of the state of Georgia.

I am just thrilled and praising God! I know that He has something for me and I just am so excited to see what's next on this life's journey! I KNOW that He has already worked that out, as well. I feel like I am opening up a present layer by layer! I just have to wait until I get to a certain point to get my blessing!

I love you Lord! You have my heart! You alone are my heart's desire!!!

The Lord's Answer

This year has been full of ups and downs and it has caused me to love God even more. Some of things that I went through this year at times made me want to give up, but I remembered the word of God which told me to keep the faith. The race is not given to the swift nor to the strong but to the one who endures until the end. I can’t say that it has been easy, because it has not, but I know that God has great things for those who wait upon Him.

At the beginning of the year, my employment was in great jeopardy. Our school was closing and my emotions were going crazy, because these people had become family to me! We had gone through five years of trying to make things work. Our students were our babies. We protected them with our being. We prayed and we fasted and asked the Lord to protect our school and allow us to stay open, but His answer was, “No.” In early June, our school was closed and our hearts were broken. We said our good-byes and left our love with those kids and each other. I had no idea what would happen to my family as I started to look for work that summer for the following school year.

All summer I searched and went on interviews in the Atlanta area. Most interviews were great and most seemed would be my job. Everyone was praying for me as I went from school to school to interview. I was prayerful and hopeful each time as I left the schools and waited for the phone call that would give me a foundation for the next school year, but that phone call never came.

One morning in early July, I got up ready to take the kids to the pool and I noticed that a message had been left on my phone at approximately 7:30 AM. I listened to the message and there was a principal from Annapolis, MD saying that he wanted to speak with me concerning a position at his school. I was confused, because I could not remember applying for a position in Maryland. I called him back and he asked if I was still interested and I told him that I was. He asked when I would be available to interview, but before he got those words out of his mouth he said, “Wait, you’re still in Georgia, aren’t you?” I told him that I was and he said that he needed to get this interview process done in the next couple of days, because he wanted to start his vacation. He then said, “Well, there’s nothing that says that you can’t do the interview over the phone and there's nothing you can tell me in person that you can't tell me over the phone.” He asked if Monday would be OK and I told him that it would be. He asked if 9:00 AM would work fine for me and I told him that it would. We interviewed that Monday and he told me that he would be in contact with me in the next couple of days to let me know if I had the job. He called me the next morning and told me that I had the position if I wanted it.

AND THEN CAME THE WORK!!!

The story continues next week…

Jesus Cares!

I will share what my sister said to me... I told her that I was tired of giving so much of myself to people who don't care!  She said, "That's what Jesus did!" I said, "I mean, I care more about them than they care about themselves!" She said, "So does Jesus!" I said, "They don't even care about me and what I do for them to be better!" She said, "Jesus does!"

Life is but a Vapor!

Death is something that each of us must face whether it is a death of a loved one or our own death. It is something that life brings. Once you are born, you are certain to die.

I have been faced with the death of many loved ones in the past few weeks and it has brought about such an eye-opening experience. I have realized that life is uncertain. I have heard this phrase several times during my life, but it has never just slapped me in the face as it has over the last few weeks. I have realized that the death of a Christian can be bitter-sweet, because we know that they are dwelling in the bosom of Abraham, but oh, how we miss their physical presence.

Death may be unexpected for two reasons: the person was not sick or person was expected to pull through an illness.It could have even been expected for months, but no matter the situation, death brings a feeling of emptiness within the family and friends who surround the person.

As I stood and looked at the body of my god-mother, I realized that she was no longer there. I understood that I was only looking at her shell or her body, which she used to live in. I grasped the concept that she is somewhere awaiting to receive her new body. As I looked at her lying there, it hurt profoundly, but I knew that she was in a place that I longed to be one day awaiting the return of the Heavenly Father.

As I understood these truths, I was faced with the fact that life is definitely too short not to simply be about the business of our Lord and not to love long and hard. Every second of this old life counts. We must make it our business to let everyone know how you feel about them and this is especially true of the ones who have impacted your life in a profound way.

Love your kids and let them know how much they mean to you! Give them an extra hug and kiss today! Spend an extra ten minutes just talking and laughing or watching their favorite show. Let your spouse know how important they are to you! We carry too many grudges against our spouses; these things really don’t matter! If they were to leave this earth at this very moment, how much would you give just to see or hear the things that annoy you so much! Life is too short to sit around feeling hurt or to be angry over petty particulars.

I am resolved to love those around me more and to call my family and friends every time I get the chance just to let them know that I am thinking about them! It’s worth it! They are worth it! Life is worth it! Knowing that life is but a vapor, it appears for a little while and then vanishes away has made me amp up my love for others. What does knowing this truth make you want to do?

Praise God for the Squeezing!!!

On Sunday night my family and I returned home from funeralizing a loved one to find our home broken into. We were so upset to find that for the second time in two months the security of our home had been breached. The windows at the back of our home were kicked out leaving gaping holes and many of our material blessings had been stolen or broken and strewn throughout the home. After the police left, our family had to pack up and leave our home to stay with some friends from church in order that we could stay safe and warm. For two nights we were guests in the home of these blessed friends! (Thanks Tara and Kevin!)


The first day we returned to clean up the mess and we also had to sit down and make some tough decisions. We decided that the best thing to do would be to move into an apartment. With the help of another of God’s saints (Thanks Veronica T!), we found some apartments that were nice, had SPECIALS going on, and seemed rather reasonable.

On today, we visited those apartments and found that many offered exactly what my family needed in terms of space and amenities. We also found that it would cost a lot less to rent an apartment than to continue to live in a home rental. Because apartments usually pay for water, trash pick-up, and gas, three of our usual bills are eliminated leaving us a surplus of approximately $400 or more a month. PRAISE GOD!!!

As we rode home and discussed our options, we realized that in His infinite glory and majesty, what they meant for harm, God has made a blessing. (Genesis 50:20) Even through our trials and hardships, He has brought us to a needed place. We are happy that our eyes were opened to the need to get back to basics.

I am often in awe of His magnificent power. How many of the trials we face are for our good, yet we fight Him tooth and nail the entire way? Even though we know that God is trying to perfect something in us, we loathe the pain that we must endure to get to the prize set before us!

And so, through this trial, I am resolved to Praise God for the squeezing!!!

1 Peter 1:6-7

New International Version (NIV)

6 In all this you greatly rejoice, though now for a little while you may have had to suffer grief in all kinds of trials. 7 These have come so that the proven genuineness of your faith—of greater worth than gold, which perishes even though refined by fire—may result in praise, glory and honor when Jesus Christ is revealed.

Spiritual Heart Disease

Our culture has an outbreak of spiritual heart disease. Spiritual diseases are anything that can cause pain and hurt to the spirit or which closes or kills the spirit.
How do I know this? Well, I have suffered from this disease and with proper treatment, a healing occurred. By studying the Doctor’s Manual, talking with the Doctor, and following the Doctor’s orders, I am on my way to a complete healing and I am able to help others.

A disease is defined as "a disordered or incorrectly functioning organ, part, structure, or system of the body resulting from the effect of genetic or developmental errors, infection, poisons, nutritional deficiency or imbalance, toxicity, or unfavorable environmental factors; illness; sickness; ailment" (Dictionary.com). Our culture is an “incorrectly functioning organ.” As Christians, we often are infected by this disease and have to go through massive treatments to receive a complete healing. Our culture functions incorrectly in relationships, families, work, and in personal matters. When a diagnosis of spiritual heart disease is made, a scope is placed in the spiritual heart and all kinds of blockage are found: sin, hurt from sexual abuse or rape, hurt feelings, unforgiveness, hatred, envy, love of the world, negative thoughts, vanity, love of other gods.

These things can cause pain spiritually and physically. They can kill the spiritual and the physical body in some cases. What happens when your spiritual heart disease infects and affects your family and friends? Once you have contracted it, it spreads and cannot be healed through modern medicines. The only way that you can be healed is through Dr. Jesus. Dr. Jesus gives a prescription that must be taken for a lifetime and the medication becomes a lifestyle.

Get out of that Wheelchair!!!

We are all in some type of a wheelchair in our lives. We are confined to something, because sin is ever present. Are you too afraid to get out of yours to serve God completely? Are you living a confined life? Get out of your wheelchair and let God use you completely!
Sometimes we are so afraid to take God at his word. When you are able to get out of your wheelchair and use the circumstances handed to you for God’s glory, you have finally mastered the calling put on your life. You have used your trials and tribulations to prove that all things certainly do “work together for the good of those who love the Lord and are called according to His purpose.”

Are you afraid to get out of your wheelchair and just let go and let God truly use you?

What tragedy have you suffered and is using it as a wheelchair? What is your wheelchair? What is holding you back from doing God’s will utterly and completely for HIM?? Identify your wheelchair!!!

Fear
Death of Parents
Death of Children
Loss of Jobs
Weight gain
Husband left or died
Illness
No Education
Speech
Low Self Concept
Low/ no income

If your wheelchair is not listed above, list it below. Then explain how this has held you back and what you can do to get out of your wheelchair.