"It is not the mountain we conquer but ourselves." ~Edmund Hillary
Please visit sister Heather at Grow Up and keep her in your prayers if you feel led to do so.
I told sister Heather, this morning, as I was driving to bring my son to school, the dark rain clouds were all scattered. Yet, in front of us, there were rays of the risen sun beaming through those dark clouds. God comforted me with that sight! That just because we are going through tough times doesn't mean He is not there with us. That He is going through all the trials with us...But it relies on our faith and trust on Him.
Jesus always spoke "Oh ye of little faith...."
I wanted to take a picture from my cell but could not risk swerving in the traffic and getting a ticket for that. So, I waited until I got home and took it from our side yard:
Light of the World, You stepped down into darkness....Opened my eyes, let me see...
Thank you friends and powerful intercessors for coming by and blessing me always with your love and prayers. God bless.
"I'm eager to encourage you in your faith, but I also want to be encouraged by yours. In this way, each of us will be a blessing to the other." - Romans 1:12
"Dare to reach out your hand into the darkness, to pull another hand into the light." ~Norman B. Rice
my tea lights in the kitchen
I love lighting up tea lights in our home. The moment I get up and prepare sandwiches for my husband's and child's lunch, I get a delight watching even a tiny light lit up our kitchen in the early morning hours or at mealtimes.
I love that a small ray of light can truly illuminate the dark corners of that particular room. We are called to be the "light of this world" as believers. I have that tendency sometimes to hide my light, I think. Like when I get quiet when I should speak. Or at work, when I go with the flow [not good!]. Or go back to old habits that extinguish this light.
Oh Lord, forgive me for my sins. Forgive me for not reflecting your Light the way You want me to. Forgive me for those times that I don't explain Your Light to others who have never seen it before. Help me have the eyes to see the needs of others. Strengthen me Oh Lord and that I pray also for all believers. So that we may continue to always be burning strongly for Your light to be seen in those dark areas of this world. For those who are still living in the dark, that they won't have fear to step into Your light and be exposed into Your light and turn away from any dark deeds. Thank You Lord for Your forgiveness, for Your unfathomable love, mercy and grace. In Jesus' Name. Amen.
I was all in tuned to what seemed to be a very interesting conversation among my co-workers, deputies and nurses alike. One deputy swore that it was true. That zombies were coming sometime. It all started when ghost stories became the topic. I never denied the weird experiences in the jail, too. Because I knew there were territorial spirits. But I would choose to not make a hype about them. All they would do was instill fear.
Oh, but they were all excited. To hear their own different experiences while working in our facility. Especially at the back, in a particular unit behind the Infirmary. Where very sick inmates were housed. Some of them had died. And some housed inmates also experienced odd things.
How could my spirit explain? About the reality in the spiritual places? How could some of them believe me if they don't have the Spirit of the Lord? Or even if they have the Spirit, but the minds and hearts are set on flesh, how would they understand? The Bible says if we are friends with the world, we are enemies of God. ["You adulterous people, don't you know that friendship with the world is hatred toward God? Anyone who chooses to be a friend of the world becomes an enemy of God." -James 4:4]
This is the Truth that I know: "That Jesus is the One returning to rule His people. He came once to save all people from sins that separated us from the righteous God. And He will come again, this time, to judge the world."
"For the Lord is coming to judge the earth, He will judge the world with justice, and the nations with fairness." - Psalm 98:9
As I took a shot of that beautiful sunrise this morning in front of our house, I thought about how many days have gone by that many souls are still not saved and have not known His offer of salvation.
Oh God, thank You for Your patience. Thank You for saving us from going to hell, because You sent Your One and only Son to die for our sins. I pray many more will be able to see and hear Your offer of salvation. I pray for those of us, who have already tasted how good You are, how faithful Your love really is, how unfathomable Your kindness, love and grace are, to set our minds, not on temporal things but on heavenly treasures. Give us Lord the boldness, Your divine wisdom and protection, for us to be able to share Your gift with others who haven't opened it. I praise You Lord for Your true promises. Thank You for Your future return and may we be always ready, anytime, anywhere. In Jesus' Name. Amen.
"13Brothers, we do not want you to be ignorant about those who fall asleep, or to grieve like the rest of men, who have no hope. 14We believe that Jesus died and rose again and so we believe that God will bring with Jesus those who have fallen asleep in him. 15According to the Lord's own word, we tell you that we who are still alive, who are left till the coming of the Lord, will certainly not precede those who have fallen asleep. 16For the Lord himself will come down from heaven, with a loud command, with the voice of the archangel and with the trumpet call of God, and the dead in Christ will rise first. 17After that, we who are still alive and are left will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And so we will be with the Lord forever. 18Therefore encourage each other with these words." - 1 Thessalonians 4:13-18 [NIV]
So...which side are you on? It's not too late. RETURN to Jesus before He returns!!!
I felt sleepiness taking control of my tired body, as I was praying, "Lord, fan the flames in my heart for You..." Nearing the door that led to dream land, I felt a sudden stirring in my spirit, that roused me. I felt an urgency to pray. To pray for someone. To pray about something. That I didn't know. I became antsy. To the point that I felt a surge of creepiness. Of like an impending doom in a spiritual realm.
"Lord, help me..."
Until something was recalled in my memory. It happened at work last night. Few hours after I arrived and preparing to volunteer to pull the medications from that million-dollar worth machine that would prepare all the inmates' medications for the morning and noontime doses, I received that call. There was a female inmate complaining of chest pain. "Send her down," I uttered, as I pulled out my own stethoscope from my transparent bag.
She sat there quietly. Reviewing her medical chart, I read she had some mental health issue. She was placed on suicide watch before. But there was no record of any cardiac related problem. Her vital signs were normal. She admitted to a history of anxiety. Despite feeling the certainty that she wasn't having a heart attack, I made her lay down on the exam table and explained that I needed to do an EKG. A thin curtain divided us from the sharp observation of the Clinic Deputy to give her a little privacy. There it was. An eerie stare from her that followed my every moves. Stare that didn't scare me. But penetrated my spirit feeling that she was in deep trouble. That there was another source of this chest pain. The EKG reading came back normal.
I motioned for her to go back to the waiting area. Contemplating on whether I was going to violate some personal zones, I decided to ask her anyway through the thick glass partition window:
"Why are your eyes red? Like you just cried? Is there something bothering you?"
I asked her already those questions during my initial assessment. To which she denied. Except this time, coupled with that weird stare, she looked at me directly in the eyes and answered, "Yes."
"Another cellie [inmate sharing cell with her]?"
"No, Ma'am."
"Custody?"
She shook her head "no."
"Well then, how can I help you? Because you don't have true heart problems. What's eating in your heart is what's causing your pains," I explained.
She avoided my direct eye contact this time. Softly, she whispered, "I'll be okay, Ma'am." Then, she requested for her yellow pass so she could go back to her unit. Back to the hole that was making her anxious and stressed out every time.
Realizing I needed to pray for this woman, despite the whole day that had passed by, I did. I felt better after asking the Lord to intervene for whatever needs or problems she was going through. The impending doom sensation was replaced with calmness. And 2 Timothy 1:6 suddenly flashed in my mind. I didn't know what it was. So, I got up and took my Bible:
"This is why I remind you to fan into flames the spiritual gift God gave you when I laid my hands on you."
Here, Paul was encouraging Timothy to persevere as he was ordained to start a ministry. He received special gifts of the Spirit to make him be able to serve the church. He didn't need to obtain new gifts. He just needed to hang on to the truth and to use those gifts to step boldly in faith and share the Good News.
Like Timothy, we are all given different gifts by the Spirit. May we be all sensitive to the needs of others around us and be able to share His gift of salvation boldly. God will enable us and strengthen us only if we are willing to be His instruments in bringing the Good News to those who are still lost. May we be that sturdy kind of ropes that God sends down to those who have fallen and remain to be in a hole. Like when we used to be...
