My Heart of the Matter

The Battle is Real

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When an athletic trains for a race, the training is for a win to reach the goal for the prize that they worked so hard for.  Just as your body can be conditioned to win, so our minds must be trained to win in battles. Some of us have many crosses to bear;such as, serious illnesses, addictions, loss of a love ones, finances,etc. God allows these trials to make us stronger and he will never give you more than you can handle (1 Cor 10:13), God will always give us a way out. We need to stand our ground and use the Word of God as our main weapon against the destructive tactics of the enemy. Maybe you received a bad report from the doctor, what you do with this information will set the standards on your recovery. If you allow fear to come in then you have personally invited the enemy to take hold of your thoughts. Fear is a spirit and a stronghold, you have the authority to bring it down (Rom 8:15) God did not give us a spirit of fear, so that means it comes from Satan. When we operate in fear we are weak in our prayers because trusting God is no longer effective. So you pray but with the lack of faith, your prayer is in limbo. Yes, God hears you but you lack three things to get you through your trials.

  1. Encouragement
  2. Wisdom
  3. Faith

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    My arsenal

Without encouragement you feel empty (nobody cares, why me?), without wisdom you do not have the guidance of God, Without faith you cannot pray. All this keeps us in bondage and Satan has you right where he wants you, defeated. When I was told by the neurologist that I had Parkinson’s it was not easy for me to pray, I first had to get over the initial shock.  I cried but then I prayed. God allows us these times of sorrow to bring us into His trusting arms. From every trial we experience, we are to draw from Him and understand that all is in His control, not ours. If we doubt, we are being double minded, such actions holds back from a complete trust in God because inside we waver between conviction and doubt.  God wants us to trust in Him more than ever, and I know that for some of us this is a huge step to take.

A very dear friend of mine is suffering from stage four cancer and in treatment with no signs of remission as of yet. She is trusting God and battling for her life and she should be afflicted with pain but has not had any signs of it. Why? I cannot answer that, but I can share with you that she is a strong believer and servant of the Most High God. Her attitude remains positive as she focuses on a miracle. Will she get this miracle? God answers every prayer with yes, no and wait. As my friend waits, in the interim she is trusting God and that is a remarkable attribute to instill in others.  Whether  her report is negative or positive, she remains focused on the prize at the end of the race.

My Prayer:
Dear Heavenly Father, I cannot do this alone, I am tired, angry, and want to give up! Please Lord help me get through this, I can no longer continue this battle on my own. Dear Lord I cry out to You for Help. Please hear my cry and deliver me from this affliction, help my unbelief and walk me though this darkness.  Thank you Father for caring for me. Please help me in every area of my life to trust in You.  AMEN

Remember you are never alone! He cares and I do too!

 

 

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My Heart of the Matter

Fill My Cup Lord

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My grandson Jacob

Even after attending Mass today a dark cloud wanted to keep me company, these spirits are real and if you do not know how to pray it off  you, it will keep you from doing God’s work. I pushed forth to rid myself of this depression; I prayed for others, answered a few emails and watched of my youngest grandchild for a few hours, he insisted on playing hide and seek.

My walk with the Lord is steadfast and I live to serve Him but I’m still a mere mortal subjected to the attacks of the enemy. It is 1:30 PM and my plans for the day are still not even close to being complete. I consumed flavors potato chips to get me through but that never works. Finally I made my way to the treadmill and that aroused my endorphins; I prayed the Rosary and suddenly that looming cloud disappeared. It’s a mind game with the devil and he has an assignment to rob, to kill, and to destroy (James 10:10).

Please know that you are not alone when you suffer from depression, this is normal, especially when you come off a high for The Lord. The enemy is there as a constant reminder of our shortcomings; he is a lier and we need to put him in his place.

My short simple prayer:
Dear Heavenly Father,

I thank you and praise you for all you that are doing in my life. I know that this spirit of depression is not from you. Lord, please help me get through my day in victory and allow your Holy Spirit to guide my thoughts. I empty my heart, mind and spirit and ask that you Lord will fill it with your perfect love. Your word says that “I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full”( John 10:10) Thank you Jesus!

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Sister Clara

To get back into the spirit of God the pictures of our recent trip reminded me of how greatly we were all used.

 

 

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Travel

Don’t Sit Next To Me On A Plane

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Fourteen hours is a long time to be on a plane. I wanted to be sure to ask for an isle seat at check in but my luggage was too heavy (this was on the way up). So in a crazy rush I’m putting some of my stuff in another team member’s suitcase, I forgot to ask the for the isle seat. As usual I was stuck in the middle, to my left was Quinn, a young man traveling to the Ukraine and I did not get the name of the friendly man from Latvia. I introduce myself as a missionary and Quinn introduces himself as an agnostic. I tell Quinn, “Oh, you should not sit next to me.” Witnessing comes natural and this day was no different; Quinn was polite as I shared my stories and photos of past missionary trips. He was on his way to visit an orphanage and to teach the children to play the ukulele; I tell Quinn, “Oh, you are already doing God’s work but don’t realize it.” What an example of a wonderful young man and a beautiful heart.

He was tired and wanted to get some sleep so he purchased a option opposite of Red Bull this product is called Dream Water. imageI hated to be the one to break the news to him that perhaps this was a placebo, he agreed but drank it anyway.

Quinn and I are facebook friends and he is being used of God in a loving outreach to these young orphans.

The gentleman to my right was desperately trying to explain that the dream vacation on the Greyhound bus was a disaster. So bad the experience that he had to rent a car half way through the trip. He said, in broken English that the bus was dirty and old and that no one should get on this bus. I had no idea that Greyhound offered excursions to people from Latvia. I shared with him that most people drive to see the Grand Canyon. He was sadly disappointed and I almost offered to write a letter of complaint to Greyhound but quickly came to my senses.

On the way back we had a short layover in Istanbul, of all the millions of people I noticed a young man in a green shirt without arms.

I asked for a isle seat and was granted the request. The doors to the boeing 777 were locked and I looked over at my friend Jane with a smirky smile, “I have the whole roll to myself.” Just as I settled in comes the armless man with a companion. “We will sit here,” they tell me.  I answer with a smile, “okay but you just ruined my trip home.” They sit and we have a wonder conversation about missionary work.

The young man without arm is a refugee from Afghanistan and is being escorted by a representative from the United Nations to Oregon. Instantly the young armless man and I hug with our eyes, he was so friendly and sweet. I ask him if he lost his arms in the war and he smiles and said that he was born that way. His companion was unaware of this and was surprised to find out. When the food cart was about ready to come down the isle the guy from the UN asked me in a kind way if I could sit at the window. No, no, I just want to be here, then he says that there is an isle seat just a few seats back. I look back and see this really good looking man with his equally beautiful girlfriend and say that guy is too big and no, that is not going to work for me. Then it hits me like a ton of bricks this guy eats with his feet and he is going to knee me not elbow me. I looked over as his big toe was changing the the monitor and said “I will move back.” They were both happy.

I go to sit next to the god with his goddess girlfriend  and explain the situation to them, then the witnessing. I tell them about the meeting with the demon possessed girl and this gets their attention. The young man’s name was Joe and he said that his parents were devout Catholics that attended daily Mass. He on the other hand was angry at the Catholics and stated that he would never return. I bravely told him that his parents are praying for him and that God will answer their prayers. He and his girlfriend were gracious and I probably put them to sleep.

I know that everyone I met I planted a seed. To Quinn the seed of servanthood for God, to the armless man, a seed of welcome to America, to his companion a seed of love. To the Joe and his girlfriend a seed that just needed watering.

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