Hey, Look Grandma, It's a Snow Cone Factory!

I took a drive up to Wrightwood to meet Zack, Bonnie and the boys. It was a perfect day for playing in the snow and making snowmen. Samuel created snow factories, snow cones, and determined which "old" factories should be condemned, LOL. Benjamin throws a powerful snowball, and can make a family of snowmen in minutes. William had a lot of fun 4 wheelin in his stroller, and when he got out he was HAPPY! It was the perfect day with my favorite people... I am blessed to have such a wonderful family!

It's A Glorious Day!

I woke up to the sun shining, and after a week of rain and snow... and getting stuck on the freeway when it closed, staying at a hotel so I could get to work.... well, it's good to be home. I am thanking God for the incredible news on my biopsy, the tumor is benign. I am scheduled to see the surgeon next month. Some how things look brighter when we are healthy, we so often take our health for granted. I had forgotten how stress can ruin our day and attitude. Oh sure we all have the normal stress in life, but there is something about getting sick that really gets your attention. I had a wonderful opportunity to witness to my Doctors, I have 3 of them now. :) My BFF Dr. is the one I am talking about. The mistake that was made due to an error in his office has made him my BFF. He calls and says, Okay, who is this? We have built a new relationship and I can give God ALL the glory. The Lord spoke to me when I first found out I had a abnormal mass show up in my mammogram. First of all, no one told me, I was a little stressed...I received the news in a fax from the Doctors office. Even though I was mad, worried and all the emotions in between, God told me to be careful how I acted and what I said. The voice in my head was "don't ruin your testimony". Go figure, why would God have to warn me about my attitude? I'll you you why, because I have a big mouth and I want people to know what I think! Just because I have the right to be upset does not give me the right to be rude. Love is patient, kind, NOT RUDE! So I kept myself in check. The outcome was, I had an opportunity to talk to my Dr. about God's grace and mercy. I had his FULL attention. If I had said what I thought and been rude, he would not have listened to what God wanted to tell him. I said all that, to say this; God is doing a new thing, the old is past away. God is raising up believers that will act the way we are suppose to. I'm not saying I have accomplished this totally, but I am on my way! I got up and went to church, WOW! Pastor Mark was on target! He spoke about supernatural generosity and grace. The Lord moved on the hearts of the congregation and God's grace was reflected in His people. I feel like I am preaching.... but God is doing a new thing! The old way of doing church is over for me, I want to see him move!

It Rained Today

It rained all day, and as I sat in the waiting room of the hospital I felt my mortality. There were people all around me with different issues. I heard someone down the hall talking about a brain tumor. An older couple came in to the waiting room. They were well dressed, and the husband helped his wife fill out the form. She cried, it was one of the soft cries that breaks your heart. A cry from deep down in the soul, and I thought of my Mom. I remembered toward the end of her life she would cry like that, I held back the tears. I couldn't take it any longer, I walked over and sat next to her and put my hand on her back. She looked out the window at the rain, then at me and said this is a terrible day to be here. I smiled and said but it's going to be all right, and asked if I could pray for her. She nodded yes and introduced her husband to me. She asked if I was a nurse, and I said no I'm a patient here for a biopsy.

I felt comfort comforting her, and as I walked back to my chair I thought of my Mom. I am my Mother's daughter, I smiled to myself and thought that is exactly what my Mom would have done. I remembered her sitting in waiting rooms for tests, and pushing her wheelchair over to comfort someone else.

I pulled out a devotional from my purse, in fact it was one I had given my Mom a couple of years ago for her birthday. We were at the Christian book store and she kept putting things on her lap (she said she was Christmas shopping, for her self. LOL) Anyway, I wrote down a scripture and put it in a magazine along with a note and my phone number. I gave her the magazine to read and she smiled, her name is Marge.

As I think about the rain and how it washes away everything in it's path, it reminds me of how God washes us new. I was destined to be there today to meet Marge, she reminded me of how fragile we all are. I thank God for giving me a Mom like mine, I would have missed out on the joy of comforting Marge if I had not had her example in my life. She always reached out and loved those around her.

As Manny and I were driving home we saw the most beautiful double rainbow, another sign of the promises of God after the rain!

I pray my life would be like the rain, touching everything in my path for the glory of God. What a wonderful thought that we can also be like that rainbow, reflecting God's beauty in the earth.

You are still the same God!

This has been a long week, full of challenges, actually it's been quite a "month". In the last month I have been experiencing challenges that are out of my control.

However, God is in control, and He never changes. Situations and events change in our lives but God is still the same. On Tuesday,I found out I had an abnormal mammogram. On Wednesday, I was scheduled for an emergency ultrasound. On Friday, I was in the surgeon's office. On Monday, I will go for another ultrasound and "possible" biopsy.

But GOD is still the same, and He has been moving on my behalf. The surgeon informed me the 4.7 cm mass on the mammogram had shrunk to approximately 2 cm. As I walk through this "bump" in the road I am reminded that God is still the same! I can trust in Him, the Word of God says, why do you worry about your life? By worrying can you add a single hour? No, our lives are planned out by the Lord, and I don't want to waste the time I have by being consumed by fear.

Manny is my strength, his love for me is boundless, in fact he says his purpose in life is to love me. As I think about God's wisdom and plan for each of us I am reminded of the role we play. We need to have ears to hear what God is telling us.

Last year I went to a Bible Study, called Experiencing God, it changed my life and way of thinking. Then I attended a women's retreat, and God spoke to me. It wasn't "spiritual". It was practical, take care of your health so you can live your life to the fullest. It was that word that prompted me to have the mammogram.

As I walk through this new season of life, I acknowledge once again that I am not in control. But God is faithful and I can walk hand in hand with Him. Knowing and believing that He never changes, but is the same God, today and forever.