I've spent the last two days with the guys and my baby-dogs. We've laughed a lot at the puppies and their antics. Milo is so funny, and Otis is a trip!
I've rested and spent a lot of time in prayer and in the Word, too. I'm getting ready for the New Year. I wonder what God has in store for me in 2019!
2018 was a BLAST!
God showed up and showed out all year long. I saw Him work first hand in my life as I went from working at Denny's and living in my tiny one-bedroom apartment in Texarkana, to purchasing a new home, and beginning my job as a Corrections Officer.
Working where I do right now is something I never in a million years saw myself doing -- EVER.
At work, the other day, as I was minding my area, the prisoners were having a Bible Study. One of the prisoners was leading about 10 others in worship and prayer. Another prisoner, who was not participating walked by the desk where I was sitting and watching.
He said, "Isn't it something how people come to prison and suddenly start being preachers?"
I immediately responded, "God doesn't call the qualified. He qualifies the called."
He raised his eyebrows in thought as he continued on his way from the Day room to his cubicle.
Wow. I thought. That'll preach.
It has inspired me to work with what I, myself, have been given to work with to get out the message God wants me to give out.
As I spent the year "straightening my crown", I realized that I have a story to tell that Glorifies my Lord and Savior. God gave me that story. He wants me to tell it.
I can sum it all up in a few words:
God is a GREAT and MIGHTY GOD! NOTHING is IMPOSSIBLE with HIM!
You know the old joke: If a tree falls in the forest and you are not there to see it, does it make a sound?
Makes me think. If there were no churches for people to congregate at on Sunday, would there still be Christians?
If there was no church to go to, would it lessen your responsibility to do what God has commanded? What Jesus instructed? Would we still be required and able to love one another as God has first loved us? To do good to one another? To help one another? To tell everyone about Jesus?
Why then, do some Christians couple going to church with being a Christian? Why do they judge others who do not congregate on Sunday? Some even say it is a sin not to attend church.
The Bible doesn't say that.
The Bible says that we should have fellowship with other believers. It doesn't set aside a specific day and time, or say how many have to be there, or tell you that your prayers are not answered if you are not in church to pray them. I have searched and searched the Bible for such verses to support that thought, and found none.
I believe firmly, therefore, that if people would concentrate more on BEING the church instead of GOING to church, the world would be a better place.
That is the thing about being a day-sleeper. When I wake up, it is time for dinner. So, I made spaghetti for me and the guys.
Then, I sat down and opened my Facebook. Immediately, I was looking at a memory from this day in 2014.
It was the year I made the decision that changed my life. The year I decided to follow Jesus with my whole being -- heart, soul and mind -- and to remain single and focused on God.
So much has changed since that year. God has blessed me enormously. But, I have learned that the struggle never really ends. It just becomes easier to endure with a different perspective.
For instance, I used to not have nice clothes to wear. Now, I have clothes to wash and put away, and decide what to wear, what I want to keep and what I want to give away. I am just not complaining now, because I remember four years ago -- which seems like only yesterday -- when I had no clothes. I praise God for the struggle.
I don't complain about having to clean my house because I now have a home to call my own that I need to clean. Four years ago, I was barely able to pay rent on a cheap apartment.
I don't complain about not having a defogger, heat and air in my car or a window that won't roll all the way up, causing me to have to park so far from the entrance at work, because four years ago I didn't have a car. What a blessing my car is!
My phone window is cracked, but I have a phone.
I have food in my kitchen refrigerator and freezer and in the cupboards.
I have a GREAT job. I never in a million years thought I would be where I am now just four years ago. I worked at a hotel, cleaning rooms for about 20 hours a week at just above minimum wage. Then, I went to work at a local hospital cleaning rooms for twice the pay. Then I went to work at Denny's restaurant. And now, I am a corrections officer at a local prison working for the great state of Texas!
I have my health. Praise GOD! I have my health. Three months ago, I could have died, but God saw fit to let me live!
I praise God for the insurance that God provided through my great job! It helped me pay my bills during my recuperation! Four years ago, I was told I had to live with my illness. Three months ago, I was told that if I hadn't gone to the emergency room to seek help when I did, I would not have lived another week.
I have my computer. Four years ago, I did not have one. I scrimped and saved. My laptop computer now has missing buttons so I have to hook up a keyboard. The mouse pad sucks so I got me a wireless mouse. My screen is lopsided...but I have a computer. It has been a source of entertainment and communication with all of you on a daily basis. It has been my means of reaching out, advising, asking for help, and telling you all how God has blessed me, and how He can bless YOU!
God has brought me so far, so fast, one day at a time. While I was going through it, however, it seemed like it was taking forever. Now, as I look back, it's as if it was only yesterday.
God will not snap His fingers to make things happen when you want it. He will give you opportunities, and make you wait for the results, so you can praise Him all the more when it finally happens! So you can clearly see God's hand in where you are!
God has given me so much. Now I struggle to figure out what my goals should be, if I should have the goals that I set, and when does contentment mean I stop striving to be in a better place -- mind, body and soul?
I think I have come to the conclusion that it's okay to strive, as long as I accept that if I remain where I am for the rest of my life, it will be okay, simply because God is God.
As the New Year fast approaches, I reflect on my journey so far, and wonder what the future holds in store for me. Just a short five years ago, I was barely hanging on, grasping for straws. I had no clothes, let alone jewelry and make up. I had no car. I had no computer. I had a real cheap cell phone because I had to. I lived in a bed-bug infested apartment I could barely pay rent on. I worked 20 hours a week at a local motel to pay the bills. It was me and my dog Milo, no one else. And, I had just been diagnosed with gall stones that I had no insurance to take care of and had to live with.
Today, God has brought me so far. I praise Him at every turn. I write down my experiences so others can see that God is not a God of the impossible, and that He has a plan -- if you are willing to follow Him.
One of the things I have learned on this journey is not to make plans. God has a way of interrupting them when you least expect it, and if you are bound to the plans you make, you cannot see the blessings God has to offer through His.
But, I do have goals.
My recent illness has left with a lot of bills to take care of. I plan to pay them.
In January, I want to take care of treating the guys at Daniel's Used Tires. I was not able to have my Jesus Feast this year due to my recent move to my new home and the illness that followed it, but God is setting me back up right now, and I need to follow through on my promises as He follows through on His.
I still don't know how I am going to do it yet. But, I'd like to purchase some gifts for them. I am hoping that my web site will garner the support I need to get it done.
Anything above and beyond what I need that is donated will go toward my annual Jesus Feast at the end of the year. I hope to be able to buy gifts for the homeless next Christmas Season as well.
Jeremiah 29:11
“For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, saith the LORD, thoughts of peace, and not of evil, to give you an expected end.”
