A New Chapter Begins

Two weeks from today will mark the next chapter of my life.  For those who have read my previous posts, you know I became one of the unemployment statistics on February 1, 2012.  During that time, God has sustained and provided for me in many wonderful ways.  While there are a lot of uncertainties ahead, there are many things which are known because God has revealed them to me at just the right time. 

A new job will begin on May 7, 2012; to have found what I consider to be an excellent job and to have found it in a span of two months is miraculous when considering our current economic conditions.  Many have gone months and years without finding gainful employment.  Every part of my being tells me that God is behind it all; just as He has provided all previous stepping stones, I know this is yet another step that must be taken to place me exactly where I need to be.

I am so blessed that God never gives up on us!  It took 11 years for me to find the church home I have today.  He had to work over time to help me see where I was needed and where I needed to be, and now that I have been with my church for a little over a year, He is taking me down another path.  This past year with Central Christian Church (DOC) has taught me how very much God loves us all regardless of who we are.  My eyes have been opened in ways I could never have imagined, and I know where my new church home will be.  I’m actually looking forward to visiting it for the first time, but at the same time it greatly saddens me to be leaving my current church.

There is a lot to do over the next two weeks such as finding a place to live, getting our Terre Haute house on the market, moving part of what I will need during my temporary housing.  Then I begin the process of starting a new job, getting to know co-workers, learning how to get around a new town and finding my way around within the new company’s premises.

God is good!

He Has Risen

On this beautiful Easter Sunday, let us rejoice in the knowledge that Christ is alive and well.  Yes, this is the day we celebrate and remember every year as the resurrection of Christ, our Lord, but if one thinks about it, every day is a resurrection of Christ.  He lives today, He lives inside each and every one of us providing transformation every single day of the year.

On Maundy Thursday, or Holy Day, Christ broke bread with his disciples and told of his upcoming days.  While the disciples did not fully understand the full meaning of that day, WE DO!!  It did not take them long to better understand Christ's teachings, and they finally "got it".  Thankfully we can experience the same resurrection in our lives every day.

Christ gave the Great Commandment:  Love your neighbors as I have loved you.

I pray that we "try" every day to fulfill that commandment and love every one, unconditionally, as Christ loved us. As followers of Christ, it is our duty to love unconditionally, and that means accepting ALL regardless of race, color, creed, orientation, the rich, the poor, the unclean, the outcasts.  Christ loved them all without exception.

I am so thankful that my God is such an awesome and wonderful God.

At the Cross

I said to myself, "Relax and rest.  God has showered you with blessings" - Psalm 116:7

As I was reading from my book, "Prayers with a Purpose", I ran across this Psalm.  Hindsight is 20/20 as they say, and as I reflect on my life, it is quite easy to see where each event was a stepping stone for God's blessings.  He was in control by placing me at the right place at the right time even when I thought there was no future in sight.  Through the highest peaks and through the lowest valley's, I was exactly where I needed to be.

Now during the lowest of the valley's it was impossible to see the blessings, and it was difficult to rest and relax. We are to sit at the foot of the cross.  We are not asked to climb the cross; however, how many times have we tried to "climb that cross"?  I know I've tried and tried, but right now even though I'm at a new place in my life - waiting on God due to a recent job loss, I am for the first time in my life simply relaxing and resting for I know this will lead to even more blessings.

Let us all Relax and Rest!

An Answered Prayer

"For I know the plans I have for you" declares the Lord, "plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future." Jeremiah 29:11 


"Lord I need wisdom and guidance in my work life. Please show me if this is the vocation I should be in right now or if I should change and find another job. I want to use my skills and abilities, as well as my interests, for Your glory. When I feel under-utilized and yearn for something more, reveal to me where I can best serve in the coming season of my life." -- God's Will for My Work Life - Taken from Prayers with Purpose for Women. 


Today, I ran across the above text from Prayers with Purpose for Women, and I do not believe it is by coincidence. Within the last month or so, I have struggled with this issue but did not know if it was something "I" was wanting or thinking I should do or if it was something God was asking of me. Just a week or so ago, I prayed to God with all of my heart and asked that He give me a sign that would show me without a doubt that it was He and not me who felt I needed to leave my job. 


Yesterday, He answered that prayer, and now I know beyond any shadow of doubt that He has been telling me to move on. Through cut backs at work, I was released from my employment! Now that is an answer, albeit, hard and fearful right now. 


A new chapter begins in my life at the age of 50.....we will see what God has planned. I request prayer during this time as I seek employment and the path for which God has chosen.

A New Year

Another year has almost come and gone, and I thought it would be appropriate to say how grateful I am to God for His blessings this past year.  While it is hard for us who remain, God called my precious grandmother home to her eternal home. The peace I have in knowing where she is makes it easier, but she will be missed this Christmas.  He also led me to the most wonderful church where I have been blessed 100 times over.  How could I have lived in Terre Haute 12 years and not have heard of this church.  It was through His timing allowing my path to cross with someone else who mentioned the church. Our Pastor is truly a blessing.

God kept my family safe during the horrible tornado  in Tuscaloosa on April 27th of this year.  I was here in Indiana watching it all fold out and could do nothing, but God kept his hand on my family.

I'm blessed to have a job and for that I am so very thankful.  Merly has had a fairly healthy year except for a few weeks ago when she had to spend a week in the hospital.  She is home now.  Every year with her is a gift from God given her health issues.

I look forward to what the New Year brings because I know God will be my strength, comforter, and healer in all things that will come my way.

I pray you have that same knowledge and hope!

Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year to all.

On Being Humbled

I have come to learn there are some things one cannot fully comprehend and subsequently be transformed without being doused in the middle of experience; hearing and seeing with one’s own eyes can be scary, but it is definitely worth the risk to be totally immersed in a situation, a situation that is 100% out of one’s own comfort zone.

1.     When we are outside of our own comfort zone, we tend to spend more time with God than ever before.

2.     As a result, God will comfort us, and if we are open to it, He will show us many wonderful things.  This reminds me of Jeremiah 33:3: “Call to me and I will answer you and will tell you great and hidden things that you have not known.” (NRSV)

A few weeks ago I was on a business trip outside of the borders of the USA.  Now this was the first time I had ever been on the other side of the American borders.  The company for whom I work is in the process of implementing a new computer system in one of our plants in South America.  The plant I visited on this particular tip has been running with our computer system for the past seven years.  Because of the language barrier and because two people from the plant I visited are relocating to the other South American plant, it was decided for all parties involved in this project to have a week long workshop at the plant I was visiting.

For me this was simply a business trip, but God definitely had other plans for me aside from the business meetings over the course of the week.

As mentioned earlier about one’s desire to draw closer to God when we are outside of our comfort zone, being outside of the American borders was definitely outside of my comfort zone especially since I did not understand the language and because of the drug cartels and criminal activity.  We were told only to drink bottled water and not eat anything raw because of bacteria our bodies are not accustomed to.  Needless to say I left the USA with all kinds of fears. I found myself in daily prayer and Bible study every evening asking God for His protection and mercy.

Before this trip I had a very strong view regarding illegal aliens living in our country.  Simply put, I felt all people who were inside our country illegally should absolutely be sent home.  To me it was simply black and white; either the people enter America legally or be sent back to their home land.

I had not been outside the American borders two days when God humbled me and gave me a new set of eyes to see the people of the country I was visiting differently.  Although I already knew a hand full of the people of the plant we were visiting, my perception of their work ethics could not have been further from reality.  I discovered their ability and willingness to learn and teach themselves about our manufacturing system and processes and to be very happy to have their job with little pay. They were genuinely happy to be working for the company and were so excited to learn.  Now I find this to be completely opposite of the sentiments of Americans who expect everything to be done for them.  This is where God humbled me.

The realization that we, Americans, are so greatly blessed and we take that for granted every day.  We, Americans, can go to most any place without fear of being harmed and without seeing policemen carrying guns/rifles in every public place we may go.  In the country I visited, even the restaurants provided a security detail for our group when we went out to dinner one evening.  For the most part, American drivers obey red lights and stop signs, but in this country the red lights and stop signs were treated as suggestion to stop. It was every man for himself, and the first bumper to get into an intersection was the first vehicle to get through the traffic nightmare.

Over the course of the week, I saw how excited the people from our other two plants to hear all they could about our computer systems.  This type of mentality is rare in American businesses.

For the first time, I saw the foreign nationals as human beings rather than “the people of a certain country”.  I had placed a label on them and simply viewed them as being on the outside of our borders.  This trip broke that barrier for me because I saw these hard working people as humans, not a label, who equally deserve to have jobs, raise their children, and to have the same freedom as we Americans do.  I came to call them my friends.  They were so very polite and truly appreciative of the help we offered.

With the humility that only God could provide, I found a transformation taking place in my heart. Now, I think the illegal aliens who come into this country to work and earn a living should be allowed to stay here.  The political issues surrounding our borders seem to carry less weight now than before.  Yes, I believe those who are trying to smuggle drugs into our country should be stopped, but for the many who want to simply come into America to work and achieve some bit of normalcy for their families should be allowed into our country.

I left this other country wanting to stay and help the workers in our plant learn all they could.  I left with the full understanding of the blessings we Americans have each and every day. I left this other country realizing that Americans are all about me, me, me.  I left feeling guilty about the stereotype I had placed on others who are not American.

With God’s help I left this country with a new set of eyes through which I can see more clearly.

The "Busy-Ness" of Life

Life has been busy of late, and I have not taken the time to write anything.  I think today is a good day to discuss "busy-ness" as I call it.  You know what I mean; from the time you get up until the time you go to bed you have been so busy you don't know if you are coming or going.  Thas is how it has been for me over the last few weeks with work, and while I keep a small copy of "The Daily Bread" at my desk to read each morning before getting busy, I've discovered a day or two may go by before I realize I've missed even that 2 minute reading.

Yesterday, it hit me that I had once again fallen into the "busy-ness" of life and needed to stop and take a breath, smell the roses, look at God's beauty in the cool mornings and warmth of the evening.  It's time to take stock of the important things in life; my relationship with Christ is at the top of the list.

So today, I am going to take that time to slow down and prepare my heart and soul for the day's events. I thought about my grandmother as I was driving home yesterday, and it almost takes my breath away to think she has been with the Lord almost 6 months now.  While driving home I took my time and just talked to God thanking Him for all He has done and all He will do.  And I asked Him to give my granny a nudge just to let her know I was thinking of her and loved her.  I do not know if that is how it works, but I like to think granny got a warm feeling of love.

Likewise, I hope that God felt that same love as I was talking to Him.

When have you last talked to God?