A Mini Christmas Tree Miracle

DURING THIS CHRISTMAS SEASON of 2014 my husband and I had our own little It’s-a-Wonderful-Life moment. My husband does charity work for the poor in our community and the project for the Christmas season was to get a tree and put hats and socks on it. My husband had the task of bringing a tree, but he was busy promoting our fudge.

Money is tight for most folks anyway, but when you’re growing a business and helping struggling family members, we didn’t have the cash to just run out and buy a tree. I had to scavenge the house, searching like a little mouse for all the nooks and crannies where I might have stashed some money. I actually found $44, so it was off to pick up the tree while my husband was at the demo.

I got to the garden center and realized I could only afford one of their least expensive trees at $29.99. The attendant pointed me to that area, but when I got there, only one tree at that price was left!

Most people wouldn’t have given this a second thought, but for me getting the last tree was reason to pause and give thanks. For me it felt meant to be, a definite Godwink, a dose of daily divine intervention, not spectacular, but the kind of regular blessing that keeps me going even when the road gets bumpy.

When I got home, I called my husband and told him I had a surprise for him when he got home and to look in the back of our minivan! One less thing for him to worry about.

Clarence Oddbody . . . move over for Anna Rosario!

 

God Has a Plan for Your Life

Along with God's work comes the Holy Spirit.

When God is at work in the life of believers, His Spirit of Wisdom and Truth come to them with insight and understanding.

The longer we serve, the more intimately acquainted with God we become. When God has access to our heart, mind, and soul through years of fellowship and worship, God allows us to recognize more divine activity and to be more involved in miracles. Stay alert!

God has a plan for your life. Make sure you seek to discover it daily! In the hustle and bustle of modern life, take time to be still with God and the sense of your ultimate plan with will be revealed.  

To Sing or Not to Sing

GROWING A SUCCESSFUL BUSINESS is a formidable challenge, a soul-bending, gut-wrenching, energy-draining dragon that has to be slain if you are to prevail in the competitive marketplace. That’s probably why most startups fail within a few years. Not many have a good enough idea to start with and the persistence and business skills to get past the early period of often devastating struggle and setback.

There’s no holding back, no safe place to hide, no easy way to build a business. You have to take chances. Say goodbye to your comfort zone because while you’re in the fray of the marketplace fight the shrapnel will be flying.

I was scared to death when I took that first business meeting to pitch the owner of a supermarket to sell our fudge. I’d stepped out on the business equivalent of Yosemite’s El Capitan’s ledge and survived. Little did I know that was just the beginning of the walk-the-plank business related activities that would be needed to continue the growth I’d begun at the supermarket.

God gives each of us special gifts and talents. To grow a business takes all of your commitment, and all of your personal, emotional, spiritual, and physical resources. You’re either all in, or your going to be all out before you know it.

During a series of Christmas dinners I’d hosted for my extended family over the years, I learned I had a special gift for singing. Not to brag, but I practiced and practiced until I was able to replicate a number of recording artists, singing their hit songs just like they did.

I’m not bragging, because I know this kind of a special gift wasn’t my doing, but a special blessing from God, just like my rare ability to run track. Lately, I’ve also picked up the harmonica and added that to my singing.

For example, I can replicate Neil Young’s, “Heart of Gold,” complete with the harmonica part. I don’t mean just the karaoke feat of singing along to a CD, but even without the CD playing you’d think Neil Young was in the room when I was singing.

I know this is a special gift, but do I have what it takes to mobilize this personal resource on behalf of growing our business?

I knew I had a knack for cooking up a pretty good batch of fudge a full 15 years before we started our fudge business. If I’m going to use my singing ability to gain some notoriety that could benefit our business, I’d better not wait another 15 years.

During a recent promotional event, we were at our usual booth at a farmer’s market. The venue always has some live entertainment. On this afternoon there was a singer, who also played the guitar, accompanied by a harmonica player.

Not to be sassy, but to my ear they weren’t very good. I knew my voice would have sounded better, and the harmonica player, his amateurish screeching actually hurt my ears. Yes, I’ve been given a gift, but I also know how to pay my dues. Hours and hours of practice have refined my vocals and harmonica playing.

So, the performers had announced they were going to sing the Neil Young hit, “Heart of Gold,” next, but I couldn’t bear to hear the harmonica player destroy that wonderful number, so I did a naughty thing and prayed that he would just let the singer handle that song.

To my surprise, my selfish, sinful prayer was answered! In the be-careful-what-you-wish-for category, or in my case, don’t ask your guardian angel to do things you might later regret, the harmonica player was silent during the Neil Young classic!

Did I earn a scales-of-justice backlash with my naughty prayer? Why, because now it’s time for me to be uncomfortable as I ponder whether or not I have what it takes to elevate my Gift for singing to entertain the public so as to bring some notoriety, not so much to me, but to our growing business.

Time will tell . . . I’ll keep you posted on my blog! 

     

Balancing the Scales of Justice

Right now I'm living in the midst of an unfolding dream to build a business. In faith I'm looking into the future, to the time when we pass our business down to the next generation, but for the time being I’m excited and thankful that one of my most endearing dreams is actually unfolding, by the grace of God’s bountiful blessings on our family.

Before we have a successful business to pass on, however, there’s a lot of hard work to be done as anyone who’s grown a business knows. Besides finding new outlets for our fudge, we average five demonstration and sales events each weekend. That means cooking up the fudge during the week, cutting and packaging the squares, so we’ll have the inventory ready for a busy weekend of event sales.

Then, there’s packing up our car, traveling, and setting up for the demonstration, often the night before if it will be an early start. On one Saturday morning we were scheduled to present during a holiday fair at my old high school. That meant setting up on Friday night.

I’m someone whose life has been haunted by memory monsters that can rear their ugly heads without warning triggering anxiety, labored breathing, heart palpitations, if not full-blown panic attacks while reliving flashbacks of hell-house horrors. Walking into the field house I could look through the windows and see the old track where I’d had so much success as an elite track-and-field runner.

Instead of distress, I was momentarily reliving the euphoria of a successful mile run where once again I emerged victorious despite being chased by determined, capable competitors! On that same track I’d broken the school record for the 880-yard run.

In the morning, we walked onto that very track on our way to our designated spot on the field for the holiday fair. Kids from the high school student government were there proudly sporting our school colors and the award pins they’d earned on their jackets.    

I had to pause to appreciate this dramatic change of pace for my normal memory madness.

Growing up, cherished memories were far and few between, but even as a young child I learned to claim God’s promise to eventually balance the scales of justice.

Now, years later, I can tell you that promise was kept for me, and if you are struggling with injustice in your life, stay true to your faith and things will get better for you as well.

Generational Blessings

MOST OF THE TIME I FEEL so hopelessly inadequate. I’ve asked the Lord to help me understand why I was chosen to become a Hopelifter, why I was given these gifts that others don’t have.

This is hard to explain, but when I ask God questions often a back-and-forth dialog will begin.

“Have heard of the concept of a Generational Curse?” God asked, opening with a question.

“Well, yes . . . wouldn’t an example of that be my family?” I answered, always eager for any insights to just how it was possible for any mother anywhere in the world to be as sick and evil as mine was.

“Yes, your family, but not you.”

“So, just what do you mean by that?” I petitioned.

“In your case I made sure you were the beneficiary of a Generational Blessing.”

“All right . . . thank you, but would you please tell me what that is in words I can understand?”

Over the next few weeks God instructed me as to what a Generational Blessing was. God’s initial revelations were delivered under the heading, Keeping All in Balanace.

Our good choices make it easier for those who come after us—our children, grandchildren, and so on. When you live a life of excellence and integrity by being your best self and helping others, you are planting seeds that taking root will make not only your life more rewarding, but will carry over to those who come after you for generations to come.

You’ve heard it said that a butterfly fluttering its wings in China can be felt by an oak tree in Canada, that we’re all connected, well that is true enough, but not only in real time, we’re all connected through time—past, present, and future.

Do right by God and will have a stepping stone to go higher instead of a stumbling block leading them to falter. In your family, the sins of your parents were sabotaged her children’s chances for a better life. I have raised you up to put an end to the generational curse on your family.

As a Hopelifter you can make a difference by storing up mercy for your children and future generations. Scripture speaks of those who can make a difference and I have set you apart for that purpose.

I LISTENED WITH HUMILITY to the Wisdom God shared with me. By this Generational Blessing principle, I know that the good things in my life have come down from my grandmother whose was devoted to worshiping and serving God.

Because of her, I was introduced to the Holy Spirit at a young age. Because of her I learned to believe that God had great things in store for me despite my difficult family circumstances. I learned to sow the seeds of kindness, to be a blessing to others.

Through these Christian practices I’m putting an end to the Generational Curse dragging my family down. Many years ago my grandmother was instrumental in bringing love into my life when she supported my relationship with my husband and taught me how to love the Lord. Now, we are helping family, friends and others to follow the same path.

My saintly grandmother ministered to my spiritual needs. Sure, I listened in church, but besides God, she was the most important source of my inspiration. Like one of her skillful and artistic needlepoint creations, she patiently and carefully stitched and poked my spiritual development forward.

By this principle of Generational Blessing you won’t reap the full harvest of your good works, for some of that bounty will be reserved for future generations. How do you know if you’re building up your Generational Blessing bank account?

Have your children thanked you lately for something you’ve done for them or said to them? We praise, honor, and compliment our children every chance we get. We are also members of spiritual families, and when I used to baby sit a group of children, I'd practice the same uplifting principles while also teaching them to be polite, to say thank you and you're welcome and to learn how to share and respect each other.

Are you quenching the thirst of others for the Living Water of kindness? Are you being a blessing to others with your actions and attitudes?

By the principle of the Generational Blessing, we didn’t get to where we are by ourselves. Someone in our past prayed and made sacrifices so that we might have opportunities and options. It’s not mere coincidence or happenstance—someone paid a price.

My grandmother was the one in my generational life who paid the price for the blessings in my life. She reached out to many sharing her gifts of healing and foreknowledge. Now I understand the meaning of the scripture declaring that a godly heritage is better than inheriting great wealth.

God’s generational blessings on their lives will lead them to go farther in all the important ways than if they had all the money in Warren Buffet’s bank account. Opportunity, increase, and the right connections will be yours. 

CD Player - Mystery or Miracle!?

About a month ago I sent my editor a few short inspirational phrases that "came to me" out of the blue. I'd never heard them spoken, sung, or seen them written anywhere, but they just showed up in my mind and I wanted to put them in my book.

Fast forward to today . . . I'm working on more material for my book and my CD player starts up all by itself playing the Anne Murray song, "What a Wonderful World" over and over three or four times before stopping itself. I thought that was strange if not creepy, in a good way, but nothing like that had ever happened to me before.

I'd only been playing her first five songs over and over from the first CD. When I looked closer I realized there was another CD in the set that I hadn't listened to, so I started playing it. When Anne started singing the words to "The Other Side" I couldn't believe my ears.

http://youtu.be/J51uJZRIrko

The lyrics were an exact match for the phrases I'd sent to my editor and he had put in the First Edition of my book, Miracles, and the whole experience sure felt like a Miracle to me!!

Here's the poem I sent to my editor a month ago.

ON THE OTHER SIDE

On the other side of

Doubt is Faith

On the other side of

Pain is Strength

On the other side of

Fear is Love

 

Giving "Honor" Away

The Honor you give away to others will always come back to you multiplied many times. The blessings of a promotion, a breakthrough, an answered prayer, all will be yours but not if you are stingy with Honor and not willing to give it to others. The Honor you pour on others will become the welcome rain of blessings returned. 

Just answer these simple questions. How can I make someone feel special today? How can I make someone feel better about themselves? How can I compliment rather than criticize? How can I encourage someone rather than discourage? Look for ways to rub in the oil of Honor wherever you go and God will favor you.

Tell your spouse and children how proud you are of them. Such words carry the gift of Honor. When dispensing the power of Honor it will always come right back to you. God demands that you be blessed. More doors of opportunity will open as you develop the habit of spreading Honor. Your spirits will be lifted, your days brightened.

Scripture says, ". . . it is more blessed to give than it is to receive."

That is God's promise, to bless us more than the person we Honor. You're never too busy to invest in God's love and promises. Yes, you have your own problems and challenges, but Honoring others will lift you up. Make someone else's day and God will make your day!

My brother came to me drowning in a financial crisis and feeling so desperate that it seemed useless to continue on living. I reminded him about his sister's suicide and how it made him feel. We prayed. I insisted that God could work a miracle on his behalf and sent him on his way. The next day he had the money he needed and it came from a most unlikely source.

I honored my brother by insisting that his life had meaning, he Honored God by praying for forgiveness, and God Honored him with an answer to his prayer.   

A Miracle?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pqjTH1lSc5M&feature=youtube_gdata_player

Judge for yourself, but this could be documented video evidence of an angel saving a man from a collision with a truck.

I'm inclined to believe what I'm seeing here because something very similar actually happened to me when I was lost control of my car on a snowy road and a white truck came barreling right for me, passed right through me as if I were a cloud, and continued on down the road. 

This scene is documented in my book, Miracles, God's Proof of Life.

Be Your Very Best in every Season of your Life

Be Your Very Best in every Season of your Life

Each day we are blessed with the opportunity to be the best parent or worker or spouse that we can be, whether we have children or not. Here are some tips on how to be the very best we can be in every season of our life.

1. Have a good attitude. Try not to complain. Focus on the good things in life. A day laborer with a good attitude is more fulfilled and blessed than a CEO who complains, criticizes, and is never satisfied.

2. Be thankful. Don't fret over what you don't have or pine over what you'd rather be. Just stop and be grateful for what you do have and where you are right now.

3. Continue to grow by developing your talents and skills.

4. Remember that doing your best, being grateful and thankful are all ways to  honor God. No matter our station in life, God is the Master we are here to serve, so do all in the name of the Lord.

His Master replied, "Well done, good and faithful servant!  You have been faithful with a few things; I will put you in charge of many things. Come and share your Master's happiness."

                                                                                                                 Matthew 25: 21

Thanksgiving 2014

Thanksgiving, 2014, was a glorious day to be thankful for all the blessings and abundance, the joy and happiness, we've been given, up to the present moment, throughout the year, and over the course of our entire lives.

Thanksgiving should be anything but just another holiday opportunity to stuff yourself. Like Christmas, it should be a time to remember what Jesus did for us by dying on the cross so that we might live, for the grace and the gift of the Holy Spirit showered upon us. For those reasons, Thanksgiving has always been my favorite holiday.

In my home, Thanksgiving has taken on an even more important function beyond giving thanks. Yes, my scars from abuse and neglect run the deepest, but through the Holy Spirit I had help healing. Now, I'm burdened to help my siblings heal. Even after all these years, they are still suffering. They've never been taught how to love.

This year two of my siblings joined my Thanksgiving dinner. I opened with a prayer.

"Father in heaven, Happy Thanksgiving! We thank you for having your Son die on the cross for our sins so that we might have life. We thank you for all the blessing you've given us throughout the year and look forward to abundant blessing for the upcoming year. We thank you for the food we are about to receive and we pray that it brings us health, nutrition, and well-being. In Jesus' name, Amen."

My youngest sibling knocked on our door first. Much more important than the turkey centered on the table, hugs and simple words of affection are passed around as servings of spiritual nutrition. My siblings have difficulty showing or expressing affection, but I've been working on that. Today I heard one say, "I love you."

It was important because they'd never told that to anyone before. It's a sign of their respect for me, something that given our past I greatly appreciate. I'm still healing from those terrible early years and hearing "I love you" erases some of my childhood scars. Along with the capacity to love, I hope they will come the faith to accept God and with God will come help with the depression, anger, and drug use problems that have plagued my siblings' lives.

I know their pain runs deep, their frustrations constant, so I pray every day for God to help them. For some reason, our mother's passing some years ago seems to have been a milestone making things even more difficult for them. Like my mother, they don't push everyone away, believing they can't be loved and it surfaces as meanness, cynicism, and sarcasm. There is good in all of them and my assignment, my mission, is to bring out the good in them and help it grow with the right spiritual nutrition.

Our family Thanksgiving gathering ended, I walked one of them out to their car, gave them a big hug, told them, "I love you," and to my surprise, they jumped up, kicked their heels together, and returned a hearty "I love you" back at me!

At precious moments like that I know God is working through me to slowly dismiss the demons that have been slashing at their souls. 
    

What Happiness Means to Me

   Happiness

Happiness is:

being with and spending time with those you love.

Happy is the one who finds wisdom, the man who gains understanding! For profit it's better than gold in her revenue; she is more precious than corals, and none of your choice possessions can

compare with her.

(Proverbs 3:1-5)

Everyday I will be happy knowing that I am created for happiness.

Happiness is:

having people tell you that you made a

difference in their lives.

Happiness is:

knowing somebody wants to be with you.

Happiness is:

knowing somebody is thinking about you, knowing somebody misses you, knowing somebody loves you.

Happiness is:

a matter of choice, having a positive mindset with a positive attitude, we choose to find happiness in

each moment.

Happiness is:

getting together for a holiday gathering and meeting up with people who give us memories to hold in our hearts and minds for a lifetime. The very thought of them brings a smile to our faces.  Maybe these memories are given to us in the cold of the winter, so we can hold warm our hearts until the

warmth of summer returns.

We’ll all miss out on happiness occasionally because we are so busy with our lives we don't see what is right in front of us.

Happiness is:

telling somebody you care without using words.

Happy are those who do not follow the counsel of the wicked, nor go the way of sinners, nor sit in company of scoffers.  Rather, the law of the Lord is their joy; God's law they study day and night. They are like a tree planted near streams of water that yields its fruit in season; its leaves never wither,

whatever they do prospers.

(Psalms 1:1-2)

Happiness is:

to know you don't have to be perfect, and know that you are only human.

Happiness is:

learning to laugh at ourselves.

Laughter is one of the greatest gifts we can give to one another. Laughter is a feeling in our hearts. It makes a noise so others can hear our feelings. Laughter touches our very souls. It helps us to live happier and helps the people around us enjoy us even more.

Time spent laughing is time spent with God.

Take time to laugh, it is the music of the soul.

(an Irish prayer)

God fills our mouths with laughter.

(Job 8:21)

A smile brings happiness in your home, positive feelings in the workplace and togetherness

in the community.

Joy doesn't just come to us. We must choose joy and keep choosing it every day.

Happiness is:

appreciating all the little things in life, like the smell of growing roses, sunsets and sunrises, the beautiful changing fall colors of the leaves on the trees, and the very first glittering snowfall. Happiness is found in a smile of a baby and in the twinkling

eyes of an elderly person.

Happiness is:

when we remember that God calls us by our name.

Happiness is:

giving thanks to God for dying on the cross for our sins so that we may have life eternal.

Happiness is:

the grace and love that God gives us each

and every day.