A Cup of Tea With Me

Many of you know I work in the mall, in a kiosk in the middle of the mall. What many of you do not know is that I am close to one of the busiest entrances to the mall and there is a ton of foot traffic passing almost every day.

There is something about this location that attracts people. I do not know what it is. I do know that the hand of God is on this location, because I have had some of the most amazing religious experiences there. I was saved in that location. The Holy Spirit entered my life and has blessed me dramatically there. When I think about that day, I can still think of the depression lifting and the Holy Spirit filling me. It is amazing. The man that stopped and talked to me was a spanish charismatic evangelist, who was also active in prison ministry. I know that God sent Eli into my life at just the right time.

A few months ago, a man came up to me and asked me if I believed in Christ. I gave him a hearty “YES!” with a sparkle in my eye. He asked me what church I went to, and when I told him I attended a Baptist church, he asked me if I spoke in tongues. When I told him I did not he tried to convince me that I was not saved. When I told him that I knew without a doubt that I was, and described to him my experience, he agreed that he may be wrong and that I might be able to be saved without speaking in tongues. He also said “Well, we will find out, if I see you in heaven or not.” and left. While irritated at first, I had to begrudgingly admire his willingness to step outside th box and talk to people about their faith.

Ok, now we are up to last week: There was a family that was hanging around my kiosk for about an hour and a half. Being at a major intersection, I thought that maybe they were just waiting on someone. At one point the dad sat down. The mom and the grown daughter both put their hands on him. I assumed that he was not feeling well.

A little while later, the dad walked up and started asking me about the pecans. Nothing unusual about that. He then asked me about the cross on my hat. I tell him that it is a symbol of my faith, blah blah blah. He asks me about my church, I tell him I attend Central Baptist Church. He proceeds to tell me he is a pentecostal. I get hesitant to continue a conversation with him because the guy I mentioned earlier was pentecostal. I tell him my views on denominations, so that he knows where I stand and that he is not going to change my mind that I am going to heaven. Here is the shocking part. He agreed with me! My jaw dropped.

Anyway, he tells me I have 3 children. I go to correct him, but then I think of Morgan and tell him, “Sort of. Two boys and an angel in heaven. ” He tells me that he has the gift of prophecy, and that he feels there is a message I need to hear, but it is just not coming to him. Yeah, I know he is fishing, but I am intrigued by this point.

I tell him about my husband’s faith, thinking that is what it is. He talks to me about it. Then he says “I sense you nag at him a lot about going to church.” I called him on that one. Pointed out what Peter says about showing our faith with our actions, not our nagging. He graciously admitted he was wrong.

He tells me to get anointing oil and anoint the walls of my house, while praying. He also tells me to anoint my husband’s head, while he is sleeping and pray, asking the Holy Spirit to fill him. **Honestly, I feel like that is manipulating the situation. **

Then just before he leaves he says, “You are in a unique place to witness to people. You are set aside to do mighty work for the Kingdom.” My jaw dropped.

I do not know what part of my life he is saying is in a unique place. I thought he meant the mall, but I am not 100% certain of that. I just know that his message, much like Eli’s came to me at just the right time. I do not know where God is leading me, but I know I am ready for the journey.

I will admit, if he is talking about me staying in the mall, I just might cry. I want out of retail so badly, and to be honest, the retail hours are hurting my family.

So, here is the start of yet another spiritual journey.

Crystal @ Biblical Womanhood is keeping up the challenge of Making our homes a haven. This is my second day to participate, but it is the third day of the challenge.

1) Refresh Your Spirit
I did not do this in the right order. I woke up in a frenzy. I am not going to let getting off on the wrong foot stop me though.

I have gone back and read the Wednesday reading for “Light of the World” in Praying the Names of Jesus.

1 John 1:5-7 (NASB):
God Is Light
⁵ This is the message we have heard from Him and announce to you, that God is Light, and in Him there is no darkness at all.
⁶ If we say that we have fellowship with Him and yet walk in the darkness, we lie and do not practice the truth;
⁷but if we walk in the Light as He Himself is in the Light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus His Son cleanses us from all sin.

I know there are times that I feel like I am in the dark, but this scripture speaks to me and reminds me that I am never in the dark. I need to not look into the darkness but keep my heart and mind focused on the Light of this World.

I am also reading in Acts for my daily reading. In Acts 17, it tells us how the Bereans were eager to hear the Word, and would study the Scriptures to make sure the teachings were accurate. This shows how wise they were. We all should study the Scriptures, when we are taught doctrine, to make sure it all adds up. I know that I do not always check the references.

Crystal would like us to share three things we are thankful for, I am going to fore go (sp? I hope I used and spelled that right) the obvious. I always start with God on my thankful lists, but I could do all three about Him, so I am going to list more every day things.

I am thankful for:

1. My oldest just has a virus and not strep throat
2. My husband forgives me for being moody last night after I broke one of my family heirloom ornaments
3. I realize today that it was just a piece of glass, and just because the ornament is gone, it does not erase the 30 years of memories associated with it.

2) Take time to plan
My day is crazy, as I did not make my plan right away.

My to do list consists of:

Kid to Dr - virus
Laundry - get it all done??? - Folding 5th load. 1 in washer, 1 in dryer and one still in the dirty clothes.
Wrap Christmas Presents YAY! I did not think I would finish this one today
Grocery shopping
M&Ms to School for cookies
Finish decorating the house for Christmas
Get the Wed blog posting done
Follow through with today’s Encouraging Our Husbands Challenge
make up for yesterday
See if Bailey can cover the end of my shift tomorrow so I can go to Hubby’s company Christmas party

For dinner tonight we are having cashew chicken with jasmine rice.

It is a long list I will get as much done as possible. I work all the rest of the week.

3) Do Something!
Today is laundry day. Well, I have A LOT of laundry to do. I do not have a digital camera to show my progress or anything. I will just have to update this post when I finish.

Still working on laundry, but I did sweep the floor and organize the area better.

Most of you are preparing your Turkeys and the fine side dishes that go with them, but I wanted to wish you all a very Happy Thanksgiving. Remember to thank God for all things. You may have a hard time seeing past the thorns in your life, but the thorns are some of the very things we need to be thankful for.

God bless you all and enjoy your day!

A BIG thanks to Heather over at Girly Blog Designs. Not only is she the one responsible for this awesome blog design of mine, but she worked very hard on resolving my technical difficulties I was having with my coding.

Thank you, Heather! You ROCK!

Thankful Thursday is hosted by Crystal @ God is in Control … NOT ME!. Thank you, Crystal for hosting Thankful Thursday, again this week.I was not sure what to post this week, then I opened my email and found my post. This week, instead of a list, I am going to share an email. I know it is not my personal TT, but it is something that I am thankful for. I have my thorns. We all do.

What arrangement will you have on your Thanksgiving table?

Thorns….. Thank You Lord

Sandra felt as low as the heels of her shoes when she pulled open the florist shop door, against a November gust of wind. Her life had been as sweet as a spring breeze and then, in the fourth month of her second pregnancy, a “minor” automobile accident stole her joy.

This was Thanksgiving week and the time she should have delivered their infant son. She grieved over their loss. Troubles had multiplied. Her husband’s company “threatened” to transfer his job to a new location. Her sister had called to say that she could not come for her long awaited holiday visit. What’s worse, Sandra’s friend suggested that Sandra’s grief was a God-given path to maturity that would allow her to empathize with others who suffer. “She has no idea what I’m feeling,” thought Sandra with a shudder.

“Thanksgiving? Thankful for what?” she wondered. “For a careless driver whose truck was hardly scratched when he rear-ended her? For an airbag that saved her life, but took her child’s?”

“Good afternoon, can I help you?” Sandra was startled by the approach of the shop clerk. “I….I need an arrangement,” stammered Sandra. “For Thanksgiving? I’m convinced that flowers tell stories,” she continued. “Are you looking for something that conveys ‘gratitude’ this Thanksgiving?” “Not exactly!” Sandra blurted out. “In the last five months, everything that could go wrong has gone wrong.” Sandra regretted her outburst, and was surprised when the clerk said, “I have the perfect arrangement for you.”

Then the bell on the door rang, and the clerk greeted the new customer, “Hi, Barbara, let me get your order.” She excused herself and walked back to a small workroom, then quickly reappeared, carrying an arrangement of greenery, bows, and what appeared to be long-stemmed thorny roses. Except the ends of the rose stems were neatly snipped: there were no flowers.

“Do you want these in a box?” asked the clerk. Sandra watched, was this a joke? Who would want rose stems with no flowers! She waited for laughter, but neither woman laughed. “Yes, please,” Barbara replied with an appreciative smile. “You’d think after three years of getting the special, I wouldn’t be so moved by its significance, but I can feel it right here, all over again,” she said, as she gently tapped her chest.

Sandra stammered, “Ah, that lady just left with, uh. . .She left with no flowers!” “That’s right, said the clerk. “I cut off the flowers. That’s the ‘Special.’ I call it the Thanksgiving Thorns Bouquet.

“Barbara came into the shop three years ago, feeling much as you do today,” explained the clerk. “She thought she had very little to be thankful for. She had just lost her father to cancer; the family business was failing; her son had gotten into drugs; and she was facing major surgery.”

“That same year I had lost my husband,” continued the clerk. “For the first time in my life, I had to spend the holidays alone. I had no children, no husband, no family nearby, and too much debt to allow any travel.”

“So what did you do?” asked Sandra. “I learned to be thankful for thorns,” answered the clerk quietly. “I’ve always thanked God for the good things in my life and I never questioned Him why those good things happened to me, but when the bad stuff hit, I cried out, “Why? Why me?!” It took time for me to learn that the dark times are important to our faith! I have always enjoyed the ‘flowers’ of my life, but it took the thorns to show me the beauty of God’s comfort! You know, the Bible says that God comforts us when we’re afflicted, and from His consolation we learn to comfort others.”

Sandra sucked in her breath, as she thought about what her friend had tried to tell her. “I guess the truth is I don’t want comfort.

I’ve lost a baby and I’m angry with God.”

Just then someone else walked in the shop

“Hey, Phil!” the clerk greeted the balding, rotund man. “My wife sent me in to get our usual Thanksgiving arrangement…..twelve thorny, long-stemmed stems!” laughed Phil as the clerk handed him a tissue wrapped arrangement from the refrigerator. “Those are for your wife?” asked Sandra incredulously. “Do you mind telling me why she wants a bouquet that looks like that?”

“Four years ago, my wife and I nearly divorced,” Phil replied. “After forty years, we were in a real mess, but with the Lord’s grace and guidance, we trudged through problem after problem. The Lord rescued our marriage. Jenny here (the clerk) told me she kept a vase of rose stems to remind her of what she had learned from “thorny” times. That was good enough for me. I took home some of those stems. My wife and I decided to label each one for a specific “problem” and give thanks for what that problem taught us.” As Phil paid the clerk, he said to Sandra, “I highly recommend the Special!”

“I don’t know if I can be thankful for the thorns in my life.” Sandra said to the clerk. “It’s all too. . .fresh.” “Well,” the clerk replied carefully, “my experience has shown me that the thorns make the roses more precious. We treasure God’ s providential care more during trouble than at any other time. Remember that it was a crown of thorns that Jesus wore so we might know His love. Don’t resent the thorns.”

Tears rolled down Sandra’s cheeks. For the first time since the accident, she loosened her grip on her resentment. “I’ll take those twelve long-stemmed thorns, please,” she managed to choke out.

“I hoped you would,” said the clerk gently. “I’ll have them ready in a minute.” “Thank you. What do I owe you?” “Nothing. Nothing but a promise to allow God to heal your heart. The first year’s arrangement is always on me.” The clerk smiled and handed a card to Sandra. “I’ll attach this card to your arrangement, but maybe you would like to read it first.”

It read: My God, I have never thanked You for my thorns. I have thanked You a thousand times for my roses, but never once for my thorns. Teach me the glory of the cross I bear; teach me the value of my thorns. Show me that I have climbed closer to You along the path of pain. Show me that, through my tears, the colors of Your rainbow look much more brilliant.”

Praise Him for the roses; thank Him for the thorns. God Bless all of you. Be thankful for all that the Lord does for you.

“Live simply, love generously, care deeply, speak kindly, leave the rest to God”.

What are your thorns? Can you be thankful for the thorns?

I am thankful for

• my health and not knowing exactally what is wrong, as it makes me want to live each day to the fullest.
• the loss of my baby 9 years ago, as it makes me realize how precious my living children are and how much they need me.
• the fights that my beloved and I have, as it makes us see that we really want to be together. We will do what it takes to work it out.

Be sure to visit Crystal @ God is in Control … NOT ME! to read what others are thankful for.

This week, Thankful Thursday is hosted by Crystal @ God is in Control … NOT ME!. Thank you, Crystal for hosting Thankful Thursday.

2 Cor 5:21: For our sake he made him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God. (ESV)

This verse is on my heart a lot lately. There is a reason for it but that is for another post for another day.

• Today I am thankful for the fact that through Christ, we are made righteous.
• I am thankful that I get to work this afternoon.
• I am thankful that my family all my family is in good health. We are all together.
• I am thankful that I have “good” kids who do not go out and “party”.

Scripture quotations are from The Holy Bible, English Standard Version®, copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

I woke up with this song in my head this morning. Actually I wake up to this song playing in my head most mornings.

I do just love this song. It is a great reminder. Sing with me:

“How Great Is Our God”

The splendor of a King, clothed in majesty
Let all the earth rejoice
All the earth rejoice

He wraps himself in Light, and darkness tries to hide
And trembles at His voice
Trembles at His voice

How great is our God, sing with me
How great is our God, and all will see
How great, how great is our God

Age to age He stands
And time is in His hands
Beginning and the end
Beginning and the end

The Godhead Three in One
Father Spirit Son
The Lion and the Lamb
The Lion and the Lamb

Name above all names
Worthy of our praise
My heart will sing
How great is our God

How great is our God, sing with me
How great is our God, and all will see
How great, how great is our God

I got this in an email and decided to share it here, after sending my card.

If you go to this web site, www.LetsSayThanks.com you can pick out a thank you card and Xerox will print it and it will be sent to a soldier that is currently serving in Iraq. You can’t pick out who gets it, but it will go to some member of the armed services.

How AMAZING it would be if we could get everyone we know to send one!!!

This is a great site.

Please send a card. It is FREE and it only takes a second.

Wouldn’t it be wonderful if the soldiers received a bunch of these? Whether you are for or against the war, our guys and gals over there need to know we are behind them …

I just had to share. Heather over at Hope Filled Mom has also awarded me with the Mathetes Award. Thank you, Heather. I honored that you think so highly of my blog. You are an amazing friend.

Moosey returned from church camp, which I promise he did not take a washing machine or a bazooka. However, he brought home something wonderful, that he did not take. That is a heart on fire for the Word of God.

He was home for 5 days, then he left again. This time, it was for a mission trip to the Seattle area, where he helped a newer church with a sports camp/vacation bible school. He, again, came home with a heart more on fire.

I just cannot thank God enough for this answer to prayer. It is wonderful to hear about his new desires. They are not all about “Me me me” they are about wanting to reach out.

In the fall he will start being discipled by a young man from the local university, through our church. We are starting to save up for a mission trip to Mexico, over spring break, chruch camp next year, and the Seattle trip next year.

I cannot wait until Boog is old enough to go on these things. 3 years for the camp and 6 years for the missions trips.