Tag Archives: walking

Marching into Mark Chapter 10

Marching into Mark Registry,
the collection of these studies
(First 100 days of 2023, day 80, March 21 )

On Facebook, you can join us at Itty Bitty Bible Study Group.

It doesn’t matter which version you choose. It can be digital or paper. You can use one of those fancy coloring bibles and do a page or coloring along with the passage.

I will mostly do Holman Christian Standard Bible because of their copyright freedoms.

The Images that I use are from Knowing Jesus and are available as downloads in every format that I can imagine for screen savers and wallpapers.

Mark 10(cross referencing – Matthew 19)
- Mk10:1He set out from there and went to the region of Judea and across the Jordan. Then crowds converged on Him again and, as He usually did, He began teaching them once more.
- Mk 10:2-12 Jesus’s opinion on Divorce
- Mk 10:²Some Pharisees approached Him to test Him. They asked, “Is it lawful for a man to divorce his wife?”
- ⁶But from the beginning of creation God^[a] made them male and female.
  - For this reason a man will leave
    his father and mother
    [and be joined to his wife],
  - and the two will become one flesh.
  - So they are no longer two, but one flesh.
- ⁹Therefore what God has joined together, man must not separate.”
- ¹¹And He said to them, “Whoever divorces his wife and marries another commits adultery against her.
- ¹²Also, if she divorces her husband and marries another, she commits adultery.”
- Mk 10:13 -16 Welcome the Children
- Mk 10¹⁴When Jesus saw it, He was indignant and said to them, “Let the little children come to Me. Don’t stop them, for the kingdom of God belongs to such as these.
- Mk 10¹⁵I assure you: Whoever does not welcome[e] the kingdom of God like a little child will never enter it.”
- ¹⁶After taking them in His arms, He laid His hands on them and blessed them.
- Mk 10:17-22 The Rich Young Ruler
- Mk 10¹⁷As He was setting out on a journey, a man ran up, knelt down before Him, and asked Him, “Good Teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life?”
- Jesus – Why do you call me Good? And Keep the commandments
- ²⁰He said to Him, “Teacher, I have kept all these from my youth.”
- Jesus – You must go and sell all and give to the poor.
- Mk 10²²But he was stunned^[h] at this demand, and he went away grieving, because he had many possessions.
- Mk10:23-31 The continuation of Riches
- Mk 10²³Jesus looked around and said to His disciples, “How hard it is for those who have wealth to enter the kingdom of God!”
- Stunned the disciples –
- Mk 10:24…Again Jesus said to them, “Children, how hard it is^[i] to enter the kingdom of God! ²⁵It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich person to enter the kingdom of God.”
- The Who Can be Saved????
- Mk 10²⁷Looking at them, Jesus said, “With men it is impossible, but not with God, because all things are possible with God.”
- But we’ve left all to follow you!
- Mk10²⁹“I assure you,” Jesus said, “there is no one who has left house, brothers or sisters, mother or father,^[j] children, or fields because of Me and the gospel, ³⁰who will not receive 100 times more, now at this time—houses, brothers and sisters, mothers and children, and fields, with persecutions—and eternal life in the age to come. ³¹But many who are first will be last, and the last first.”
- Mk 10:32-34 Jesus Tells of His Death a Third time
- Mk 10:35-45 James and John ask to sit at Christ’s Right Hand
- Mk 10⁴³But it must not be like that among you. On the contrary, whoever wants to become great among you must be your servant, ⁴⁴and whoever wants to be first among you must be a slave to all. ⁴⁵For even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give His life—a ransom for many.”^[l]
- Mk 10:46-52 Blind Bartimaeus
- Mk 10:⁵¹Then Jesus answered him, “What do you want Me to do for you?”
- “Rabbouni,”^[m] the blind man told Him, “I want to see!”
- ⁵²“Go your way,” Jesus told him. “Your faith has healed you.” Immediately he could see and began to follow Him on the road.

More discussion about these stories in Mindfully Meditating in Matthew 19

A good place to see the four gospels compared is from Synoptic Gospel Parallels.

Mindful Meditating

choose a verse,
set a timer for 5 minutes, or whatever works for you.
example: Mark 10:31
repeat to yourself, and at each word, enunciate the next word in the sentence starting with the first word…

example:

³¹But many who are first will be last, and the last first.”
BUT many who are first will be last, and the last first.
But MANY who are first will be last, and the last first.
But many WHO are first will be last, and the last first.
But many who ARE first will be last, and the last first.

⁵²“Go your way,” Jesus told him. “Your faith has healed you.”
GO your way, Jesus told him. Your faith has healed you.
Go your way, Jesus told him. YOUR faith has healed you.
Go your way, Jesus told him. Your FAITH has healed you.
Go your way, Jesus told him. Your faith HAS healed you.

and so on. This will cause you to look at the verse more intently, and may have you memorize it before your five minutes are done.

Songs for Meditation

This is the Kingdom – Elevation Worship

We Declare that the Kingdom of God is Here – Ron Kenoly

Coloring – I use coloring to help me focus on the fullness of a verse.

Mark Coloring page – Ministry to Children – simple enough to finish in an hour or less

Jesus heals the Blind man – Super Coloring

Quick Questions – if you have time, or to think about over the course of the day, and jot down thoughts later. Some thoughts to dig deeper.

What does Jesus mean by the first shall be last and the last shall be first?
1. Got Questions explains this from Matthew’s Gospel.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Hi!
My hope in the midst of despair and my joy in the face of depression is because of my relationship with Jesus Christ. If you do not have one, or are not sure you will join him in heaven, please check out these links:

Got Questions provides a detailed explanation of The Roman’s Road.
Billy Graham’s version of the Plan of salvation.

Thanks for joining me in this journey,
In His hands and under His wings,
~Christi
Ps 63:7 Because you are my help, I sing in the shadow of your wings.

M. Christine Wildman

“The Lord does not give me rules, but He makes His standard very clear.
If my relationship to Him is that of love, I will do what He says without hesitation.
If I hesitate, it is because I love someone I have placed in competition with Him, namely, myself.” – from My Utmost for His highest

Copyrights and Legal-eze
There are many organizations that support children and families. Here are ones that we are blessed to be a part of. Please consider sponsoring a child – the life you change could be your own.

Naomi’s Heart Ministries
Obed’s House Ministries
The son of a friend will be interning with CRU – previously known as Campus Crusades for Christ. If you’d like to support someone I can vouch for in this area, please consider going to Matthew Plant’s donation page.

Marching into Mark Chapter Six

Marching into Mark Registry,
the collection of these studies
(First 100 days of 2023, day 73, March 14 )

On Facebook, you can join us at Itty Bitty Bible Study Group.

Passage
Mark Chapter Six

It doesn’t matter which version you choose. It can be digital or paper. You can use one of those fancy coloring bibles and do a page or coloring along with the passage.

I will mostly do Holman Christian Standard Bible because of their copyright freedoms.

The Images that I use are from Knowing Jesus and are available as downloads in every format that I can imagine for screen savers and wallpapers.

Mark 6 (cross referenced to Matthew 9, 10 and 14)
- Mk 6:1-6 Rejected
  - Hometown Boy – Nazareth
  - Preached – they dismissed him
    - ²When the Sabbath came, He began to teach in the synagogue, and many who heard Him were astonished. “Where did this man get these things?” they said. “What is this wisdom given to Him, and how are these miracles performed by His hands?
    - ³Isn’t this the carpenter, the son of Mary, and the brother of James, Joses, Judas, and Simon? And aren’t His sisters here with us?” So they were offended by Him.
    - They also probably remembered the whole mess about Mary’s pregnancy – but that’s not Bible.
  - Because of their unbelief – few miracles were done there.
    - ⁵So He was not able to do any miracles^[a] there, except that He laid His hands on a few sick people and healed them. ⁶And He was amazed at their unbelief.
- Mk 6:7-13 Commissioning the Twelve
  - ⁷He summoned the Twelve and began to send them out in pairs
  - and gave them authority over unclean spirits.
  - ⁸He instructed them to take nothing for the road except a walking stick: no bread, no traveling bag, no money in their belts.
  - ⁹They were to wear sandals, but not put on an extra shirt.
  - ¹¹If any place does not welcome you and people refuse to listen to you, when you leave there, shake the dust off your feet as a testimony against them.”
  - ¹²preached that people should repent.
  - ¹³And they were driving out many demons,
  - anointing many sick people with olive oil, and healing them.
- Mk 6:14-29 Death of John the Baptist in Detail
  - ²⁹When his disciples^[i] heard about it, they came and removed his corpse and placed it in a tomb.
- Mk 6:30- 34 The Apostles returned
  - and Jesus tried to get them to a quiet place
  - People found them and surrounded them
  - ³⁴So as He stepped ashore, He saw a huge crowd and had compassion on them, because they were like sheep without a shepherd. Then He began to teach them many things.
    - Mindfully Meditating on Matthew 10
- Mk 6:35-44 Feeding the 5,000
  - Got late
  - Master – send them away so they can eat
  - ³⁷“You give them something to eat,” He responded.
  - What DO you have?
  - five loaves and two fish
  - Jesus sat the people down in an orderly fashion
    - ⁴¹Then He took the five loaves and the two fish, and looking up to heaven, He blessed and broke the loaves. He kept giving them to His disciples to set before the people. He also divided the two fish among them all.
    - ⁴²Everyone ate and was filled.
    - ⁴³Then they picked up 12 baskets full of pieces of bread and fish.
    - ⁴⁴Now those who ate the loaves were 5,000 men.
      - Mindfully Meditating in Matthew 14
- Mk 6:45 -52 Sent the Apostles ahead in a boat
  - ⁴⁶After He said good-bye to them, He went away to the mountain to pray.
  - ⁴⁸He saw them being battered as they rowed,^[l] because the wind was against them.
  - Around three in the morning^[m] He came toward them walking on the sea and wanted to pass by them.
  - ⁵⁰for they all saw Him and were terrified.
  - Immediately He spoke with them and said, “Have courage! It is I. Don’t be afraid.”
  - ⁵¹Then He got into the boat with them, and the wind ceased. They were completely astounded,
    - MMM14
    - Dear Peter
- Mk 6:53 – 56 Healings all around
  - ⁵⁶Wherever He would go, into villages, towns, or the country, they laid the sick in the marketplaces and begged Him that they might touch just the tassel of His robe. And everyone who touched it was made well.

A place to see the four gospels compared is from Synoptic Gospel Parallels.

Mindful Meditating

choose a verse,
set a timer for 5 minutes, or whatever works for you.
example: Mark 6:50
repeat to yourself, and at each word, enunciate the next word in the sentence starting with the first word…

example:

⁵⁰for they all saw Him and were terrified. Immediately He spoke with them and said, “Have courage! It is I. Don’t be afraid.”
HAVE courage! It is I. Don’t be afraid.
Have COURAGE! It is I. Don’t be afraid.
Have courage! IT IS I. Don’t be afraid.
Have courage! It is I! Don’t be afraid.

and so on. This will cause you to look at the verse more intently, and may have you memorize it before your five minutes are done.

Songs for Meditation

Little is Much if God is in It – Bible Baptist Church

This is the Kingdom – Elevation Worship

We Declare that the Kingdom of God is Here – Ron Kenoly

Coloring – I use coloring to help me focus on the fullness of a verse.

Mark Coloring page – Ministry to Children – simple enough to finish in an hour or less

Jesus Walking on the Water – SuperColoring

Quick Questions – if you have time, or to think about over the course of the day, and jot down thoughts later. Some thoughts to dig deeper.

1. 1. Why do you think that Jesus was rejected by his hometown?
    1. is this the answer”
      1. ⁴Then Jesus said to them, “A prophet is not without honor except in his hometown, among his relatives, and in his household.”
  2. How can we apply Jesus asking the disciples What do YOU have? YOU feed them?
    1. Got Questions discusses it from both Matthew and Mark.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Got Questions provides a detailed explanation of The Roman’s Road.
Billy Graham’s version of the Plan of salvation.

Thanks for joining me in this journey,
In His hands and under His wings,
~Christi
Ps 63:7 Because you are my help, I sing in the shadow of your wings.

M. Christine Wildman

“The Lord does not give me rules, but He makes His standard very clear.
If my relationship to Him is that of love, I will do what He says without hesitation.
If I hesitate, it is because I love someone I have placed in competition with Him, namely, myself.” – from My Utmost for His highest

Naomi’s Heart Ministries
Obed’s House Ministries
The son of a friend will be interning with CRU – previously known as Campus Crusades for Christ. If you’d like to support someone I can vouch for in this area, please consider going to Matthew Plant’s donation page.

Mindfully Meditating on Matthew chapter 14 or MMM14

Mindfully Meditating on Matthew Catalogue , the collection of these studies
(First 100 days of 2023, day 45, Feb 14)

Passage
Matthew Chapter Fourteen

It doesn’t matter which version you choose. It can be digital or paper. You can use one of those fancy coloring bibles and do a page or coloring along with the passage.

I will mostly do Holman Christian Standard Bible because of their copyright freedoms.

Matthew 14
- Mt 14:1-12 the story of the death of John the Baptist
  - ¹²Then his disciples came, removed the corpse,^[c] buried it, and went and reported to Jesus.
- Mt 14:13-14 Jesus tries to mourn John
  - - ¹³When Jesus heard about it, He withdrew from there by boat to a remote place to be alone. When the crowds heard this, they followed Him on foot from the towns. ¹⁴As He stepped ashore,^[d] He saw a huge crowd, felt compassion for them, and healed their sick.
- Mt 14: 15-21 Feeding the 5000
  - YOU do it
    - ¹⁶“They don’t need to go away,” Jesus told them. “You give them something to eat.”
  - WE DON’T HAVE ENOUGH
    - ¹⁷“But we only have five loaves and two fish here,” they said to Him.
  - GIVE IT TO JESUS
    - ¹⁸“Bring them here to Me,” He said.
  - MORE THAN ENOUGH
    - ²⁰Everyone ate and was filled. Then they picked up 12 baskets full of leftover pieces!
- Mt 14:22- 33 Take a Walk on the Water
  - Prayer time JESUS WAS ALONE
    - ²³After dismissing the crowds, He went up on the mountain by Himself to pray. When evening came, He was there alone.
  - Danger arose- JESUS WAS WATCHING
    - ²⁴But the boat was already over a mile^[h] from land,^[i] battered by the waves, because the wind was against them.
  - JESUS DIDN’T COME RIGHT AWAY
    - ⁵Around three in the morning,^[j] He came toward them walking on the sea.
  - FRIGHTENED MORE OF THE GHOST!
  - JESUS CALMED THEIR FEARS
    - ²⁷Immediately Jesus spoke to them. “Have courage! It is I. Don’t be afraid.”
  - PETER WALKS ON WATER
    - ²⁸“Lord, if it’s You,” Peter answered Him, “command me to come to You on the water.”
    - ²⁹“Come!” He said.
    - And climbing out of the boat, Peter started walking on the water and came toward Jesus.
  - PETER LOOKS AT THE STORM
    - ³⁰But when he saw the strength of the wind,^[k] he was afraid. And beginning to sink he cried out, “Lord, save me!”
  - JESUS REPRIMANDS, BUT SAVES
    - ³¹Immediately Jesus reached out His hand, caught hold of him, and said to him, “You of little faith, why did you doubt?”
  - THEN THE STORM CEASED!
    - ³²When they got into the boat, the wind ceased.
  - Peter stepped out of the boat in faith WHILE IN THE MIDST OF A STORM!
  - ³³Then those in the boat worshiped Him and said, “Truly You are the Son of God!”
- Mt 14:34-36 – Touch the tassel
  - ³⁴Once they crossed over, they came to land at Gennesaret.
  - ³⁶They were begging Him that they might only touch the tassel on His robe. And as many as touched it were made perfectly well.
    - Sounds like the woman with the issue of blood!
      - Luke 8:43-48
        
        ⁴³A woman suffering from bleeding for 12 years, who had spent all she had on doctors^[a] yet could not be healed by any, ⁴⁴approached from behind and touched the tassel of His robe. Instantly her bleeding stopped.

Mindful Meditating

choose a verse,
set a timer for 5 minutes, or whatever works for you.
example: Matt 14:27
repeat to yourself, and at each word, enunciate the next word in the sentence starting with the first word…

example:

²⁷Immediately Jesus spoke to them. “Have courage! It is I. Don’t be afraid.”
IMMEDIATELY Jesus spoke to them. “have courage! It is I. Don’t be afraid.
JESUS spoke to them, have courage! it is I. Don’t be afraid,
Jesus SPOKE to them, have courage, it is I, don’t be afraid
Jesus spoke TO them, have courage, it is I, don’t be afraid.
Jesus spoke to ME, have courage, it is I, don’t be afraid.

…and so on. This will cause you to look at the verse more intently, and may have you memorize it before your five minutes are done.

A Matthew Coloring Page by Ministry to Children – though it can be good for adult meditating.

Various coloring pages of Jesus feeding the 5000 to choose from by Coloring Home

Various coloring pages of Jesus Walking on the Water to choose from by Coloring Home

Quick Questions – if you have time, or to think about over the course of the day, and jot down thoughts later.

Peter stepped out of the boat in faith WHILE IN THE MIDST OF A STORM!
1. What does that tell us about walking through storms?
2. The Eye of the Storm by Ryan Stevenson

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Got Questions provides a detailed explanation of The Roman’s Road.
Billy Graham’s version of the Plan of salvation.

Thanks for joining me in this journey,
In His hands and under His wings,
~Christi
Ps 63:7 Because you are my help, I sing in the shadow of your wings.

M. Christine Wildman

“The Lord does not give me rules, but He makes His standard very clear.
If my relationship to Him is that of love, I will do what He says without hesitation.
If I hesitate, it is because I love someone I have placed in competition with Him, namely, myself.” – from My Utmost for His highest

Naomi’s Heart Ministries
Obed’s House Ministries
The son of a friend will be interning with CRU – previously known as Campus Crusades for Christ. If you’d like to support someone I can vouch for in this area, please consider going to Matthew Plant’s donation page.

Mindfully Meditating on Matthew chapter 9 or MMM9

Mindfully Meditating on Matthew chapter 5

Mindfully Meditating in Matthew, the collection of these studies
(First 100 days of 2023, day 40, Feb 9)

Passage

Matthew Chapter 9

It doesn’t matter which version you choose. It can be digital or paper. You can use one of those fancy coloring bibles and do a page or coloring along with the passage.

I will mostly do Homan Christian Standard Bible because of their copyright freedoms.

Matthew 9
- Mt 9:1-8 healing and forgiving sins
  - ⁵For which is easier: to say, ‘Your sins are forgiven,’ or to say, ‘Get up and walk’? ⁶But so you may know that the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins”—then He told the paralytic, “Get up, pick up your mat, and go home.” ⁷And he got up and went home.
- Mt 9:9-13 Matthew and Tax Collectors
  - ¹³Go and learn what this means: I desire mercy and not sacrifice.^[f] For I didn’t come to call the righteous, but sinners.”^[g]
- Mt 9:14-17 New vs Old
- Mt 9:18-26 Two healings in One effort
  - leaders daughter raised from the dead
    - ²⁵But when the crowd had been put outside, He went in and took her by the hand, and the girl got up.
  - but first – on the way – woman with the issue of blood
    - ²²But Jesus turned and saw her. “Have courage, daughter,” He said. “Your faith has made you well.”
- Mt 9:27-31 Healing two blind men
  - 28 When He entered the house, the blind men approached Him, and Jesus said to them, “D0 you believe that I can do this?” “yes, Lord” they answered Him
  - ²⁹Then He touched their eyes, saying, “Let it be done for you according to your faith!”
- Mt 9:32-34 Mute delivered and speaks
- Mt 9:35-37 The Lord of the Harvest
  - ³⁷Then He said to His disciples, “The harvest is abundant, but the workers are few. ³⁸Therefore, pray to the Lord of the harvest to send out workers into His harvest.”

Mindful Meditating

choose a verse,
set a timer for 5 minutes, or whatever works for you.
example: Matt 9:22
repeat to yourself, and at each word, enunciate the next word in the sentence starting with the first word…

example:

²²But Jesus turned and saw her. “Have courage, daughter,” He said. “Your faith has made you well.”
BUT Jesus turned and saw her.
Have courage, daughter, He said.
YOUR faith has made you well.
Your FAITH has made you well.
Your faith HAS made you well.

…and so on. This will cause you to look at the verse more intently, and may have you memorize it before your five minutes are done.

A Variety of Jesus healing people art to choose from.

Quick Questions – if you have time, or to think about over the course of the day, and jot down thoughts later.

Which do you think is easier to say – your sins are forgiven or rise up and take your bed and walk? Why?
1. your answer
2. BibleRef
What does it mean “I desire mercy not sacrifice”?
1. your answer
What similarities were there between healings?
1. your answer
What is the harvest and who are the workers?
1. your answer

Got Questions provides a detailed explanation of The Roman’s Road.
Billy Graham’s version of the Plan of salvation.

Thanks for joining me in this journey,
In His hands and under His wings,
~Christi
Ps 63:7 Because you are my help, I sing in the shadow of your wings.

M. Christine Wildman

“The Lord does not give me rules, but He makes His standard very clear.
If my relationship to Him is that of love, I will do what He says without hesitation.
If I hesitate, it is because I love someone I have placed in competition with Him, namely, myself.” – from My Utmost for His highest

Naomi’s Heart Ministries
Obed’s House Ministries
The son of a friend will be interning with CRU – previously known as Campus Crusades for Christ. If you’d like to support someone I can vouch for in this area, please consider going to Matthew Plant’s donation page.

My One Word 2018 – The End is Near – or The Time Is Short – hmmmm?

Yes, that’s what I got in January!
My One Word!

Then, it was refined to Be Like Jesus!

I’ve written a bit about both.

I also wrote about Jesus Knowing my frame….and how many spoons I have!

I created a video about being poured out – I think I need to find that, edited by Jim!

Last September, I wrote about my struggles with what was occurring at that time….since then
In October, we put Gabriel Down.

In November, we rejoiced with our children Faith and Steve in their new home, that included a room in which we couild stay without a hotel!

In December, we flew back to Ohio to share in Christmas with family.

Somewhere in January, I found out I had kidney cancer.
Somewhere in January, we found out that Jim’s fight with prostate cancer was not over.

In February, we discussed with various doctors about various cancer treatments…for both of us.
I have to have most or all of my kidney removed.
Jim needs another hifu, and we are looking at the lymphoma.
Jim has had to start a medication to be a stop gap for the prostate cancer…and we’ve had to fight with insurance for one of the drugs. (And we thought we had one of those golden insurance policies…how awful it must be for those that don’t have anything!!!!)

We need to lower our costs….and Jim’s focus is in lowering our credit card debt.

Then –
2/21 I get a text from our daughter “Do you want to be my neighbor?”
Jim jumps right over my maybe to a yes…because he’s seeing the end from the beginning…

2/27 – Faith and Steve walk the house…and Faith does a video call with me, and they share the google photos with us. It’s nowhere near as bad as the zillow photos!

3/2 – we have realtors over to this Florida house to check on the viability of selling.
we also check into a program called Open Door – the amount for which we need to sell this house is viable –
3/3 we jump on a plan to fly to Ohio to check out the house ourselves.
3/4 we meet the agent and the inspector, and we ‘fall in love’ with the house and the property.

Our 7 year old grandson, when asked if he could make sure that I got plenty of hugs and kisses if I moved in said ” Oh Mamaw, I’d do anything to get you to move up here!” MELT! The 4 year old offered ideas to make the house work for me! The son-in-law discussed the fences and my dear sweet daughter promised me baked goods!

I stayed up all night finding possible professionals to get quotes on work needed on the Thurber House.
3/5 we met with the agent one more time at the house, and let the boys go inside and see the place. Then, we flew home.

3/6 The open door offer comes in $1000 less than our mortgage payoff!!!
3/7 We worked up a bid for the Ohio house, based on comps and comparisons.
3/8-9 The seller came back with a $2000 increase(which was still $18k less than the asking price). we were so shocked it was ok’d so fast, that we didn’t even consider negotiating any more and said yes!
3/9 signed the papers for the Ohio house

One of the professionals from Home Advisor is working with us to come up with quotes for all the things needed to be done…Jim likes him! YAY!

Jim would need an apartment here, for work technicalities…and he was not able to find anything reasonable. One night, I was up, and found a bunch. He liked the website I’d looked at, and found a treehouse rental. Yes, they have one opening up, for $625 a month! No, it’s not in Clermont…but it is in the general area in which he was looking. It’s based in a resort…near Lake Marion, in a very secluded area. The ride to the treehouse condos is in cattle country mixed in with Orange groves…a very restful drive for Jim!
3/9 My friend and I drove out there to see the property and turn in some papers and money orders to hold the treehouse.
3/10 Jim and I drive to see the Treehouses
3/11 we signed the papers for the Florida House with Open Door

3/16 Jim signed the lease papers for the treehouse. The house that they have given him is close to the lake, and very secluded! Great restful place!
3/16 the major parts of the Open Door inspection were done…we think everything went well.

We had need of another car…because of the rental car location issues. Our Daughte rRachel happened to call Jim on the day he was headed down to Fort Lauderdale and said “could you check out a car for me? I’ll sell you mine for cost” The car was 10 minutes out of his way, and it was a day that he had time to do the test drive!
3/15 Rachel flew to Florida this past weekend to pick up her new car.

It appears that God’s plan is to eliminate the mortgage debt!

3/19 the Septic inspection.
Upcoming – Jim will be driving a truck to Ohio 3/22-24; flying to Austin to pick up the car from Rachel, driving to Dallas for SKO then driving our ‘new’ car home to Orlando area from SKO 3/29-4/1

Closing for Florida house is set for April 19th(if all things are agreed on from the OD inspections)
Closing for Ohio house is set for April 23rd.

We have stepped down from leading the small group, and the women’s group.
We are packing like crazy…and even have the house cleared of all things on the walls.

I have a peace that is totally incomprehensible(probably similar to Peace that passes understanding!) even in the midst of the stress, anxiety and panic attacks.

If there seems to be a flurry of activity in this blog, it’s because it’s been a flurry of activity. We have sought out friends and connections, especially those that might have a reason to NOT want us to leave, and laid out the very details as they have come up. The typical response is either
“This is a no brainer”
or
“What’s the question?”

Two additional God things:

The agent in Ohio had a partial nephrectomy just two years ago and knows an excellent urology team!
The doctor that handles my back pain had a cancellation for the first part of a procedure for my back…we can do the first part, the test, which will be over the course of two months…and I can come back for the results. If it works, then, he can do a procedure that will make me pain free for ONE YEAR!!

And if that’s not enough….
My Psych is fine with me meeting with him once a quarter.
My Therapist is fine with me once a month…and one computer visit.
I think my hemotologist will be like wise!

Jim does not have to change out his cancer treatment professionals, because he will have an apartment down here.
I can come down to Florida once a month to be with Jim…because he has an apartment…or to stay by the beach!
We have the car situation settled for Jim going to and from the airport in Pittsburgh!

And I will have all the grandbaby hugs and kisses I can handle…even the potential for those that live three hours away to come and stay for a weekend!

So, yes, the time was short….for our living here!
Yes, the end is near…. for our living here!

We still need to focus upon our walks with Christ, and being like Christ…
We still need to focus on numbering our days that we would apply our hearts to wisdom…
The days are evil…and short…and the Lord will return!

This house has been a blessing and gift from the Lord. We thought we were going to be here for the rest of our lives. God had other plans. Lately, we feel like we are just holding on for the ride!

We just try to follow!

PRAISES UPDATE!
EDIT 3/19/2018 –
* Jim’s biopsy for the lymph nodes came back as B Cell follicular Lymphoma – only needs to be watched. No evidence of metastasized Prostate cancer!
* Open Door investigation came back with $700 repairs…a totally bogus claim against the carpet and pet odor…as confirmed by the many people that have come in, and a totally unrealistic claim to fix the damage to the ceiling that our repair guy charged $800 for and totally messed it up. Also, realistic maintenance repairs to the outside of the windows. The point…it cost us more to fix the ceiling(even if the guy did do a horrible job) than they have allowed for all three repairs. The difference between the check for this place and our mortgage payoff is about the cost of one mortgage payment!

Thanks for joining me in this journey,
In His hands and under His wings,
~Christi
Ps 63:7 Because you are my help, I sing in the shadow of your wings.

“The Lord does not give me rules, but He makes His standard very clear.
If my relationship to Him is that of love, I will do what He says without hesitation.
If I hesitate, it is because I love someone I have placed in competition with Him, namely, myself.” – from My Utmost for His highest

Naomi’s Heart Ministries
Obed’s House Ministries
Project Based Missions, Global
The son of a friend will be interning with CRU – previously known as Campus Crusades for Christ. If you’d like to support someone I can vouch for in this area, please consider going to Matthew Plant’s donation page.
Compassion

2016 Word of the Year – Prepare? – yeah, right!

This contains many photos of our trip for surgery.

In January, the Lord gave me this word to meditate upon this year.
Prepare

In 2014, we weren’t prepared to deal with cancer.
We chose a procedure that had a 98% cure rate…as in, no recurrence. It is called HIFU.
At that time, it was not approved in the United States.
In 2015, February, we made out of pocket, traveled to Cancun, Mexico, to receive this state of the art procedure to treat Prostate cancer.
January 2016, the PSA let us know that we were not in the 98%.
So, we started to research options.
From January, to August, the PSA rose from 1.7 to 5.6. In the last few months, it doubled. It was time to do something, but, what?

By now, the procedure had been FDA approved, but not insurance covered. So, still out of pocket. In the meantime, I started doing intense research on the prostate, and what nutritional options would strengthen Jim’s body to fight off this enemy.
~~~~~~~~~

James 1:14 Is any sick among you? let him call for the elders of the church; and let them pray over him, anointing him with oil in the name of the Lord:
15 And the prayer of faith shall save the sick, and the Lord shall raise him up; and if he have committed sins, they shall be forgiven him.
16 Confess your faults one to another, and pray one for another, that ye may be healed. The effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man availeth much.

~~~~~~~~~
In September, We went to see the doctor and obtain biopsies in order to make sure that we have all the options for any future need for cancer treatments.
We were told that November 29th was the date that was open. We were waiting for confirmation, and working to handle our money in order to pay for this procedure.

In addition to choosing to repeat the HIFU, we wanted to get a second opinion for the cancer treatment – and we went through the process of setting up a visit to Cancer Treatment Centers of America, their prostate division based in Atlanta.

We were scheduled for August 17-21. We would be flown in, and see the medical team Thursday, Friday, then stay over the weekend, and get the final recommendations on Monday. We were working with the travel team, the medical information team and everyone at that center.

One week before our trip, we spoke with the Nurse Navigator. We discussed the HIFU done in February 2015, and let her know that we were planning on doing a repeat to eradicate the remission.
She took our information to the medical director who then said that we were not a good fit for their program.
Why?
Jim had not jumped up on a surgery table when his PSA was at 5 when he was 50.
Jim had undergone HIFU without biopsies, based upon Dr. Wheeler’s explanation of Prostate Cancer development, and because of the incidence of track back metastisis at the site of biopsies.
We based it upon a specialized MRI system that indicated the dubious nature of the mass – even though it was in a very difficult place to be found by biopsies.
We did not follow the CTCA procedure. Of course not, we weren’t their patient! So, they denied us the opportunity to ask questions about traditional treatments, to talk with naturopath and nutritionist about how to combat the side effects, and to strengthen Jim’s body to fight cancer.

This was like a punch in the stomach. We didn’t know what the Lord was up to, but at least we knew that we were not going to go to Atlanta.
Then, fires around Atlanta. The city was dealing with the smoke just as we were going to be there. That seemed like a good enough reason for God to change that plan. I don’t do well in smoke filled areas.

Every good gift comes from the Father of Lights…

We went ahead and sent part of the downpayment for Jim’s treatment at the end of November, and we were working on obtaining other funding. I even was a bit rough on Doc about the date…when??? November 29th, but many things need to be orchestrated – please be patient. That was the conversation on Wednesday, November 16.

Friday, November 18, before noon, we got the call that the place had been set up, and we were scheduled for Sunday, November 20. At 9am. WHAT?!?! So, we cleared out schedules, and left for St. Augustine on Friday evening. I had just unpacked my suitcase from my plans to be in Boston. Now, I just had to put those clothes back into the suitcase! I threw most of next weeks groceries I’d just purchased into the freezer!

If we had gone to Atlanta as planned, for the CTCA consult, we would not have been available for this opening! We would have been sitting around Atlanta watching the forest burn, instead of burning out the cancer.

We arrived into the hotel in St. Augustine Beach around 8. We ate at Wendy’s because it was so late.

Saturday, November 19, I woke up barely able to keep back tears. I did not have any peace about the procedure, but Jim was freaking out enough that I needed to stay calm.

We had breakfast at a local eatery, and Jim started on his clear liquid diet.

We did have to find some clear liquid options – which ended up being cartons of bone broth and green jello.

Mostly, Jim drank water. water. water.

First, we explored Palatka.

This is where the specialists have their out patient clinic, and more importantly,
the Ablatherm HIFU machine.

But he was pierced for our transgressions, he was crushed for our iniquities; the punishment that brought us peace was on him, and by his wounds we are healed. Isaiah 53:5

We traveled around St Augustine, took photos, and just basically spent time enjoying each other.

Fort Matanzas,

Crescent Beach – just across the road.

We had not been in the hotel very long when we got the call that the anesthesiologist had been called back home, and that the procedure was canceled for Sunday. “Go ahead and eat some supper, breakfast tomorrow, then clear liquids again after 10, and nothing by mouth after midnight. You are scheduled for noon on Monday.”
I guess God wanted a different anesthesiologist for the procedure.

Exodus 31 – God set apart specific ones for specific giftings

We went to Applebees, because of the burgers.

Romans 8:28
And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who[a] have been called according to his purpose.
29 For those God foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brothers and sisters.
30 And those he predestined, he also called; those he called, he also justified; those he justified, he also glorified

It was so beautiful out, that we took a walk along this St Augustine Beach community.(Christmas lights at the beach)

street view

dock

We walked out on the dark, and looked at the stars!

Then we finished our Christmas Lights walk!

We returned to the frog place for breakfast. Jim really enjoyed their omelet.

Then, we spent Sunday driving around, enjoying the sights, and each other.

Monday morning, enemas, and take off for Palatka, Florida.
I was very nervous, very sensitive – and I felt like I was going to fall into a crying fit at any minute. But I needed to be strong for Jim.
As we were waiting, with Jim in the spiffy paper gown,

we overheard the conversation between the engineer and the doctor about the machine. A cable was not working correctly on the machine. The one that connected the ultrasound to the HIFU machine was dead. It had been working just fine on Saturday. It’s canceled for mechanical reasons.

What? Ok.
“Better before than during” – Jim said, after he took a moment.

“the peace of God, which passes all understanding, shall keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.”Philippians 4:7.

Nerves?
Yes.
Disappointed?
Completely.
Confused?
You bet.

Jim’s comment:

It’s really futile to complain that something is not going right when you are listening to “The Sovereignty of God” by AW Pink

How’s this for preparation – I had brought my medicines for up to one extra day, through Tuesday. I will run out Tuesday evening, and Wednesday morning. Oops. I know I heard a voice in my head telling me to fill in the whole medicine container! I didn’t listen. “I’ll be home – there’s no way that we would be here past Tuesday!” Yeah, Right! Another lesson to LISTEN!

We took another drive.

So, today(I wrote this while waiting for him during the surgery), Tuesday, enemas again. Jim should be very cleaned out by now!

At 9am, we arrived at the clinic again.
The office nurse is not here.
The office doctor came in, then left, and did not unlock the medicine cabinet.
Whew. I’m not telling Jim what I’ve overheard this time.
Jim’s snapping – and who can blame him? He’s not angry, he’s just very guarded. He’s so tired. Very hungry. Tired of drinking bone broth and eating jello!
More nervous than he was any of the previous days. And again, who can blame him?
Jim went out for a walk, and I was not sure if he would come back in.

I found the gown for him this time.
I found the chux to put under him on the chair.
I’ve sat watching the doc, the technician, the anesthesiolgist looking through the cabinets and such in this office. I have heard the doctor say that he didn’t have the catheters that he is used to using.
And then, I was asked to go sit in the waiting room. Of course, that is probably better for me anyway, because I could hear almost everything that they were saying. Now, they could have closed additional doors, but, I was struggling between being able to know what was going on, and being somewhere peaceful!

Prepare for this? HOW?
Be wrapped in the word of God.
Jim played some scripture music as we were on our way here.
I’m focusing on the scriptures while I’m waiting.

Storms?
This feels like a hurricane that just keeps swirling around and coming back and hitting again.
And each time, I feel weaker – and yet, maybe this feeling of being resigned to the Lord’s hand, is exactly where I need to be.
Waiting in the palm of God’s hand.

I met the couple that are going after Jim. Mike and Sandy Norris.
A very sweet couple.
We discussed how we all got here.
We discussed how we believed that God’s hand was in these delays.
I’m so grateful for Christians to sit with.

Post Procedure

He had much difficulty with the intubation – almost called off the procedure.
If not for the new anesthesiologist – this would have been canceled.
Jim was difficult to wake up – if not for this very skilled anesthesiologist, we may have ended up at the hospital across the street.
Jim could not have the same type of catheter…the had to have one through his abdomen.
If not for the experienced Doctor, this could have been a serious complication.
Considering the stress of all the delays, Jim’s blood pressure remained safe.
His oxygen even remained 98 and above!

Jim has some wins as well.

Jim was not happy with the placement of the catheter, but, when one is under anesthesia, one cannot understand all the things the doctor explains.

The upside is that the doctor said that he was able to do everything that he wanted to do and that the tissue responded so well, just melting instantly, that he didn’t even go around to do some other areas that were ‘just in case’.
Now, it’s a different type of recovery than the first time. But recover, we shall!

I’m trying to finish this the following week.
To be honest, we are still struggling, which is why this blog is a week late.

The doctor that was supposed to follow up with Jim, and in fact, talked to him on Wednesday, giving him great calming advice, decided on Monday that Jim was not a candidate for his practice.
WHAT? We were just IN his clinic! He’d been talking to us, and gave Jim his cell phone number! And talked to him on said cell phone!

Disappointed?
Yeah!
Confused?
Completely.
Jim was completely frustrated, potentially angry, but I was not with him, because my leg had given out.

Same day – I found out that my pain doctor may not take me back because I’d rescheduled 2 appointments over the last year, and cancelled one. Not one no show…but, still, I was told that she could not schedule me until he looked over my chart and decided he still wanted me for a patient. WHAT? now it’s wrong to reschedule or cancel appointments?

Angry?
you bet.
And I fell apart.
I was trying very hard not to cry as I went in to see my doctor, and ask for pain meds!

I did get in to see my PCP, and she gave me a new medicine for the pain in my hip. One that will not have the side effects that the previous one had. Surprise? IT WORKS BETTER THAN THE OTHER ONE WITH A PAIN PILL! No pain pills! No pain! And sleep, precious sleep.

How do you prepare for surprises?
You put your faith in the Lord, and you dwell on His word, and you join together, and remind each other that we are a team, Jim, me and God.

Isaiah 54:17
No weapon formed against you shall prosper,
And every tongue which rises against you in judgment
You shall condemn.
This is the heritage of the servants of the Lord,
And their righteousness is from Me,”
Says the Lord.

I found this devotional on Isaiah 54:17 by James MacDonald
It reminds me of everything that I believe about God walking with us through storms.

And another devotional about preparing for warfare came with this graphic above. From ChristiansTT, it teaches about warfare in prayer.

The point is, just because we don’t know the answer – our faith tells us that we know the ONE that holds the ANSWER in His hand.
If we did not believe this – we would not be where we are today.
We would both be locked up in a hospital for not being able to think straight!

Our lives are not perfect, but we live in the One Who is.
they are riddled with sin, but woven with mercy.
they are encumbered with guilt, but awash with grace.
they are surrounded with storms, but enveloped with his words “Peace, be still”.
HE holds us together…without the Love of God through Jesus Christ – we would not be able to handle the storms.

Our Father, Who art in heaven,
Hallowed be thy name.
Thy Kingdom come,
Thy will be done,
On earth as it is in heaven.
Give us this day our daily bread
and forgive us our trespasses
as we forgive those who trespass against us.
Lead us not into temptation,
but deliver us from evil.
For Thine is the Kingdom,
and the Power
and the Glory,
Forever.
Amen.

We celebrated Thanksgiving by giving thanks that the Lord is in His house, and in our hearts.
We celebrate Advent, by remembering that many before us have waited to see God’s hand move on their behalf.
We will celebrate Christmas, by thanking the Creator of the Universe for choosing to give of Himself to win us back to Him.
My studies in Prepare this year have been very appropriate.
My studies in Psalm 23 have been very personal.
My heart is that you will be blessed by something in my life stories.

Thank you for sharing them with me.

Merry Christmas!

Thanks for joining me in this journey,
In His hands and under His wings,
~Christi
Ps 63:7 Because you are my help, I sing in the shadow of your wings.

I want to thank

for the ability to search the Bible online.

“The Lord does not give me rules, but He makes His standard very clear.
If my relationship to Him is that of love, I will do what He says without hesitation.
If I hesitate, it is because I love someone I have placed in competition with Him, namely, myself.” – from My Utmost for His highest

I’d love to hear what you think – please leave a comment!
Or choose to LIKE me on facebook, or other social media!
I’d love to stay in touch with you – we are working on email subscriptions…sign up!
Soon, we will have a gallery for the art I have created by the hand of God.

There are many organizations that support children and families. Here is one that we are blessed to be a part of. Please consider sponsoring a child – the life you change could be your own.

2016 word for the year – Prepare – your marriage

Marriage thoughts in the Valentine’s month. Of Course!
I know it’s trite – February being Valentines month(well, the first half is full price, the second is 50% off!).
Marriage is always 100%.
Sometimes it’s 150% depending on the circumstances, and events.
It never goes on sale, and the cost is never reduced. Everything. It costs everything!

There is only one relationship that merits more effort, more focus, more devotion, and more commitment. That, of course, is your relationship with Jesus Christ. Honestly, I have no idea how someone can make a marriage work without being able to lean upon an omniscient, omnipotent, all compassionate Lord.

I wrote twice so far about marriage:
Marriage tools 1
Marriage tools 2
These will help to fix a broken marriage. These came out of our time at the Smalley Institute’s Marriage Intensive REIGNITE based upon the book DNA of Relationships.

The best idea is to prepare your marriage before you get married, and Jim and I truly did.

We went through two premarriage counseling sessions,
and we spent the 9 months between engagement and wedding separated by states(Jim was at Purdue, I was working in my hometown).
We traded notes from our individual church services,
and when we were together, we were attending the fellowship where we met.
In fact, we were both baptized in the same river, out back from the Barn!
Our first time together was based around being late to a summer retreat, and we both needed to catch up on the Bible Studies.
After we caught up, we just continued to do them together.
We abstained until marriage(though we were unwise in some necking)
We researched marriage traditions, and threw out the occult ones, and made our wedding an evangelistic event, sharing our faith.
Once married, We attended churches that were preaching solid Bible,
and we did our own Bible Studies.
We prayed together nightly, and at every meal, even in public before it was “cool” to do so as Christian.

But shortly after our wedding, I knew something was wrong.
I think Jim did, too. We could not discuss things that were crucial to the running of a partnership. We didn’t realize it then, but we were butting heads and we didn’t know why. It didn’t help that in the first 10 years of our marriage,

two parents died(one in the first month),
and I was pregnant or nursing 5 babies and two miscarriages from 1981 to 1988.(five babies in 6 years)
Then, I had major surgery – and health issues started.
STRESS!
Jim left Purdue and the degree he was focused upon,
worked in various entry level jobs,
found a new love(computers),
went back to school full time,
and of course, there were money issues. Always money issues.

And we still couldn’t communicate!
WHY???

We didn’t know how to prepare our marriage from the beginning – and in the midst of the storms of life, the holes in our marriage ship were not getting the attention they deserved. We were sinking.

We got a hand with Marriage Encounter – we found out that we were really thinking the same thing, but we couldn’t communicate it verbally. Unfortunately, life hit us and we never had the chance to really learn the technique.

Health issues with me, with the children, and money just slipping through our hands, and we were at our wits end.

We were both counseled over and over to leave the other. Again, no help to stay together, no help on how to listen and communicate.

My heart started to change once I realized that Jim spoke a different language(Five Love Languages by Gary Chapman), and that He was a different animal(The treasure Tree, by Gary Smalley and John Trent) Two Sides of Love is the adult version.
Jim read books by Douglas Wilson that affirmed his position in the marriage. But we also got a lot of bad information from errors preached from the pulpit, and our own wounds and personalities.

We are opposites in every way. No matter what test is done on us, other than confirming that Jesus Christ is Lord of our life, we are opposites! I’m not going to list them all here. Let’s just leave it that we’ve been told by pastors that we should never have married! THANKS for the help!

After one particularly hard time, I drew this to ilustrate what was going on in our marriage. We are like onions (thanks Shrek!), and we are under attack.

opposite hearts

We wanted a marriage based upon our love for Jesus Christ, but our flesh and the attacks of our life were just dragging us down. Our marriage did not have the preparation it needed, and our foundation was badly shaken.

Prepare for your marriage, and prepare your marriage for storms!

base you marriage on the word of God

are you going to follow the word, and not divorce?
are you going to commit, covenant, before GOD that you will do all in your power to make this work? easy to say on day one, but it’s crucial, and this is the #1 key that has kept Jim and I together!

base your faith on the word of God

Your walk with God is more important than your marriage. and it is most important that you walk with God FOR your marriage.

base your relationship on the word of God

This sounds very obvious, but this is one that we did not do.

Love one another as I have loved you!
Esteem one another more highly than yourself
Submit to one another
Love thy neighbor as thy self
Do unto others as you would have them do unto you.
If we live by the Spirit, let is also walk in the Spirit(Gal 5)
1 Corinthians 13
Matthew 5, 6, 7
Love your enemies (yes, this one applies sometimes!)

Base your communication upon understanding of each other

This is where learn each other’s love languages comes into play.
This is also where The DNA of relationships, and the Smalley Marriage Intensive comes into play. LEARN HOW TO COMMUNICATE!

Base the fight on KNOWING WHO THE ENEMY IS! AND ISN’T!

There was a reason that you were married. You weren’t in competition. It was you and me against the World! you and me became WE!
It is the enemy of the saints that prowls around looking for whom he can destroy – to steal, kill and destroy. JOIN FORCES AGAINST HIM!

LOVE ONE ANOTHER

Here is my favorite prayer template for 1 Cor 13

Love Check up, from Sylvia Gunter, The Father’s Business

This booklet has taught me how to check my own heart, and there are many prayers for the family in this booklet.

Prayer Portions for the Family

It is available at The Father’s business for only $7! and no, I don’t get anything for posting this!

Base your focus upon PRAYING for your spouse

That little book has a wonderful set of prayers for your spouse and your children.
Of course, there are many options for praying for your spouse online now. Just do it.

Base your own walk upon Confessing your own SIN

Oh, this was hard!
If there is nothing you can think to confess, go through 1 cor 13, or Gal 5 and ask yourself “have I been loving, patient, kind…?”

Humble yourself under the mighty hand of God – and he will lift you up in His time!
Confess your sins one to another that you may be healed!
and then there’s 1 John…how can you say you love God whom you have not seen and you do not love your brother(sister)that you have seen!

Very difficult to not be humbled when you prepare your heart to pray.

Base your communications upon FORGIVENESS

Matt 6:14-15

For if you forgive other people when they sin agaisnt you, your HEAVENLY fATHER WILL ALSO FORGIVE YOU. But if you do not forgive others their sins, your Father will not forgive your sins.

OUCH!! This is an eternal, life and death issue!
and shouldn’t it be clearly practiced in our homes?

We should be examples to the world.
John 13:34-35

A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another: just as I have loved you, you also are to love one another.
By this all people will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another.”

February has been a consistently hard month for our marriage. There are reasons, but, I’m not going to share them here!
This February, I learned much about preparing for storms that would attack our security in marriage. I utilized these tools above, as well as some fasting and prayer, as spoken of by Jesus(Matt 17:21), and Isaiah(Is 58:6), to set the captives free.

Honestly, the biggest issues in our marriage has been being captive to our past, our personalities, our family culture, and our love languages. As we’ve worked through issues, we have focused on the Truth. And God promises that the truth shall set us free(John 8:32)!

Enjoy this song by Sanctus Real, and the story behind it!

Me and My Love

Thanks for joining me in this journey,
In His hands and under His wings,
~Christi
Ps 63:7 Because you are my help, I sing in the shadow of your wings.

I want to thank Blue Letter Bible and Bible Gateway for the ability to search the Bible online.

“The Lord does not give me rules, but He makes His standard very clear.
If my relationship to Him is that of love, I will do what He says without hesitation.
If I hesitate, it is because I love someone I have placed in competition with Him, namely, myself.” – from My Utmost for His highest

There are many organizations that support children and families. Here is one that we are blessed to be a part of. Please consider sponsoring a child – the life you change could be your own.

Naomi’s Heart Ministries

The end of the year starts now!

Out of surgery

Cleaned up and going home!

One week out – They say it looks good!

Maybe having your throat sliced open in order to replace a damaged disc with a state of the art artificial disc caused me to have early end of year reflections…but, for whatever reason – I am.

The upside is that I have the ability to plan out next year, before Dec 26 – Jan 1! This could be a great new pattern!

I’ve been having Deep thoughts – based on the book “The Happiness of Pursuit” by Chris Guillebeau

What really makes me tick? Not ticked! or ticked that I can’t tick! 😉

Last night, I watched a movie/tv series from BBC called “The Bletchley Circle”. It’s kind of gruesome for that genre time, but not for murder mysteries for 2012 and on.

Anyway – they were cracking a murder code by looking at patterns – and one of the characters said

” when you are given corrupted code, you backtrack to the known pure code”.

This goes hand in hand with this summary of Chris’ book –

Everywhere that Chris visited he found ordinary people working toward extraordinary goals, making daily down payments on their dream. These “questers” included a suburban mom pursuing a wildly ambitious culinary project, a DJ producing the world’s largest symphony, a young widower completing the tasks his wife would never accomplish, and a teenager crossing an entire ocean alone – as well as a do-it-yourselfer tackling M.I.T.’s computer-science course, a nerd turning himself into real-life James Bond, and scores of others writing themselves into the record books.

The more Chris spoke with these strivers, the more he began to appreciate the direct link between questing and long-term happiness — how going after something in a methodical way enriches our lives — and he was compelled to complete a comprehensive study of the phenomenon and extract the best advice. In The Happiness of Pursuit he draws on interviews with hundreds of questers, revealing their secret motivations, their selection criteria, the role played by friends and family, their tricks for solving logistics, and the importance of documentation.

Equally fascinating is Chris’ examination of questing’s other side, including questers’ acute awareness of mortality, their struggle against monotony, and their wistful feelings once a quest has succeeded. What happens after the summit is climbed, the painting hung, the endurance record broken, the “at risk” community saved?

A book that challenges each of us to take control – to make our lives be about something while at the same time remaining clear-eyed about the commitment — The Happiness of Pursuit will inspire readers of every age and aspiration. It’s a playbook for making your life count.

I have always wanted my life to count…but at 51 – I started wondering what counted!
I have begun to realize that from all the messages given to me from social media, tv, movies, others(friends, family, strangers), philosophy, theology….I have had my code corrupted.

I need to go back to when the code was the most pure – and start again.

This is NOT going backwards, but rather – finding my true path – the true essence of me – who I am, what I believe, how I like to dress, what I am here for in this world.

In a sermon that WildRoss shared with me on a podcast –

the question in Genesis Chapter 3 – God asking “where are you?”
It’s not God hiding from us so that we have to seek – He KNOWS right where we are – He’s right there with me, when I’m hiding behind a tree – and He’s waiting for me to realize – I’M HIDING FROM HIM! and my relationship with HIM is more important than any relationship in my life.

That is where the code was purest…though there was plenty of corrupted messages back then – but life had enabled me to unravel some of those corrupted messages – and now – I need to go back to the beginning with new eyes, and reprocess.

There are scripture verses, quotes from THOP, another book I’m reading, about a woman that walked the AT at a very old age – Gramma someone – of course, Gramma Moses painting late in life…and some very old writers.

I’m no longer 51 – three more years have funneled through the hour glass – and I want to be about my Father’s business – whereever and whatever that may be.

Another thing I am looking at is three books about living Biblically for a year.

A year of living Biblically – by AJ Jacobs – I think this one is from the Jewish perspective
A year of Biblical Womanhood – by Rachel Held Evans – a woman’s perspective
A year of living Like Jesus – by Edward G Dobson – obviously the Christian Perspective

As well as finishing the book – The World is my Cloister – by John Michael Talbet

Faith
Art
Family
Adventures

I have also been challenged by posts from a man named Steve Kamb – like this one: Does it Really Matter?

I guess that is the next challenge in my life…how to focus my life on these things – and drop those that don’t fit.

This morning, I just read this blog by Steve Kamb – About an Epic Quest. Life is a Game.

I want to make a difference?
Epic Quest time –
My epic quest is to be completely victorious over childhood sexual abuse, genetic chronic depression, and self destructive patterns.
This will not end until my life is over – so, it doesn’t have a date attached to it per Life Is a Game.

But, I have accomplished several things:

No longer under the power of the abuser.
No longer under the power of self blame and shame.
No longer under the power of self hatred.
No longer under the power of worthless burden mentality.
No longer under the power of other’s placing blame on me for their own choices.

one of three major damages to my body from a fall in the Navy is taken care of – artificial cervical disc!
Damaged tendons in my feet and ankles have been repaired or rehabbed.
I am no longer limited to a wheelchair! or a walker! or a cane.
My bloodwork and vitals are constantly improving – and my liver is finally allowing me to take off weight!

I completed one practice sprint triathlon – with the help of a physical therapist, helping to train me during my rehab!
I have had my book outline reviewed by a main company editor – with promising reviews – and told to write it out longer.
I have had my art seen by galleries – with promising reviews.

I have been able to reach broken children and families and women through various avenues.

BUT – what is my passion, what is my quest?

To combine my art, my writings and my experiences to help broken women and children to reach their highest potential.

What does that look like?

My blog
An Art site
My book
speaking
and getting my hands dirty to work with those that the world has forgotten – under the bridges, behind the buildings, in the dumps, in the stores, in the schools, in the churches…where ever I can reach out a hand – and offer help.

I was given the title of a wounded healer – and it’s time that I get about walking into that calling.

I was told by someone that in RPG games – you always protect your healers.
In the RPG group on NerdFitness, I have set myself up as a healer.
In Real Life – I never really thought that anyone felt that my healing ‘powers’ were of much worth – they didn’t bring in money, they didn’t put food on the table, they didn’t cloth anyone – and instead, they often COST something.

Therefore – a side quest is to find a way that I can be this wounded healer, and provide for this ‘ministry’.

My books?
My paintings?
speaking?

Another side quest is to find out how to utilize tools.

Learn WordPress – and social media in order to gain some visibility to my writing that adds up to my book and studies.
Learn FASO
Learn e-publishing
FineTune my skills – art courses, writing courses, abuse counseling type courses. and Bible counseling courses.

And, an all encompassing side quest is to continue to build strength, physically, mentally and emotionally.
These will have their own pathways.

My goals for the rest of the year (hence, this next challenge) is to set up for the following year with a master Epic Quest Goal – and sub goals.

At this time, I don’t know what this will look like – but I have to start walking my path, my quest – to my end goal of being all that I can be(though, that is the Army, not the Navy).

Now, I need to put these two trains of thoughts together –
what is my purpose (Faith, Art, Family, Adventures) and what quest does that line up with?

So, that’s my focus for the rest of the year – though there will be adventures, and family thrown in – starting tomorrow – by flying to Ohio, to see family.

Thanks for joining me in this journey,
In His hands and under His wings,
~Christi
Ps 63:7 Because you are my help, I sing in the shadow of your wings.

“The Lord does not give me rules, but He makes His standard very clear.
If my relationship to Him is that of love, I will do what He says without hesitation.
If I hesitate, it is because I love someone I have placed in competition with Him, namely, myself.” – from My Utmost for His highest

Naomi’s Heart Mission

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Help a child in need. Check out Naomi’s Heart Mission or Compassion International. The life that changes will be your own!

Isaiah – A Kay Arthur Bible Study Introduction

Isaiah 40:31, My life verse.

The Book of Isaiah has become my favorite over the years.
I love Psalms – I sing myself out of depression by singing through Psalms.
I love the Gospels – the story of Christ is my salvation.
And yet – there is something about Isaiah!

Isaiah 40:28-31
Hast thou not known? hast thou not heard, that the everlasting God, the LORD, the Creator of the ends of the earth, fainteth not, neither is weary? there is no searching of his understanding.

He giveth power to the faint; and to them that have no might he increaseth strength.

Even the youths shall faint and be weary, and the young men shall utterly fall:

But they that wait upon the LORD shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings as eagles; they shall run, and not be weary; and they shall walk, and not faint.

I am using the study guide:
Face-to-Face with a Holy God

This is a 13 week study…I’m starting it on July 21, 2014.
I will be posting my thoughts as I go through this study.

Thanks for joining me in this journey,
In His hands and under His wings,
~Christi
Ps 63:7 Because you are my help, I sing in the shadow of your wings.

“The Lord does not give me rules, but He makes His standard very clear.
If my relationship to Him is that of love, I will do what He says without hesitation.
If I hesitate, it is because I love someone I have placed in competition with Him, namely, myself.” – from My Utmost for His highest

Naomi’s Heart Mission

Sponsor a Child

Help a child in need. Check out Naomi’s Heart Mission or Compassion International. The life that changes will be your own!

Time keeps on slipping, slipping….

Psalms 90:10 The days of our years are threescore years and ten; and if by reason of strength they be fourscore years, yet is their strength labour and sorrow; for it is soon cut off, and we fly away.
Ps 90:12 So teach us to number our days, that we may apply our hearts unto wisdom.

Today I planned on doing my ‘stats’ – measurements – weigh in – and max reps type thing. I want to see how fast I can walk a mile…I have to walk a 5k in 4 weeks…it’s not a fast walk – but I’d like to know I can walk the whole distance!

I’ve been posting #100happydays on facebook – I suppose I should post them here as well!
today, I hope to do some art…

I am fine tuning my goals to make them SMART – even though this challenge is well underway, one of my goals is to have a plan for my days, weeks, months, years….
I am turning 54 – I need to seize the day!

Who knows how many more I’ll have, but the mathematical fact is that I probably have less left than those I have already lived.
How many things have I said “I’ll so that next time” and it never happened?
Now, when it’s decided that “we’ll do that next time” – I am realizing that, there may never be a next time.
I may never go back to Niagra Falls, or the Grand Canyon, or Sunset Cliffs.
I may never get back to Europe.

http://youtu.be/hRp3RFUIAdU

And then, there are the people that mean the most to me in my life…and, I have made choices, or forced to make choices that effects out time together:

When you lose someone in your life…it’s often not a planned leaving. Recently, I have had to make some decisions that meant I didn’t get to spend time with some very special people…but I had to be mindful of my own body. I may never pass that way again…Time keeps on slippin, slippin – into the future!

So, this makes me live my life more mindful – and it has caused me to make some difficult decisions..but decisions that I make by choice…not by just not making them.
To not decide is to decide to let ‘other forces’ decide for you.
To not choose is a choice in itself.
If I lived to 104, it’s only 50 more years…and my body is not what it was when I was 20.
Average for my family is living to 80 – 26 more years…what can I do with that time?

The Bible story about the farmer that had a huge crop and he tore down his bins to build bigger –

Luke 12:18 And he said, This will I do: I will pull down my barns, and build greater; and there will I bestow all my fruits and my goods.

And then, he got lazy:

Luke 12:19 And I will say to my soul, Soul, thou hast much goods laid up for many years; take thine ease, eat, drink, and be merry.

And he didn’t know the bigger plan:

Luke 12:20 But God said unto him, Thou fool, this night thy soul shall be required of thee: then whose shall those things be, which thou hast provided?

The Moral of this story?

Luke 12:21 So is he that layeth up treasure for himself, and is not rich toward God

The thing is, we don’t know how long we have…and we need to make the most of every minute…and, after writing yesterday’s blog…I am well aware of the times I made decisions not to decide, I chose to not choose…but, This is the New Me!

All these plans, and actually – I want to go back to sleep – I am on the fifth day of Bactrim and it’s messing with my stomach…
One of my goals in 2014 is to listen to my body…that would help with the diabetes! HA!
I am doing a ‘new’ type of cardio for the RPG & Adventurers challenge – maybe I should just listen to my body – and rest today.
the numbers aren’t going to change much between today and tomorrow…and tomorrow – I won’t have the sulpha in my stomach!

So – I have just talked this out with those of you that read my thread…welcome to my brain!
I am making a decision,
I’m choosing to rest my body to finish it’s healing from the infection.

Thanks for joining me in this journey,
In His hands and under His wings,
~Christi
Ps 63:7 Because you are my help, I sing in the shadow of your wings.

“The Lord does not give me rules, but He makes His standard very clear.
If my relationship to Him is that of love, I will do what He says without hesitation.
If I hesitate, it is because I love someone I have placed in competition with Him, namely, myself.” – from My Utmost for His highest