I told my husband that I needed to get away by myself just so I could process everything and figure out what God wants me to do with it all. So God did this......
HE BROUGHT SNOW! And snow shuts everything down in the south! So, instead of starting work today, I am at home.....processing and playing and praying and playing and prioritizing and playing!
It all started Saturday morning when I went to a ladies' breakfast at church. It was so good to see friends and meet some new ones. I was completely surprised by this precious gift from my friend Christina...
She took this picture in her hometown in Indiana and gave it to me because of the trees. Isn't it beautiful??!!! (If you look closely, you can see the reflection of the RAINBOW picture hanging on our refrigerator - it's on the right side just above the snow. GOD JUST MAKES ME SMILE!!!!!) THANK YOU CHRISTINA! WOW! This prompted me to share with the ladies at my table how God has been using TREES to teach me lots & lots of lessons over the past year. (Christina, all because you made the extra effort to go back to your car and bring the picture in BEFORE Leslie got started, a whole table of women got to hear about how God has been using trees in my life. Sooo, when Leslie made several references to trees during her teaching, including Jeremiah 17:7-8, a whole table of women got to witness God speaking through trees FOR THEMSELVES!)
Leslie Nease, from HIS Radio & Survivor China, was our speaker. She lives in our community and has spoken at our church a few times. She loves the Lord and is very open and real. It was through her that God began to speak and connect so many dots in my life! I basically cried through her entire teaching (and tried to disguise it hoping it looked like I had major sinus problems! Obviously, my disguise did not work because Leslie came up to me afterwards wanting to know what was going on.......)
Some of the revelations God gave me Saturday morning are what I am pondering on to see how they will take form in my life. I need a few days before I post about the specifics - mainly because I'm not sure how to put it all into words yet. This is HUGE for me!
Check out what I saw when I left my house to go to church on Saturday morning.
Yep! Dead mums on my front porch. I thought to myself as I drove away, "I REALLY need to do something about that." My second thought was, "But I don't know what I can put in that planter for the winter."
LOOK AT IT NOW.....
But GOD KNEW!!! He had a plan all along!!!
My friend Rene gave me this little "New Year's gift" on Saturday at church! THANK YOU RENE! I smile every time I see my planter now! (Thank you for your thoughtfulness Rene! And thank you for being my sounding board Saturday afternoon! Again God is blessing me through you!)
As I was leaving on Saturday, my friend Jamie who was in charge of the event gave me a beautiful vase of flowers that had been used as a table centerpiece. THANK YOU JAMIE!
As I turned into my subdivision, I sensed the Holy Spirit saying, "Someone in your neighborhood needs these flowers." So, I started praying and looking at each house as I drove by. I kept asking, "Who, Lord? Who needs these flowers today?" Then, as soon as I parked, I knew. There is a family here, who I have never met personally, who has a son in 4th grade with my daughter, and he has a brain tumor. I drive by their house and pray for them daily, but I have never met them - until Saturday.
I took the flowers to my neighbor - a very brave but weary mom of 3 who gives her 10 year old son oral chemotherapy every night and drives him to radiation every day. I cannot imagine what that is like for her as a mom. What a blessing to meet her and her family - all because Jamie was obedient in giving me a vase of flowers! (So Jamie, how does it feel to be God's instrument AGAIN??!!!)
What is God calling you to DO?
I know HE IS CALLING YOU TO DO SOMETHING!
It may be big or it may be small, but it is SOMETHING!
Please, please, please DO IT!!!
Then Sunday night, my family and I went to Winter Jam in Uptown Charlotte.
We took the light rail train and saw several friends from church along the way.
We ate PB&J sandwiches while waiting in line to get in - Dave Ramsey ("Financial Peace") would be so proud!
We found a good seat...
and worshipped our God with Sidewalk Prophets, Red, New Song, Francesca Battistelli, The Dave Crowder Band, Kutless, and The Newsboys.
Did you notice the TREES on the screen??? This was one of the backdrops for Kutless. Honestly, I would have paid the price of admission just to hear the Dave Crowder Band sing "How He Loves" http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GIdvtRcPGBg which is a beautiful song about God's love that mentions being a tree!
We also sponsored a child through http://www.holtinternational.org/. We will sponsor her until she is adopted. *She is actually our 2nd sponsored child. Our first one is through World Vision http://wvi.org/wvi/wviweb.nsf.
***And check out my Bible verse for today..."He who gives to the poor will lack nothing, but he who closes his eyes to them receives many curses." Proverbs 28:27 WOW!!! God speaks loud and clear!
Then we got back on the light rail train and headed home - CHANGED!!!
Loving HIM with all my heart & soul,
Nancy
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