Tag: faith

Story Time- Caller ID

~ jesusluvsall ~ 6 Comments

Caller ID can be a mixed blessing. It helps to screen out calls but it also shows calls that I know I shouldn’t avoid but wish to avoid. Case in point from yesterday, I saw that all too familiar phone number calling me. It was my doctor’s office as in Primary Care Physician.

Photo by Gustavo Fring on Pexels.com

I ignored it and let it go to voice mail. However, ten minutes later it was time to listen to the voice mail. It was a nurse calling to schedule a follow up to my most recent ER adventure. So I called back. She tried to get me in yesterday, but it did not work. She offered me an 8am appointment today. That was a no go for me.

Her persistence paid off when she told me she could get me in at 10:30am today. Have no fear my dear readers because by having the appointment at 10:30, it means finishing perhaps about 11:30. It was strategic on my part. My favorite burger place is not far from my doctor’s office. I can reward myself with a cheeseburger and fries after the appointment. 🙂

So the agenda today is doctor, burger, and later this afternoon teaching English at the Ukrainian church. It will be a whirlwind of activity. There might even be time for the coffee shop today.

Speaking of caller ID, did you know God has a sort of caller ID? For me it is in the form of a worship song in my spirit. There have many times that a worship song was in my spirit and I knew God was telling me something whether it was to pray for someone, to remember a truth from the bible, give comfort, or give guidance. That is a caller ID that I welcome.

Have you experienced that kind of caller ID?

Thank you for reading. God Bless.

Where Does My Help Come From-Jesus and His People

~ jesusluvsall ~ 16 Comments

Last spring there were two things I felt the Lord place in my spirit for ministry. One was helping Ukrainian refugees and the other was my upcoming book Jesus Understands Trauma. Since that time, my old car broke down beyond repair, I have had three bouts of bronchitis, ER visits, two minor heart procedures to correct heart flutter, pericarditis, and currently mild case of pneumonia.

I have lived with chronic illness for many years. Pain and fatigue are the worst parts, but there is another part that is insidious at times which is isolation. A flare up hits and staying home is a necessity but also means missing other people. This bout of pneumonia caused me to isolate for five days which mixed with lack of sleep can spell trouble.

What is a boy to do? Look to the Lord. Psalm 121:1 says:

I lift up my eyes to the mountains— where does my help come from? My help comes from the Lord, the Maker of heaven and earth. He will not let your foot slip— he who watches over you will not slumber

Remembering that Jesus has blessed us with fellow Christians is important for me because he works through others. For me it starts by messaging my pastor to let him know what is going on. Confiding in some friends is helpful as well. Jesus created us too be relational. He has given us the body of Christ.

Fellowship with fellow believers is so important. It provides protection spiritually. It is vital to do so because darkness likes to pounce when we are going through a difficult time.

There are also the unexpected little moments that God can bless us through. I watched the recent American Idol episode and was blessed when Lauren Daigle surprised a young singer who was auditioning. The young singer was singing You Say and Lauren Daigle came in a sang with her.

Whether through prayer, reading my bible, fellowship with fellow believers, or in life’s little moments, all day yesterday Alisa Turner’s song Lift My Eyes was in my spirit.

Thank you for reading. God Bless.

Least Likely

~ jesusluvsall ~ 23 Comments

If anyone were to look at my high school year book and talk with people who knew me when I was a teen, instead of most likely to succeed, they would hear something else. Especially if you were to tell them that I have a ministry for refugees/immigrants and teach for a college. They would have said I was least likely of everyone they knew to become a home missionary/teacher.

Photo by Andrea Piacquadio on Pexels.com

Least likely explains how other perhaps viewed me at other points in life even after coming to know Jesus. My first ministry trip to Romania, the missionaries we went to serve with had their doubts because they remembered me from a few years before when due to being sick, I was the guy who talked slowly. They would have said I was least likely to used by God in Romania. Yet eight years later, I went twice in one year to preach the Easter and Christmas services for the church my church partnered with there.

Least likely explains how many thought when God led me to start a ministry of reaching out to refugees/immigrants in my city. When God led me to start a Saturday morning group, there were many doubters. But God worked and a few years later people were sharing their thoughts that I should stay in my city because of the ministry Jesus led me to.

There are so many other examples from my life of when I was what others thought was least likely. There is much to learn from a classic least likely in the bible.We read about it in 1st Samuel 16. God sent the prophet Samuel to Jesse of Bethlehem to anoint one of Jesse’s sons to be king to replace Saul. When Samuel thought it would be Eliab because he looked the part, God told Samuel in verse seven:

But the Lord said to Samuel, “Do not consider his appearance or his height, for I have rejected him. The Lord does not look at the things people look at. People look at the outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart.”

God led Samuel to David, a shepherd boy tending his father Jesse’s sheep, to anoint David. God chose David because he saw David’s heart. He saw David trust in him protecting the sheep. He saw David’s penchant for singing to the Lord. Everyone else would have thought David was least likely, but not God.

I love the saying that God doesn’t call the qualified, he qualifies the called.

Thank you for reading. God Bless.

Back To Normal?

~ jesusluvsall ~ 26 Comments

It felt a bit anti-climatic when the cardiologist told me I am golden now and the heart flutter is cleared up. It started last fall and was diagnosed after a visit to the ER for something else. A focal point of my life is gone now. No more visits to the cardiologist except one more follow up in June. As I walked out of the clinic, my thought was, “back to normal, well normal for me.”

Photo by Gustavo Fring on Pexels.com

Back to normal for me means continuing to live with chronic pain and fatigue due to living with autoimmune. Back to normal for me means asking Jesus each morning to give me strength to be a blessing to my students and others. Back to normal for me means seeing God at work not only in my life but in the life of others. Back to normal for me also means hanging out at the coffee shop.

If I really think about, normal is not a word I would use to describe life with Jesus. The same Jesus who did things like walking on water in the midst of a storm is the same Jesus who says follow me. He is the same Jesus who is always with us, at work around us, and at work in our lives.

Photo by Jill Wellington on Pexels.com

Life with Jesus can bring many amazing surprises if we seek to follow him and stay open to him working in our lives and working around us. We can see amazing things happen.

Maybe I should say back to the adventure. 🙂

Thank you for reading. Also thank you for all the prayers. God Bless.

Music Mondays- I Will Carry You by Ellie Holcomb

~ jesusluvsall ~ 8 Comments

So many times Jesus has carried me through dark times. I did not always see it at the time but after making it through a rough time, looking back I could see it so clearly.

Jesus will never leave us. He stays with us through it all and in the end welcomes us home with open arms. Whatever we experience in this life, we can be sure of one thing. Jesus is with us-ALWAYS.

Thank you for reading. God Bless.

m

On The Mend-Coffee Time

~ jesusluvsall ~ 30 Comments

Can you guess where I am now? If you said the coffee shop, you would be correct. I made it out for a while after being cooped up for most of the week I am finally on the mend and have a it of energy. But I am so behind on my blog and fellow bloggers after a week of mostly only laying in bed. It is time to catch up.

This week will be warmer in my area. I know that others in my state like Alicia of forhispurpose.blog have a lot of snow that needs to melt away, but not in my city. It will be in the 50f/10c most of the week or a bit warmer. That amounts to a heat wave in these parts. Brenda of becominghistapestry.com is loving the winter weather in her area. How is winter in your area? I hesitate to ask because I know that Gary of garyfultz.com thrives on winter, ice fishing, etc. Then there is David of davidsadailydose.org who lives in southern climate and misses out on all of the fun. He is probably enjoying a picnic today. 🙂

Just giving shout outs to a few friends.

Back to my coffee outing. I must still be a bit spacey because guess who forgot to bring his wallet? Yes I did. I must have something like frequent flyer miles because the barista told me not to worry and let me have a cup with a refill free of charge saying that I am in here a lot.

I was thinking today about memories. We all have those memories we beat ourselves up with of past failures and sins. There are two verses that come to mind that I think should shape how we talk to ourselves.

Hebrews 8:12 says:


“For I will forgive their wickedness and will remember their sins no more.”

If God does not remember our sins against us, why beat ourselves up for past failures. Learn from them yes, but let the memories of them drag us down, NO.

Hebrews 6:10 says:

 “God is not unjust; he will not forget your work and the love you have shown him as you have helped his people and continue to help them.”

What God does remember are the work we do and love we show in his name towards others. This shows me what we should focus on-the here and now and living for Jesus letting God take care of those memories.

It feels good to be at my coffee shop and to have the tangible reminder about memory. Maybe it is a good thing that I forgot my wallet. 🙂

Thank you for reading. God Bless.

God Shows He Is With Us Through Others-Surgery Update

~ jesusluvsall ~ 34 Comments

I had my outpatient surgery yesterday and there were a few nice surprises. God showed me he was with me through others. I checked in 5am all blurry eyed and a short time later had my first surprise.

I found out Friday that one of my colleague’s mother is a nurse at the hospital. I joked with her to tell her mom to give me ice cream. The nurse who came out to bring to the waiting area to bring me to the prep area started off by asking me what kind of ice cream I wanted. She is my colleague’s mom. That started my day off with a laugh and a smile. she took great care of me.

The next one was the anesthesiologist who prepped me. I did not recognize him at first because of his mask, big glasses, and cap, He is a friend from church. It was reassuring to chat with him while he prepped me.

Jesus definitely showed he was with me through others!!!

Everything went well and I was back home about 2:30pm. That was followed by a four hour nap. Naps are part of my recovery plan, personal one not doctor’s guidelines. 🙂

I have proof cheeseburgers, fries and ice cream are healthy. I asked for them for my lunch and the hospital have me two cheeseburgers-no bun, fries and a chocolate ice cream for lunch. Therefore they must be healthy. Completely logical in my mind.

Thank you to all who prayed for me.

Music Mondays- Healer by Kari Jobe

~ jesusluvsall ~ 10 Comments

We can trust in Jesus the one who laid down his life for us and defeated death for us. He is our creator and Savior who loves us deeply. We can look to him in every situation.

This song seemed appropriate for me as I head out to the hospital for minor surgery to correct my heart rhythm. Jesus has been with me and seen me through so much in my life. I am grateful for his constant presence in my life.

Thank you for reading. God Bless.

Each Day A New Day with God

~ jesusluvsall ~ 17 Comments

As I was scraping the frost from my windshield yesterday, I thought about how the first few times I have frost on my windshield in the fall, it is a joyful occasion because it means the end of fall allergies. But by November, having frost on the windshield has gotten tedious and means just one more thing to do before work.

Photo by Andrea Piacquadio on Pexels.com

The first hot day of summer has the same feeling for me. I enjoy the heat on my arthritic body, but by July the summer heat is something I look forward to not having.

Anytime I buy something electronic, the newness of it brings me happiness. But after a few weeks, it has become old hat and not a source of excitement.

Fortunately the goodness, mercy, and compassion of Jesus are fresh every morning. They never cease to amaze me.Lamentations 3:22-24 says:

“Because of the Lord’s great love we are not consumed,
    for his compassions never fail.
They are new every morning;
    great is your faithfulness.
I say to myself, “The Lord is my portion;
    therefore I will wait for him.”

Photo by Jill Wellington on Pexels.com

The love of God, his compassion/mercy, are new every morning. God is eternal and creative. He has new ways to get our attention that are custom made to get our attention. May you experience that today.

Thank you for reading. God Bless.

Music Mondays- Who You Say I Am by Hillsong

~ jesusluvsall ~ 10 Comments

No matter what is in our background, no matter what mistakes we have made, no matter what turmoil we have been in, our identity for those who know Jesus is-Child of God.

That means we are set free to live as children of God. We are who Jesus says we are. What others say we are does not matter in Jesus’s eyes.

When God looks at us, he sees his child. When Jesus looks at us, he sees someone he loves so much that he died for us. That is our identity and nothing can change it. Nothing, no one, can take our identity in Jesus away from us.

I love this song-Who You Say I Am. When I listen to it, what comes to mind is God saying-“Remember whose child you are.”

Thank you for reading. God Bless.