Karen's Crossing~~~permission to Rise Above The Storm

Recently in a devastating catastrophe an airplane facing a violent storm crashed into the Java sea. AirAsia flight QZ8501 came down on December 28, 2014 after attempting its final option of requesting permission to fly above the storm.

According to the news the request was denied because there were so many others getting permission ahead of them getting the same permission in the same area. From there only the black boxes of the airplane know the true secret of what happened next. The one thing that brought the plane to its final resting place on the ocean's bottom.

Spiritually we need to put in the same request the pilot did that day but to the Lord. Permission to fly above life's storms. Storms in life are inevitable, we can't get around some and others intensity are almost unbearable.

Storms such as relationship issues, money problems, health difficulties, rebellious teenagers, job hunting and so much more. All are storms we find ourselves facing. To one person they may be a devastating event while others see them as some whirlwind of circumstances.


Things that can effect our view of things can be our attitude, our level of trust, our spiritual maturity, and our faith in God. When we have these things it makes going through storms much easier. However, we will hit storms that are much bigger in intensity and we may need to ask God permission if we can rise above the storm.

In my last visit with my doctor he told me my cancer didn't look good. The three measuring sticks he uses to come to that conclusion I flunked each one. For two years my family had gone through these storms over and over again. I could tell this one wasn't going to go by without leaving some kind of damage.

Doing the best I could behind a curtain of tears I asked God permission to rise above the storm. To be strong and not let this recent news get to me nor my family. One by one the grandkids are beginning to show signs of reality and what was going on.

Aubrey one day was at my blood transfusion staring down at the floor. She told me, grandma I didn't think it would happen this fast." What do you mean, I asked her. "The oxygen and the hair loss and the hospital rooms" she replied back. My heart just broke and if it weren't for strong arteries the blood I was receiving would have seeped all out onto the floor. 

Then recently my seventeen year old granddaughter got on a website where you can plug in your picture and your boyfriends picture to see what your kids will look like. They wanted me to see what my great grandkids would look like before I die.  Stopped again in its tracks was my heart overflowing with the pain they were feeling yet with the love I am feeling from them. 

A cake from Brooke and a daily call asking me how my day was going. Anthony's gentlemen gestures to help me thru a door or up a stair and other random acts of love. Each one serving as their cry out to ask God permission to rise above life's storm of grandma's cancer and to say "We love you. " Grandma loves you too my precious ones. 

The beauty of asking God for such permission is knowing we won't be denied because too many people asked first. It's true though sometimes God allows us to go through storms simply to learn how to trust Him and how to survive. We learn from storms a great deal of things. 

For example, the major storm my head injury and epilepsy caused was something I learned a great deal from. If God had allowed me to rise above it and miss it all together I wouldn't have matured as a Christian like I did. The epilepsy storm prepared me for something much bigger and devastating, the storm of my cancer. 

The biggest thing about rising above life's storms is permission to have a better attitude, to be strong and not collapse under the storms pressure. Also to not be effected by it to the point where the storm has beaten us instead of us withstanding it. 

So my, not so little ones anymore, stay strong. Use God as your anchor. You may have weak moments but that is okay Grandma had plenty. Just lean on Jesus. Trust Him as the captain of your ship. You may get the wind in your face, water in your eyes but you will make it through.    Love you, Grandma

Karen's Crossing~~~~~ Finishing Well

The day hadn't  start all that well. My cancer pain had gone beyond the limits of my pain patch. It had been awhile since it had been this bad. I almost forgot what it was like. With the use of my cane and extra pain meds I managed to get around to the finish. 

A good nap was helping for me to cope too. As I started to feel better I decided to go to town and meet my daughter at the bank before going shopping. As my grandson, granddaughter, and myself traveled to town we had a surprise waiting for us on the road. 

As I drove down a hill at sixty miles per hour a car was at the bottom wanting to turn left crossing my line of traffic. With her blinker on she had plenty of time to perform her task. Why she didn't I don't know. Her idea of turning left was to ride in my lane straight at me without a care in the world. 

As I got closer I hit my breaks, honked my horn, and skid along the pavement creating a nice pillar of blue smoke filled with the aroma of burnt rubber. Finally she slowly decide to exit my lane stage left. Scared by the whole incident I pulled over and began to cry. My granddaughter called her mom and told her to come to the canal as soon as possible. 

After a lot of tears I finally was fit to drive the rest of the way to town. As I did I thought about the angels that had to have been riding on my bumper that day. It was the rubber from their sneakers that safely screeched the car to a stop. 

Later at Wal Mart the checkout lady ask me if I was having a nice day. I told her, "well it started out a bad cancer day then I was almost in a head-on collision as I drive to town." As the lady apologize for my day I told her it was ok because I planned to finish it well because I so choose to do so. 

Enough of this bad stuff, I wasn't going to let it all get to me to the point where my whole day was shot because of it. In spite of starting off bad I wanted it to finish well. 

Like my cancer I had always felt like I had angels on my bumper watching over me. Angels used by God to keep me safe emotionally and spiritually in my life in order that I may finish well. 

Finish well the life created in my mother's womb that gave birth to me. Finishing well the task I was assigned as mother, wife, sister, daughter, friend, writer, and so much more. 

Cancer wasn't going to make my task easy but God was going to make it possible. Circumstances in certain situations was slowing me down but it's God's speed that things happen anyway. Emotions were at their worse behavior but the joy I felt in the Lord was so much more effective. 

Finishing well the day that started out so bad was a choice. Just as finishing well my tasks on earth. Even Jesus knew when to say, "It is finished." And oh how he finished well. 

As I told my friend about my day's adventure I told her, "honestly Kay I don't try to live life on the edge. It just seems like the edge finds me.  What I truly want to find for me is the task of finishing well for The Lord."  

Years ago I painted a wall hanging that said, " God put me on earth to accomplish a certain number of things!! Right now I am so far behind....I will never die!"

It was funny at the time but now I see more than a touch of humor behind it. Whether we don't finish our tasks on earth will not postpone or speed up our departure from it. We should want to finish well and not leave behind the Lord's work He has given us to do. 

Thirty some years after painting the wall hanging I would like to change it to say, "God has put Karen on earth to accomplish a certain number of things. Because she is so far ahead she was able to depart early to further works of The Lord awaiting for her in Heaven."

She finished well. She finished well. 

A goal for all to meet. 

Copyright January 2015 Karen J Gillett @Pencil Marks and Recipes Publishing. 

Sent from my iPhone

Lemonade Anyone?

 

The news at the doctor's office wasn't good. The cancer that had entered my body four years earlier had made its way to my bones, liver and now my lungs. Tears of fear flooded my eyes as I drove home trying my best to be strong for my two grandkids who were with me and for those who were not.

As I began to drive home the silence of the car was interrupted by a message God had for me in between the flows of tears watering my cheeks. He said, "Lemonade anyone?" I knew instantly what God meant. As the old saying goes, "When life hands you a lemon you make lemonade."

Life had just handed me another lemon, the sour thing called cancer, and the only way to get thru it was to make something good from it. Something refreshing and pleasant. A lemon by itself can be very sour but with the right ingredients it can turn into something very delicious such as lemonade. Something that really hits the spot when swallowed bringing a refreshing feeling.

I may had just got my "lemon" but it wasn't too early to set out my lemonade stand.  As I thought about it I thought of the lemonade stand our granddaughter Marissa set up once. With very little customers she finally had someone who wanted some lemonade. The lady had passed by our house once but returned. After getting out of her car she bought her cup of lemonade from the little 7 year old girl on the front porch of Marissa's house. After getting her drink she handed Marissa a silver dollar and a silver dollar for her two younger sisters as well. she explained to us that she had a lemonade stand as a kid and no one would stop and buy any. She vowed as an adult to stop at every lemonade stand and buy a cup with a silver dollar that she would quickly run to the bank for as she did for our granddaughters.

It's important that we learn how to make the right kind of lemonade with our sour lemon or misfortunes that life hands us. There are some situations that are hard to overcome but with Jesus as our main ingredient its possible. It may not get us out of the situation we are in but it will certainly get us through it as a cold glass of lemonade gets us through a hot summer day.

Trust in God mixed with a lot of faith makes a fine cup of lemonade. The praises and thankfulness we give to God for that which is good in our lives outside of what is going on makes for great ice cubes to keep our drink cool and delightful. I may find it hard to be thankful for cancer but I can thank God for my family, my ability to still get around, friends, bright sunny days, warm winter nights in front of a fireplace and so much more.

Whether we want it or not life will hand us a lemon sooner or later. Some could open their own fruit stand with all the lemons they get but its our choice what we are going to do with what we have been handed. I don't know about you but I choose lemonade. Years ago when I had epilepsy I had chose the route of bitterness, anger, self-pity and failure and it got me no where but further into a slump I didn't need to live within. A true picture of, been there done that, wasn't worth it.

Lemonade anyone?

P.S. And another thought is the fact that we need to stop by and visit other people's lemonade stands and support them. With my cancer people have been doing just that for me and my family. The silver dollars of encouragement have poured in from all sides. For example tonight, 20 minutes after talking to his boss my husband got a return phone call. "Don,' his boss said, 'I called some people and its all set up. You will have a job for the next several months and will be immediately transferred to this other one after that." The burden of trying to keep his insurance going to cover my medical needs was lifted off at last from a very heavy heart. With a choking sound in his voice when he got off the phone Don said, "I don't know what to say." I told him, "Let's say thank you Lord  and praise you God." Indeed the Lord of my life had dropped in again to visit a lemonade stand I had set up.  Father God, thank you for the ingredients You've always supplied to make it all possible. Ingredients such as strength, trust, mercy, grace, love, patience, and understanding. Love you Lord, thank you for loving me.



Copyright 2015 Karen Gillett @ Pencil Marks and Recipes Publishing

Controlling Your Attitude~~~~~ In Udder Words Tuesday

No matter what difficulty you encounter, “maintaining” the right attitude will be much easier than “regaining” the right attitude 

“You need to control your attitude. I don’t like your attitude! You need to change your attitude! You have an attitude, girl!” are all phrases we have heard or said ourselves. If you think about it everything in life is attached to our attitude or our attitude is attached to everything in life. It doesn’t matter where we are or who we are with our attitude plays a role in how far we get in life and how successful we turn out to be.

To have the right attitude from the beginning saves us a lot of trouble later on correcting what our bad attitude has created. It’s like that pesky thing that is constantly getting into trouble where you have to come along and fix the damage it has done. In other words we need to be in control of our attitudes instead of our attitude controlling us.

The important thing to remember is to maintain the correct attitude from the very start. Problem with this advice is some people have different ideas what a “correct” attitude is. Telling people what you think no matter what the consequences or how many people are hurt by it is some people’s idea of a “right” attitude. Bullying others, getting whatever we want, treating others poorly believe it or not are some people’s idea of “right” attitudes.

Back in the good old days a part of a kid’s upbringing use to be to teach them how to have the “right” attitude. Unfortunately now in society the adults have attitudes just as bad as or worse than kids do. This is something that needs to be corrected for sure. We need to start out with life with the right attitude, an attitude not centered on “ME” and me alone. One that is out to succeed, not out to trample down anyone who gets in our way. An attitude that is the same as Christ, who would never bully anyone, put others down be arrogant, rude, or self-seeking.

Once we have the right attitude we need to maintain it thru the thick and thin in life, through good times and bad. It should never change like the wind, dry out like the desert, nor get washed away like the footprints on the ocean beach. When we maintain the right attitude we won’t have to come along and try to “regain” the right one or “undo” its damages after we react poorly to difficult situations.

If a truck driver can drive around with a sticker on their truck that says, “How’s my driving, call this number.” We need to do the same with our attitude as if someone could report us to our Heavenly Father. We should care about what others see in us because once again our attitude will be our driving force to success or failure, good or bad, peace or turmoil. What in your attitude today? Is it truly something worth maintaining or do you need an attitude adjustment?

Sadly enough I’d have to answer those questions for myself, “Yes and No.” Sometimes it’s good sometimes it’s not so good depending on the situation. Wrong answer, Karen. Maintenance is the key. Get the right attitude from the beginning and keep it. Control your attitude don’t let it control you.

© 2013 Karen J Gillett @ Pencil Marks and Recipes Publishing       In Udder Words Tuesday

Shake it Off

We need to shake off our bad attitudes, thoughts and negative garbage in our minds by sending some Holy Spirit fire to drive out these sucker demons. God would never say, “Ok give up you gave it your best shot.”  No we instantly know that God wouldn’t say that so then why do we so easily believe Satan when he says the same thing.   Joyce Meyers

 

“We” as in “ourselves” do indeed need to shake off our own bad attitudes, thoughts and negative garbage. It’s not up to those around us to deal with these things. It’s our job to shake them off the instant they arrive. Recently at the Easter egg hunt at the White House a young child was crying. President Obama tried to console him by telling him to, “Shake it off. Shake it off.” The last thing anyone would have heard said to the child would have been, “Oh its okay to cry, throw your fit, you deserve to be heard.” That’s preposterous.

 

As I have told my grandchildren, we shouldn’t have to pay the price because they want to use whatever excuse they can come up with to justify wrong attitudes, thoughts, and thinking. Often people will use such excuses as, “I woke up on the wrong side of the bed, had a bad day at work, not feeling well and others” as their reasons for having attitude issues.

 

Our job is not to excuse our behavior but to fight against it by sending the fire of the Holy Spirit in to drive it out. We know good and well God would never say to us, “Ok give up you gave it your best shot.” No, He expects us to fight against those desires that go in opposition to what He rather we would do.

 

Isn’t it funny though, ‘well no not really,’ that when Satan says to us ‘we gave it our best shot’ we instantly believe him. It doesn’t take us but a few seconds to quit. However, when God tells us we are doing well and to keep going and our best is yet to come we don’t believe Him and we instantly quit.

 

Do I detect a pattern here? Yes, it doesn’t matter what it is we seem to quit a little too easy now-a-days. We have lost our diligence to give it our best shot and to keep on going.

We don’t think “we” can “shake off” those bad attitudes, choices, and wrongful decisions so we don’t even try.

 

I have to say we are right about one thing, ‘we’ can’t do it alone. We need to allow the Holy Spirit to come in and do the job for us. However, we have to step aside and grant God the permission to do so. We have to really want to shake off the bad and replace it with the good. Ouch, did I just hear an action word use there? We have to replace the bad with the good? Yes it doesn’t do any good to shake off the things that don’t belong if we don’t repent and change our ways and replace them with good attitudes, habits, thinking, and choices.

 

Now not later is the time to get to shaking to stir that which is in us to improve in order to shake off instead of slack off. Together with the help of the Holy Spirit it can be done!

 

© 2013 Karen J Gillett @ Pencil Marks and Recipes Publishing       In Udder Words Tuesday

Karen's Crossings~~~~~~ An Upward Climb

“Be there at noon!” was the orders from Wayne, our chauffeur. The pastor from our church who had preached there for 27 years before he retired had finally graduated to heaven. A two hour trip over a mountain pass to his funeral was our way of saying “Goodbye and thanks.”

 

Coming fully supplied for the trip I had my crochet project I was working on, my Bible to read, and my cane. I didn’t know if I would need the crochet project or Bible for entertainment purposes but I knew for sure I would need the cane. The trip over and back in one afternoon wasn’t going to set well with my body and I was right. It was a good thing Wayne thought of bringing along a step ladder to help those who needed it into the van.

 

As we made our first pit stop in Mill City the task of getting out of the van was difficult. After sitting for over an hour my legs and hips just didn’t seem to want to move. With the help of Wayne and Toni, one of the passengers I managed to get out.

While walking to the restroom I felt a touch of self-pity start to zoom in on my spirit. The memories of long ago when I hated to be babysat when I had seizures flooded in as I found myself in that position again with my cancer. As I attempted to shake the feelings it was creating within me I began to wonder where in the world is the hole to the funnel.

Hole to what funnel? The funnel that seems to suck you in so quickly and unexpectedly into that pity me, I’m worthless, I’m no good, I’m a nuisance to those around me, I ‘m a bother to have to babysit, and the list goes on. There I was sucked in and hanging on the edge peeking out. In an attempt to keep these negative thoughts from making a nest in my head and staying longer than they should I fought against them till they were shaken lose.

Yes I had more important things to concentrate on, like my walking. To step up into the van I always had to hesitate and decide which leg I wanted to use to make that first step. A couple of times people had to push me gently in my back to help in the boost upward. As the journey went on and the pain got worse I found myself concentrating on each step I took as if it required every brain cell I had to get me to move one leg at least two inches forward.

 

Finally while sitting at the funeral I had what I call my “pain ball” in one hand I use to squeeze whenever the sharp pains hit where my bone cancer is and my cane in the other I was on my way to surviving this ordeal. One of the ladies traveling on the van with me asked me at the funeral if I was having trouble with my knee. I told her “No” I have bone cancer throughout my entire skeletal system. “Oh, I didn’t know,” she said.

Sometimes I wish it was only my knee that was giving me trouble, or a backache that was going to resolve itself after a good massage. As much as I would like to wake up from my cancer only to find it was just a dream I know better. For the rest of my life, each step I take will have to be measured with caution. Some will be good and some will be hard to do like the one inch decline in the sidewalk at the funeral site that was difficult to do after hurting so much.

 

I could choose to lock myself up and never go out due to the pain but I don’t want to do that. I want to go on living the best I can. Doing so will no doubt create more pain than I already feel constantly but that’s okay because eventually it settles down. I may be thinking more on the negative side but I wonder sometimes if I will someday wind up in a wheelchair unable to walk at all and if that’s the case I’d like to get in what I can now while I can.

Indeed to do so may require a helping hand from a love one, a shove in the back to boost me up, an extra step stool, a hug or a smile to put a little light on a darken path but that’s okay. The important thing is that I go thru it all with the right attitude. Just because I require the use of a cane once in a while to walk physically I shouldn’t need a cane to walk spiritually and emotionally if I keep my attitude healthy.

 

Long ago with my epilepsy I learned that “pity me” is a shovel that will only dig us in further to the pit in life we find ourselves fallen in to. The right attitude is the ladder needed to climb out of the places that would like to swallow us alive. Therefore, we need to put away our canes and climb the ladder upward toward God with the attitude needed to get us there and the faith in Him required to succeed. Succeed in anything, even cancer.

Thanks everyone who helped me the other day and every day of my life. I appreciate it so much. It’s people like you that helps in the upward climb in a task that seems to want to go anywhere but up. As far as my spiritual life goes, my cane is gone, I’ve been set free thanks to Jesus, I will succeed.

 

© 2013 Karen J. Gillett at Pencil Marks and Recipe Publishing for Karen’s Crossing

In Udder Words~~~~~~~~Clean Hands and a Pure Heart

Psalm 24:3-5 Who may ascend into the hill of the Lord? Or who may stand in His holy place? He who has clean hands and a pure heart, Who has not lifted up his soul to an idol, nor sworn deceitfully. He shall receive blessing from the Lord, and righteousness from the God of his salvation.

 

In this passage a question was asked, “Who may ascend to stand in God’s holy place?” The answer given was direct and to the point. Those with clean hands and a pure heart who haven’t lifted their soul to an idol or lied basically will be the ones. In other words it’s important we aren’t caught with dirty hands or a heart that is not pure.

 

As a child growing up one of the requirements before eating a meal we needed to wash our hands first. Living on a ranch and being outdoors all the time it was obvious our hands were in need of cleaning first before eating. The slobber of the horse, the smell of the pigs, and the mud from the pond all needed to go. A quick run over with the bar of soap and the job was done and it was meal time! Luckily we didn’t have to stop and work on purifying our hearts first as well each time. If that was true I don’t think we ever would have been able to eat.

 

Because of the rules of mom, dad, and their parents before them we understand why we need to clean our hands before we eat or wash them after we do something like going to the bathroom. It’s just good hygiene that is necessary to prevent the creation of an illness and the spreading of various diseases. Too bad this isn’t more obvious to people in regards to their spiritual lives. Is it the fault of our parents and their parents before them for not passing that information along? In some ways yes and other ways no. We need to take responsibility for our own cleanliness.

 

Indeed we have failed to emphasis the importance of clean spiritual hands in our quest for good spiritual hygiene. Just like mom wasn’t going to let us eat with dirty hands God isn’t going to let us ascend into the hill of the Lord with dirty hands either.

 

At the door of our heart God has placed a wash basin for us to use to cleanse our hands and purify our hearts all in one easy step. The step of accepting Jesus into our lives and living obediently to His standards, His house rules, His word. He gives us the “how to,” the bar of soap needed to get cleaned up but the rest is up to us to do.

 

Daily it’s up to us to cleanse our hands and purify our hearts by asking the Lord for forgiveness for the things we have done against His will. To repent and turn our lives around to follow Him wholly instead of the idols we erected to satisfy us until we make up our minds what we want in life. Instead of dirtying our hands with the lies we tell and the poor choices we make we need to wash our hands of these things.

 

As mom would often have to check our hands to make sure they were totally clean God will be checking our hands at the door of Heaven to see if they are clean as well. The slobber of our addictions to alcohol, drugs, sex, money, food, and such has to go. The smell of the aroma of our bad attitude has to go. The mud from the sins we committed large or small has to be washed off first.

It’s best to be cleansed now instead of just before the next meal because we don’t know when Christ will be returning. I said we don’t know “when” He will be returning but the fact of the matter is He will be here again and we need to be ready.

Don’t be caught with dirty hands. Idols, things that stand between us and God don’t save us. It’s God who is the Lord of our salvation. It’s important we clean up and look our spiritual best for His next and final arrival. Forever ready on the spot to show what He already should be seeing in us, clean hands and a pure heart.

© 2013 Karen J. Gillett @ Pencil Marks and Recipes Publishing

In Udder Words Tuesday~~~~ Safe Travels

If we never had any trouble, we wouldn’t need any faith     Joyce Meyers

 

Stop for a minute and imagine life without any trouble. Oh, you can? Good for you but I said life not heaven. It’s easy to think of Heaven as being trouble free but picturing life that way takes a little more of an effort with a tremendous imagination.

 

As trouble seems to come in degrees there are some who have tasted a lot more trouble than others. If this is so, then does that mean that faith comes in degrees too? Not really. The amount of faith we receive from going through troubled times depend on our hearts and how willing we are to trust in the Lord for safe travels.

 

In Psalm 34:17 it says, “The righteous cry out, and the Lord hears, and delivers them out of all their troubles.” Praise the Lord for that but notice our part we need to play? Our part is making sure we are in right standing with God. The path to that accomplishment is faith. Too often we like to live our lives as we see fit then when trouble comes we cry out to God “expecting” deliverance.

 

The difference between a righteous person and a non-righteous person is the fact that the righteous person believes God will deliver them. The non-righteous person simply expects it to happen with no effort on their part. Surprisingly enough it doesn’t work that way.

 

Being surrounded by troubles produces the fruit of faith. Honestly if we didn’t need to lean on Jesus, if we didn’t need to have Him see us through our troubles we wouldn’t need faith. Surprisingly enough it doesn’t work that way, oh did I say that before? It’s true. We are designed to need Jesus whether we want to admit it or not. Our troubles point us in His direction and give us the little bit of nudge we need to walk forward towards Him.

 

Whether we want to believe it or not we are the source of a great deal of our troubles. Our attitudes, our selfish desires, our greed, our stubbornness gets us into a whirl of trouble. It doesn’t matter if our troubles are self-inflicted or brought on by the world around us the solution is still the same and that is having faith in Jesus. Faith that He is there, listening to our cries, helping us out of the mire and pits we find ourselves in to. Our part is to up the degree of our faith not the temperature of the trouble we are fighting against by choosing wrong attitudes and spontaneous solutions that don’t work in the long run.

 

Having Christ in our lives doesn’t assure us a trouble free life. However, what it gives us is safe travels through them with an outcome that is good for all eternity, our faith.

 

Praise the Lord we have a way out, Praise the Lord we have Jesus.

 

© 2012 Karen J Gillett @ Pencil Marks and Recipes Publishing       In Udder Words Tuesday

 

In Udder Words Tuesday ~~~ Keep On Keeping On

“You have to be determined that nothing is going to hinder you from fulfilling God’s plan and purpose for your life.” Joyce Meyers

 

Last night as I went over to my parent’s house my dad asked me how I was doing. Ever since I came back from the Cancer Treatment Center in Arizona he’s been asking me that every time he sees me. Along with his question this time he gave a little parental advice. He told me to never give up, to keep on keeping on. It touched my heart to hear his encouragement although it’s something he has told me all of my life.

 

 It is so true that we need to be determined that nothing is going to hinder us from fulfilling God’s plan and purpose for our lives. Each of us travels down our chosen roads but things seem to come up that creates a detour sign that sends us off in a different direction.

 

 Years ago my husband and I got into that same situation when we were detoured over a mountain pass we were traveling on. A deadly accident on the top of the mountain was creating a delay so everyone was detoured around it. The road they had us go on was narrow, winding, rough, and rocky. It wasn’t the typically paved highway we all like to drive on. After traveling for miles we began to doubt we read the detour sign right. The road was taking us into a part of the wilderness we had never seen before.

 

 When was it going to end? Where would we wind up? What if we had taken the wrong road? Doubt and fear flooded our minds as we continued on, going back would only create a longer journey home down a different, lengthier path we were more familiar with. Finally after sticking to it we came to the end of the road and came out in an area where we at last knew where we were.

 

 Life is like that on a daily basis it seems like and we need to be determined to keep on going and to not give up. Fighting my epilepsy years ago was often more than I could handle but in order to get anywhere in life I had to keep moving forward. Now with cancer facing me the same rules of the road applies, “Keep moving forward.” 

 

 The road we are forced to take may not be the smooth path we were on, it may be rough and rocky but if we stick with it we’ll eventually come out ahead. God doesn’t send us on these detours without traveling with us. He’s not the flagman at the detour sign pointing his finger to, ‘go that way.’ He’s the pilot car ahead of us asking us to follow Him.

 

 The only way that is possible is to be determined to keep on going and not allow anything to hinder God’s plans for our lives. Often we think situations in life do that to us frequently when it’s only a partial truth. The biggest thing that hinders us from fulfilling God’s plans for us is “us.”

 

 Ouch! Did that hurt to say that? It’s the truth. Our attitude and lack of determination will be the downfall of any progress we could be making at fulfilling God’s plans for us. We need to set our eyes on Jesus and keep on going in spite of life’s detours, obstacles, washed out bridges, and delayed traffic. Eventually we are going to come to the end of the road and we will be somewhere familiar on a path with Jesus, all because of our determination to keep on keeping on.

 

 © 2012 Karen J Gillett @ Pencil Marks and Recipes Publishing       In Udder Words Tuesday

Karen's crossing. Oh what a day. UPDATED

 As a woman, well over forty, I should know by now that when I am having an emotional day starting even before 5:00am that I should crawl back in bed and start over at least five hours later. Ha ha. Yesterday was that kind of day. Choosing to watch a movie instead of the morning news I picked one I had never seen before.

It was a movie about a woman dying of cancer. All the emotions she was dealing with were ones I have felt myself. It opened up and released all those things I was carrying inside of me. When that happened the flood water of tears just poured.

The lady talked about how she couldn't believe this was her life. As I struggle sometimes to stand up I think that myself. A common viewpoint taken by anyone that is dealing with something major I am sure. This certainly was not how I pictured my life but who can vision truly what their life is exactly going to turn out to be.

Another shared emotion was the fact she felt cheated. I feel cheated out of having fun verses pain, out of being able to do whatever I want with my grandkids and family with no interference from cancer. I feel cheated out of having a normal life. Cancer or not who is to say what a normal life looks like. Since I can't say then how could I be cheated out of it? No one snuck cancer in me when I wasn't looking to cheat me or do anything to me. Truly we cheat ourselves out of a lot of stuff by hanging on to pity, shame, anger and so much more.

The next shared emotion was feeling like I let my family down. In the beginning I remember looking at my first cancer bill. I thought I really let my family down like I was running up some kind of a shopping spree bill. I felt like I let my daughter down and the grandkids as well as my husband. Unable to be totally independent occasionally I was going to need to be cared for, making me a more of burden than a blessing. Truly the only way I can let them down is by having the wrong attitude, by giving up instead of fighting and allowing my cancer to be stronger than me. The only time I could become a burden to them is if I start to carry the wrong attitude in my heart. Out of the question also is the attitude of just sitting around feeling sorry for myself throwing pity party after pity party. Thanks to the Lord and having Jesus in my life I have been given the ability to do and be what I need in order to succeed.

Then there was the shared feeling of, "I can deal with the cancer I have. I just can't deal with what is yet to come." That kind of thinking is borrowing from tomorrow's trouble. Jesus himself said today has enough trouble of its own. Boy if that isn't true as my “today” proved it.

My appointment with my oncology doctor was supposed to be a checkup from my mouth sores; I had no idea something else would come of that. After sharing my latest aches and pains to my doctor I found out I may be experiencing one of my first “side effects” of the medications I take. Evidently the medicine used to keep my bone cancer pain down to a bearable level has a tendency to breakdown the cheekbone. Between the look on my doctor’s face and the sound of the news fear came over me. Truly another feeling I must have shared with the lady in the movie.

After leaving the doctor’s office I went out to the car where mom was resting from our journey for the day. I wanted to let her know I would be a little longer as a CAT scan was being ordered on my face. The minute I saw her and she looked at me the tears began. Instantly the look on her face changed from “Oh now we can go home” to “I’m so sorry honey, is there anything I can do to help?”

Instantly as I got into the car to talk with her she put her one good arm around me to give me a hug. Still as I remember the vision of her doing that the tears want to flow once more. Her, "Two kind" phrase she says the most since her stroke never sounded so beautiful, it was all the words I need for the comfort I required. The best shared emotion of the day was the love shared between my mom and me.   

Oh “what a day”, as indeed the emotions of the morning had visited my afternoon and dried cheeks soon became wet once more. Tuesday October 2^nd I get my test result but in the meantime my bone cancer med has to be held. This means significant pain until I get my treatment, hopefully on that same Tuesday. Medication adjustments need to be made and attitude adjustments as well if need be. My attitude of wanting to crawl back in that hole I longed to find when I was first diagnosed needs to be stopped now as I stand strong in the Lord. Strong in the power of His might and strength no matter what I face.

One “what a” day at a time, one step at a time as I follow the advice I give to my grandkids frequently. And that is the advice of continuing to move forward. There is no time to stop and play victim, my family needs me just as much as they did when I didn’t have cancer. Just as my mom moved forward after her major stroke so shall I.

In God I will trust,

Karen

**September 30, 2012 Got my test results and there is no breaking down of my cheekbone that my oncology doctor can see. There is bone cancer there. She told me once I had “significant” amount of bone cancer and this is one of those spots I wasn’t aware of before. I still may need to go to the oral surgeon she said to make sure they don’t see something she missed. The question of my medications again will up for discussion. I can’t wait for my treatment, this bone pain stuff is for the birds... J tweet tweet. I must say it did get me to get my oldest sister to lay down on the floor and let me use her as my footstool. Long story, I’ll have to share with you someday.

Molting or Plucking

He will cover you with His feathers. He will shelter you with His wings. His faithful promises are your armor and protection. Psalm 91:4 NLT





Many times I have read this verse in Psalm 91 but for some reason this time around when I read it the word “feather” jumped out at me. I instantly thought of the days when people were tarred and feathered. Don’t ask me why but I did. Turning to Google I searched for information regarding this horrible act.




It was stated that back before the late nineteenth century people took it upon themselves to punish other people by tarring and feathering them when they didn’t do what they thought they should. For example a Skipper of a boat was once tarred and feathered by a group of women in Massachusetts because he refused to aid seamen in distress. Truly it was used as an act of physical punishment of unofficial justice and revenge. For a time it was a legal punishment used in England and later used in extralegal demonstrations in the American colonies and the United States until the late 19th century.




As I found out it was an act of revenge and people taking the law into their own hands. What a praise it is that the feathers that the Lord covers us with is something that is totally different. It’s not an act of punishment, revenge, or unofficial justice. It is done for our protection out of love to create a shelter or hiding place for us. It’s not done to label us a bad person but to show how much God really cares about us.



With the Lord instead of being tarred and feathered as we really deserve because of our sins we are covered with feathers out of love. One feather at a time the Lord’s love covers over us. His faithful promises are our armor and protection. We get the choice to keep those feathers on us and snuggle into them or pluck them out one by one. Plucking them out by our attitudes, actions, and choices we make in life.



Recently our chickens have been losing their feathers on their backs. When asked what could be the cause of that, many people told us they are molting. It something chickens do once a year as they lose their old feathers and grow new ones. One chicken farmer asked us right off, “Do you have a rooster in with the hens?” When we answered yes he knew immediately the cause of the lost feathers was the rooster picking on the hens.



Its one thing to molt once a year to get rid of the old feathers in order to grow the new but a totally different practice to pluck them out ourselves. We need to ask ourselves, “Which are we doing? Are we molting or plucking. Are we getting rid of the old in order for the new to grow or just simply eliminating the blanket of protection God offers us through His promises.



In Romans 12:1 we are told to renew our minds, other scriptures tell us to get rid of the old sinful practices we once did and take on the new attitude of Christ. It’s a practice that needs to happen more than once a year. We are the ones who get to choose whether we will accept God’s shelter in the feathery comfort of His soft promises or pluck out what we don’t want to hear and try to build our own feathered bed to lie on.



Try as we might it will never compare to what God has to offer us. Molting or plucking? I’d rather molt if it means getting rid of the old in order to make room for the new, the new in Christ.



Our hostess for this mini-series through Psalm 91 is Twinkle Mom who will be sharing on her blog, SunflowerFaith. Fly on over there and share with others what the scripture today means to you.

A Different Lens

“People go abroad to wonder at the height of mountains, at the huge waves of the sea, at the long courses of the rivers, at the vast compasses of the ocean . . . . and they pass by themselves without even imagining.” St. Augustine of Hippo





Recently in my average routine hum drum trip to work my imagination went on a journey all its own. Yes, I can drive and think at the same time. On my mind that day as I looked out upon the juniper trees, sagebrush, and brown dirt was my niece’s scuba diving adventure she had told me about. She had gone on a dive one day with her friends when they came upon a sting ray that was just as curious about them as they were about it.


Picturing what it would be like to see what she sees on those dives I told her, “You know I can’t imagine the beauty you see when you go on these dives. It has to be absolutely breath taking.” There she was looking at all the marvelous colors and creatures of the sea and what did I have to look at? It was definitely nothing as colorful as she was looking at under the sea.


As the car kept rolling along I had to stop myself in the tracks I was thinking. It was time to look at what I saw on a daily basis through a different lens. What I was seeing had its own beauty no matter how dry and dirty it may have looked. The same Creator that painted the ocean’s pictures was the designer behind what was in my landscape. I didn’t need to go under the ocean to see true beauty. I didn’t need to travel afar to climb the highest mountain to experience it. I didn’t need to hug the waves of the ocean to feel it.


God’s wonders are everywhere and they are embedded into everything He has touched including our own lives. We don’t have to go to great links to find it but simply look within to ourselves and the things around us. One day my husband caught me staring out the dining room window and it made him curious as to what I was looking at. “Nothing in particular” I said then I went on to explain the fact that we don’t look out our windows enough. We get so wrapped up in other things we let true beauty go by without even noticing it.


For example, the true beauty and wonders that is found in the ant on the sidewalk that works so diligently to store its food. Exquisiteness found in the bird in flight that knows just when to dive down to catch its fish for dinner. Just look at the tree that stands at attention sharing its branches to traveling birds. Just look at yourself and how you are fearfully and wonderfully made, designed with the utmost detailed, created with the upmost care. Within us contains a true splendor that goes deeper than the skin in a beauty that is not enjoyed by only a selected few but its available to all.


We need to stop thinking we have to travel to the Grand Canyon or the oceanfront to find God’s wonder when all we have to do is travel within ourselves and see it at work. At work where we allow it to be at work within us as we patiently wait for the finished product. If we can spend hours at the gym, the beauty parlor, or the health food store we should be willing to spend hours on our inner beauty reading our Bibles, praying, following the one that is the Author of our faith, the beautician behind our inner beauty, and the creator of the wonders going on in our souls.


Look in, and then look out. It’s simply breathtaking what God has created and continues to create within us. It’s true what they say that beauty is in the eyes of the beholder. The eyes of the one who is noticing, paying attention, observing. It’s all in our attitude of whether we see ourselves and our daily journey as something as hum drum, average, boring or as one that is full of God’s breathtaking wonders. The choice is up to us, the time is now to look thru a different lens.




Our host today is Nina over at Mama’s Little Treasures so you need to scurry on over there and join in with us today and see what wonders of God unfold and come to life.

The X on the Ground, the Love in Our hearts

“Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It does not dishonor others, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres.” 1 Cor 13:4-7 (NIV)





1 Corinthians chapter 13 is that perfect role model everyone would love to be but just can’t seem to get there. It’s like the younger sibling compared to the older sibling. “Why can’t you be more like your brother?” To the younger one it looks like a bar or mark has been set so high they can’t possibly reach it.


It’s like drawing an X on the ground and then attempt to jump out of an airplane and hope to land perfectly on the center of your target. If you did it the first time it was probably a fluke or a sudden change in the wind, just teasing it may be skill. It may take several attempts to get close with many factors getting in the way of reaching the goal you were aiming for but oh well. The biggest factor is how determined we are to get it right.


We can look at it as the bar is too high or the mark being out of our reach or we can view 1 Corinthians 13 as the X on the ground to aim at. The spot we want to try to hit, achieve, or land on. You would think the larger the list the bigger the target the easier it would be to land on it but that isn’t the case. For everything added to these verses the target appears to get smaller and smaller. Why is this? Because we think it’s out of our reach, out of ability to accomplish, and that’s not true.


These verses in the Bible are a guide to keep us focused. We may have the pride part conquered but being patient or not easily angered might be factors that get in our way. We can’t allow them to stop us. Instead we need to use them to remind us of where we need to be. It may take our entire life to accomplish each mark or characteristic of what love really is but that’s okay too.


We need to stop and praise the Lord that He doesn’t add timelines to the things He wants us to accomplish in our lives. After 30 years of marriage there are a few things my husband and I have yet to accomplish but that’s okay. There is no timeline, there is no cut off date to scramble for and hope to reach. The speed in which we get there is often determined by our attitude and determination to move forward.


Indeed forward towards the X on the ground and the love in our hearts just waiting to blossom.

© 2012 Karen Gillett @ Pencil Marks and Recipes

It Depends

  “And why should the good of anyone depend on the prayer of another? I can only answer with the return question. ‘Why should my love be powerless to help another?’ ” ~ George MacDonald

“It depends.” How often have we heard that in our lives? “We will go to the coast but it “depends” on this or that. We might be able to buy  a new car but it “depends” on if I get my raise at work.” We even use that phrase on our kids. “Can I go to the dance this weekend mom?’ ‘Well it depends.”


The picture really gets dark and dim when we think of the fact that we also use this phrase on God. “I will be good to the person but it depends on how nice they are to me. I will give to the church but it depends on if I get what I want first.”


In life some things do depend on other situations or circumstances. However, when it comes to being good that is something that should never depend on anything except the fact we need to do it, no conditions attached. Our Christianity and the things we are suppose to be in Christ should never “depend” on something else. If you think about it and tear apart this formula we have created the “something else” always is centered on us getting something first THEN the later can happen.


It’s like the Psalmist who writes in the Bible, “God if you do this for me I will praise you.” No, we need to praise the Lord no matter what, not add a condition to it. Imagine that prayer, “God I will praise you but it depends on if my husband gets that job he applied for.”


What part of the word “No!” don’t we understand. When we allow our attitude and Christianity to be controlled by our circumstances then we have a problem. We are the ones that need to be in control. Recently as my husband applied for a job I read Phil 4:4-7 that talks about being anxious for nothing but in everything by prayer and supplication WITH thanksgiving let your requests be known to God. THEN the peace of God that surpasses all understanding will guard your hearts and mind through Christ Jesus.


After reading that scripture I had to stop and examine my prayers asking myself, “Did I pray with thanksgiving or just a laundry list of why I thought my husband should be hired.” Behind the scene was I saving the “thanksgiving” part of the verse for after the “Depends on if my husband gets hired or not” clause.


To make sure I did it correctly I prayed once more and with thanksgiving as well. It felt good. I even made up a mock prayer praying for someone’s mom’s knee surgery to see if I could pray with thanksgiving with all my prayers. It was a good exercise for my heart.


This morning the news of my husband’s job came in. He did not get the job. Eleven long years of only hit and miss jobs will continue on. However, my goodness, my thankfulness, my gratitude and praise to the Lord doesn’t depend on the answer being “Yes.” As much as the job would have helped life, what I have with God is of more value. I can’t imagine waking up this morning thinking, “Well God no praise for you today because it depended on whether Don got the job or not. Good day, maybe tomorrow.” Yuk, it brings tears to my eyes to even think of such an attitude, to think my fingers could even type such a thing.


What I want is God to be able to depend on me not me living my life around made up conditions of if A doesn’t happen then B won’t happen either. I want the “depend” to be on me, that God and His kingdom can count on me no matter what the circumstance, no matter what the situation.


The best part of it all is the fact that we can depend on God. Amen? Amen!!!


**Before starting this today I didn’t know what I wanted to say about the quote. I just couldn’t come up with something to say. I prayed to God to take my fingers and give them something to say. Once I got started I couldn’t shut up. God is awesome isn’t He? Imagine if He was one of those who waited around for the “depends” to happen. We’d never be saved!

© 2011 Karen J Gillett @ Pencil Marks and Recipes Publishing

One love, Two outlets

“When you love the unloving, you get a glimpse of what God does for you.” Max Lucado

There seems to be two kinds of people in this world. Well maybe more than two kinds but for today’s quote let’s say “two kinds.” People who think of themselves as extremely loveable and those who don’t think anyone could possibly love them at all. For both species of human beings they have their eyes on themselves when their focus should be elsewhere. Instead they should be keeping their eye on the true target of God, the one who can love anyone in spite of their shortcomings.


To most people it’s a hard thing to love the unloveable as they don’t seem to care if they are loved or not. Although the unlovable won’t admit it they have put more condtions on their love than any one could possibly imagine. After attempting to love the unlovable we frequently throw up our hands and say, “I give up!”


Praise the Lord God isn’t that way. When Christ hung on the cross He didn’t throw up His hands to say “I give up, these people are way to unloving to be loveable.” No instead He threw up His hands to say, “I love you whether you think you are loveable or not.”

The important thing we need to do is remember that each of us in spite of personality flaws is loveable in God’s sight. Its something He has chosen to extend to us and in spite of the difficulty of it, we need to extend it to others.


All of us in our own ways are unloveable but that is what makes love so wonderful. It looks passed the unloveable characteristics to love anyway as God loves us. How dare we keep God’s love for us to ourselves and not pass it on to the next unlovable person in need of Christ’s love in their life.


Let’s change two kinds of people into two kinds of love. The kind of love Christ gives to us and the kind of love we can pass on to others. If you stop and look when the two are mixed together there really is only one kind with two outlets, heaven and our heart.


Praise the Lord God found a way to love us and we can find a way to love others too. Being loved by God is not a license to be rude, indifferent, disobedient, and disrespectful because after all He says He loves the unlovable. No, it’s an opportunity to give back what we don’t owe out of love ourselves to someone who cares enough to love us first.


One love, two outlets. God in Heaven and God in our hearts.

© 2011 Karen J Gillett @ Pencil Marks and Recipes Publishing