Some Gave All

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http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oL_K8G6jdHA&feature=fvwrel

“He is my son.”  “He is my brother.”  “He is my Dad.”

He was beautiful, and minutes after he was placed on my chest he grabbed my finger and held on.  I'll never forget how I felt that day.  I knew I wanted to protect him always.  He came from Heaven through me. I love him, he is my son!

When the nurse gave him to me and placed the scissors in my hand to cut the umbilical cord, I looked at his little face, crying, and knew I would love him forever.  Flesh of my flesh, he is my son!

He was always there for me, wrestling with me and teaching me how to play baseball.  He defended me when I was being picked on by the bigger kids, and threatened to ‘hurt them’ if they didn’t leave me alone.  He cared about me, and I looked up to him.  Of course I will always love him, he is my brother!

He was there for me.  He joked about how no boy would ever be good enough for me, and how they’d all better watch out, because if they made me cry or broke my heart, or God forbid kissed me, they’d have to deal with him.  He was so sweet, always watching out for me.  I love him still, he is my brother!

He took me to ball games and taught me how to pitch.  He shared his enthusiasm about cars with me, starting with Matchbox sets when I was just a tot.  He came to every one of my games that he could… when he was home.  He had strong arms and taught me that helping my mom was important.  He taught me to respect my teachers and showed me how to pray.  I love him so much, he is my dad!

He carried me and showed me off!  He called me his little princess and treated me like one.  He came to my recitals when he was able to, and he danced with me at Aunt Jean’s wedding!  No matter what, he always let me know that he loved me, and that except for mom, nobody else could steal his heart like me.  He had strong hands and smiled all the time.  I love him with all my heart, he is my dad!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fjXwKJFAlpY

Since before the Revolutionary War, brave men and women have died serving this country because freedom is worth fighting for.  It takes a special person to join the Armed Forces and commit their very lives so the rest of us can live free.  These men and women who died in battle were children, brothers and sisters, and parents.  They were loved, and they are remembered.  Today all I can do is say Thank You, to those who died, and to those left behind.  The loss you suffer is felt by Americans all over the world.  May God bless you and keep you, as you remember that He was there with your Soldier, Sailor, Airman, or Marine.  No one dies alone.  May they rest in peace. 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5tdAX04YI3I

Day is done, gone the sun, from the lakes from the hills from the sky, all is well, safely rest.  God is nigh.
Fading light, dims the sight, and a star gems the sky gleaning bright, from afar, drawing nigh, falls the night.
Thanks and praise, for our days, neath the sun, neath the stars, neath the sky.  As we go, this we know, God is nigh.

A Lesson in Exercising

Good morning, dear Reader!

I hope that you are excited today, because today is the beginning of another brand new day in the Lord's holy presence! Where else would you rather be than in His care?  Recently He has told me to look for Him in the details of my day, to hear His voice in the wind and see His smile in the sunshine.  I am doing just that, recognizing that His splendor is all around me!

I woke up this morning feeling rejuvenated, refreshed, and full of joy!  I had to smile and laugh as I prayed and gave Him praise for all He has given me!  I feel like I am walking in His glory, and that it is the most wonderful place in all existence!

Dear Reader, I must confess that for several years I have not taken care of my body.  I am thin naturally, so many people just assume that I am in good shape because of the outward appearance.  But thank God for clothes!  My body has taken on an entirely new appearance all on it's own.  Long gone is the tight skin on my almost flat belly, and the elasticity that used to make my skin appear taut has turned into jowls on my jaw and loose skin on my legs.  My muscles, which once showed that I worked hard in the yard and around the house disappeared, and the skin that is there hangs in an ugly fashion, almost 'draping' my bones.  My really good pots and pans are almost too heavy to pick up from under the counter!

Exercising is something that my heart wants to do, but my body refuses to hear about.  It will find anything, anything to take my mind off getting started. I will read longer, or write until it's too late to pick up the weights or do 10 lunges.  I don't even notice that the time has sped by.  I believe my muscles have atrophied from lack of use.  My dear husband, alas, suffers from the same thing.  I want to exercise and look good, I feel 25 in my spirit, but the reality is that this body is going to be 56 soon.  I don't care. 

I prayed about it, I told God that I was afraid to go to the gym, that I didn't know anybody there, and just felt funny.  He reminded me that He is with me wherever I go, and that I should fear no man.  He also reminded me of something very important.  He said, "Deirdre, your heart is a muscle too.  And without exercise it will fail."   So this past week I decided I had to do something about it.  So I am lifting weights in the morning (my husband has a routine of weights, trampoline, push ups, etc.), and concentrating on upper body one day and lower body the next.  We walk a mile around the block early in the day as well. 

This morning we took our bicycles out at 7:30.  We rode around the block 5 times (5 miles).  We only rode one other time before this, twice around the block about 3 weeks ago, and it had been years since the time before that.  The street has little inclines that you don't notice very much walking, and certainly not in the car, but on a bike?   Ha!  First off, we look like little kids riding for the first time, the handlebars are going all over the place, and we are wobbly, and I'm absolutely sure, quite amusing for the deer that are standing in the field watching us.  Oh, if they could talk! 

So we are struggling along on flat ground all shaky and then come to an incline!  Now we have to stand up on our Pee Wee Herman type bikes (mine has a little basket I can put my water in, but I have to stop to drink any), and hold those handlebars with all our strength!  We are huffing and puffing, and the front tire is going extreme left to extreme right, but we manage to somehow go straight!  The burn begins in the ankles and works it's way up to the top of my thigh!  Oh wow, my leg is screaming, "What in the heck are you doing?  Have you lost your mind?  You're 55 not 8!!"  Mind you this incline is probably a 10 degree grade and not very far, maybe 200 feet!   There is a higher and longer incline on the back stretch, but then wow, smooth sailing and a breeze through my hair, and my armpits, cooling me down.  Now this is okay!

We pass the house and experience the same pain on the second trip.  On the third trip I am feeling a little more balanced and more in control.  I will try to not stand on the 'hills' but keep seated.  Then I start to focus on Jesus, and sense of determination comes over me.  As I hit that mountain on the backstretch, my mantra becomes, "This - one - is - for - you, - Lord", one word with every foot going down, over and over again.  One word per pedal.  And then the decline!  "This one is for me!  This one is for me!"

That's when Jesus granted me revelation knowledge.  As we rode around the fourth time waving at cars that passed and blessing people that were walking, He revealed to me how this bike ride is in the spiritual realm.  I saw it as our struggles, our trials.  Oh, how they wear on us, and burn in us deep inside, how much we want to stop, and say "Enough!"  It hurts!  It is tearing us apart inside!  But if we focus on Jesus, and just keep saying, "This - one - is - for - you, - Lord," the reward comes.  It gets easier, and coasting is literally a breeze, and that is when we can claim His grace and His reward, laugh and say, "And this is for meeeeee!!!"  So don't let the incline of your problems and trials get you down, instead, just give it up for the Lord!  Stay focused, this one is for Him.  When you're past that trial, there is that glorious place of rest and renewal!

Have a blessed day, dear Reader, and exercise your heart today, the natural and the spiritual one.  Accept that you have to work out to work it out.  It does get easier as we focus on God!  And before you know it, you will have what it takes, spiritual muscle, to ride up the bigger hill, and the next one, and after each one is that little decline when you rest, and if you're like me and don't care who hears it, you'll shout, "Thank you Jesus!  I love You!"

"Exercise daily in God—no spiritual flabbiness, please! Workouts in the gymnasium are useful, but a disciplined life in God is far more so, making you fit both today and forever. You can count on this. Take it to heart."  1 Tim 4:7-8 (Msg)

© dft

A Blessing From the Lord

"Do not worry!  You know that worry only wastes time.  Your Pastor is correct, most things people worry about never come to pass anyway.  It takes time away from being in My presence and giving Me praise.  It is just another way Satan has distracted My people.

"Believe Me when I tell you that I will lead and guide you.  I will not place you somewhere that will entrap you.  And best of all, I will stay in each place with you.  You have to choose.  Trust Me that I will do as I say, or fall for the lies of the enemy that lead you to believe you are on your own. 

"I have planned out every day of your life.  I know how many seconds you have lived and how many more you will see.  I have great plans for you!  You will know joy you've never experienced before!  You will feel Me deep within you.  Do not be distracted by your own thoughts.  Keep Me first, and your dreams will come true.  I am the way to that joy you imagine.  It is rooted inside you.  You only have to allow Me to bring it out in you.

"Today I have blessed you with life!  It is a life to be lived loving Me.  Enjoy yourself as you look at the world around you.  Be aware of Me in the details.  Hear my voice in the wind, see My smile in the sunshine.  Notice how different every bird's chirp is.  Each one is singing!  They spend their life singing, never complaining or whining.  The sound is beautiful music to My ears.  They praise Me with their call.

"Spend time today singing to Me!  Let Me hear your voice!  Let Me hear your words of praise.  Be filled with my love today!  Be happy, and be still, know that I am God!

"Worry not!  For those things are not controlled by you.  It is futile to assume you are in any way able to control the outcome of the circumstances around you.  You can only accomlish those things that I bless and give you authority over.

"I hear each of your prayers - you know that.  When you pray, talk as if I was right there.  Plead your case to Me.  Lay your wishes at My feet.  Smile more!  Believe the outcome is good.  Have that faith, that those things you ask for are yours.

"Pray for your family everyday, and not just in the morning.  Pray for yourself too.  Humble yourself and admit you don't know what to do or say.  Pray always!  Talk to Me continually.  Allow Me to be the first in your thoughts and mind.

"Pray for your friends, your church, your town and neighbors, and your country.  Pray for peace in the world.  Not peace as you know it, but that My peace will come as a blanket and rest on each one of my children and bring them comfort and hope in their hearts as they face each day.  My love and My peace is all they need.  So many don't want anything to do with it.  They would rather feel they are in control of their own destiny.  Even you have done that.  Trust Me, none of you control the universe, and the feeling of empowerment you get when you act self righteous and superior to others is only your downfall.  My children place themselves above Me, their Creator.  It's a hard fall when the truth is known, but it does set them free!

"Give yourself to worshipping Me today, child!  Let Me hear your sweet songs.  I smile when you sing!  Keep Me in your mind today."

Come to Me...

What do you do when you have "one of those days?"  You know the kind I'm talking about, where just about everything that could go wrong does, and you feel like the world's whipping post.  Those days that seem to drain the life out you as soon as your feet hit the floor in the morning.  When I have those days, sometimes I completely forget what I am supposed to do.  I find myself all wrapped up in the circumstances around me, and I find that everything else comes second to how miserable I feel.

Let's face it, we get weary, dear reader.  The enemy will attack us with anything he can.  And if we're tired we tend to hear his lies even more loud and clear.  He likes to hit us where it really hurts, sucker punch us, if you will.  We start to doubt our ability to do those things that we know we are good at, and we start to question the gifts that God has given us.  For instance, I am a published author of a children's Christmas book, A Christmas I Remember (http://www.tatepublishing.com/bookstore/search.php?search=christmas+i+remember).

This little book was God-inspired, and came as a complete surprise to me.  I had been writing about encouraging things, pretty much like this blogspot, when I was asked to write something for a friend which became a book.  I know God has much more in store for me.  I know there will be other books, and they will all be successful.  But there are days when I can't write a thing worth posting on this blog, and sometimes that makes me feel, well, untalented.  I have asked for comments, but you, dear Reader, very rarely have any.  That has brought my spirits down at times, and there were times when I was about to just "pack it all in" and quit the entire thing.  I could convince myself that I am living in a dream world and my words are not helping anyone. 

As for this blog, well, I haven't written as often as I would like, but I still manage to get things on here when the inspiration comes.  My point is that this isn't a bad blogspot, I think it's actually very good.  I know in my heart that people have found words of encouragement in here that have helped them.  Leaving a comment is a nice encouragement for me, but not necessary for you.  Maybe it's good that I don't hear any bad comments! 

Enough about me.  It's about having one of those days when you feel like your best efforts are less than average.  You know, that is all just a lie from the pits of hell.  The evil one trying to bring you down.  When we're down, we like to find an imaginary hole to crawl into and feel sorry for ourselves for awhile.  Even if the Holy Spirit is saying, "Get up, you are better than that, you are loved with a love that can't be measured," we carry on with our pity party.

Dear Reader, we must stop that.  God gave us each gifts that we are supposed to use for His glory.  Mine happens to be writing.  Maybe yours is listening, or cooking, or taking care of children or older people.  Maybe you take care of pets, maybe you take care of shoppers, or of maintaining bathrooms in good order.  Wherever God has placed us, He put us there and gave us a job that absolutely nobody else can do.  Sure, many people can write encouraging things, but only I can reach the ones God has placed in my path, and the same goes for you.  We are where we are supposed to be, and life is about appreciating the God-given breath that we take and the talents and gifts that He chose for us.

So when you're tired and feel like failure is your middle name, cast off that lie!  Kick the enemy in the teeth with those glistening shoes of peace that you are wearing!  Find that peace that only comes from fellowship with the Lord, and smile!  Yes, smile!  Take a deep breath and picture your Savior and smile.  Do it for Him!  I bet you feel like if you were at Calvery watching Jesus carry His cross you would want more than life itself to take the load from Him.  I do.  Well, if you pick yourself up and thank Him and worship Him, you will be making HIM smile! 

And remember what He said, "Come to Me, all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.  Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls."  Matthew 11:28-29

So take the peace of Jesus and conquer the world today in the name of the Lord!  When we do what we don't want to, by picking ourselves up and trying once more, we are giving God all the glory, and we are beating the enemy with a holy stick!  Grab this day and live it for the Lord!  God bless you, dear Reader, have an amazing day today!

Happy Mother's Day to The Other Moms

Dear Reader,

I wanted to write something special for Mother's Day today, and as I sat at my computer this morning, nothing came to me that hadn't been said by someone before.  I tried and tried, but my heart just wasn't in it.  So I closed down and went to get ready for church.  I thought about just putting "Happy Mother's Day" out there, but then thought otherwise. 

I try to encourage with this blog, or to lift spirits or to be a vessel that God uses to get His message across.  While I was getting ready for church, God opened the window of my heart and placed a very special message in me for today.  Although unusual, it is profound, as is everything the Lord has to say.

There is a group of Mothers that very few remember.  You won't find a card for them at the store full of pretty sentiments, and no flowers are delivered for them today.  They sit through this day cloaked in pain and sorrow because these are the mothers who lost their children through miscarriages and stillborn births.   For some reason their babies, the children that they would have cuddled and nursed did not live long enough to fulfill the natural feeling women have to nurture.  So they don't have a child making hearts with sweet but sloppy sentiments for them.  They can't see their daughter get married, or their son become the man she dreamed of.

God wants you ladies to know that you became mothers the moment you conceived.  If your baby only lived for a few hours or days or weeks or months in utero, you were and still are, a mother.  Your child is sitting at God's side, alive, and happy, and waiting for you.  Do not feel sorrow or pain anymore.  Although in this world you can't hold that child, you will one day!  You were the vessel God used for creating a life.  We can't begin to understand why God does what He does, but we must remember that every single thing He does is filled with love.

He knows how you feel.  He wants you to know that you are much stronger than you think.  You have grown to take that same love you would have had for your own children, and you have given it to other people's children.  You have watched and wished, but you have loved beyond what most people can imagine.  You have found that place in your heart to give to others unselfishly.  You have been an example of grace.

Ladies, I honor you today!  I wish you joy and fulfillment in the ways that God has given you gifts and talents.  I admire you for being so strong.  Please, take my best and most heartfelt wishes for a Happy Mother's Day!  God is still blessing you, and although some of you may not know or understand how, He is, and it will become apparent to you in His time. 

My own daughter suffered a miscarriage two years ago the day after finding out she was pregnant.  In that short 12 hour period, my husband and I had discussed who it would look more like, how that Christmas there would be a baby in the house, and how absolutely delighted we were.  But things did not turn out the way we all expected.  But still, she is a Mom, a beautiful woman who loves her friends and her parents, and who nurtures me when I need it.  The traits of motherhood are still in her, although she is not aware.  And one day that beautiful child will reach for her while angels sing praises to God.  And she will know, as will all you Moms, what a holy and blessed reward it is from God to be a Mother. 

For all those Moms that have only been a Mom to a dog or cat, thank you and Happy Mother's Day to you as well.  Thank you for taking care of God's creatures as He tells us to in the Bible. 

Happy Mother's Day!  May you see God's blessings all around you today!  You are special and have a special gift that no one else does.  Smile, and feel joy today!  He is in your heart, loving you!

"For He Himself has said, 'I will never leave you nor forsake you.'"  Hebrews 13:5

Dear Father God, Thank You

Dear Father God,

I didn't know her face yet, I couldn't even imagine what she would look like, not even her gender.  But I loved her.  She was the child I was carrying because I wanted to be a mom, and You had answered that prayer.  I remember it was October 8, 1981 when I found out I was pregnant!  My greatest wish had come true! 

I couldn't wait to 'show.'  I wanted the whole world to know that I was having a baby.  I gained my 29 pounds but never got very big, except in my face and hands.  I had a wonderful pregnancy, the loving husband you gave me had the morning sickness for me! 

I very much wanted to give birth on Mother's Day, Father, but You had other plans.  She arrived five and a half hours after Mother's Day ended.  She had little wisps of blonde hair, the darkest blue eyes, she was 19.5 inches long, and weighed only 4.9 pounds.  She had hypoglycemia so they did a partial transfusion when she was only a few hours old.  They wouldn't use my blood and that broke my heart.  They said it was too tired from 18 hours of labor.  I could give her the blood that sustained her through my pregnancy, but not to raise her billiruben count.

I couldn't hold her for eight hours because she had an IV in her head.  Every 30 minutes the nurses would pierce her feet to take blood.  My poor baby's feet had these V marks all over them.  I can imagine how much that must have confused and hurt her.  Pain, for the very first time in her life.  Again and again, every 30 minutes and then every few hours after the transfusion.  If only I could have taken her pain.  But You had already done that, hadn't You? 

We named our daughter Mary Christine.  She was beautiful.  We came home from the hospital four days after she was born.  Eventually her eyes turned to a light brown hazel.  She was a smart child.  She was speaking sentences at 16 months, whistling at two, and snapping her fingers at three.  She was swimming at four and becoming more and more lovely as she grew.  Her first day of kindergarten was so hard for me.  She didn't have any problem, but I did.  I came home and cried.  Now she would have lots of friends and wouldn't need me as much.  Thank You for the time we had getting to know each other, just the two of us.  I know that in Your kindness and wisdom You would see to it that the formative years would be ours.  I didn't have to put her in a daycare, I was able to be at home and watch her grow.  I very much appreciate that, Lord, our time of being apart would come soon enough.

She gave herself to Jesus when she was five years old.  I still see the little blue bow in her hair bouncing up and down as she walked up the aisle for an alter call!  When she was young she wanted to be a youth minister.  Oh Father, she was so excited about going to youth church!  She found You in ways that I could never teach her.

Before we knew it she was going to college and engaged to be married to the boy she had met just a few days after school started at the new town we had moved to.  They had been together for five years by then.  You had brought her to this very special place in her life.  You were the one to nurture her and speak words of wisdom to her when I was not there.  You helped her to grow up and kept her healthy.  The world was at her fingertips!

My Mary was the most beautiful bride I ever saw!  It's true.  She was extraordinarily beautiful!  Love and the promise of a lifetime of happiness was all over her and her husband.  You were right there, Father, the third cord.  They arrived at the reception in a beautiful carriage drawn by white horses.  Their first dance was so sweet.  You blessed them and called them 'one.'   Her Dad and I cried that day, we were giving her away to someone else to take care of her.    You never gave her away, or him, you stayed right there with them. 

Then off to the honeymoon they went, and it was the first time she and I didn't talk every night.  She lived just an hour away, but then they moved four hours away.  We still spoke every night and she visited every couple of months.  Her husband got a job closer to here, and it was wonderful seeing them more often. 

Father, I became a mother 30 years ago today when you placed that baby in to my arms.  She doesn't live close by anymore, and we no longer talk on the phone every night.  I miss her terribly, but know that my job as a mom is different now.  I still want to sweep her into my arms and make any bad day she may have had be better.   I want to always have that shoulder for her to cry on and be there for her.  I want to hear about the fun things she is doing.  I want her life to be all she wanted it to be and I want her to always remember that You are there, watching and loving. 

God, You gave me the greatest of blessings when You brought my husband into my life.  You blessed us with each other and then blessed us with our Mary.  There is nobody like her in my life.  She is so vitally important to me and her Dad and her husband.  She is a gift from You, Lord. 

Today I wish her the happiest of birthdays, the most joyous of days, the answers to all life's questions, and a wisdom that only You can bestow on her.  I ask Your divine protection for her life, and that You bless her coming and bless her going.  I know that Your angels have charge over her and that You hold her right hand.  I know that You are in charge and in control of all of our lives. 

Thank You again, dear Father, for my precious baby girl!  You are such an awesome God to give me such a gift.  So today, on her 30th birthday, I say, thank You, Lord, for Your grace and kindness.  

Love always, 
Your daughter, Deirdre

"For He has strengthened the bars of your gates; He has blessed your children within you."  Psalm 147:12-14

"But Jesus said, “Let the little children come to Me, and do not forbid them; for of such is the kingdom of heaven.”  Matt 19:14

Dear Mary, Happy Birthday my beautiful girl! I love you!  This is for you with tons of love!
Mama xoxo

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BIpcMfQfvm4