Thank You!

I want to say thank you to some very special people today; and those are the ones that see that I eat every day.  They don't know me personally, but if not for them I would pretty much starve.  You see, I am not someone who knows anything about tending to a garden.  Now my son-in-law, he can take care of his needs without having to worry about going to the store.  If there was a food shortage, he could probably survive for a while with the food he has grown in his garden and canned.  He tends to the garden and nurtures the seedlings and knows how much water to give them and all that.  I know nothing about tomatoes or carrots or broccoli and how or when they are grown, so obviously I don't have a garden. 

But the farmers are out there planting seeds, and then when the time is right they pick the vegetables and somehow get them to the market.  Maybe the market comes and picks up all the produce from the farm, I don't know.  Then the drivers take it somewhere, to a place that must inspect the produce to make sure it is good enough to eat.  Then the packers take over and place the fruits and vegetables and nuts into bags or boxes or containers of some sort, and then the drivers take them to the store and unload them.  Some of the produce is fresh, some is canned, and some is frozen.  Each process requires different people to make sure the process was done correct.  Then there is the stocker at the grocery store or the sidewalk stand.  The grocer or the owner of the stand makes sure that everything is unloaded without dropping things or bruising fruits. 

The ranchers go through their process too, of feeding the cattle, pigs, chickens, goats, or whatever livestock they market.  They must get up early to feed and to milk.  They must be sure that the grain or feed they give their livestock is approved and healthy and free of contaminants.

Each one of these people at the supermarket who are hosing down the veggies so they look beautiful or inspecting the peaches before pricing them, or staying in the freezer in the bitter cold making sure the meals and frozen produce are ready to be shelved when the inventory goes down gets my heartfelt thanks today!

I just want you to know that your jobs may not be glamorous, but they are very important to me.  We customers tend to take you so much for granted, because you do such a great job making our lives convenient, that we don't even think about what goes into getting the food from the farm or ranch to our plate.  The cashiers and even the people that get the carts all work hard with very little thanks, and pretty low wages.

I want to recognize Brian today, who works in frozen at Wal-Mart in Austin, TX.  He is a sweet man, one who loves the Lord, and doesn't get much recognition or thanks from the hundreds of customers that come through each day.  But I know what he does and I appreciate that he is doing what he does so that I may eat.  God has blessed him and everyone I have mentioned with the gift of serving others, a very strong Jesus quality.  Most people don't even notice the employees unless they can't find something.  But these wonderful men and women have bills to pay and families to feed too.  And they have feelings.  They work to serve us.  And didn't Jesus do that very thing?  And He did it with humility.  We are all here to serve one another, and if we want to be more like Jesus we should practice that every chance we get.  Don't spill something and think, 'oh well, someone will clean it up, they get paid for that.'  Perhaps they do, but shouldn't you try to clean your own mess?  How would you like it if someone was visiting you and spilled something and didn't even attempt to clean it up because 'she's cleaning her house on Saturday anyway'?

So, dear Reader, next time you're at the store, why not go out of your way and bless one of these hard working people by thanking them?  I know it will make their day, and it will come as an unexpected shock to them.  How do I know?  I tried it a few weeks ago.  You wouldn't believe how good it makes you feel to hear "thank you" or "you're welcome" come from their disbelieving beaming face! 

Have a very blessed day, and to all of you who serve us by just "doing your job," thank you.  Without you I would starve. 

I ask that God especially blesses you and your families with an abundance of just what you need.  He has chosen you to do exactly what you are doing for a purpose.  Never feel like you don't matter or that your job is meaningless.  Oh no, you are very valuable to the economy of this great country and to its citizens!  I salute you!  And by the way, my husband and I hold you up in our prayers of thanksgiving before eating.  We are blessed because of you!

 ^“And whoever desires to be first among you, let him be your slave—  just as the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give His life a ransom for many.”  Matthew 20:27-29

“For you, brethren, have been called to liberty; only do not use liberty as an opportunity for the flesh, but through love serve one another.”  Galatians 5:13

  

Super Sweet Blogger Award

 

I would like to thank Catnipoflife for this lovely award, a wonderful blog that you should all check out at http://catnipoflife.wordpress.com/.  I am now obliged to answer the "Super Sweet" questions.
1.  Cookies or Cake?  Cheesecake
2.  Chocolate or vanilla.  If it's ice cream vanilla, if its a snack, chocolate.
3.  What is your favorite sweet treat?  Ice cream.
4.  When do you crave sweet things the most?  Only when it is time for ice cream.
5.  If you had a sweet nickname, what would it be?  Sugar dumplin.  (just interested in seeing who would comment on that one).

Thank you again, Catnipoflife!  You are too sweet!!

2d Award - Beautiful Blogger Award

Dear Reader,

I must thank Dicy McCullough for nominating me for the Beautiful Blogger Award way back on 31 May, and I must apologize to her as well for not posting it or acknowledging it earlier.  Thank you, Dicy, I am flattered and grateful to you for this recognition.  Ms McCullough is a retired music/kindergarten teacher from Salisbury, NC.  She has written three children's books, Tired of My Bath, Tired of School, and Tired of Being Different.  She also writes a human interest column for a local newspaper.  Please check out her website at www.dicymcculloughbooks.com.

The rules of this award are to:

1.  Thank the one who bestowed the award on my blog.
2.  Paste the award on your blog.
3.  Link the person who nominated you for the award.
4.  Nominate other bloggers.
5.  Post links of the other bloggers nominated.
6.  List seven random things about yourself.

Seven random things about myself:
1.  I am the middle of five children.
2.  I have ice cream almost every night.
3.  I absolutely love dogs like crazy.
4.  I used to be able to play Give My Regards to Broadway on the piano (it's been years).
5.  I have only owned a stick shift for the past 32 years.
6.  I have pulled over and cried at the beautiful Texas sunrises that God has given us.  Just amazing!
7.  My drive to work is 40 minutes through the countryside with no lights, stop signs, stores, gas stations, or anything else that would be distracting.  I yell "Hello Cows!" out the window in the morning.

Attached is the Beautiful Blogger Award

My nominees are:

http://linneann.wordpress.com/
http://elderyvesjohnson.wordpress.com/
http://www.booksthatsow.com/

Why Do I Write?

I write because it is the gift that God gave me.  I didn’t write for many, many years, and lost the desire to do so.  At that time I didn’t realize that it was a God-given talent.  About two years ago my husband started praying that I would write again.  At first I thought it was cute, but he prayed every day that God would give me the words to write.  After a little while I became annoyed, and gently told him that I had no desire to write, that was his dream, not mine!  And wouldn’t you know it, the next morning he prayed for me again!  Eventually it became my heart’s desire to write the words “that would encourage the weary and open the eyes of the blind.” 

In my journaling times and prayer with God, I have asked what it is that God will have me write.  Here is His response.

“I will give you many things to share.  You words will be light to the world.  You must always remember that words give life and death, and because this gift of words is one of the ways I will use you to do My work, you need to be consciously aware of that.  Speak life!  Not just in the things you write down, but you need to start making it who you are.

“Deirdre, you have to live the things you write.  There is no room for hypocrisy.  I know that you just now felt this was a daunting task – to speak always good, life-filled things – and because you live in the world you are naturally led to believe that that is true, a daunting task.  But it isn’t!  Do not speak despair.  I don’t like any of my children to speak of death and dying.

“Deirdre, your words are to bring life back to those on death’s door – the hopeless.  They don’t know what life is anymore.  They are lied to and believe life is misery, and grief, and ugly.  They are confusing death with life.  The enemy has twisted it around so that sorrow and grief and heartache have become a friend to many.  These are not friends!  These are death!  Since when is death a comfort?  Death is the end!

“That is why my word says that they are sleeping.  You wake from sleep!  You die when you give up and let the enemy tell you that there is no chance of healing, or of succeeding, or of becoming someone important!  Lies! Lies!  Lies!

“My word is clear on this!  There is salvation!  The reversal of death to life!  There is healing where there was no hope!  There is light – you saw it - where darkness wants to live!

“Deirdre, there are so many of my children feeling sad and hopeless.  They have fallen for the lies and they are broken down and bent over with weights of deceit.  I can’t stand to see them that way.  I have placed a gift in you to help Me to reach them. They are the brokenhearted.

“Words are so important.  The Bible speaks about the importance of words.  It shows the importance of words right from the beginning – I said, “And it was good.”  It was not supposed to change.  Underneath it all, the underlying foundation of the universe, of everything you all have in your life is ‘goodness.’  It was there first.  It is buried underneath debris of loneliness, unhappiness, broken relationships, sickness, and death.  But it is still there.  It needs to be uncovered.  Like when a teenager with a dirty room can’t find his keys.  They are here somewhere!  But there are clothes and books and phones and junk everywhere.  So he reaches down and picks through shirts and pants, and tosses them over his shoulder!  His search is valiant!  He will not stop until he finds his freedom – the keys to the car.  Finally, underneath the T-shirt, there they are!  Like gold glistening in the sun!  The keys!  He grabs them and runs to the door, already late for work. 

“Well, just as he had to remove all those things that were hiding the keys, so must you all throw off the filthy lies that cover the goodness I have promised you.  I give life, and life everlasting, in abundance.  What can be better than life in abundance?  Nothing!  The life I give is not filled with pain, it is filled with joy and hope and love! 

“Above all, with love!  This is what you all need to see.  When you speak negative and death, it hurts me.  You are throwing rocks at My heart, because you won’t listen!

“I have blessed your life, Deirdre, I expect you to understand that.  You have gifts that no one else in all of My creation has.  Yes, it is true, I have given inspiration for words to others, but it wasn’t the same inspiration I am giving you.  The subjects you will write may have in fact, been written about before, but not with the zeal with which you will write.  Your circumstances and experiences will bring an entirely new message.  It will be fresh and well received.”

So you see, dear Reader, I am using the gift that God gave me.  I hope that with Him speaking through me to you that you have been blessed and encouraged.  I pray that in some small way I have perhaps lightened your load or opened your eyes to see His love, His majesty, and that He has a divine will for you too.  Just ask Him what it is.  He will use you to reach others in a way that not one other person on the face of the earth can.  It doesn’t matter what your gift is.  Perhaps you draw, or paint, or sing, or listen, or tell stories with zeal.  Perhaps your hugs are welcomed by people, perhaps your smile lights up the room.  Can you read out loud and make the story come to life?  Can you act?  These are all gifts you can give away.  Are you organized?  Can you bake?  There are so many gifts, and each one is important, and each one was given by the Almighty Himself.  Be prosperous in your giving, for isn’t it better to give than receive? 

I'd like to thank you for following me and reading my posts.  It is an enormous encouragement to me.  May God bless each and every one of you! 

“For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.”  Jeremiah 29:11

“The Lord God gives me the right words to encourage the weary.  Each morning he awakens me eager to learn his teaching.”  Isaiah 50:4 CEV

“I have shown you in every way, by laboring like this, that you must support the weak. And remember the words of the Lord Jesus, that He said, ‘It is more blessed to give than to receive.’”Acts 20:25

Awards

Dear Reader,
If you noticed, I now have 4 awards shown on the left side of my page.  Some of these have been waiting months for me to post and explain and thank publicly for them.  Each one was given to me by someone different, but I need to recognize them for it.

The first one is the Leibster Blog Award.  This award is given to up and coming bloggers who have less than 200 followers.  "Leibster" is German for 'favorite'.  So it is the favorite blog award.  The rules state that I must answer the 11 questions asked by the person who nominated me.  These would be Micki Peluso's questions for me.

Micki Peluso is the author of the book "...And the Whippoorwill Sang." It is an amazing story of how a family's life was shook to the core by the death of a daughter at only 14 by a drunk driver.  I loved the book, the way it was written, and how I felt like I became a part of the family.  There is laughter and tears, and I give it a 5 star review.  You can find it on Amazon at http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_ss_i_0_9?url=search-alias%3Daps&field-keywords=micki+peluso&sprefix=micki+pel%2Caps%2C269.  I hope you will check it out.  I have to answer 11 questions, so here goes:

1.  What is your purpose in life?  Well, I believe it is to write encouraging things for others.  I believe that God inspires me and has blessed me with a talent that He uses to reach those that no one else can.  It is my work for Him.

2.  Are you currently working on meeting your goals?  I would like to think so.  I am writing three books at the moment.  I know that sounds kind of strange, at least it did to me when I first read of someone writing more than one book, but God has inspired me to write several things.  I hope to have at least one of them published by this time next year.  I am currently working on a book about trust, a devotional, and one about things I wish I had known when I was young.

3.  How do you find relaxation in this busy world?  I get up at 4am and go into my office to read my Bible or pray or write in my journal.  I only have an hour, then I exercise and my husband and I go for a 1-mile walk at 5:30.  Then it's shower, breakfast, and off to work just before 7am.  On Saturday mornings I get up around 5:30 and spend my time in prayer.  My husband leaves at 7 to have coffee with a friend and do the shopping, so I have several hours of "God time" which is the greatest time in the world for me.  Occasionally I am able to meet my best friend after work for dinner and a glass of wine which is wonderful too.  Oh, and ice cream at night before going to bed.  Nothing like it in the whole world!!

4.  If you could be anyone you wanted to be, who would you choose and why?  There is no one I'd rather be, then just me, Mrs. Tucker Tolhurst, and Mary's mom.

5.  Do you journal or keep a diary and if so, why?  When I was younger I kept a journal, but wasn't faithful to it.  In 2010 while in the International School of Ministry (ISOM), I started journaling again.  It was writing things that came to me from divine inspiration or just my feelings about things.  One of the classes was called 'Hearing God's Voice' by Mark Verkler.  It opened up an entirely new life for me.  I can now journal with God.  I write and He writes back.  That may sound strange, but God talks to each of us.  I am fortunate enough to be a writer and let Him flow through me in my words.  I am overcoming my anxieties about what man will say and just trusting God to work through me.  It is my heart's desire to please Him.

6.  If you could change the world, where would you start?  Right here, in my own heart.

7.  Do you value your friends and generally keep them for life?  I do value my friends and have some that I've known since high school.   I have others that have only been in my life for five years, but we are like sisters forever.

8.  Are you a good friend to others and to strangers who need help?  I sure hope so.  I guess you'd have to ask them though.

9.  What is your greatest dream and do you intend to reach for it?  My greatest dream would be to make a good living with my writing so that I could leave my day job.  I want so much to be a housewife again and take care of the man I love and write, write, write!  Someday!  Yes, I intend to reach for it!

10.  What brings you the most joy and happiness?  Laughing with my husband.  Walking with him in the morning.  We walk hand-in-hand and I carry the flashlight (it's rather dark at 5:30am), and we pray.  Seeing my daughter and hugging her is another wonderful joy for me.  There is really nothing else quite like it.

11.  What do you expect your readers to get from your writing?  I expect that they will be encouraged and know that God loves them no matter what.  I hope that they know that as children of the Most High God they are very special.  I also hope they realize that getting to heaven is only a prayer away (see the tab on top of this post), and all the good works you do won't get you anywhere without being born again.  I hope that my writing will bring some to Jesus and everlasting life. 

Thank you Micki Peluso for this wonderful award.  It is now time for me to nominate some bloggers and ask 11 questions.  My nominees are:

1.  Cherrye Vasquez  http://www.booksthatsow.com/
2.  Rosemary Adkins  http://www.extraordinaryireland.com/
3.  Patricia Garcia http://www.patgarciaschaack.com/the-by-ways-of-life/
4.  Sandy Humphrey   http://www.kidscandoit.com/
5.  Delinda McCann  http://delindamccann.blogspot.com/
6.  Sharla Shultz  http://awakenings2012.blogspot.com/
7.  Candy Bridges  http://candymariebridges.com/
8.  Linnea Larson  http://linneann.wordpress.com/
9.  Raani York  http://raaniyork.wordpress.com/2012/09/08/super-sweet-award/
10.  Linda Hales  http://theartdeli.com/

My questions are:
1.  What is your favorite holiday?
2. What is your most favorite memory?
3.  If you could go anywhere, where would it be?
4.  If you were your mother, what would you teach you?
5.  What is your favorite flavor ice cream?
6.  What is your all time favorite movie and why?
7.  What do you look best in, casual or dressy?
8.  Which do you prefer, dinner and a movie or sitting under a tree picnicking, and why?
9.  Mountains or lakes?
10.  Favorite person in the Bible and why?
11.  What time do you get to sleep on most nights?

Dear Reader, thank you for allowing me to tell you somethings about myself.  Please check the links to these authors, it is a very diverse selection.  I will tell you about my other awards soon.  Have a God blessed, Spirit filled evening!  Deirdre

Reaching the Unreachable

Have you ever been unreachable?  You know, someone who doesn't want to be reached?  Someone who cries out for help but as soon as it is offered you close up and run away and hide under a rock to fix it all by yourself only to find out that you can't? 

I have been there.  It seems that I can too easily find myself in a place where I want so much for someone to love me, to listen to me, to hold me and let me know that I am the most important person in their life, that I am valuable and worth their time.  I have felt insignificant around those that I needed the most to reassure me that I was worthwhile.  And then when they reached out to me, I felt like a burden, and said, "no, I'm okay, really!"

Except that I wasn't okay.  I wasn't anywhere near okay!  But something would stop me just before I grabbed the lifeline someone threw me.  I felt guilty for asking for help in the first place.  I felt stupid that I couldn't fix the problem myself.  I felt needy.  I felt that if they really cared they would have noticed without me telling them.  Why couldn't they just see?  Why do I have to tell them?

Occasionally in our lives circumstances happen through no fault of our own and cause us to grieve.  It could be some devastating news of a crime, a world event, or something much closer to home.  There are things that tear our lives apart--sickness, divorce, financial ruin, death, loneliness, or just the end of a dream.  How do we deal with things that make our hearts ache?

Why do we beg for someone to love us and make it all better and then when God sends them we don't recognize it as an answer to prayer?  Why is it so easy to run, to listen to the wrong voice and lock ourselves into a place we don't spiritually need to be?  We hide. We cry.  We think dark thoughts.  Why?  Why is it so easy to listen to the enemy's lies than to the promises of God?

Have you been there, dear Reader?  Are you there now? Is your heart so torn apart from the loss of a dream of happily ever after that you think nothing will ever make it better?  Have you made a mistake and tried to take care of it yourself, only to find out that now it was the wrong decision and you are too embarrassed or ashamed to ask for help?  Even from God?  Do you hide from Him because you know you messed up and don't feel worthy to ask for His forgiveness?  Do you just feel exhausted?

Do you ever ask for His forgiveness and then even though you know you should worship Him, you feel He wouldn't hear you because you made such a terrible mistake?  An unforgivable mistake?  Is it too hard to forgive yourself?

Don't continue to let the devil put lies in your head.  The fact of the matter is, God DOES love you!  And if you are sorry and confess your sin to Him and ask forgiveness, and then repent, He will always forgive you.  That is what He does, He loves and forgives those that ask and repent!  If you just have 'the blues' and don't even know why, you must look up, look to the Big Man in the sky and seek His face, His light, His love!

Accept that you are beautiful in His eyes, and that He died for you.  How could He not love you if He was willing to do that?  Don't run away anymore.  Just turn around and reach for Him.  He is right behind you, waiting to enfold you in His embrace, stroke your hair, and whisper words of encouragement in your ear.  He loves you, no matter what you have done.  He is ready to hear your plea and forgive you because He is all loving and kind. 

"Hear my cry for help, my King and my God, for to you I pray."  Psalm 5:2

"And the LORD, He is the One who goes before you. He will be with you, He will not leave you nor forsake you; do not fear nor be dismayed.”  Deut 31:8

"In my distress I called to the LORD; I cried to my God for help. From his temple he heard my voice; my cry came before him, into his ears.' Psalm 18:6

"For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life."  John 3:16 

Today's Simple Prayer

You prosper me, Oh Lord!  You fill my being with happiness and joy that can be compared to nothing I have ever know before.  With each new day my spirit grows, I sing from my heart and soul! 

I am so blessed I can’t describe the enormity of it!  Father, prepare me for the enemy’s attacks as I move forward in my growth.  Keep Your mighty hand on my back lest the enemy tries to push me off my feet!  Hold me close, dear God, that I may feel Your breath on my face! That I may see Your eyes on my life!

Bless me, Lord, in the way in which You want me to go.  Guide me these days, step-by-step.  Give me the tools I need to do Your bidding.  Speak through me to those oppressed.

I love You so much, Lord of Lords!