God Is Able: Praise Jesus and Pray for Mike

We pray to the God who does immeasurably more than we ask or imagine. (Ephesians 3:20) Because God is able.

The last 2 weeks, I’ve shared our journey since my husband’s heart attack on November 18. Mike’s been in critical care now for a month. Yesterday, Mike had open-heart surgery to remove the temporary heart pump and place the permanent heart pump into his lower heart below the Left Ventricle.

The surgeon explained the risks during and after surgery and possible complications. The OR nurse called my phone every 2 hours for updates during the surgery. Finally, the heart surgeon consulted with me and my family.

Praise Jesus the surgery went well. We’re so grateful.

God Is Able

But we continue to pray to our God who is able. Here are a few ways to pray:

• They are watching his blood output from the drainage tubes coming from his chest. If it keeps increasing, he may have to go back to OR to find the source, clean, and fix. We knew this possiblilty for after surgery.
• For his kidneys, they put in a dialysis line on most of these surgeries, just in case, but so far his kidneys are doing well.
• For his continued recovery in the next 2-3 weeks to get stronger.

Again, we are so thankful for all of the 1000’s of prayers, messages of concern and care, and support coming from all of you and from around the world. To God be the glory.

Remember Who God Is in the Storm: Pray for Mike

Friend, are you in the middle of a storm right now? My hand’s raised. Last week I shared the story of my husband’s heart attack 3 weeks ago and how he’s still in critical care. But we can remember who God is in the storm.

Although this is undoubtedly one of the darkest storms of our lives. We continue to trust in our God and remember who He is.

Because embracing what we know is true about God strengthens our heart, gives understanding and peace to our minds, and keeps us focused on God—especially smack dab in the middle of a storm.

And it’s not if but when we find ourselves in one of life’s storms. So let’s look at some truths about God that help us in the storms of life.

Remember Who God Is – In Control

(1.) Living. Our God is alive and well. Jeremiah compares man-made idols to the living God. “But the Lord is the true God; he is the living God.” Jeremiah 10:10 (ESV)

Mike will have open heart surgery next week to place a permanent heart pump. Over the last 3 weeks and while Mike awaits surgery, we worship a living God who hears our pleas and prayers for healing and care over him.

(2.) God Does What He Says He Will Do. Look at Numbers 23:19, “God is not man, that he should lie, or a son of man, that he should change his mind. Has he said, and will he not do it? Or has he spoken, and will he not fulfill it?” (ESV)

During this storm of Mike’s heart failure, we rest in how God is always faithful to His promises. You see, God is the ultimate promise keeper.

(3.) In control. “For the Lord of hosts has purposed, and who will annul it? His hand is stretched out, and who will turn it back?” Isaiah 14:27 (ESV)

We find such comfort knowing that no one or no-thing can thwart God’s plan for Mike. Even though we continue to pray for his medical team’s wisdom and for healing, Mike’s life rests in the 

Remember Who God Is – Light

Matters of the Heart: Pray for My Husband

The phrase Matters of the heart describes our deep feelings. Emotions like joy, love, discouragement, sadness, surprise, and others.

This story contains all these emotions and more.

You see, the love of my life and my husband of 40 years has been in critical care for two weeks.

On a Tuesday afternoon, my husband Mike drove himself to our local hospital ER with chest pains and shortness of breath.

He called me at work when he arrived. But before I even made it to the hospital, they determined he had a heart attack and wheeled him back for a heart Cath.

Matters of the Heart

When the cardiologist talked to our daughter and me, he relayed blockage in several major arteries. Stents were not possible at the time because of the damage. 

Scary words and phrases wafted through the air taking my breath away: Acute heart failure, Cardiogenic Shock—injury to liver and kidneys. And, “The heart pump we surgically placed saved his life.” 

So my heart sank into my stomach, aching over the state of my husband’s physical heart. We cried many tears and prayed many prayers waiting to see him. And moments I felt it wasn’t real. This is a bad dream, right? Wrong. It was our reality. 

My Matters of the Heart

In the wee hours of the morning, the ICU team made the decision to transport him to a hospital four hours away for a step-up heart pump and great cardiac team. The care team suggested at 3:00 AM we go home to rest a while and pack some things before we made the drive ourselves.

But with Mike not sleeping in the bed beside me and our sweet pug, Winston, already with a friend, only tears fell until I fell asleep for a couple of hours. Still, waking up only made me keenly aware of the nightmare and journey I was on.

We made it to the hospital. And thankful our son flew in from Minnesota the day we arrived. 

A Roller Coaster of Emotions

“I wait for the Lord, my soul waits, and in his word I hope; my soul waits for the Lord more than watchmen for the morning, more than watchmen for the morning.” Psalm 130:5-6 (ESV)

How to Harvest a Grateful Life

It’s that time of year. We know how the season is supposed to go down. Besides pumpkin pie and turkey, we are encouraged to cultivate attitudes of gratitude. And there’s no better way to accomplish it than when we harvest a grateful life.

Such as these areas:

Count your blessings.

Be thankful.

Express your gratefulness.

Show your generosity.

And maybe we do and are these things during Thanksgiving. Perhaps some of us manage to pull it off most of November or even the entire year. 

But when we look at this list, do we think of our lives, our family, and more importantly, our God? 

Yet, how do we harvest a grateful life in all the areas of our lives, for the people in our lives, and for the God who gives us life? 

Even further, are gratitude, generosity, and thanksgiving possible January through December?

So let’s use the list in the introduction and unpack each one.

(1.) Count Your Blessings: Harvest a Grateful Life

Everyone brace yourselves. This is going to blow our minds! The Lord provides:

Taste and See: Recipe for a Thankful Heart

“Taste and see that the Lord is good.” Psalm 34:8a (ESV)

What are your favorite recipes? Have you ever told your kids, grandkids, or even picky adults, how they need to taste and see if they like a particular food?

I sure have. And it always follows with this, “How do you know whether you like it until you taste and see?”

But I plead guilty, too. Because I’m a texture person and sometimes it looks like the texture of a particular food is outside my comfort zone. 🙂

Whether it’s our favorite foods or trying something new, recipes assist in the desired result. And our hopes that everyone will Taste and see it is good.

Every Thanksgiving, I follow a special recipe to make my Grandmother Clarkston’s lemon pie. Yum! It’s my favorite dessert of all time!  She passed away a few months shy of 100. So it brings up so many special memories of her when I make it.

Taste and See Recipe

Recipes always call for measurements—a cup of this or a tablespoon of that. Likewise, we often make other measures in life. 

A real thankful heart never comes easy, much less during difficult years experienced in the world or our own personal world.

Because last Thanksgiving, our granddaughter, who was 6 at the time, had major inner ear surgery. By early spring, she had the same procedure again to correct issues not healing correctly.

While we were thankful doctors discovered the growth, discouragement crept in. Especially since she will never hear out of that ear again without hearing aid.

Hard circumstances affect our thankfulness, if we let them. Yes, we choose. Just as we choose to follow a recipe, we make a choice to keep our heart thankful toward God. Because HE. Is. Good.

Our circumstances never dictate true thankfulness in our heart.

So let’s look at a recipe for a T-H-A-N-K-F-U-L heart.

Thankful Heart Recipe

T – Taste and see that the Lord is good. (Psalm 34:8)

The first bite of lemon pie always reminds me of its goodness. Similarly, God reminds us over and over He’s a good, good Father. God alone is reason enough to give thanks.   

3 Spiritual Truths God Showed Me in the Mountains

God has a way of showing me spiritual truths when I least expect it. And what better way than on a getaway to the mountains.

I’m a girl from the mountains. Did you know that about me? I grew up in the Appalachian Mountains of Southwest Virginia. My hometown, Big Stone Gap, sits in a valley and borders several nearby states. 

So it’s just a hop, skip, and a jump away from my current home in Tennessee. And my current residence is not far from the Great Smoky Mountains. 

While we visit and film in the Smokies often for our YouTube Channel, I just returned from an annual girls trip to a cabin there.

The three of us have been friends since high school; me, another Karen, and Teresa. This made our 15th year. For four glorious days we talk, visit area shops, eateries, attractions, and watch Hallmark movies—yes, with popcorn in hand. This year we colored.

We not only catch up with each other, but we also rest and catch our breath from the ups and downs of life.

Here are 3 spiritual truths the Lord showed me.

(1.)  Talk with God Every Day: Spiritual Truths

Every year, we look forward to our talks with each other. Being in person sure beats Messenger and texting. Because seeing facial expressions and hearing voice inflection adds so much to words. There’s just something grand about conversations in person.

We share about our current lives, hopes, families, and pets. Also, as Jesus-girls, we can’t help but talk about the Lord, His faithfulness, Bible studies, and scripture. 

Likewise, God desires we talk with Him in praise and prayers, lamenting, calling out to Him, and telling Him about our day.

But remember talking with God is 2-way communication. We listen for His voice as we pray and dwell in His presence.

“Then you will call on me and come and pray to me, and I will listen to you. You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart.” Jeremiah 29:12-13 (NIV)

Look What the Lord Has Done

Oh, look what the Lord has done.

I love this proclamation. You know why?

Because I have bragging rights. Boasting in a Mighty God who’s done great things.

Do you have bragging rights in a specific career, talent, discovery, invention, award, hobby, or other?

Maybe you’ve heard things like, “She has bragging rights in cooking after winning the bake off.” Or, “My son has bragging rights in basketball as an all-star.”  

And it’s a big deal, Bravo! Way to go!

So it makes me think about our awesome God.

As one of His children, we have bragging rights to what He has done in our lives. What He’s done in the past and will do in the future.

And it’s a big deal, Praise the Lord! You are worthy, God! 

Look What the Lord Has Done: Loves and Saves Us

God loved us from our beginning. He even loved us before we were born.

Look what the Lord has done. He lavished His love on us through Jesus Christ His Son. The blood of Christ spilled on Calvary’s Cross for me and for you. Oh, how He loves us to suffer through lashes, pierced by nails, and died an innocent death to take our place for sin and shame. Thank you, Lord.

“But God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.” Romans 5:8 (ESV)

“But he was pierced for our transgressions; he was crushed for our iniquities; upon him was the chastisement that brought us peace, and with his wounds we are healed.” Isaiah 53:5 (ESV)

Leads and Shepherds Us

Blessings of Knowing Jesus as Friend

Do you know Jesus as friend?

Friend is such a wonderful and endearing term. And we all long for friends because they make our lives richer. 

I still keep in touch with friends from high school and college. Also, over the years, the Lord blessed me with new friends. 

You see, we moved a lot when my husband and I were in church ministry. So I prayed for at least one friend in every new town. 

Early in our marriage, we moved to a small farm town in a new state. Our daughter was only eighteen months old at the time. Gracious ladies from the church brought us dinner for a few nights.

Still, I’ll never forget the Sunday when a young woman approached me after a church service. “Do you need anything?” Her sentiments seemed honest and heartfelt. I politely thanked her and continued with: No, we are fine.

But as I started to walk away, I felt the Lord nudging me to turn back around and tell her I needed a friend. With the Lord helping me to be brave, I walked toward her: I thought of something I need, I really need a friend.

And you know what? We formed a wonderful friendship and kept in touch when my family moved again. It was a God-thing.

Created as Relational Beings

The good Lord created us as relational beings, first with Him, then with others. For that reason, it makes sense to not only understand the importance of friends in our lives, but to also celebrate a friendship with Jesus Himself.

But in order to find a friend in Jesus, we must find Jesus as Savior and Lord. I made the decision at sixteen to give my heart and life to Christ. And I found a wonderful friend in Jesus. 

And Scripture has much to say about friendship with the Lord.

Friendship of of the Lord: Jesus as Friend

“The friendship of the Lord is for those who fear him, and he makes known to them his covenant.” Psalm 25:14 (ESV)

Idolatry Scoots God Out of the Spotlight

Anything that scoots God out of the spotlight is idolatry in our heart. 

We often convince ourselves that our lives and hearts are free of idolatry.

Because we believe and serve the one true God…God Almighty. 

And maybe our homes are free of graven images we bow to or worship. 

But idols can creep into the sacred spot only meant for the Lord.

So let’s look at how present-day I-D-O-L-S scoot God out of the spotlight in our heart. 

I – Identify areas where God is not my focus.

Certain life seasons may cause us to veer off our focus of God as number one in our heart. Like seeking status, money, dreams, goals, things, people, positions, and more. What about an addiction?

But when we pursue unhindered and unadulterated desire and passion for the one true God above anything else in this world, powerful things take place. Idols fall from their pedestals in our heart. 

Ask the hard questions in our current season of life. Where am I focused on God? In what ways do I focus on something else? 

D – Depend on God alone. 

Is independence an idol in my life where I’m becoming my own “other god”? Because when I solely depend on my own efforts, plans, power, wisdom, and expertise, God is scooted out of the way.

Idolatry in our life is sometimes seen in our own independence or depending on things, people, position, social status, and more.

Culture tells us to strive for independence. God says, depend on Me.

2 Major Ways We Grow to Resemble Jesus

To resemble Jesus is one of the most important aspects of the Christian life.

But if we miss this, we miss the purest meaning for CHRISTian. A little christ.

My granddaugher, Laney, loves all things princess. She has princess dresses and dolls. And Laney sings Disney princess songs, knowing every lyric. Even to watch Cinderella or Beauty and the Beast with me is pure joy for her. My husband calls her little princess.

Many of her birthday parties have carried a princess theme. But this past July, her theme for her 7th birthday was Jesus and Barbie (so cute and sweet). Because in May, Laney FaceTimed me that she had accepted Jesus into her heart. We were overjoyed.

She has her own Bible and a girls devotional. Her parents are worship leaders at church and both Laney and her brother, Foster, know lyrics to many worship and Christain songs.

Oh, she still loves all things princess. But Laney loves Jesus, too. I pray as she grows, she also grows more and more to resemble Jesus, to become a little christ as much as she likes to be a little princess.

So let’s look at these 2 major ways we grow to resemble Christ.

(1.) We resemble Jesus as we grow in the aspects of Christ and His likeness.

We are each uniquely formed in the womb. Aren’t you glad God doesn’t create cookie-cutter people? I’m a twin but we are still each unique.

And we are created in the image of God. But our new life in Christ is about growing in His likeness.

“Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come.” 2 Corinthians 5:17 (ESV) 

The key to growing more each day like Jesus is staying close to Him—knowing Him, being in His presence. We let Him permeate every area of our lives.