He Will Guide You

“The Lord replied, ‘My Presence will go with

you and I will give you rest.’” Exodus 33: 14 (NIV)

            Moses received his orders from God. He had doubts. Yahweh told Moses that He would travel with him. Moses continued to present his case. He was afraid that he would be leading the people by himself.

            We know God delivered on His promise. He led them by day in a cloud and by night in fire in the sky.

            He does that for us if we let Him. I recently attended a series of classes on how to better handle finances. I had to pay the money before the classes began. I was hesitant to enroll. We had a trip planned to go see our son. I wasn’t sure if I could spend the money on something that I might not be able to complete. (With the cost involved, I didn’t want to stop going part-way through.)

            In the kit that the class fee covered there was a pack of CDs, which had all the class sessions recorded. I missed one class because I had a sinus infection. I used the CD and marked my work book.

            After our trip, I again used the lesson CD and marked the pages in my workbook. At the next class, one of the teachers asked me if I had watched online. I told her I hadn’t but how I had again received the material.

            Then she tells me that if a student watches the missed lesson online, he or she receives a certificate from the website and that counts as a make-up class for the student.

            I came home and watched the two missed classes. On the last night of class, we all received graduation certificates. Had I not followed the Lord’s guidance, I would probably have continued making some bad mistakes in handling my money. That would have led to some depressing times for me. God knew my heart and led me out of my comfort zone and into the place He wanted me to be in order to learn what He has for me. I feel more confident because of attending this class.

Come, Rest

“Then, because so many people were coming and going

that they did not even have a chance to eat, he said to them,

‘Come with me by yourselves to a quiet place and get some rest.’”

Mark 6: 31 (NIV)

            In my past, I have been known to rush around getting things done. I remember one December I decorated our living room in 45 minutes. That’s all the time I had that Saturday. Our son was in elementary school, he was in the church Christmas play-that practice was two hours long in the morning. The pastor’s wife and director of the play had chosen that afternoon to have the kids meet again at the church and go sing Christmas carols to some of the shut-ins. And we lived across town from the church.

            One May, I returned home from work at 5:00, jumped into the tub, washed my hair. I got out of the tub and blow dried my ‘crowning glory’, dressed, got into the car and drove across town to arrive at church 6:15 to meet the committee to register mothers and daughters and guests for the spring Mother-Daughter Banquet.

            Present day, I know I can’t and shouldn’t move that fast. Age and its related aches and pains have slowed me down considerably. Also, God has given me several beautiful insights.

            In 1995, I didn’t feel I could attend the spring Mother-Daughter Banquet of the church I was a part of. I touched on my reason for my decision as I visited a lady who attended my church and who knew part of my background. She said she understood my reasoning.

            The night before Mother’s Day, the traditional night for the banquet, our phone rang, my dad wanted to come talk to us. When I toe Hubby, he thought it had to do with my stepmother’s health.

            When Dad arrived, he told us he had been to Indy to one of the heart hospitals. Previous to that trip, he had ‘flunked’ a stress test ordered by his primary care doctor. The medical personnel at the heart hospital wanted to admit him. He told them he couldn’t because the friend who took him down had to get home to receive a breathing treatment.

            The three of us talked. Hubby and I knew the importance of following up on this bad test result. We told Dad we would take him back down to the hospital when he could get an appointment.

            As I reflected on the happenings of that evening, I realized God had arranged for me to be home that evening. You see, as close as I can tell, Dad called about the time the banquet began.

            God allowed me to find peace about my decision as I had realized my friend truly understood my reason for not going to that banquet. But God had His own reason. He knew I needed to hear Dad’s news directly. God taught me a lot that May. But, in order to do it I had to be willing to step away from what everyone else was doing and allow Him to strengthen me for what lay ahead.

            Our trip down to the heart hospital resulted in Dad having emergency heart bypass surgery and a two week stay in that hospital. I wouldn’t have made it through without the help of God, praying friends, and my family.

Purifies Us from All Sin

“If we claim to have fellowship with him yet walk in darkness,

 we lie and do not live in the truth. But if we walk in the light,

 as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another,

and the blood of Jesus, his Son, purifies us from all sin.”

 1John 1:6-7 (NIV)

            If we say something to be true and our hearers discover that what we have spoken happens to be untrue, we are guilty of telling lies. If this happens over and over, we create a false world, a world of darkness. In our ‘world’ we only believe what our lies have caused us to accept.

            However, when we know the Lord, walk with Him, follow His instructions for our lives; we commune with those who are like-minded. God, through His Son separates us from our sin. He blots out all the bad thoughts, careless words, and sinful deeds-every one.

            When God removes the sin from our hearts, we realize He has cleansed us. I once said something to a daughter-in-law of a neighbor and friend of ours. My neighbor’s granddaughter heard me. When I realized I had been wrong in saying it. I felt terrible; I prayed. I wrote my neighbor a note asking her to forgive me. I realized the horrible mess my mouth had gotten me into.

            She called me and said she’d received the note and, yes, she’d forgive me. She then said, “We’ve been friends too long to let one slip-up spoil our relationship.” I knew she meant what she said and I felt forgiven by her and by the Lord.

            As I read this focus scripture again, I realize we can’t make false claims about our relationship with God. It is only when we walk in HIS light that we can experience the calming peacefulness of His presence. 

God is a Shield-RJD #5

(Journal entry for June 17, 2010)

            Background: My sister-in-law had fallen on her driveway and hit her head on June 6. The ER staff at one of our local hospitals determined she needed to be transferred to a trauma hospital in Indianapolis. June 14^th, the neurosurgeon called us and said he was taking her to surgery to release pressure in her head.

            Scripture of the day: “As for God, His way is perfect; the word of the Lord is flawless. He is a shield for all who take refuge in Him.” 2 Samuel 22:31

            God, our heavenly Father, protects us from harsh happenings, comforts us when we have to make tough calls.

            Today, Jim and I went down to Methodist Hospital, arriving on the floor in time to meet Martha’s neurosurgeon. What he told us was hard to hear. She had experienced several strokes inside her brain since her surgery. He showed us the CT scans taken over the past several days.

            “She isn’t going to get better.” The doctor spoke with compassion, His team stood behind us as he spoke.

            Even if she could get better, she wouldn’t be the same Martha we all knew and loved. Jim and she had talked about these things. He had already realized she was going to leave us.

            We drove home to get Roger and to make some calls. We asked Rita, our niece to go back down to the hospital with the three of us. One of Martha’s friends, that friend’s daughter and grandson arrived shortly after we returned.

            We sat and watched heart rate fall. It had been sporadic even yesterday, fall two points—raise three, drop three—raise one. Her heart rate fell to 0 at 3:26 P. M.

            Had her heart not given out, Jim would have had to held to her wishes and had the life support unplugged. But God didn’t want him to have to make that request. I am grateful that we were in God’s care and under His shield.

            That day, my husband lost his last living, sibling, our son lost his last aunt, her friends lost a loyal supporter-if only through prayer. We all know we will see her again. When she left us, she went to heaven and to Jesus. 

Link up to random-journal-day-link-up-5.html

Faithful

“God, who has called you into fellowship

with his Son Jesus Christ our Lord, is faithful.”

1 Corinthians 1:9 (NIV)

            “. . . fellowship with his Son Jesus Christ” God desires that we share together with Jesus. This sharing together might look like our sharing with a friend, which our Lord is. “There is a friend who sticks closer than a brother.” (Proverbs 18:24) 

            Having Christ as a friend means we spend time with Him-time communicating, talking and listening in prayer and Bible study. This means we make an appointment to be in His presence, intentionally setting aside time for these activities. As we devote our time in these ways, we grow closer to Him. 

            “God . . . is faithful.” He is always vigilant. Our heavenly Father stands by us when we have doubts. He helps us to gain perspective as we face our fears. He walks with us when we endure stressful circumstances. He calms our nerves. During times of hardships God guides us through until we come to a resolution of the difficulties. He is true to His word. He tells us He will not leave us or forsake us. (Deut.31:6) We will have times when we decide we can handle issues ourselves and take things into our own hands, living as though we have all the answers. He permits us to do this and waits for us to humbly approach Him and ask for forgiveness and guidance when we realize we have made a mess of things.

            It is when we come to God with our messes and He forgives us that we realize how authentic His faithfulness is.

Meet Jeanette Levellie and her Two Scoops of Grace

I am proud to introduce you to my friend Jeanette Levellie. She has consented to  answer a few questions I have for her that you might have wondered about.  Welcome to Following My King, Jeanette, It is such a pleasure to have you here today.

Picture yourself sitting in a booth at your favorite restaurant and talking with a new friend. You find yourself laughing at her antics and the situations she tells. The next minute you listen to her tell how God uses these incidents to speak to us. This is how the book “Two Scoops of Grace with Chuckles on Top” has affected me.


Jeanette Levellie, a pastor’s wife in the Midwest, writes conversationally about life’s events that she has experienced and how God has used them to speak to her. She captures these happenings in a series of snapshots and follows each one with thoughts she has derived from her experience. We could almost call these observations “Jeanette’s Philosophy.”



In this book, you will read of God’s grace, our need to be transparent to those to whom we minister and witness. She tells stories of her children when they were young, as well as humorous happenings with her husband, Jeanette explains how she hesitates telling others she is a pastor’s wife because of their expectations. She also tells of her struggles to do what God expects in light of His calling on her life when people ask her to do things. It was hard for me to decide which one of her devotional essays is my favorite, although there are some that I believe readers will not forget.



Besides writing, she manages an office supply store; she takes on speaking engagements and also sings.She writes a bi-weekly column, God is Bigger,  in the Paris, IL Beacon News. Jeanette is active in the blogosphere, contributing to other blogs as well as writing her own, On Wings of Mirth and Worth at http://www.jeanettelevellie.blogspot.com/


Jeanette’s Giveaways
You can win one of ten free downloads of my debut humor devotional, Two Scoops of Grace with Chuckles on Top for your eReader. Here are the very simple rules:

For each share of this post link on Facebook, Twitter, or your blog, you will receive one entry.

For each like on Jeanette’s Author Page or my Two Scoops Book Page on Facebook, or follow on my Twitter page or this blog, you will receive one entry. If you already like and/or follow me, mention that and I will count it.

Please send her ONE comment at the end of a post on her blog to tell me how many times you shared, liked, or followed, so I can give you the correct amount of entries. I reserve the right to verify all information given me, and disqualify anyone from the drawing who falsifies information. (Do not leave comments here to be entered, you MUST go to Jeanette’s blog post for the giveaway.)

Contest starts today and ends midnight, May 10, 2012. Jeanette will announce the winners in a blog post Sunday, May 13, 2012.

. . .and a $100 Gift Card Drawing~~~WOWZA!!!

After you have read/reviewed Two Scoops, check out my blog at www.jeanettelevellie.com for a contest to win a $100 gift card by answering ten easy questions about the book! After I receive your entry, your name will go into the hat for a $100 gift card to one of the following places (your choice): Amazon, Barnes and Noble, CBD, Hobby Lobby, Chick-fil-A, Wal-Mart, Olive Garden, Red Lobster, or Ruby Tuesday. This giveaway will run until August 10, 2012 so there is PLENTY of time for you to enter!

The author sent me the above book for review purposes. She will allow me to keep the book. I have no other connection to and have received no other compensation from Jeanette Levellie. The entire blog tour can be found at  http://jeanettelevellie.blogspot.com/p/blog-tour.html .

God Guides Me

Random Journal Day: (entry from 2010)

“The Lord is my light and my salvation—whom shall I fear?

The Lord is the stronghold of my life—of whom shall I be afraid?

“Psalm 27:1 (NIV)

God guides me through this place called life. When I face adverse circumstances, I never know when, where or how they will end.

I found this to be true in 1984 and 1985. It was true in 1989 and again in 1995 through 1997 and again in 1998. The next two years were stressful. The year 2000, I had to go with God and trust he was there with me during a very difficult time.

God helped me through a court hearing in February 2003 that didn’t go my way. Strange, it took a full year before the outcome of the court decision was completed. He helped me to do my best when I took a job. God allowed me to stay strong at the end of that time.

My Lord was with me in June, 2009 when we received word from the mortician that Dad had died. God walked with us through Hubby’s sister’s accident and her home-going in June 2010. He continues to help me through the times when Hubby’s health issues come to the forefront of our days.

Jehovah-jirah, He provides what I need and guides me through the dark paths that seem to always lie ahead.

He keeps me strong. I shall no longer fear.

If you would like to participate in this project or just read some amazing blogs go to Beneath the Surface- Breath of Faith Wanted Joy