What’s the best day of your life? Love to read your comments below.

I remember that day so clearly, as if it were yesterday.  No, I’m actually not referring to my wedding day (I’ll tell that story in another post).  I’m referring to a day that humbled me, scared me and brought me to my knees.   I’ve never been the same.  Truth be told, over 20 years have passed since that life-changing day.  Please allow me to start at the beginning:  I was “saved” when I was 3 ½ years old.  At least I prayed a prayer and my mom said it took.  I repeated this prayer whenever a preacher came through town and scared me with word pictures of Hell, Fire and Brimstone; you know the “fire insurance” prayer.  No one would dispute that I was a “good Christian”.   I grew up in a Christian home, attended a Christian school all 13 years; we were in church at least 3 times a week.  Gosh, I was practically born in church:  our pastor introduced and then married my parents.

24 years later, he performed my own wedding ceremony.

My freshman year at Bible College, someone  I greatly respected made me question my salvation and challenged me to read the book of I John, write out the characteristics of a Christian and ask myself if I demonstrated those qualities more often than not.  This person was not insinuating that Christian’s are perfect, rather, that fruit is proof of a tree that had been planted.  Everyone knows that’s what trees do, they bear fruit.  “You shall know them by their fruit”. I’ll never forget I was all alone in a classroom on a Friday night completing this voluntary homework assignment I’d been given.  As I answered 15 questions I came up with from the reading, I had to reply “no” to 14 of them.   I subconsciously believed that of course God would let me into Heaven after all the good things I had done for Him.  With my head, I knew this truth:  “for by grace ye are saved through faith, not of good works, lest any man should boast.”

When the truth pierced my heart that all my good works were not good enough and that I was actually heading to Hell at that very moment, I about wet myself in that classroom chair.  I was filled with a fear that paled compared to the fear any preacher’s words had ever made me feel.  I feared a righteous holy God.

In that moment, God gave me a vision; I’ll do my best to describe the movie I saw playing in my mind’s eye.  I saw myself dangling over the pit of Hell, the flames ready to engulf me at any moment, I was being held back by a thread like a piece of dental floss.  I realized I was completely powerless to save myself and the only thing I could do was look up.  I saw Who was holding the other end of the dental floss.  I immediately thought of the verse, “Look unto me and be ye saved, all the ends of the earth”.  I was powerless to save myself, He was my only hope.

I looked up into those kind loving eyes and watched as He gently reached down, scooped me up, placed me in His hand and I heard the words of Jesus:  “No man can pluck you out of my Father’s hand”.  I never doubted from that day forward whether I was safe, Who I belong to or where I am going when I die.  I was humbled of all my self-righteousness, I was brought to my knees in that moment when  Love conquered fear, it was the power of the Cross, the blood of Jesus that cleansed me from my sin.  I can’t tell you how good it felt to have those religious chains of bondage broken off my hands and feet.  It is a weighty thing to try to be good all the time, feeling guilty because you secretly know you don’t measure up and never can.  I constantly beat myself up condemning myself with words I hoped would produce change, but it just produced more of what I didn’t want, creating more bondage and self-hate.

But now I felt peaceful, safe and secure in my Father’s hands, so loved and free, free to be myself and free to love others.  It was the day that changed my life forever.  Have you met Jesus as your Lord and Savior?  Have you bowed your knee, believed in your heart and confessed Him with your mouth?  He loves you and He’s waiting for you to turn to Him as the only answer, your only hope of salvation.  He longs to have a personal relationship with you freeing  you from guilt and fear replacing it with Love, Peace and the security of a home in Heaven with Him for all eternity.

Loving Jesus and Loving people is all that really matters!! 
I have learned it’s not about rules and religion, but about a relationship of love and friendship that has transformed me and given me a love for others, even those who hurt me.
I have found peace and joy and freedom through my trials and pain. 
Loving Jesus and Loving people is all that really matters!!

I would love to hear from you if I can help you find Him or encourage you in your own journey or welcome you to the Family of God.

The Pioneer Woman OK, OK, I’m wondering if I’m the only one out there who before today had never visited The Pioneer Woman’s Blog…I heard about her from my best friend back in Michigan about 3 years ago, but never visited til today…I must say I was impressed and inspired and I do admit feeling left out because I waited so long. I’d love to hear from you if you’ve been following her posts, what are your thoughts? What intrigues you about it? I fell in love with her instantly, her candid sense of humor, fun loving spirit and beautiful smiling face that invites you in to sit on the rocking chair on her porch and sip her iced coffee she just made for you… I no longer feel alone on my own life’s journey that has taken a huge turn I never thought I’d be facing. I’m about to become a pioneer woman myself or a farmer’s wife. You see, I was not one of those girls who dreamed about a farmer sweeping me off my feet in Michigan and taking me way out south to Texas to start a whole new life raising our children on a “farm”. Even as I write that word, I’m sure my face is scowling. I am coming to realize I have a lot of prejudices towards farmers and farming in general. Both sets of my grandparents were farmers; my parents both grew up in the farm life. It seemed fine and good for them, but I determined I wanted something better, something a little more fancy and I did not want to live in what looked like poverty to me, scraping by hand to mouth, getting dirty every day milking those cows and driving those tractors in the dusty fields. No sireee, that was not the life for me! Then I marry this strapping young farm boy who can throw an 80 pound bale like it’s nothing, a man who LOVES to get dirty and smelly and is happiest when he’s on a big tractor.

Here’s a photo of him farming in Africa starting a missions project with some of our best friends, having the time of his life without me and the kids…(really, it was ok with me that we didn’t go along, there was no running water or electricity for miles).

Watch for more of the story on tomorrow’s post…

I read this often, thank you, Andy Andrews

I am a person of action.

 Beginning today, I will create a new future by creating a new me.  No longer will I dwell in a pit of despair, moaning over squandered time and lost opportunity.  I can do nothing about the past.  My future is immediate.  I will grasp it in both hands and carry it with running feet.  When I am faced with the choice of doing nothing or doing something, I will always choose to act!  I seize this moment.  I choose now.

 I am a person of action.  I am energetic.  I move quickly.

Knowing that laziness is a sin, I will create a habit of lively behavior.  I will walk with a spring in my step and a smile on my face.  The lifeblood rushing through my veins is urging me upward and forward into activity and accomplishment.  Wealth and prosperity hide from the sluggard, but rich rewards come to the person who moves quickly.

I am a person of action.  I inspire others with my activity.  I am a leader.

Leading is doing.  To lead, I must move forward.  Many people move out of the way for a person on the run; others are caught up in his wake.  My activity will create a wave of success for the people who follow.  My activity will be consistent.  This will instill confidence in my leadership.  As a leader, I have the ability to encourage and inspire others to greatness.  It is true:  an army of sheep led by a lion would defeat an army of lions led by a sheep!

A person who moves neither left nor right is destined for mediocrity.  When faced with a decision, many people say they are waiting for God.  But I understand, in most cases, God is waiting for me!  He has given me a healthy mind to gather and sort information and the courage to come to a conclusion.  I am not a quivering dog, indecisive and fearful.  My constitution is strong and my pathway clear.  Successful people make their decisions quickly and change their minds slowly. Failures make their decisions slowly and change their minds quickly.

My decisions come quickly, and they lead to victory.

I am a person of action.  I am daring.  I am courageous.

Fear no longer has a place in my life.  For too long, fear has outweighed my desire to make things better for my family.  Never again!  I have exposed fear as a vapor, an imposter that never had any power over me in the first place!  I do not fear opinion, gossip, or the idle chatter of monkeys, for all are the same to me.  I do not fear failure, for in my life, failure is a myth.  Failure exists only for the person who quits.  I do not quit.

I am courageous.  I am a leader.  I seize this moment.  I choose now.

I am a person of action.

taken from The Traveler’s Gift by Andy Andrews