Author: Wendy

Not A Fight Against Flesh and Blood

Posted on by Wendy
Never stop praying.
Never stop praying.

Last Friday, I shared a little bit of my friend Ivy’s story which included her ALS diagnosis. I shared that she is a woman of faith. I shared that she is a prayer partner of mine. I asked for prayers for her healing.

I felt led to share how the Holy Spirit showed up.

I normally average anywhere from 100 to 150 views each day on gracefulgaines. My top number last month was 332. I always pray that Jesus will meet me at my keyboard to try to share His grace and His presence in some tangible way which may encourage others to do the same.

After spending time in prayer with Ivy, who is loved by the many people who have known her over the years, last week, I felt a clear calling to ask for prayer for her healing here in this space.

As usual, when we earnestly seek God, we find Him.

As of this writing, and it changes every time I check, 2,087 people have read the post, “Fighting for Ivy.” That’s over two thousand prayer warriors lining up to do battle for her, to intervene for her, to ask for Divine intervention for her healing.

Not only that, there are people in nine other countries besides the United States who have seen the post too. It seems we have begun a worldwide prayer chain here.

Joyce Meyer once said, “If you do what you can do, God will do what you cannot.”

We forget that sometimes. Don’t we? It’s our human tendency to figure it out ourselves or to fix it ourselves. We often go to prayer as a last resort. We forget the power that Christians wield in prayer.

We also have a tendency to forget that we fight a spiritual war on a daily basis.

Paul tells all believers in Ephesians 6:10-18: …”For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms.” He then tells us to put on the full armor of God; one of the parts is the “shield of faith.”

Doesn’t our faith teach us the importance of prayer?

Paul ends in verse eighteen by writing, “Pray in the Spirit at all times and on every occasion. Stay alert and be persistent in your prayers for all believers everywhere.”

Paul reminds us to be persistent in prayer. Ivy’s situation is a reminder not only of the power of prayer, but also our call to use it, not only when tragedy strikes, but persistently.

We have a lot of evil going on in our world right now. Are Christians praying like we should? Are we doing all that we can, spiritually?

Perhaps this is an Esther moment for all Christians. Perhaps now, on this day, at this time, we are called to pray and to pray persistently, for repentance for our country and for a return to God. He is still in control.

A prayer request for Ivy reminded me. Perhaps you needed reminding too. Keep praying for her and for each other.

Have an awesome day!

Wendy 🙂

Fighting for Ivy

Posted on by Wendy
"For nothing is impossible with God." Luke 1:37
“For nothing is impossible with God.” Luke 1:37

When I accepted a job offer at a local elementary school, a couple of months ago, I knew that God had placed me there for a reason. I didn’t know what it was, but there were way too many tiny pieces that fell into place one after another, for it to be a coincidence. My faith walk has taught me that there are no coincidences.

I have been blessed to be welcomed by a wonderful community of teachers, administrators, kids and their parents at my new school. But, perhaps the person who has welcomed me the most has been our nurse, Ivy.

She’s a quiet soul with one of the kindest hearts I have ever seen and a true healer. She loves every child who crosses the threshold of the clinic. She made it her business to tell me almost everyday how glad she was that I was there and I would tell her how glad I was to be there and I meant it.

The two of us would start the day in the office, at 7:00. The lights were still off and it was quiet, the way it rarely is in an elementary school. We would each talk about what was going on with our families in those few minutes of quiet and then we would pray together.

Afterwards, we would turn on the lights and begin the day.

Ivy, is a woman of great faith and an inspiration to me. She has recently received a diagnosis of ALS. You may remember all of the, “ice bucket challenges,” that covered social media last year. That’s ALS. The prognosis is not good. But, Ivy is a woman of faith and faith changes everything.

She confided in me that she had prayed about it and she believes she will be healed. So do I.

The odds are not in her favor. Fortunately, our God doesn’t play by the odds. We worship the God who created the earth, the God who created the human body, the God who parted the Red Sea, the God who sent us Jesus, who raised the dead and healed the sick. Do I believe He is capable of healing Ivy?

I do.

Everyone at school is asking how they can help her. Meals have been lined up and money is being raised and I know my sweet friend is grateful beyond words. She has told me so.

But, I also remember about this time last year, asking for prayers, here in this space, for a friend of mine’s sister-in-law who was going to Africa to help fight the Ebola virus, even though it would be dangerous for her. She too, was a woman of faith. God protected her and I believe we all had a part.

When we pray, we are standing in the gaps. When we pray as a group, the miraculous can happen. It has been said that while miracles do not produce faith, faith does produce miracles.

I am asking all of my readers to become prayer warriors with me for Ivy. I am asking that we remember who the God we serve is and what He can do, and the things that are possible with prayer.

One of the last scriptures that Ivy and I prayed together before she was put on medical leave was from Mark 5:34. Jesus was speaking to a woman who had been suffering for twelve years. No doctor could help her. The woman simply touched Jesus’ cloak. Jesus turned to her and said, “Daughter, your faith has healed you. Go in peace and be freed from your suffering.”

Let’s pray that prayer for Ivy and wait expectantly for big things.

Have an awesome day!

Wendy 🙂

 

Cradled in Prayer

Posted on by Wendy
A Sunday morning trip to the emergency room was an opportunity to Jesus at every turn.
A Sunday morning trip to the emergency room, was an opportunity to see Jesus at every turn.

On Sunday morning, my seventeen year old daughter, came downstairs saying she wasn’t feeling well. She said her stomach had been hurting all night. Her face was covered in sweat and then she dropped to her knees at the trash can.

My hubby immediately suspected appendicitis and said we needed to go to the emergency room. I wasn’t convinced. She was obviously sick, but there are a lot of stomach bugs going around. She said she was feeling much better, but he was insistent and having had a ruptured appendix many years before, I trusted his judgement.

We brushed our teeth and put on some clothes and headed to the emergency room. There are two hospitals in our area and both are good, but one is Catholic and very open about Jesus, so that was our choice. There’s something about a hospital that has a cross hanging in every room, that I find comforting. As my daughter would later say, “Jesus was in every room I went into.”

Indeed He was.

We were treated with great kindness from everyone who crossed our paths, from the registrar, to nurses, to our doctor, to our radiologist, to the nice lady who took out the trash, and every single kindness extended to us, went noticed by this mama.

When we got the appendicitis diagnosis and were told she would need surgery, I posted a picture on Facebook and asked for prayers. We had the first prayers sent up on our behalf within minutes. Within the hour, my phone had buzzed 25 times with people offering up prayers for my daughter and each one made me a little stronger.

Our pastor arrived and he talked with her and prayed over her and the minute he finished, the surgeon walked in.

In a day that could have been filled with fear and anxiety, I literally felt like we were being cradled in prayer. All day long, into the evening the prayer notifications continued. I heard from childhood friends, high school friends, family, my daughter’s former teachers, coworkers, my church family, our Salkehatchie family and other members of my faith family.

Each time, the message was something short and simple like, “prayers for her,” or “prayers going up.”

That’s all it took to bring peace to my soul.

For all of its negativity and for all of the political rants and ugliness that can plague it, Facebook became a holy place for me last weekend, a place where the light of Christ shone like a beacon. On reflection, I realize it can always be that way, if we choose to make it so.

The surgery went perfectly. Her appendix had not ruptured. The surgeon told us it took him like twenty minutes. We went home that night.

It’s been a few days and my daughter is on the mend. In the end, I had 90 comments and probably 85 specifically said they were praying for her.

I sincerely cannot remember a time when I have felt so blessed. When bad things happen, it’s so easy to ask where God is. I have often written that He’s always here, always with us, if we take the time to seek Him with open hearts.

Last Sunday, He was everywhere, in every face of our health care workers, on every crucifix, with every buzz of my phone. I have difficulty finding the words to express my gratitude to all of those prayer warriors who intervened for us. All I can say is my cup runneth over.

Have an awesome day!

Wendy 🙂

Labor Day Break

Posted on by Wendy

Due to my daughter’s weekend appendicitis, I don’t have a post for today. Her surgery went well and she is on the mend, but my entire family is exhausted. I hope you have a wonderful Labor Day and I will have a new post in the next couple of days. God had His hands all over the entire ordeal and I can’t wait to share it with you.

Have an awesome day!

Wendy 🙂

Giving Thanks for the Shade and the Breezes

Posted on by Wendy
Even during the hottest times, we can find shade and breezes.
Even during the hottest times, we can find shade and breezes.

My daughter and I have begun exercising together. We walk with a little running, several times a week. For years, I’ve tried to get her to exercise, just because it’s a great stress reliever, but she was never very interested. For whatever reason, this year, her senior year, she has decided to listen to her mama.

Maybe she’s getting wiser? (LOL)

We always begin our walks with a lot of talk, but as we work harder and breathe harder, we talk less. Yet, even though we don’t talk as much, we really enjoy walking together. It doesn’t take spoken words for each of us to know that we support each other.

A few days ago, we were walking and there was a nice breeze when we started. A little while into our walk, the breeze died and my daughter commented on how the heat was like walking into a wall, but as we walked a little further down the road, we hit some shade and when we hit the shade, we could run.

We never ran when the sun was beating down us. We walked during those segments.

Then there were the breezes that would encourage us to keep going. We reminded each other of the breezes we encountered on our mission trip last summer that allowed us to keep working in the all consuming heat.

I thought about that walk and our talk in the days that followed.

I thought about how those who we hold most dear don’t even have to share words with us to make us feel loved and encouraged. Just being near them is often enough.

I thought about life’s journey and how there are shady times when we can run and run, and we don’t even feel tired. But, there are also times when we can barely put one foot in front of the other, and we feel the sun ruthlessly beating down on us. If it weren’t for the breezes, we couldn’t keep going at all.

But, God is so faithful in sending those breezes in so many different forms. They can be a call from a friend, running into someone who can offer us guidance, prayers sent up on our behalf, being at the right place at the right time, discovering a brand new passion for something we enjoy, or reviving an old one, our church community, or a new job.

The breezes are anything and everything that God sends our way to lighten our load a little and give us hope. If we are vigilant, we can always find them and feel them, even when we feel we are in a desert kind of heat.

We need to remember that there are times on our journey to walk, and there are times to run. There are even times to rest, but most importantly, as children of God, we never walk alone.

A walk with my daughter reminded me. Perhaps you needed reminding too.

Have an awesome day!

Wendy 🙂

Hope in Every Season

Posted on by Wendy
If we look carefully, we can find some light in every season we are in.
If we look carefully, we can find some light in every season we are in.

As I sit and write this post, I can hardly believe that it’s September already. The summer seemed to fly by at a faster than normal pace this year. I suppose the older I get, the faster it goes.

Those of us who live in the Deep South, know that summer and its heat are not nearly done with us yet. We will have many more hot days here before summer begrudgingly yields to fall.

Yet, all seasons, whether we love them or hate them do eventually end. Even though it’s still really hot during the day time here, this evening, I am able to sit on my porch with my laptop and actually enjoy God’s creation, without sweat running down my back.

When did that happen? The slight cooling of the evening air, seemed to happen overnight, even though I had desperately been hoping for it for weeks.

But, seasons are like that, aren’t they? Some seem to drag on forever and we wonder if they will ever end. We sometimes find ourselves praying through our own sweat and tears during hard seasons, wondering if the heat will ever break and then suddenly, we can feel some coolness, some refreshment, some hope.

Other seasons, like spring and fall, seem to speed by at some kind of turbo pace and we would give anything to slow the season down just a little, just so we would have more time to bask in the beauty and soak it all in.

The truth is, our lives are marked by all kinds of seasons, short and long, ugly and beautiful, chaotic and peaceful. The Bible tells us there is in fact, “a time for everything, and a season for every activity under heaven.” Ecclesiastes 3:1

That same chapter also reminds us that, God has made everything beautiful its time.

Whatever season we find ourselves in, we never walk alone. Jesus holds our hands when we weep and He rejoices with us when we celebrate. He helps us up when we fall and always welcomes us back to the fold when we stray.

And even in the darkest, or rainiest, or hottest of seasons, there is always some beauty, some light, some hope because we have Jesus.

“The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness can never extinguish it.” John 1:5

“This is the message we have heard from him and declare to you: God is light; in him there is no darkness at all.” 1 John 1:5

Whether we are in a season of beauty or a season of downright ugly, we are loved and treasured. We are His and that never changes, no matter the season.

A little breeze reminded me. Perhaps you needed reminding too.

Have an awesome day!

Wendy 🙂

See You in Heaven

Posted on by Wendy
I will always treasure the lessons I learned on my mission trip.
I will always treasure the lessons I learned on my mission trip.

There’s a man who has been a leader on both of my Salkehatchie mission trips. He’s a retired navy fighter pilot. He’s completely white-headed and a force to be reckoned with. He’s tough as nails, just as you would hope one of our soldiers would be. He loves Jesus and he loves working with and sharing his faith with teenagers.

The kids have a deep respect for him as do I, even if they are a little intimidated by him at first.

On our last trip, we were finished up on our work site and we were headed out for milkshakes at a local restaurant called Rush’s. We were in three different vehicles. As we loaded up, he said, “I’ll see you at Rush’s or I’ll see you in Heaven.”

I kind of laughed and I must have had a puzzled look on my face, because he went on to explain that he always tells his wife that when he leaves home. He tells her he will see her when he returns or that he will see her in heaven.

I thought about that statement long after we finished our milkshakes. I thought about the faith behind the words. I thought about the dangerous job he had has a fighter pilot and then as a commercial airline pilot. Those are both jobs that I would think, would take great faith to engage in everyday.

But, I also thought about how we are never certain which day on earth will be our last. We could all go at any time. No one knows when tragedy will strike. But, my friend’s words are such a beautiful reminder that none of us are permanent residents here. We are all just travelers.

When he says confidently to his wife, when he leaves the house, that he will see her when he returns or he will see her in heaven, it serves as a daily reminder who he is, who he belongs to and where he is headed. It reminds him to make his days count, to make his actions count, to make his words count.

It reminds him to tell the ones he loves that he loves them.

The words are not morbid or pessimistic. They are a promise that when we belong to Jesus, something better awaits us. If we don’t make it back to our earthly home, today, or tomorrow, or next week, or next year, we are assured and our loved ones are assured, that we will see them again. We will one day be reunited.

They are words of hope that I feel blessed that he shared with me and I felt led to share here. See you next time or I’ll see you in heaven. I think those are words worth repeating.

Have an awesome day!

Wendy 🙂

Carefully Watched

Posted on by Wendy
When the world looks at Christians, what does it see?
When the world looks at Christians, what does it see?

On Sunday, our sermon was about the pitfalls for people who seek status in the world. It came from Luke, Chapter 14, and centered around people trying to get a spot at the head table. It was a good sermon. But, as the pastor read the scripture, the very first verse stuck with me, so much so, that I jotted it down.

Jesus went to eat at the house of a prominent Pharisee, the religious people of the day. They would most likely translate in modern terms to people who are regular church goers, who thought they were in the know, righteous, and living a holy life.

The part that caught my attention was, “he was being carefully watched.” That’s in the second part of the very first verse.

We can find phrases like that throughout the Gospels. Jesus was always being “carefully or closely watched,” but not for reasons we might think.

Most of the religious people of the time were not seeking to learn from Him or to emulate Him; they were seeking to trap Him. They were hoping to catch Him breaking Jewish laws. They were seeking to disprove his goodness, His Godliness.

When I think about how the world looks at Christians today, don’t we find the same pattern?

The word Christian, from the Greek, means follower of Christ.

When the secular world looks at Christians, what does it see? What does it seek to see? What do we show it?

Jesus’ three year ministry, consisted of a lot of prayer, a lot of time in the synagogue, a lot of teaching, a lot of healing, a lot of compassion and a lot of community. He did seem to get frustrated from time to time when people refused to listen. He got downright angry when people were using His Father’s house to make money. He also exhibited lots of patience and forgiveness.

When we go through our daily lives and we claim to be Christians, what does the world see? How do we behave at work? How do we treat the cashiers we come into contact with? How do we act when we are driving down the road? How do we treat our family members? How do we treat our neighbors? How do we react to the homeless guy on the street?

The world carefully watched Jesus when He was on earth. The world carefully watches His followers today. Are we carefully watching Jesus? Are we seeking to emulate Him?

What is it that we are showing the secular world that would make the people in it, want to become one of us?

Jesus wants our hearts, not our lip service. Our faith is one of free will. What are we doing to share with this sometimes dark world, the beautiful light and love of Christ?

The answers of course are as individual as every person who reads this, but in the end, we are all called to do something, to be a walking, living, advertisement and invitation, to be a part of the Greatest Story ever told.

A Bible verse reminded me. Perhaps you needed reminding too.

Have an awesome day!

Wendy 🙂

He’s in the Seemingly Trivial Too

Posted on by Wendy
There are times when we are simply called to rest.
There are times when we are simply called to rest.

On Sunday, after a church fellowship lunch, my family returned home. My hubby took our son out to practice his driving and I was running around doing some chores. I had a load of laundry to do. I had to make some more sugar water for our insatiable hummingbirds. I needed to iron.

My daughter was sitting on her bed playing on her phone. She’s been fighting some kind of allergy/cold deal for a couple of weeks. She hasn’t been sleeping well and she was exhausted. I told her she needed to take a nap.

She was kind of reluctant. I smiled to myself, thinking about how she didn’t want to nap as a three-year-old either. Mommy knew, however, that rested children are happier and much easier to get along with children than those who aren’t.

This mommy also knew that rested seventeen-year-olds are also much easier to get along with than those who don’t get enough sleep. Not to mention, they heal better too.

When she finally agreed to take a nap, I found myself tip-toeing around the house, struggling not to make any noise, a habit I picked up when she was still in the crib. She always had a difficult time falling asleep.

But, as I moved about my quiet house like a ninja, thinking about all of the things I needed to accomplish before Monday, I realized that I too, was completely exhausted. I had been cramming lots of to-do lists into my weekends and left very little down time for myself.

I had an internal debate. The house was quiet. I had some time to write without answering anyone’s questions or trying to block out the noise of the television. It was a very rare event these days. It was a gift. Right? Wasn’t it foolish not to take it?

But, I also felt another nudge, a stronger one, that reminded me that I too, needed rest to function well. I needed rest to communicate well. I also needed rest if I didn’t want to be a cranky member of my family. Didn’t they deserve the best of me?

Upon retrospect, it was so ironic that I could easily see how much my own child needed to rest, but I couldn’t see it in my own situation.

But, God knew. I pray daily that I can hear His voice and that He will guide my thoughts and steps and I know that the nudge for some rest came from Him.

I gave in and took a thirty minute nap. I woke refreshed and ready to write. I had a better attitude and the chores I needed to do, they got done anyway.

If I knew that my own child needed to rest, why wouldn’t my need to rest matter to my Heavenly Father? Am I not a child of His?

The answer is of course, yes. That’s the awesome God we worship.

He is with us in the everyday, in the seemingly mundane details in our lives. There are no cares or concerns of ours that are too big or too small for Him.

My tired seventeen-year-old reminded me. Sometimes I need reminding. Perhaps you needed reminding too.

Have an awesome day!

Wendy 🙂

 

 

Lessons from a High School Dance

Posted on by Wendy
The Creator of the peacock, created us to be creative too.
The Creator of the peacock, created us to be creative too.

Last weekend, my hubby and I volunteered to chaperone at the Bandathon, which is a dance held every year for the members of the high school marching band. I’ll have to admit that I was not looking forward to it. It was on a Friday night and I was tired from a long week.

But, band dances are different from other school dances and I was in for a treat.

First of all, there’s always a theme at those dances. This year was simply music and anything that had to do with it.

There was a girl who simply showed up with musical notes on her shirt. John Lennon was represented. There were rappers present and so were the Village People. The children’s group, the Wiggles, was there. We saw a disco era John Travolta and the more recent group, One Direction. Weird Al was there too.

It was a never-ending parade of different genres and musical styles and that was before the first song was played.

The DJ played music almost exclusively requested by the teens. It certainly wasn’t what I expected to hear at a school dance in 2016. There were line dances like the Electric Slide and the Cha Cha Slide. There was disco music by the Bee Gees. There was a ton of 80’s music and some newer tunes as well.

As I looked out across the dance floor at the eclectic group of teens, I was amazed at how they all danced together in big groups to whatever music they heard. Nobody sat out and no one got left out. From time to time, the parents jumped in and danced too and what did the kids do? They just danced along side us.

I have thought about that dance all through the past week. I have thought about how those band kids weren’t afraid to use their creativity. In fact, they were encouraged to be creative and no one was afraid of feeling stupid. They laughed and clapped for each other as they entered the room.

They cheered each other on. When the DJ played a song from the children’s television show, the Wiggles, the group dressed as the Wiggles, danced together and the other kids danced with them and clapped.

Can you imagine the average teenager, being willing to express themselves like that?

High school can be a rough place and so often, fitting in, is every kid’s mantra. Grown up life can be very similar, can’t it? Things from saying the right thing, to wearing the right clothes, to having the right job, to living in the right neighborhood, to having the perfect kids, can wear us out emotionally, physically and spiritually.

We can get so focused on being just like everyone else that we forget that God made each of us wonderfully unique for a purpose, His purpose.

We weren’t meant to all look alike, or act alike, or think alike. We are different and different is good, because when people of all different ideas, colors, styles, shapes and sizes, come together to let our light shine and build the Kingdom of God, the world takes notice.

And this world is in desperate need of all of our individual gifts and graces. A high school band dance reminded me. Perhaps you needed reminding too.

Have an awesome day!

Wendy 🙂