Happy Thanksgiving 2020

It's Thanksgiving 2020 and we still find ourselves in the middle of the Covid-19 pandemic. This time last year I would have never thought we would be dealing with such a devastating virus. Our world has seen death, sickness, layoffs, lost jobs, loneliness, and so many "normals" that seem like distant memories. With all of this going on it's hard to be thankful, it's hard to count our blessings. But it's very important to sit and focus on all of the blessings that we still have surrounding us. We must focus on our families, jobs that we still hold, new members to our family, any blessing that crosses your mind.

We must also remember this is a season, and as with any season, it will eventually pass. If you have not attended a Griefshare program, I strongly encourage you to seek out a class that will start after the holidays. In one of the sessions of Griefshare, Dr. Stephen Viars says this, "There is a difference between thinking this is a bad chapter and this is the last chapter." Yes, this is a bad chapter and yes this pandemic has again shown us as widows that we are without our husbands; as if we needed another reminder. But it is just that: another chapter in our journey of widowhood. So many are feeling the loneliness that we experience every day.  Jesus, who was not caught off guard by this affliction, lets us know that we are never alone.  He tells us in John 16:32-33 NIV, "A time is coming and in fact has come when you will be scattered, each to your own home (sound familiar).  You will leave me all alone. Yet I am not alone, for my Father is with me.  I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace.  In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world."  We have that promise to stand firm in that Jesus has won the war, we are just finishing up the battles to get to the victory tour!!!

As we go through this Thanksgiving and the rest of this year, focus on being thankful. A thankful heart cannot be downcast.  Focus on what God has done for you, the blessings that you have been gifted.  Paul tells us in 1 Thessalonians 5:16 NIV, "Rejoice always, pray continually, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is God's will for you in Christ Jesus."  Always thank God and give Him the glory with everything!! When we are connected to Him anything is possible. Apart from Him and we are like dead fruit hanging off of a dried up branch.  John 15:5 NIV states, "I am the vine, you are the branches.  If you remain in me and I in you, you will bear much fruit; apart from me, you can do nothing."  We must stay connected to His word, focus on His teachings, read Christian devotionals, listen to worship music.  Look at his beautiful artwork of sunrises and/or sunsets.  All the while thank Him for each moment, whether those moments are good or bad.  Praise Him all the same.  In Psalm 100:4-5 we read, "Enter his gate with thanksgiving and his courts with praise; give thanks to him and praise his name.  For the Lord is good and his love endures forever; his faithfulness continues through all generations."  

I am so thankful for the cross.  The cross symbolizes death but also is a symbol for renewal.  Christ died on the cross to give us a new life through Him, an eternal life.  He took every sin upon Himself and nailed it all to the cross.  Jesus shed His blood for all of us. He gave us the best gift, He laid down His life so we can have eternal life.  From another Griefshare session, Dr. Paul David Tripp says something that really struck me.  He said that the cross shows good things can come from bad things. The cross is where we take our burdens and troubles, anxiety, depression, dependence on any substance, our earthly idols, anything that takes the place of Jesus and we lay them down at the cross.  Jesus was nailed to that cross and He sacrificed Himself there.  By doing that, He wiped away all sin and the sting of death.  Yes, we must ask for forgiveness and confess with our mouth and believe in our hearts that He is our Savior.  When we do this, we accept His gift of salvation and an eternal life in heaven.  Colossians 2:13-15 NIV tells us, "When you were dead in your sins and in the uncircumcision of your flesh, God made you alive with Christ.  He forgave us all our sins, having canceled the charge of our legal indebtedness, which stood against us and condemned us; he has taken it away, nailing it to the cross. And having disarmed the powers and authorities, he made a public spectacle of them, triumphing over them by the cross."  The penalty of sin died with Christ on the cross. And for that we should all be so thankful!! We are so thankful for Christ sacrifice and His gift to us of eternal life with Him.  Psalm 9:1 NIV says, "I will gives thanks to you, Lord, with all my heart; I will tell of all your wonderful deeds." 

I am so grateful for Jesus, our Lord and Savior.  I am so thankful that God has brought us this far into 2020.  I know God is still right there with us, holding us as we walk the path of widowhood and this crazy path of 2020.  I am thankful that Jesus choose to lay His life down for us!!  Focus on the blessings and the good moments that inspire us to keep moving forward.  God has won the war, we are just fighting next to Him in these battles.  God will bring us through!!  For that I am so very thankful!!

Happy Thanksgiving to you and your families.  Stay safe and well!!  Love to you all!!

Living Hope

Romans 5:8 NIV "But God demonstrates His own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us."

What a strange Easter celebration we find ourselves in for 2020.  We are all having to find different ways to celebrate and to attend church services.  Whether your church does live stream or you meet over zoom, we have to be creative in how we worship with our church family.  Some churches are having their parishioners come to their parking lot and while you are in the safety of your vehicle, they are broadcasting the service over radio.  If your church does not offer any of these options, there are always incredible messages on YouTube by famous Christian authors or pastors.  Whatever you decide, I encourage you to attend some sort of service

So I want to talk about HOPE.  Hope is what all of us are searching for to help us cope with our new "normal".  I make sure that I spend time every day in God's word and read devotions.  I watch videos that are uplifting and encouraging from Christian authors and people that I know personally that are posting video blogs.  I try to keep my focus on God and what His word tells us.  Romans 15:13 NIV says, "May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in Him so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit." 

Easter comes at a perfect time this year.  Easter gives us hope that is immeasurable.  We only have to look at the cross and how it defeated the empty tomb to know the hope that we are given by Jesus.  Our Savior died on the cross for us and rose again three days later; leaving that cold tomb and giving us living HOPE!!!  

Two women had an incredible encounter that first Easter morning; Mary and Mary Magdelene.  These two women had gathered spices and set  off to go to the tomb that housed Jesus's body.  Once they got there, they seen that the stone had been rolled away from the entrance.  An angel appeared to them and they had this conversation that we read in Matthew 28:5 NIV.  We read "Do not be afraid, for I know that you are looking for Jesus, who was crucified.  He is not here; He has RISEN, just as He said.  Come and see the place where He lay. Then go quickly to tell His disciples.  He has RISEN from the dead and is going ahead of you  into Galilee.  There you will see Him.  Now I have told you."  Wow could you imagine being these two women!!  What an incredible encounter!!

On Easter, we celebrate that empty tomb.  We celebrate that empty tomb not just for Easter, but everyday.  Jesus didn't lay down His life for our sins just for us to celebrate Easter weekend. We need to focus on this hope that Jesus gives us.  We need to celebrate and be thankful for Christ.  Not just this weekend, but every day!!  Ohhh I know how hard being thankful is right now.  But sisters, friends, we have to focus on having a thankful heart.  Be thankful that Jesus laid down His life for us and rose three days later.  John 15:13 NIV states, "Greater love has no one than this, to lay down ones life for ones friends."  Christ blood on that cross covers our sin.  Jesus gave us the ultimate gift, all we have to do is accept.

Christ gave it all, we only have to ask for the gift.  Romans 10:9-11 NIV tells us, "If you declare with your mouth, Jesus is Lord, and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved.  For it is with your heart that you believe and are justified, and it is with your mouth that you profess your faith and are saved." 

As you can see, even in hard, dark days that we find ourselves in, there is always great hope.  Jesus is our hope.  He is bigger than any disease, virus, diagnosis, grief, relationship issues, any circumstance you find yourself in.  HE IS BIGGER THAN ANYTHING OR ANYONE!!    Christ is Hope!!  We have Hope in Christ!!  We just need to focus on Him and build our foundation of Hope on Him!!

1 Peter 1:3-4 NIV says, "Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ!!  In His great mercy He has given us new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead and into an inheritance that can never parish, spoil or fade."  Wow!!  What an amazing promise!  God's word and truth give us great hope!!  Please focus on His truth, our living hope. Trust in His will and plans for you and for this world. 

If you do not know Jesus as your Savior and you would like to talk with someone, please never hesitate to reach out to me.  You can reach out to someone that you trust that knows Jesus's heart and they display His love and grace. 

Have a wonderful Easter celebration and focus on our Living Hope!!  He is an ever present Savior!! 

Love and God Bless!!

Angela

Hello everyone!!!  Wow I hadn't realized that it's been over a year since I have blogged on this site.  Time gets away from me, and I am sure from you too and before you know it, a year has slipped past.

I wanted to write a bit about obedience and how important it is to be open to God's presence.  I know that the word "obedience" is sometimes a hard word for many of us.  It's in our human nature to rebel against authority.  Sometimes our rebellion is good when we stand for what we believe in.  With God, I feel when we disobey we lose out on blessings He has in store for us.

When God lays something on your heart and you do not obey/follow through with His commands you will miss out on blessings that He has for you.  Deuteronomy 28 1-2 NIV, "If you fully obey the Lord your God and carefully follow all His commands I give you today, the Lord your God will set you high above all nations on earth. All these blessings will come on you and accompany you if you obey the Lord your God." 

I want to use my example of obeying God.  God laid on my heart about four years ago to give new widows and their children bags that contain books, journals, and information on where they can turn for Christian support for their grief.  I kept putting God off because I didn't know how to bridge the gap between me and the new widows.  God kept nudging me to make these bags and work on the logistics side.  I finally obeyed God and after a couple of meetings I was directed to meet with Ann from Peace Restored. In March of 2017 Ann and I met and struck up a friendship.  Through our new found friendship we were able to set God's plan into motion to reach out to new widows and their children to offer them support, love, and prayers.  Following God's commands, I have been blessed with not only a lifetime friend, but I am also involved in a beautiful women's ministry that not only serves widows, but women that are in all types of life circumstances.  And the biggest blessing of all, having a widow's group that is now some of my closest friends and sisters.  I had a hard time finding a widow's group that I connected with so God blessed me with my own group.  They are such a blessing to me and they fill my heart.  If I had not obeyed God's plan and will, I would not have met so many incredible women.  We have been on two retreats that have refreshed me and made it possible to reconnect with God. 

I wanted to give you one of my examples because when you feel that nudge from God, obey Him.  There are so many blessings waiting in that obedience.  I know when we hear that word, we think of it in a negative light.  We need to flip that thinking to positive thoughts.  Psalms 128:1-2 NIV says, "Blessed are all who fear the Lord, who walk in obedience to Him.  You will eat the fruit of your labor; blessings and prosperity will be yours."  Sit and think about the times that you did not obey God and what blessings you might have missed out on.

I also want to touch on a tough day some of us are experiencing today.  Whether you are a basketball fan or not, the news of Kobe Bryant's sudden death hits hard for so many of us.  Finding out his daughter was with him in the helicopter just broke my heart.  I know personally for me, my heart is shattered for his wife and the rest of his family, his friends, and his fans.  The sudden nature of his death takes me back to Kirk's death and it brings back so many emotions.  Just knowing how Vanessa is feeling right now is hard to bear.  Knowing the depth of their sorrow that they are experiencing at this very moment brings up sorrow within my heart.  God gave us the power and blessing of empathy and I think we all can connect with so many experiencing extreme grief tonight.  Let's lift everyone up in prayer and ask God to comfort and sustain all of those that are grieving. 

I am thankful for a Savior that knows grief first hand.  When Jesus's friend Lazarus had died, Jesus went to his house and was encountered by his sisters, Mary and Martha.  Mary was told Jesus had made the journey to see them.  John 11:32-36 NIV tells us, "When Mary reached the place where Jesus was and saw him, she fell at His feet and said, "Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died."  When Jesus saw her weeping, and the Jews who had come along with her also weeping, he was deeply moved in spirit and troubled.  "Where have you laid him?" He asked.  "Come and see, Lord," they replied.  JESUS WEPT.  Then the Jews said, "See how He loved him!"  Jesus showed us that He even grieves.  He grieves with us, He knows the deep pain and sorrow that comes with extreme grief.  Rest in that tonight as you reflect on the past week and the week to come.  Jesus loves each of us and He is here in our present. 

I pray for each of you as you move along this week in whatever you have planned.  Please keep each other in your prayers and for those we have not met in person, grief does not discriminate and it does not care if you are rich or poor. 

God bless each of you and keep you in His care!!!  Love you all!!!