Heart Choices: 2010-03-28 -->

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Wednesday's Walk ~ Kristin Gets Engaged



I think it's time for another Wednesday's Walk Down Memory Lane.  It's hosted by Jenilee of The Goodwin Family blog.

I received some exciting news about my niece this past week.  Kristin Sumstad (my brother Steve's daughter) is engaged to be married to Kevin!

I thought I'd post a few memories I have of Kristin (who is like a daughter to me).  Since I'm the only family member who lives in Arizona (not Florida), every trip was special to me.

Kristin looks so young and innocent here.  I remember it like it was yesterday.

Getting ready for her dance recital.

Opening up a Christmas gift from Aunt Debbie and Uncle Greg.  I loved to shop for pretty girly dresses.  Hmm ...maybe she wanted a toy instead?


This photo was taken on a trip to Lake Powell.

Kristin graduated from the University of Central Florida in Orlando.  This photo was taken when she was getting all set in her apartment off campus.


Here she is with her BFF ~ Harley!

Harley is no dumby!  He knows the most comfortable place to sleep is in Kristin's arms. :)


This photo was taken on a trip with Aunt Debbie to La Jolla, CA.

Kristin and Kevin began dating two years ago.

Last weekend at Sea World Kevin proposed to Kristin on bended knee.  He had asked for her parents' permission in advance.  Good move Kevin!

Kristin says ...YES!

Even the dolphins are excited!

Kristin graduated with a Master's Degree in Speech Pathology and is working in the school system in St. Petersburg, Florida.

Kristin, I love that you are so beautiful both inside and out!
Congratulations to you and Kevin. 
Uncle Greg and I are looking forward to the wedding.
We love you!
QuickEdit

Say Yes to Joy


FaithBaristaLLogo2 I've recently discovered Bonnie Gray's Faith Barista blog.  This lovely Silicon Valley blogger enjoys serving up 'shots of faith for everyday Christian living'.  Being a coffee drinker myself, I love her description. 


Bonnie really caught my attention by a recent post where she asked the following question:

Are you driven by pressure or God's pleasure?

She used a quote from my all time favorite movie "Chariots of Fire".  Eric Liddell, Olympian runner and Christian missionary explained to his sister why he didn't want to give up running and immediately return to the mission field. 

I believe God made me for a purpose, but He also made me fast.  And when I run, I feel His pleasure.

To feel God's pleasure; wow.  Do I ever remember a time when I felt God's pleasure?  Or am I always driven by pressure?

I'm so accustomed to living my life in the midst of stress and challenges.  Some of these challenges are due to:

  • Consequences of choices I've made

  • Choices other people made

  • Things outside of my control

Don't get me wrong.  There have been times when life seems to be going along smoothly.  But then I find myself wondering what will go wrong next.  I hate that about myself but it seems if I let down my guard, I'm impacted by yet another challenge.  Maybe that's just life but my desire is to truly ...trust and obey God.

I read in Zephaniah 3:17

Did you catch that last part of the Scripture?  It says that God will rejoice over me with singing. 

Oh my, there's something about that picture of God that causes  my heart to be happy.  I love to read that He ...takes delight in me. 

Bonnie of Faith Barista challenged us to join her and write a blog post about how we can begin to feel God's pleasure more.  Step 1: Say Yes to Joy is Bonnie's blog post title. (I just went to link up with Bonnie and found out I was too late but I'm going to post this one anyway.) 

My first step to saying yes to joy and feeling God's pleasure is to become more aware of God's moment by moment presence in my life. 

Years ago I heard a lecture in Bible Study Fellowship.  Georgann, our teaching leader used a term that stuck with me.

Constant Conscious Communication.
 
We called it the 3 C's.

I can't tell you how many times it has come into my mind.  And whenever I remembered it caused me to smile.  Oh if only I could remember more often ...

Recently, I read from a devotional book called Jesus Calling.  The author Sarah Young writes the following words that spoke to my heart.

I am calling you to a life of constant communion with Me.  Basic training includes learning to live above your circumstances, even while interacting on that cluttered plane of life.  You yearn for a simplified lifestyle, so that your communication with Me can be uninterrupted.  But I challenge you to relinquish the fantasy of an uncluttered world.  Accept each day just as it comes, and find Me in the midst of it all.

This got my attention.  How often I've thought about living a simple life.  I want to avoid all of the stress and live out the life of my dreams.  No problems, no worries ...yeah right!

Saying yes to joy requires me to recognize that no matter what is going on in my life ...God is with me. 

I am not alone.  When I learn to trust Him and yield to His direction, I am calm and more peaceful.  As I pray and commune with Him throughout my day ...the ordinary becomes extraordinary.

I find pleasure in doing simple things like talking with my neighbor who is sitting in his wheelchair in the driveway or cutting a flower from the garden to place on the kitchen table. 

Photo Credit: Country Living Magazine

As I say yes to joy and feeling God's pleasure, I'm more aware of the birds chirping and singing in my backyard as the rabbits hide under the orange trees. 

The pressures and challenges of life are still present but the awareness of God's presence quiets my soul.  And then I can feel ...God's pleasure.

Blessings and love,


QuickEdit

Praying the Names of God ~ Yahweh



I continue to study Ann Spangler's "Praying the Names of God".  How timely this study is for me. 

You see, I've a tendency to focus acutely on the challenges I'm going through as I attempt to figure out my own solutions.  But  when I focus on who God is ...it's so reassuring for me. 

There is none like Him.  He is El Roi and sees all that I'm going through.  He is El Shadday so nothing is impossible for Him.  As I spend time in prayer, reading His Word and yielding it all to Him, I'm learning that I must ...trust and obey Him in all things.

This week the focus is on God as Yahweh; LORD

God revealed Himself as Yahweh to Moses.  As Moses was tending his father-in-law's flock, he came to Horeb, the mountain of God.  There he encountered a burning bush that did not burn up.

Here the LORD revealed to Moses that He had seen the misery of His people, the Israelites.  He was going to use Moses to bring the Israelites out of Egypt.  Moses asked God who was he that he could go to Pharaoh and bring the Israelites out of Egypt.  Exodus 3:14-15 says:

God said to Moses, "I AM WHO I AM.  This is what you are to say to the Israelites: I AM has sent me to you."  God also said to Moses, "Say to the Israelites, 'The LORD the God of your fathers - the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac and the God of Jacob - has sent me to you .  This is my name forever, the name by which I am to be remembered from generation to generation.

According to Ann's book, Yahweh is the name 'that is most closely linked to God's redeeming acts in the history of His chosen people.' 

When I pray to Yahweh, I remember that He is the same God who redeemed me.  How grateful I am that He saved me from slavery to my sins just as He saved the Israelites from slavery in Egypt.

I love that God sees and knows all that we go through.  He wasn't a distant God who was unable to intervene.  He cared about the Israelites suffering as they were in slavery in Egypt.  He intervened and chose to use a man, Moses to be His instrument of deliverance.

I can identify with Moses' reluctance to be this instrument.  Who am I?  Why would they listen?

But God told Moses what to say.

I remember a time when I felt the Holy Spirit prompting me to do something.  I was working as a nurse and heading to the hospital to make rounds.  One of our patients was in an assisted living home near the hospital and I knew I needed to stop by and check up on her.  As I was parking my car, I felt the Spirit nudge me to share the Gospel with her.  At first, I thought it wasn't my place as a nurse.  But I remembered how over the years we had numerous talks about her past.  She'd been angry at God for the death of her son from leukemia so many  years ago. 

As I walked into her room, I sat with her and boldly shared the Gospel.  I asked her if she wanted to invite Jesus into her heart.  She looked up at me with tears in her eyes and said yes.  That day we prayed together and Vivian became a believer.

The next day I stopped by to visit her and to make sure she understood.  I asked her if she remembered and she nodded yes and smiled.  Within three days from that time, Vivian died.

I attended her funeral and learned that her daughter-in-law was a Christian.  I was able to share with her what had taken place.  With tears of joy, she told me how she'd prayed for years for Vivian but that she was unyielding.  She told me that sometimes it takes someone outside the family to share the Gospel.  She had such peace knowing that her mother-in-law was in heaven.

How glad I was that I trusted and obeyed Yahweh.  He knew the exact day that Vivian would die.

How grateful and privileged I felt to be used me as His instrument to deliver the message of salvation to a soul in need.

Yahweh, the Covenant name of God saved the Israelites in Egypt.

That same God saved a woman named Vivian from her sins. 

Yahweh still at work today.

I'm linking up this post with Jill of Forever N Ever N Always.  If you'd like to view other posts or join in yourself, you can go here.

Blessings and love,



Yahweh Photo Credit: Linda4Yeshua
QuickEdit

Then Sings My Soul Saturday ~ Because He Lives



It's Then Sings My Soul Saturday when I link up with Amy of Signs, Miracles and Wonders.

I wanted to post one of my favorite Easter songs.  "Because He Lives" is a song I remember singing ever since I was a child.


I know I can live my life with joy and hope because ...His Spirit lives in me.

Happy Easter!


QuickEdit
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