Today was a wonderful day… a few of you dropped by and it was fun to spend time visiting!
God is awesome! I was blessed with a profit of over $500; I’m not sure how that happened as my backyard is still full of items; these items will slowly be repacked throughout the week for next time. As a neighborhood there were about 13 families participating… it was so successful that we will be doing this again toward the end of October.
My little Nicholas left Thursday for Mammoth… he has gone with grandpa, grandma, aunts and uncles… He was so excited when getting ready to leave; he is getting to spend more time with his seven week old uncle and five year old aunt. He is going fishing for the first time and if I do say so myself, he was quite adorable as he left with his fishing pole in one hand and tackle box in the other.
The house has been so quiet since Thursday… I have had much time to sit and think about the many things that are going on... As I sat around Thursday night enjoying my first quiet evening in many months my mind began to wonder… then worry and anxiety sat in…
On Tuesday of this past week, my son (Ricky – 22 years old) had a stress test on his heart. When he went in for this I fully expected the test to come back normal, instead we were told that he has a mitral valve prolapse.
Now for many people this is something that will never bother them. There are several reasons why this may be more serious for Rick. My father had this same valve rupture about 10 years ago and at this point it is believed that Rick’s heart problem is hereditary. Additionally Rick is continuing to suffer rather severe chest pains, a continued rapid heart rate, and is extremely tired (all the time).
Rick was supposed to immediately be put on a heart monitor; however, with what I believe was a bit of denial on his part combined with the lack of follow up from the cardiologist staff this didn’t happen. Next week he will have his heart monitored for a period of at least 24 hours and we will hopefully have the results soon thereafter.
At this point we aren’t sure what the treatment will be, the choices are actually quite simple; medication or open heart surgery.
Now, as the mother of what was a relatively healthy young man a few months ago this news has been a bit difficult to deal with.
Some of you may find this hard to believe, but I still trust that my Lord is in control of what is happening. When I wake in the morning the first thing I do is speak with my Lord and spend time in His Word, but at this time I find myself needing more than that. In discussing this with PR (Pastor Ron) he suggested that I set aside several times throughout the day to pray and meditate on the Word of God. In this I can purpose to keep my mind set on Him and not on the worries that seem to be surrounding me at this point. That is exactly what I have started to do… once again I have been filled with the peace and joy that only Christ can give.
Don’t get me wrong, I still have my times of extreme worry and anxiety; especially when he is at my house and I see how tired he is. I now sleep with the phone next to my bed and wake with alarm every time the phone rings.
This is certainly a learning curve for me; I’ve learned to release situations that deal with my health and finances to God. However, releasing situations that concern my children have been a bit more difficult. This is when faith comes in… my God already knows the outcome of this and my worrying about it isn’t going to change a thing.
Philippians 4:6, 7
6 Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God;
7 and the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus
With this and just being busy with everything else (like making sure I have insurance) I still haven’t made an appointment with my doctor. I will do that Tuesday; I realized this evening that I’m not doing anyone a favor if I suffer a stroke or pass on myself.
And in closing, please keep the folks in the Gulf of Mexico in your prayers (this includes my parents). It doesn’t appear that Gustav is headed toward my parents but this horrific storm is headed somewhere and wherever that is they certainly need our prayers.
Much love to you all,
Diana
Saturday, August 30, 2008
Friday, August 8, 2008
August 8, 2008 ~ Weekly Update #38
Sit down and take a breath… this is all happening so quickly!
How great is my God!
Just moments ago my mail was delivered… in the mail was my retro check!!!
Remember that I was told this would take 7 – 10 working days. This check arrived in just three short days.
This money is already spent as I owe so much too so many. In fact it will still be some time before everyone (including medical bills) will be paid off.
However, the one thing you must know is that the first of this money will go to my Lord… The reason for my giving to God is certainly not because I have money left over; it is because before anything else this money belongs to God.
Leviticus 27:32
And concerning the tithe of the herd or the flock, of whatever passes under the rod, the tenth one shall be holy to the LORD.
Malachi 3:10
Bring all the tithes into the storehouse, that there may be food in My house, and try Me now in this,” says the LORD of hosts, “If I will not open for you the windows of heaven and pour out for you such blessing that there will not be room enough to receive it.
The verse in Malachi does not mean that God will fill your bank account to overflowing… there are many ways to be blessed by God.
Whether or not you choose to believe it; I have been blessed in so many ways that there is not enough room for me to receive it all.
God has so filled me with so much joy and peace that everything else is a blessing. It’s hard to put this into words… this is something that one must experience to understand.
I will be receiving approximately $1,330.00 every month for the rest of my life (I am now making to much money to qualify for state or government aid of any kind). If one was to look at the dollar amount in itself one would know that this is certainly not the overwhelming blessing that is mentioned in Malachi 3:10.
However, that is what I have to budget and live on and I am blessed to know that I can count on it every month. The blessing will come when God continues to cover me with His mercy and grace… I already know that every need will be met; maybe not in the way that I think it should be, but as I shared before, it will be met in the way that God has ordained it to be.
For those of you who would say you fall under the umbrella of calling yourselves a Christian then please continue to read on. If you don’t consider yourself a Christian then there is no need to worry yourself with the following.
If you attend a place of worship and you are not tithing then you are losing out. If you are not attending a place of worship then you should be… the Bible calls us to fellowship with other believers. Back to if you are attending without giving… then you are missing out on the joy one receives when giving to our Lord. You are missing out on being a part of what the Lord can do thru your giving both within your church family and your community.
If you are attending GHCC (the church I attend) and you are not tithing then I know you are missing out. (FYI… I have no idea who tithes and who doesn’t at GHCC.) You all have watched my life and how God has and continues to provide for me. You have heard from others in our church who have been blessed by giving to our Lord. Think for just a moment about how much more our Lord could do in our church family and in our community if everyone at GHCC started to give regularly?
You can continue to sit in the bleachers and watch how God blesses me or you can get up to bat and start experiencing how God will bless you.
For those of you who will continue to make the choice of not giving to God then my heart breaks for you… you are sorely missing out on our Saviors blessings.
To all of you, please take a moment to once again give thanks to my Lord for what happened today.
Hugs,
Diana
How great is my God!
Just moments ago my mail was delivered… in the mail was my retro check!!!
Remember that I was told this would take 7 – 10 working days. This check arrived in just three short days.
This money is already spent as I owe so much too so many. In fact it will still be some time before everyone (including medical bills) will be paid off.
However, the one thing you must know is that the first of this money will go to my Lord… The reason for my giving to God is certainly not because I have money left over; it is because before anything else this money belongs to God.
Leviticus 27:32
And concerning the tithe of the herd or the flock, of whatever passes under the rod, the tenth one shall be holy to the LORD.
Malachi 3:10
Bring all the tithes into the storehouse, that there may be food in My house, and try Me now in this,” says the LORD of hosts, “If I will not open for you the windows of heaven and pour out for you such blessing that there will not be room enough to receive it.
The verse in Malachi does not mean that God will fill your bank account to overflowing… there are many ways to be blessed by God.
Whether or not you choose to believe it; I have been blessed in so many ways that there is not enough room for me to receive it all.
God has so filled me with so much joy and peace that everything else is a blessing. It’s hard to put this into words… this is something that one must experience to understand.
I will be receiving approximately $1,330.00 every month for the rest of my life (I am now making to much money to qualify for state or government aid of any kind). If one was to look at the dollar amount in itself one would know that this is certainly not the overwhelming blessing that is mentioned in Malachi 3:10.
However, that is what I have to budget and live on and I am blessed to know that I can count on it every month. The blessing will come when God continues to cover me with His mercy and grace… I already know that every need will be met; maybe not in the way that I think it should be, but as I shared before, it will be met in the way that God has ordained it to be.
For those of you who would say you fall under the umbrella of calling yourselves a Christian then please continue to read on. If you don’t consider yourself a Christian then there is no need to worry yourself with the following.
If you attend a place of worship and you are not tithing then you are losing out. If you are not attending a place of worship then you should be… the Bible calls us to fellowship with other believers. Back to if you are attending without giving… then you are missing out on the joy one receives when giving to our Lord. You are missing out on being a part of what the Lord can do thru your giving both within your church family and your community.
If you are attending GHCC (the church I attend) and you are not tithing then I know you are missing out. (FYI… I have no idea who tithes and who doesn’t at GHCC.) You all have watched my life and how God has and continues to provide for me. You have heard from others in our church who have been blessed by giving to our Lord. Think for just a moment about how much more our Lord could do in our church family and in our community if everyone at GHCC started to give regularly?
You can continue to sit in the bleachers and watch how God blesses me or you can get up to bat and start experiencing how God will bless you.
For those of you who will continue to make the choice of not giving to God then my heart breaks for you… you are sorely missing out on our Saviors blessings.
To all of you, please take a moment to once again give thanks to my Lord for what happened today.
Hugs,
Diana
Tuesday, August 5, 2008
August 5, 2008 ~ Weekly Update #37
Great is the Lord and worthy of glory……..
Great is the Lord and worthy of praise…….
Last night shortly after 5:00pm I received a phone call from the office of Social Security. The call was coming in from the supervisor; of the manager; of my case worker.
She had just gotten off the phone with a supervisor at the Federal Reserve. She informed me that my case had been taken out of review and that she would call me Tuesday as soon as she received additional information.
This morning (Tuesday) I received another phone call from her… this time it was to tell me that I will be receiving two checks within the next 7 – 10 days. One check with the correct monthly amount (approximately) $1,340 and the second check being retro pay.
I immediately began praising my Lord for answering this prayer and for providing for me over the last 3 ½ years.
There were many times that God would allow me to fall out of the nest and I would flail about while I was trying to figure out where we would get food to eat or how the rent or utilities would be paid. Sometimes God would let me thrash around for awhile (sometimes days)…
God never went anywhere; I simply elected to try to figure it out on my own; once I released my hold on the situation and gave it back to God I was immediately filled with His peace.
The problems were never solved the way I would have done it; they were solved the way God designed for them to be…
With God being in complete control of my life I am still living in this gorgeous three bedroom home with plenty of food to eat and wanting for nothing.
God provided thru so many of you… the yard sale last year, one couple handed me a check for $1,000; other’s (many of you) loaned me money; others gave me money as much and as often as you could.
Others of you continue to bring food to my home; you have continued to bring things over that can be sold either on eBay or in another yard sale. (By the way we are doing a yard sale at my house on Saturday, August 30th – more details to follow).
Even this week; two different families are separately giving us two bedroom sets; this is something that have been in need of; one for Nicholas and one for my daughter.
Then there were the great folks at Children’s Hunger Fund… saying thank you to them just isn’t enough. There were many days that we would have gone without eating a decent meal if it weren’t for them. http://www.childrenshungerfund.org/
This past Christmas so many of you went above and beyond in being generous; this included our own West Valley Division Police Department. We had more presents under the tree this past year then we have ever had before.
And then there were those of you who simply prayed for me daily… that meant more to me then you will ever know.
So please take a moment out of your busy day and give God thanks for all that He has done and for all that He is continuing to do.
As a side note… for those of you who will… please pray for my son Rick (22 years old)… Rick is finally getting in to see a cardiologist tomorrow (Wednesday) at 4:00pm.
Please pray that God will give his doctor wisdom above and beyond his years and education. That the proper tests will be ordered and the correct diagnosis will be made.
With much praise to my Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ...
Diana
Great is the Lord and worthy of praise…….
Last night shortly after 5:00pm I received a phone call from the office of Social Security. The call was coming in from the supervisor; of the manager; of my case worker.
She had just gotten off the phone with a supervisor at the Federal Reserve. She informed me that my case had been taken out of review and that she would call me Tuesday as soon as she received additional information.
This morning (Tuesday) I received another phone call from her… this time it was to tell me that I will be receiving two checks within the next 7 – 10 days. One check with the correct monthly amount (approximately) $1,340 and the second check being retro pay.
I immediately began praising my Lord for answering this prayer and for providing for me over the last 3 ½ years.
There were many times that God would allow me to fall out of the nest and I would flail about while I was trying to figure out where we would get food to eat or how the rent or utilities would be paid. Sometimes God would let me thrash around for awhile (sometimes days)…
God never went anywhere; I simply elected to try to figure it out on my own; once I released my hold on the situation and gave it back to God I was immediately filled with His peace.
The problems were never solved the way I would have done it; they were solved the way God designed for them to be…
With God being in complete control of my life I am still living in this gorgeous three bedroom home with plenty of food to eat and wanting for nothing.
God provided thru so many of you… the yard sale last year, one couple handed me a check for $1,000; other’s (many of you) loaned me money; others gave me money as much and as often as you could.
Others of you continue to bring food to my home; you have continued to bring things over that can be sold either on eBay or in another yard sale. (By the way we are doing a yard sale at my house on Saturday, August 30th – more details to follow).
Even this week; two different families are separately giving us two bedroom sets; this is something that have been in need of; one for Nicholas and one for my daughter.
Then there were the great folks at Children’s Hunger Fund… saying thank you to them just isn’t enough. There were many days that we would have gone without eating a decent meal if it weren’t for them. http://www.childrenshungerfund.org/
This past Christmas so many of you went above and beyond in being generous; this included our own West Valley Division Police Department. We had more presents under the tree this past year then we have ever had before.
And then there were those of you who simply prayed for me daily… that meant more to me then you will ever know.
So please take a moment out of your busy day and give God thanks for all that He has done and for all that He is continuing to do.
As a side note… for those of you who will… please pray for my son Rick (22 years old)… Rick is finally getting in to see a cardiologist tomorrow (Wednesday) at 4:00pm.
Please pray that God will give his doctor wisdom above and beyond his years and education. That the proper tests will be ordered and the correct diagnosis will be made.
With much praise to my Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ...
Diana
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