❤ Lord, what a thoughtful Valentine You sent me through dearest Lovely A! ❤
❤ Yes, Lord, I will absolutely be Yours! As I am now and forever will be! ❤Thank you, Miss Lovely, for letting God using you to send me such kind thoughts on such a lovely day! How fitting! 😉 You are as lovely as the wishes you send out with every post you make on Discovering Your Happiness! I enjoy watching God help you grow into such a wonderful young lady! I am blessed to call you friend! My Croatian Australian sister in Christ! Thank you for my bright valentine in this Sunshine Blogger Award! 🙂 ❤ Thanks for challenging me and keeping me thinking! Me and God love you! <3.
RULES
Thank the blogger who nominated you and link back to her/his blog.
List the rules and display Sunshine Blogger Award logo on your post or blog.
Answer 11 questions the blogger asked you.
Nominate 11 bloggers to receive the award and write them 11 questions.
My Questions from Lovely A:
What is a motivating quote you live by? Keep God first! Above everyone and everything! No matter what!
If you had to share one piece of life advice, what would it be? ❤ God loves you! ❤
Do you live with any regret? Unfortunately, but God uses them to help me to be thankful and wiser.
Are you happy where you are right now? God makes me happy! 🙂
What is your dream job? Whatever God asks of me!
What is your favourite movie of all time? Jesus of Nazareth
If you had to live off one food forever, what would it be? spasagna
If you were an animal, what would you be? a bird… so I could fly and sing for God all day ❤
What is your favourite thing to cook? pizza
Where did you blog name originate from? I love God and want everyone to know it! ❤
Do you have any holidays planned for 2018? random days and events that God allows
What was your last post about? Tag it for others to see.
What was your first ever post about? Tag it too.
What is the theme for your blog?
Do you have more than one blog? If so, link each one for others to know.
Do you have a favorite verse?
Where in the world do you live?
What is your favorite color?
Who has influenced your life?
What have you given to God?
Cheerios or Corn Flakes?
Congratulation to each nominee! Please do not feel obligated to participate. If you do, no rush! Do it in your own way, and in your own time! The Sunshine Blogger Award is meant to be a blessing, not a burden. Thank you for allowing God to use you to bring Sunshine into my day! ❤ God loves you! ❤ 🙂
Pastor Matthew Winters (aka The Comeback Pastor) wrote this much needed article. Unfortunately, I too, have several friends and family serving in ministry who have unexpectedly found themselves divorced. Even more disheartening is that the majority of them have been women of God, serving in church, suddenly deciding to leave their husband, their children, their church (some leaving church altogether), and their ministries. Their husbands are left heartbroken, branded for being divorced (among believers and nonbelievers), have the burden of trying to explain to their children in a godly and loving manner why their mother no longer wants to live with them (some no longer having contact), and given the burden to play mom and dad financially, mentally, physically, spiritually all while so broken and often fighting a deep depression. I pray for our broken brothers and sisters, and praise God that He knows all, and is ever present, a healer, and a God that KNOWS sometimes our pain causes us to be hurt, bitter, to lash out, and to question everything we know about Him. He WANTS us to come to Him with ALL of our hurts, doubts, and yes even anger. Please join me, as you read, in praying for all those who are suffering from abandonment, separation, and divorce. “May you, dear God, be their guide, their comfort, their provision, their mercy, their grace, and their renewed hoped. Help them to keep trusting you, even if it means having no idea how you will work things out… the purest form of faith! In your Son’s Holy name we pray, the One who truly knows the deep scars of abandonment, rejection, and betrayal. Amen.
When I knew divorce for me was imminent, I believed what I was trained – divorce means you’re done. Fortunately, I had some godly counselors who let me know otherwise. So I told God, “I will proceed to obey Your call upon my life. If You don’t want to use me, I pray You will stop me. In Jesus’ name, Amen.” He’s still using me. But I don’t want to focus on my story today. I want to focus on the stories of a few others of whom you may or may not be familiar.
One is a man named Ray Jones. He was a minister of music in Texas when he came home to a goodbye note from his wife. She no longer wanted to be married to a man in ministry. His church fired him, and he saw no foreseeable future in ministry. A pastor who had just…
My Dearest Lord, how incredibly awe-inspiring You are! How lovingly You pursue me! So faithfully woo me! You amaze my heart every single day! And night! Every safe and troublesome night! Just last night we had some very dangerous weather come in, leaving some very slick roads. Yet Anthoni had to get on those roads to get to work. I knew he had 4 Wheel drive, but after the fog storm that iced over the entire western part of our state so unexpectedly, not even showing up on radar as it kept adding layers of black ice, in broad daylight, leaving thousands stranded, and hundreds of accidents everywhere.
One of those accidents involving 2 jackknifed tractor trailers left my brother, brother-in-law, and family friend stranded on the Interstate for 7 hours. Even after they got off safely, the car had idled so long on the ice that when they stopped for gas, the car would not come out of park, and had to be towed home. Records were created or broken over that mysterious foggy ice storm (mysterious to us 😉 ) just a week or so before. And so I wanted to see Anthoni off on this night, encourage him, ask him to text when there safely, and just let him know I love him. But that was not how things happened.
My meds were making it hard to even open my eyes for more than a second, a very brief and blurry second. My brain struggled to gain consciousness. As Anthoni was letting me know he was leaving, I was trying hard to awaken, but all I could get out was, “I’m sorry I can’t seem to wake up, Anthoni. I do love you. Please be safe. Let me know you made it when you do.” And I did not get that out all at the same time. I couldn’t stay awake to make sure he heard me, or understand what he said when I could tell he was trying to talk to me, and seemed frustrated that I couldn’t stay awake enough to hear him.
As he started warming up the car, I began to pray to You. “Lord, please help me. Please be with my son. I’m sorry I can’t seem to stay awake even enough to pray. Please keep him safe. Help him get to work safely. Help him not to forget to let me know he did.” Again, I didn’t get this out all at one time, and I didn’t “vocalize” any of it. At one point all I could say was, “I love You, Lord. I love you.” And kept repeating it any time I had consciousness. I made the decision to trust You, to know You wouldn’t punish me, or take it out on Anthoni, just because I couldn’t stay awake. The night was holding on to me, but that’s not the kind of God You are. You are our most loving and protective Father who loves when we trust You. It’s what You desire most from us. So that’s what I did. I counted on You. And got those few words out any time my brain would allow, while making the decision to stop fighting so hard to think, but instead trust You and go onto sleep. And just before I was falling off to sleep I heard those words.
“You are good, good, oh. You are good, good, oh.
You are good, good, good, good.”
Even as I heard them, they touched my heart in such a way. You were comforting me, assuring me, that You were good and loving. You were tenderly letting me know You well understood about my meds and my concern for my son. You were a doting parent caressing my forehead as You were singing me off to sleep. When I awakened, I immediately smiled. I remembered how tender and wonderful You had been to me. And there was a text from Anthoni. That song kept coming to mind all day long. Something told me I knew the song, yet I couldn’t figure how. Good, Good Father by Christ Tomlin was close, but I knew it wasn’t what You sang me to sleep with. So I went to my YouTube playlists.
I didn’t really know what title to look for because as much as I felt I knew the song, I also had a certainty that I didn’t know it well and would have to figure it out. So I asked You to help me find it. A song titled King of my Heart by Kutless kept coming up, but I would say, “Oh that can’t be it, Lord. I don’t know that song. I know it’s in my playlist, but that’s just because our church sang it a few times during the year so I saved it to be familiar with it. It never really did anything for me. I mean, I know the message was good and godly, and I know friends on WordPress introduced it to me as well, but it just never stayed with me. I don’t even know the words.” So I Googled what I did know… the words You played in my mind as I decided to trust You… to fall asleep and let go of the night.
“You are good, good, oh. You are good, good, oh.
You are good, good, good, good.”
Again! King of My Heart by Kutless came up! So I played it, and listened… and *GASP*!!! It was it! EVERY SINGLE WORD just touched my heart! So many things that You and I personally talk about… were in those words! Here I had trusted You, but You were comforting me! In every single word!
Let the King of my heart Be the mountain where I run
So often I struggle with getting that walk on that beautiful Blue Ridge mountain… walking the Parkway bridge. I wish so badly that I could run that mountain like so may of my friends… Joe and his girlfriend Joy, Tina… or cycle it like my friends Tony and his friends, a few of my doctor friends, Jonathan… or at least walk the trails like my dearest Cousin Kimberly (who was the first woman to YOYO the Mountains to Sea Trail in 2016 and will hike The Pacific Crest Trail in March of this year…. Shout out to “Legs!”!! 🙂 ). Kimberly was the one who the Lord used to inspire me to walk on the Parkway. Yet as I wrote in Walking the Walk Challenge, #1 Color Walk and Walking the Walk Challenge, #2 Texture Walk for Lovely A’s Walking the Walk Challenge, I often end up here in this bed, and have to do that walk with You right here. You help me find joy in “letting the King of my heart be the mountain where I run.” That’s right! With You… I can run! On any mountain! On any bridge! Anywhere! ❤
The fountain I drink from
I struggle too with getting hydrated enough. It’s affecting my health in so many ways, as I have noted in Self Care Challenge Day 8: Water when I was doing Lovely A’s 21 Day Self Care Challenge. So as I hear this line, I am encouraged to “let the King of my heart be the fountain I drink from.” 🙂 “O tasteandsee that the Lord is good: blessed is the man that trusteth in him.” – Psalm 34:8 KJV
Oh, He is my song
OH, does this ever make my day! The testimony that You finally helped me to get down when Lene invited me to write on Song of Virginity was titled The Love of My Life – I am His Song, so immediately this came to mind with an overflowing emotion that You would give me those words… He is my song! I am Your song, and You are mine! Your banner over me is Love! How loved I am!! ❤
Let the King of my heart Be the shadow where I hide
How often I close my eyes to escape the world and its unpleasantness. How I run to You for shelter… seeking a place to hide. “Let the King of my heart be the shadow where I hide” reminds of the tender hymn You taught me years ago during storms of the Tornado Outbreak Season of 2011 that I could not hide from but found shelter in You… and every word of He Hideth My Soul! ❤
The ransom for my life
You remind me of the cost You have paid for my life. Yet instead of conviction, it is assurance that though I sometimes long for Home so much that it is all I can think about, You remind me of things You have brought me through, and things that vie for my life and soul, but You… the One who gave me my life.. is the King who paid “the ransom for my life…” because You love me! ❤ You have rescued me… for Yourself! ❤
Let the King of my heart Be the wind inside my sails
You know, dear Lord, how much I yearn to fly! I want to just soar through the air… enjoying Your majestic beauty… feeling the breath of Your wind in my hair… and supporting my lifeless body. “Let the King of my heart be the wind beneath my sails.” ❤ Let’s fly, Lord! Let’s sail! ❤
The anchor in the waves
Again, I think of those terrible storms, and the rocky waves of this world. Yet You whisper in those words that You are “the anchor in the waves.” ❤
Let the King of my heart Be the fire inside my veins
As I have learned the Lymphedema that I was diagnosed with is a breakdown of my veins from the pressure of the fluid, these words definitely feel like an anthem… a cry… a determination to “let the King of my heart be the fire inside my veins.” You make me grateful all over again for the therapists. They were definitely The Gift of the Year 2017: Therapy… and are still very much a gift from You! ❤
The echo of my days
When I question… Has there been a point to my life? Have I given You a testimony? Do I let You down? Or give You a reason to smile? You remind me my life is not about my whiny little self. It’s all about You! As it should be! Again, another anthem to gladly state and pray that You would be “the echo of my days.” Let them see You! ❤
You’re never gonna let Never gonna let me down
Whether it’s trusting You with my son, or that You won’t punish me because I cannot fight my medicines or the sleep they induce, or not be able to give You the respect You deserve to sit up or address You reverently when praying, or pray on any of the above mentioned issues… “You’re never gonna let, never gonna let me down!” And yes… that was worth repeating! That’s how much I believe it! Here I was worried about letting You down, and yet it’s just like Your great love to be tender and caring to me! ❤
When the night is holding on to me God is holding on
Last night really tried to steal my peace of mind. It certainly fought for my consciousness, as much as it wouldn’t let it rest either. Yet as I chose to trust in You, to trust in the words I could pray to You, as well as the ones I couldn’t even vocalize to You, You heard every word… including how much I love You. You remind me that as I chose to trust You and started to close my eyes for the night, regardless of the fear of letting You down, You remind me of how thoughtful You were to comfort me, but this time the words are, “When the night is holding on to me, God is holding on.”
You are good, good, oh You are good, good, oh Yes, You are good, good, oh You are good, good, oh
No wonder my soul was in love with those words. “You are good, good, oh. You are good, good, oh. Yes, You are good, good, oh. You are good, good, oh.” No wonder my soul was in love with You… the King of my heart! How wonderfully good You are to me! I love it when You give me a song or a word like this in my sleep! When only You have access to me! Thank You for letting me know You were there… that You were listening… that You were moved by my trust in You. Thank You for just being You! You ARE good! ❤
Happy Birthday to my Pappy! He’s 74 today, but having his 14th birthday with Jesus.
He has my mom and baby brother with him, as well as many other family & friends.
My birthday present to him is remembering what a good man he was.
He served in the Navy during the Cuban Missile Crisis.
He was on one of the ships held hostage/in the crossfire
of Cuba and America’s famous standoff.
He was up every single day by 5am until he had lung surgery in 2003.
He worked hard, took care of his wife and family,
including those he took in as family,
and did whatever it took to make sure they were OK.
He was a very active and loving granddad to Anthoni.
He gave his all to his family,
and towards his latter years to His heavenly father.
His pastor was his buddy.
Thank you, Dad, for all that you did for us (your family)!
Thank you for being a man my son could look up to and count on.
Thank you for your unconditional love.
It helped me to see a very valuable side of our Father in heaven…
how much He loves us, His patience, His mercy, His grace,
and leaving His wisdom for us to grow in.
Thank you, Father God, for giving me the dad I had!
For giving Anthoni the granddad he had!
And for all the love and sweat you helped my daddy with
in providing for and caring for his family!
I sure do miss him. So much it hurts. I miss mom and Charlie too!
But I know you are taking care of them, and that I will see them again… SOON! ❤
God, How exciting You keep the family of God growing, while allowing me the exciting pleasure of being a part of that family! You have whispered my name into the ear of my South African sister Siphe of God’s Anointed Princesses, as she has nominated me for the Liebster Award. I love the powerful boldness and strong stand that You have gifted her with. She has great passion in her love for You, and a strong voice in speaking kingdom language to remind us that we are children of the King of kings that You are!Thank you, Siphe, for nominating me for the Liebster Award, and for always reminding me of who I belong to, and the power of that fact alone! ❤
I love how you decorate your blog with all of the different icons, graphics, and your creative uses of them. I thoroughly enjoy reading your blog. Me and God absolutely have faith in the pediatrician who is shy with a bit of dynamite. 😉
So here are the rules and what the Liebster Award is about…
Liebster Award: The Liebster Award is an award for new bloggers and those with few or small followers. It’s an way of giving new bloggers some recognition and encouragement for the hard work.
Rules…
1.Create a new blog post on your blog thanking the person that nominated you, link to their blog and put in a graphic of the award.
2.Answer the questions provided and share some facts about yourself.
3. Nominate others and share your post with them so they can accept their award.
My answers to Siphe’s questions for me:
1. If not blogging, what would you be doing? writing poetry/short stories
2. What is your dream vaca place? Sydney, Australia
3. What are your goals for the next 5 years? Keep following God/keep God first ❤
4. Describe yourself in 3 words. ❤ His! His! His! ❤
5. Who is your favourite blogger and why? God! Speaking uniquely through many! ❤
6. What language would you love to learn one day? what the Holy Spirit allows
7. What is your favourite bible verse and what does it mean to you? There are so many, as the Word itself is invaluably comforting, healing, instructive, and more. I currently sign most things with John 14:27. It speaks of itself… with truth. “Peace I leave with you, my peace I give unto you: not as the world giveth, give I unto you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid.”
Random facts about myself:
I love having so many family and friends around the world who are in love with Christ! What a fellowship! ❤
I love ALL of my family and friends around the world (believers and unbelievers) just as God does. And I love the privilege of praying for each one! ❤
The Lord has been giving me some powerful Christian movies lately, even when watching Netflix movies that I didn’t even know were faith based: The Christmas Candle (I thought it was just the world using Christmas to tell of a magical candle, which it was the main theme but was a combo of the Pastor’s lack of belief in miracles, and the people learning that God sometimes uses us to be the miracle/hope in others’ lives and sometimes in our own) The Case for Christ (I thought it was a man I knew of to be an atheist out to discredit Christianity, but it was actually his testimony of setting out to do that very thing, but found the truth in Christ himself). War Room (My family was excited to watch together and loved it, Lene ❤ ) Miracles from Heaven (I picked it up today from the library because Lovely A and Siphe both highly suggested it! We’ll be watching it next! 🙂 )
My Questions for the Nominees:
1. What Movies have you watched lately?
2. Do you have any favorite songs right now?
3. What is the theme/purpose of your blog?
4. Where in the world do you live?
5. Where were you when you met Jesus?
6. What do you like about blogging?
7. Who’s one of your favorite bible characters?
Praise the Lord and Congratulations to the nominees! Please do not feel obligated to participate. If you do, No rush! Do it when and how you want! It’s your blog! And your Award! How you do it is between you and Him! ❤ I look forward to reading!
Thank you again, Siphe!
Congrats on your Liebster Award!
Me and God love you! ❤
Dear Lord, How lovingly kind You continue to be to me… to this blog You thoughtfully allowed me! Here I pour out my love to You, as much as possible, as I would anywhere You will allow… yet You shine Your light of love all over. Thank You for allowing Lovely A to continuously be that ray of sunshine You send my way, by nominating me for the Sunshine Blogger Award. Thank You for the never ending ray of Light that Your Son shines in my life! ❤ Thank you for all the ways You shine Your light! ❤Lovely Anita, Thank you for the nomination of this Sunshine Blogger Award. You are always so generous and thoughtful to me. God has gifted you in helping others with Discovering Your Happiness. How rich your blog has grown, as you continue to seek Him first. He’s been there all along, and He’ll never leave you! He loves you! ❤ And so do I! ❤
If you don’t mind I want to share this in memory of another ray of God’s sunshine.
Willie S. was a very godly man whom God used in the life of many. My son and I met him as my son’s principal at his Christian School, which was also a part of the church we attended. Through the years, we were blessed to become friends with him, his beautiful wife, and his loving daughters. He passed away the day before I was nominated for this award. That day had a lot of challenges in it, but I was finding God’s rays of sunshine all over the place (and I am going to nominate those rays). It was not until later when I got to the computer… to finally catch a breath from that day… to accept the award and nominate others… that I read the sad news. I took a long pause and prayed it wasn’t so. But it was. I’m surprised in some ways that it meant so much… to have to take a couple of hours to even move from where I was. I thought about his dear family, and how invaluable they have each been… to me… my son… my family… our friends… and so many. How hard and faithful my stepdad and I (along with family quite often) had been praying for him. We were so hopeful. But our loss is his gain, as I posted in The Loss and Gain of a Godly Man. They each have shone a strong ray of God’s light into our lives. So may the Lord allow this to be a candle for Willie S. and his family.Ψ
The Rules:
Thank blogger(s) who nominated you in the blog post and link back to their blog.
Answer the 11 questions the blogger asked you.
Nominate 11 new blogs to receive the award and write them 11 new questions.
List the rules and display Sunshine Blogger Award logo in your post and/or blog
Questions I Am To Answer:
What would you do on a rainy day? enjoy it from an open window, or open porch. ❤
Coffee or Hot Chocolate? hot cocoa <3
Safari Holiday or Tropical Island Holiday? Tropical Island Holiday
Whats one experience that has changed your life? salvation ❤
What is your hidden talent? writing/poetry 😉
What is one thing that people don’t know about you? I was a cheerleader for 3 years. 🙂
Bananas or Apples? Both 🙂
What is your dream job? whatever pleases God/Lord willing, writing for Him ❤
How do you de-stress? prayer/hymns/alone time with God ❤
What is your bedtime routine? falling asleep at the computer 😉
What is your favourite candle scent? lavender
My Nominees:
Lovely Anita of Discovering Your Happiness
Your nominations are always God’s personal whispers! (If I can for you too, I do!)
Mary Ann of Pennies for Dreams
It is a wonderful blessing to have a child who serves the Lord! God is SO good!
Yes… I can count! But just in case it seems unfair to renominate the one who nominated me, and to keep her from feeling bad about my doing that, I added one more!
There are rays of God’s sunshine all over WordPress! I thank God for each of you! 🙂
My Questions for My Nominees:
Is the sun shining in your neighborhood today?
What do you like to do on a sunny day?
Who has brought sunshine into your life?
What’s your favorite flower?
Do you have a favorite verse/quote regarding sunshine?
PRAISE THE LORD AND CONGRATS ON YOUR SUNSHINE BLOGGER AWARD!
Please do not feel obligated to participate, nor rush if you do!
Do it in God’s perfect timing!
I just wanted you to know how much I appreciate your ray of sunshine! 🙂
Me and God love you! ❤
GOD BLESS YOU, WILLIE S. AND YOUR WHOLE FAMILY! ❤ I HOPE YOU KNOW HOW MUCH YOU MEAN TO US!
Praise the Lord for making salvation so simple,
and for making us destined to live with Him!
This is reblogged from Inner Man Theatre.
Thanks for that tidbit, James Scott! 😉
Lord, my heart is broken… for the loss of a friend… for the heartache that his precious daughters and lovely wife (who are also dear friends) are bearing… because a good and godly man lost his battle to Lymphoma. Willie S. was such a patient, thoughtful, good-hearted man. He made a huge impact on the life of my son and I. He was Anthoni’s principal in junior high through high school. This was a christian school with the same church we were all a part of.
He put up with a lot dealing with my family, while being patient, forgiving, compassionate, wise, and able to calm very ugly situations. A godly mediator gifted with wisdom and discernment, and favor… with God… and our family. Irene (who passed away in 2016) was grateful to him for leading her son to the Lord, and being so influential that her son cut his hair, shaved, and cleaned up, wanting to be a good example like the one who lead him to the Lord and made him feel so welcome.
His lovely wife has been just as loving and godly, a prayer warrior with a heart for others. We are blessed to be friends with her as well. And her precious daughters. There just doesn’t seem a word capable of describing how much I value their friendship. Role models, shoulders to cry on, to cry with, to laugh with, to celebrate with, to worship and pray with. Personal challenges that we got through together. I hate to know they grieve. They loved their dad. They were a very close family. And praise God a family of faith!
This is what brings me comfort… to know that their dad has not lost a battle… he lost the ability to feel pain! Forever! The Great Physician gave him perfect healing! He did not lose… he gained! He gained perfect health, eternal life, and a mansion that Jesus went away to prepare for him and promised to come again and receive him unto Himself… and Jesus kept His promise! His wife and daughters have gained a new hope in heaven… a new motivation to long for heaven… a new encouragement that pain and suffering does not last forever… and that just when it seems like life is only about loss, Jesus will bring permanent gain! He will be faithful to keep His promise. And they will see Willie S. again!
So I take comfort in knowing they have the Comforter embracing them as only He can. The one who suffered His own loss in Lazarus and in John the Baptist knows the grief they are stricken with. That is why He left His Word, His hymns, and His church, and the access to His own presence. His arms are open wide to welcome them any time… and closed so gently when holding them as tight as they need! Thank You, Father, for granting His gain, and for strengthening their hope with a peace that passes all understanding… but not Yours! ❤
Thank you, Miss Lovely, for letting God using you to send me such kind thoughts on such a lovely day! How fitting! 😉 You are as lovely as the wishes you send out with every post you make on Discovering Your Happiness! I enjoy watching God help you grow into such a wonderful young lady! I am blessed to call you friend! My Croatian Australian sister in Christ! Thank you for my bright valentine in this Sunshine Blogger Award! 🙂
Lovely Anita, Thank you for the nomination of this 
gaillovesgod 