Walking the Walk, #5 Slow Walk

Dear Lord, how behind I am on blogging so many things You have blessed me with! Like the day back in August when You allowed me to go back to the Arboretum for a new walk. You allowed me to discover this place back in Walking the Walk, #4 Smell Walk and it immediately had became a favorite spot! I meant to blog about it to keep doing the challenge our Lovely A of Discovering Your Happiness had created in her Walking the Walking challenge back in December of last year to do 50 walks.

I know You remember our lovely Anita who always signs…

Wherever you are in the world, have a lovely day

So while You are giving me the chance, I want to thank You for allowing me to get that next walk in!

#5 Slow walk – Go as slowly as you can manage. Pay attention to your five senses as you walk to the end of of the block and back. Note what you’ve noticed for the first time.

Walking the Walk, # 5 Slow Walk was so beautiful even if it was so rainy and had a very challenging end. You were so worth it!

There were such beautiful flowers inside and out! This was a great surprise as You know last time it was winter brown. I called it an earthy wonderland, and was just as breathtaking then. But You certainly decorated my walk with a little color this time.

 

 

There was an awesome quilt pattern for a garden!
I would love to be a part of doing one! 🙂Arb2.25

 

I was blessed to come across this little fish swimming in a fountain.Arb2.23

Then more flowers to decorate my path.

Then there was the Fragrance Garden.. in a fountain! 🙂
These fountains have me thinking on your word:
“For with thee is the fountain of life:
in thy light shall we see light.” – Psalm 36:9 KJV

The rain started picking up, so I went for shelter. As I stood under the roof, I noticed I was still getting wet. I looked up and saw wood beams, and a very cloudy sky… oh and a flag pole that was very wisely barren for this rain soaked day. I went for better shelter.Arb2.12

I passed by the gift shop… nice pillows.

Then look over down into the lobby.

I see signs for a Plant Sale.

 

After checking out their plants for sale in the green house, I head on out to the parking lot. I cannot find the car and the rain is pouring. While it’s not a huge parking lot, it is on a couple of big hills, and I know I strategically parked near landmarks to remind me where the car is. Because of my health, I am unable to run in this rain… I am actually struggling to walk up and down the hills of the parking lot… and after circling twice I am so weak I feel like I could fall at any second. I am lost and soon become so disoriented I don’t even remember where or who I am for a few seconds. I am broken and scared, and having inner conversations with You.

I walk up the hills one one more time, as I keep recognizing the landmarks I know You wisely had me thinking on. Standing where I know I left the car in the rain that has not let up for one moment, but instead has only gotten heavier, I am leaning on You more than ever, just as scared that I am… Losing It… altogether.  And then RIGHT BEFORE MY EYES (LITERALLY)… I see I am standing RIGHT BESIDE IT!! I am so relieved, but as I get in the car wringing wet, I am horrified to think I could be getting worse.

You help me to think on the beautiful walk You have given me, along with the peaceful joy that You allowed me while walking on the beautiful journey with You this morning. It was a slow walk. It had to be with my health. But praise Your Holy name I can walk. You have allowed my doctors to help me do that much. You make me think on one of my favorite hymns of Yours…

In the Garden by Charles  A. Miles

I come to the garden alone,
While the dew is still on the roses,
And the voice I hear falling on my ear
The Son of God discloses.

Refrain:
And He walks with me, and He talks with me,
And He tells me I am His own;
And the joy we share as we tarry there,
None other has ever known.

He speaks, and the sound of His voice
Is so sweet the birds hush their singing,
And the melody that He gave to me
Within my heart is ringing.

I’d stay in the garden with Him,
Though the night around me be falling,
But He bids me go; through the voice of woe
His voice to me is calling.

It has been worth it to have spent time with You! ❤

Thank You for spending the time with me! ❤

I love You, Jesus!! ❤

I Believe!

Father, You are absolutely amazing! By 5:30 a.m. You have already made my day. 🙂 At 3:30 a.m. this morning I was struggling to awake because I had fallen asleep at the computer while trying to catch up on responding to messages and emails. I desperately needed a shower, but Anthoni had to be at work by 5 a.m., which meant leaving by 4 a.m.. By Your grace, I just did get the shower and got in the car by 4:10 a.m..

After dropping him off by 4:45 a.m., I headed to D.D. (Dunkin Donuts) where I would be able to use their free WiFi to do my morning devotions,using the H.E.A.R. reading plan in the Sacred Series our church is doing together. At 5:05 a.m. I parked, gathered my things in my purse, got out of the beeping car, and shut the locked doors. Just as the door closed my brain finally clicked! The beeping was to warn me that the keys were still in the ignition! I was now locked out!

Immediately, I thought of my ailing brother who would have to drive 25 miles at 5 a.m. to come unlock the door. He just had cancer surgery 5 days ago. I felt so bad. I also thought of my 8 a.m. appointment at the doctor’s office with which I had to cancel my last appointment a little over a week ago because I had broken down on the Interstate with a flat tire and a very bad spare. I was about to panic, but then You took control of the situation… including my spirit.

The first thing, I was glad it was just like the morning of the flat tire when You allowed me to get Anthoni to work first.
Secondly, I was grateful that I did not have a little one inside the car the locked car, as my dear Tosin (of Alethea’s Mind) had written on having this horrifying situation happen to her not too long ago. (I thought of you sister!)
Thirdly, there was no reason to wake Nathan up just yet and stress him. I still had 3 hours before the doctor’s appointment, which happened to be right down the road. It would be a long and dangerous walk that I really couldn’t afford physically to do, but that too would be an added blessing to trust You with.
But my first priority would be to give You that time in devotions. After all, it was why I came here, and You did allow me to make it!

I went in, grabbed an orange juice and a dollar item off of the Smart menu (I’m not really a doughnut and coffee person). I sat down to eat and get the WiFi going. That was a challenge, but You allowed it to finally work.
My reading for the day was Psalm 119:169-176 and John 10:1-21.

These were my notes:
H. & E.
Your word is so sacred, Father. Please hear my heart’s cry for Your word to help me, lead me, save me. Through Your word I am strengthened and made righteous, allowing me to follow Your righteous words. 
“Therefore doeth my Father love me, because I lay down my life, that I might take it again. No man taketh it from me, but I lay it down of myself. I have power to lay it down, and I have power to take it again. This commandment have I received of my Father.”
Can a devil open the eyes of the blind?
A. & R.
Jesus, You have the power to take up Your life just as much as You have the power to lay it down. It was all in love… in absolute obedience, but absolutely in love as well! ❤
I know the power of Your word and the power of Your love can move mountains, unlock locked cars 😉 , and perform miracles… like every day life.
You have the power to open the eyes of the blind! I believe! In Your name.
Amen! I love You!!
P.S. Thanks for making the DD WiFi work! 🙂


After I had finished devotions, I started to do one of my 16 x 16 Sudoku puzzles but remembered the new copy of the Sword of the Lord I had. I like to do their Crossword because it is all about the Holy Bible, and only uses the KJV (King James Version). So I chose to do it first as a way to keep/choose You first. While doing the puzzle, I heard a truck pull up outside that I had seen going down the road while doing my devotions. The Fire Department! 🙂

As they were coming in, I asked them, “You wouldn’t happen to be able to unlock a car locked with the keys inside, would you?” They asked, “Did you lock yourself out?” I pointed to the car and let them know I had locked myself out. Before I knew it, one turned to the other 4 and said, “Let’s get this car unlocked real quick.”

**GASP** I excitedly asked as they started out the door, “Can you really??” Sure enough!! It didn’t take them but a few minutes! And they were so super nice! Especially for being up at 5:30 a.m., just out on a call! I apologized for interrupting their breakfast, and they let me know it wasn’t a breakfast run. They had just been on a call. Well let me thank You, Lord, for sending them on 2 calls! 😉

I kept thanking them each again and again. Letting them know they kept me from having to call my brother, who just had cancer surgery, which would have been a 25 mile drive. I kept telling them, “God bless you!” They were each so friendly and nice! Telling me to have a good day! I immediately thought of those words from devotions.
“I believe You have the power to unlock locked cars. I believe!”

DAY MADE ALREADY, LORD, AT 5:30 A.M.!! 🙂

You even allowed me to drop off paperwork I’ve been trying to get to P.T., which allowed me to see two familiar faces that I had not seen in quite awhile and was very excited to see!! And they were excited to see me!! You are such an awesome God in so many ways! You care about the little things, and the big things! This wasn’t the first time the SFD (Skyland Fire Department) has rescued me. They rescued me as a young child during a tornado when I was staying over at my aunt’s house with my cousins. And then later when I was 35 year old single mom with a 16 year old, providing water just after a tropical storm had come through and knocked out power and water for a lot of people for several days.

Can the devil cause the blind to see?? The devil can’t… BUT YOU CAN!!
You opened my eyes and allowed me to see You in the whole day!!
And You opened a locked car for me!! ❤

Thank You for the firefighters, Lord!
Please bless them!

Praise the Lord for 500 Followers on gaillovesgod

To God be the glory... for He surely deserves all of His praise and honor! It has been hard for me to care about any stats for quite awhile because of being overwhelmed by hundreds of spam comments, along with so many fake followers. The ones who want to follow just to boost their businesses I don’t really mind. God can allow fellowship in many ways. And they are the ones that have to sell their product. But those who try to harm me or my friends are just simply cruel. Why do people waste such time that they could put towards work or fellowship the way the rest of us do?
WordPress is a great community! God has truly blessed us!

So I will praise Him for the 500 Follows
He has allowed for this blog… gaillovesgod… His blog!

500 Follows!
Congratulations on getting 500 total follows on
Your current tally is 501.

 

And a special thank you to Susan Ream of Nana’s Love Notes
for being the one to make it 500 Follows!
I love reading your notes you write your granddaughters! 🙂

Susan Ream and 500 others
followed your blog gaillovesgod

As you also know, I’m so grateful for the love and support so many of you give in your comments. I still love that feature on the Stats page that shows the top 6 folks to comment. Right now they are

  1. simplywendi
  2. Alethea’s Mind
  3. Discovering Your Happiness
  4. Stuart L. Tutt
  5. Invisibly Me
  6. Margaretfromsoulfood

(Those are noted as they’re seen on the Stats page under Comments by Authors)

It has taken countless hours of deletion and blocking of spammers, but it is well worth it so that God can allow me to know who is commenting, so that I can encourage them in return. Sometimes I have had to rescue genuine comments from the Spam and Trash section… so please… if you are still waiting for a response to a comment make sure that I even know. Forgive me for anyone I have missed and do not know it. With the Lord’s help I am try to make sure to keep up with them, and to let you all know God loves you!

On that same page, and same section, if you click on the down arrow beside Comments by Authors, it changes to Comments by Posts & Pages. This allows you to see your top 11 blog posts that are most commented on. My blogs posts most commented on are:

  1. 2 Liebster Awards for My Birthday 6.13.18
  2. Happy Birthday to My Son Anthoni
  3. Liebster Award 1.6.18
  4. Happy 26th Smoke Free Anniversary
  5. Sunshine Blogger Award 1.31.18
  6. Liebster Award 2.16.18
  7. Bloggers Support Bloggers Award 5.26.18
  8. Praising God for 400 Followers and Over 10,000 Views
  9. Losing… It!
  10. Versatile Blogger Award 5.26.18
  11. Mystery Blogger Award 5.18.18

(Notice a trend?? I do too. As loving and encouraging so many of you have been with me pouring out my heart and love to God, those Awards are certainly one of the ways God uses us to encourage one another! 🙂 However He chooses! Praise His Holy name!)

And lest you think it’s ALL about awards, as though they are trivial, and therefore the blog must be too… notice #9 Losing… It? That was a very long note on how much I am losing so much… including my skill… my love… for communicating with others… sharing… encouraging. Even though I discussed something so personal, so many of you gave me love that just touched my heart in ways that I find hard to put into words. God used so many of you to strengthen me when I am often tempted to just give up and dream of flying home!
Every single comment means a great deal to me! And it is far more important that I have made known to as many of you as possible how much God loves you!!! So much!!

Thank you to each one who has made the 500 Follows possible!
You give glory to the One who surely deserves it!
And any glory He allows me to be a part of bringing Him…

HALLELUJAH!

All Cheerful & Rosie: Virginia 74

My son (Inner Man Theatre) has such a gift with his Christian Art Ministry.
I’ve mentioned several times one of my favorites is All Cheerful & Rosie.
They give me a good laugh, and put a smile on my face! 🙂
Hope it blesses you too!
Trixie and Virigina, you’re a hoot! 🙂 God loves you both!

Inner Man Theatre

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Joy and Job: Reminders

God, You are so exciting and fun when it comes to some things!! Like this reminder that was posted from Keitha on the Job Ladies Bible Study she has coming up in a couple of weeks. I loved the how Job 8:21 was put at the top!39390511_10216703855658307_2215118228881932288_n

I definitely need some joy! Sometimes I am just sitting with Job. As I read this flyer, I see where it reads, Join Us If You Want To… these 5 things. I want… need all of them!
1. Learn to trust in God’s character: I want to learn more of anything to do with You, trusting every part of You! As wonderful as You are, I am confident there will only be more fabulous all along the way! 🙂
2. Repair past or current emotional wounds: Aren’t we all working on some kind of wound one way or another? Whether we want to deal with it, deny it, or convince ourselves we’re too strong to worry about a wound, we are all carrying something.
3. Realize God welcomes your difficult questions: Boy do I need this one. The reassurance in someone struggles with that too lets me know I am not alone in this. Difficult questions about God, our doubts, and relating Him to our lives, our past, our humanness can leave us feeling challenged.
4. Let go of complacent Christianity: At this moment this makes me think of the old song He Will Set Your Fields On Fire, which is in relation to Absalom and the foxes tails that were set on fire to run through the fields. Help me, Lord, to always be ready to listen, to be aware, to prepare, and to do whatever You ask of me. Help me to be ready for my bridegroom… to have all the oil I need.
5. Pursue joy in the midst of pain: Instead of chasing dreams, rainbows, fantasies, escapes, or false hopes, I look forward to pursuing YOUR joy in the midst of any pain. As long as it brings me closer to You, or brings me more understanding of what You want from me and for others, I want it.

So when I saw this added picture, I find joy already… in just knowing there is hope in upcoming days. Whether I am blessed to make it to all 7 nights, just one, or if You only allow me to see the reminders, I find joy in hope! Thank You!!af13d9bd-caf7-4a3a-8154-d6460de42120

There is one other exciting exception to the flyer. The smiling face leading this Bible Study is Keitha! She is such a delight. A lively personality! And so in love with You! Keitha smiling

I love watching her talk about You, the smile You put on her face, and the words and thoughts that You share with her, and have her share with us! I eagerly look forward to anything You  have for us… Keitha and each lady! This picture below is just one way I see Keitha: Even on stage in front of a group of ladies… You are talking, she is listening, filled with Your joy, and we will ALL be recipients of the blessings You pour out through her!keitha1

Thank You, Lord, for Keitha…. and for hope!
Thank You for the joy in these reminders!
Please let Keitha hear me saying,
“Me and God love you, Keitha!
Me and God are praying for you and each lady!”

I love You too, Lord!
More than I could ever properly put into words!
❤ Thank You for loving me! ❤