A Heart For God

I have run into some very interesting people on Twitter over the past 6 months or so. Some I follow because they are local to Cincinnati friends, colleagues, networking buds; some I quit following because they are just too radical for me; some I only know via Twitter but they tweet good content both political and uplifting (encouraging, Christian messages).

One of those is A Heart For God. He calls himself Pastor Mike. Don't know if he is a "pastor" in the true sense of the word (you know, has been ordained, has a church building where the body of Christ meets, etc.) but I do know he has quite an online following. He is on every social media outlet on the Internet with over 20K followers. He may be one of the first Pastors that I've heard of that leads a "virtual" church.

I've read quite a few of his posts and find they are very insightful, encouraging and uplifting. Seems his target audience is men, which as a Christian woman, I can really appreciate someone targeting men to encourage them and teach them the way God wants them to be. He posts teaching series, music, sermons, his blogs, other Bible sources.

I'm linking to this particular post: the 10 Commandments of Blogging -- If Moses was a blogger, what would the 10 commandments look like.  It's fun to read and like most of his posts, enlightening. Thanks Pastor Mike!! 

I thought I'd share him with everyone, since I enjoy reading his messages and tweets. I hope you enjoy him as well.

"...And in the end
The love you take
is equal to the love you make."
---The Beatles

Thanks for reading my Heavenly Thoughts

Happy July 4th

Happy Independence Day! I hope you take the time to enjoy the REAL reason for the day - our independence from the Mother Country. Our independence from taxation without representation. Our independence from an "uber government" vs. government by the people, for the people.

I know we have issues in this country and I know that we are overtaxed, overburdened, over-governmentalized (not sure if that's really a word). But I do know with all our imperfections it's still the BEST PLACE ON THE PLANET TO LIVE. We have natural resources, plenty of food, water, money, businesses, opportunities, education, freedom to support, complain, protest, make a change. Yep, it's the best place. And that's why so many in the world hate us.

But on this Independence Day 2007 we must remember that over 200 years ago, we left the tyranny of the Mother Country, formed our own government, tried to improve our way of life and generation after generation we want more for our families, more of a legacy, more peace, more happiness, more of everything.

God Bless America, the people in it, the politicians that are making decisions, the soldiers who risk their lives to protect our freedom, the military families that sacrifice their loved ones for our safety, our neighbors and co-workers, family and friends. God Bless our way of life, our freedoms. God, please protect our cities from terrorists, from those who hate us. God, help those that are addicted to drugs and alcohol, giving them a new hope to be clean and upstanding members of society. God bless the mothers and children, husbands and fathers, brothers and sisters. Protect and keep us and our lovely land.

God guide us to do the right thing, to love our country, to protect our way of life. God protect those that have been wrongly accused and provide a "back door" for them to be given their freedom.

Thank you God for all of Your wonderful blessings on this Independence Day.

"No one travelling on a business trip would be missed if he failed to arrive."
--- Thorstein Veblen

Is It KARMA??

One more unbelievable event in my life..........I guess I just sit back and watch life and find myself amazed at what life offers. Today was no exception to the rule!

I GOT MY STUFF BACK THAT WAS STOLEN!!! It was returned by a perfect stranger....GOD BLESS HER AND HER FAMILY!! I pray for them that life returns the favor. I was soooooooooo grateful.

Again, I can't talk about the details but I can say that I'm always surprised with life and it's been an emotional roller-coaster. I'll write more about this later as I'm allowed to share the circumstances.

"Here's all you need to know about men and women: Women are crazy, and men are stupid. And the main reason women are crazy is that men are stupid."

-- George Carlin

Surgery - Day 9 - It's amazing!!

I have to say that I am blown away by how quickly I am feeling ok. I mean, my foot does tingle, I do get pains in it, but it's nothing like I was worried it would be. I've been very careful with it, I've followed the Dr's directions to the letter. Elevation, keep it totally dry, no direct pressure on my foot only using my heel for balance from time to time. resting, staying in bed (which I am quickly becoming to hate), using all of my mobility helpers - crutches (haven't used yet too much), the walker (it's been my lifesaver) and my wheelchair (another lifesaver, it has allowed me to actually go out of the house and enjoy a little outing or two or three!!).

I've taken my pain meds, and so far, so good. I have weaned myself down to just a little each day, I'm not even taking them every 4 hrs now, just when I need them. So, I'm really proud of my progress. In fact, tomorrow I go to the Dr's, get the stitches removed and I think I get a hard cast put on, right now I have a soft cast/splint up to my knee protecting my foot, not allowing it to bend at all. That's been a good thing!!

I have been out of the house thanks to the use of a wheelchair and my loving family taking me out - it's kind of hard - almost like taking a baby out by the time I get all of my "stuff" together. Pillows, jacket, purse, wheelchair, heave wheelchair in back of SUV - that takes a little muscle! But they have been wonderfully kind in taking me out just a "Little".

Friday - Beka took me out of the house, for the first time since the surgery. It was a beautiful day, sunny, warm, a little windy. We went to her college for an art fair. There were so many wonderful, charming pieces that students made and were selling. Blown glass of all shapes and sizes, pottery, knitted scarves, handmade nature greeting cards, ceramics in every shape and size and utility, and of course the ever popular jewelry. I bought a few things for the kids and a couple things for myself. It was fun just her and I going out and she was ever so mindful in taking care of me. :)

Saturday - Roland and I went up the street (drove this time) to the neighborhood movie theatre to see a matinee. We went to see "Deck The Halls" with Matthew Broderick and Danny DeVito. It was very funny, I caught myself laughing out loud several times. I totally enjoyed it - maybe it partly the percocets and partly just being out of the house, but it was fun!! Besides, there was only a grandma with her grandson in the theatre. So, it was kind of like a private showing!! That's why we LOVE the matinees!!

Sunday - Roland and I went to a co-worker's home for a lovely Christmas party. It was a little of a hassle in the wheelchair, getting in the house was an issue. We had to go thru the garage, hop up a little step and then in thru the house. The thing is here in California houses are not that big, so we pretty much had to rearrange as we went through the living room, to find me a spot that was off to the side and out of the way. It was nice to go though, and I had previously warned Sue that if I did come, I would be in a wheelchair. I got to meet quite a few people's spouses and children from work, so that was very nice. I think there was a lot of people there, I couldn't see everyone, of course from where I was. The food was lovely, I had some things that were quite different. Cucumber chunks stuffed with crab salad, that was delish. Then there were nacho chips (full sized) with guac, sour cream and chipotle chicken stuffed in them. That was good too. Lots of sweets appeared on my plate thanks to my adoring honey!! Such as: miniature cheery cheesecake in graham cracker crust EXCEPT it wasn't cheesecake it was a graham cracker crust, a dab of choc pudding the rest of vanilla pudding and a spoon on cherry pie filling on top. It was very good. There was cheese trays, lots of imported beer, some dinner food that was a little too exotic for my tastes, but nonetheless, there was something there for everyone and everyone was having a good time.

So, today, I rest, I might venture outside to sit in the sun later, I'm not sure. But I will rest, relax, and enjoy because I'm going to get back to work on Wed. I'll work from home, I can't go into the office, but I can help with some issues that have been going on while I've been out.

Thanks for all the well wishes from my kids, family and friends, glad they have been calling and checking up on me. Thanks for my daughter, Beka, for being a wonderful assistant, waiting on me when she is here to help out. And mostly for Roland's dedication to serving me, helping me and taking care of me. I couldn't have done this without you, sweetie! I love you every day more than the day before. (He's been off work the entire time to help me, I love that man sooooo much!!)

"There are no secrets to success. It is the result of preparation, hard work, and learning from failure."

-- Colin Powell

The Tablecloth

I don’t know how true this story is, but regardless it’s very touching and I thought I would share:

The brand new pastor and his wife, newly assigned to their first ministry, to reopen a church in suburban Brooklyn, arrived in early October. Excited about their opportunities, when they saw their church, it was very run down and needed much work. They set a goal to have everything done in time to have their first service on Christmas Eve.

They worked hard, repairing pews, plastering walls, painting, etc, and on December 18 were ahead of schedule and just about finished.

On December 19 a terrible tempest - a driving rainstorm hit the area and lasted for two days.

On the 21st, the pastor went over to the church. His heart sank when he saw that the roof had leaked, causing a large area of plaster about 20 feet by 8 feet to fall off the front wall of the sanctuary just behind the pulpit, beginning about head high.

The pastor cleaned up the mess on the floor, and not knowing what else to do but postpone the Christmas Eve service, headed home. On the way he noticed that a local business was hving a flea market type sale for charity so he stopped in. One of the items was a beautiful, handmade, ivory colored, crocheted tablecloth with exquisite work, fine colors and a Cross embroidered right in the center. It was just the right size to cover up the hole in the front wall. He bought it and headed back to the church.

By this time it had started to snow. An older woman running from the opposite direction was trying to catch the bus. She missed it. The pastor
invited her to wait in the warm church for the next bus 45 minutes later.

She sat in a pew and paid no attention to the pastor while he got a ladder, hangers, etc., to put up the tablecloth as a wall tapestry. The pastor could hardly believe how beautiful it looked and it covered up the entire problem area.

Then he noticed the woman walking down the center aisle. Her face was like a sheet. "Pastor," she asked, "where did you get that tablecloth?" The pastor explained. The woman asked him to check the lower right corner to see if the initials, EBG were crocheted into it there. They were. These were the initials of the woman, and she had made this tablecloth 35 years before, in Austria.

The woman could hardly believe it as the pastor told how he had just gotten the Tablecloth. The woman explained that before the war she and her husband were well-to-do people in Austria. When the Nazis came, she was forced to leave. Her husband was going to follow her the next week. He was captured, sent to prison and never saw her husband or her home again.

The pastor wanted to give her the tablecloth; but she made the pastor keep it for the church. The pastor insisted on driving her home, that was the least he could do. She lived on the other side of Staten Island and was only in Brooklyn for the day for a housecleaning job.

What a wonderful service they had on Christmas Eve. The church was almost full. The music and the spirit were great. At the end of the service, the pastor and his wife greeted everyone at the door and many said that they would return. One older man, whom the pastor recognized from the neighborhood continued to sit in one of the pews and stare, and the pastor wondered why he wasn't leaving.

The man asked him where he got the tablecloth on the front wall because it was identical to one that his wife had made years ago when they lived in Austria before the war and how could there be two tablecloths so much alike.

He told the pastor how the Nazis came, how he forced his wife to flee for her safety and he was supposed to follow her, but he was arrested and put in a prison. He never saw his wife or his home again all the 35 years in between.

The pastor asked him if he would allow him to take him for a little ride. They drove to Staten Island and to the same house where the pastor had taken the woman three days earlier. He helped the man climb the three flights of stairs to the woman's apartment, knocked on the door and he saw the greatest Christmas reunion he could ever imagine.

True Story - submitted by Pastor Rob Reid

"There are no secrets to success. It is the result of preparation, hard work, and learning from failure."

-- Colin Powell