Tell Her

I see lots of people protesting....some pro-choice, some pro-life. I am curious though if people in either group know how it really feels to make that choice?

I see my fellow Christians spouting things about abortion, yet, do they realize that sitting in church alongside them are people who actually went through an abortion.

Do they know the anguish? the sleepless nights? the feeling that you are going to lose your mind?

I think that is probably the saddest....the fact that we have women of all ages, race, and backgrounds that have made this choice sitting in church with us and they are overlooked. Maybe it is time we stepped off of the soap box, quit thumping your Bible verse for  5 seconds and go up to one of these women and offer grace and mercy. Tell her that you really don't understand what went in to the decision she made, but you know it must have been pure hell to decide. Then tell her that God still loves her, that He forgives all (people don't,  but He does), tell her that her little baby is resting in the arms of Jesus. She needs to hear it, more than any scripture you could quote or any hymn you can sing.

Tell her she can come out of hiding, that you want to hear her story. Tell her she does not have to be ashamed. Tell her you can not imagine the courage that she must have had to walk through a group of protesters that were calling her names, hurling insults, and passing judgement when they did not even know her. They did not know she had to make a choice.....save herself so she could raise the children she already had, or risk not being there for any of her children.

Tell that it is ok to grieve for all she has lost. Tell her that even though you may not think abortion is right, that you are not going to pass judegement on her decision.


Then.....LISTEN to her journey,

Regina

Do I Believe He is More Than Enough?

 Do you guys feel like you just exited the spin cycle from your washer? What a week we just had! I feel like I am running to just keep up!

Now it seems my youngest, who will be 10 in a week, wants to go to kids camp with the church this summer. What? 3 whole days and nights without her Dad and I!

This is my girl who is "All Tump, all the time." ......at least right now. Fearless, smart, funny, the light of our lives.
She has her own opinions about everything right. now. She has decided she would like to write to Trump, because she simply, "has a few questions she would like answered."

I have to remember, I am not just raising a kid, I am raising her to be an adult woman,  a leader, successful, determined, full of good character. It's a tough job. I want to know that when she leaves the nest that I have given her what she needs to fly on her own.

Thats the hard part though. If I am successful, she leaves. It's what we want, but it is a struggle too. It tugs at my heart in the early hours of the morning when the house is completely quiet....

I want her  to soar....but not too far. Right? I have to give her the tools to succeed....at least I am working on doing that.

Camp.....I cannot deprive her of the experiences of being a kid, all under the guise of keeping her safe.

What if she gets hurt? What if there is a wreck? What if she gets sick in the night? What if.....?

I have to remember who I serve and who I am teaching her to put her faith in. I cannot be hypocritical here. There are only two choices,  we either have faith in Him or we don't. If I say I trust Him, I have to believe that He will take care of not just me, but of my children too. He knows more than I ever will about what is best for Her. He sees the whole story of her life, beginning to end. I just get to read a chapter at a time.

Saying I tust Him, means letting her go. When I give to Him, what ever it is, He gives back to me, many times over.

What am I afraid of? I have nothing to fear. Jesus conquered all when He died on the cross and then rose again. That was God's son.....how hard was that to let His son go to Earth, knowing the end of the story? Yet, here I sit, grappling with her going to kids camp?

Do I believe He is enough? I do.... The same hands that created the sun, moon, and stars, holds each of us. The bible tells me that He has a plan for her life. I have to trust His plan, I may not know what it is, but I believe it is good. He is a good Father. He is able to do exceeding, abundantly, above all that I could think or ask..........

I choose to trust Him with her journey

Regina

Jeremiah 29:1 (NIV)

11 For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.

Ch-Ch-Ch-Changes

Well guys, lots of changes going on in this Momma's world. I'm sure for many of you too, as we move toward high school graduations for some.

Hank has always wanted to be a pilot. Then when he was just a little boy, his eyesight was damaged through an illness with Heamophilus Influenza type B. He was in the hospital about two weeks. We lived in KS at the time, so it was long days and longer nights away from our family and all that we knew. This illness was in his bloodstream and we were told that it would cause organ system failure which would lead to death or  mental retardation. Thankfully, none of that happened. What we were not told is that it could cause deafness and blindness.

He wasn't blind but he was in glasses by age 4 with his eyesight changing rapidly.

Move ahead to Hank in elementary school. Something was just not right. I knew...it seemed we all knew it,  but the school. Finally in 5th grade he had a hearing screen and we found out that he needed hearing aids. We asked the school to keep him in 5th grade to give him a chance to adjust to the aids and to get a better foundation for reading and math before plunging straight into middle school.

They did not see it that way....

That was  the start of our homeschool journey.

I cannot believe that we are finishing that journey in about 3 and a half months!

His eyes have now stablilized. His hearing he believed was healed several years ago at a conference we were at back at our home church in Cabot.

He found out he can be a pilot if he meets the vision requirement with his glasses. He has decided to go for it......in Tulsa.

He sat down with me last night and we started all the paperwork for graduation, another run at the ACT, and to gather more info from his top three schools of choice.

Y'all, it was all I could do not to turn into a blubbering mess. I have feelings of pride for my boy that we were told would not succeed in school. In fact his 4th grade teacher told us he had ADD, Dyslexia, Aspergers, and a host of other things that were not true. We know they were not true because he had to be tested for all of that due to her recommendations. The boy had absolutely nothing wrong but hearing loss. She also told me it was because his Dad and I, my first husband, were divorced....Lie! Girlfriends, let that be a lesson to you. The enemy wants to destroy you and your family. If he can just get a toe hold on your self esteem, he will do it! Guard against any negativity like that toward you or your family. That was a lie and I knew it, but if I had let it sink in and dwelt on it.....Hank's future, and mine, may have looked very different.

It's been a hard road for him. Due to the hearing impairment we were behind the 8 ball when we started homeschooling. He made up ground quickly. He wanted to learn. Was it easy? No way....there was a lot of tears and a even more prayer. I will confess that somedays I just didn't know what to do to help him learn. I wanted to throw my hands up. He probably did too. But, we made it. We worked together and figured out how he learned the best and just went for it! I am so glad God has bountiful grace and mercy, because Lord knows, He had to cover me a multitude of times over.

Now here we are. He was given hope again when he saw that he had a chance to go for his pilots license. Not only that, he has a couple of good back up plans if he still can't pass the vision tests. He said, "Mom, I am not going to think about failing. I am just going to say, When I become a pilot. It worked for Donald Trump, he said, When he becomes president, he never said if...." so there is one positive for DJT...he has influenced my son to take a positive approach.

Y'all, my boy with his big ol'servants heart, is going out into this world that is cruel and unforgiving. I don't know if I can stand it. I know that with this, just like everything else that has happened in my life, good and bad, God will be there to give me strength when I have none, His spirit will encourage me, and with Him beside me and Frank on the other side....we will see this boy through this season.

I'm exctied for his future, but just know that I will be standing there from the sidelines with a proud heart and misty eyes.

It's all part of the journey, Regina

He Does Not Change

 To tell you the truth I have been down for while......part depressed, part illness and the rest, just life. We made a big move at the end of 2015 for a job for my husband. It sounded great, it looked great on paper, but sometimes things don't always work exactly like you think they will.

Struggles.....we had a few. About the time it felt like we were getting settled in, I was diagnosed with COPD and CHF. it was blow to say the least. I walked around a little bit dazed for a while. I just couldn't figure out how this happened. You know how it goes, you start reasoning. I tried to do everything right,so that I would not get any type of illness like these. I was angry, sad, scared....you name it. Finances got a little rocky. I had a daughter getting married. I have a son graduating high school. It was a lot going on.

Depression crept in. Thats how depression will do you though, it's a creeper. It certainly doesn't announce itself at the door, right? Throw a bout of pneumonia and strep throat on top of that and it is the perfect storm. There are times I want to quit. Sit down and stay down. The illness alone is difficult some days. If it was just the illness, I think I could manage better.

Today my oldest daughter shared a post on facebook from her church about the dreams that God has given you and which of those are you going to go after in 2017. That post gave me a nudge....and I remembered.....

I remembered that I am the Daughter of the Most High God, I am an Overcomer, I am Resilient, I can make it. He calls me Worthy, He calls me Friend, He is the Lifter of my Head, He is my Source, He is the Grace Giver.

I remembered the dream He gave to me. How that He gave me the ability to tell a story, to write, to speak. I always dreamed of touching people's lives, inspiring them, watching people be set free from any and all bondages.

I remembered that He is a big God and just because my address changed, just because my health changed, just because the job situation changed.....He did not change. The situations I face may be beyond my control, but they are not out of His reach.

I'm going to go after the dreams He gave me...I'm hoping you will do the same.


Still walking this journey with you, my friends,

Regina

I am HIS

  I am God's child....even when I mess up and do the things I don't want to do, I am still His child and He still loves me. Look guys, none of us get up in the mornings with the thought of intentionally doing wrong, causing pain or hurt. We don't wake up dreaming of being so angry that we lash out at others....but sometimes we do those things and worse. In those moments, God never quits loving you, He never gives up on you, His love endures forever!

It's just like our own children, they make mistakes as well....and sometimes they will lash out at us in anger. Do we stop caring for them, do we stop loving them, do we exchange them for a new child? No, we would never do that. That is the same way God cares about you.....

If you find yourself doing things that you know you shouldn't, and you feel that all is lost.....take comfort today....God still loves you and wants you to just turn around and run toward Him! He will wrap you up in His arms, He will listen to your cares, your frustrations, and anything else you are feeling because He cares so much for you today!

Walking with you on this journey,
Regina

photo credit: David Bowman 
contact@bowman-art.com

Moving on From Here

Election day has come and gone....some of you are very happy with the outcome and some of you are not. I want to address the ones that are not.....

Many of you may feel worried, stressed, unsure about your future and the future of the United States. So I ask you today, who is your trust in? Are you looking to God as the author and finisher of your faith, or are you looking to Barack Obama to supply every need you have in life? The Bible is clear, that man will fail us, but God never fails. The United States may go through changes as a nation, but God never changes. We may face hardships, and uncertainties, but God's word says He will never leave us nor forsake us. I am confident in those things. 

Having faith in God, does not mean that your life and the life of this country will always be the smoothest sailing. We may go through some rough waters, we may face storms that will feel like we are gong to be overtaken and our ship is going to sink. The night may look dark for you, the hours may seems like they will never pass.....but stand strong. Don't be dismayed, don't be overcome, your God is still in control of your life. And in the end that is what matters right? It matters who is controlling your life.....is it God or is it man? Who are you going to put your trust in today? 

The Bible is also clear that we are to pray for our leaders. The President, regardless of who he/she is, has a difficult job, and I am sure feels insurmountable responsibility. The Bible does not say only pray for him if you agree with him....it just says to pray for your leaders. So let's do that. Let's pray for him and his family. I was troubled last night, when I heard and saw some different tweets and messages from people who were unhappy with the outcome....I saw people say that this man would be better off out of the picture. Before we began to make those statements, let's stop and think....Barack Obama, is a husband and a Daddy first, he is someone's son....how horrible that would be to see a family lose their husband and father, to see a mother lose her son. Let's not promote those kinds of thoughts. It is wrong. My prayer is that his family is always protected, that he is kept in good health, that he will turn His heart to the one true God and rely on Him for wisdom and clarity of mind for decisions that he must make that will affect so many people. 

Prayer is our only hope now....we call ourselves believers...then let the believers step forth and call on their God at this time. Quit hiding your heads in the sand and just complaining all the time....step up to the plate that has been set before you.....maybe God is waiting on you to bend your knee to Him, to acknowledge your devotion to Him and see Him as your only hope. Let's act like it now...let's surround this man with prayer and allow our faith to be made stronger through this. 

Another thought is this, we look to the President to make things better....let's make things better in our own homes first. Let change begin in you and your family first...as that happens it is like a rock being thrown into a pond...the ripples just keep spreading further and further out. Eventually that will spread to our nation. As Christians we are always criticizing what we think Barack Obama believes in his heart about God, but what do we believe in our heart about God? Is He really first in your life, or are you holding others up to a higher standard than what you can reach yourself?  It's a tough question...but one worth answering truthfully. 

Our nation will only suffer if we do not pull together now, heal this divide, and move forward. Your candidate may have lost the race last night, but our God is not defeated. He is still on the throne, He is not shocked nor dismayed...put your faith in Him, make Him first place in your life. Then, cast your cares and worries on Him....His shoulders are big enough to carry your burden, and His arms are wide enough to wrap around all of us and shelter us from any storm. He is the peace giver....not anyone else. God alone can comfort you, give you peace, give you rest.....don't get it confused and think that man can do those things because he can't.....

We worry about struggles and trials that we may face now.....why are you worried about that? Again the Bible is clear, that we as believers will have trials to overcome here on earth. Through those difficulties our faith is made strong. We can identify with Christ through our struggles, as He too had to endure the crucifixion and cross....that was a struggle too, wouldn't you agree? 

Don't lose your hope today....your hope is in God alone......this is just another part of the journey we are on, we have to just keep walking....

Regina