Something New

On August 29, 2023August 28, 2023 By vickleaIn ScriptureLeave a comment

Don’t be surprised when you see new things happening in your world because God promised that it would in His Word. Something new to me means something unexpected, perhaps miraculous, but definitely something you will recognize as from God. I think that sometimes we miss the new things that God is doing because we are so busy looking for Him to change the old things in a way that we have requested, exactly the way we want Him to answer a prayer. Fortunately for us, God is not limited by how we ask Him to do things and He ends up answering our prayers in new and imaginative ways that we could never think of with our finite minds. God is good…all the time! And He surprises me with His new things most of the time! When was the last time that God surprised you?

Pray, Believe, Receive

On July 7, 2023 By vickleaIn Scripture2 Comments

Anyone who has followed me on my blog for a while knows that I have a few health problems. Well, actually, maybe more than a few. But I am totally blessed that God has taken care of me and is continuing to watch over me. My attitude of gratitude did not come easily as I spent much time angry about my health conditions and my inability to change them as well as God’s silence on the matters. Then, in 2015, my stroke happened. It was a bad one, or so I was told. If it had not happened at school where I was closer to the hospital and where the school nurse could immediately diagnose me and get help, I would likely not have survived. Coincidence? No…God watching over me.

At the time of my stroke, I could not move any limbs on my right side and could barely stutter out an intelligible word. But what I could do is pray and pray, I did! In the ambulance, I was praying silently to the Lord. The paramedic asked me if I needed something because it seemed I was trying to speak. Well, I did need something (healing) but I wasn’t telling the paramedic. I was talking to God. My husband was late arriving at the hospital because the school nurse had trouble getting him to answer the phone, so I was all alone for a little while. And I prayed, as multiple health workers did their jobs all around me, buzzing about the fact that I was probably having a stroke. The end result was that my husband arrived, I had the option to get a clot-busting shot that could kill me (30% chance) or save my life. My husband called our daughter Hope and together we prayed that the shot would work. It did…but I’m here to tell you that the medication was injected into my body but the Lord did the healing.

I have just been through a series of medical tests and the doctors could not find anything seriously wrong with me except for a reaction to my medication. I feel in my heart and soul that I was healed…God used my symptoms of fainting, vision loss and dizziness to built my faith in Him as I trekked to one specialist after another. In the end, He spoke quietly to me that He had healed me because of His great love for me. Once again, God reached down and touched me, not because of who I am or what I have done but because of Who He is.

My response to God’s grace and mercy is praise and thanksgiving. I am thankful for each day that I get to spend here on earth with my family and friends. God is wonderful to me and abounds in blessings for me. Today, I get to travel again, this time to see my sister who had to move to NC because of her health conditions. If you knew me well, you would know that I dislike traveling. I like the comforts and familiarity of home and would never go anywhere if we did not have family at a distance. Nevertheless, I am blessed to be healthy enough to travel and to get to see my sister who celebrated her birthday this week.

Every day is a miracle. The sights I see around me are evidence of God’s working on the earth. Birds singing, rain falling, squirrels scampering around the bird feeders…all are wonderful signs of God’s creation that He cares for so well. And the best thing is that He has shared it with me to enjoy…and with you! Look around you. You may not see or be aware of God’s miracles, but they are everywhere. Every breath we take is a gift from God. Everything we see is a gift from God. All that we are able to hear is a gift from God. Thus, I have learned and I’m still learning to pray, believe and receive…then to be thankful that I am able to do all of these because of a great and marvelous God who loves me beyond all that I can imagine.

Our Amazing God

On January 10, 2023 By vickleaIn Scripture, Song4 Comments

After the man who was paralyzed was healed, the people’s reaction was amazement. Daily, God walked among them because Jesus came to earth as a man. But when miracles began to happen, they were amazed. Should we not be constantly amazed at what God has done and is doing? All we have to do is look around us at all He has already created for us to enjoy, look at our own health and well-being and the blessings of family He has given us. We see remarkable things daily, if we just open our eyes.

No one is like our God, the God who sees us, hears us and answers us. He is holy and is to be praised, not just for performing miracles, but for who He is and always has been.

God speaks and things happen. I have difficulty getting my grandchildren to even hear me when I speak because they are so attentive to their television shows. Yet, God spoke and the whole earth was created. Amazing God!

Indescribable-Chris Tomlin

Unexpected Places and Situations

On December 5, 2020 By vickleaIn Uncategorized8 Comments

Where do you look for and find kings and princes? On thrones, right? On display for all to see. There was a news story that I read yesterday that one of the queen’s dogs had died. And the fact that the dog belonged to the Queen of England made the story newsworthy. But that is not how our Lord and Savior, the King of the World appeared. He was born in a smelly stable, among the animals, and lay in a manger, a feeding trough, to sleep. Jesus was King, but He was found in an unexpected place.

In another story in the Bible, the disciples start rowing across the Sea of Galilee and Jesus tells them that He is staying behind to pray. They just go about doing what he told them to do, i.e. go to the other side. Suddenly, they see Him walking across the water to the boat. On top of the water! Unexpected place for Him to be, right? The disciples seem to be awestruck, exactly as I would have been. This is the story in which Peter steps out of the boat and also walks on water, as long as he keeps his eyes on Jesus. He begins to sink once he looks at how large the waves are. There’s a good lesson for us there; we absolutely have to keep our eyes on Jesus when the waves of life are overwhelming us. But the unexpectedness of Jesus’s appearing on the water is also a lesson for us.

You see, Jesus appears in the most unexpected places and situations in our lives. Honestly, He is always there for us, but there are some times in my life that I believe that I can see Him and reach out and talk to Him. One such time was when my daughter lost her beloved baby in utero. Tessa Serenity had spent six and a half months growing inside her mom and being cherished. Then, in an instant, with one ultrasound, the promise of a new baby was ended. As my husband and I rushed to drive the nine hours to comfort our daughter and her family, I felt the presence of Jesus closely. I myself was grieving, but I had what I believe was a supernatural ability to walk and talk with the grieving children and to just be there for their mom and dad. I’m looking forward to meeting Tessa in heaven one day, but meanwhile, during a situation in my life that was totally unexpected, Jesus stepped in and reminded me that He was there with each child and with my grieving, inconsolable daughter. He spoke to my heart and gently reminded me that He had sent a Comforter to be with my family and the Holy Spirit’s presence got us through that really hard time.

When my father was dying in a VA hospital in Florida, I had just retired and I wanted to jump into the car with my husband and head there as quickly as I could. But, do you remember the boat that Jesus walked towards on the waves? How many disciples got out of the boat? One. Just one. Again, the Lord spoke to my heart and calmed me, telling me that my brothers were with my dad and that was how it should be. They had been the ones to spend the most time with him during his life, even working with him at times, and so they should be the ones to be by his side as he passed from this life to the next. My brother James had to cross the bridge of forgiveness to be with my father, and I consider it a major miracle that James talked to daddy about salvation and had the great privilege of leading him to the Lord and of being with him when he drew his last breath. Who was with them? Jesus was. From the beginning, when they walked across the crashing waves into the hospice room, Jesus was with my brothers. But He was also with me, holding me in His arms and comforting me in exactly the way I needed. You see, I was in PA at the time, with my daughter and her family again. The sight of the grandchildren reminded me that generations continue and daddy was gone to be with Tessa. He had never met any of my grandchildren, but I knew that he would recognize Tessa and that both of them were loving on each other. Daddy always loved babies, so I could picture him cuddling little Tessa and holding her close to his heart. One thing I remember from my childhood is my my father holding me gently and encouraging me to breathe through my asthma attacks. Anyway, Jesus was always there, just when and where we needed Him. Daddy’s death was not unexpected, but His acceptance of Jesus as His Savior was. Jesus was there for him, for my brothers and for me.

I could go on and on about all of the places and situations in which Jesus suddenly showed up. But instead, I want you to think of how Jesus has appeared and given you just what you needed when you needed it. Blessings, my friends, for a grateful and expectant heart. For it is in keeping our eyes on Jesus and our hope in Him that we know how much we need Him. Yes, He shows up unexpectedly, just like we know He will because He loves us. Unexpected? Maybe. But always welcome and always a big part of the life of believers.

Cry Out to Jesus by Third Day