Tas Philas

My bible study today was about Philos or Friend Love. We use the phrase "girlfriends" a lot when we talk about our "girls," the friends that are close to us, but I never knew it was scriptural.

Luke 15:9 NIV
"And when she finds it, she calls her friends [tas philas] and neighbors together and says 'Rejoice with me; I have found my lost coin.'"

In this parable about the lost coin, the greek words tas philas are used to describe the friends who celebrated with her when she found the coin. Tas philas literally means female friends or in todays terms, girlfriends! Even back then, when the chips were down you called your girlfriends! I love that. So here is a shout out and salute to all my girlfriends, my tas philas... We should make t-shirts : )

To Be Continued...

This is a draft I found that I was too emotional to finish at the time... I originally wrote it in January and have added the last few sentences today to finish it... I think it's important to post in case anyone is discouraged in their faith as they believe God for the healing of a loved one...it happens to all of us... but we can't lose if we don't quit!!!! No matter what our emotions tell us...

Funny how I was catching up on the blogs I missed during the last week and one of my friends blogged about healing... It's what's on my mind, too.

For those of you who don't know, my dad has been battling Hep C, diabetes, kidney failure and liver failure for about 11 yrs. It's a loooong story but suffice it to say that it's been one rough ride for this daddy's girl. He waited (and suffered for 10 yrs) waiting for the transplantS he needed (both kidney and liver) and then on July 5, 2008 he got the call. The relief that this would finally be over for him was overwhelming as was the anxiety about the procedure itself. Everything went well, Praise God... we were all so happy....until... well, he started getting sick on a regular basis and was put through inumerable procedures, tests, biopsies, drains...blah blah blah...

I found myself feeling very hopeless the other night when mom called and told me he was in crisis and his blood pressure was 70/44 and his pulse was also 44... rapid response was in the room working on him and couldn't get it to come back up. That's the team that comes in because they anticipate that you could crash and have to have a full code blue called (when your heart stops).

I felt like I got hit in the stomach... I would like to say that faith rose up and I immediately went to battle and I KNEW everything was gonna be ok, but I didn't. This is a situation I have prayed so much about and believed God for for so long that I guess my tank of faith was empty. I kind of felt numb... Thank God for the wisdom to at least keep my mouth shut! So I did what I always do when my faith is low... I called (or texted) my 3 closest friends and told them to pray.

Dad pulled through (Thank you, Jesus...) but I was left with a huge feeling of guilt and failure because I hadn't responded the way I would have liked to. It gets hard to watch someone you love suffer so much after so many years... I guess I let it get to me. I don't understand why this has happened the way it has or why God hasn't manifested the answers to my prayers yet...

It is puzzling and sometimes very discouraging HOWEVER I know my God well enough to know that according to Heb 10:23...(NIV) "Let us hold unswervingly to the hope we profess, for He who promised is faithful." If I hold on to God's promises, they will come to pass as God is unable to fail.

One day I will be posting the miraculous testimony of how God saved my dad from death and the wonderful ways dad is declaring the works of the Lord in his life. TO BE CONTINUED...

A Woman's Influence

I was so excited to start the first day of the homework for our bible study (Living Beyond Yourself by Beth Moore). My excitement quickly turned to Godly sorrow when I began to realize the golden nugget I was waiting for from God today was actually a stone thrown right between the eyes of my pride. You know, the pride we don't know we have? As I was reading along about the missionary journey of Paul and Barnabas, Beth points out Acts 13:50 (NIV):

"But the Jews incited the God-fearing women of high standing and the leading men of the city. They stirred up persecution against Paul and Barnabas, and expelled them from their region."

I kind of blew through that with the general point taken that Paul and Barnabas were persecuted... everyone knows that, right? Then Beth asks the question, "Who did the Jews purposefully incite first?" THE WOMEN! It was the God-fearing women of high standing that they went to get things stirred up! Why? Because God has given women the power of influence. She goes on to ask the question "To whom did the serpent go when he sought the ruin of Adam and Eve (Gen 3:1)? THE WOMAN! He knew that Eve could influence Adam to do anything...

I can't think of any better way to word the next section so I will quote it the way Beth wrote it, it's definitely a "selah" kind of paragraph and one that forced me to look inside myself and repent of some nasty ways I use my power of influence (or manipulation)... So here it is:

"How do you use the fearful gift of influence? At its best, it teaches, nurtures, encourages, exhorts, evangelizes and disciples. At worst, it cripples and kills. The line between influence and manipulation is extremely fine. Influence is so easy to use, it's frightening. Maybe it's the reason God exhorts us to 'gentle and quiet' spirits. We need to think before we speak and act. The warnings in scripture are not provided because we are so lowly, but because we possess such an awesome gift..."

"Today let's risk some honest answers to the question of influence. How do I use the gift of influence in my home? in my church? in my workplace? When you consider your capabilities, both positive and negative, do you see the extreme necessity of learning to live in the Spirit?"

I, for one, have been guilty of using my influence over my husband as manipulation to get what I want. It was not intentional, I was uncomfortable in certain situations so I felt the need to continually express what I thought we should do about it...in my mind it was the only answer that made sense...when in fact it was the only answer that made ME feel the best. I have since repented and will be more cognisant of my intentions.

So, there you have it, folks... day 1 of our bible study and I have already had to sacrifice another giant chunk of my every present flesh.

Fox Hunting

Our church is at the end of the first week in a 21 day fast. This is so much harder than I thought it would be. I am fasting Facebook... Seems simple enough, right? I thought it wouldn't be bad at all. I guess you figure out how addicted you are to something when you can't or choose not to have it. I have started to get on every morning and been tempted to check it several times in between. I usually just keep it up all day and then if someone is on that I want to chat with I just click on them and start typing...

I guess what I am learning from this is that when you think something is a little time consuming, it is probably more than you thought it was to begin with. Now when the "I don't have time" excuse pops into my mind, I will have to remember that it's the "little" foxes that spoil the vine...
Time to go fox hunting! : )

Trust in the Lord...

In my haste to "get things going" again in my life I have realized (thank you, Holy Spirit) that I had begun to fall into old habits of trying to make things happen. I was getting worked up about getting a house, whether or not to work, which school to send the kids too, etc. As I was sitting one morning talking to the family about a passage I just read to them, the Lord dropped Prov. 3:4-6 in my heart.

"Trust in the Lord with all your heart. Don't depend on your own understanding. Remember the Lord in everything you do and He will give you success ( make straight your paths.)"

I purpose to let it all go (again) and to bring it all to Him in prayer and then sit back and watch what He can do!