giving it away!

I know a lot of family and friends visit the blog to get an update on how I am doing and that kind of care and concern is never taken for granted. I just want you to know that your love and prayers are keeping me free from sickness and even causing my blood counts to go up. My WBC went up this last week, which is a miracle and so did my Red blood cell count. I need both whites and reds to improve even more, especially the whites (the ones that fight disease), so please keep up the prayers. But, as much as I like your prayers and feel your love I really don't want this blog to just be about me. I want it to be about you and your walk with the Lord. I want my life to be about serving you, otherwise it becomes a self centered, lonely place. I believe we were created to give ourselves away to one another. After all, Jesus did say in order to really gain life we must lose it for His sake and if we try to hold onto our life in this world we lose real life. (Matt. 16:24) How true that is! I think we feel the best about our lives when we are giving ourselves away to others. When we lay down our life for our husbands and wives, our families, our children our friends, even for the stranger in need...life, true life fills our hearts and we get a real sense of accomplishing something valuable, something truly worthwhile. It isn't so much the number of years God gives us, but what we do with those years that really counts. When you take the time to pray for your friends and family and others you are doing something that is captured by God for all eternity. When you give to others from your resources, your time, your concern, your love...you are storing up treasures Jesus says. Someday there will be no more pain and suffering and loss and hurt, but in this world we do and will have troubles and problems, troubles and problems that threaten to take away our joy and our peace. The greatest antidote to these troubles and problems is love...the love of God available to us unlimitedly and it is activated by being other centered....by getting our eyes off ourselves and onto those around us. God provides the needs of others as an opportunity to express His love through each of us as we respond in unselfish love and concern and compassion. Yes, these times are tough with economic uncertainty and all kinds of problems in our lives...I should know... but I also know that God loved us so much He gave...and that is what we are to do...give...give of ourselves just as you have given to me. I want to be able to give to you...so I want you to know I pray for you...I keep giving messages, I keep teaching, I keep this blog going not only to keep you informed on what God is doing in my life but so that you would be encouraged in your life. There is no problem too big, no valley too dark and deep that God can not reach us and turn our broken and scared and hurt heart around for His glory. Life is found in giving our life away to others, for this is true life, life everlasting...all that is done in and through His love remains forever. We know this because God has placed this truth within our hearts... and that is why when we give ourselves away we gain more real life. So don't be timid or afraid the Lord says, but be courageous for the Lord your God is with you wherever you go! (Joshua 1:9)

May the Lord empower your life today to do what is right and good in His sight!
In His love
kit