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Psalm 23:1 “The Lord is my Shepherd, I shall not want.”

Recently, my son told me that he wanted to follow a certain career path.  He also said that in order to follow that career path, he would have to make some drastic changes in his life.  My response was, “What is it worth to you?”  (It wasn’t the first time he had heard that! LOL)

Funny thing:  Immediately after asking my son the “What is it worth to you?” question, I had to ask myself the same.  I have been trying to shed about 20-25 pounds that I have gained in the past 3 years, but I have not been successful.  What is it worth to me to lose those 20-25 pounds?

Is it worth me giving up Coke?

Anyone who knows me, knows that I love Coke.  Each day, I consume anywhere from 60-120 ounces of Coke.  That is not good.  Of course, I’m addicted to caffeine because I drink so much Coke.  Being addicted to caffeine is not why I drink it, and I have mastered the art of giving up Coke many times successfully.  I drink Coke because it is my favorite thing to drink!  I absolutely love the taste of Coke!

“The Lord is my Shepherd and I shall not want…” Coke.  Okay, well maybe it will take a little longer than one day without Coke to really believe that.  But, I have started this journey.  I really do want to shed these extra pounds, and I also know that this Coke culprit is terrible for my body.  And, how can my body be a good Temple if I am abusing it?

So here’s my plan.  About 2 weeks ago, I started going to the pool at my apartment complex about 4-5 times a week for about 30-45 minutes of exercise.  And, today I did not have a Coke and tried to make better food choices.  I am starting a lifestyle change, not a diet, by trying to make healthier choices each day.  And, I am going to trust God that He is my Shepherd and I will not want!

I’ll keep you posted!  One day down, the rest of my life to go!

Romans 11:16-18

“For if the firstfruit is holy, the lump is also holy; and if the root is holy, so are the branches.  And if some of the branches were broken off, and you, being a wild olive tree, were grafted in among them, and with them became a partaker of the root and fatness of the olive tree, do not boast against the branches. But if you do boast, remember that you do not support the root, but the root supports you.”

This passage is a beautiful comparison of a vine and the family of God.  Even though the Church must continue to find ways to be relevant, we should never look at our foundations or forerunners as no longer important or useful.  Although their methods may seem antiquated, they forged pathways of the Gospel through their culture.

If John, Peter, or Paul walked into our church on a Sunday morning with the same clothing and style of the 1st century, I feel sure we would find their methods and language different from ours.  However, I also think that we would not dismiss them because we know their contribution to the Kingdom.  They are part of the root system that was begun by Jesus.

Many of the senior adult Christians I know have so much to offer us.  Their heart for Jesus and His Kingdom is unmatched.  I am grateful to them and want to learn as much as I can from them.  I invite you to hang out with your senior Christians and learn from them!

Psalm 16:5-9

5 O Lord, You are the portion of my inheritance and my cup; You maintain my lot.

6 The lines have fallen to me in pleasant places; Yes, I have a good inheritance.

7 I will bless the Lord who has given me counsel; My heart also instructs me in the night seasons.

8 I have set the Lord always before me; Because He is at my right hand I shall not be moved.

9 Therefore my heart is glad, and my glory rejoices; My flesh also will rest in hope.

In my adult life, I have moved well over 20 times.  My recent move to California has been one of the biggest moves of all.  Moving from the East Coast to the West Coast (over 2600 miles) by myself was exciting, even if daunting at times, because I knew that God had spoken to me.

The interview for my new position was on October 29, 2014, and I received the offer of employment on November 25, 2014.  So I basically had a month to decide if this is what I thought should happen.  You would think that was enough!  LOL  However, not enough for me; I asked for another week to pray.  I needed to hear from GOD!

On Monday night before I was to give my answer, I got ready for bed.  I still was searching.  In those moments before I fell asleep, I prayed,

God I need to know.  I have wanted to live in California my whole life, but is this what you want?  This is a huge step of faith for me.  I will be leaving family and friends.  This leap of faith has to be grounded in Your will and direction for my life.  When I wake up in the morning, please give me something that will make me know that this is what You want for me.

And, I turned over and went to sleep.  There was no wrestling to find sleep; I slept like a baby!

When I awoke on Tuesday morning (December 2, 2014), the song in my head was “Living By Faith,” an old hymn of the church.  I walked around for about 20 minutes singing, and finally stopped in my tracks and said out loud, “Why am I singing this song?”  The Lord so clearly spoke to my spirit and said, “You asked for confirmation; I want you to live by faith.”

From that moment on, I have not doubted my decision.  When traveling those 2600+ miles and doubt tried to creep in, I had the Word of the Lord to stand on and stop those doubts in their tracks.  As Psalm 16 says, God is our inheritance and portion.  He will take care of us if we just let Him.  “He is at my right hand I shall not be moved.” (Psalm 16:8)

Genesis 45:8

“So now it was not you who sent me here, but God; and He has made me a father to Pharaoh, and lord of all his house, and a ruler throughout all the land of Egypt.”

All those years ago, Joseph’s brothers were angry with him.  They spilled animal’s blood on his coat, threw him into a well, decided they could not let him die, sold him into slavery, and lied to their father about it all.  The brothers lived with the result of their actions until they came face to face with Joseph many years later.  As they sat in front of Joseph, disbelief, fear, bewilderment, and who know what other emotions, crashed in on their hearts and minds.

They were scared!  But, Joseph loved them!

There are so many amazing lessons we can learn from Joseph.  Here are just three:

1. Forgiveness:  At one point, he had to leave them to weep because he was so overcome with love and longing for these brothers who had mistreated him.  Do I forgive like that?  Forgiveness that overrides bitterness and turns into love?
2. Steadfastness:  Never does the Bible say that Joseph used his anger against his brothers towards anyone or anything.  He stood on his belief in God and remained faithful to Him.
3. Blessing:  Joseph and his family were welcomed in Egypt.  Verse 32 of chapter 43 states it was unacceptable for Egyptians to eat and sit at the table with Hebrews.  But, Genesis 45:16 states that Pharaoh and his servants were pleased that Joseph had found his family.

I have always been fascinated by Joseph.  According to the account of his life in Genesis, he was always faithful to his relationship with God.  He believed that sin was against God, not man. (Genesis 39:9)

What would our lives look like if we lived like Joseph’s example?

Psalm 37:4 “Delight yourself in the Lord, and He will give you the desires of your heart.”

PINCH ME!  I have moved to California!  You may not think that is a big deal, but to me it is a really big deal.  Here’s why.

When I was a very young girl, there were three places that I wanted to live when I grew up.  One of those places was Florida because Florida was where my Aunt Jo lived.  Aunt Jo, my mom’s sister, actually seemed closer to my age than she did my mom.  When we would visit Aunt Jo, she was always very sweet and attentive to us kids, and she included us in everything.  We were not relegated to another room during dinner or when conversation was happening.  She was always teaching and loving us.  You could just tell.

John 10:27

“My sheep hear My voice, and I know them, and they follow Me.”

Recently, I met a new friend named Cyndi.  During our visit, we were talked about being obedient to the Holy Spirit’s voice and our reluctance at times to be obedient.  Cyndi shared one such instance with me.

Her assignment that day was to get balloons for a birthday celebration at work.  As she was leaving the office to run the errand, she saw an ambulance across the street.  In her heart, Cyndi felt as if the Holy Spirit told her to go pray with the person who was being placed in the ambulance.  Cyndi said, “But God, by the time I cross the road, he will be gone.”  Again, she felt the familiar, “Go pray for the person in that ambulance.”  She replied, “But God, the EMTs will not let me get close to the person.”  Again, that familiar voice said, “Go pray for the personal in that ambulance.”  Cyndi’s reply, “But God, he will think I’m crazy.”

At the third “but,” Cyndi said she realized she needed to get her “but” out of the way and do what God, through His Holy Spirit, was asking her to do.  So, she crossed the road and got to the ambulance just after they had loaded the person in the back.  She stepped up to the driver and told him she felt she was supposed to pray with the person who was in the back of the ambulance.  Much to her surprise, the EMT said she could.  She stepped up into the back of the ambulance and prayed with the man.  He was so happy that she had listened and obeyed the voice.

Although Cyndi did not know the outcome of her prayer, she did feel a great sense of peace because she had gotten her “but” out of the way and followed the voice of the Holy Spirit.

Do you need to get your “but” out of the way and go ahead and do what God is calling you to do?

John 10:27

“My sheep hear My voice, and I know them, and they follow Me.”

This morning I was thinking about the sound of my voice.  Many times over the years, people have said things about my speaking voice.  Things like, “I would know that voice anywhere.”  Or, “you have a very distinctive voice.”  Or, “your voice is very unique.“  And, recently, I was at a women’s conference and I was talking and laughing with several ladies.  From across the room, I heard someone say, “Is that Pat Zimmerly?”  I went over to see who had said it and found a very good friend of mine who is legally blind, but she knew my voice.  Why is that?

Philippians 4:4  “Rejoice in the Lord always. Again I will say, rejoice!”

On August 3rd, my sister and I attended her 40th and my 39th class reunion of Enloe High School.  WOW!  it doesn’t seem possible that it has been that long.  Time has flown by.  We remembered some people and wished we remembered others.  Even so, we had a blast getting re-acquainted with all of them.

As I have reflected on the reunion, I was reminded of my high school days.   My first couple of years in high school were awful.  Although most people would never believe it, I was shy.  The shyness I felt was from a huge lack of self-esteem.  I am not really sure why I felt so inadequate and unattractive, but I did.  During the summer before my senior year with some counsel from my youth pastor, I decided to choose happiness, no matter what.  As a consequence of that choice, my senior was amazing.  And, choosing happiness has become my philosophy of life.

Although, I have blogged on this subject before, I really do believe it bears repeating.  Paul tells us in Philippians to rejoice always.  It is a choice.  We can choose not to rejoice, but rejoicing is better.  People cannot control your emotions; you do that all by yourself.

I dare you to choose happiness for a day.  It will change your life.  And I will bet, just like the potato chip, you will not be able to choose just one day, you will need two, three, four, etc.  So, take the happiness challenge – rejoice in the Lord always!

2 Samuel 15:21

“But Ittai answered the king and said, ‘As the Lord lives, and as my lord the king lives, surely in whatever place my lord the king shall be, whether in death or life, even there also your servant will be.'”

On Thursday, I came to Raleigh to be with my parents as my Dad underwent a very delicate heart surgery.  The doctors led us to believe that the chances of death without the surgery were great and the surgery could cause death.  It seemed like no matter what Dad chose, he could die.

On Friday, we sat in the surgery waiting room while many family and friends were bathing us in prayer across the US.  As we sat in the waiting room, I was reminded of times spent in the surgery waiting room while Joel was going through his illnesses.  While I pondered life and death, the Holy Spirit showed me that in either outcome,
death or life, we win!  If we live, we get to stay with family and friends and live out our Christianity.  If we die, we get the ultimate prize!

So, like Ittai, whatever the King says, death or in life, we will live with our King.

Psalms 37:23

“The steps of a good man are ordered by the Lord, And He delights in his way.”