DREAM ON

Not too long ago, I asked myself if I was the only one whose dreams never came true. Under my high school yearbook picture my life goal was "to write the great American novel".  I thought that my dreams of that were not to be, but I had achieved a new dream which was having a beautiful daughter. My dream of a marriage that lasts all my life had ended, not failed, just ended.

While a stay at home mom, I published a number of freelance articles but didn't have the time to pursue my craft full time. After my divorce in 2011, I faced an extended potentially fatal illness. During my recovery, I began writing my own story which was very cathartic and helped my hone my craft but nothing was ready for publishing. So I read a lot and I prayed a lot. I should have known, everything happens in God's time not in mine. At that point, I began to dream on. I voiced those dreams to God and asked for guidance.

In the summer of 2016, God answered my prayers in a big way. I became inspired with a plot for a new novel and started doing research for that project. Then I saw an ad for writers wanted for a media group that owns eight women's magazines in the southeast. I sent my clips in to the editorial staff and was hired as a contributing writer. I have two articles coming out in the next issue of Emerald City Woman in Greenwood, South Carolina. I also was led to start this blog. In the first month, I received over 1000 views and it went international to ten countries on four continents. Thank you loyal readers, you are helping to encourage me to dream on.

I'm almost fifty years old, and I am proof that your dreams should stay in your heart no matter how long you've desired them. Through prayer, listening to God's desire for my life, and hard work my dreams are now becoming reality. Never give up on your dreams. They may be postponed while you fulfill God's plan for your life, but they never should go away. Everything happens for a reason and it happens in God's time, not in your time.

With a lot of work, a lot of prayer and a lot of faith dreams can come true at any time. Don't give up because one ending may lead to new beginnings. So always DREAM ON!!

JUST A VESSEL

Just to recap, I recently posted the story of a man who has cancer and there's nothing more anyone could do. (**SEE MR TOMMY'S STORY). I went to help care for his dogs and while I was there I felt led to thank him and his wife for allowing me to help out because it is through helping others that I can allowed God's love to show through me. Mr. Tommy replied, "you should know I'm not a Christian". Normally I may have dropped the conversation right there, but the Holy Spirit took over and I shared my testimony of God having healed me.

I drove home crying and praying out loud to God asking for Mr. Tommy to be healed and that he should come to know Jesus. Many of you responded to a FB post asking for prayer. Well, the prayers worked. Today, I got an email that Mr. Tommy had asked Jesus into his heart and had asked him for forgiveness. I shed tears of joy and prayed prayers of thanksgiving upon hearing of this. So, my message in this post is that our prayers have been answered. However, there's something else.

I'm not the type to go into conversations about religion at every turn, but I don't hide my faith either. I was led to share my story by divine inspiration. The fact is that as Christians we must always act as if someone were watching because they are. You may never know the lives you can touch on any given day and that influence can be positive or negative. I didn't go to see Mr. Tommy in order to change his heart. I didn't know his heart, but God did and he used me as a vessel to show (not just tell) how powerful God is and can be.

I take no credit for the change in Mr Tommy. Perhaps something I shared helped bring him to believe but just as a vessel can't take credit for how pure the water is, neither can I take credit. How often have I felt this tug on my heart that a stranger needs a kind hello or needs to get ahead of me in the grocery line. I'm sorry to say that I haven't always heeded these messages. I have asked God many times why he healed me, what was left for me to do here on earth. The fact is I may not know until I see Jesus face to face exactly what my true purpose was. But I have learned my lesson. When God says be a prayer warrior, I'll stop what I'm doing and I will pray. When the Holy Spirit nudges me to tell my testimony I'd better do it no matter if I know the person or not.

I'm not perfect. I struggle with questions some days and all I can do is pray for discernment. I now fully understand that God has a plan for all of us and we may influence others positively or negatively depending upon our actions and our words. We should all pray each day that God use us for his glory. We should graciously become a vessel for God's love.

God Bless

ALMOST FATAL

I was very abruptly confronted face to face with my own mortality this morning. I had to go out early to feed dogs I was dog sitting.  As I drove away from their house, I had a feeling (no it was a message to my heart) and it said you need to pray. So I sat for a minute, turned off the radio and began to talk to God. He's used to me talking to him from the car, by the way. I thanked God for the beautiful day and then said, "I don't know why, Lord but I need for you to watch over me and help me arrive home safe".

I was only a 10 minute drive from home so this feeling of needing to pray surprised me. I understood the why only 5 minutes into my drive home. I was going 40 - 45 MPH within the speed limit and no cars in front of me. In the oncoming lane, a car was holding up traffic to turn left into a church parking lot. As I got closer, maybe five car lengths away, the little old lady driving that turning car turned right in front of me. Now, I drive a large SUV so I'm not exactly hard to see coming.

I reacted on pure instinct, going back to defensive driving techniques my dad taught me when he was a cop. I slammed my Anti-lock brakes started to skid and cut the steering wheel hard to the left hand lane. Miraculously, the car jolted to a stop only inches from the other car's passenger door as the driver continued her very slow turn in front of me. My SUV was almost completely sideways from my cutting the wheel so sharp. Thank God my Ford Escape is a heavy vehicle or else I could have flipped it on its side.

I've heard of people in accidents having their lives flash before their eyes, but mine didn't. My daughter's life (her future marriage, her children and husband, her career) is what flashed because I knew I'd probably never see that. I also in a moment thought, "When is the last time I told my parents and my sister and daughter how much they mean to me?" I was shaking as I drove the rest of the way home praising God the whole way for saving me from the crash.

I get those feelings of needing to pray quite often. If I can, I stop what I'm doing and pray to God for
whatever his angels have put on my heart. I'm not crazy, delusional, or otherwise a nut case. I believe God sends his angels as messengers to speak to our soul. No matter what rationalizations non-believers may argue to me, I know something supernatural, not of this world kept me from harm's way this morning.

God Bless and please leave comments or click to follow future posts.