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Faith chooses to obey God when it absolutely makes no sense

Sometimes God speaks to us when we are simply minding our own business.  I was driving east on Interstate 20 in Columbia, SC last May when I began to see signs.  Literally!  There were multiple billboards rising like mountains above the highway, advertising going “back to school.” Some of them advertised online degrees and others advertised graduate school.

Many exit signs pointed the way to local colleges and universities.

obey GodI saw so many of them in just a few miles of travel that I began to wonder if God was speaking to me through the signs.

obey God

At one point I looked at an electronic billboard to the left of the highway, and, no joke, it changed before my eyes to a sign advertising going back to school.  Talk about surreal.

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Ain’t no mountain high enough with Jesus as your guide

Hi friends!  This week my blog post is hosted at the blog of my friend, Susan Ely.  As we face mountains of adversity in our lives, we are not left alone to navigate our way up the rocky terrain.   We have a guide, Jesus!  This blog post is sure to bless and encourage you, no matter what mountain you are facing.

Click on over to Susan’s blog, SusanEly.com, or follow this link.  

 

There is also a giveaway of a box of seven of my handmade note cards so read the blog all the way to the bottom to participate.

I will be back here at CelebratingWeakness.com in about 10 days with some exciting news in my life (and no, I’m not pregnant LOL).

 

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When you can’t see your future, just close your eyes

I met with my mentor this past week. We meet monthly over coffee and we talk about my family, my health, and ministry, among other things. I knew this month that I needed a lot of her wisdom. Do you know that she has all of her wisdom teeth? No wonder she is a wise woman.

When she asked about ministry, I just sighed. I have a blog, but I am tired of its name. I’m a writer, but I don’t feel like writing. I’ve been trying to spearhead a speaking ministry for three years, but no churches are calling with invitations. And I start seminary this month.

Mostly, I’m confused. When I envision my future, this is all I can see:

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Florence musings….There is a mountain behind that cloud

Its 7:30 in the morning. I am doing what I love to do when out of town…I am enjoying my coffee and a beautiful view of nature. Our family is staying with my mom and stepdad in West Jefferson, NC. They live in a two story condominium in a on a lovely golf course in the mountains.  My family of four and our day are occupying their basement.

Life is idyllic here in this moment, but let me share with you the unhappy circumstances that brought us here. We live in Wilmington, NC, which seems to be a magnet for hurricanes. I don’t understand the meteorology behind it, but suffice it to say, when Brian and I hunted for apartments there in 1996, the city was preparing for a hurricane. That should have alerted us to what would come.

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Declarations for parents of teenagers

Teenagers often don’t know when to keep their mouths shut.  A few years ago, a teenager boldly told me what their mother thought about me.  And then the teen went on to tell me their mother’s beliefs on parenting, which were very different from how I was raising my children.  The insinuation was this their mother did it the right way, and I did it the wrong way.

Honestly, I was crushed. And confused.  Insecurity joined the party as I questioned every aspect of my motherhood.  When I compared myself to this other mother, I came up wanting.

how to parent teenagers

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Why I am absolutely terrified of Facebook Live

The latest trend among bloggers and successful speakers is to host a “Show” on Facebook Live. If you’re not on Facebook, going “Live” means just how it sounds – you are broadcasting a live video from your phone, tablet or computer and your “Friends” on Facebook can see it. It seems that “Facebook Live Shows” are popping up everywhere, but I’m gonna brag a little – I was broadcasting on Facebook long before it became popular.

Two years ago, I taught a Facebook Live Bible study each Thursday morning at 9 am. I taught the book of Hebrews every week for about eight weeks. It was very unnerving and exhilarating to broadcast live. You are very conscious of how you look and if you made a mistake, there’s no going back.  Live means live!

When the Bible study was over, people begged me to teach another one. I vaguely replied, “I’ll think about it.”

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God will use your weakness to help others

People have always loved to tease me. Maybe its because I’m 4’10” and I’ve always been a bit gullible. When I was a child, my brother teased me by telling me that I was adopted. Anyone who looked at my petite shape and my mother’s (and my grandmother’s) would know that wasn’t true, but they had me going. And sometimes I played along as the dumb blond, making it all the more fun.

My brother took advantage of my gullibility by giving me some advice as well.  When I was little, I thought my nose was big.  Being a helpful older brother, he told me that if I did “nose exercises” by wiggling my nose back and forth, my nose would “lose weight” and be smaller.  I faithfully exercised my  nose but there was no change.  Thanks, bro!

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I asked God, “Why me?” He replied, “Why NOT you?”

This blog post begins where so many of my posts begin: from a tender moment that occurs while I am enjoying my morning coffee and nature. Today I’m on the porch of a 100 year old cottage in the mountains. I’m in a rocking chair (of course), covered with a fuzzy blanket (because the mountains are cool in June) and water from last night’s rain is dripping on my head from the tree above me.

And the best part is that my ears are full of the sounds of birds and streams and peace.

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When you have nothing left to offer God

Dear blog readers, I usually have a dozen blog posts ready to go “live” online.  After preparing them, some just sit in WordPress, waiting until the time is right for me to post them.  This blog post is over 18 months old but I think it may encourage one of you, today.   And don’t worry – my sweet boy is feeling just fine now.  And I am good, too!  

I put on my walking shoes on a cool fall morning.  God and I needed to have a talk because I was feeling like a hot mess.  I had believed God for fourteen years for healing for my child’s chronic illness and he was sick again.  To say that I was undone by this turn of events was an understatement.  At first I was really scared.  And then I was very angry.  And after a few weeks of walking through spider webs, I just felt numb.

shoessmall

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My son survived but the trauma changed me

This is a guest post by my friend and fellow speaker and blogger Christina Custodio.  When she first told me the story of her son’s brain hemorrhage, surgery, survival, and recovery journey, all I could say was, “Wow.”  Then, when I saw her share her own personal journey on her blog, again, all I could say was, “Wow.”  And I wanted you to hear her story, too.  So please welcome Christina as she guest post’s on CelebratingWeakness.com…

Recently, I joined a club I never had any desire to be a member of. It’s not like I ever looked down on people who were already members…. It’s just that I didn’t think I was like them….

About two and a half years ago, my son almost died.   On September 8, 2015, I got a call from one of the trainers at the middle school during football practice telling me that Isaiah got a bad headache and needed to be picked up. When I got there he was sick and incoherent. I took him to the emergency room where we eventually found out that he had had intracranial hemorrhaging (Later to be diagnosed as a ruptured arterio vascular malformation or AVM).

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