THE STRUGGLE IS REAL! But MERCY IS EVEN MORE REAL!

I hesitated to share this honor but also wanted to remind everyone that the struggle is real and continues for families. I have in no way arrived and also on the totem pole of people doing great things in our community, I’d probably be at the bottom.

On the very week of this honor some of the greatest pain continues in our family with situations that would be totally unbearable without the Lord. Sometimes I’m amazed at how low someone’s bottom must get. I’m equally amazed at the grace of our Lord.  Something that is on my heart is concerning yielding to the Lord. Sometimes we, as humans, hold on so tight to the very thing that is hindering the blessing of the Lord. I’ve always said that I don’t want to be clenching my hands closed, so that the Lord has to rip things from me, but I open my hands up each day and release those things to Him. I put those I love on His altar and try to release to His plan their lives. He sees so much clearer than I do. I can’t figure it out, but He already has.

So I share this as part of my journey and that you may know me better. Also, that you would know that you what do matters. You are unique and have unique offerings to give to the world. Shine on.

From the Facebook page for Volusia Recovery Alliance

October 4 at 7:15 AM · 

It's that day again where we celebrate Local Recovery Heroes, including Allies and Family Members.
We are so grateful for today's Hero and thank her for all the work she's done to help our community and so much more!
Please help us celebrate Donna!!

What is your name and how long have you been involved in the Recovery Community?

Hi, I’m Donna Collins Tinsley and I became involved with the Recovery Community on a personal note when I attended an Al-Anon meeting over eleven years ago. The only reason I went there was because, after years of watching my beautiful daughter self-destruct, I did the only thing I thought I could do; I Marchman Acted her.* To be able to visit her at treatment I had to attend Al-anon and get someone to sign a paper for each visit. After the first visit to the Gentle Journey Group, I knew I wanted to go back for “me” whether I visited her or not. “Keep coming back” and “It works if you work it,” were slogans that became part of my life.

What inspired you to become involved in the Recovery Community?

I really wanted to educate myself and become part of the solution and not part of the problem. There wasn’t as much help available back then and a lot of stigma to families and within families. I always thought, this is “Somebody’s daughter, son or family member.” What if it were yours? Wouldn’t you want someone to care about them and not look down upon them? As a mother, I also wanted to help ease the load of hurting moms and children. The pain is real but the healing can be just as real, if we embrace recovery. My daughter was 41 at the time I Marchman Acted her and although she’d been in and out of treatment a few times, she wasn’t able to stay clean. Her lifestyle had stolen the joy of life and family from her. I think by this time we were both desperate! What I didn’t know at the time was the Marchman Act spelled love to her. A conversation we’d had on the phone, beforehand, went like this,
“You need to go into a drug treatment program!”
“Mom, you could always “Marchman Act” me,” she replied.

Although I thought at her age, she should be doing it herself, I didn’t realize that she thought no one loved her enough to do it. That was not true, I was just torn between detaching and letting natural consequences come about and doing what I wanted to do, as a mom.

By the time she was served the papers, she decided she didn’t like the idea of me doing it. But I decided to follow through as in the Serenity Prayer, “Accept the things I cannot change, change the things I can.” A friend in Recovery says, “Do what you can live with.” (John H.) Some days I can live with detachment, other days not. Some days I may offer a ride, or help in some form. Other days, I may have a check in my heart about helping. She since has embraced recovery and has been working a program, and serving the Recovery Community also. We now have several family members in recovery. Yet as one child got better, another one started down the slippery slope of pain. I didn’t even see it coming as I was too focused on the addict. The struggle is real for families.

What has being involved in the Recovery Community taught you about yourself?

The Recovery Community has taught me that it’s a family disease and we ALL need help. Recovery teaches that we who are affected by addiction are also sick, and keeping secrets keeps us sicker. It has taught me that we need the help of a loving God to help restore our insane lives back to sanity. For me, Jesus and recovery groups are what gets me through the day. And the long nights.

"Addiction is an equal opportunity destroyer" was the most profound quote written by Joe Herzanek in "Why Don't They Just Quit?" If you are a parent of an addict you will relate to that quote. But Recovery also taught me that I can’t “fix” anyone but myself and to “Mind My Own Business.” That’s a hard one for me but I’m learning to make quick amends if I get off the path. I love the Al-anon slogans and certain devotionals that enhance my recovery walk. It’s taught me to have compassion and reminds me that there is HOPE!

What ways have you found to be of service in the Recovery Community?

I’m honored to be a very small part of the Recovery Community and feel that there are SO MANY other people doing so much more than I do. One of the first things I did was create a Facebook page to pray for mothers and their loved ones, called Somebody’s Mother Online Prayer Support Group. If substance use disorder in any form has hit your family you need to know that someone is holding you up in prayer. It is a closed page, so the public can’t see the prayer requests. We’ve had some victories as well as losses, but together we are strong.

I’ve attended Al-anon events and seminars and serve as secretary for my home group right now. I help as one of the administrators on the Substance Abuse Community Force and try to keep Recovery topics there online. I try to encourage people of faith to join with us on this journey. I blog to encourage people to press on. I hope one day to do more service work, but since life gets in the way of living sometimes, I’m just doing what I can. I want it to be said of me when I die, “She lived well and she loved well.” Love never fails.
Let your light shine, people! Recovery is alive and well in our area!

*THE MARCHMAN ACT: The Marchman Act is a Florida statute that is also known as the "Hal S. Marchman Alcohol and Other Drug Services Act of 1993" and simply referred by its abbreviated name "The Marchman Act". It provides a means of involuntary and voluntary assessment & stabilization and treatment of a person allegedly abusing alcohol or drugs.

#NationalRecoverymovement #VolusiaRecoveryAlliance #Volusiarecovers #Community #Recovery #RecoveryCommunityHero #FacesandVoicesofRecovery

https://thornrose7.blogspot.com/2014/02/thank-you-beth-patch-and-cbn.html

WHEN GOD'S PROMISES AND REAL LIFE COLLIDE

I started this particular blog in July and life got in the way of posting. Today it seems even more relevant than then. Real life has been hard recently. FOR THIS WE HAVE JESUS!

When God’s Promises and Real Life Collide

Behold, the Lord has proclaimed to the end of the earth,

Say to the daughter of Zion, “Lo, your salvation comes;

Behold His reward is with Him, and His recompense before Him.”

And they will call them, “The holy people,

The redeemed of the Lord”;

And you will be called, “Sought out, a city not forsaken.” Isaiah 62:11-12

My best advice to people has always been, “Find a Bible verse, make it your own and hang on to it.” My next advice would be to pray. Pray when you’re happy, pray when you’re sad, pray when you think you can’t put one foot in front of the other to go on. Yet many times, if you’re like me, you may feel bad when the advice you give to people doesn’t seem like it’s working. Perhaps God has disappointed you; your prayers don’t seem to be answered. Is it wrong to feel disappointed with God? Philip Yancey wrote a whole book on the subject. It concerns many stories of real people going through literal “hell on earth” and realistically examines their plights and questions.

“Then you will know that I am the LORD; those who hope in me will not be disappointed." Isaiah 49:23  

For the Christian there are no guarantees on the outcome of a situation. As noted in Hebrews 11 the great faith chapter we don’t all see the conclusion of the things God has planted in our hearts. But we can still look with hope for the promise.

If it costs you nothing, it's worth nothing! Endurance is the

price tag of achievement. Listen, "We pray that you'll have

the strength...not the grim strength of gritting your teeth

but the...strength God gives...that endures the unendurable

and spills over into joy" (Col 1:11 TM)

          Yet even as I write this word of encouragement, I know that many of you have lost hope in perhaps your child who’s gone astray, in your life or even in your future. It is hard to hope in what you cannot see. But just take it a step at a time, a day at a time, even a moment at a time. Pray for the strength to just do the next thing that needs to be done. It may have nothing to do with the child that has gone astray or the life issue that is bothering you. The next thing you may need to do is learn to take care of yourself.

          You may have beat yourself up with guilt over the things you think you should’ve done or could’ve done that you are walking weary and wounded. Learn to be good to yourself. Treat yourself well. The commandment about loving your neighbor as you love yourself applies here. You would be kind to a neighbor, so kindly take care of yourself and those that are right before you. Try to do something each day for someone else that you don’t take credit for. That sort of living sows seeds of love and kindness that will return to you.

          There are some of you in whom the Lord would say, “the world was not worthy of them.” He would say to you that He has seen your walk of faith through the pain of living in this world. He knows you are not perfect in your endeavors but He also knows you have tried. He knows you love your child, and you, His child, are loved with an everlasting love by Him. He sees the big picture that we cannot see. He loves your child more than you can ever imagine although as a parent yourself, you feel that no one could match the love you feel. He will draw a hurting parent close. He does not forget your labor of love towards your child and to Him, your heavenly Father. Continue to hold on to His promises to you until they collide into your life.

The Words between Us by Erin Bartels goes from now to then and back again.

The Words between Us by Erin Bartels goes from now to then and back again. She is a master at crafting word scenes and beauty in prose. Although I felt it to be a bit slow at the beginning, it became a mystery part of the way through which surprised me and kept me reading.


The description of Robin seeing Niagara for the first time, midway through the book made me wake up to the beauty of Erin’s writing. “The sun was hanging low in the sky when we reached Niagara, and I had to shade my eyes. I felt the falls before I saw them, a low and thundering in my ears and a shivering beneath my feet, like the entire world was trembling…it felt like a release.”


The feelings a teenager goes through when they feel abandoned were sensitively presented and the subjects of justice and reconciliation were addressed also.


Book-talk, poetry and suspense are found in this novel. I look forward to reading more from Erin Bartels.



I received this book free of charge from Revell Reads in exchange for my honest review.

Donna Collins Tinsley

This and That about Recovery Books

Today when I was reading Pam Lanhart’s devotional book, PRAYING OUR LOVED ONE HOME, the page titled, DRINK DEEPLY had a beautiful story of healing and redemption. The phrase she used that struck me was “sober and totally wrecked for Jesus.” How many of us are still praying for that miracle, the one where your loved one is sober and totally wrecked or sold out for Jesus and serving Him with their whole heart? I can tell you it’s a daily prayer for many a mother or grandmother. So many times, when I’m reading Pam’s or Sandy Swenson’s books, I want to take a picture of whole pages and post them. Because I understand an author’s copyright, I try to restrain myself and just use a quote here or there. I’m always grateful to find a post from them or another recovery-minded person to share. I recently blogged about several books that help me through the day, of course the chief one being the WORD OF THE LORD, my Bible.



So, today, since I wasn’t able to get to my home group meeting on Thursday as Aryel was still home from school, I’m hitting a meeting. Hoping to find some new serenity, strength and hope along the way.



I’m leaving you with two quotes from TENDING DANDELIONS:



“I will never give up on you. I know you must walk your own path, in your own time, to seek recovery. So, for now I will do the only thing I can: love you.”



“Grant me the serenity to accept the one I cannot change, the courage to change the one I can and the wisdom to know it’s me.”



https://thornrose7.blogspot.com/2019/04/blogging-about-books-today.html



Perhaps you have a favorite Recovery book you’d like to share with others?

What you say can mean life or death. SPEAK LIFE!

This week was very hectic and exhausting yet fulfilling on so many levels. Please continue to pray for Aryel as even elementary school can be full of drama and very hard. Praising the Lord that she is coming down on her Prednisone, but she still is on a high level for every day use. I pray that one day she will be free of Autoimmune Hepatitis and able to have a calm, happy life.



I got through some labs and X-rays and am praying that if anything is found, it will be something minor. “

"Every flower, even the fairest, has its shadow beneath it as it basks in the sunlight."

Where there is much light there is also much shade.” From Streams in the Desert.



The highlight of my week came yesterday when a childhood friend of Regina's texted me and said,


“I always have been very thankful for you starting my foundation with the Lord as a child. Thank you for being here for me now.” I was deeply moved and honored by her words. I had no idea that she would think that of me, but I’m entirely grateful to the Lord. It was balm to my soul.





I am a word person, starting with THE WORD OF THE LIVING GOD. People, you never know when your words will encourage someone at just the right time. Your kind words may help someone who is going through pain or unimaginable family drama.




What you say can mean life or death.


    Those who speak with care will be rewarded. Proverbs 18:21 New Century Version (NCV)





Streams in the Desert

I have all, and abound (Phil. 4:18).

In one of my garden books there is a chapter with a very interesting heading, "Flowers that Grow in the Gloom." It deals with those patches in a garden which never catch the sunlight. And my guide tells me the sort of flowers which are not afraid of these dingy corners--may rather like them and flourish in them.

And there are similar things in the world of the spirit. They come out when material circumstances become stern and severe. They grow in the gloom. How can we otherwise explain some of the experiences of the Apostle Paul?

Here he is in captivity at Rome. The supreme mission of his life appears to be broken. But it is just in this besetting dinginess that flowers begin to show their faces in bright and fascinating glory. He may have seen them before, growing in the open road, but never as they now appeared in incomparable strength and beauty. Words of promise opened out their treasures as he had never seen them before.

Among those treasures were such wonderful things as the grace of Christ, the love of Christ, the joy and peace of Christ; and it seemed as though they needed an "encircling gloom" to draw out their secret and their inner glory. At any rate the realm of gloom became the home of revelation, and Paul began to realize as never before the range and wealth of his spiritual inheritance.

Who has not known men and women who, when they arrive at seasons of gloom and solitude, put on strength and hopefulness like a robe? You may imprison such folk where you please; but you shut up their treasure with them. You cannot shut it out. You may make their material lot a desert, but "the wilderness and the solitary place shall be glad, and the desert shall rejoice and blossom as the rose."--Dr. Jowett

"Every flower, even the fairest, has its shadow beneath it as it basks in the sunlight."

Where there is much light there is also much shade.

The Good, Upscale Doctor Repost

The Good, Upscale Doctor

"18-year-old son died of overdose, Grieving mother pushing Oxy ban, 


RX for trouble: Painkiller abuse plagues society, Falling short in fighting addiction," these all were either headlines or editorials recently in our local newspaper. They say in the State of Florida seven people die daily from overdoses of prescription meds.



Until it hits home in your own family, headlines like these will not affect you. It will be somebody else's child, not your own; it doesn't affect you. You can put down people like that, thinking they may be the scum of the earth, not even realizing that some of those children started off like your own kids. Just living their life, going to school, thinking about college and their careers. Then the tragedy of addiction hits the family.



 It may have been a legitimate pain issue, they may have had surgeries young and pain issues that seemed beyond control. You as a parent may have questioned the expensive upscale doctor, voicing aloud to him your concerns. "Why such high pain killers so soon? Aren't morphine patches something given to hospice patients? Will my child still need these medications if they have surgery?"



He immediately tried to pacify you, "It isn't addictive, and it is something they can take their whole life through if necessary."



You weren't convinced, yet who were you? Did you have as many degrees as this doctor? Isn't he noted in the community for his work? Didn't he say he’d do the same treatment for his own daughter or son if in your shoes? It wasn't long before the teen that was in pain was of legal age to continue with the doctor without your consent. And sooner than later the things you were concerned with came about. That is why we have painkiller abuse in our society. I don't have to name names; there are legions in our State and country that were writing prescriptions at that time, with no concern for the long-term outcome, which in most cases was addiction.  



Prescription medicine addiction is a real dilemma in our society and it isn't getting any easier to decide who is right and who is wrong. Of course, I can understand when someone is in dire need of medications that they shouldn't be denied. I am not against doctors who truly must help those who suffer with chronic pain; I am all for good medical care. Yet the utmost scrutiny should be given to doctors that write painkiller prescriptions, too many, too soon. Look at the recent celebrity deaths and the doctors that were a part of each one! We have become such a drugged-up nation; sometimes I wonder if anyone knows real people anymore or are they just someone either doped up or a facade of that person you used to know and love?



Addiction itself has been described as cunning, baffling, and powerful by AA and Al-Anon groups. That means to me that the person becomes so cunning in taking care of their addiction that it is second nature to them to use any form of manipulation to get their source of relief. It baffles the ordinary person to find this such a powerful influence in our loved one. The person you once knew and loved seems to be gone from you forever and you can only hand the problem over to a loving God who alone can bring help for the true pain; the pain that painkillers will never cover.



Try not to judge harshly; statistics say addiction hits all families and social-economic groups before long.  You wouldn't want to walk a mile in the shoes or the grieving mother or father, rehash in your mind what you could've or should've done, or be in the body of the addict who became addicted following doctor's orders. And then we have the issues of people being released from the hospital or mental health wards, who have been on high doses of medications that they are unable to continue on without several appointments at the  psychiatrist’s office; their body may be jerking with tremors, but they can't get in right away for medications. It's all a sad dilemma. 



Yes, the good, upscale expensive doctor is of no help now. Only the healing hand of the Great Physician can have mercy on this kind of hurt.

We go to the Word of God for help and comfort.

  Because of the LORD’s great love we are not consumed,
   for his compassions never fail.
 They are new every morning;
   great is your faithfulness.
 I say to myself, “The LORD is my portion;
   therefore I will wait for him.” Lamentations 3:22-24 (New International Version, ©2010)

I see in this verse that God truly started the “One day at a time” movement long before Bill W. came up with it. We wait on His compassions and healing for our families! 

 Another version that might help:



 I'll never forget the trouble, the utter lostness,
   the taste of ashes, the poison I've swallowed.
I remember it all—oh, how well I remember—
   the feeling of hitting the bottom.
But there's one other thing I remember,
   and remembering, I keep a grip on hope:

 God's loyal love couldn't have run out,
   his merciful love couldn't have dried up.
They're created new every morning.
   How great your faithfulness!
I'm sticking with God (I say it over and over).
   He's all I've got left.

 God proves to be good to the man who passionately waits,
   to the woman who diligently seeks.
It's a good thing to quietly hope,
   quietly hope for help from God.
It's a good thing when you're young
   to stick it out through the hard times.

When life is heavy and hard to take,
   go off by yourself. Enter the silence.
Bow in prayer. Don't ask questions:
   Wait for hope to appear.
Don't run from trouble. Take it full-face.
   The "worst" is never the worst.

 Why? Because the Master won't ever
   walk out and fail to return.

Lamentations 3:19-33 (The Message)

We have a faithful God to whom we can trust our family’s problems and issues.

HOW 23 & ME ROCKED MY WORLD, RIGHT BEFORE FATHER'S DAY

HOW 23 & ME ROCKED MY WORLD

“If what I say resonates with you, it is merely because we are both branches of the same tree."- WB Yeats

 by 

DONNA COLLINS TINSLEY

I went to bed one day knowing I had four half-siblings and woke up the next day to find that I actually have eight! My husband bought a 23 & Me test for me a few years ago for a gift. I wasn’t averse to doing it, I’d already done an Ancestry.Com one that gave me some startling news but then this one seemed to contradict the first one, so I was a little confused. But I’m told as more people put their DNA in the databank, results can change.

The new results looked more like what my recently found uncle told me about my family roots. 23 & Me has a page where people can connect with and opt to compare DNA results. Some of my immediate family are on that page and I hadn’t checked it in a while.

I grew up first living with my grandmother for some years in Chattanooga Valley, or Flintstone, Georgia, then with my mom in Florida. She was a single mom, so to speak for most of my childhood, as her second husband, my stepfather, went to prison for abusing me.

Recently I received this message:

Hello Donna, I’m intrigued by this half-sister relationship.

What?

Who is this? I’m his half-sister?

At first, he only gave me his initials but his name followed in days to come as I tried to give him information about our dad. We texted pictures back and forth and I was looking for what information I might have about our father. I didn’t grow up with him and had found out that he died about twenty-one years ago. J had grown up thinking his dad was his real dad and was pretty startled also when he got his results. Both of his parents had already passed one as had mine, so there was no one to really ask but my uncle in Georgia.

Neither one of us is kids, I’m age 68 and J is 62 so it’s not like we thought we might have a relationship with anyone, although when I found Uncle Henry four years ago, I felt a great sense of family and closure. I’d called Uncle Henry and told him about the new brother, who was born in Germany.

“Are you sure about this DNA thing, Donna?”

My husband says, “DNA doesn’t lie, Uncle Henry.”

“Donna, your dad never went to Germany. We all went to Korea.”

Okay, I’m thinking, Uncle Henry is 90 now and maybe is a little forgetful.

“Well, I’ll call you later in the week, Uncle Henry. I’m trying to process this,” I told him.

Uncle Henry, who is a true Southern gentleman and has the best accent around South replied, “Let me make some phone calls, honey.”

The thing I love about people who grew up in the Valley is they usually try to help each other out. I actually found Uncle Henry by a friend on Facebook who grew up with my Mama getting me connected with him.

Meanwhile I talked with my new brother on the phone. He’d had a good life, seemed like a cool and funny guy and I felt pretty good to connect with him. He lives in California and who knows if we’ll ever meet?

I have a sister in Louisiana and two brothers within ten miles of me here, that I grew up with and I’m not really searching for anyone else. In fact, with life getting in the way of living most of the time, we don’t always see each other much. Surely not as much as we’d like to.

I found an old Facebook page of my new half-brother and enjoyed seeing pictures of his family. Lord knows I’ve got enough things on Facebook that he can pretty much find anything; my life is an open book.

The next day Uncle Henry called me. “Donna, are you somewhere that you can talk private?”

Wow, that didn’t sound good.

“Sure, Uncle Henry what’s up?”

 “I’ve got the number of someone who will talk to you. She’s 80-year-old and your dad’s sister.”

“My dad’s sister, you mean your brother wasn’t my dad?” I could feel the tremble in my voice and my knees turning to jelly.

“Honey, I didn’t want to tell you anything bad. Come to find out your mom dated someone else before my brother. I’ll always still be your uncle though.”

At that moment, I wished he’d been my dad. He was always encouraging; he’d even told me when I was a baby, he came to see me when I arrived home from the hospital because his brother was overseas. One day out of the blue, he called me up and sang a song to me. He is quite a character and had been balm to a heart who always had Father Hunger.

“That’s true, family is who shows up for me and you checked on me when I was a baby. I love you. Thanks for the phone number. I guess I’ll call her.”

“Come see us if you get up this way in the summer!”

“I will, God bless!”

I couldn’t stop the tears that were running down my face like rain, as I told my husband and one of my daughters the news. He came over and gave me a big hug. I think he regretted telling me all the time, “DNA doesn’t lie,” as he’d grown to love my uncle as much as I did and the person who’d reunited us was one of our favorite people.

When I called my new aunt, it didn’t go well. I could see that the information she gave me was probably all I was going to get and she probably didn’t need a new relative in her life. When she described where she’d lived as a child, I could picture it in my mind, a house I passed as a little girl walking to school.  When she said everyone knew whose child I was, it was pretty amazing that I’d never heard it before. Think about the stigma of a teenager getting pregnant out of wedlock in the fifties. I had a whole new rush of compassion for my mom. Getting information about my dad from my mom was never something that worked well for me. Having Jesus Christ as my Lord gave me a father figure, God, my Father, ever-loving and caring. 

I’ve blogged before about something I call father hunger and the affect that can have on a young girl, especially. In looking over those blogs, I see that I still relate to those words. Sometimes I can go months or even years without the deep, soul-wrenching father hunger because of not growing up with my dad and then something will strike my heart. Hearing about someone whose memories were of laying upon their father’s chest as a child, remembering the feel of his scratchy beard, or a father admitting that he failed in the fathering department can bring me to tears. Knowing he can’t go back and change the past concerning his lack in parenting, he decides instead to be the very best grandfather he can be. That’s an awesome thing to me.

As Father’s Day approaches, we know that although many of us did not have that true “father” experience while here on earth, the time in eternity together with the One True Father, Who Never Disappoints, will be a dream come true. And there will be no more father hunger for any of us who have experienced that pain.

As with my half-brother who contacted me, if anyone in my dad’s family happens to find me on 23 & Me, I’d be glad to correspond. But I’ll not be rocking their world as mine was rocked one summer day in 2019.

Old blog: https://thornrose7.blogspot.com/search?q=father+hunger

LORD, DO WHAT IS BEST FOR OUR LOVED ONES

LORD, DO WHAT IS BEST FOR OUR LOVED ONES



Do you ever feel a loss at how to pray for your family? Some years back, my friend’s son was dying of an alcohol-related disease. At first, we were praying, “Lord, heal him.”



I remember one morning, feeling that perhaps he wasn’t going to make it and later that day his mother said to me, “Donna, I just started praying, Lord, do what’s best for him.” He passed over to the other side that day, the day his mom prayed the prayer of true relinquishment. She knew she didn’t want him to suffer anymore and that he would be present with the Lord when he crossed over. Now, please know that every time a mom releases their child, doesn’t mean that the Lord is going to take them home. Don’t let fear take root in your heart.



But it does mean that we as moms know that we can’t plan, fix or help our children when they make certain choices in life. When I get to the place that I’ve prayed every prayer, put every child, grandchild and great-grandchild (Yes, I have one of those, now) on the altar before the Lord, all I can do is say, “Please do what is best for my children and grandchildren.”



That is probably the closest to “Let go and let God” prayer I can pray. It may be my own, “Serenity Prayer.” It may be my “Keep me when I don’t want to be kept,” prayer. It may keep me sane another day, it may be part of my ‘SHOW ME HOW TO LIVE” prayer.




Let’s get serious. These are desperate times for people. There are many of you, that have plates so full, I plead for mercy from the Lord at all times for you. There are so many who have lost children and grandchildren to deaths of natural causes, diseases, and addictions. Many have lost spouses and feel that loneliness. Many know the trauma of losing people who are still alive, but dead
to them because their lifestyles have become too chaotic. The very person you are trying to help may separate themselves from you. What we release to the Lord, he may send back in a better way, but sometimes, even then, it may be a process of work at that relationship. Life isn’t easy, people! But with the Lord as our help, we can live fully and love well. In fact, that’s the only thing I hope people say of me when I’m gone, that “she loved well.”



Sandy Swenson who wrote TENDING DANDELIONS has put so many poignant quotes in her book that they would be worth the price of buying it. Here’s one:



“Imagine trying to live without air. Now imagine something worse.” (Amy Reed)



Today when I read the page by Sandy, THE LAND OF TEARS, I wished it was posted somewhere so you all could read it. I relate to her heart so often. I keep several recovery books right there with my Bible to put good things in my head to start the day. But some days they give me the release to cry, before I press on to the reality of life.





Here are some verses from Isaiah 42, THE MESSAGE to hang on to; find a Word from the Lord and you’ll make it through the day.



“I am God. I have called you to live right and well.
    I have taken responsibility for you, kept you safe.
I have set you among my people to bind them to me,
    and provided you as a lighthouse to the nations,
To make a start at bringing people into the open, into light:
    opening blind eyes,
    releasing prisoners from dungeons,
    emptying the dark prisons.
I am God. That’s my name.


But I’ll take the hand of those who don’t know the way,
    who can’t see where they’re going.
I’ll be a personal guide to them,
    directing them through unknown country.
I’ll be right there to show them what roads to take,
    make sure they don’t fall into the ditch.
These are the things I’ll be doing for them—
    sticking with them, not leaving them for a minute.”



And my favorite:

“He won’t brush aside the bruised and the hurt
    and he won’t disregard the small and insignificant,
    but he’ll steadily and firmly set things right.”



Let’s go out there and love well, people!

LIVE READY

Things never discovered or heard of before,

    things beyond our ability to imagine[n]—

    these are the many things God has in store

    for all his lovers.

Every day that we live, we are one day closer to meeting our Maker. Let us live in a way that brings glory to Your name Lord and above all let us live ready. I always feel like I need to get my house in order in more than one way, to be ready to go. Sometimes I wonder if that’s why I don’t work harder to do just that? Because although to be absent from the body is to be present with the Lord, if we’ve personally accepted Him, there’s always a part that wants to live to see Shiloh’s baby, to see Mathis grow, to see the great way the Lord is going to take the disasters and chaos of our lives and use it to HIS GREAT GLORY!



Many times the way is troubling and wearisome and dreams that have died seem hard to revive. That’s when He gives the new dream.

Some new dreams are happening right now though with eyes of the earth we may not be able to truly see that He is at work, sending journeymates, sending angels to surround and hedge in our loved ones. Oh to see with new eyes, eyes that look on with love.



The Word of the Lord that He brought to mind as I was writing:

1 Corinthians 2 The Passion Translation (TPT)

Paul’s Reliance on Spiritual Power

2 My brothers and sisters,^[a] when I first came to proclaim to you the secrets^[b] of God, I refused to come as an expert, trying to impress you with my eloquent speech and lofty wisdom. ² For while I was with you I was determined to be consumed with one topic—Jesus, the crucified Messiah.^{[c] 3} I stood before you feeling inadequate, filled with reverence for God,^[d] and trembling under the sense of the importance of my words.^{[e] 4} The message I preached and how I preached it was not an attempt to sway you with persuasive arguments but to prove to you the almighty power of God’s Holy Spirit. ⁵ For God intended that your faith not be established on man’s wisdom but by trusting in his almighty power.

Wisdom from God

⁶ However, there is a wisdom that we continually speak of when we are among the spiritually mature.^[f] It’s wisdom that didn’t originate in this present age, nor did it come from the rulers of this age who are in the process of being dethroned.^{[g] 7} Instead, we^[h] continually speak of this wonderful wisdom that comes from God, hidden before now in a mystery.^[i] It is his secret plan, destined^[j] before the ages, to bring us into glory.^{[k] 8} None of the rulers of this present world order understood it,^[l] for if they had, they never would have crucified the Lord of shining glory.^{[m] 9} This is why the Scriptures say:

Things never discovered or heard of before,
    things beyond our ability to imagine^[n]—
    these are the many things God has in store
    for all his lovers.^[o]

¹⁰ But God now unveils these profound realities to us by the Spirit.^[p] Yes, he has revealed to us his inmost heart and deepest mysteries through the Holy Spirit, who constantly explores all things. ¹¹ After all, who can really see into a person’s heart and know his hidden impulses except for that person’s spirit? So it is with God. His thoughts and secrets are only fully understood by his Spirit, the Spirit of God.

¹² For we did not receive the spirit of this world system but the Spirit of God, so that we might come to understand and experience all that grace has lavished upon us. ¹³ And we^[q] articulate these realities with the words imparted to us by the Spirit and not with the words taught by human wisdom. We join together Spirit-revealed truths with Spirit-revealed words.^{[r] 14} Someone living on an entirely human level^[s] rejects^[t] the revelations of God’s Spirit, for they make no sense to him. He can’t understand the revelations of the Spirit because they are only discovered by the illumination of the Spirit. ¹⁵ Those who live in the Spirit are able to carefully evaluate all things, and they are subject to the scrutiny of no one but God. ¹⁶ For Who has ever intimately known the mind of the Lord Yahweh[u] well enough to become his counselor?[v]

Christ has, and we possess Christ’s perceptions.[w]

This and That for Today

“Judge tenderly if you must. There is usually a side you have not heard, a story you know nothing about, and a battle waged that you are not having to fight.” TRACI LEA LARUSSA FROM TENDING DANDELIONS

"Every morning

 I lay out the pieces of my life

 on your altar

 and watch for fire to descend."

From "Love out Loud": "O Lord, I give my life to you." Psalm 25:1

 When we consecrate ourselves to the Lord, we give Him everything, we should also know that we give Him everything we are not.

God knows everything about you and loves you unconditionally, so hold nothing back from Him. Let go of everything as an offering to your Lord, and you will be amazed at how free you will feel.

Love God today; If your are ready to consecrate yourself to God Lift your hand to Him and simply say, Lord, I give you my life...everything I am and everything I am not." Joyce Meyer

Praying for all who need healing in any way today and adding prayers for single mothers. Lord please provide for their needs and wrap Your big Father arms around them and their children. Don't miss this song, it is one of my favorites:) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VaxxtIxXKF0


Prophecy by Brother C. L. Moore in 1984 & 1986


And I shall cause thee to have ministry among the sisters and I shall give thee favor. But thou shalt also wait upon thy God and I will give thee a tender heart and yea even more than thou dost even have this night. Thou shalt be broken by My word and by My presence many times but not destroyed nor cast down.


I shall fashion you again and again and each time that I mold and touch thee thou shalt rise up in more of a new transformed creation than you were before you came into the presence of your God.

1986 for Donna:  Many have been the winds Many have been the storms There’s been times you’ve been shaken There’s been times you thought you were out of the barn (?) But the Lord says, I do place thee and though I shake thee I’ll never leave thee and I will keep thee and Surely a lamb is sufficient for the house Claim it, rest in it, shout it and rejoice in it and wait to see the Lord To reveal it. (Amber, my lamb, was born 2 years later)

For Bill: Surely stand in the gap, stand in the gap And I will give those that will stand with thee. You say, this is not the order I dreamed of Well, God didn’t ask for your order God just asked for you to be in submission to His plans His ways and His means Therefore says the Lord, I will clothe thee And I will cause the tongue ye to speak a word Thou hast not known and A word will be in strength When you thought you were totally weak.