CHARISMATA! Coaching for Abundant Life

I am in the midst of writing my second book. It is on forgiveness and healing and the whole process of meeting and interviewing people who have endured profound pain and unjust circumstances in life is both spiritually challanging and at times sorrowful.  Yet, the consistent message that keeps coming through in every story that is shared is that

GOD'S GRACE CHANGES THINGS... it changes hearts, it changes minds and it changes people's lives.

Don't ask me to define grace because I don't think we can... not really.  It is the miraculous touch of God's divine love in our lives... how can you describe or define that?  It is a unique experience and expression for each one of us.

All I know is that people who have been bitter, broken, or battered have come to know peace, serenity and joy.

People who have been enslaved, have been set completely free.  People who have nearly died in their body or spirit... have had life restored anew.

But it doesn't come easy.  God is not a magician. We need to face our pain, go through the valley of death, wrestle with genuine tenacity and desire with our whole hearts to be changed by His grace.  We have to do the work of forgiveness and  we have to give God permission to heal us in His way, and His time because...

Forgiveness is an inside job. It is not for the ones who have hurt us. As we seek God in the midst of our misery, injustice and pain,  it is certain that Grace will change things... but the most amazing thing about His grace is that the change will be within us. 

One of the things that keeps coming back to me in my prayer time is that it's a great idea to have a vision for the future... to have a dream to dream and a plan to follow but  we can't get too possessive of these things because then our way becomes the only way that we can see and the truth is

God may have a better way!  If we get rigid about what we want the future to look like, we may miss out on the vision that God has for us... which will be infinitely better.  He has proved this in my life over and over again. 

When I am willing to LET GO and LET GOD have His way in my life, and the lives of those I love and pray and trust in Him... I am always stunned by His actions of love and grace and divine generosity.  God knows what we need before we even know that we need it... Give God a chance to make HIS dream for you come true!!

While I was on vacation, I spent alot of time talking with and praying with the Blessed Mother. I wasn't expecting to but the relaxation and beautiful surroundings of peaceful gardens and solitude just drew me into her presence. One day I asked her to help me draw her image.  I am not much of a "free hand" artist (I usually copy other's work and techniques) and I can't really draw faces that well so I knew  I was going to need her help. The result is above.  I imagine that she is very much more beautiful than this drawing but what is amazing and a true miracle is that I was able to draw it at all... it is just another example of the fact that the Blessed Mother, the saints and our Triune God are all very near and willing to help us and want very much for us to interact with them like we do people here on earth.

I may have mentioned before that it wasn't until two or three years ago that I could even draw anything at all... it is a gift that has come directly from heaven and it flows out of my relationship with God. It is a part of the miracle of mercy and healing that is taking place in my life one day at a time by the grace of God.

The Blessed Mother is so beautiful in her spirit and so comforting. All of my life, I have kept her "at arm's length" because of my relationship with my earthly mother.  Alot of us do that with God, too. But what I know is that they never tire of wanting to be nearer to our hearts.  They are always waiting for us to come closer.  With heavenly patience and unending mercy, they are waiting with open arms and hearts to bring us into the fullness of their love.  It is quite overwhelming, but still it can't compared to what we will experience in the world to come!!

My prayer is that you will receive a "little taste of heaven" this

week~ by way of your Blessed and Beautiful Mother!

This week I went to a funeral for a friend... a co-worker and single mother of three teenaged children who valiantly fought the battle with cancer and took her last breath on this earth in her 47th year... just days shy of her 48th birthday... She was TRULY one of those beautiful souls who everybody really liked.  She was a very private and dignified lady and I will not forget her grace and beautiful smile for as long as I live.

I did this painting for her as I was contemplating her life and death over the long 4th of July weekend.  There were all the usual questions... why Lord, would you take a mother from three children who need her? Why did she have to suffer so much? Why do "the good ones" always seem to go too soon?

And then I began to think about where she is now and I thought.. I wonder what her first sight was when she got to heaven? I wonder what she is seeing now.... and I thought of the most magnificent, beautiful sunrise I have ever seen and I know that what she is seeing and experiencing now is a zillion times more brilliant than that. 

So this painting is my tribute to a wonderful women I am blessed to have known. Sweet Cindy...rest in peace.

The title of this blog entry comes from Isaiah 43:18-, 21.          

God says:

"Remember not the events of the past, the things of long ago, consider not;  See, I am doing something new! Now it springs forth... do you not perceive it? ... For I put water in the desert and rivers in the wasteland for my chosen people to drink. The people whom I formed for myself, that they might announce my praise."

Sometimes it is hard to trust that Jesus can and is doing something NEW within us... but when we cooperate with this grace...He is. In this passage, the Lord is trying to get the attention of His people who walk around with barren hearts, dry bones and a stunted vision.  WE are like that sometimes... head down, dragging our spirits like a heavy backpack... the Lord can and even DESIRES to refresh and renew you. He has a plan for this... ASK HIM WHAT IT IS!

Aren't you thirsty for His living water? I am. And I am eager to announce the Lord's praise for everything He does for me and for those who love Him... Let me know what He is doing for you... What are the RIVERS in your DESERT that God has created JUST FOR YOU???

If I could spend the rest of my life doing nothing but reflecting to the world the Greatness of God and His Holy Spirit and Beloved Son I would be happy. Let there be less of me and more of Thee is my plea... and the reason I say this is because if everyone could know how much they are loved and cherished by God... then they would want to magnify Him too. To magnify means to make clearer, to make known, to bring into focus... to enlarge.  If we live a life each day with the intent to do this... to magnify the Lord and cooperate with his grace,  we will be truly happy, we will be at peace... we will know heaven on earth.

God is so good and merciful. He is so loving and meek and humble of heart. The nature of God is love and justice and purity. He keeps His Word... He is constant and trustworthy.

Life is not easy.  We will all experience pain, suffering and sorrow-- but NOTHING is too big or bad for God to handle.

He is a Deliverer and a Redeemer. He is a loving Father.

May your soul magnify the Lord and your Spirit rejoice within you today and every day.  Amen!

 I am always looking for new images to share that depict the Holy Spirit... and here is another wonderful one. I can't find any information about who drew this but it was shown in conjuntion with a meditation on Pentecost where Jesus ''breathed on His disciples" in the Upper Room.  Perfect... we draw in the Breath and Spirit of God... that is an amazing gift and with each breath we enter into a deep and mysterious Love... Love that doesn't always make sense to our little minds and is often rejected by our wounded hearts but just like breath... it is essential to our souls.

"Lord breath your Holy Spirit fire into my weariness and dry bones to enkindle in me the flame of Your Love!" Amen

How easy is it for us to say "Lord, I want to go YOUR way no matter where it takes me"?  It's not easy. And especially when it feels like we are  either going backwards or going nowhere at all.  The latter is what my life feels like right now.  If I had to describe it I would say I am spiritually "stuck in traffic".   It feels like I am at a standstill.  And I am asking myself...'is this God's will or my won't??'

I don't have an answer yet but I am confident the Holy Spirit will help me out of this jam, like He has so many times before. There is a lesson in all circumstances... we just have to be open to it... Come, Holy Spirit!

Today's Gospel reading recounts the story of the blind beggar Bartimaeus.  He was a total outcast because many believed that his blindness was a punishment for some unforgiveable sin that he or someone in his family had committed. In short, people believed that he was the cause of his own misery and not worth the time or trouble to pay attention to. 

Jesus saw him differently.  Jesus saw his faithful heart and the precious soul that he was. Jesus saw in Bartimaeus a willing participant in his redemption... He saw a man hungry for dignity in the love of God and a believer in the power of that love to change and heal him.

So many of us can learn from Bart.  We look at ourselves or others as unredeemable, unforgiveable, not worthy of God's love.  We are often too full of pride to acknowledge our neediness, our "beggar status" when it comes to 'getting right with God.'

This is the saddest thing... when we sit in our blind stupor because we don't want to admit that we are stuck

Be like Bart- seize the opportunity to receive God's mercy, a new outlook and complete freedom

Have the courage to answer when Jesus asks:

What do you want me to do for you...

Last week my computer crashed  and I suppose that happens all the time but it is only the third time it has happened to me... Twice while I was writing my last book and LO AND BEHOLD again as I am beginning my next one!!!

I have come to expect that anytime I embark on a project for the benefit of God's Kingdom and especially in ministry to HIs people, I am going to have to contend with some opposition from the "powers and principalities" that hate God and everything that He is about.   The Bible talks about these devils and Jesus encountered them in the desert and there is no reason to believe that they don't prowl about even now seeking the ruin of souls.

HOWEVER, there is no reason to fear because GREATER IS HE that is in ME AND YOU... God's got it covered.  But it is just another reminder how important and necessary it is for us to pray for one another...  I need your prayers!

And I will be praying for you..everyone who reads this too! There are many prayer warrior members on this site who are making a big difference and building up the Kingdom... pray for them too -- We are all in this together!