A Birthday and a Funeral

Yesterday, I got the privilege of celebrating one more year of life on Earth!  Yes, it was my 46th birthday and I enjoyed every minute of it!  If I've never mentioned it before, now would be a good time...I LOVE my birthday!  Beginning on April 1st, I start celebrating "Birthday Month"...it works out great since my birthday is at the latter end.  I've just about got Gary trained to begin celebrating (with gifts or cards) on April 1st as well.  Birthdays aren't quite as special to him as they are to me....but he's learning.

So, with all the early celebrating going on...by the time my actual birthday arrives, I am beyond excited!  I remember when I was very young, maybe 6 or so, and the neighborhood kids came over for my birthday and I had a Barbie Doll birthday cake!  You know, the one where her very full dress skirt is the cake and the Barbie stands in the middle?  yep! That's the one!  I loved that cake and I continue to LOVE birthday cake now!  So, yesterday I enjoyed a fabulous lunch with a great friend, who gave me chocolate covered strawberries and chocolate and cinnamon covered apples! Fabulous!  Then, I bought me a birthday blouse, (gift to self). . .then I went and had my toe nails painted bright red, my solar nails filled AND a few doors down from the nail shop was this fabulous Cupcakery!  Yes!!! How on earth did this Cupcakery go into business without my knowing?  It was pure elation when I walked in and smelled the warm, sweet little cakes with all that icing on top!  I had to have one....the red velvet, please!  And then, at the register, I see these icing covered cookies!  Oh! I must have one of those, too....but here's the most unbelievable part...I ate both of them from 34th and Coulter to Soncy!!!  Oh my goodness, they were beyond delicious!  I had to ask God to forgive me for my gluttony....I arrived at the hair salon and had my hair washed and styled...nice treat when you have ridiculously thick hair like mine.

Then I ran home, changed clothes and made my way to the Civic Center for the Happy State Bank Annual Stockholder's meeting...yes, 850 of my closest friends were there to greet me...but not for my birthday, although, I felt like it was a really big party because inside me, there was a party going on!  I don't mind turning a year older, at all.  I celebrate another year, whatever the number may be, knowing that if I'm still celebrating, I still have a mission.  Otherwise, my celebrating would be in Heaven and not here on Earth.

Which leads me to the "funeral" part of my post.  Today, I attended a funeral of a dear person, Bud Townsend.  What a guy!  I met him in my former life and met up with him again in my new life.  He treated me the same each time.  He truly loved Jesus and it showed...always.  He smiled so big you might have thought his cheeks would crack!  He was a jolly, joyful guy all the time.  He and his best friend, Steve Covington, came to see me the day I had the kidney surgery while in Lubbock.  I believe they were in Lubbock for work, but Bud wanted to stop by and say hello.  I'll never forget his kindness.

Anytime I attend a funeral, I review my own life and wonder what might be said when I pass and people gather to pay their last respects.  I also ponder how I want my service conducted, what music to be sung, what Scriptures to be read and what pictures on the power point for all to see.  One thing I know for sure is this, I hope I am remembered as a woman after God's own heart.  I hope people know how much I love Jesus and want others, who don't know Him, to find out how much He loves them.  I don't always go about that in the best way, but I certainly pray God will give me opportunities to share His Good News with those who haven't heard.  I am a walking billboard of God's grace, mercy and forgiveness and I don't take that lightly.  There are "Divine Appointments" every day...waiting to hear the Good News, from me and from others.  I pray my funeral is a celebration of my attempts to do just that.  Live each day as if it's your last....we never know the hour God will take us home.  My dear friend, Bud, is dancing with the Angels, while in the presence of Jesus Christ!  What a glorious day it will be when we meet our Maker and Savior!!  Hallelujah!!

P.S. I'm still celebrating my birthday month...I had another great dinner with a dear friend and Tiramisu for dessert...Lord, forgive me!

REDEEMER of My Time

I don't know about you, but I can probably guess....you too, feel there just aren't enough minutes in a day to get everything accomplished you'd like.  I have many days like that.  I have a "to do" list that keeps morphing into a novel!  What I don't accomplish on Monday, I move to my Tuesday list and so on and so on.  You get my drift? 

Jesus Christ has redeemed me from so much:  loneliness, abandonment, fear, insecurities, shame, guilt, condemnation, being lost, my past as a whole, and the list goes on and on. :)  One day, while praying, it dawned on me that if Jesus has redeemed me from all of those things listed, and more, why couldn't He redeem my time?  That seemed logical to me.  So I asked Him that day, "Lord, I need You to redeem my time today, every single minute of this day, Lord.  I want to accomplish what You have set before me to do in an effort to be in Your will.  Please protect every minute of this day from the enemy who desires to steal, kill and destroy my time so I won't accomplish Your will today.  Please be the Redeemer of my time.  In Jesus' Name, Amen."  

Done.  Just like that, with a simple prayer, the Lord has become the Redeemer of my time.  My day still has only 24 hours in it, just as before, but now, the enemy has no authority to steal minutes from my day.  Now, I feel like I have time left over at the end of the day!  Is that amazing?  Because I prayed a prayer that lines up with God's will, He will honor it.  If I happen to have a morning where I'm running late and don't say this prayer....Oh! will I ever pay!  I know immediately what has taken place.  So, I stop where I am, and say this little prayer.  From it, I get big results!

What has Jesus redeemed you from?  Is your list long like mine?  Well, add one more item to your list: TIME.  Let me know how this prayer works for you.  I pray your time will be redeemed for Him. :)