Tears Never Stop Flowing; Psalm 30:5

"... weeping may stay for the night, but rejoicing comes in the morning."

Some years the pain is just deeper and stronger than others, this year happens to be one of those years.  People often ask if I'm ok on "special days", an anniversary or a birthday and most times I say yes even when everything in me is breaking and crying out that I am anything but ok.  Why then do I say I am ok??  Because I know that joy will come in the morning.  It may not be the next morning or the morning after that...but the joy will come in the morning. 

I'm going to be real with all of you for a bit and just put it all out there.  We all experience loss in our lives.  Friends, family, co-workers...its all part of the circle of life and its the part that we wish we never had to experience, but we do and somehow we pick up the pieces and we move on and find new strengths each day.  There are times even now that I think I can pick up the phone and call my mom because I know she would have the answer or she could give me a comforting word or just the right encouragement I need to press through a difficult time.  Then I remember, she too has gone home to be with her Jesus.  Losing her was a hard day but it was a day that I also rejoiced for her because she had suffered for so long with illness and pain.  I was happy for her release from a broken body but was sad for all of us that would have to keep living without her and her amazing way she loved and supported us through that love.  She was a once in a lifetime lady and no one could ever replace her in my life or those that knew and loved her.  But even as much as I loved my mom, the pain of losing her didn't even come close to comparing to the pain I felt losing my son. 

As a parent, there is just something about that bond that is quiet unexplainable.  The moment that life begins the bond does as well and it never goes away even after death.  I've heard so many well intended people tell folks that in time the pain will ease.  That is total BULL!  It never eases...but we learn how to find ways to deal with it each day and sometimes we find ways to deal with it each moment of each day.  My son's bday is coming up on the 10th, Nigel would have been 26 years old.  Its hard for me to wrap my mind around that since he left us when he was only 3 1/2.  He would be a man with his own dreams, his own goals.  Perhaps he would have his own family or be off on great adventures.  Whatever he would have been doing, I would have remained his biggest cheerleader and number one fan.  I sometimes sit and think of all the things that my little guy could be doing right now and how much I know this world would have been better having someone like him around but that wasn't the plan for his life.  He got to influence many in his short 3 1/2 years in ways that those of us who are "older" never will be able to. 

A dear friend lost her battle with cancer last year.  She and I hadn't seen each other in many years but we got a chance to visit before she past.  She shared with me that her battle with cancer had been made a bit easier because she had watched how Nigel had championed through his battle with a smile on his face and a joy in his heart that she never forgot.  His body left this world...but his spirit never has.  He lives on through the lives that he touched while he was here.  That is why there is joy in the morning.  God created a beautiful life within me named Nigel.  He lived... He loved... He was an example of all that was good.  He taught me the true meaning of love and how that it never dies and it never goes away even on the days when everything inside you feels broken, alone and so full of pain.  Love remains.  The Bible tells us that Love is the greatest gift of all.  You see... our children, they are the greatest gift of all (they are love manifested in us).

Birthdays, anniversaries they are all part of me now as well.  Memories shared and held close to heart.  But there are the every day moments too that I have that I smile randomly about.  If you ever are with me and a movie or program ends with a "to be continued", you will see me smile because Nigel hated those!  He would look at me and say "Oh NO Mommy!  Not be tinued!!"  He may have gotten his impatience from his mother.  He knew what that meant...he would have to wait.  I guess that's how I feel.  Oh NO, not be tinued, I don't want to wait for my story with my son to have to wait but I do and some days, that's just harder than others.  Our love story has a "to be continued" written on it right now until the author and finisher of our faith finishes writing it. 

I read and see so many of you share your joys with your gifts (your children and grandchildren) and my heart is so happy for you but it stings a little too.  I don't say that for you to feel bad or to lessen the joy you have... I just want you to know as a parent who has lost their child that sometimes we hurt even on "non-special days" because the pain is always there somewhere and we are just trying to figure out how to deal with it at the moment.  So if you ask if I'm doing ok, know that I may not be at the moment but I do believe in the joy that will come in the morning.  Never take for granted the moments you have and that joy of being in the moment.  Put your cellphones down, shut out everything else sometimes and just enjoy the gift of life that you embraced upon their entrance to this world.  They may sometimes upset you or disappoint in their decision making...but that's how they grow and mature and learn.  Be there in the moment and appreciate not having to think about what might have been but love what is.

What can you do today to spend a bit more time with your loved ones and put the busy stuff of life on hold?  Life passes so quickly.

Under His Wings,

Heather

What Child Is This; John 1:14

"The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us.  We have seen his glory, the glory of the one and only Son, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth."

What child is this who laid to rest...  I've sang these words during the Christmas season since my childhood and not until this year have they taken on new meaning and revelation to me.  We ask the question in this song of who this child is and because its a Christmas carol we know the answer is Christ the King, or do we?  Some only refer to him as the Christ child.  Some may refer to him as just another Jewish boy born to a woman and man.  There still may be others that simply feel he is a character in a book that tells stories and means nothing.  I know this child to mean the gift that was given to all, the gift of love and a gift of sacrifice, a gift that was full of grace and truth.

The question isn't just what child is this, but the question goes deeper.  What child is this who laid to rest.  This year I am thinking about the last few words of this question.  When we talk today of one who has been laid to rest, it normally isn't about a newborn living, its about one who has died.  This child that was born into flesh came only to teach us to love and die so that others may live.  God gave us the greatest of gifts in a way that many can accept... through the innocence of a child.  I'm sure in the early days Jesus was treated as any other infant son.  He was nurtured, looked after, taught the basics just as many parents do but can you imagine being the mother of the savior of the world?  That's a pretty big responsibility.  As parents we aren't to treat one child better than the other, but come on... this was JESUS!  Can you imagine being the sibling of Jesus?  I could just hear it, "Heather, come on, why can't you be more like your brother Jesus?  Why can't you walk on water?"  I joke a little at that, but I can't imagine as a mother how Mary felt.  I know with my own son I felt so inadequate at times in being his mother.  Can you imagine how she must have felt?  How many times she perhaps questioned how she was to raise the son of God?  Can you imagine the incredible love that was between them?  He wasn't just her little boy, he was her savior, her king.  Jesus was the word that became flesh through her womb.  I can't imagine this mother who bore this beautiful son, who fed him and cradled him and ran her fingers through his hair knowing that he was going to have to do more than she could ever begin to imagine to save a dark and sinful world.  Her son was going to have to be the sacrifice needed, the lamb to be slaughtered so that others could live. I wonder if she knew while she held her newborn son that she would have to lay him to rest?  I wonder if she ever asked God for him to choose someone else, not to take her son, not to make him the sacrifice?  As a mother who laid to rest her own son, I can't tell you the pain that Mary had to feel knowing that her son was not only to die, but he was to suffer.

We all have a mission, a purpose to fulfill.  No, nothing quite like Jesus had, but we have a mission none the less.  As each of us is born, one could ask What child is this?  What will your story be?  Did you step out in faith and do as God the father has asked of you?  What will be said when it is your time to be laid to rest?  You may not have walked on water, but I pray that at some point you met the man who did and accepted him as your savior, as Christ your king.

Under His Wings,
Heather

Bind Us Together, Matthew 24:35

"Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will never pass away."

Bind us together, Lord, bind us together
With cords that cannot be broken
Bind us together, Lord, bind us together
Bind us together with love.

Do you remember singing this song?  Do you still sing this song or has this song lost its meaning somewhere along life's journey?  I still sing it and probably even more today then when I first sang it as a child.  Its a song that most Christian denominations sing in their churches and around church campfires and yet I'm not sure that many take the time to recognize the words being sung.  Somewhere along the way we have begun to focus on what divides us versus what binds us together.  I can't imagine God the father looking down at his children and being happy about the division that is taking place in the hearts of his precious ones. 

I watch as insult after insult is flung across social media pages and by some I would have never expected to see them from.  I don't sit in judgment but I sit in bewilderment because to me my Bible, God's word, is an incredible love story written for us to learn from and not repeat the mistakes of our people.  Yet, here we are 2015 and we are doing the same things that caused such pain, chaos and destruction that we read about in the scripture.  We fail to grasp the love that can bind us together and focus instead on all things that can tear us apart.  I can differ in my opinions and beliefs from another and still love them for the heart that beats inside them.  I don't have to agree or support someone's ideas or lifestyles to accept and love their heart and the part that they play in this life.  God sits in the position of judge when each of us makes that journey home and I for one am thankful that I don't have that responsibility because we are a hot mess of a people.

1 Corinthians: 4-8; "Love is patient, love is kind.  It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud.  It does not dishonor others, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs.  Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth.  It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres.  Love never fails.  But where there are prophecies, they will cease; where there are tongues, they will be stilled; where there is knowledge, it will pass away."  These words are often shared at weddings as we turn our focus on the couple being "bound together in love" but these words apply to each and everyone of us in how we too ask God to bind us together in love.  God's word IS love which is the whole point of the song we sing....bind us together Lord in your word, in your love.  Its there where we find truth and answers for living life as Christ followers.

I encourage you this week to focus on what binds us all together and not on what tears apart.  Instead of focusing on how you differ in your beliefs and thoughts, try to find common ground because its there we can begin to bridge hearts to bind our nation under God again.  Its in our unity we find strength and in our division that our enemies find our weakness and exploit it.  Let God be God and his word which will never pass away be our guide.  I want to have a heart of love that others will seek out and ask about this God that I serve in love.  I am to be his hands and feet but in order to do that, others have to see his heart in me...in you.  Find again that love that binds us together with cords that cannot be broken. 

Who can you reach out to this week in love instead of judgment?  Who can you share the heart of Christ with instead of the darkness of hate and condemnation?  Can Jesus count on you today to show his love or have you become a resounding gong or clanging cymbal as talked about in 1 Corinthians 13:1?  You can be Christ's mouthpiece, but that means you must do so through his love. 


Under His Wings,
Heather

In The Silence, Job 6:24

"Teach me, and I will be quiet; show me where I have been wrong."

There is so much that can be learned while being silent, while being still.  Its often one of the hardest things for me to do but its also the time where I learn the most of what God is calling me out of or into.  Stop what you are doing right now, stop everything and just sit in total silence for 60 seconds...longer if you can.  Was it difficult for you to just sit still and be quiet?  I know some of you are like me and its a daunting task to simply be quiet.  For those that know me personally, I am a pretty outgoing chatty chick.  Yes, I said it and admit that I can be a little on the noisy side.  But, when I need to recharge or need to find peace you will find I am the first person to retreat to solitude and shut out all the noise around me. 

This past year has been a challenging year, one that has shown me much about myself and one where God has quieted me purposefully to remind me of who he is and who I am.  Too often we can get ourselves so busy and so self-important that we begin to take our creator for granted just as we do in relationships.  We get so comfortable that we forget to take the time to sit at his feet as Mary did, listening.  I think the first clue that something is amiss is when we hear ourselves doing a whole lot of "I" talking and less talking about the father.  When we begin to call ministries our own, when we begin to try to take on saving the world instead of taking care of our own family, when we fail to give credit to the very one who placed us in the position that we are in... all signs that we are starting down a very dangerous path.  When our health begins to fail and our stress levels surmount to levels greater than we can handle and the doctor wants to medicate you just to reel you back in... signs pointing out that we are beginning to work less from the spirit and more from the flesh.  Its these moments that we need to be silent and allow God to minister to our spirits.  Life is full of challenges, heartache and events that are beyond our control.  It is also full of joy and times of celebration but who or what are you celebrating?

One of my favorite devotionals is "Jesus Calling" by Sarah Young.  I've read through it a few years now.  This coming Sunday she writes (God has such amazing timing to remind us of his message for our lives):

"As you sit quietly in My presence, remember that I am a God of abundance.  I will never run out of resources; My capacity to bless you is unlimited.  You live in a world of supply and demand, where necessary things are often scarce.  Even if you personally have enough, you see poverty in the world around you.  It is impossible for you to comprehend the lavishness of my provisions:  the fullness of my glorious riches.

Through spending time in my presence, you gain glimpses of my overflowing vastness.  These glimpses are tiny foretastes of what you will experience eternally in heaven.  Even now you have access to as much of me as you have faith to receive.  Rejoice in my abundance---living by faith, not by sight." 

When we begin to think about God's abundance and how limitless his gifts are to us in meeting our every need it can begin to overwhelm us.  Instead of being overwhelmed, perhaps its time to just sit at his feet in silence and soak in the blessings of his goodness for our lives.  Maybe its time for us to quiet our busy lives for a few moments and focus on the important things and begin to weed out those that are just robbing us of our joy and peace of mind. 

Is Jesus calling you to be quiet, to be still, to be patient or to simply be patient?  Are you resisting because you have a desire to be needed, to be important or simply to avoid the hard task of letting go of what you need to let go of or cling to something you need to keep hold of?  Jesus is calling you into the silence to hear his voice, are you willing to be still and know that he is God and you are his beloved?

At Your Feet

Under His Wings,
Heather

Change Management; Romans 12:2

"Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind.  Then you will be able to test and approve what God's will is - his good, pleasing and perfect will."

Change... anyone out there actually like that word or what that means when it comes to your life?  I know that for most including myself, change is HARD!!  This weekend I have spent much time walking down memory lane as we had to say good-bye to a long time friend, our precious Shepherd mix, Sheena.  Some will never understand my love of dogs or how attached I get to them, but I, from the depths of my heart, will never understand someone who doesn't attach to one of the most loyal devoted and loving creatures on this earth.  I believe God knew we humans wouldn't get it right so he went searching for a being that would love like he does, who doesn't hold grudges or the past against another, but loves deeply and shows it as each moment is new and all is forgiven.  He found dogs and well the rest is history.  My dogs have seen me at my worst and at my best and it really didn't matter to them which I was, I simply needed to be breathing and they were going to be loving on me and teaching me lesson after lesson about the heart of Christ.  Stop shaking your head, non-dog loving people!  Some of you know exactly what I am talking about.

The word in Romans tells us to not conform but be transformed and renewed in our minds.  Why is that so important?  Why is change so important when it is often the most difficult thing to do?  Can you imagine seriously if you never changed in life?  Can you think of your earliest memory and to have remained there unchanged for all your life?  What a disaster!  Change often is the very thing that makes us grow as people, it makes us stronger and better equipped at being there for other people.  Although change is difficult, it is necessary. 

God has called us each by name and with that he has designed a purpose and a plan over our life.  Some have a road less bumpy and yet others, their road is often filled with potholes, hills and sometimes extremely sharp curves.  That is where often I find friends and people around me complaining that life isn't fair and why should they have to endure certain trials or tragedies when so and so seems to have it so easy.  I probably have complained in this same way at some point in my life but I've learned through my trials and struggles I have found new strengths inside.  I have been tested and tried and in the end I have found the will of God working in my life, teaching me on how to become a better friend, a better mentor or a better family member.  I could sit down and complain and grumble about the things happening in my life or I can understand that through change, through the struggle of whatever I am facing, I can become what God has called me to be and in that find peace.

This weekend was hard.  I didn't want to have to say good-bye to a companion who has stuck by me for 13 years wagging her tail and getting excited just because I woke up and looked her way.  She didn't care if I woke with my hair a mess or my breath offensive, she just cared that she saw me and I saw her and to her that was enough.  When are we going to get that we have enough?  When are we going to get that even in our trials and changes, we can find joy in knowing that we are on a journey that God himself placed us on?  Jesus went to the cross... how about that for a really bad day?

Right now I have some struggles going on, its difficult because I know my life is changing and you know what, it really does suck!  Yes, I just wrote that and God really knows that is how I feel so I am going to leave it there and whoever doesn't like it, well... God bless your heart anyway.  I am being as real as I can be with anyone who is reading this because change is Biblical and it is necessary for you to grow.  Endure for a while my friend, because God is working out something in your life towards a specific goal, his will, his PERFECT will for you.  I can tell you this, no matter how difficult the storm, I do know that he knows better than I in working out the details of my life including the change.  He has perfected Change Management even if industry today thinks they made that process up. 

What areas of your life is God wanting to change, to transform?  Where is he asking you to go or better yet to let go of so that you can be in his perfect will?  Is it time for a little change management in your life?

Under His Wings,
Heather

Dedicated to the Loving Memory of

Sheena Christoff

2001-2014

 

Well done good and faithful friend, your race has been run, time to rest.

 



Purposed; Jeremiah 29:11

^" I say this because I know what I am planning for you,” says the Lord. “I have good plans for you, not plans to hurt you. I will give you hope and a good future."  (NCV)

This is my life verse.  When life gets messy, and we all know it does, I turn to this scripture and know and trust that my God, my Creator, has a plan for my life and not just any plan but a GOOD plan with a GOOD future.  I happen to be the one who gets in the way and messes it all up because I try to make things happen my way and according to my plans.  Why do I do this... I am not sure, but if you figure out why you do it, will you please write and share with me?

There have been a lot of things on my mind lately as I take on new challenges and face new obstacles.  Some of the plans that have been discussed about my future I will admit have scared me. I feel the old Heather, from many years ago, who would shrink back out of fear that I wasn't good enough or strong enough or smart enough was trying to creep back in and claim my trust and faith in God who wrote in his very word... He has a plan and a future for me, not to harm me but to give me HOPE.  How or why would I have any doubt when I know He has me and has all of my tomorrows worked out?  He knows what he is planning for me and its all good... even the messy parts. 

This week as I was driving home from work I had one of those messages.  You know, one of those that you almost stop your car (or wreck it) because you feel like you have someone in the car with you and you freak out because there shouldn't be anyone in the car with you?  Ok... some of you are getting this right now but some of you are thinking that I am totally crazy.  All would be correct. :)   Anyway... I just felt God speak to my heart with one simple message.  HE PLACES ME IN POSITION TO BE HIS HANDS, HIS FEET AND TO BE HIS MOUTHPIECE.  It is not me who places me in position of authority or leadership, but it is the Great I AM who puts me in place because he has a plan and a purpose over my life. 

Many years ago on a retreat, a dear friend of mine who was my partner going over a series of questions late that night, stated that there are some people God calls to lead and some he calls to be behind the scenes and support those leaders.  She told me then God didn't call me into a supporting role but to lead.  I shook my head and she laughed at me.  I started to get mad at her but instead I had to accept this was my fate.  Susan... I Love You, Sis.  I probably never told you that you were right because... well because I didn't want you to be right.  I never thought that I would lead, I was happy to play the support role but it rarely works out that way.  You see, God has other plans and he continues to grow and stretch me to limits I didn't know I could reach.

Today while sitting in church, my Pastor (little did he know) shared the very words God had shared with me this week in quieting my fears and reminding me that he has purposed my life, not just in the big moments but in the every day moments too... I simply need to get out of my own way and let him fulfill those purposes within my life.  He doesn't need my help in making his plans come to realization... He just needs me to say, "Yes".  It's so much easier when I do.

On any given day, I will tell you that I am a mess.  Perhaps I would even share that I was a hot mess (you know at my age, hot can break out in a "flash" of a moment).  I make tons of mistakes!  I hurt people, I yell at people on the highway because they don't drive as perfect as me (stop laughing, you know you do it too), I bend the rules to suit my own plans and I just don't handle situations as well as I should.  I will be the first to admit, I am an imperfect earthen vessel, my Emmaus peeps will truly understand that statement.  I am full of mistakes and thankfully God sees them all and he still loves me and uses them to continue to press onward in the purpose and plans he has for me inspite of all the detours I throw out there.  I often hear people call Christians hypocrites because they stumble or mess up.  It saddens me when I hear other Christians call one another this... because they know better!  Being a Christian means I accept that I am flawed and I will mess up... but it also means, I have a forgiving God who continues to work out his plan and purpose in my life no matter how much of a hot mess I am.  He sent his son to die on a cross because he has been to each and every one of my tomorrows and has seen me stumble and fall and in each one of those moments, he picks me up, brushes me off and wraps his arms around me and says even after that... I still love you and I still have a GOOD plan and a Good future for your life.

Do you feel like sometimes God just doesn't care or has left you on your own to fulfill your own purpose, your own destiny?  Do you recognize that God is GOD and no matter what you do, how horribly you mess up, that he is going to still provide you with a hope and a good future?  God has seen every one of your tomorrows and he has purposed for you a life that may not have been what you would have chosen and it may be hard more times than you care for it to be... but He has a purpose for you that only you can fulfill.  Trust Him and step out of your own way so He can show you all that he has planned for you.

Under His Wings,
Heather

Connected; Proverbs 17:17

"A friend loves at all times..."

I KNOW!! ... an actual blog posting, where have I been and why so long with no post right?  Sorry... it's been a crazy time but today I just couldn't get a topic that God clearly laid on my heart off it until I got up out of my comfy bed and began to write this blog post.

So yesterday I was in one of my bored moments from being down from some surgery (yes I'm fine... just taking time to heal) and went on FB.  That's what we do isn't it?  When we can't be out living life we go on our social media sites and we live life through those that are actually out there living.  I saw all the posts of what my FB family was up to and smiled as I looked through pics and saw posts of good times. I frowned and even cried at some pics and posts that showed what some were "living" that aren't their happier moments right now.  But regardless of good or bad times... most of the FB friends on my list were still living.  Then it hit me, some of my friends on my friend list aren't with us anymore.  I don't know about you but that's always a tough one for me... what do you do?  Unfriend them?  They are still friends, a friend loves at ALL times.  Seems so horrible to "unfriend" but the truth is... they aren't here anymore to get our status updates or our pictures of the good and bad living and my guess is that they really aren't missing the posts all that much as they live out their eternity outside of their earthly home.  It's a reality and it's not an easy one to have to face because I am one of the few that actually know and have met just about every single person that I'm "friends" with on FB except for some family members that I will one day meet, promise!

I began going through my list of friends and spent time looking at each and every one and thinking back to the time I met them or what my memories were of them.  With some I don't recall much, maybe someone from High School or from a past job that I may not have known all that well but it's been really neat to see how their life is going and how they are living out their dreams.  With others, there are a ton of memories and there are even those friends on FB that I have more memories than could ever be documented because of how connected we have remained over the course of life.  WE LIVED and are LIVING life both good and bad and have those precious memories of one another to cherish.  I happen to be a girl who has some of the most amazing friends in the world and that is NOT an exaggeration. 

As I went through the list intent of making it a smaller one because I could not possibly have that many people in my life, I managed to "unfriend" quite a few because of personal reasons, wishing them nothing but great things in life but just don't feel they need to be included in my world, in my life being lived.  What I was fascinated by was how many are active people in my life.  I mean we see each other by either hanging out, attending church or Emmaus functions, working together, etc.  And family, who can forget family?  I happen to have one crazy messed up group of folks to call family and I LOVE IT!  Because I am just as crazy and messed up as they are and they love me for who I am just as I love them.

I continued down the list of friends recounting memories or wondering what must this person think of me as they knew me when... fill in the blank.  Or have I been the best friend I could have been to this person?  Was I kind?  Have I let them know they matter and that they have left an unforgettable imprint on my heart and my life?  Without each and every person on that friend list... I would not be who I am today.  I have been connected in some way to those on "my list".  There are some on my friend list (outside of family) that I have known for close to 40 years.  They have seen me change, evolve and hopefully grow into a better person.  They have loved me as their friend through ALL times and I have loved them.  The outgoing, outspoken, jump in there and never meet a stranger woman you see today is because of those friends and the imprint they left there.  In High School I wasn't outgoing, I wasn't outspoken and I certainly knew many strangers because I would have rather blended in to the walls around me then have to look up into the eyes of some of my classmates.  But my classmates who were friends... they wouldn't let me.  We laughed together, cried together, experienced heart ache together, disliked some of the same people, liked some of the same boys (I will never tell) and got each other through the perils of some tough classes.  I see them on my friend list and I smile because they now have families and lives and we are still connected.  I don't believe a single person on "my list" is on there by accident but by divine intervention.  I know some of my friends have and will always think my Christian faith is nonsense and I still pray for them just as the day I met them.  :)  I also have those friends who share my faith and are some of the first I turn to when I need a friend to pray with me and help me get through something I don't understand because they share a little bit of their faith when mine grows weary. 

I'm glad to be connected to so many friends on FB but I'm even more glad to have friends that love me at all times and not just my good ones.  I am thankful that I have friends who know my faults, who know I mess up and who know my life and they still choose to let me be on their "friend list".  My plan is to reconnect after my time of healing and catch up with some of you.   

This blog post was about remaining connected and appreciating friends who love at all times even times when we don't see one another or get to chat or talk.  I wanted to take a moment and let you know, if you are on my FB friend list... I thought about you this week, not just a fleeting moment but I thought about you, how I met you, if we have any memories that we have shared and how you have impacted my life or I could have impacted yours.  I took time this week to pray for each of you on "my list" and thanked God for you and the imprint you left on my life.

Has any friend come to your mind lately that you haven't seen or talked to for a while?  Is there a friend that could use a moment of your time to reconnect?  Is it time to do a "friend list" cleanup?  Is it time to learn to be a friend?  WE all have a friend in Jesus and he taught us how to be a friend to one another through unconditional love and a whole heaping of grace and forgiveness. 

Til next post, friend....

Under His Wings,
Heather