Tag: #Godhasaplan

The Bigger Plan

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I had the plan. It was on my list for 2019.

Teeth fixed. √

Every time I’ve stepped into this plan of having my teeth fixed, it’s not gone as planned. Not my plan anyway. I was trying to save this one tooth and my Dentist was scheduled to remove the old filling and replace it with new. That was the plan and what I was prepared for in my mind.

He’s removed all the bad teeth and he’s stabilizing to replace. After he removed the filling, he decided it best to pull the tooth. The left side of my face was completely numb and I couldn’t feel a thing, but once he sat back in his chair, I knew what he meant.

Now Barb.

I freaked.

plans

I asked him to give me a minute and he left the room to check on another patient. Time to get my mind right, so I began taking deep breaths in and out. When he came back in I was ready to close my eyes and pray.

This wasn’t my plan, but it’s working toward the bigger plan. After he extracted the tooth, he announced that we could proceed with building the replacement teeth once the gum has healed. That’s great news!

There is growth in the process.

The Dentist has put me in this situation before and the first time it happened, I got up and left. At least I stayed still this time and it’s behind me. Onward to the bigger plan!

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Here and Now

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Today is one of those rare days where I feel I’m right where I need to be. I spent the better part of yesterday cleaning my home, and rearranging items to make them more eye pleasing. I bought a lamp.

I’ve always been drawn to light.

I didn’t need a lamp, but this lamp replaced one that wasn’t giving off the right light for the space it was in. I had gone to this store to find a storage container when I saw the lamp. I walked out of the store carrying the lamp and no storage container. 🙂

lamp
Shout our to Little Fears for Lucy hanging in the background.

I love the streams of light.

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When my daughter and I moved out of the country and into this sleepy little lake town, I wasn’t sure it was the right move. It took time for it to feel right.

One year later, I’m working part time at the local pizza place. A young couple sitting at a table asked, “Why are you here?”, like I looked out of place.

My response was, “To bless others.”

He quoted a scripture and we began talking about God and what He is doing in our lives. I mentioned this Blog and my hope to bless others through writing. He told me this town I live in is for writers.

He began telling me some of the history of the town and it used to be considered a haven for writers. His neighbor rents his house to writers throughout the year when they need a quiet space for inspiration.

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When I first began at the pizza place, I asked God, “Why?” Three months later I’m able to relax and have meaningful conversations with patrons. They bless me just as much as I bless them.

God puts us in places that makes us wonder ‘why’, but we need to trust it’s part of a greater plan.

It may not make sense, and it will be uncomfortable at first, but today I know we’re right where we need to be.

Room for Improvement

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I just can’t help myself.

Sitting on the front porch in the early morning, with coffee, I look around for what can improve.

This morning I saw a plant that wasn’t happy.

It looked very sad sitting in the pot it was planted in. I thought about throwing it away, but instead plopped it in the yard. Maybe it didn’t like the pot?

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Speaking of pots. I found one over the weekend that makes me want to go back to the store and buy a few more. It’s follows the Queen Bee theme.

beepot

After I freed the sad plant into a hole in the yard, I wondered if God looks at us in a similar way each morning? I bet He sees room for improvement.

I think that’s good, that He is always willing to help us be better than we were the day before. I’m also very grateful that He doesn’t look at us like I did that sad plant and contemplate throwing us away. Sometimes we just need to be planted elsewhere.

Over the weekend, I listened to some old Joyce Meyer CD’s. She is the only person that can yell at me and make me feel better. She said something yesterday and I made a note of it.

My lovely, you need to hear this today.

We cannot do much without God, and He won’t do anything without us. Do what you can and God will take it from there.

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Enjoy your day and be on the lookout for room for improvement.

This Quiet Season

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I sat in my bed this morning, and had a talk with God. He has a plan, but I just wanted to share my requests.

I’m in a quiet season of my life. It’s been this way for months, but I’m learning to sit with it. After He healed my Breast Cancer last year, I was ready to be His mighty foot soldier again, but He has other plans.

In a quiet season, you do quiet things.

puzzle

I sat down in front of it this morning, and asked to find this one piece. It would be completely dark green, so you would think it would be easy to see. Scooping up a handful of pieces from the box, I looked in my hand, and there it was. The piece I asked for.

My natural response was, “Thank you God”, because I had gone through these pieces last night and couldn’t find it, but today is a new day. He was ready to reveal it to me today, and knew I needed that small piece of encouragement while sitting in this quiet season. When life is quiet, God is there.

If God can show me one missing piece to a 1,000 piece puzzle, then I can trust Him to show me the missing pieces of my life.

Trust Him I will, because the puzzle laying on this table will come together one piece at a time, very similar to life. My friends tell me, “He’s preparing you for something”, but I don’t know what that is.

If I overly focus on finding a piece, I miss the overall picture. The box the puzzle came in reveals how beautiful it can be!

I’m good with taking my time and enjoying the process of finding every piece. It will come together, in this quiet season.

This Is Normal

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The life my daughter and I share is not normal. We care for one another at a very high level. We watch each other, and learn how to do so. We are now down to the details.

I bought a new toothbrush holder, and noticed the openings are large enough to hold more than a toothbrush, so I put my razor in it. I recently noticed she had followed suit. Her razor now stands beside her toothbrush too.

showme

To love one another like God loves us. Unconditionally.

tulips

Fresh flowers in the house as often as possible is normal.

crepes

She makes her famous crepes when I need some extra care.

At a young age I told her, “Everything has it’s place. When you take something from it’s place, you need to put it back when you’re done using it.” We know where things are.

When my daughter visits her Dad for the weekend, I want it to feel like home when she returns. Her room is never messy, but I go in and change her sheets, open the blinds, add fresh flowers if we have them, and light a candle.

I don’t have to ask her to do things. She knows when she’s away from home, this feels good to come home to. She has been shown to uncover the beauty.

When I am gone for the day, she goes in my room and makes the bed, opens the blinds, and lights my candle. Not because I asked, she just knows what that feels like.

candle1

She surpasses me. I didn’t take time to make cookies throughout her life, but she knows I love them. After a long day on Thursday, I walked into the house to these.

cookies

And yes, I made a coffee pour over to go with them!

Our kids are watching. What are we showing them?

My daughter is now watching me stretch and grow myself. This year, I’ve been doing the hard stuff. Cleaning house in more ways than one.

My daughter has gifts and talents to make this world a better place. We are called to use everything God has given us, so I am walking through every door He is opening.

lourie

All of the notes I left for her when she was a child have come full circle. She left this on the fridge for me last week.

proudnote

I told her, “I am happy for us, that this is normal.”

From the Heart

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Do you ever feel led to buy something, and not sure why?

I was in an antique book shoppe, and found a copy of one of my favorite books. It was beautiful, and I wanted it, but I already owned a copy. So, I left the shop without it.

Not getting the book bothered me for weeks, but I didn’t need it. Then God revealed it wasn’t for me, I was just supposed to buy it. It was to be mailed to one of my dearest friends. I called the shop, thinking it might be gone by now, but it was still there, and has been mailed to my friend.

This happens to my daughter too. She was in a coffee shop in Austin, TX, and saw a newly released book about brewing the perfect coffee, at home. She felt led to buy it, but we know how to brew coffee in numerous ways, so it wasn’t for us. She brought it home, laid it under the Christmas tree, and waited for God to reveal who it was for.

Our favorite coffee shop is Chaparral Coffeein Lockhart. It’s right down the road from our house, and we go there frequently. The coffee is excellent, but we love the people who work there. They take such good care of us, and we feel loved. The book was to be given to the owner, Austin.

You never know what day and time he works, but we trusted that today was the day! God had it all lined up.

We walked in with the book, and there he stood behind the counter. We ordered our drinks, and he made them in our favorite house mugs. I paid for the Chai Lattes before giving him the book. I didn’t want him to feel obligated to give us our drinks. He loved the book, and was very thankful.

We had just caught him before his shift ended, but as he was leaving, he walked over, and stood between us, as we sat on stools. Wrapping an arm around our shoulders, he squeezed us and said, “Merry Christmas girls! Take those cups with you.” We were stunned, but hugged him back.

mugs

 

You just can’t out give God when you give from the heart.

Take A Chance

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chance-quotes

I woke up at 4 am this morning.

Normally, I can go back to sleep, but I decided to get up . I start Radiation today on the breast that had Cancer. My guess would be, I’m nervous about the unknown. How will it effect me physically? Once again, trusting God to go before me.

This has been a year of unknown. When I found out I had breast cancer, everything moved quickly. The doctors were shooting me through the appropriate hoops, to receive the care they thought best. They had it all mapped out…a plan for the cure. Wouldn’t it be nice if someone would hand you a plan for your life? Here it is honey…all mapped out for you.

God has a plan. A couple of verses I remind myself of at times like this are, Jeremiah 29:11, “For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the LORD, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future”, and Isaiah 55:8, “My thoughts are nothing like your thoughts,” says the LORD. “And my ways are far beyond anything you could imagine.”

God doesn’t hand us the full life plan all mapped out like the doctors did for this year. All I know to do is take it one day at a time, and sometimes one moment at a time. I believe if God showed us His plan for us all at once, it would scare us, and we probably wouldn’t believe it. I walked this Cancer path in disbelief for a while after the doctors revealed it.

When I started this Blog a couple of years ago, I thought I would write my most personal feelings, but I haven’t. There is a certain level I hit, and then I stop myself from revealing anything too personal. It’s the same way in relationships. I stop myself from giving my all.

I went to the Farmer’s Market this weekend, and saw my friends that are vendors at the market. These are wonderful women, who have taken care of my daughter and me, on days I wasn’t sure I could. We love one another, and laugh together, but this weekend I was in for a surprise. God was getting ready to show me some truth I wasn’t sure I was ready to see.

I have been steadily working on writing a book, and one of my friends asked about it. She asked what the title was going to be, and I told her I wasn’t sure yet. I told her, “I will probably sign it as Letitgocoach, instead of my real name because that is what people know me as.” We were standing in front of another ladies table at the time, and her expression grew deep in thought.

“Letitgocoach?”, she asked. “I enjoy the postings on that Facebook page. Is that you?!!!”

This Facebook page was my baby, and I started it about the same time I started this Blog.

I had seen my friend’s name on my page, liking and commenting on some of the posts. It was fun for me to respond to her sweet comments, but I just assumed she knew it was me.

I am believing that somebody out there needs to hear this today! Are you playing it safe?

I say we drop below that level of comfort and do the things that scare us. Take a chance.