Two Years and a Giveaway...

My lovely daughters, smiling, in spite of the 5 foot drift STILL claiming space
on the north side of our house! We wonder how long it will be until it is history!

I just realized that I passed the two year anniversary of this blog two weeks ago! 

And I am shocked to see that there have been over 20,000 page views!

 Last year, at the one year mark, 

there were around 4,000. 

I am delighted to have you stop by, 

and I pray that you have been

 uplifted, challenged, encouraged and refreshed 

as you've visited here.

I would like to do a giveaway in celebration of this blog's birthday. 

And guess what, I'm going to give not only to one, but five readers.

You can enter this drawing as often as you wish,

but I would suggest entering a new entry each time,

to keep it fair. :-)

The last time I had a giveaway,

 I gave away a book written by J. R. Miller titled "Home Making."

I've been reading another of his books, "The Personal Friendships of Jesus", 

and I must say, it has been a very good read! 

I've been provoked/instructed/encouraged in growing my 

approach to friendships 

as I've read this book on the 45 minute ride to and from church 

many Sunday mornings recently 

(as my husband sits beside/instructs our 'driver in training').

So...for this giveaway, leave me a comment 

on the blog

or in my email (courage225@juno.com)

or on facebook

or on google plus

or text me (if you have my number).

I'd love to hear what has inspired you in your recent Scripture readings.

 Leave me a note, however long or short you would like it to be!

The purpose of this (to me) is to bless the believers in whatever part of the world this is read.

 (some of my readers live in China, 

some live in Mexico, 

and some live in the 'wilds' of Manitoba :-)

They all appreciate encouragement,

and so do I!)

Giveaway winners will be announced on April 14,
Lord willingly.

A Father to the Fatherless...

I was asked to share at our church on Sunday, 

some of my experiences relating to being adopted.

 I was excited to have the opportunity,

 because I have something I love to share with people 

who are interested.

As I pondered how/what

 to share

 (I was to share to an audience that included small children), 

the Lord reminded me that often Scripture refers to Him

 being a father of the fatherless. 

So I decided to look up a Scripture about that,

 so I could use it at church. 

I also had in the back 

of my mind,

 the Scripture I LOVE about how He sets the lonely

 in families.

Lo and behold, 

the very Scripture I chose about Him being the Father

 to the fatherless 

is only one verse before the one 

about Him setting the lonely in families!

"He is a father to the fatherless,

defender of widows,

this is God, 

whose dwelling is holy.

God places the lonely in families,

He sets the prisoners free

and gives them joy,

but the He makes the

rebellious live in 

a sun-scorched land."

Psalm 68:5, 6

My heart leaps at those words.

To be a child of the everlasting Father,

who is truly a Father to the fatherless,

and to have been given a family

when I could not stay with

my birth parents,

is a blessing I do not take lightly.

I was bound with chains for many years.

Chains of bitterness over injustice

done against me...

chains of loneliness from

years of letting roots grow deep

in unbelief that God truly knows 

what He is doing in my world...

roots from believing satan's lies

that I am unwanted, 

unloved,

and uncared for,

common lies adopted children

are often bombarded with.

But the day that I stopped rebelling

against the wrongs brought to 

my life by the sin curse

and that were beyond my control,

is the day I started finding

complete healing.

The day I decided to 

let  Jesus be my everything

is the day I found

LIVING WATER

instead of the desert,

and the day I began 

to be completely whole.

Hallelujah!

There are sorrows in this world

too hard for us to bear alone.

But there is a Father to

the fatherless,

a God of justice and mercy,

whose Son came to

set every captive free,

who, in ways beyond our

human understanding,

takes the imperfections

in this world,

and makes beauty from ashes,

for our good

and His glory.

May He always receive 

praise and honor.

Love and blessings,

Marcia

PS
I write from my own experience,
and the chains that satan commonly
rattles for the fatherless.
I fully embrace and acknowledge
the fact that he rattles chains and
shoots fiery darts at every single
person who walks the face of the earth.
The Answer is the same for us all!

Joy in Serving...

I had the privilege of babysitting one of my nieces recently. What a joy!

"If you are going to live for the service of your fellow-men,

 you will certainly be pierced through with many sorrows, 

for you will meet with more base ingratitude 

from your fellow-men than you would from a dog. 

You will meet with unkindness and 'two-facedness,' 

and if your motive is love for your fellow-men,

 you will be exhausted in the battle of life. 

But if the mainspring of your service is love for God, 

no ingratitude, no sin, no devil, no angel,

 can hinder you from serving your fellow-men, 

no matter how they treat you. 

You can love your neighbour as yourself, 

not from pity, but from

 the true centering of yourself in God."

 --Oswald Chambers, 

in Biblical Psychology 

from the Quotable Oswald Chambers.

My heart leaped with 'knowing' when I read these words,

and what an encouragement they are!

Serving God with a truly thankful heart

means humanity in its sinfulness

cannot drag us into despair and despondency.

Jesus came to minister to,

not to be ministered to.

May we ever follow His perfect example.

Wonderful Words of Life...

A Sure Way to Separate Friends...

Gossip. I'm sure I've written about this before, but a friend has been posting all week on Instagram about the tongue and the power that it has. (If you are on Instagram, you really should check out/follow Kristina's 'knowing him and making him known' group. It is full of inspiration and challenge.)

One day, she showed me this and and the wheels of my mind began to turn:

I have MUCH experience with gossip, believe me!

I used to love it.

It used to give me a feeling of importance,

a rush of excitement to share news about others

that someone else may not have known.

And then one day,

amidst God teaching me not to do that,

things came crashing upon me,

and I learned in a very real way

how devastating gossip can be.

Sometimes it seems like an

 innocent thing to discuss others 

with your friends,

but let me tell you,

GOD HATES IT!

I now know the hard way how

very sickening it is to discover

that people you thought you

could trust, who you thought were 

your friends, 

had been discussing you

(and getting it wrong!)

behind your back,

assuming things that were 

completely false,

and making blanket statements

that were not even

close to accurate.

As I walked through that experience,

the light turned on in my heart,

and I saw gossip/slander in a way

like never before.

And I hate it now!

Women like to talk.

(well, many of us anyway)

We like to share news

and discuss the why's and the

wherefore's of situations.

(think: quilting bee or baking day

or even, God forbid, church ladies' night

on Wednesdays)

Ladies, be careful.

You should make it 

your goal to never say 

what you would not say

if the person you are talking about

to others would be present.

And what gives us the liberty to 

gossip about others and their sins,

or what we perceive to be faults?

Can we claim to be perfect 

and without sin?!

It has been my experience that

when I started hating gossip

(God hates it, too!),

then a compassion began to grow

in my heart towards others

like never before.

The truth is, were you to be

God and see into the hearts

of those you don't understand

or agree with,

you would see things there

that would cause you to be

ashamed of your current

thoughts towards them.

If you have a gossip problem,

and you name the name of Christ,

I urge you, ladies, to please

get on your knees and ask for mercy,

and ask for the Light of life to

illuminate your hearts and minds.

Take your Living Word, the

Holy Bible,

and see what God says about

gossip,

slander,

and the tongue.

Then purpose to speak

only what and when God

tells you to...

He has the power you need

to change and to become

more Christlike in

the words you say.

I am not perfect in this yet.

Sometimes it becomes necessary

to share something about someone else

with a third party.

From my perspective,

we should do so very, very

cautiously, and prayerfully.

We all are on a journey.

One day, the one you 

are gossiping about may

change and become renewed

in the area that is annoying or disturbing 

you currently.

What will all those people do

with the information that you 

gave them unwisely and unkindly

about that person?

Will he/she be forever marked as the one

who (fill in the blank),

because you so rudely shared 

that information with them?

This is a subject very close to my heart,

and I share it with you, feeling very vulnerable.

Please, please measure your words

and keep them in the shadow of the Cross.

Our churches will be strengthened 

and our friendships more trusting

if we choose not to gossip.

Love and blessings,

Marcia

Of Lyme and Healing...

I have been asked by quite a few people to share some things I've learned during my daughter's bout with Lyme. While she is still recovering, we are seeing major progress and are so very thankful! Truly we are frail and need the Lord every single day He gives us breath.

When she was first diagnosed in August 2014, I was devastated. I have alot of experience with helping people to find wellness from preventable/reversible diseases such as heart disease, diabetes, and cancer but I was not at all familiar with infectious diseases. I felt very much at a loss to know where to turn, as there seem to be (in the words of my husband's aunt) a thousand and one ways to treat Lyme.

I started with my plant-based doctor friend, Dr. John McDougall. I highly value his advice and all the stuff I've learned from him over the years about the power of whole plant foods to heal the body. His answer to my inquiry burns in my heart to this day: "Lyme Disease is an infectious disease that cannot be cured with diet." I sat staring at that email and felt very, very much at a loss to know what to do next.

I knew I did not want to put my daughter through a long round of antibiotics, if at all possible. Plus, it seemed to me that those who were treating Lyme with antibiotics did not stay well. I wanted to know if Lyme could actually be completely healed.

So I did what I always do when I am stumped. I started praying for wisdom, and I started reading. And reading. And comparing notes with those whose journeys are published on the good old internet.

What helps for me in these situations is to start at the bottom and work my way up to what I need to know. I learned first of all WHAT Lyme disease is and HOW it affects the body.

In layman's terms (forgive me, I am a simple girl): Lyme is bacteria (with many friends who come along sometimes!) from a tick bite (there are varying opinions that also include Lyme coming from mosquito bites, other people, etc but I don't know for sure if these are confirmed or just rumor). That bacteria burrows into your cells, creating its own biofilm around itself, preventing the immune system from destroying the bacteria. This goes on sometimes many years undetected, with odd symptoms cropping up here and there (my daughter had heart palpitations, then she had tingling hands and feet, then she had a sore jaw, then it was a tonsil that didn't heal, then it was fatigue, over the course of 7 years.) Eventually, this reproducing bacteria takes over a person's life and health. There can be severe joint pain for some and neurological problems for others.

So...what to do about this evil stuff floating around in my daughter's body?! I kept praying and asking for wisdom. I learned about Lyme bullets. For those who lead busy lives and don't mind using essential oils, this looks like a positive protocol. But I was not interested in just  putting the Lyme into remission. I wanted it gone!

A naturopathic doctor friend told me that if you find a protocol that actively tears away the biofilm and kills the bacteria, it takes a year to totally get rid of it. Hope leaped in my heart! So we CAN actually take care of this stuff completely! I am excited about this!

Then a friend told me about her experience with a product that has been giving people with Lyme some very good results. It's made from coconut (made sense to me, because coconut is so highly antibacterial, etc) and there is a product from plants that goes with it to tear away the biofilm to expose the Lyme bacteria.

So we decided to check it out. Monolaurin and Biofibrin are the products we started using in September. Information about them can be found on the company website: www.inspirednutrition.com. There is alot of info on there, and if you have any more questions, I'm told their customer service is very good.

Angela started taking Monolaurin and Biofibrin in September. For the first three months, we went through alot of emotional struggle as the Lyme die off created alot of emotional and physical struggles for awhile. It seemed to go in two week cycles: emotionally weak, physically spent, and then a few days of rest and almost normal energy, etc before it started over again.

In January, we saw very marked improvement. Thanks to the prayers of many of God's people who were beginning to understand that we were going through a really major thing, we saw a huge leap of improvement, and we are thankful.

Ever since that point, Angela has been improving. She has more energy, is not so emotionally challenged and is beginning to sing and work like her normal self. She is more involved in family activities again and we are so very, very thankful.

I can only report on things to this date. She is not finished yet. We know she is not completely well yet, but we feel that what we are doing, coupled with the prayers of God's people has been a good decision so far.

Based on what we have experienced, and what I've learned from others so far, I would suggest these things when dealing with Lyme:

1. Juice Plus. This is a good fruit and vegetable boost from whole plants that is so important to take for the immune system.

2. A good probiotic. Your stomach is like your second brain, say some experts, The probiotic seems to  help Angela's stomach to feel well, and digest her food easier. I don't know why all this is, but perhaps the lauric acid from the coconut (the main ingredient of Monolaurin), caused her stomach some distress. We chose a probiotic from Hallelujah Acres, since we were familiar with that company and feel they are trustworthy. I'm told not all probiotics are the same quality and that some of the sources for ingredients are not of good repute. Do your homework.

3. Monolaurin for killing the Lyme and Biofibrin for tearing away the biofilm.

4. Plant strong eating. I feel this is so important for everyone, but especially someone struggling with a disease. We eat alot of whole plant foods, poor man's fare, if you will. Again, an internet search will give you good information on this, if you want to know more.

5. Lots of rest. Let the patient off the hook from regular household chores, inviting them to help where they can, but letting them rest and telling them it's ok!

6. Lots of prayer.

7. Much understanding and love from the family for the one dealing with Lyme. It is a hard thing to understand, but God's love covers a multitude of faults (and a Lyme patient does not always even know they have extra large faults during their time of healing).

8. Trust in God. There were times I wondered how in the world I could stand to see my child struggle, and I wept many tears in my bedroom! But trusting the Lord with our children's health is so important to our own health and sanity.

9. Learn to be ok to say no to responsibility if you must, so that you can deal with the 'halt' that comes  to life when Lyme affects your family. It is ok to say no. It is a must sometimes to say no. Again, ask the Lord for wisdom to know what to do.

10. Don't be swayed by the multitude. Just ask the Lord how to deal with things, be careful who you talk to about these things (unless you don't mind an onslaught of advice, some knowledgeable and some not), and be humble. God will show you what to do.

11. Exercise. Angela started exercising  minutes a day, and noticed almost immediate improvement. She now exercises regularly, 15-20 minutes of various cardio and strength training exercises. Exercise helps the body to move toxins out and keeps depression at bay.

I wish that this would all be over already and that I could say that we are totally out of the woods. But we are not. I am excited to see what the Lord will do in the next six months, and hopefully I'll be able to share with you then what the second half year of treatment looked like.

Until then, we are trusting God and thanking Him for the healing we have already seen.

Thanksgiving on Thursday...

It's been a long winter! The snow banks piled high around this old farmhouse, while inside we were very thankful to be warm and dry!

Our family enjoyed a visit 

to the Midwest 

a few weeks ago. 

A youth Bible conference

 was the draw, 

plus the joy of 

seeing our lovely 

family in MO.

I was set to spend the week of youth conference in solitude with the Lord, feeling deeply the need to sit at His feet, after a long year filled with extra stress and responsibility. Little did I know that I was in for a treat (besides the solitude!)

How surprised and delighted I was to find some long time friends at the conference on the first day when I went to drop my daughter off! I was so overjoyed! There were three women in particular that God used that week to fill my cup and to show me His delight in me. I sit in awe at what He does to the heart that is surrendered.

Fellowship/community is a beautiful thing and something we all should care enough about to put our whole heart into creating. It turns out, God knew what is best for His children when He left us with instructions for building community (or as He calls it: the church)...things like

1 Cor 13 (love laid out in clear definition)

and how about all the things Jesus told us in the Sermon on the Mount? 

One of my friends spent part of a day with me that week. We enjoyed sharing hearts and shopping together. This friend ministered to my heart in ways she didn't even know she was doing it!

Later in the week, another of my friends cleared her schedule and sat with me for two hours, hearing my heart and dealing with the things I shared in compassion and understanding. I was completely blown away by the care and ministry I was given, and it so encouraged me to go forth and pass it along to others along the way.

A jar full of "I love you because..." scrolls given to me from a friend for my birthday.
What a blessing! The night I opened and read them, I had seriously been
struggling with discouragement. These were words fitly spoken...

Truth is, we all are struggling with something. Maybe not all to the same degree at the same time, but we all struggle. We walk an uphill road, and fight a daily battle against the enemy of our souls. There are sicknesses, sorrows, and hardships that we all face that sometimes reduce us to weakness we do not want, but it happens. Hearts grow despaired. Hands hang down. Knees become feeble. 

How will you strengthen the community you have been called to? Who will you encourage?

Thanking God today for the Body of Christ 

that is actively working and loving

each other in this present age.

Preparing...

"Every day is another day of spiritual preparation,

another day of testing and discipline

with our heavenly destination in mind...

...when the new birth is real

and the wonder of regeneration

has taken place,

then comes the lifetime of

preparation

with the guidance

of the Holy Spirit."

A. W. Tozer

"Always bearing about in the body the dying
of the Lord Jesus Christ
that the life also of Jesus
might be made manifest.

2 Cor. 4:10

I don't know about you,
but I get very tired of trouble and hardship.
I long for eternal bliss,
endless sunshine and roses,
where Jesus is the light
and where worship and singing
is to be had all the day long
without any flesh or sin curse to
interrupt.

I also am old enough to know
better than to expect instant
sanctification...
instant 'sainthood'...
that the journey with Christ,
and it's benefits and character
qualities do not come with
a drive thru window and
an instant pain reliever.

No...I'm in it for the long haul,
and I appreciate the fact that
greater is He that is in me,
than he that is in the world.

But I do look forward to
my heavenly home.
And until then,
I'll do what it takes to
let Him prepare me.

Love and blessings to you all,
Marcia

Wonderful Words of Life...

Wonderful Words of Life...

Wonderful Words of Life...

Wonderful Words of Life...