My Hoosier Check

 

Hello, my friends, I want to share with you what a great and glorious God we have. This pic is from my prayer journal, and it has great meaning to me as I record my prayers, the events in my life and the many thoughts I have swirling in my mind. Not that long ago, my sister and I were praying together. We claim the verse found in Matthew 18:19, it says "that if two of you on earth agree about anything they ask for, it will be done for them". That day, I was feeling sad because it is such a struggle in terms of my finances. These days buying groceries seems like a luxury. So as my sister and I began lifting our prayers, she prayed for my struggles. Her words were something like this, "Lord please let LaDonna walk out to her mailbox today and let there be a check of some sort that could pull her out of her sadness." I tell you the truth that I went out to my mailbox that very same day and a check was there for me and one for Gabby! They were from the State of Indiana and the letter included with the checks explained that they had a surplus of funds that fiscal year and wanted to give back to us Hoosiers. MY MIND WAS BLOWN AWAY! So, of course, I praised God and promised to let those in my circle of influence know that our heavenly Father really does honor our prayers, especially when we agree with other believers.

So the picture above is from my prayer journal. It has become a daily habit of mine (ok, almost every day), I like to create an “art” page along with an explanation in my journal that captures what God has done in my life. This artwork is my tribute to God and His unbelievable love for me. He heard my cry for help and rescued me. What are you feeling sad about today? Take that sadness to God and watch for a miracle. Also, who is someone in your life that you trust to pray with every day or every other day? Make a commitment with them to pray together every day, every other day, once a week. God's word doesn't put a time limit or other restrictions or requirements on your prayers. Just do it.

My sister and I live in Arkansas, just few miles apart but our daily prayer time is with a face time platform. We can easily pop online, armed with our coffee, in our pajamas and invite God to join us. It's so cool. Let me know in the comments or DM me if there is anything we can pray for. BUT don't just lean into me, get going on with your own little prayer group. I know that a year from today, if you do this, you are going to have a huge list of ways that God showed up and showed out. Loretta and I already have a huge list. I don't say this to brag, please hear my heart, I share this journal entry to give you hope in this very dark world. Or maybe there is someone that you are close with that needs to hear this. Prayer works!

There Is Help for the Hopeless

Today as I was up going about my morning routines, there was a song playing in the background by one of my favorite Christian bands, Third Day. The song is called “Cry Out to Jesus”. Go to YouTube and put in "Third Day Cry out to Jesus" when you have time, listen to it.

In the song, the singer lists all kinds of problems, struggles and worries that we might face. Obviously, there are millions of other situations but if he addressed all of those he would have the longest song ever made. Now back to my point. Basically, all we need to do, when faced with problems is cry out to Jesus. How easy is that? But wait, you might say, “don’t I need to stop sinning and become perfect?” “Wouldn’t I need to stop cussing, smoking, drinking, etc. to even come near to Jesus?” “Also, wouldn’t I need to go to church because that’s the place to pray and then God would be pleased with me?” “Only then would He help me with my problems, right?” The simple answer is NO! NO! NO!

As I study Scripture, I find that the words in this great song are the TRUTH! Though there are many verses I would like to high light, I'll start with this one:

“So, let us come boldly to the throne of our gracious God. There we will receive His mercy and we will find grace to help us when we need it most.” Hebrews 4:16 (NLT)

I could speak to so many components of this verse because there are a multitude of insights but I will bring one to you. It says that “let us come boldly” and “there we will find His mercy and we will find grace”. God is telling us that we can come to Him with our problems and He will help us. There are no requirements, no "if you do this or you need to do that…". God is saying, “come to me and I will help”. The end. That’s it! Now don’t get me wrong, obviously, we can’t approach the Almighty God without some humility and respect. But usually, when we are facing a devastating problem, when we feel like we are at the end of our rope, when we are feeling so low that we can’t get out of bed and we are desperate for some help, humility before God is not a problem. But if you’re not at this point but still need help, I suggest you go the Heavenly Father with some humility or you might want to rethink that life insurance policy, etc.

Beloved, I don’t know what your struggle is today but mine feels enormous. There really is no other option for me but to cry out to Jesus. And so, with boldness, I will take all of it to Him and rest in the knowledge that God wants to help us. So, when He says to cry out to Him, He is not lying. Matter of fact, in the New Testament, you find Jesus addressing this very subject:

Then Jesus said, “Come to me, all of you who are weary and carry heavy burdens, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you. Let me teach you, because I am humble and gentle at heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy to bear, and the burden I give you is light.”
Matthew 11: 28-30 (NLT)


For many of you, as of right now, it’s your only option, so take your problems to Him and see what happens. What have you got to lose? But remember, taking our problems to God is like throwing them in a lake with a sign on it that says, “Absolutely no fishing!” So, once you give it to Him, don’t take it back. Wait on Him and His help. Scripture says:

Wait patiently for the Lord. Be brave and courageous.
Yes, wait patiently for the Lord. Psalm 27:14 (NLT)


I know it’s hard to wait because most of us want to take control of our situation and solve it. But, God wants us to approach Him with our difficulties. I know that when my daughter is struggling with a problem, I want her to come to me. I don’t want her to deal with it on her own. I love that she looks to me for help. Whether, its help with homework, a need for shoes, or a hug because something has hurt her feelings, I want to be there for her. I would go to the ends of the earth to provide for her in her time of need. That, my friends, is how it is with our Heavenly Father. He wants to be a good Father to us. I love this next passage of Scripture and try to hang on to its concept when I am caught in a difficult situation:

“Keep on asking, and you will receive what you ask for. Keep on seeking, and you will find. Keep on knocking, and the door will be opened to you. For everyone who asks, receives. Everyone who seeks, finds. And to everyone who knocks, the door will be opened.
“You parents—if your children ask for a loaf of bread, do you give them a stone instead? 10 Or if they ask for a fish, do you give them a snake? Of course not! So, if you sinful people know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your heavenly Father give good gifts to those who ask him." Matthew 7: 7-10

So, whatever it is that you are struggling with today, go to you Heavenly Father and ask for help. When you ask for help, what does the above verse say? They will receive, they will find, the door will be opened and they will be given good gifts. He is there waiting for you to cry out to Him. These past couple of weeks have been so hard for us. But every day God has proven over and over that He provides.

If you want to mention a struggle (you can name it or not) and would like for me to pray for you…I promise I will. In the comments section, just type “Please pray for me.” Also, if you would like to ask any questions about what I’ve written, leave your question in the comments section and as always, if you don’t know whether you are in God’s family and would like to know more about that, let me know. I would be happy to help you with that step.

I love you!
LaDonna

Stuck In The Mud

A few years ago I developed a special friendship with a woman who had a little horse ranch. She raised the nicest horses, some of them loved to be petted, brushed and even hugged. I loved to go over and love on these horses. One particular horse was named Torte and I developed a special bond with him. He would follow me around and I would always try to have carrots in my pocket. He would allow me to give him hugs and scratch his neck. I loved this horse.

One Saturday, I took my family over to meet this wonder horse. When we arrived Torte was out on the far side of the pasture. My friend was in the midst of doing her chores so I didn't want to bug her, so my family started visiting and petting horses. I on the other hand went about trying to find Torte to meet my family. As I looked for him, I saw that he was way out on the other side of the the pasture. I began calling Torte to come to me but every time he would try to come up to me, a group of mares (about 6-8) would block him from coming to me. And so he would run scared and go back out to the far side of the pasture.

So I decided that if Mohammad won't come to the mountain, then the mountain must go to Mohammad. I had my mud boots on and thought I could just go out to the pasture and bring my man in myself. I was smarter and stronger than those mares. So as I went through the gates and began to venture out I realized that the pasture was very muddy, I mean really muddy. As I got farther and farther away from the barn, the mud was getting deeper and deeper. Before I knew it my right foot was stuck. I could not get it up out of the mud. I figured I had better not put my left foot down or it would get stuck but with that theory in play, my right foot just sank lower and lower.

As I stood there I could see no one. I began to call for help, but no one responded. I was stuck and I was sinking farther and farther down into the pit. As I considered my plight, I began searching my pockets for a pen and paper to leave a note laying on top of the mud so that all would know how I came to my demise and that I loved my family.

I even considered slipping out of my boots and walking/running with no shoes. But as I examined the mud, I realized that I was not only in mud but in the poopies of many, many horses. My gross meeter would not allow myself this method of escape. And again as I called for help, no one heard my plea.

I again noticed my friend Torte, I thought maybe he could help me. He could give me some leverage. He could pull me out, I could slip my arms around his neck and be pulled to safety. After all he loved me. So I began to call to Torte. He would start to come over but just as he would get near to me, the herd of mares would come over and block his way. He was so afraid of these girlie horses that even his love for me could not help him overcome his fear. Over and over, he would try to come to my side but was chased away. He was genuinely afraid of this herd of females. I think he had "mother" issues but that's for another day.

As I reflect on this moment in my life, I realize that many of us get stuck in life situations that seem to be impossible to get out of. Things seem to be impossible and we see no way out. But just like I called out to my friend Torte, we too can call out to our Lord. But the difference here is that when we call out to God, He will always come to our rescue. There is never going to be anything that is going to scare Him away from helping us. There is nothing that can keep Him from us. There is nothing that we can do that will keep Him from us.

Scripture tells us about time after time where God came to the help of his beloved people of Israel. Even though the people of Israel continually failed God, repented, but then failed God again, God always took them back and saved them from whatever terrible plight they were suffering from.

One of the most amazing stories is from 2 Kings 21. Israel was being ruled by King Manasseh. The Bible tells us that "he did evil in the sight of the Lord". He not only did this himself but led the people to do the same. He put up idols, desecrated God's temple with foreign idols, even sacrificed his own children in fire. What a completely horrible monster of a man. God only tolerated this for so long before He gave them over to the Assyrians. They destroyed the Israelites, took all their possessions, took the people captive and carried off Manasseh with a ring in his nose, chained like a slave.

What utter humiliation for a king who served over a great nation. A nation that could have had everything if only they had stayed true to the one and only God of the universe. But an amazing thing happened. While in prison, Manasseh humbled himself before the Lord and God heard his plea to be rescued. Now this is the most amazing thing, Manasseh was the most horrible king. He did the most horrific things and God really should have let him stay in prison. God should have let him be tortured just like he obviously tortured people, even his own children. Instead God rescued him and allowed him to go back to Jerusalem.

God was there for Manasseh. There was nothing that would keep God from helping Manasseh when he was at his lowest. No matter what Manasseh had done in the past, it was all about where Manasseh's heart was at the moment. God saw his brokenness, his pain and suffering.

Scripture tells us that God also hears our brokenness. He wants us to come to Him in our time of need. There is nothing that can keep Him away from us, not even a mean heard of mares. When we are stuck in a situation that appears to be hopeless and there seems to be no way out, all we need to do is humble ourselves before the Lord and He promises to be there for us. No if's, ands or buts. His Word tells us "seek me and you will find me".

I don't know what your mud is today, but I do know that you can depend on the Lord to get you out of it.

Matthew 11:28-30
²⁸ “Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. ²⁹ Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. ³⁰ For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.”


Psalm 28:7

The LORD is my strength and my shield; my heart trusts in him, and he helps me. My heart leaps for joy, and with my song I praise him.

Jeremiah 29:11-12

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. ¹² Then you will call on me and come and pray to me, and I will listen to you.

So as you walk through life and feel like you are in the midst of problems that make you feel like you are stuck, stuck with no way out, then you must realize that you have a Lord that wants to rescue you. He wants us to have a life that is filled with peace and prosperity. Years ago, I listened to a well-known speaker and her admonition for a peaceful life was to be obedient to God's Word. So when you feel stuck, go to God's word and seek out His Word and the solutions that He offers.

Go to God in prayer.

Call out to the Lord, He hears your prayers


Oh and by the way, it's pretty obvious that I didn't get swallowed up in the mud, the Lord sent my dear sweet friend to dig me out as we laughed and joked about my "Lucy moment".