Divine Encounters
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A Late Lunch
Who knew that leaving late for my lunch break was really a Divine Encounter in the making. On Friday I arrived home for lunch about 45 minutes later than I usually do. The doorbell rang and two young LDS Missionaries were waiting for a response. As soon as I saw them I prayed that God would give me the words to say and then I invited them inside. Introductions were made and they said they were going through the neighborhood wanting to get to know about the residents. That was the open door to share about what I believe and what it’s like to have a relationship with Christ for…
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Seeking the Calm
On Tuesday evenings I attend a prayer group at church. It has become a part of my week that I look forward to with excitement and anticipation. One of the women that attends is named Gwen. I met her the first day that went to The Rock Church and have since found her to be a beautiful gift and mentor from God. As God would have it, on Tuesday it was just Gwen and I at the meeting. That gave us time to talk with each other on a personal level and share in a way that we wouldn’t have been able to otherwise. When she began to pray she…
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I Am A Believer
Yesterday my doorbell rang and I opened the door to find two nice ladies who said they were Jehovah Witnesses and would like to share an encouraging word. I invited them in and they asked how I felt about the current world events, the school shootings and the natural tragedies that are taking place. They wanted to know if those events made me fearful and in need of encouragement. I told them that I am a believer in Jesus Christ and shared how He told His disciples that these things would happen and that they were signs of the end times. But….He also said fear not, for I have overcome…
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In Sickness and In Health
In the last few months I have witnessed some of the most beautiful love moments between a precious couple. My co-worker is currently going through treatment for stage IV ovarian cancer. When she was first diagnosed she and her husband stopped by the office and gave me an update on the treatment plan and to train me to fill in for her when she would occasionally be out of the office. Often you would see the two them wink at each other and cast loving glances and smiles at one another as they stood together to face the challenges that were ahead. Yesterday, four months later, they were both back…
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Max
Yesterday I was walking Roscoe when a car pulled up beside us and the driver asked if he was a pure breed beagle. After answering him he said, “I thought so and drove off up the road.” We continued our walk and when we reached the pathway we use I noticed that the man had let his dog out and was following him in the car while driving on the road that runs along side the trail. I thought, “that man has it figured out.” At one point the dog stopped and he continued driving, but then the dog quickly ran to catch up. The road splits off and goes…
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Rain Puddles
We experienced a heavy rain storm the other day. One of those types of storms that drench the ground quickly and make large water puddles. The scent in the air was so beautiful and clean that I found myself taking several deep breathes just to inhale the sweetness. I had just arrived at the grocery store and the rain started again so I was using an umbrella. A young woman stepped out of her car which was next to mine and prepared for the wet walk to the entrance of the store. I invited her to share the umbrella with me and we began to walk while trying to avoid…
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Choose Joy
After an extremely busy work week I was more than ready for the weekend. Quiet moments by the river and time to sleep in and rest. But God had a different plan for me. He had orchestrated a corrective learning opportunity that would provide a me with a choice to make. At 5:30 am Roscoe decided he needed to go outside. Earlier in the week I had ignored his request and then spent extra time cleaning up his pen and giving him a bath. I did not want a repeat so I put on my flip flops and took him outside. The campground was quiet and the faint light of…
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The Post Office
There has been a fill in postmaster at the post office the last few weeks. She is friendly and calm and it’s been nice getting to know her a little. The working postmaster gets to pick the radio station and for the last few weeks instead of the usual country station, a Christian radio station has been playing. It’s been nice hearing the positive music each morning and the other day I mentioned to her that I liked her music choice. She smiled and said she enjoyed the upbeat messages the songs provided. The music opened the door for the conversation and immediately we both knew that we were fellow…
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Roscoe
Two weeks ago we picked up our new puppy Roscoe. He is a tri-colored beagle and full of energy. His fur is so soft and he loves to cuddle. We thought we were prepared for this new adventure having purchased everything we thought he would need and then some. We’ve been use to an older trained dog that is quite sedentary, so the frequent potty runs and chewing on everything has inspired us to get moving. I’m growing quite fond of my little fur buddy and I’ve begun to realize that he is a people magnet. On one of our many walks over the weekend, several people, especially small children,…
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Can I Trust You
The other day I was shopping at Walmart. I’m not a big fan of their new self-checkout system especially when you have bulky items like the good sized house plant I was purchasing. As I was scanning items in the cart it felt like I was playing the shell game. You know the one where you shuffle the shells all around looking for the piece underneath. The few grocery items that I was purchasing were hiding around the plant and as I scanned them and bagged them I ran out of room on the counter. The machine would keep asking if I was bagging that item and it seemed as…