Stepping Out in Palatka Florida

Well friends , I thought I had experienced most everything at a retreat; but I can honestly say all of that changed this weekend in Palatka, Florida.
Charlene Kidd and I spoke together (and for those of you who've never heard Charlene speak; please get one of her tapes; she is fabulous! ) and the Lord did a wonderful job weaving our two topics together into one great retreat.
This was the 32nd women's retreat for Christ Independent Methodist Church.

We had such a great time meeting new sisters in Christ and ministering to all the sweet ladies there.

That lady looking at the books at the book table owns a Christian Bookstore called "Blessings" and Cathy is going to start carrying many of the books written by our Proverbs team. Yippee!!!!!

Here we are with our new friends Pam and Robin Robinson. Robin is the general manager for the Christan radio station 91.3 HOPE fm. Charlene did a live radio interview with Robin Thursday morning.

Okay, here is my newest retreat experience.

I finished speaking Saturday morning and closed my last session in prayer; nothing new about thatAfter the prayer I began the first line of a statement I usually make as I leave the stage in order to discourage any applause or attention; nothing new about that. "Ladies if I don't see you again on this side of heaven..." and then it happened.

I stepped out, walked right off the end of the stage and fell on the floor! Yes, Miss Grace fell two feet onto the concrete floor. I'm not kidding

Here I was on my side, dazed and wondering why I was lying on the floor in front of 200 women. I must tell you it was quite a surreal experience. All I can say is thank goodness I was wearing pants and not a dress or skirt! I don't mind being remembered for falling off the stage, I'm just grateful I won't be remembered for showing my underwear.

A number of ladies rushed to help me to my feet and without missing a beat I finished my sentence (you'll have to buy one of my CD's or attend one of my retreats to hear the end of my sentence HA!).
Charlene says she saw a few angels catch me and break my fall and she must be right; because I survived the fall with just a bruise on my right elbow and a little stiffness.

Praise the Lord, HE is good and faithful to His word.

Psalm 91:11-12, "For he will command his angels concerning you to guard you in all your ways;they will lift you up in their hands; so that you will not strike your foot against a stone." (NIV)

Obey the Small Quiet Voice

This past Friday morning I was checking my e-amil before getting ready for work when I heard the Lord whisper to my heart "Use your on-line banking to record the debit card purchases in your check register." Now I don't know about you but for some reason I always seem to put this off (not a good idea).

Anyway, I was obedient, logged on and discovered that someone had stolen our checking account number, made electronic purchases and even had checks printed with our account number and had stolen over $1,000.00 of our funds in less than two days!!

I was horrified to say the least.
To make a long story short; it took two hours on the phone and three hours at the bank just to clear things up, close all accounts and open new ones. I lost half a day of work and the salary that went with it.

Do you know what the saddest part of all of this is? We believe the theif is someone from a bogus organization raising funds for our local police department.
I won't mention the name of the organization just in case our detective skills have led us in the wrong direction.

I share all of this with you because I want to share some helpful tips with you.
1. Keep a close eye on all of your accounts.
2. Don't send checks to organizations who call for donations unless you are 100% sure thay are legitimate.
3. Just because an organization calls and says you have donated in the past; check them out before you mail them a check. I think I'll send a money order from now on.
4. Be sensitive to the quiet whipsers of the holy spirit and obey them without delay.

I'd love to hear your experiences of listening to and obeying the small quiet voice of the Holy Spirit.

Shattered and Scattered

Our youngest son (24) just called me at work to say that he was sick with a terrible stomach bug, couldn't keep anything down and he didn't have any gingerale, saltines or dramamine in the house.

He feels terrible as you might imagine but to make things worse his girlfriend broke up with him last night and he is heart broken.

His heart is shattered and I'm scattered as I scramble to find ways to help him in his time of need.

As a mom I want to leave my job this very minute and drive the 1 hour to the house he shares with 3 roommates and bring him the things he needs.

As a mom I want to help mend his broken heart.

As a mom I want to make everything better for him.

I guess you could say that as a mom I want to "fix" things for my child.

I may be able to assist with his physical discomfort, but the emotionally pain requires much more than I capable of.

My husband says these maatters of the heart require

"open heart surgery"

and the Lord is the only one who can perform that type of procedure.

What have your experiences been regarding matters of the heart?