HIDDEN IN THE DARK

A microscope is used to see intricate things unavailable to the human eye. No matter how micro they are they become magnified making their existence known. When we look at each other on the outside, we may appear to have it all together. We may give the appearance of perfection, and confidence, but if we could see with microscopic eyes, we would be able to see so much more.

Can you imagine having all your fears being visible for all to see? Or, having all your sins and weaknesses being spot- lighted one by one to be examined. This is what the enemy does. He walks to and fro seeking whom he may devour by bringing up all the sins of the past. 

 I have learned through the years from working with women; that regardless now  of put together someone looks on the outside, if you peel back layer by layer down to the microscopic pieces, you will find things they really don’t want known, things that they're not proud of. 

The enemy lives in the darkness, and he knows all the things that we have done there.  It is his job to use those things against us to make us feel inadequate, unimportant, unloved, or useless. If we allow ourselves to think on these things before you know it, they will begin to overshadow the light making it harder to recognize the good and all the potential that lies within us.

We will soon start identifying ourselves with our past and shame, and before we know it, we start feeling like a failure, and failure leads to quitting and quitting leads to an empty unfulfilled life.

What’s the use you’ll ask yourself? You will soon forget the good that is in you, and the good that God still has in front of you.Depression is simply this, the act of letting the bad (darkness) overshadow the good (light), and not being able to get passed it. The key to overcoming and bringing the light back into the darkness is FAITH.

You can know God exists. . You can even say you love him. But if you don’t believe and have FAITH that he will do what he says, then you will remain in darkness. You don’t have the key to unlock the door to find God's divine purpose for your life.  The door will remain locked to God’s great potential.The Bible says that without FAITH it is IMPOSSIBLE to please God. We must bring our sins to the light and confess them.

 Once they’re confessed we must have FAITH to believe that they’re no longer a part of us. Old things are passed away, behold all things are NEW. The old person is dead, and we become a new woman. Through faith, we unlock the door and walk through the darkness into the light  ready and able to reach our greatest potential. Don’t sit in the darkness looking back, unlock the door to a new future.

Glenda J.

Can I Help You Get Home

Have you ever walked through the valley of the shadow of death? I can remember a time when all I could do was repeat the 23rd Psalms. “Yeah though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death; I will fear no evil for thou art with me.”

 Over and over I repeated this as I watched my marriage of twenty-two years coming to an end. At first, I just knew that God was going to put it back together. It could NEVER be His will for me to be divorced. But, soon I had to realize that divorce would be part of my life. My husband at that time was NOT coming back. I had to accept that regardless of what God desired for me, that one has to be submissive to His will.  He had a mind and will of his own and he was not coming back.

I was facing the death of my marriage. We had been two people joined as one and now we were being torn apart. Ligament by ligament we were stretched until he was no longer part of my life at all. It was one of the most painful things that I have ever gone through. I had never been alone and I didn’t know how, nor did I desire to.  I wanted so badly to wake up and realize that it was all a bad dream.  But, I wasn’t dreaming, instead, my dreams were dying.

I had always felt that God had a job for us to do as a unit, and when I lost him, I too began to lose the dream that could use me to help women that were hurting. I was daily being reminded that I was a hurting woman. 

I will never forget the day my life changed.  I sat down at the dining room table as I had done a thousand times before. My husband looked at me and said, " Glenda you're a good woman with a good heart, but I just don't love you anymore. Later that evening,  I got in the car and began to drive down Sulphur Springs Mountain.  As I was driving, I noticed a woman walking up the mountainside.  It was beginning to get dark, and it had started to rain. I knew that the mountain was steep and there were no houses in sight, so when I could, I turned the car around so I could offer her a ride.

 I explained that her husband had put her out of the car and told her to get home the best way that she could. She explained that she had just had back surgery the week prior. . Her heart was breaking and I wanted so badly to console her, but I couldn’t.

 All I could think about was my husband was leaving me, and all I could hear was the enemy saying, “God does not, nor did he ever, desire to use you to help hurting women.  You are one of those women!" I gave her a ride home, but that was all that I could offer. 

My greatest fear has always been, and will always be, that I will miss God’s Will for my life. It has been a struggle for me every since my marriage ended in divorce. As sure as I know my name, I know that He has placed a call on my life to help women who are hurting.   I am to help them find their way home.  When the enemy has thrown them to the side and said, "Get home the best way you can," God is calling me to let them know that they're not alone. I am to help them get home. 

  

How sad it would be to have a hard life here, then die in sin only to find that REAL hardship has just begun.  All through the Bible, Paul wrote to the Christians either commending them for their faith or 

I will never forget the day my life changed.  I sat down at the dining room table as I had done a thousand times before. My husband looked at me and said, " Glenda you're a good woman with a good heart, but I just don't love you anymore. Later that evening,  I got in the car and began to drive down Sulphur Springs Mountain.

  As I was driving, I noticed a woman walking up the mountainside.  It was beginning to get dark, and it had started to rain. I knew that the mountain was steep and there were no houses in sight, so when I could, I turned the car around so I could offer her a ride.

 When I got to her I had to offer an excuse as to why my eyes were so swollen. I didn't want her to be scared to get in the car.  She got in and soon I realized that she too was sobbing. She explained that her husband had put her out of the car and told her to get home the best way that she could. She explained that she had just had back surgery the week prior. . Her heart was breaking and I wanted so badly to console her, but I couldn’t.

 All I could think about was my husband was leaving me, and all I could hear was the enemy saying, “God does not, nor did he ever, desire to use you to help hurting women.  You are one of those women!" I gave her a ride home, but that was all that I could offer. 

My greatest fear has always been, and will always be, that I will miss God’s Will for my life. It has been a struggle for me every since my marriage ended in divorce. As sure as I know my name, I know that He has placed a call on my life to help women who are hurting.   I am to help them find their way home.  When the enemy has thrown them to the side and said, "Get home the best way you can," God is calling me to let them know that they're not alone. I am to help them get home.

 How sad it would be to have a hard life here, then die in sin only to find that REAL hardship has just begun.  All through the Bible, Paul wrote to the Christians either commending them for their faith or asking them to wake up. Let's take a look at our lives to see if we're awake, or do we need to wake up. Jesus said, "The field is white to harvest, but the laborers are few..." Let's ask ourselves this question, "Are we among those few?"

Here’s to helping others get home.

Glenda

There is Come Back Power

Have you ever felt hopeless? Have you ever been in so much pain that your mind shuts down, and you have no memory of time? Have you ever been told that you’re worthless and you don’t deserve to live?  If you have then you've walked in my shoes!

 My life as I knew it changed forever the day that I was raped.   The enemy walked into my room to destroy me. He came in with a vengeance. I knew that I was going to die. It might not be physically, but spiritually, I was going to be a dead woman. I knew that because I was just barely holding on as it was. My divorce had left me empty and convinced that my spiritual life was over. God had NOTHING for me to do!

I want you to understand that this was not a man walking into my room to threaten me. This was the Enemy in flesh form who walked into my house to destroy me. He threatened my life physically, and of course, that terrified me more than you will ever know.  But the one thing that seemed to change me the most, was the way that he talked and humiliated me. I was made to feel worthless. If I remember correctly, I wasn’t worth spitting on.

The bible says that Satan walks to and fro seeking whom he may devour and that day he chose me. I wish that I could explain this kind of pain, in a way that you could fully understand its depth, but I can’t.  It’s not because I want you to feel pain, it’s because I want you to understand the depth of despair the Lord has brought me from.

There are just not enough words to describe it. The enemy came in; he stripped me down to nothing physically and mentally. He burned every thought I had of ever being used of the Lord, and then he walked out leaving me to die in my ashes.I’ve often wondered why me, but why not me?  Many women have suffered at the hands of the enemy. It may not have come in the form of rape, but the source of it is always the same.

   As a Case Manager, I see women on a daily basis who are broken and they too are lying in their ashes. They have been broken by addictions, divorce, adultery, finances, abandonment, disease, and losing someone through death or betrayal.  The avenue is different, but the source is always the same – the enemy coming to steal, kill and destroy. This kind of pain holds us back and keeps us from being able to shine a light to others.  We can't because we’re too bent- over in our own pain making shadows that we can’t create light.

I’ve watched as a mother lost her child to an overdose- I’ve listened as a woman screamed that she wanted to die after having cut herself over and over-I’ve seen women beaten and battered- heard them cry that no one cares.  I’ve watched them hold their children knowing they had nowhere to sleep that night. There is no way to fully describe or prepare for this kind of pain.

There are certain things that happen to us that we never completely get over, but with God’s help we can heal and learn to cope with it.  Once again, we can be happy and live fulfilled lives, but we have to learn new coping skills and be prepared for the days when it tries to raise its head again.

I couldn’t imagine feeling normal or being happy again after I was raped.  I certainly couldn’t see myself looking forward to the future. I would try to see myself feeling better, but I just couldn’t. It wasn’t within my means to do so.  I am in no way fully healed, but I have progressed so much, and I’m so thankful for it. I didn’t get here overnight, but I got here. 

If you too are hurting I will make you a promise, better yet, I will share with you God’s promise. There is nothing or nobody that can keep you from God’s love, and through that love we will find what we need to sustain us.    Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword? 36 As it is written, For thy sake we are killed all the day long; we are accounted as sheep for the slaughter. 37 Nay, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him that loved us. 38 For I am persuaded, that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come, 39  Nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature, shall be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.

The enemy thought he had me; I was a sheep (God’s Child) for the slaughter (to be destroyed). But there is NOTHING that could separate me from God’s love, not even the principality of darkness.  You can trust this promise. We may go through things at the hand of the enemy that causes us to suffer, but we DON”T have to be destroyed by it. God has COMEBACK power! HE can reach us and heal us through HIS love.

Here’s to Comeback Power!

What about Sarah

 Years ago before becoming a nurse, I worked second shift in Fort Payne,  One day prior to going to work, I was busy trying to get my house cleaned before I  had to leave.  As I washed the dishes, I noticed that with each dish I picked up,  I would think about Sarah. 

I hurried to vacuum my floor and to make my bed, but still, all I could think about was Sarah, a little girl that I had gone to school with. I could see her face in my mind as vivid as the day we rode the school bus together.  I couldn’t understand why after twenty years I couldn’t stop thinking about her.  It was obvious that God had put her on my heart for a reason, but all I knew to do was pray. I fell down on my knees asking the Lord to be with her, and to meet her needs. I then hustled around trying to get out the door so that I would not be late for work.

It was foggy that day with a mist of rain which made it difficult to drive to and make good- time.  As I drove around a curve, I noticed a woman walking on the side of the road picking up cans. She was carrying a baby on one hip with two small children following behind.  I couldn’t help but look back in my rear -view mirror because of the children. As I watched, I couldn’t believe my eyes.  I immediately said out loud, “Lord it's Sarah!” 

I wanted to stop, but I knew that if I did that I would be late for work. All night I was so upset because I knew that God had put her on my heart, and now in my path, and I couldn’t do anything about it. I promised God that if He would help me get through the night that I wouldn’t quit the next day until I found her, and that is exactly what I did.

As I pulled into her driveway, I knew that she was living a hard life. It was an old run-down farmhouse that was in desperate need of paint. The porch was falling in on one side, and the roof had visible holes. As I walked into the house the first thing I noticed was that part of the floors were dirt, and the cabinet doors were falling off or gone.  All I knew to do was just be honest as to why I was there. I told Sarah that I had been thinking of her and had noticed her walking on the road that same day, but I couldn’t stop due to work. 

As I looked at her, big tears were running down her face.  She said that she thought she had been forgotten, and how unloved she felt.   She told how her husband had left her with five children to raise alone.  Shecouldn’t do it, and explained how she had to move in the farmhouse with her mother for some help.

 I told Sarah there was no way that I could understand everything she had gone through, but what I did know was that God had certainly not forgotten her. He knew exactly where she was and what she needed, and He had sent me to let her know that she was loved.  I asked if there was any specific need that we could help with. It was late November, and she wanted to know if we could help her buy Christmas for her kids.  She explained that was why she had been picking up cans.

  The response from the church was overwhelming. All the children got toys, clothes, and food. As we delivered the gifts, we all sang and prayed, and there was tons of laughter that night. Right there in that moment, Sarah was happy. She knew that she was loved and that she was not forgotten. She watched as her children laughed and tore into their Christmas presents and Sarah was beaming. It was a great night! The Lord really showed up and showed out for Sarah.

It wasn't too long after that night that I received word that she was gone. Sarah has been killed in a car accident.   God knew that He was about to take her home and that she needed to be reminded that she was loved, and her kids needed that special time with her. I’m sure it was a day that they will never forget.
I want to remind you that Elijah did hear God in the wind, the earthquake or the fire, but it was in a still small voice that he heard God. 

 If we listen we can hear Him. What is God saying to you? He may have another Sarah!
Glenda J.

Come on in

I love billboards that are creative, colorful and well designed.  I love it from the illustrative standpoint; because I enjoy doing graphics.  It may not look like it, but a lot of hard work, time and talent goes into designing a layout.

Good advertising is meant to grab your attention and make you curious about what they’re selling, but  Great advertising leaves you feeling discontent until you have it. It draws you in giving the illusion that your life is incomplete because of the lack of it. I have included one that I think is great from Austria, “The All You Can Eat,” advertising Old Timers.  It’s so creative that I won’t ever forget it. It’s at the perfect place and creates the perfect pitch.

 Satan is a great advertiser.  He is masterful at painting the perfect picture of what you’re missing, and what you need.  He knows how to entice you and how to draw you in giving you the illusion that you’re incomplete without it. You need it, and you got to have it! Now- that’s a great advertiser.

The bad part about great advertising is that not always is the product equal to what is being offered. For instance, I will NEVER forget the billboard I have included, but the restaurant being advertised may be all too forgettable.

Satan may be a great advertiser, but in reality, what you get is not equal to what he’s offering.  He never shows you the back side of the story.   The Bible teaches that he is a liar and the truth is not in him.  

If you're not happy with your spouse,  he will try to sell you 1-800-Get- AMAN and if you need a little pick-me-up just pop a top, then that will do it. The one that I see the most in the ER is the pick a pill any pill! There is not a night that goes by that I don’t see people showing up in the ER begging for narcotics, needing just ONE more pill. But one more is NEVER enough. They will lie for it, steal for it, and cuss you out over it.   

I can’t count the number of times that police have brought in people who were intoxicated and had broken the law, but the enemy didn't pitch that side of the picture or the number of endless suicide attempts. Again never did they discuss that side of the picture before buying into what the enemy was selling.   They all came with different problems, but they all stemmed from buying into something that wasn't true. 

All of us, if we’re not careful can be fooled into believing a lie.  We can risk losing what we have for something that has no value. The enemy knows where our weakness exists and he will use whatever he can to entice us.   Maybe it’s spending too much money, or eating more than we should, maybe it’s something as simple as not spending enough time with our families.  It can be anything that He can use to pull us from the light back into darkness. 

Here’s to "Eyes that see and ears that hear"  

Glenda J.

Stop the Madness

Today I had lunch with a great friend and she shared with me a powerful story of how one woman had been verbally abused as a young child. I sat there in complete silence as she spoke because I just couldn't imagine what she had gone through; much less, how she had survived it.

After getting home, I found this video that I'm sharing with you and it speaks volumes of truth. If we are constantly being told that we're nothing, before long that message is embedded in our minds affecting how we see ourselves and how we perceive the world to see us.
     
There was one particular phrase spoken over me that I have NEVER forgotten, and I believe it to be part of my confidence issue today. "Glenda, if you can't do anything and do it right, then just get back to the house!!" " I swear you can't do anything!" Now that I'm grown, I realize that the person who said it did not intentionally want to hurt me. It was said out of stress and in the heat of the moment, but as a small child I did not realize that. I simply thought that I was just not enough!

 I can't imagine how someone who is daily exposed to this behavior survives with a healthy mind.Actually you couldn't if you didn't have someone else who was investing into your life speaking the truth and blessings over you. As women of God, I want us to be reminded of how powerful the tongue is. The tongue is the most powerful part of our body, and one that is untamed can kill a person's spirit. Proverbs 18:14 say’s, “ The human spirit can endure in sickness, but a crushed spirit who can bear?” It also teaches that the tongue can bring forth life or death.
     
Have you ever seen someone whose spirit is crushed? I’m not talking about someone who is sad and depressed. I’m talking about someone who has lost all hope. They can’t seem to find the strength to go on. It’s heart wrenching to see it, let alone, be the one enduring it.

According to Child Abuse Statistics, child abuse is reported every 10 seconds in the United States. To all of you that work in children's ministries, I commend you.In order for abused children to overcome their abuse, someone has to be instilling something of value and worth in them.

As Christian women, we need to be investing into the lives of others, because people, (God’s creation) are worth the investment. God thought so, and so should we.
Here’s to Investing in the lives of others,
 Glenda J

Get In The Game

Recently I came across a saying that I loved. "It's not who you are that holds you back, it is who you think you are not." How many times I've stood on the sidelines refusing to get in the game because of who I thought I was NOT! 

Too often we compare ourselves to other women and we're left feeling inadequate. We feel we're not pretty enough, smart enough, or that we don't have the talent required to be a success. So, in turn, we stand on the sidelines watching as others dance!

On and on, each of us could list reasons as to why we are NOT enough.  We could spend a lifetime focusing on the things that we do not have, rather than focusing on the things that we DO! I don't know about you, but I'm ready to build on the things that I do have. Each of us have something that we can use. Moses had a rod in his hand. What is it that you are holding?  There is to much work to be done for us to be standing on the sidelines refusing to get  into the game.

It is time to find what God has placed within you and start to build on it. I have come to realize that part of our journey in life is realizing who God is and understanding what He desires to do through us.

We're all designed for a purpose and equipped with the things needed to fulfill it. The beauty of life and part of the journey is finding out all the things that God has placed within us, and then using them to Glorify God.

It's time for a change. It's time to step off of the sideline and get into the game, and allow others to see what God has placed within us. I say this often, but it's worth saying again. "One person can do a little, but all of us together can do a lot!

Here's to suiting up and getting in the game!

Glenda J.

If it's going to be...It's up to me

Pieces of the Past:
The Walking Dead is the best way that I can describe my life prior to waking up. That day was a great day! The day I realized that if it's going to be, then it's up to me.

 There was no one and nothing that could change my life but me. I realized that if I kept doing the same thing over and over that I would continue getting the same results. I would ALWAYS keep coming up empty.

It was time. It was my time! If I was ever going to live my life with a purpose, then I had to wake up. I had to realize that life was quickly passing me by, and it wasn't going to wait for me to get on board. I could either live my life, or I could miss it.  How sad would it be to die without really having lived?

I made the decision to live. I came to realize that if God could raise the dead, if He could bring life back to dead bones, then He could certainly raise me up from the pit of despair.

The first thing I had to do was start believing in God's word and the things He said to be true and not base my happiness on the things that I could see.  I had to start seeing myself blessed and highly favored as God sees me. Trust me, it was a lot easier said than done because I didn't feel blessed and highly favored.

I felt empty and hopeless, and all I could see for my future was just more of the same. Day by day, I would read God's promises and pray them over my life. At first, I didn't see much change, but little by little my heart became tender and I began to allow the promises of God to sink it.

 The Bible teaches us that when God's Word lands on good soil that it will produce life, and that is exactly what happened. "Jesus said, "I am the way, the truth, and life." I looked at that one day and I knew it to be true. How could I live in darkness, death, and decay if Jesus was living in me and I was abiding in him? If I really believed it to be true, then I was only cheating myself to stay in the darkness focusing on my pain.

My pain was real, but did it compare to Christ's Pain? Had I suffered more at man's hands than He did? Of course, not! It was time for me to let the pain go and start living. I started out on a journey that day and I have been walking it ever since. I have been walking towards God and His healing, and believing with each step that God has something good in store for those He loves, and that included me.

Here's to walking into the future!
Glenda J.