Month: December 2015

Aside Carlene Wooddell

Thank you Jesus

As the 2015 Christmas Season has passed and the New Year is upon us, I sit her thinking how thankful I am that God has a plan for each one of us and even when our lives seem chaotic and out of control, we must remember to not sit in the rocking chair called worry or let the enemy entrap us in fear, but trust in  Jesus.  

I am ever thankful that God gave us His son Jesus to die for our sins, once and for all.  Although there are many people that either reject the idea of God sending His son, Jesus to be born a man and live on earth and die for our sins or reject the idea that when Jesus died for us on the cross, he died for all of us and all of our sins, so we could live with Him eternally.  

There are people that I love, that are near and dear to my heart, that are actually a piece of me, that refuse to talk about Jesus or accept that He IS and that He is the only way to the Father, but I press on, knowing that the best I can do is to continue to model my life is such a way, that when people that don’t know Jesus, that don’t have a personal relationship with him – that hopefully by seeing me and knowing me, they will get to see Jesus.

The Lord had placed a desire on my heart for many years to locate an old friend, who was like my other half. We grew up together, went to school together and then as we graduated, through circumstances beyond our control, we lost contact with one another, but I often wondered about my friend and where she was and how she was.  I am very blessed to have located her and recently renewed our lost years apart. The greatest blessing of having true friends in your life is that no matter how much time you spend apart from one another, and how many things have happened in your lives, you can pick up the conversation with ease, share things you might not share with someone you just met and know without a doubt that you are blessed.  

1 Thessalonians 5:11 New International Version (NIV)

11 Therefore encourage one another and build each other up, just as in fact you are doing.

Trying to catch up with one another after 31 years apart, to most, would seem utterly impossible; but not for us.  I am so thankful that my friend is back in my life and not just my memories.

God always has a plan that is better than ours. We may not understand why we going through difficulties such as missing a dear friend, but when HIS timing is right, it all works out.  So, today I am thankful for the blessing  of renewed friendship that I thought was lost.

No matter what storm or struggle you are going through right now, know that the King of Kings and Lord of Lords is with you. He will go to battle for you. He is my strength and my protector, my father and friend.  I

And know this, no matter what kind of mess you think your life is, or how broken you are, HE LOVES YOU!

May you have peace in your hearts and joy in your souls! Blessings for 2016 to be your year!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Carlene Wooddell

Where He Leads

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As a parent myself, I find it quite ironic that when I try to teach my children and they don’t always listen or follow my lead, I feel disappointment and sadness that they don’t understand I am not trying to lead them down a path of regret and sorrow, but save them from making mistakes and trying to share with them lessons, I have learned over the years.

Now, I know that my Father In Heaven, Jesus Christ and the Holy Spirit have never made mistakes, but I wonder how many times we grieve them when we choose to not follow their leading; but I am so ever thankful that because of their mercy and grace, I am given multiple chances to get it right.

John 10:2-5 New Living Translation (NLT)

2 But the one who enters through the gate is the shepherd of the sheep. 3 The gatekeeper opens the gate for him, and the sheep recognize his voice and come to him. He calls his own sheep by name and leads them out. 4 After he has gathered his own flock, he walks ahead of them, and they follow him because they know his voice. 5 They won’t follow a stranger; they will run from him because they don’t know his voice.”

At the age of 11, I chose to accept Jesus as my Lord and Savior and to follow Him and wherever He leads me, I would go.  I love the fact that my parents chose to follow the Lord and gave me a great example of Godly Love-unconditional love-no strings attached kind of love-and rooted me with a strong foundation for my life. Gave me a rock to stand on and hang onto every day of my life. My daddy always use to say, “the Lord provides for us dummies”, no matter when times were tough and struggles were real, I always knew it would be okay, somehow. I trusted him to take care of me. He was my dad.  By my father modeling his life after the Lord, I came to know that Jesus is faithful to me and He is always with me and He only wants the very best for me.  He wants the only very best for you too!

When Jesus, Son of Man, walked among us, he told us (paraphrased), I have come so you may live life abundantly; you will have struggles, but I have already overcome anything you will face. Trust me. Follow me. Have Faith.

It is easy to say have faith and trust in the Lord, but I am sure you have heard or used the phrase, ‘easier said than done’; however, it really is easier and simpler than we think.  The problem that I encountered and maybe you have encountered the same problem is, change isn’t always easy. Sometimes changes mean a whole lot of new things, which leads us out of our comfort zones. Oh, we know that we need to move in different ways or areas of our lives, but we become complacent and stay stuck.  Sometimes, because staying stuck is better than the unknown, but if you remember that Jesus will never lead you astray and that HE is always with you, no matter where you are or where you go, would that make it even just a tiny bit easier.

A little over a year ago, I was stuck.  I was attending a church that had become my family; they had seen me through good times and a few too many hard times and I felt safe and secured and loved. But a few months before I left that church, I felt God telling me it was time for me to move on; He needed me elsewhere and I really struggled with that. I didn’t share the struggles with anyone, because I wasn’t sure why I was feeling these emotions I was having. Was I hearing God right? Did He really want me to leave and follow Him to another church? There was nothing wrong with the one I was at~but in order to grow me, grow my faith and use me as He wanted I had to be willing to trust Him and follow. Being obedient to the Lord is not always easy, but because I love Him so much, and because I knew that He wasn’t going to back down on this ONE subject-I prayed to Him, I talked to Him and I waited for a sign, any sign that would tell me that I was misunderstanding His leading-it never came. So in a bold step of Faith, I decided to visit this other church and see what is was all about.

From the moment, I stepped through the doors, through the announcements, worship and sermon, I knew that I had heard Him correctly. I could feel it in my soul. I was still sad though, because that would mean I wouldn’t see friends as often as I did, because of the move.  The next week, my husband suggested, we return to this other church and just make sure that we were hearing God right.  We were and we are still there today.

The best part is, being part of God’s Family, doesn’t matter where you decide to corporately worship and spend time with him, because I still have those deep relationships I had before I left my ‘old’ church, but now I have new relationships that are cultivated every day and I am growing in the Lord. And by my being willing to follow Where He Leads, and not left to my own devices, I know I am learning how to hear His voice more clearly.

 

Matthew 4:19 New Living Translation (NLT)

19 Jesus called out to them, “Come, follow me, and I will show you how to fish for people!”

Jesus loves you so much! He loves you right where you are, but He also has many places He wants to take you, if only you are willing to follow Where He Leads. May you be blessed in knowing that there is nothing you can do to earn this love, except accept His love, repent of your sins and ask Him into your heart. Let Him be your Lord and Savior, and He will take you places you would never have thought of on your own!