Overwhelmed....

God is overwhelming me today with His faithfulness, His goodness, His giving.
He was showing me today how I need to empty myself of "self" and how He is pouring Himself inside me daily.

During my quiet time with my Lord this morning He kept showing me just how good and faithful He is to me and to all the others in the world.

I started crying this morning when I was thinking and praying for Michael McDaniel and all the ways God has brought him to where he has so far.

I could write a novel just on the things God has done for him so far and I don't even know everything first hand, only second hand information from his family. So I can't even imagine the things that God has done that I don't even know of.

Three special words to tell you all what God is to all of you and me: (now read carefully but really "hear" these words inside your heart)

"God is Good"

Yes He is! anything special you want to share about how God has been good to you lately, please comment and let us hear about them so we can all learn and grow in Him but mostly so we can see how God is working in others....

When you think about "ALL" the things God has done for you how overwhelmed are you?

Are you spending time on "bent knees" to let Him know?

How heavy is your baggage?

The Lord knows every nook and cranny of our heart, our mind and knows exactly where we are in our lives at every moment.

We are not always up and happy sometimes we are down and sad. We are carrying around so much baggage inside that the Lord has a hard time finding a crevice to get in because we have every spot clogged up with "STUFF"

So many times we ask God "why do you want me carrying around this much baggage"? I don't see any good in it Lord and it sure is awfully heavy.

Let me say that God does not want us to carry around any baggage that loads us down, brings us down. He wants us to throw it all overboard give all of ourselves to Him and let Him be the one to carry us (as He does anyway!)

God is the source of our existence. He is the one and only one who keeps us functioning every day.
Without Him we are nothing, but baggage carriers.
With Him, we are strength.

Our baggage is only as heavy as we continue to carry around, why not give it up to God and let Him lighten your load. Oh don't get me wrong sometimes we have to carry some load because that's how God teaches us, but the more you give to Him and ask His help with the lighter your load will be.

Thanks God for each load of baggage I sometimes have to carry, as you teach me what I need to learn.

It will be worth it all....

Have there been days in your life in the past year when you felt like an amoeba....a big blob of protoplasm....the lowest form of life there is on the planet....a single celled animal.... changing shapes....and spreading in many directions all at the same time.

You cried and said to yourself "I'm falling apart", (but you didn't)
You say "I can't go on" (but you did)

Look around you. Look at all your growth. Chances are that you have forgotten the growing pains already. God goes with us all the way, right into the delivery room. He hears our cries and He takes our pains away!

And so it goes with our spiritual lives too. We agonize. We doubt. We fear. We stumble. We fall.

But.....we go on...

It will be worth it all when we see Jesus Christ face-to-face for we as Christians know the roots of joy!

Technology......Communication.....

What in the world would we do without these ways to communicate to the world.
- cell phones
- computers

And what about other ways to access ways to communicate
-ipods
-iphones
-blackberrys

What in the world did our prior generations do without all this stuff?
hmm...they communicated just fine without all these things.

So why is it that we get all bent out of shape when one of our ways of communication go down, get broken, lose connections, etc. etc.

Sometimes it would just be nice to go back to the "Good Ole' Days" huh?

Now Hear this good news...update on Michael...

Michael will finally be leaving MUSC tomorrow. YAY Lord! thanks for your faithfulness to Michael and his family.

He will be going to Waccamaw Rehab in Murrells Inlet (so close to home - Aynor SC)

YAY Michael. It will now be time for people to go visit him and pump him up to continue with his recovery. Come on ya'll get out there and go see him, help lift his spirits.

Let him know that I will be there when I get a moment. I love you all who have kept him in your prayers and I really appreciate your support for this family. Don't forget they also could use your financial help. So anybody who has a few bucks laying around why not send it their way.

I'll keep you posted when I hear more.....

How do you study your Bible?

I've been waiting to hear from you guys so I can finish my research paper.

Please let me know....

How do you study your Bible?
When do you do it?
and how long?
Do you journal as God speaks to you?

Would love for you to share anything special that you do while studying. Come on now let me hear from you........please

How do you study the Bible?

OK everyone, I'm doing some research and would love for each of you who read this to answer these questions.

How do you study your Bible?
When do you do it? and how long?
Do you journal as God speaks to you?

Would love for you to share anything special that you do while studying


Come on now let me hear from you........

Update on Michael on Day 92....

More information from Jim - Michael's father-in-law

Michael for the most part is doing a good bit better. In saying better I am referring to his attitude and out look for the moment.
He seems to be adjusting well to his surroundings. He watches a lot of TV and sleeps a great deal.
Don't we all wish we could do that...chuckles.
The doctors did try to give him solid food recently but, that didn't go over well and they stopped all solid food feedings.
Michael remains on a liquid diet for now.
The reason is that the small intestine is almost healed but not quite. It continues to leak just a bit.
We are hopeful that solid food will be in his future.
The large intestine remains in the colostomy bag on his side.

The doctors did do a skin graft to his abdomen. They now have half of the opening closed.
They will leave the other have open for now in case they need to go back in for any reason.

The skin graft to his ankle seems to have taken well and is healing.

The tracheotomy tube is out along with the tube in his nose.
Michael is able to speak a lot better now.

The therapists continue to try and do physical therapy on him while he remains in bed.
They work his arms and hands.
They have him sit up and attempt to dangle his feet off the side of the bed.
From what I understand this is very painful for him.
They would like for him to start to put weight on his legs and are working towards doing this.

The talk on the streets now is for his future recovery.
It has been stated here in the last week by the doctors and nurses that soon Michael maybe able to leave MUSC and go into a rehabilitation facility.
At this time we are not sure of what or where this facility will be.

In order to not go into too many details of financial issues with his care and recovery.
We have no clue as to how any of the rehabilitation will be paid for once he leaves MUSC.

The car insurance folks are working hard to settle with MUSC in order for Michaels medical care there to be taken care of and his balance will be zero when he leaves.
Allow me to say, his care is well over a million dollars to date at MUSC.

I have nothing but praise for the doctors, nurses and staff of MUSC.
They were able to take this young man, basically crushed from the waist down in dire life threatening situations and keep him alive, none the less allow all of us to sit and talk with him 92 days later.
It truly is a miracle.

We have begun some correspondence with the South Carolina Social Security Administration in order to see if Michael can be classified as disabled.
I hate to say it but, it is a reality.
This may go a long way in helping this young family to be able to support themselves and move forward with their lives.
We will hope for Medicaid relief for Michael.

I told Michael the last time I went to see him, of all the folks near and far that have been praying for him. Of all the folks that helped. Of all the kindness and support we all have been given by people, some we don't even know. Along with all the pledges of future help to come.

Michael looked me straight in the eye with a tear himself and said to tell you all, "thank you".
Then the tears were flowing like crazy.

We all remain so very much in your debt for all the kindness you have shown.

We know there still is a long road ahead.

We hope that we can have Michael home or at least closer to home for Christmas.

Thank you and peace to you all,
Jim

Lord send me another mountain....

Many of us are climbing some kind of mountain every day in our lives.

We struggle to get up to the top but God shows us the way if we are looking to Him for how to get there, He teaches us many things on the way up that mountain, sometimes we fall down but He shows us how to get back up and keep going.

We experience success and failures every day in our climbs?
Climbing takes practice and faith. Each climb God teaches us wisdom for our lives.

Do you have the courage to "ask" the Lord for another mountain?

2009 50-Mile Challenge Walk....

I will again be walking the 50-Mile Walk for MS in May 2009.

I'm placing a link here to my website if you would please make a donation.Just follow the instructions on the screen to make your donation, and please make sure to type in my name so that your donations gets posted correctly.

http://challengencp.nationalmssociety.org/site/TR/Challenge/NCPChallengeWalkEvents?pg=pfind&fr_id=10441

I am walking for my sister-in-law Beth McCormick who has MS.
We have to raise a minimum of $1500.00 in order to walk won't you please consider making a donation in order to try and find a cure for MS.

For the ones of you who may wonder this is a tax deductible donation.
Thanks much for considering and making a donation.

Brighten Your Corner....

Funny thing about corners and colors. Corners seem forever dark.
There is a little dark corner in the heart of every human being.
Corners are thought of as brown or blue-toned, not dramatic browns or blues one feels, just dull and depressing.

I read somewhere that there are more than 6000 shades of color the eye can sort out and that half are browns and blues. With a light reflecting here and there they can change into soothing hues-pleasing to the eye, refreshing to the spirit.

And so it is with little deeds we spread, I found myself thinking "add a mirror for reflecting glory; or light a candle to chase gloom.

Brighten whatever corner you are in. Maybe a face is hidden by the shadows!

Wedding Plans.....

YAY! wedding plans are getting underway.
Reception location has been locked in. It's an awesome place.....

We are so excited.....

Judgement House Day 6 (Last Night)

Last night of Judgement House 54 Salvations

Total for all nights 343 Salvations. Praise God!

Judgement House Day 5...

84 Salvations Tonite Yeah Yeah Praise God!

Judgement House Day 4

65 Salvations Tonite!(this is Friday night but not posted until I arrived home) Praise God!

My future son-in-law helped out with counseling tonite. I was honored to have him with us as part of our team. Thanks Matt. Love ya.

Thanks to Noelle Chmielewski Bible Student who also came in this weekend to help us from college.

Everyone continue to pray for the next two days and what God has in store for the ones who will be coming through.