Today is day 2 of my first 30 days of running!

I know running has been one of my things for 15 years but the last 5 years especially have gone from infrequent to almost nonexistent.

My body weakened so much so that going to church for a few hours and sitting up in their chairs would take me out for a day.

HOPE FOR A NEW FUTURE

Sometime in December God gave me the Wisdom to not wait to be successful at running to exercise building muscle. His challenge began with exercise every night before bed; starting with a 1 minute plank and 12 push-ups.

The hard work of moving a ladder around to get Christmas lights down strengthened my body noticeably! My plank grew to 2 minutes  and my push-ups increased to 25! This totally shocked me!

The difference is showing up in places like going to watch a movie in the theater! Last Year I went to watch, “The Chosen” in the theater lasting 2 and 3 hours. My body could hardly make it through the movie and it took me out for many days. This year “The Chosen” has returned to the theater with out any problems!

God is so good!

I Believe the return of DAILY RUNNING starts today!

GOD IS SO VERY GOOD!

Devotion: What is it? Does it exist today?
I noticed Charlie paying complete attention to his master who happens to be eating.

His hope is something will drop rewarding him for his attention.

He may not get a treat now but just being at the feet of his master is enough to fill Charlie with contentment.

The dictionary suggests devotion is an act of worship and prayer or an act of dedication to a cause.

When I saw Charlie so attentive today I thought of God The Father who gave His Only Son to clear the way for us to be in relationship with Him.

He gave all because He wants our love and devotion.

How often do we respond to His goodness with our love and devotion?

We survive Y2K, now we are set to move!

We are selling the house in Florida and buying a couple acres in Kentucky.

Surprise, all of a suddenly a pain in my tailbone shows up. Sitting and standing both become difficult!

“God, You have to do something, I need to be able to take care of this house and yard we are buying!”

“Justine, When you take your daughter to the radio station to give her offering, ask them to pray for your healing.”

Arriving at the radio station, we enter the building unsure where to go. Finding our way to the announcer we wait until she is done announcing the next song.

Getting  past the awkward moment she assumes my daughter wants to empty her purse, I mention.

 “God told me to ask you to pray for healing.”

We stand in a circle and she prays over me. Nothing happens we offer thanks and leave the building. Opening the door to the outside I question God!

“What’s up God? You told me to come here and have them pray for me, and I did! Nothing happened! What’s up?”

“Jesus already paid! You don’t have to pay!”

By the time I reach my vehicle the pain is gone!

Fifteen years earlier a thought enters my mind.

I deserve to hurt because I didn’t listen!

God doesn’t make us pay!

JESUS ALREADY PAID!

John 3:17 For God did not send the Son into the world to judge the world, but that the world might be saved through Him.

JOHN 19:30b Jesus said, “IT IS FINISHED!” And He bowed His head and gave up His spirit.

Walking in the fresh snow Bart is walking faster then I am able. This gives me the ability to see the foot patterns in the fresh 4 inches of snow left by Bart and Charlie.

Later we switch to walking in the street’s tire tracks making it easier to walk.

This cross tire tracks catch my attention and I stop to take a picture.

Checking to see if cropping  the picture improves it or not? What do you think?

The screenshots at the bottom looked better on my phone. The colors pop and just look beautiful.

This game has shown me how I think color and pattern and my husband thinks numbers. Every once and a while they will have the exact same pattern only flipped and I will wonder why being upside down would be so much harder.

The answer came from Bart. He sees they increased the numbers explaining the reason it is harder.

What does all this have to do with healing? Spending most of my life protecting myself from life, all my creativity was shut down. As I am being set free from protecting myself my brain is opening up to the creativity I was born with.

GOD IS SO VERY GOOD!

I heard a news article about a women who lived through a horrible accident in her young adulthood. Her life was saved but her financial life was killed because of the great amount of unpaid medical bills.

Forty years ago I had a horrible accident,

but God prepared me for it.

Eighteen months after being filled with God’s LOVE, He kept me reading Joshua 1 for six weeks. This is where God teaches Joshua to “Be Strong and Courageous” five times total.

Not only do I read this over and over but I also listen continuously to the song, “Be Strong and Courageous” by Michael W. Smith.

The end of July, my friends and I are planning to camp in Canada as part of a church retreat. Days before the camping trip, God prepares me with something else I am going to need. He uses a good friend to suggest I buy health insurance for just $25. (this is 40 years ago) It is in my price range so I agree and buy it.

The women drive in vehicles and the men drive motorcycles. The day after we arrive at camp God impressed upon me the power in a motorcycle, but instead of listen to His warning I go in my tent and write my prayer.

“I don’t care what You say, I’m going to buy a motorcycle and go cross country driving it.”

The next moment the guys suggest driving through the park on motorcycles, and all the girls join them.

As we start back to the camp, the guy I am riding with takes notice my fear and slows down.  Soon he realizes we are falling behind, and speeds up just as we approach a blind curve. He cannot stay in his lane and chooses to put the bike down. Both the bike and station wagon are totaled the driver flies 40 feet and breaks a leg and I am thrown off the motorcycle into a station wagon with a 65 mph impact.

God prepares the scene with an ambulance at the entrance of the park but the nearest hospital is an hour away, and they reject me because I am very broken.

These are the days before helicopter ambulances so it is an ambulance van driving me to Winnipeg, Manitoba. I spend 7 days in the ICU fighting to live and another week learning to walk again.

Mom says, “It is a flat $500 bill for each day which is great in the ICU but very high for a normal room.”

The price of my insurance goes up just after my accident, thankfully my friend pays to keep me covered as I fight to live.

My brother, who doesn’t want to be in the hospital, takes me outside in a wheelchair when I am out of ICU. The downtown sidewalks are very broken and my body is feeling every bounce of the lumpy sidewalk. When we go back to my room I notice a bone is moving that is not suppose to move. I am too afraid to say anything.

My physical therapist says to the doctor, “She is hurting more than expected, you need to check her broken bones again.”

The X-Ray exposes the three breaks in my pelvic bone have moved. I need my leg in traction. My parents decide to transfer me to the states so my friends can visit me. This drive is in the back of a station wagon with a milk laced with morphine in case I need pain medicine. Canada does things a bit different than the states.

I have a couple more surgeries before I get out of the hospital and my insurance pays all but $100.

A few years ago, my sister asks,” How did you pay for your accident?”

That was the first time in a long time that I have thought about it.

This week the news report brought into focus that God gave me one more miracle than I knew.

GOD IS SO GOOD!

How many miracles have you been given that you thought was good luck?

Ponder with me the possibility that God is at work to do Good in your life and mine?

Sending a text about Happy New Year turned

to accusing  Joyce Meyer of being a cult leader.

Anger arose as I hear someone compare Joyce, who was sexually assaulted for 15 years as a child, to Warren Jeffs who sexually assaults children.

Doing my best to not take offense I ask, “What is your definition of a cult leader?”

He says, “when the followers die for the leader.”

I’m thinking he puts God in this category when God sends Elijah to a widow and tells her to feed Elijah her last meal before cooking for herself and her son. 1 Kings 17:13-16

Or when Jesus is watching people put money in the offering and He praises the widow who puts in her last two copper coins. Mark 12:41-44

I have no idea what cults have to do with Joyce Meyer who teaches people to grow up in Jesus and forgive those who abuse you Matthew 6:14, and do good to those who hurt you, Matthew 6:44.

She does have a ministry “Hand of Hope” which feeds the hungry, opens orphanages to give children safe home and food and education, saves women who have been trafficked, helps with disaster relief, brings doctors together to heal in places without doctors, digs water wells so women don’t have to walk miles for dirty dangerous water, and so much more.

I first found Joyce Meyer in the late 90’s when she taught me to forgive my dad who kidnapped and trafficked me.

Then I learn from Joyce to bring my worries to God instead of getting on the phone and calling every person I know, to release my stress. Not only did this knowledge help with friendships but it also gives me peace of mind.

I no longer have thoughts

constantly

running  through my mind!

God says in 1 Corinthians 9:14 that those who proclaim the gospel should get their living from the gospel, and Galatians 6:6 says let the one who is taught the Word share all good things with the one who teaches.

THANKFULL, I  am a partner of Joyce Meyer Ministries for over 25 years, JOYFULLY I start to volunteering at her conferences after God heals my broken spine and gives me nerves to gain muscle.

Aside from Being filled with God’s LOVE, meeting my husband, adopting our daughter, and Mom rescuing me: FINDING JOYCE MEYER on TV CONTINUES TO MAKE THE BIGGEST IMPACT IN MY DAILY LIVING.

GOD IS SO VERY GOOD!