INGREDIENTS TOWARDS A RIPE RELATIONSHIP WITH THE CREATOR John 13 HUMILITY

What Admiral Barry Black shared during his message is this:  The BIBLE (Basic Instruction Before Leaving Earth)  tells us that it is important to have a relationship with God and the ways in which to do so. 

Yesterday I shared with you the part about the Canaanite Woman and her passionate prayer that brought her favor.  Passionate prayer consists of Worship, Humility and Faith. 

Passionate Prayer is the first ingredient towards a ripe relationship with God.   Communication with Him is crucial in the life of a believer. 

The ingredient that I’m looking at today is: HUMILITY.  Jesus – The Master  displays the very character was humility.  First of all, He humbled himself by leaving His heavenly throne, clothing himself in mere human flesh so that he could redeem us back to our rightful place.  Then, in John 13, he humbles himself to his disciples.  The Master becomes the servant and washes their feet and dries them with his garment.  In Jewish culture, this was the ultimate show of humility.  So much so, Peter said ;Lord, I will never allow you to wash my feet’.  Jesus replied – “If you won’t permit me to wash your feet then we have nothing in common.  – you share no companionship with me.    The Master became the servant in order to form closer communion with them.

It reminds me of a video series I used to watch with my children.  Psalty the Singing Songbook.  The particular episode I’m thinking of is the one where Charity Churchmouse makes it to the bigtime with her singing career. Along her journey to fame and fortune, she learns that “If you wanna be great in God’s Kingdom, learn to be a servant of all.”

So. HUMILITY is an essential ingredient in the recipe towards a ripe relationship with GOD.

This Post is Inspired by The Canaanite Woman in Mathew 15:

This scripture was never one of my favorites.  I would get defensive about it because Jesus called the woman a dog; unfit for even crumbs from the Master's table.  But this past weekend I attended a Camp Meeting service a the SDA Allegheny East Conference in Pine Forge, PA.  The guest speaker was Admiral Barry Black.  Now, I had not been to camp meeting there in about 6 years, but when I heard that Barry Black was speaking, I put on my hat and went to hear him speak.  I was not disappointed.

As the Admiral spoke about the Canaanite women, I felt like her standing there in what felt like Laodicea.  But he took it further as he pointed out her Passionate Prayer that brought her favor.  She was a women not of Jewish heritage, so neglected to approach Jesus in the customary manner. This made the disciples irrate as they asked Jesus to just send her away.  They probably wonder why He was even listening to her.   She didn't know exactly how to express her love and adoration. Jesus didn't answer her.   Then he said he was only sent for the lost sheep of Israel - as was what His disciples believed.  But was that really true?  I think not!  She asked again, I imagine with a bit more humility this time. Lord.  My daughter.  May daughter is possessed by demons.  That's when Jesus turns to her and says 'It is not right to take the children's portion and give it to the dogs."   That's when I get pissed.  He calls the woman a dog.  But this time I read further and watched what actually was happening.  This woman was foreign to the belief,  But she ended up giving him the passionate prayer that he longed for from the Jews.. She doesn't come back at him offended to have been called a dog.  No, she humbles herself and offers worship and displays faith  ".Truth, Lord: yet the dogs eat of the crumbs which fall from their masters' table."  Wow.  

Pastor Black said "Jesus marveled at her.  No, she was not OF the faith, yet showed more faith than those born into it!  

 O woman, great is thy faith: be it unto thee even as thou wilt. And her daughter was made whole from that very hour.

Improving Emotional Health: Strategies and Tips for Good Mental Health

Get enough rest. To have good mental and emotional health, it’s important to take care of your body. That includes getting enough sleep. Most people need seven to eight hours of sleep each night in order to function optimally.

Learn about good nutrition and practice it. The subject of nutrition is complicated and not always easy to put into practice. But the more you learn about what you eat and how it affects your energy and mood, the better you can feel.

Exercise to relieve stress and lift your mood. Exercise is a powerful antidote to stress, anxiety, and depression. Look for small ways to add activity to your day, like taking the stairs instead of the elevator or going on a short walk. To get the most mental health benefits, aim for 30 minutes or more of exercise per day.

Get a dose of sunlight every day. Sunlight lifts your mood, so try to get at least 10 to 15 minutes of sun per day. This can be done while exercising, gardening, or socializing.

Limit alcohol and avoid cigarettes and other drugs. These are stimulants that may unnaturally make you feel good in the short term, but have long-term negative consequences for mood and emotional health.

Improving Emotional Health: Strategies and Tips for Good Mental Health

As I look back over my life

I've been hesitant to share this event, but I almost died on November 9th. I think I had been trying to down play it - especially to my kids, but the absolute truth of the matter is that I could be dead and gone.

On Sunday, Nov. 8, I had been out of breath and having pains in my chest all day. It continued throughout the night and I didn't get much sleep. I just decided that I would call my doctor in the morning when I got to work. So I got up, got dressed and went on into work. As I usually do on Monday mornings, I stopped by the Fire Academy to talk to Lt. Stallings and Lt. Davis - both of whom are paramedics as well as instructors at the fire academy. I just happened to mention to them my "little problem" and Yolanda (Stallings) immediately took out her bood pressure equipment and took my pressure. It turned out to be 220/168. She told Lt. Forrest to call 911 and I said "No - for what. Take the other arm that must be wrong." So, she took other arm and it was about the same. But I HATE hospitals and was refusing to go. Yoland just put me on oxygen and the next thing I knew the ambulance was there. Ok - so I agreed to go the hospital as long as they didn't take my to Einstein or Temple. So they took me to Roxborough.

On the way, I rec'd two shots of nitroglycerin under my tongue and two baby aspirin. Blood pressure stayed elevated.

Alright - to make a long story shore - the Dr. at Roxborough took 2 EKGs and told me that "your heart is trying to go into cardiac arrest, but it wont." She looked kinda baffled as I recall. I know i was baffled - and still refused to see the seriousness of the situation and wanted to know how long before I would be released. She kindly let me know that I wasn't going to be released - I was being transferred to Hanemann Hospital where they would check for clotting and blockage - of whicH THERE WAS NONE!  The only thing they found was that my heart was shaped very abnormally...like it was twisted.  (maybe my heart actually did break when it felt like it broke when my mom passed away.)

So, I got my Christmas miracle early this year - just in time for Thanksgiving. It wasn't even until after Thanksgiving that I really sat down and thought about what had happened to me...I was still in denial. But there is no doubt that logically speaking, I should be dead...but I'm not.

I guess my work here isn't finished yet.

Funerals.

Every family has them. And every family has history.

I've seen then bring families together.

I've seen them tear families apart.

When a person dies, the first question that comes to my mind is "was that person saved?"

Then i begin thinking "Did I share the good news with them, not by what I said, but did it show in the way I acted."

I'm still here.
Many thought I'd
fall...
fail...
crumble...
But still I stand tall
Head held high

In the midst of it all
He kept me
His hand guided me
His love protected me
from dangers...known and unknown

One Year Later

Wow.

Almost exactly one year to the date of my near death experience, I became a grandmother.

Last year on Nov. 8th, I was admitted to the hospital.

This year, on November 7th at 1:13am, I became the grandmother of a beautiful baby girl named Brooke!

The journey continues and alot has happened in that one year. Right now, just suffice it to say that God is Good and he Loves Me. His Is Alpha and Omega - Omnipotent, Omnipresent and Omniscient Sovereign of the Universe!