A Legacy of Love

Today is my beloved paternal grandfather's birthday. He passed away last February at the age of 96.

I wrote a tribute to my grandfather and read it at his funeral. I'm sharing it again today to celebrate his wonderful life.

 A TRIBUTE TO POPPY

If I had to choose one word to describe my grandfather (Poppy) it would be, “LOVE.” He loved God, he loved people, and he loved life.

Some of my favorite memories of him are the times he laughed hysterically while watching cartoons. I remember watching Tom and Jerry with him and he laughed so hard that he nearly fell out of his chair. That was amazing to see an old man laugh harder than I did as a little girl. He loved to laugh and he laughed hard and often. He truly lived life to the fullest.

Growing up, I spent a great deal of time with him and my grandmother because I lived right next door to them for several years. One of my favorite things to do as a little girl was to sit with Poppy and swing with him while one of his many cats that he liked to call, “Sweetie Pie”
sat in his lap.

I will always remember the camping trips I took with my grandparents. Poppy loved his camper, he loved to fish, and he loved the outdoors. Some of my greatest memories are all the times we spent outside in his garden and on his property.

I learned what true joy is by hanging out with Poppy. He was always content while living a laid-back life in Epworth, Georgia. He was a country boy at heart.

Poppy knew the art of enjoying the simple things in life. I can hear him now making a soft whistling sound just like he did as he tinkered on his tractor and worked in his garden. He just had this amazing aura of happiness about him.

Poppy had a major sweet tooth. Some of his favorite treats were Circus Candy Peanuts and Moon Pies. He loved to eat a slice of cake or pie after every meal and sometimes he even ate his dessert before the main course.

And oh how he loved his family. He was truly the best father and grandfather a person could have. He raised three wonderful children. And I know Jeff, Sabrina, and Christina agree that he brought tremendous joy into our childhoods.

I will always remember the laughter, and the fun times with Poppy. But what is most important to me is how Poppy’s life permanently impacted my heart. I learned from him that life is a gift—a beautiful gift from our Heavenly Father. I watched my grandfather live the life that God intends for every person to live.

There is a scripture verse that comes to my mind when I think of Poppy. Deuteronomy 5:33 says, “Walk in all the way that the Lord has commanded you, so that you may live and prosper and prolong your days in the land that you will possess.”

Poppy could have had a tragic life. His earthly father passed away on his 11^th birthday and left him fatherless. But he chose the high road and he let His Father in Heaven fill the void in his heart after losing a parent at such a young age.

Poppy surely prospered in his life on this earth. He had a rich marriage with my grandmother for 72 years. He stayed committed to her and loved her through the good times and through the hard times.

He was a man of courage and a man of honor. He loved and enjoyed his family and friends so very much. 

He lived a long, fulfilling life because he attained an intimate love relationship with Christ. He lived out the greatest commandments in the Bible very well.

Poppy’s life is the perfect example of a life fully surrendered to Christ. He lived a blessed life throughout his journey on Earth because he loved God with his whole heart, mind, and soul. And he certainly loved his neighbor as himself in countless ways. He was an amazing man because he tapped into the true Source of Life.

His life was beautiful and filled with joy because of that. An intimate relationship with Christ is what God longs for every person to enter into. 

He wants us to be so head over heels in love with Jesus that no circumstance or loss can rob us of our joy.

My prayer for each one of us is that we will let the life that my grandfather lived be a standard we will reach for and that we will let Jesus fill the void in our heart in the same way Poppy turned to God when he lost his daddy as a child.

I will close with some words that my grandfather wrote to me in a letter. His words hold the key to a happy life.

Poppy wrote these words that will stay with me forever, “I pray that you will always love Jesus with all your heart. This is what life is all about.”

Letting Go

It was March 2, 2012, the day of my grandfather's funeral. Poppy, who was ninety-six had passed away peacefully a few days earlier. We had just left the cemetery after the graveside service. I was in the car with my husband when we pulled into the driveway of my grandparents' house that they had lived in my entire life. I’d lived right next door to them during my 3rd through 5th grade years of school. In fact, my family lived with them in this house for a short time while we were waiting for our new house to be built.
 
Minutes before, I had learned that the house and most of the property had been sold. Our family had about thirty days to move everything out of it before the new family would be moving in.
 
Emotions came crashing in my heart as I saw Poppy's tractor sitting there just like it had been for my whole life. It was probably a newer tractor. But he had always had a tractor for as long as I could remember. 

I walked around that day trying to take in the reality of what was happening. As I looked out over my grandparents' property my aunt's words resonated in my heart.
 
"It's a chapter coming to an end."

She was having a hard time with all the sudden change. Seeing my brother and me walking around soaking in the memories that were created on that land was more than she could take. With teary eyes, she walked away and went inside the house.
 

As hard as it was to face the reality of a chapter of my life being over, I knew I needed to face it head on.
 
This reminds me of a memory I have of my father pulling a splinter out of my foot. I was terrified of the pain. I would’ve done anything to avoid it. But my daddy—in his wisdom—knew that the splinter needed to be dealt with or it would become infected. So I wailed as he made me sit still until he gently removed the culprit that was causing the pain. The pain was intense for a short time. But as soon as he removed it I felt better. 

Just like the splinter needed to be removed, our hurts and sorrows need to be removed by our Father in heaven.
 
How many times do we choose to run from pain? When in reality, it is facing our pain that makes it go away. Sure, the grief might be intense for a short time as we are facing it. But in the long run, after the pain has been dealt with we are free to live fully and freely without the pain of the past weighing us down.
 
Pain festers in our hearts and infects us with bad symptoms in the same way a splinter would fester in our foot and cause many bad symptoms.
 
Knowing that I needed to let go of a chapter of my life, I embraced the pain. Week after week I returned to my grandparents' house to help go through their things before the new family moved in. As I combed through each closet and drawer it was therapy for my soul. I would find treasures from my past and gleefully share my excitement, "Look what I found!"
 
The very last day I went to their house was the hardest. The week that I knew would be my very last visit I prayed for God's help. I knew it wouldn't be easy to let go of something that had been a happy part of my life since I was born.
 
As I pondered the memories of my grandparents' home, I heard the Lord’s still small voice within me.  "I will use the house and property to bless another family in the same way it has blessed yours."  As the Lord was speaking to my heart, I realized that in order to experience the new beginnings He had for my life I had to be willing to let go of the past.

Why is it as humans that we hold on so tightly to our pain and to our past?
 

The day that I went to pick up the last piece of furniture, the new family was moving in. I introduced myself and began to share my heart with them. Through a few tears and with my voice breaking, I said, “I want this house to bless your family the way it has blessed mine.”   

The gentleman replied to me, "It already is a blessing us." I want to stay here for the rest of my life." While I shared the difficulty I was having in letting go, he responded, “I've got to go inside now, your words are about to cause me to start sobbing."

I'm the kind of person who truly wears my emotions on my sleeves. The vulnerability I was showing about the difficulty of letting go was really touching his heart. It was a powerful God moment for all of us there that day. In my letting go, the new family was able to embrace the gift of this beautiful, sacred home-place. 

My husband and I stood on the edge of the property that overlooks one of the most beautiful views I’ve ever seen. As I embraced my sadness, my husband prayed the sweetest prayer for me. 

In those last moments standing on that beautiful piece of property that had been a sanctuary for me throughout my life, I realized that the sacredness I felt on Poppy's land could be felt every day of my life wherever I am. I rode away from Poppy’s home on this earth and thought about the legacy that he had left behind for me and for my family. As our car pulled away, I let the tears flow. It was an hour and a half drive home. I prayed, “Lord, heal my heart.” By the time I returned home I felt better.

That was last spring on Good Friday of 2012, three days before Easter. How beautiful of the Lord to allow me to celebrate His resurrection with a healed heart, free of pain.

The legacy of Poppy’s love for Christ lives on in my heart. I am free to carry on and live free from the sadness. When we look heavenward, life is sweet and beautiful. When we focus on what we've lost, our lives become defined by brokenness and pain.

That’s what letting go does. It releases the pain and opens the door in our hearts for new beginnings and new beauty.
 

And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. ~ Philippians 4:7 ESV

Live Abundantly!

Amy

An Unexpected Miracle

A favorite scripture of mine is, James 1: 2-3 "Consider it pure joy, my brothers and sisters, when you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith produces perseverance." 

It truly is pure joy to face trials and hardships.  I have found that the greatest miracles happen during the most challenging seasons of life when we place our faith in Christ. Suffering is not fun. But joy can come from a season of hardship. It is especially hard to watch a loved one suffer. 

One of my close friends (Lori) has had serious health problems for many years and to make matters worse, her family has been struggling financially in recent years due to the economic crisis. Her husband has worked for a real estate investment firm for over fifteen years. But with the economic crisis, the real estate business is probably the worst to be working for presently.

Circumstances have been very hard for them. Yet, in the midst of her hardships, she is a shining example of the light found in living for Christ. Lori is a Jew by birth, but she found Jesus and I don't know anyone more in love with her Messiah than she is.

Lori's life proves that it's during the trials of life that we get to experience the most amazing miracles. During the past months, their family car has broken down repeatedly. It's a 1993 model and has been on its last leg for a while. Just a few weeks ago, she called to tell me her car had broken down again.

I felt so bad for her. I wanted to let her in on a secret I knew. But I couldn't because I would spoil the BIG surprise.

Just days before her car broke down again; I received an e-mail from a mutual friend letting me know that Lori's family had been chosen to receive a car as a gift from All State and Sterling Auto Body in Decatur. To see Lori's family receiving their new car, click here.

My friend Lori has a very petite stature, but she has the faith of a giant. And in the midst of their major problems she exudes the joy of the Lord.

My joy level is through the roof! When a friend is blessed it is way better than when I am blessed. I am elated. I can't stop thanking God for this unexpected miracle. I pray that He will continue showering my friend with blessings and that He will keep using her life to show that true joy comes through a relationship with Christ.

In every storm of life there is a treasure to be found. If we look toward heaven with a grateful heart, we will most certainly see a magnificent rainbow in the sky.

Live Abundantly!
Amy 

The above photograph was taken at my son's football game when another unexpected miracle happened in the form of a magnificent rainbow.

Living in Victory

As I was finishing my 6.5 mile run  several weeks ago, my heart was overflowing with gladness for all that the Lord has restored in my life. It was the first time I've run this distance in over five years because of some various injuries and other challenges. While I was running, memories of the marathon and half-marathon I did 13 years ago flooded my mind.

The Lord reminded me of some verses in Joel. I meditated on the fact that God is the One who restores.  I felt indescribable joy as I pondered the thoughts of all that the Lord has given back to me after it was stolen from my life.

I am right on schedule for running a half-marathon in 2013. This half-marathon is so much greater than a running event for me. It's a celebration of how the Lord has restored my life. He healed my broken marriage, fixed my broken finances, healed my sick body, and restored my ability to run.

Realizing and believing that God is the Restorer is what I believe ignites the supernatural power of Christ.

Many times I have been on the verge of seeing restoration in an area in my life and just before the breakthrough occurs, something happens out of the blue to thwart the good plans God has for me. Well, I have figured out that these “out of the blue” happenings are not coincidental. 

The Bible reveals a powerful truth in John 10:10. Jesus said, “The thief comes to steal, kill, and destroy, but I have come that they might have life and have it more abundantly.”

The thief has worked overtime to rob from me. But with each effort to sabotage God’s good plans, it backfires and Jesus wins every time. 

Hallelujah!

On Thanksgiving Day, my daughter and I ran eight miles as part of our training regimen for the half-marathon we’re running together in January. It was a victorious day for both of us. My twenty-two year old daughter had never run this distance. And I hadn’t run this distance in probably 10 years. We were elated.

On Monday of this week, just as I was about to begin another training run, I jammed my toe into a piece of furniture accidentally because I had moved it temporarily to get something out from behind it and had forgotten to move it back. My little toe crashed right into the chair leg as I was rushing through my house. I landed onto the floor in pain.

I knew what I had done was bad. The level of pain and the immediate swelling proved to me that it was not just a stubbed toe. My mind immediately went to the place of resigning and accepting a long time of healing.

“Well, there goes my half-marathon race,” I thought to myself.  It was exactly nine weeks until my race.  And with the possibility of a broken toe, I knew I wouldn’t be able to train for weeks.

My next thought was one of faith.

I’ll have to trust God.

As the day went on, my toe hurt worse. I iced it, but by eleven p.m. the bruising had spread in between my toes and onto my actual foot. It was purple, red, and swollen and I could feel a small bump on the side of my toe.  It was so bad that my daughter couldn’t look at it.

I looked up images of broken toes on the Internet and saw that the pictures looked very similar to my toe. Everything I read indicated I had a broken toe. The bad news was that it takes six to eight weeks for a broken toe to heal.

I taped my little toe to the toe next to it and thought, "I am not going to have this accident ruin God's good plans for me. I AM going to run this race." And I prayed for a miracle.

I went to bed with peace and asked the Lord to heal my toe.

When I awoke yesterday morning, my toe was still hurting enough for me to limp, but as the day went on I noticed it was getting better. I never took anything for the pain. I have a very high tolerance for pain. I delivered my son with no epidural or any other pain medication other than local anesthesia for the stitches to be put in place. I honestly didn’t think much about my toe yesterday.

Today (two days after the accident) I have absolutely no pain in my toe. It doesn’t hurt to touch it. It doesn’t hurt to wiggle it. I cut the tape off and was astounded to see that the swelling was completely gone and the bruising is significantly better. By tomorrow, I’m sure the discoloration will be gone altogether.

The Lord healed my toe, just like He has healed me from other things in the past.

If I had resigned to the pain I would not be doing my race in January.  As followers of Christ, we can live in victory.

I've seen many fake miracles on T.V. over the years. The Bible clearly tells us that there are counterfeit miracles. 

“The coming of the lawless one will be in accordance with the work of Satan displayed in all kinds of counterfeit miracles, signs, and wonders.” 2 Thessalonians 2:9 (NAS)

But the Bible also tells us that in Jesus Christ there are many real miracles.

And Stephen, full of grace and power, was performing great wonders and signs among the people. Act 6:8 (NAS)

God also testifying with them, both by signs and wonders and by various miracles and by gifts of the Holy Spirit according to His own will. Hebrews 2:4 (NAS)

They did not remember His power, the day when He redeemed them from the adversary…Psalm 78:42 (NAS)

So Jesus said to him, "Unless you people see signs and wonders, you simply will not believe." John 4:48 (NAS)

 

They performed His wondrous acts among them, And miracles in the land of Ham. Psalm 105:27 (NAS)

God was performing extraordinary miracles by the hands of Paul… Acts 19:11 (NAS)

…In the power of signs and wonders, in the power of the Spirit; so that from Jerusalem and round about as far as Illyricum I have fully preached the gospel of Christ. Romans 15:19 (NAS)

A large crowd followed Him, because they saw the signs which He was performing on those who were sick. John 6:2 (NAS)

 
And the disciples went everywhere and preached, and the Lord worked through them, confirming what they said by many miraculous signs. Mark 16:20 (NLT)

Most importantly Jesus said, we would do even greater things than He did.

"I tell you the truth, anyone who has faith in me will do what I have been doing. He will do even greater things than these, because I am going to the Father." John 14:12 (NIV)

I've never been one to attend healing conferences and miracle services. I've been the one who has stayed at home seeking to know God better through studying my Bible and praying as often as possible. But the closer I get to Christ, the more I see miracles in my life.

When we step up and live the Gospel of Jesus Christ then the non-believers will see the power of Christ working through and in us.

We are called to be the salt and light of the world. Let us go forth as disciples of Christ and walk in faith performing miracles in His name. Let us live in victory so that the doubters will watch and see that Jesus is the Messiah of the world.

Live Abundantly!

Amy

Becoming a Strong Vessel

As children of God we are the vessels of the Holy Spirit. Our Creator desires to empower us to do great things on this earth. The empowerment He gives us begins with getting whole and healthy so that ultimately we can be mighty vessels of His Spirit.

In 1997 I wrote a prayer that changed my life. I prayed, “Lord, I want to be whole and healthy spiritually, emotionally, and physically so that I can be a vessel of Yours.” At the time I wrote this prayer I was battling postpartum depression and felt worn down in every way. I was far from being strong and I desperately wanted to be empowered with God’s strength.

In my weakness, God picked me up, and began strengthening me and making me whole. I am not the same person I was when I wrote that prayer. Today, I am a strong woman of God.

I am writing this with complete humility. Because without the makeover God has given me I would be nothing but a huge mess. If God can make a strong vessel out of a mess like me, He can make one out of anybody.

One of the main purposes of The Live Love Laugh Club is to encourage women to keep moving forward. Part of moving forward is becoming healthier spiritually, physically, and emotionally.

At our last meeting our focus was on physical health. Being healthy physically is a component of being a strong vessel of God. God wants all of us to be strong...He wants us to be healthy and live abundantly!  
Certified Life Coach, Becky Harmon, came to our meeting to talk to us about ‘Four Strategies for Physical Success.’ It was a great blessing to listen to Becky as she shared her wisdom with us. Becky has a strong anointing to bring women into wholeness and health. God is using her mightily through her coaching business, “Success Not Sabotage Coaching.” Visit her website and sign up for a free coaching session: www.successnotsabosage.com