Encouragement

This morning I was praying about the healing seminar we're hosting at church and thinking about my own journey with praying for healing. I've been praying for my friend Liz's dad Jerry since he went into surgery for a brain tumor before Thanksgiving. He's had bad days and good days but is still in the hospital. I've laid hands on people and prayed for healing numerous times but have not seen miracles like I want to. I was getting discouraged that maybe I'm not praying right or that maybe my prayers won't get answered the way I want them to. The Lord gave me 1 Thessalonians 3:1-6 which talks about being encouraged in the faith and then he said to turn to pg. 147 in Bill Johnson's Strengthen Yourself in the Lord.

"God has already pursued us with a love so totally overwhelming that it will take all of eternity to plumb its depths. But He protects the opportunities that we have to use our will to pursue Him. That's how faith works. If He says He will catch us, we jump because only when we jump, can He do what he promised. Only as we step out to do the supernatural things He has asked of us can we appropriate the supernatural power He's already given us to achieve these impossible tasks. "

I went to work this morning rejoicing in the Lord who gives me strength. I also prayed again for Jerry and prayed for my friend Kristen's mom who underwent surgery for cancer. I had previously prayed to guide the doctors hands and was praying that she would have a speedy recovery.

I talked to Kristen this morning regarding her mom's cancer surgery and she said. "This is God! My mom's surgeon said it was only stage 2 cancer, he was able to get it all and that it hadn't penetrated the muscle so the chances of it's recurrence was less likely. She also said that her mom had to have nail polished removed from a recent pedicure and manicure she had done because she couldn't have nail polish on while in surgery. During the removal she struck up a conversation with another woman who ended up being the nurse of a breast cancer surgeon/oncologist, only 2 in the nation, and she is now going to have her breast cancer taken care of by this surgeon. Kristen's mom called her today to tell her about it because she thought it was Saturday, not a workday, or she wouldn't have called until tomorrow.

God is so faithful. That even in the midst of my discouragement he encouraged me that he does answer my prayers and to keep on praying. I hope this encourages you and that you will pursue God with all your heart.

Discouragement/Praise

Coming into my office this morning after reading the paper I had a since of discouragement about the things I have to get done or just the idea that I can't seem to enjoy this morning or have victory over the things that are hard. I asked the Lord and he sent me to pg. 63 in Strengthen Yourself in the Lord by Bill Johnson. The title "The Personal Breakthrough Moment". He talks about praise being the killer of discouragement because even if you can't do everything right or feel like you're not on the right track you can't lose with praise. This means physical expression. Now I'm an outgoing person and I have no problem lifting my hands and praising the Lord in public but I know I don't do it in private much. However, if I want to cancel that cloud of oppression I have to praise. When I focus on my weaknesses and compare myself to others I'm actually agreeing with the enemy. God delights in us so He wants us to delight in him. He rejoices over us with singing (Zeph 3:17) 7 Your God is present among you, a strong Warrior there to save you. Happy to have you back, he'll calm you with his love and delight you with his songs. So he wants us to rejoice over him with singing. When we give to him what he gives to us, we step further into relationship with Him deepening our heart connection with the source of life. When we align our body, mind and spirit with what he has told us there is a release of his nature that flows to us in that place of intimacy. Romans 14:17 "God's kingdom isn't a matter of what you put in your stomach, for goodness' sake. It's what God does with your life as he sets it right, puts it together, and completes it with joy" (message) 17 For the kingdom of God is not a matter of eating and drinking, but of righteousness, peace and joy in the Holy Spirit, (NIV). Here God is telling us how to have joy. Not only to rejoice because we have joy but to rejoice in the pursuit of it. Rejoicing requires you to acknowledge that His goodness and faithfulness are more real than your present difficulty. It especially requires you to agree that your life is not really about you! Thanksgiving and praise are tools to strengthen ourselves not because they help us get something from the Lord, but because they reconnect us to our primary purpose--to minister to Him in worship. They bring us into His presence; and true worship is something that only happens in that place of communion with His presence. In worship, the sacrifice is no longer physical expression or verbal declarations. We are the sacrifice. Fire always falls on sacrifice. And when we are the sacrifice, we cannot help but be changed.
Thanks Bill for walking through this for me. Thank you God for the sacrifice of your son. May I become your sacrifice.

Trunk or Treat

This last weekend my church hosted a Trunk or Treat for the neighborhood. Last year when we did this I had just accepted the position of servant leader over children's church. This kind of put me in charge of Trunk or Treat. So since it was my first time being in charge I didn't decorate my car but walked around and visited (told people what to do) other peoples vehicles. I bought a pair of red scrubs with the OU logo on them and told people I was a doctor. I had recently finished my doctorate, however, most people didn't get it until I explained it to them. Other people whose costumes weren't so subtle got most of the attention as you can see by the above picture of Sarah and Jordan. They just ate it up.

Well I have to admit that I was a little jealous that I wasn't getting any attention, so this year I decided to co-lead with Jackie (she did most of the work ;)), decorate my car and come in a better costume. One I didn't have to explain. I have to admit I had a much better time. This cute little monkey let me hold him and kiss his cute monkey face. I also had a visit and got a big kiss by Buzz Lightyear but he left Woody at home. Transformers Bumblebee also came to visit and he made me kiss him with his mask on.


I was fortunate to be able to have a photo shoot with photographer Amy Dragon. She was able to capture my inner fruitfulness and I was truly grateful. However, when I went to Jackie to try to get an Academy Award for my performance she was all out of statues. Well, I'll try again next year.

Mitchell Emmitt Conant

Mitchell has been growing up so fast. Here he is at just about a month old with his little lamb. Here he's a couple of months old. He started to be more animated and smile when you talked to him. Getting cuter everyday. Papa Terry and Nanawiki love him. He's so cute and lovable. At three months he keeps changing every time we see him. He's daddy's little man. And momma's little firecracker. He's a super dresser and very colorful. He's rolling over now at 5 months and making lots of noises. He's also a big Sooner fan. GO BIG RED!!! He's eating fruits and vegetables and growing big and strong. Recently at almost 6 months old he's been backpacking in the Colorado Rockies He's getting ready to go trick or treating on Halloween and has been trying on various costumes to see which one he likes best. Nanawiki votes for him being a little monkey because she is bananas about him.

Fall Carnival

Friday night I joined my Eric, Sarah, my grand boys and Lauren, a friend, at the Fall Carnival at Jared's school. It was very busy with lots of people playing games and milling around. When you first came into the gym there was a climbing wall. Jared got right on it working his way to the top. After that we made our way around the gym playing games like bowling with a pumpkin, Slinko, ball toss among many others. There was pizza, nachos and soft drinks for sale along with popcorn and candy. I ran into a former co-worker from Hefner Middle School and visited about our grandkids who happened to be friends. About that time one of Jared's friend paid money to have him taken to jail. The cowboy tied a rope around his wrist and took him into a corral where he had to stay until he was bailed out. He eventually got out on good behavior. After that we went outside on the playground where they had a cakewalk, an air bouncer and lots of other games and of course the playground equipment.
Jared and Jordyn got to decorate some mini pumpkins and later Jordyn did his own share of climbing on the monkey bars. Eric got into the act by trying to climb the wall.
Lauren and Jacob spent time hanging out with friends and seeing former teachers. Lauren got her face painted and later while having dinner at Braums a little girl thought she was a kitty cat. :) Jacob tried his best to have a good time in spite of the fact that it was a kids carnival. Sarah cheesed it up in the pics and then we headed home. I had a great time just hanging with my boys and my kids.

40 Years after high school

Last night I attended my 40th high school class reunion. It reminded me of how I'm getting older and hopefully wiser. Everyone was friendly and some people sat and talked with me like we were old friends. I think that happens as people get older. They want to explain about who they are and perhaps why they were the way they were in high school. High school wasn't a great experience for me. When I go to reunions I don't necessarily see people I hung out with. Having moved to Guthrie in 1968, in my junior year, it was hard to break into cliques of students who had grown up together since Kindergarten. The culture of the school was more diverse than where I had come from in Lawrence, Kansas with a population that was about 10% black to a population that was about 40% black. There was tension and some of the black students weren't any friendlier than the whites. I realized now, many years later, that in 1967 the blacks were forced to leave their high school and integrate with the white kids at the new high school so there was a lot of tension.
Every time I go I get new insights into the lives of the people who, at the time, seemed to have it altogether. In previous reunions some of the black students would come and visit with the white students and then leave to have their own party. This year, however, was the first year everyone stayed together. They hugged each other, shared stories and their lives. For me the experience helped me to understand how people change or maybe how my perception changes over the years.
One of my classmates apologized to me for having not been very nice to me in high school. I was both surprised and endeared that after all these years she had the courage to express her feelings and ask my forgiveness. I did remember her not being very friendly and sometimes saying things that were hurtful but all the pain of that was long gone. It was ironic, however, that another student who I remember not being very nice to me at high school, i.e. vandalizing my yearbook by scratching out a picture of a classmate she didn't like and then again refusing to speak to me at our first reunion, was now friendly and acted like we had been friends forever. I believe that she either didn't have a recollection of it or was too embarrassed to mention it. Either way I let bygones be bygones and just spent time getting to know who she is now. One thing I have learned from all of this is that people perceive you differently than you perceive yourself and the things that you thought were important are things they don't even remember. So why do I go? Probably to have some better understanding of myself and of those whom, at the time, seemed so important to me. I hope that in the end I'm better for it.

Comfortable Things

I had the best experience today in a gift shop in town. The proprietor, Kaye, was a sweet middle aged woman whose dress was still in the 80's but still fit in with her surroundings. The gift shop was full of wonderful knick-knacks, notes, food, seasonal decorations, candy and lovely aromas. I was there getting some chocolates for my friend Liz and was also looking to find a gift for my Aunt Louise. I wandered around the shop examining cute notepads, fancy boxes of cookies and candles while Kaye waited on a couple getting a gift for his mother. Kaye got a phone call from her sister which from my side of the conversation smacked of "mothering". She got off the phone saying "my sister still bosses me around" with a warm smile on her face. Evidently, there was a storm brewing and she wanted Kaye to make sure her new car wasn't going to be damaged. She asked me if she could help me and I told her I needed a box to buy 50 Bedre chocolates. She said she would box them up for me and that they were sold by the pound. When she brought them to the counter she counted them again and she had exactly 50. She still put one in for good measure. She started to ring up my sale and asked me if I had a punch card to earn $10 on future purchases. I couldn't find it if I did have one and I told her I had been in her shop last year buying chocolates and gifts for a conference. She insisted on giving me $50 in punches for my last visit insisting that she had probably forgotten to give me a card with my previous purchase. Her demeanor was so sweet and so genuine. I tried to imagine what it might be like to have a shop and have people come in everyday to buy things they enjoyed. It seemed like the perfect job. Although I love my job hers seemed less stressful. We visited a little more, me telling her about my uncle dying and the trip I was making to Kansas to say goodbye and her telling me who she knew who was graduation from my school in December. A nice conversation on a nice afternoon. Such an enjoyable experience that I hope to partake of again.