Change Your View of Miracles

Monday was a strange day.  It started out ordinary enough.  Ran some errands, wrote, spent time in my galcave.  By 3 PM I was feeling tired,  More tired than usual.  I thought maybe I had spent to much time on the computer,  My eyes were fuzzy and I just didn't have any energy.  I laid down on the couch and turned on a comedy -elevated my feet and waited for the weird feeling to subside.  It didn't.  I text my friend about 30 minutes later with my symptoms.  Numb left arm, numb legs, chills and a headache.  Stroke symptoms.  By the time my husband got home to take me to the hospital, I couldn't walk by myself.  My speech was slurred and when we arrived at the emergency room I had no motion in any part of my body.  Very scary.  I was crying from fright.  I gave my husband funeral instructions.  And I saw the light.  The white light - just like people who are leaving this earth have testified about.  I was attracted to it.  I was not afraid of the light - I was afraid of what was happening to my body.  I checked off my list of loved ones to make sure that I felt good about where they were in their lives.  I was at peace if this was the end for me here.  And then it happened.  The Miracle.  The symptoms disappeared.  I fell asleep in the E.R. and when I woke up I felt like myself.  The hospital did a CT scan, an EKG, blood work and an ultrasound of the veins in my neck.  Nothing.
I was mad at myself.  I had over reacted.  I shouldn't have gone to the E.R. I had put people out - my husband, the nurses, the doctors.  I didn't want anyone to know what had happened.  Not my family not my friends - no one.  I had convinced myself that my stroke symptoms did not really exist.  I had imagined everything.
Tuesday I spent in the hospital.
Wednesday I resumed my routine.
I was reading about prayer.  I had committed the next 123 days to researching prayer and to be in prayer - commune with God.  And as I read Psalm 25 God spoke to me through that Scripture.

"Why do you want to hide what I do for you?"

Wow!  Great question God!  I was having a stroke, I saw light and I spoke the Name of Jesus and I was healed.  I thought about the many people that Jesus healed.  I began to wonder if there were those who were healed but shrugged it off as an over active imagination - or a bad bit of meat ( Dickens reference).  I believe that God is alive and active in my life.  So why would I choose to not believe in His Divine healing?  As a pastor I have prayed many times for people and believed that God touched and healed.  So why would He not do the same for the me?  Then it hit me.  I need to change the way I see miracles.

G.K. Chesterton (writer,poet, Christian apologetics)

“The believers in miracles accept them (rightly or wrongly) because they have evidence for them. The disbelievers in miracles deny them (rightly or wrongly) because they have a doctrine against them.”

I have evidence of what happened on Monday.  For me to make a choice to "hide" my miracle is as bad as denying Christ out-right.
 
As an agent of change - I choose to change the way I see circumstances and incidents.  I am changing my voice to active.  I am this day asking God to remove the scales from my eyes.  Scales of ignorance.  I wish to see and speak the Truth about the Lord.  He is a healing God and He has more for me to do.  Here is one commentary by Matthew Henry on Saul and the scales of his eyes.

9:10-22 A good work was begun in Saul, when he was brought to Christ's feet with those words, Lord, what wilt thou have me to do? And never did Christ leave any who were brought to that. Behold, the proud Pharisee, the unmerciful oppressor, the daring blasphemer, prayeth! And thus it is even now, and with the proud infidel, or the abandoned sinner. What happy tidings are these to all who understand the nature and power of prayer, of such prayer as the humbled sinner presents for the blessings of free salvation! Now he began to pray after another manner than he had done; before, he said his prayers, now, he prayed them. Regenerating grace sets people on praying; you may as well find a living man without breath, as a living Christian without prayer. Yet even eminent disciples, like Ananias, sometimes stagger at the commands of the Lord. But it is the Lord's glory to surpass our scanty expectations, and show that those are vessels of his mercy whom we are apt to consider as objects of his vengeance. The teaching of the Holy Spirit takes away the scales of ignorance and pride from the understanding; then the sinner becomes a new creature, and endeavours to recommend the anointed Saviour, the Son of God, to his former companions.

Join me and choose to ask God to remove your own scales in order to see Miracles and Truth.  And then proclaim it.  I don't believe Jesus just wants to heal us physically - I believe He wants us to change our view of circumstance.  God is at work - believe it.

*Cathy is a speaker,preacher,worship leader and available for your church or event.  Contact her through this website.

Changing our Moods.

Moods, moodiness, that blue feeling.  She's in a "mood."  Usually a negative word.  People who are moody are seen as "difficult", "unpredictable", "unstable."  Unfortunately people refer to creative people typically as "moody."  So how do we change being moody (assuming you don't want to be a person of moods).  First we must recognize that our moods come out as a result of our physical state of being.  Remember those mood rings that have been popular at different times over the years?  They change due to physical temperature.  When your temperature goes up or down - the color would change.  So our internal moods also change with our "temperature."  If we are overweight, inactive,eating unhealthy, dealing with an illness or chronic pain or anything that takes our focus and places it on our physical discomfort we may become "moody."  Discomfort causes moodiness.  How do we change that?  Some of us are so comfortable with our  physical pain that we go back to the same place of pain over and over and over - our mood is not comfortable but it is familiar enough that we keep going back to it.  We know that we should shake the mood by doing something different - by changing our physical climate - but the familiar pain is so much easier place to be than the challenge of change that we keep going back there.  People who cut themselves are a prime example.  Their moods start to slip and they cannot control their moody free fall - so they cut themselves in order to change their mood.  Woah!!  You would rather cut yourself which causes intense pain than pick yourself up by the scruff of the neck and shake off the mood through any healthy outlet?  Did you know that praying to God to remove a mood is not an answer?  You yourself have to shake it off!  Don't blame God that you are moody.  Blame yourself for not changing your physcial environment to shake off that mood.  Get a grip and stop wallowing people.  No one is going to do it for you.  You have to change your physical state to get out of a mood.  Here are some practical ways to shake off mood.

1.  Wear a snap bracelet and when you feel it coming on - snap your bracelet/rubber band etc.

2.  Literally shake your head several times to "clear it".  IF you are physically able, change locations.  Get out of your chair - office - couch - bed - and head to another location.

3.  Walk , run, plank, yoga, bike, any physical exercise will stop your mood.

4.  If you are not able to physically move because of age, disability etc. - write, read, listen to music, hum, sing, pray for someone, write a poem (it doesn't have to rhyme)

5.  Whatever your routine is?  Change it.  This is important.  If every morning you wake up, drink coffee, read the paper, go online, turn on tv, sit in the same chair - stop!!  Vary that routine if it is not working for you.  Wake up and go outside, eat an apple first, drink water, fix a smoothie, do your weekly shopping, bike, hike, whatever....just don't go back to the same physical space that causes you to be in a mood.

6.  Love yourself.  Yep - it is okay to do that.  God loves you warts and all - so if He can love you - then shake off your mood and love yourself.  How do you love yourself?  Make a list of things that make you feel loved and do them!  If you don't feel loved right now start with something simple - hug yourself.  Look in the mirror and tell yourself you are loved.  Brush your hair slowly and for longer than 30 seconds.  Make a list of all the great things people have said to you (and people have said good things about you...so shake it off and remember them).  Buy yourself a flower, or a chocolate or if you can afford it and like them - shoes!  Dance with yourself.  And if nothing else works - try a mantra along with your snap bracelet - God loves me and I love myself.  Over and over and over - until you shake that mood.

To change a mood you gotta shake yourself up - dust yourself off - and literally take it off like a coat.

You can go to prayer for many many things - but to ask God to change your mood? Nope.  I read this morning in my devotion with Oswald Chambers.  He writes--

There are certain things in life that we need not pray about— moods, for instance. We will never get rid of moodiness by praying, but we will by kicking it out of our lives. Moods nearly always are rooted in some physical circumstance, not in our true inner self. It is a continual struggle not to listen to the moods which arise as a result of our physical condition, but we must never submit to them for a second. We have to pick ourselves up by the back of the neck and shake ourselves; then we will find that we can do what we believed we were unable to do. The problem that most of us are cursed with is simply that we won’t. The Christian life is one of spiritual courage and determination lived out in our flesh.

I have a friend who is under going cancer treatments.  She calls them her butt-kicking sessions.  I love that!  She definitely has every reason to be moody - but instead she recognizes the truth - that moods need to be kicked out and don't blame satan or anything else for your mood - take responsibility and change it.

Let me know about your own mood kicking tricks.

Cathy Woolaway is available for speaking and worship engagements.  Contact her through this blog or at cwoolaway@yahoo.com

Change Your View of Results

Avoiding Discouragement

Ezekiel 2:6
“And thou, son of man, be not afraid of them, neither be afraid of their words, though briers and thorns be with thee, and thou dost dwell among scorpions: be not afraid of their words, nor be dismayed at their looks, though they be a rebellious house.”

One of the greatest things that you will fight in serving the LORD is discouragement. Discouragement is one of the main things I deal with as I try to help pastors and Christians. Discouragement sets in because they don’t see the results that they would like or that others are having. Sadly, we have become too result oriented in the ministry when we truly don’t have power over the results. The only thing that we have power to do is what God commands. We become so concerned over that with which we have no power that we hurt ourselves. The only thing that you have power to do is what God commanded.

In the early days of Ezekiel’s ministry, God warned him about three areas with which he must not be concerned. God warned Ezekiel about these areas because He knew that if he got focused on these things that he would eventually be discouraged. When you study the life of Jeremiah, he became concerned with the areas about which God warned Ezekiel, and he quit for awhile. It is imperative that a person listens to God’s counsel in these three areas if they want to avoid discouragement.

First, God warned Ezekiel not to be concerned with results. In the first few verses of Ezekiel 2, you will see that God told Ezekiel that the people would not listen to him. God was showing him that he cannot control the results. Many people become very discouraged in serving the LORD because they don’t see results. Soul winners give up soul winning because they are not seeing people saved. Pastors quit the ministry because their church is not growing like they think it should. Sunday school teachers give up because their class isn’t growing like another class. Friend, you can’t control the results. Results are up to God. If you are focused upon results, then you will find discouragement will come.

Second, God warned Ezekiel not to be concerned with whether the people received his sermons. Again, you can’t control whether someone receives what you say. When I go soul winning, I can’t make someone listen to me. In the early years of my ministry I fell for the trap of trying to force those who I thought were the rebellious crowd to respond. I so badly wanted them to receive the sermon and get right in the areas where they needed. I soon learned that I had no power in this area and that all I can do is preach what God gave me. If you worry about whether people are receiving what you are giving, then you will soon face discouragement.

Third, God warned Ezekiel not to be concerned with their reactions. If you do what God tells you to do, you will find that people will get upset with you. You cannot let their reactions to what you say and do concern you. They are not reacting to you, but to what the Holy Spirit is doing in their heart. We often take a person’s reaction as a personal attack against us. Be very careful that you don’t allow people’s reactions to determine whether or not you did a good job.

There is only one thing with which you should be concerned, and that is whether you did what God told you to do. You will avoid discouragement in your life if you will let your satisfaction come from obeying God’s commands. Discouragement is a result of focusing on the wrong results. If you focus on those things over which you have no power, you will be discouraged; however, if you focus on your obedience to God’s command, then you will find that you can avoid discouragement.

Changing the Habit of Self-pity.

"No sin is worse than the sin of self-pity, because it removes God from the throne of our lives, replacing Him with our own self-interests. It causes us to open our mouths only to complain, and we simply become spiritual sponges— always absorbing, never giving, and never being satisfied. And there is nothing lovely or generous about our lives."
--Chambers

Good morning change heroine!  Have you been clicking your heels together?  There's no place like Change?  Today as I read my devotion I was struck by Chambers words regarding self-pity.  He done me wrong, she done me wrong, they done me wrong.  Get used to it - they is always gonna do you wrong :-)  When we are legitimately "done wrong" we need a large amount of strength to change our emotional reactions from "he done me" to "forgive easily, it's never about you anyway."  The only way to change something about yourself is to first of all surrender it to the One who will purify your spirit and refine it to be of purpose and good use for others.  In the case of "self-pity" every time you feel that ugly emotion starting to well up in you - deal with it.  Don't squash it.  Don't exercise it out, or eat it out, or shop it out or indulge your carnal nature in any fashion.  Pray it out.  Yep.  Even if you aren't necessarily a believer right now?  Try it....just pray it out to God.  Try this - 

"God, I don't want to wallow in self-pity.  Cleanse me of these emotions.  I may not be able to forgive today - but You can put forgiveness in me.  God I long to change the habit of falling into self-pity and grabbing on to something that might sooth my emotions immediately but ultimately never helps me change.  I want to rid myself of this cycle.  Help me God to Pray.Love.Forgive."

Another way is to pray the "Our Father" prayer.  Our Father which art in heaven hallowed be Thy Name .  Thy kingdom come, Thy will be done, on earth as it is in heaven.  Give us this day our daily bread and forgive us our debts as we forgive our debtors.  And lead us not into temptation but deliver us from evil for Thine is the Kingdom and the Power and the Glory forever.  Amen. - The Lord's Prayer

10 - 30 minutes as the self pity begins to engulf you.  Click three times "There's no place like change."  Change your bad habit of emotional self pity and the habits that encompass it - and develop the habit of being self-confident knowing that all circumstances ultimately change in our lives, move forward and seek not just the good but the better and best in our lives.

 “All my springs are in You” (Psalm 87:7). If the majesty, grace, and power of God are not being exhibited in us, God holds us responsible. “God is able to make all grace abound toward you, that you . . . may have an abundance . . .” (2 Corinthians 9:8)— then learn to lavish the grace of God on others, generously giving of yourself. Be marked and identified with God’s nature, and His blessing will flow through you all the time. - Chambers

Be blessed today change heroines.  And share your own change stories with me - I would love to hear them.

Cathy is a speaker, worship leader and agent for change leadership.  You may contact her for workshops, speaking engagements or one on one discussion.

The Habit of Rising to the Occasion

05

15

2013

. . . that you may know what is the hope of His calling . . . —Ephesians 1:18

Remember that you have been saved so that the life of Jesus may be manifested in your body (see 2 Corinthians 4:10). Direct the total energy of your powers so that you may achieve everything your election as a child of God provides; rise every time to whatever occasion may come your way.

You did not do anything to achieve your salvation, but you must do something to exhibit it. You must “work out your own salvation” which God has worked in you already (Philippians 2:12). Are your speech, your thinking, and your emotions evidence that you are working it “out”? If you are still the same miserable, grouchy person, set on having your own way, then it is a lie to say that God has saved and sanctified you.

God is the Master Designer, and He allows adversities into your life to see if you can jump over them properly—”By my God I can leap over a wall” (Psalm 18:29). God will never shield you from the requirements of being His son or daughter. First Peter 4:12  says, “Beloved, do not think it strange concerning the fiery trial which is to try you, as though some strange thing happened to you . . . .” Rise to the occasion—do what the trial demands of you. It does not matter how much it hurts as long as it gives God the opportunity to manifest the life of Jesus in your body.

May God not find complaints in us anymore, but spiritual vitality—a readiness to face anything He brings our way. The only proper goal of life is that we manifest the Son of God; and when this occurs, all of our dictating of our demands to God disappears. Our Lord never dictated demands to His Father, and neither are we to make demands on God. We are here to submit to His will so that He may work through us what He wants. Once we realize this, He will make us broken bread and poured-out wine with which to feed and nourish others.

Shared from Oswald Chambers.

Dear hearts,

If we are to embrace change we must first embrace our salvation.  It is so tough for us rebel/control heroines to release the reins to allow Him to reign.  I know from statistics why we hold on...we battered, abused,mentally unstable, overly stressed out beauties.  Faking the life.  Holding on to what is familiar.  Whether that be good for us or not....the important thing is it's familiar...right?  Food? Sex? Pills? Alcohol? Nicotine? Tanning? Exercise? Throwing up? Shopping? Stealing? Gossiping? And on and on and on.  We use whatever we can to control our emotional abuse.  Jesus wants to heal you.  But you have to let Him.  He will never force Himself into a place where He is not wanted.  There is a story of how Jesus went back to Nazareth, and there people who were overly familiar with Him because it was His hometown would not listen to His teaching.  What did He do?  He did not gripe, complain or defend Himself.  He dusted off His sandals and walked on knowing that God would lead Him to a place where the hearts of people would be receptive to Him.  This required change.  How comfortable would it have been for Jesus to stay in His hometown, not do ministry, but just hang with his peeps?  Jesus knew He was to be used of God while on earth as the man-God.  He listened to His Father - and when it was time to move and change He did - not His message,but His locale.

Don't become bogged down with what is good in your life.  Rise up - kick off the dust - and let Him move you towards the better life.

Pray.Love.Forgive.

Love to read your feedback!  And please share with others.

Cathy is available for worship/preaching/speaking engagements.  You may contact her at 217 521 2070 or by e mailing cwoolaway@yahoo.com

Ruby Slippers

As a young girl living in Kansas there were two movies that caught my imagination.  One was The Wizard of Oz and the other Gone with the Wind.  The heroines of each story amazed me with their abilities to know just what to do in any situation they found themselves in. We are the heroines of our own stories. Chapters  bring new life changes, sometimes expected but mostly unexpected.  Like Dorothy, we wish we had the magic slippers we could click three times to propel us to safety.  Alas, there is no "magic".  Wishing ourselves away from change does not move us forward.  We end up stalled and frustrated rather than embracing the change ahead and looking towards the future.  Like Dorothy, we long for our safe space  where the past embraces us with familiar surroundings, familiar people and familiar routines.  If you are a woman anything like me you come to a time when what becomes familiar is change.  This blog is intended to explore change in a healthy way.  When Dorothy clicked her heels she repeated "There's no place like home."  When I click my heels together today I will repeat "There's no place like change."

I would love to hear your feedback and welcome questions.  I am available for worship retreats, speaking engagements or one on one discussion.  Thanks for reading!