Today’s a new day!
Good morning family and friends.The next few weeks are busy.
Monday: Two Medical Appointments
Tuesday: Having a new port put in.
Thursday: Traveling to Plains, GA for my birthday celebration.
Thursday 12/11: Starting outpatient treatments.
Continuing to pray for each of you. ~OC
Today’s a new day! Reflecting on my health journey, I’m reminded of the twists and turns that have shaped me into who I am today. It’s been a winding road, filled with ups and downs, but through it all, I’ve felt God’s presence guiding me every step of the way. The rough roads have taught me resilience, the detours have shown me new paths, and the smooth roads have given me peace. I’m grateful for this journey, and I trust that God will continue to lead me forward, even when the road ahead is uncertain. ~OC
Today’s a new day! Reflecting on my health journey, I’m reminded of the twists and turns that have shaped me into who I am today. It’s been a winding road, filled with ups and downs, but through it all, I’ve felt God’s presence guiding me every step of the way. The rough roads have taught me resilience, the detours have shown me new paths, and the smooth roads have given me peace. I’m grateful for this journey, and I trust that God will continue to lead me forward, even when the road ahead is uncertain. ~OC
Today’s a new day! As I sit in this hospital room, surrounded by beeping machines and the business of staff, I am reminded that my purpose extends far beyond my physical body. In the midst of uncertainty and pain, I pray: Dear God, use me for your purpose during this hospital stay and every day as I continue to fight through this crazy beautiful health journey.
For me it’s a prayer of surrender, of trust, and of faith. It’s a reminder that even in the darkest moments, God’s love and patience remain unfailing.
Embracing the Unknown:
When we’re faced with the challenges of life, it’s easy to feel like our lives are spinning out of control. But what if we flipped that perspective? What if this season of uncertainty is an opportunity to discover a deeper sense of God’s purpose for our lives?
For those walking through their own “crazy beautiful journey,” I encourage you to pray the following: Dear God, use me for your purpose… I am thankful for your unfailing love and patience with me.
Practical Ways to Find Purpose:
1. Prayer and Reflection: Take time each day to connect with God. Reflect on your experiences, and ask Him to reveal His purpose for your life.
2. Support Loved Ones:Reach out to family and friends, and let them know you’re thinking of them. Sometimes, a simple text, handwritten note or phone call can bring joy to someone’s day.
3. Share Your Story: Consider sharing your journey on social media, a blog or write a book. Your story might encourage others who are facing similar challenges.
4. Find Ways to Serve: Even in a hospital room, you can serve others. Share words of encouragement with the staff, pray for the staff and others walking down the hall. Show kindness and respect to everyone you encounter today.
A Prayer of Thanksgiving:
As I continue to navigate through this health journey, I am grateful for God’s unfailing love and patience. I’m thankful for a loving and supportive bride, I am thankful for my medical team that’s been taking care of me for many years, I am blessed by the the loved ones who pray and support me, and for the opportunities to grow in my faith.
If you happen to be reading this post and are facing your own challenges, know that you’re not alone. You’re loved, you’re valued, and you’re part of a larger story.
A Prayer for Today:
Dear Jesus, use us for your purpose during the stressful times of life and every day as we continue to navigate through this journey called life. We’re thankful for your unfailing love and patience with us. Amen
Challenge of the Day:
How can you use your life experiences, past and present to bless and help others today? ~OC
Today’s a new day! When I started this blog many years ago, I never realized the places that God would take me. The good times and the not so good times. The blessings and hard times that come to us in this journey called life. But over the years, I have learned that even in those difficult seasons of life, that God is always there. Always ready to listen. To lend a helping hand. To love us and comfort us. I have learned that yes, we can be thankful ….. even when our heart and mind tells us that there is no reason to be. I have leaned that in everything to be grateful. So as I continue to walk through these health challenges, I am blessed to have a bride that is willing to walk with me through this crazy beautiful health journey. It is my prayer that the Lord will use our journey to help encourage people and that they will find hope……. In Jesus. So I will continue to embrace new opportunities and be renewed by God’s Hope, Peace and His Word. I will continue to walk this journey with… a thankful and willing heart to serve. ~OC
Today’s a new day! The last several weeks, I have seen many social media post and heard many conversations about how America is in a Revival moment. I hope and pray that is the case, but I am not sure that’s what we are seeing. I desire to experience more than just a moment of Revival. No, I want to see a life changing movement that changes hearts and lives in a radical way.
Since 2019, God has woken me up most mornings with these three words: Miracles, Healings and Revival. But to understand what true Revival actually means, I believe all we need to do is look at the Book of Jonah.
I write the following not as a blog post, but as a prayer for America and the world.
The book of Jonah illustrates for us how God can transform and save an entire city in one day that is entrenched in wickedness, violence, and depravity. Jonah, the prophet of God, is called to go preach against the great city Nineveh, and instead of fulfilling his mandate, he flees to Tarshish aboard a ship. God decides to get Jonah’s attention through a massive storm and Jonah is thrown overboard, but yet is saved by grace in the most unusual and fascinating way…a great whale. We read where Jonah learns that “Salvation is of the Lord” and then is thrown up on dry land and is commissioned to preach a second time to this wicked city Nineveh.
In Jonah Chapter 3, we see five distinguishing marks of true repentance, revival, and spiritual awakening that serve to encourage us as we share the gospel across America and the world and in our desire to see God pour out revival throughout our communities.
The first thing we see is that God is most pleased to use the powerful preaching of His Word to see hearts radically transformed and for people to totally surrender their lives before Him. Jonah’s message was very simple, “Yet forty more days, and Nineveh will be overthrown!” In other words, God would utterly annihilate them if they did not flee the wrath to come by repenting of their sins. In Hebrews 4:12-13 we read, “For the word of God is living and active, sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing to the division of soul and of spirit, of joints and of marrow, and discerning the thoughts and intentions of the heart. And no creature is hidden from his sight, but all are naked and exposed to the eyes of him to whom we must give account.” In every great revival in the history of the world, the preaching of God’s Word has been central. Notice how these wicked, violent Ninevites responded in Jonah 3:5: “And the people of Nineveh believed God.” They trusted wholeheartedly in the Lord for salvation because the preached Word had done its amazing effect in their hearts.
Secondly, when genuine revival comes upon a people, it is wide-spread and comprehensive. We see in Jonah 3:5 :“They called for a fast and put on sackcloth, from the greatest of them to the least of them.” The entire city from the highest political leaders to the everyday citizen responded in repentance and faith toward the living God. When God pours out revival, it doesn’t just affect as small few, but impacts an entire community.
Thirdly, when God pours out revival, genuine repentance is evidenced by a heart transformation that is most demonstrated through mourning of sin and prayer. The message so “touched” the heart of the king, that he traded in his royal throne and stripped himself of all pride and position, and mourned in an ash heap. He grieved his personal sin and humbled himself before the Lord. In times of revival, sinners mourn their sin and cry out mightily to God in prayer. The king issues this command in Jonah 3:8, “and let them call out mightily to God.” I looked up the Hebrew word for “mightily” and it means with violent earnestness. Wow! When God grants revival, genuine repentance manifests itself in a wide spread prayer movement where people cry out earnestly to God and desire more of Him.
Fourthly, genuine repentance always bears fruit in that people turn from their sinful behavior. Notice that the king also says this in Jonah 3:8: “Let everyone turn from their evil way and from the violence that is in their hands.” Repentance means more than just feeling sorry for our sins and grieving over possibly getting caught. No, true repentance means that there is a genuine turning from our old ways of living and thinking, to completely trusting in Christ alone for our salvation and everything else in our lives. The Apostle Paul writes in 2 Corinthians 7:9-10: “As it is, I rejoice, not because you were grieved, but because you were grieved into repenting. For you felt a godly grief, so that you suffered no loss through us. For godly grief produces a repentance that leads to salvation without regret, whereas worldly grief produces death.”
Lastly, in times of true revival, people come to the full awareness that they are totally dependent on the sovereign grace of God for salvation and cannot demand from Him anything. The king humbly and in brokenness declares in Jonah 3:9: “Who knows? God may turn and relent and turn from his fierce anger, so that we may not perish.” The king doesn’t appeal to his rights as ruler, but totally understands the sovereign right of the living God to show mercy and compassion to whom He wants to show mercy and compassion. All we can do as sinners is to cast ourselves on the mercy of Jesus alone for our salvation.
As I close, I pray that God would pour out His Spirit of revival upon America and the world, where the Word of God is preached with boldness every Sunday in churches across the world. I pray that God would impact America and the world with spiritual transformation that is widespread and life changing. I pray that all of us would mourn the violence, hatred and division we see around us and cry out mightily to God in prayer that a powerful prayer movement would sweep across this dry land like a wildfire. I pray that we would all turn from our sinful ways and trust in the living God and that there would be true radical life change. I pray that God would pour out His mercy upon us in salvation through Jesus and that every single person in America and across the world would love and worship Christ the Lord. ~Amen
Thanks for taking the time to read this prayer. ~OC
Today’s a new day! It is very rare to find someone who has not experienced church hurt in some way. In a very me society, it is much easier to faze in and out of churches when we like what it teaches or offers (or dislike what it teaches or does). The type of unity that the Bible speaks about and commands is rarely experienced. In fact, when a church tries to move in this direction, it’s easy to be skeptical and defensive.
“Behold, how good and pleasant it is when brothers dwell in unity! It is like the precious oil on the head, running down on the beard, on the beard of Aaron, running down on the collar of his robes! It is like the dew of Hermon, which falls on the mountains of Zion! For there the Lord has commanded the blessing, life forevermore.” ~Psalm 133:1-3
“Until we all attain to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to mature manhood, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ,” ~Ephesians 4:13
“May the God of endurance and encouragement grant you to live in such harmony with one another, in accord with Christ Jesus,” ~Romans 15:5
It is both good and pleasant when a church lives its life together in a unified manner. It’s like the anointed blessing of God in so much abundance that it covers us with God’s blessing from the top of our head to the soles of our feet. It is here, in unified fellowship, that God has commanded the very blessing of eternal life. In other words, when we live in a unified manner, we experience a taste of Heaven, where we will live eternally in perfect unity.
I truly believe that if we want to experience a taste of heaven, experience the joy of our Savior, and provide a faithful picture of Christ to the world, we need to pray and work for unity in our local churches. Because the enemy wants nothing more than to divide believers in the local church. As believers we must sit in the love, grace, forgiveness and love of Jesus. Let unity reign! ~OC
Today’s a new day! It’s 2am on this Tuesday morning. I have been unable to fall asleep. It’s just one of those crazy nights with Parkinson’s and Dementia. So I have walked around the house more times than I can remember. I have watched several YouTube videos to pass the time. Finally, I have decided to share my experience and thoughts with you. Writing is still something my brain allows me to do on occasion. Lately, God has filled my brain with many thoughts. I feel an urgency to write as much as possible before I can no longer do that. Tonight, my brain is extra active. That’s not always a good thing.
I have good days and bad days as I navigate through the multiple health issues that are slowly robbing me of so much. On a bad day, I cannot do anything at all. My energy levels are low and I feel fatigued. The only way I can describe it is that I feel like I have run a hundred marathons in a very short amount of time. I feel totally drained.
But I have lots of coping strategies. I choose to use those days to pray a lot more. I choose to reach out to friends even though I know, I will not hear back from the majority of them.
I think it’s important to have something that gives you a sense of purpose in life. I try to share my journey to help encourage others walking through their own life struggles. If I can help just one other person, that’s enough for me.
When most people think about neurological issues, especially dementia they think it’s all about memory loss. But I have cognitive issues also- trying to figure things out can be difficult and frustrating. Also too many voices at one time can be overwhelming. I get frustrated and anxious if I am struggling to follow the conversation. I also deal with a lot of rigidity and pain, which creates so many issues.
Over the years I have lost many friends as I have walked through this crazy beautiful health journey. I believe a lot of people have a difficult time talking to and relating to me. But I am still me. My story has just changed a little. A lot of times when Laura and I are around other people, they will address questions to her, not me. My prayer is that people would see the person, not the disease.
But I am blessed that a few friends have decided to stick around and not jump ship. I hold those friendships very close to my heart.
I choose to embrace each moment of life. I try to share my love and thoughts now. Not waiting for the perfect moment. Because the perfect moment is today. Laura and I do not wait for the perfect moment to buy that gift or take that trip. Now is the perfect time. Now is the perfect time to take care of future arrangements. Which we have done. I did not want Laura dealing with all of that on her own.
It also means we’ve had really indepth chats about what quality of life really looks like. Everyone has to figure that out for themselves and their loved ones.
Life looks different every day. What I could do yesterday, might be more difficult to accomplish today. I continue to live my life with my cup overflowing. I try not to beat myself up too much when I cannot do something anymore. Because there are still many things I can do. So today, I choose to embrace the now and what I can accomplish today. ~OC
Today’s a new day!
Our hope in Jesus, a beacon of light in our darkest moments,
With every step, with every misstep
He lifts us up, standing tall
In His love, we find our way
Through trials and tribulations each day
With faith as our guiding light
We navigate through life’s struggles
Jesus, is our Savior, and friend
Our hope in Him will never end
May His presence be our guiding light
Leading us step by step. ~OC
Today’s a new day! As we end another week, I thought I would challenge my Christian brothers and sisters with the following question:
As followers of Jesus, what can we do about all of the issues the world is facing right now?
There are many different directions we could go in answering that question. But as I have sat and pondered this question, one thing stood out to me above everything else. What the world needs from Christians in this time of so much division is Love. It sounds so simple, maybe even a little cliches, but love is the most powerful and effective tool we possess. Love can unlock doors and hearts that have been closed for years. Love is every Christians primary calling from God (Love God and love people Matthew 22:37). So why are so many Christians not extending love to everyone that God brings into their daily lives? I believe it’s because so many Christians are just as hurt as the rest of the world is right now. I believe we all hate where the world is today. But the more Christians choose to express hate, the more division and negativity is spread.
I believe it’s time for Christians to step into the calling that God has placed in each of our hearts. That takes changing our attitudes toward those we disagree with. That means loving those who think differently than us. That means loving those who look differently than us. That means loving those who speak differently than us. That means loving those who worship differently than us. Here’s a big one; it means loving those who vote differently than us. God’s love commands us to love people for who they are, not for what they do. Let that sink in for just a moment. But what does that mean? As I continue my faith journey, God is constantly reminding me that I need to love everyone because He created them in His image, and Jesus came and died a brutal death on the cross for each and everyone of them, regardless of their lifestyles, actions and beliefs.
I believe the job of every Christian is to love people for who they are, not for what they do or don’t do.
Loving people for who they are is the way that Jesus loves each and every one of us. He showed that love while walking on this earth. Throughout the Bible, we see examples of Jesus loving people right where they were. The actions or the position of a person did not matter to Jesus when it came to loving them. All that mattered was that God created them. Loving people unconditionally is the example that Jesus set. In 1 John 4:19 we read these words, We love because He first loved us.”
Loving people unconditionally is not something that comes naturally for most people. It’s a daily choice. We have to choose to love the people in our lives that can be difficult to love. I encourage each of us to make a conscious effort to love even the most difficult people in our lives. Take a moment to think about those difficult people in your own lives. No matter what they believe, no matter what political party they follow, no matter the lifestyle they decide to live, love them because Jesus does. He gave his life for them.
As Christians, we have been called to live like Jesus and unconditional love is what we need to be showing the world.
Jesus died willingly on the cross so that we would be saved. Jesus died regardless of our views, beliefs, or our lifestyle choices. Even if we decided never to follow Him, Jesus still saw each of us as worth dying for. Now that is unconditional love. I believe every Christian is called to love others in the same way that Jesus chooses to love each of us.
“Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It does not dishonor others, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, love always perseveres. Love never fails.” ~1 Corinthians 13:4-8
This world is currently in turmoil. This is a great time for Christians to step up and truly love people. All people! Regardless of where they’re at in life. So today, just love people and let Jesus do the rest. Have a great day! ~OC
The Blessed Overcomer 