02.24.10
Posted in Blessings, Challenges and Strengths, Faith, Heart Tugs at 10:22 pm by Sandi Rauwolf
Chris and I were watching Bruce Almighty over the weekend and there was a part that went right to my heart … Be the Miracle. Click here to watch the clip. It’s only 35 seconds long so please take a few seconds to watch it before reading on.
Our society tends to look for miracles like a parting of the sea (or a parting of the soup like in Bruce Almighty LOL) when the reality is that we are surrounded by miracles every day but are we looking for them? Are we striving to be the miracle by not letting life bring us down – continuing to fight the fight no matter what we face? The world has a way of trying to distract, frustrate, or discourage us so we miss what is right under our noses. It’s like what happened to me last week on a trip home from Philly.
I had a 5:20 pm flight back to Chicago on Thursday. I’ve made the trip back and forth between the two cities enough times that I had the timing down pat, or so I thought! I head out and was smoothly moving along interstate 95 when suddenly I hit traffic. I wait patiently while traffic inches along and “I Gotta Feeling” by Black Eyed Peas plays on the radio. I look at the clock and hope the traffic will soon clear which it did. After about 10 more minutes I hit another patch of heavy traffic, this time I felt a little bit of worry trying to creep up. “No! All will be fine,” I thought. The traffic then cleared, “thank you!” Well about 10 minutes later I hit another patch of heavy traffic. The odd part is there is no reason why the traffic is heavy – no accidents or construction slowing things down. I guess another example of Murphy’s law trying to play out in my life.
I had about an hour until my flight so felt the nerves really trying to rise up in my stomach. I rented from a different car rental place than normal and made the mistake of assuming the return would be onsite at the airport, bad assumption! I managed to drive around the airport a few times wasting time that I certainly didn’t have to spare. I didn’t see it anywhere! I knew I had to find a place to pull over on this constant moving path of rental car return lanes to grab the paperwork from my laptop in the trunk. I pull over, park on the road, jump out quickly to grab the paperwork and slid back into the front seat. I grab the receipt which is barely legible due to a printer cartridge they had yet to change. I call the number shown and hear a recording saying that the number is no longer being used. “B-E-A…Utiful,” I think! I find the address, punch it into my GPS which manages to take me on some wild jaunt away from the place I need to be. Okay this is really trying to get my goat as the saying goes but I say, “Nope! If I’m suppose to be on this plane then I will be!” I say a quiet prayer in my head, “God if you want me on this flight, please send your angels to help me along because without them I’m pretty much going in circles like a dog chasing his tail. Amen.”
Well, I felt in my heart to dig more into the paperwork and see a note with directions to the drop-off facility which is off-site from the airport .. good to know! I find my way back to interstate 95 so I can use the directions on the printed form. Well, I FINALLY find it, pull into the lot and don’t see anyone around. I turn off the car and go to open the car door and suddenly as if out of nowhere there is a gentleman ready to check my car back in – thank you for angel #1! I then thought, “Oh I hope there is a bus here so I don’t have to wait.” Just as the thought crosses my mind, I look up to see the bus driver literally in a jog heading towards me with a big smile on his face. He says, “Don’t worry honey I will get you there on time.” I got chills because this man had no way of knowing I was close to missing my flight – thank you for angel #2! I load onto the bus and there are about 7 gentlemen sitting staring at me. Based on the looks on their faces it is obvious they should have been well on their way and not waiting for another passenger … me!
I now have about 40 minutes until flight time and I keep telling myself, “If I’m meant to be on this flight then I will be.” We begin approaching different airlines and Southwest is next – yay! Well just as we begin to pull out and head towards Southwest it was like one of those huge magnets you see in junk yards to pick-up cars was placed in front of us because cars from every direction came from no where to box us in. He says “what in the world!” I thought, “Yep, welcome to my life,” as I smiled shaking my head. I again told myself, “If I’m meant to be on this flight then I will be.” About that time he managed to pull off the impossible. I still do not know how he was able to reposition that bus and get out of a situation that was packed tighter than a can of sardines but I was thankful! He helps me get my luggage. I hand him a tip saying, “thank you!” as I run to get my baggage checked in. I walk up and a kiosk had just opened, “Yes!” I thought. As I punched in my confirmation number on the touch screen a bell went off. The lady behind the counter was smiling and says, “Looks like we have a winner.” She then said, “It is less than 30 minutes to flight time so we cannot guarantee your luggage will get on the flight.” I asked what the chances were and she said, “Let’s just hope for the best,” as she smiled. I thought, “That is exactly right!” I said, “thank you” as I turned to run towards the security check-in at which time she said, “Miss, do you have your boarding pass?” I stopped dead in my tracks, “Uhhh, I didn’t pick it up out of the tray!” I looked at her and she pointed to the tray. I hurriedly grabbed it and said, “Thank you so much, you are a life saver!” She just smiled at me with a kind unspoken look that said “I’m happy I could help.” Thank you for angel #3!
Okay it is now 23 minutes until my flight. I have not gone thru security yet and it will take me at least 10 minutes to walk to the gate. Security always takes me awhile because I have two shoulder replacements and a right-hip replacement which sets off every light and alarm drawing attention as if I just hit 777 on a slot machine. I am jogging as best as I can with 3-inch heeled boots (not to mention a hip replacement which clearly is synonymous for NO RUNNING and not just because most people who have them are 80 – I know doc – sorry!). I turn the corner to the security area and there in front of me is a maze of people filling the security lanes. I thought, “There is no way this is happening.” It will take 30 minutes just to get thru the line not to mention the security process. My heart reminded me, “If I am meant to be on this flight then I will be.” I just finish that thought and look up to see a long arm of a tall-friendly African American gentleman pointing me to a specific lane off to my left. I followed it and it was a side lane that took me right up to the security lane. Wow, that was awesome – thank you for angel #4!
I get thru security and quickly glance at my ticket. I saw “A” so started heading (or shall I say running) to gate A. My heart then said, “Look at your ticket again.” So I did and gasped, “Gate E!” which happens to be on the complete opposite side of gate A. I am running back to the area where I came from and really wishing I had wings or something because the gate seemed to be a mile away. About that time I heard my name being announced over the intercom so I started going faster. There was one guy behind me running for the same flight. We were the last two to board the plane. The plane was full but I saw two ladies sitting right behind the emergency exit row with a seat open in the middle. I asked them if I could please sit there. The lady said, “No problem, actually why don’t I just scootch over because her and I are traveling together anyway.” I smiled and said, “Thank you so much!” I got settled into my seat and let out a big sigh of relief – I made it, whew!
A gentleman was trying to force his suitcase in the compartment above our heads. No matter what he did, he can’t seem to get it to fit. He then takes the two coats of the ladies in my row out and said, “Do you mind holding these because they will not fit with the luggage?” She took them hesitantly. I turned to her and said, “I’m so sorry, here you did something nice for me and now they are putting more stuff back in your lap.” About that time the flight attendant smiled and took the coats to find a place in another bin so she wouldn’t be troubled for her kindness. The gentleman continued to try and get the suitcase to fit. My heart said, “Look up NOW!” I look up to see this big skateboard with big wheels fly out of the compartment above my head. I didn’t have time to react so just held my breath waiting for the thump. Suddenly there was this hand that came out of nowhere that caught it literally out of mid-air saving it from cracking me right in the head! I am on blood thinners so a crack to the head from a skateboard like that could have been really bad. Everyone around me was saying, “Nice catch!”, “How in the world did you just catch that?”, “No way that just happened, that’s impossible”. It was that same feeling you experience when watching Superman and he flies in just in the knick of time to save the day. “Wow!” I thought, thank you for angel #5!
They finally got the compartment closed, skateboard and all and the rest of our flight was uneventful. Once we landed in Chicago while I was standing in the aisle I felt my heart tug me to turn around to see the gentleman who caught the skateboard. I turned around and there stood a familiar gentleman standing there just smiling at me. I smiled back as my heart cried out saying, “thank you!” but the words wouldn’t come out (that is a first for me! LOL) but I knew my heart spoke right to this kind gentleman’s heart somehow. Well, I kept smiling and squinted my eyes just a little thinking, I know him from somewhere. He continued to smile a very proud smile like he was so glad he could help. I turned around as the line began moving forward while we exited the plane and I recalled where I had seen him before, my jaw dropped. He was in one of my dreams a few weeks back, a dream where I had a team of angels helping me. He was one of the angels and was sitting in the row behind me just like he was on the plane today. I have chills as I type this! See there are miracles around us everywhere but are we looking for them? Are we asking God for guidance and believing He will send it? Or are we getting frustrated in situations missing all that is right in front of us? If I would have focused on all the challenges that day I would have completely missed all the guidance and help that was sent. I am thankful I saw past what the world was sending me and stayed focused on what God was sending me – it made all the difference.
May you see the miracles around you and may you live your life to BE THE MIRACLE, it’s up to you – Life’s waiting so what’s it gonna be? Blessings!
Much love to you all!
Sandi Rauwolf
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01.24.10
Posted in Challenges and Strengths, Faith, Inspirational, Personal Perspective, Self Reflection at 8:40 pm by Sandi Rauwolf
Last night Chris took down the snowmen that were lining our sidewalk with light going to our front door. They are solar powered but have switches that allow you to turn them off. The weather has been snowy and wet so he placed them on a white towel on the table to dry over night. This morning I walked downstairs fairly early. It was still dark outside and there on the table were the four snowmen. Three didn’t have their lights on but one little snowman had light shining really bright. My eyes immediately focused on the one lit up, he was so beautiful. I couldn’t take my eyes off of him.
He brought this beautiful, soft light to a dark room just being there on that table. He had a smile on his face and although he didn’t say a word, light radiated from every part of him. He brightened the room and made me smile. What a great thing to walk downstairs to this morning. I was sharing with Chris that I thought it was so neat how this one little snowman stayed lit up even though the others didn’t. He said it was lit up because its switch was broken. I said, “What do you mean?” He said, “Well there is a button on top you have to push to turn it off. That one you can keep pushing the button but it doesn’t turn off.” I thought that is a good word! Most people would think he’s broken but I think he is perfect! It’s our perspective that needs to be fixed, not him. He is exactly the way he is supposed to be; actually that little snowman is exactly how all of us are supposed to be.
People and things in life are going to push our buttons over and over again but if we continue to focus upward and keep going, our faith will grow and soon no one will be able to take away our joy no matter how many times our buttons are pushed.
I wanted to take a picture of these snowmen to post with my blog and something interesting happened. The three snowmen with their lights off were lying with their faces up and in a position that looked like they were standing. But, the one with the light, well no matter what I did to try and get him to face the same way as the others, he kept turning as if he was walking forward. Here’s the picture:
It amazes me how we can learn so much thru the simple things that surround us every day like these snowmen. A few things that came to my heart were:
1) We can make a difference by letting the light of who we were made to be shine without a single word. Be true to who you were made to be.
2) Our eyes are drawn to that light instinctively and as a result we look past the bad that may be surrounding us. It’s up to us if we leave our eyes focused on the one that’s lit up or the three that aren’t. Remain focused on the good – be thankful for what you do have and quit looking at what you don’t have.
3) People and circumstances in life will push our buttons but it is up to us if we will allow it to dim or turn off the light within our hearts. We have a choice to focus on how much our buttons are being pushed or to focus on ensuring at the end of the day we were able to stay true to who we were made to be (i.e. be the bigger person – not getting angry, bitter, judgmental, or saying/doing something we regret, etc.). Don’t focus on the person or thing in life trying to bring you down, focus on being who you were made to be and let God work on them.
Inner reflection – where’s your focus? Is it on the snowman lit up or on the three that aren’t? If you are in a place where you feel overwhelmed or want to better your life, I encourage you to begin focusing your eyes and thoughts on what is good. If you continue to look for the bad things then that is all you see (that gets exhausting and overwhelming), but if you choose to focus your eyes and mind on what is good then soon that is all you see. You then realize the truth – it wasn’t your circumstances that had to change, it was your perspective.
With much love,
Sandi Rauwolf
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09.13.09
Posted in Faith at 5:48 pm by Sandi Rauwolf
Beep, beep, beep … the alarm clock goes off and I sleepily open my eyes to see it is 4:30 am – time to get up and get ready to go cheer on Chris, Mark and Miesha at the Chicago Half Marathon. It was a beautiful day downtown. A perfect day for a race! As we were walking towards the starting area I looked up to see this gentleman with “Blind Runner” printed across the back of his shirt. He was accompanied by a lady runner at his side to guide him and help him during the race. My heart overflowed, I thought God bless him! So many people give up when they can no longer see what is ahead of them but he knew he could do this with his guide by his side. It came upon my heart how we all need to be like that gentleman especially when we are going through those dark times in life and cannot see what’s ahead of us. We must remember that we are never alone. We may feel like God isn’t there but He is always there, right at our side guiding every step. He steers us clear of danger or cheers us on when we have bursts of strength but He can only help us if we ask Him to guide us and if we listen to His step-by-step instructions (we never know when those pot holes of life will be in front of us but He does so if we listen, He can steer us clear of them).
How many people will blindly step forward to run the race? Can you say you would step up to that starting line not knowing what the course looks like, having no idea when the road will turn or how many times, and not being able to see where there is a pot hole that could twist your ankle taking you out of the race all together? Can you trust your guide enough to run the race?
I thank God for today. I was so blessed watching Chris, Mark and Miesha, as well as all of the thousands of runners, accomplish such an incredible feat! I am very proud of them for stepping forward to run the race knowing it would be hard work, knowing that it would not be easy and would even be painful at times but each of them remained focused on that finish line and how awesome it would be to cross it – every grueling step was worth all they endured!
Miesha – thank you for sharing the scripture that has been on your heart all thru training and the race today.
“Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles, and let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us.” Hebrew 12:1
So to all of you out there, each of us are called to be runners in the race of life. I encourage you to step up to the starting line and be that blind runner!
Blessings! Love to you all!
Sandi Rauwolf
Author, Blessings Too Good
PS I hope to post pictures to Facebook and In the Spirit of Love website soon so check back :) (www.inthespiritoflove.org)
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04.15.09
Posted in Faith at 4:48 am by Sandi Rauwolf
Last week my husband was blessed with corrective eye surgery. He has been a perfect candidate since the concept birthed but has been hesitant or shall I say more afraid of the “what if”. Although his vision was so poor, he literally could not see past his nose without glasses or contacts, he wasn’t convinced he should take the chance no matter how big the reward. With some gentle nudging from our eye doctor, he decided to have it done.
Friday morning of last week we headed downtown to the Kraff Eye Institute. He was so nervous but I kept encouraging him to have faith and to focus on how blessed he is for the opportunity. He just looked at me with that look of “I know, I am trying,” but then I could see the nervousness settle back into his face. He was trying so hard not to be nervous but it seemed to consume him with each passing minute while the clock ticked down to the scheduled surgery time. They then gave him a valium to calm his nerves a bit before surgery. He kept telling me how weird he felt. He had never had to take any kind of drugs before nor did he ever have to face a surgical procedure (at least not from the patient’s perspective Lord knows he has faced plenty of surgeries with me). He didn’t like it at first because he knew his sense of control was diminishing. Then I saw a look of peace beginning to crowd out the nervousness on his face. I couldn’t help but smile because this was the first time in the 19 years I have known him that I saw him completely relaxed. That peace only settled completely within him once he surrendered and realized that no matter how much he wanted to remain in control he couldn’t … then as if that very second, complete peace came over him.
It made me so happy seeing him that carefree because he deserves that kind of life. But that happiness didn’t compare to the joy in my heart as a result of knowing some day soon he will have that complete peace without having to take valium! It’s available for all of us! Over the last month, I have watched my husband open his heart and pursue a real relationship with God (Christ) – a true BFF kind of relationship. God was no longer just someone to call on in times of trouble or to say hi to once a week at church but someone he talked with constantly. See although he had faced so much thru my illness, he still had not pursued that personal relationship with God until recently and it has changed his life. I have always hoped for my husband to have peace inside but not from seeking comfort in anything from this world (like we all do at first) but to seek and discover the true meaning of peace with God. I sat there smiling at him being incredibly thankful that God allowed him a taste of what peace is like with Him even if the introduction was from a pre-surgical medicine (my husband could not comprehend that feeling because he had never experienced it before – well, until now and that taste was enough for him to seek more).
They walked him back or shall I say led him back because he was so carefree I think he would have just wandered the clinic taking in everything just as a toddler does when they take their first steps of freedom – an undiscovered world. The surgery was quick and went well. They instructed him to keep his eyes closed for the next few days allowing his eyes to heal. The valium was beginning to wear off and I could feel the tension settling back into his soul. My husband is a “doer”. God love him but he is use to taking care of everyone else and not letting others take care of him. I was beginning to wonder if the fact he would have to 100% rely on others instead of handling things himself would make him more nervous than the surgery. I knew either way, it would be hard for him to rely completely on us to help him.
The clinic is downtown Chicago so we had to work our way down a long hall onto a walkway over an atrium and to the elevators. I was holding his hand and guiding him every step of the way. As we started over the atrium, he hesitated. I said, “What’s wrong?” He said, “I’m scared. It seems as if there is this narrow walk with no walls and one wrong step and I could fall off.” As soon as he said that God pointed out to me how symbolic this whole process is to our walk with Him and especially in my husband’s own personal spiritual walk.
I shared with my husband that what he was feeling is what we need to do with God. It’s the moment we surrender control and allow God to take our hand and lead us, stepping out in blind faith, trusting He will guide our every step. When we can no longer rely on our own senses but blindly walk forward in Him … when we reach that point of being able to walk forward BLINDLY – without peeking, our journey truly begins.
The follow-up appointment the doctor told him he could open his eyes some times but to still try and keep them closed. As I guided him out of the office and to the elevators soon we were walking down State Street by Macy’s windows. Samantha was with us and such a good little helper for her daddy. She started getting so excited at the big beautiful, bright pink flamingo display in Macy’s window. She said, “Daddy, daddy you have to open your eyes to see the pink bird.” My husband was wearing special sun glasses so I couldn’t see if he had opened his eyes but based on the joy that came over his face and the tear that found its way out the bottom of the sunglasses I knew he had. Here we stood on State Street in Chicago sharing a moment none of us will ever forget. For the first time in my husband’s life he was able to see without glasses. It overwhelmed him so much at this incredible gift he had been given. To his eyes the image of this bright pink flamingo was like the most exquisite tasting dessert would be to the taste buds – magnificent! It took everything he had to close his eyes again. He said it was like seeing for the first time and he wanted to look at everything he could. I shared with him how wonderful God is and yet again how symbolic it is to our walk with Him. Once we are able to blindly walk in faith and the scales are removed from our eyes truly a whole new world opens up, one that is so incredible we didn’t realize what we were missing until we experienced it for the first time.
May you blindly walk in faith and allow your eyes to be opened to a whole new world – one that has been just past your nose all along and waiting for you to discover it. Love to you all!
Sandi Rauwolf
Author, Blessings Too Good
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02.24.09
Posted in 26, Faith, Forgiveness, Heart Tugs, Judging Others, Love, Personal Perspective, Simplicity, Thankfulness at 11:36 am by Sandi Rauwolf
1. LOVE GOD ABOVE ALL – Many ask me how? Just like any other relationship – spend time with Him (including “alone” time), talk to Him, desire to want to get to know Him better, turn to Him in all things (good and bad), be YOURSELF in your time with Him (do not be fake or put on a façade, He made you – remember?).
2. LOVE OTHERS UNCONDITIONALLY – Yes, that means no matter what they do, you continue to love. It’s easy to love those who love you but when you can love others who do not yet know LOVE that takes great patience, strength, and humbleness. Turning the other cheek is not a sign of weakness but shows more strength than any fist could deliver (think about how much strength and self control it takes to turn the other cheek when someone is mistreating you – that speaks volumes about who you really are).
3. HAVE FAITH THAT NOTHING WILL SHAKE – When we have faith and believe, truly all things are possible – ALL things.
4. PRAY, PRAY, AND PRAY SOME MORE – The power of prayer is so incredibly powerful especially when done in numbers so be quick to offer a prayer to someone and just as quick to ask for one.
5. LISTEN TO THE TUGS ON YOUR HEART – The tugs where you know you need to check on someone or you know you shouldn’t do something. Many call this intuition or a gut feeling but it is God guiding you. When you learn to hear His voice clearly and listen to the guidance, you will be able to make decisions in your life that are going to bring abundant blessings to you and anyone who crosses your path.
6. BE KIND TO EVERYONE – a stranger, a friend, and your FAMILY.
7. LOOK FOR THE GOOD IN ALL THINGS – When we focus on the bad, that becomes all that we are capable of seeing but yet are confused as to why we seem to be surrounded by nothing good. When we look for the good then all we see is good and that is when we can truly find joy in all.
8. FORGIVE AND KEEP FORGIVING – we are to always forgive and that means over and over again. Remember you cannot change someone, only God can change someone so forgive them and pray that God will start to change their hearts. Only He can change us from the inside out.
9. SEEK PEACE – do everything you can to live a peaceful life and promote a peaceful life. Peace means freedom of the mind from annoyance, distraction, and anxiety – when you find peace, you want to help others find it because there’s nothing like it.
10. BE HAPPY – only you can decide how you will react to a situation, no one else can decide that for you. So don’t let life overwhelm you but instead focus on having joy and clear your mind of anything that doesn’t.
11. HELP OTHERS, DON’T JUST SAY YOU WANT TO … ACTUALLY DO IT! – give unselfishly of yourself. The world needs it. When you go out of your way to help someone whether it is a simple act of kindness like leaving change in the pop machine for the next person, letting someone cut in front of you in line at the grocery store, or you go on a missions trip – the gift you receive in/for giving unselfishly could not be purchased with all of the money in the world. I guarantee this is one thing that no matter what you are facing in life, it will help restore your soul. It just feels good! Don’t make excuses like I am focusing on my family right now – when we make time to help others, think of the incredible example we are to our children without saying a single word.
12. IF A SENTENCE EVER STARTS WITH “Please don’t tell anyone …” THEN IT IS BETTER LEFT UNSAID.
13. LET YOUR YES BE YES AND YOUR NO BE NO – never allow yourself in a situation where you need to make up an excuse, or tell a lie – again, let your Yes be Yes and your No be No.
14. BE COMPASSIONATE AND EMPATHETIC – when we can truly put ourselves in another’s shoes, our heart becomes merciful and our actions kind.
15. KEEP YOUR WORD – if you say something MEAN IT and DO IT, that means you must be mindful of all that you say, words cannot be taken back. A person’s word should count for something so make yours count.
16. DO NOT JUDGE OTHERS – you do not know what they are facing in life or if they have even been taught love. What if you are the only love God has sent into their path so they can learn from you but instead you judge them and turn away?
17. SAY YOU’RE SORRY AND MEAN IT – when you make a mistake, apologize from your heart and mean it. Do not expect anything in return (another words do not take away your apology even if someone doesn’t offer you their’s).
18. RESPECT OTHERS – when you respect another person, your actions tell them you care about them as a person and that they are worth something – remember God loves ALL His children.
19. THINK BEFORE YOU DO – if something is going to cause you to lose sleep, bring harm/hurt to yourself or others then NO amount of pleasure or fun in the world is worth it and I don’t care how good it feels/satisfies at the moment. It will just leave you feeling empty and it IS poison to your soul.
20. WHEN YOU FACE TROUBLES PUSH THRU THEM – it is our tendency to turn and try to run from difficult situations but if we are facing them, there is a REASON we are facing them. I have learned those difficult times are meant to teach us an important lesson that we need to be taught. The next time you face a difficult time, ask God to show you what it is He is teaching you – is it unconditional love? Patience? Forgiveness? Faith? …
21. SEEK WISDOM AND KNOWLEDGE – pray for wisdom and knowledge, it is so important. God is waiting for us to ask Him to show us His way, to allow us to see things thru His eyes. So ask … when we ask for wisdom He will give it. Imagine having God’s Wisdom? Very powerful!!
22. DO GOOD – it’s a choice and again only we can make it, be eager to do good in this world. “Who is going to harm you if you are eager to do good? But even if you should suffer for what is right, you are blessed.” 1 Peter 3:13
23. DO NOT SEEK REVENGE – if someone wrongs you, forgive them immediately. Two wrongs do NOT make a right – so when you find yourself in a situation where you want to teach someone a lesson, give it to God instead otherwise evil becomes contagious and will spread destroying everything in its path. “Do not take revenge my friends, but leave room for God’s wrath for it is written, ‘It is mine to avenge; I will repay, says the Lord.’” Romans 12:19
24. RENEWAL OF THE MIND IS CRITICAL – anything that does not promote love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, peacefulness, gentleness or self control is not from God and should be pushed out of our mind as fast as it enters. “But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control.” Galatians 5:22-23
25. UNDERSTAND AND LIVE A LIFE OF INTEGRITY – I love dictionary.com’s definition of integrity. It is “adherence to moral and ethical principles; soundness of moral character, honesty.” When we renew our mind to living a life that represents integrity, we find a peace that is beyond our understanding. And although the world tries to convince us it is not possible to have peace in this life, we soon discover it obtainable and not so far outside of our reach after all. “…for it is written: ‘Be holy, because I am holy.’” 1 Peter 1:16
26. WE LIVE LIFE TRYING TO FILL THE EMPTINESS IN OUR HEARTS WITH EVERYTHING EXCEPT THE ONE THING THAT WILL COMPLETE US AND THAT IS GOD.
I felt guided to share 26 things life taught me (versus any other number) because of the biblical significance of that number. In my last blog (titled 26 :) God led me to research the biblical importance of numbers. At the time, I had no idea that the Hebrew and Greek language (which are the two languages the original text of scripture was written in) are different from the English language in that each letter of the alphabet has a numeric equivalent. It is actually where 666 being equal to the anti-christ comes from – interesting, huh? Anyway, the number 26 represents the personal name of God. His name is stamped on everything including our hearts and minds. Once we open our hearts and minds to Him, He is able to begin teaching us His language. The parable in my last blog was this … 26 letters form thousands of words – literally infinite possibilities of creation once you know the language. So, 26 representing the name of God opens up infinite possibilities available to us once we learn His language – that is powerful!
I’m sorry for not getting this posted sooner, life has been so busy but in a GREAT way. I have had multiple radio interviews and am very excited that I have been invited to be a guest speaker for the Count It All Joy Women’s Retreat in Freemont, IN on 03/14/09. Following that I am booked to be on Celebration with Marcus & Joni Lamb on DayStar TV (www.daystar.com) out of Dallas, TX on 04/14/09. You can check my upcoming events on the Upcoming Events tab from my website www.blessingstoogood.com. I’m putting together multiple seminars and workshops as well to help others have a blessed life now – it is so exciting!
God never ceases to amaze me at all that He will do for us. The blessings that are waiting for us once we open our hearts and minds to Him (and learning His language) are unending and better than we could EVER imagine!! I’m pretty confident that most could use a few blessings in life right now so may you open your hearts and minds, seeking Him more than you ever did before so He can begin to pour His love and blessings into your life.
Love to you all!
Sandi Rauwolf
Author, Blessings Too Good
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11.21.08
Posted in Blessings, Challenges and Strengths, Faith, Why at 11:26 am by Sandi Rauwolf
We have all heard the saying “everything happens for a reason”. What exactly does that mean? How do you answer the question “How could there be a reason for a baby to die or a good person to suffer from a horrible cancer?”
First, we have to understand that God can turn all to His greater good no matter how horrible a situation seems. In Jeremiah 29:11 we know God has plans for each of us. “’For I know the plans I have for you,’ declares the Lord, ‘plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.’” So when I hear someone say “everything happens for a reason” – well to me that translates into, “I trust God completely in all and that includes trusting Him with my life in the good times AND the bad!”
We never know how many lives are impacted by a specific situation or what lesson we are being taught thru the adversity we may face whether it is to us personally or a loved one.
Do you realize that the world’s most highly effective causes were founded as a result of suffering and loss? A mother’s loss of a child to a drunk driver (MADD), a 34 year old young lady facing breast cancer (National Breast Cancer Foundation), a diagnosis of a horrible disease (Franklin Roosevelt was diagnosed with polio and started the March of Dimes, to research and help polio victims. Twenty years later a vaccine was developed and the program then partnered into helping the cause of birth defects). The list goes on and on. In each of these examples God took one person’s suffering and worked thru it to save/help the lives of millions. We never know what God will do but we can trust there is a bigger plan for our lives than we realize. God is good!
But if God is so good, why is there evil? God did not create the world evil, remember after God created everything in HIS own image the Bible tells us “God saw all that he had made and it was very good.” Genesis 1:31. Then Satan came in and used a little bit of truth to deceive Eve into convincing Adam to eat from the forbidden tree. Once Adam did, it was the fall of man and introduced pain, suffering, etc. into the good world God created. Thus forever more sin became part of man and why He sent us His son to free us of that sin. Sin is what brought pain and suffering into the world. Sin is caused from evil, not good.
Okay, so you get now that sin is what caused the evil in the world but then the question comes up AGAIN, “Why would a loving God allow this to happen to His people?” In addition to trusting there is a big plan and God can turn all to His greater good, we also need to appreciate the gift of adversity and what it brings. As Paul describes in 2 Corinthians 12:10 “…For when I am weak, then I am strong.” Think about how powerful that statement is! :) Do we not get thirsty only after we have gone without water? When we face all that we do in life, those things make us THIRST for something bigger, something better out there – that is when we often begin to find our way to God. We face difficult times and face adversity to mature spiritually thus becoming complete. What a blessing – what a JOY! “Consider it pure joy, my brothers, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith develops perseverance. Perseverance must finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything.” James 1:2-4
I know the things I have faced from that hospital bed over the years made me thirst for more. What about you – are you thirsty?
God bless!
Love,
Sandi
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