05.11.10
Posted in Believe, Heart Tugs, Inspirational, Love at 8:46 pm by Sandi Rauwolf
A simple truth poured into my heart last week that I want to share with all of you. We currently live in a busy society with the mindset being that if we are not keeping our minds and hands busy at all times, then we will risk being passed over, have missed opportunities or be labeled an “under” achiever. Yes, it is important to keep our minds and hands busy but at what cost? A small voice within my heart posed this question,
“Does the brain or hands have any hope of working without the heart beating?”
I paused in awe at the deep meaning of that question before I answered,
“Well, no.”
“So the entire body whether it is the head, the hand, the feet or the mouth are entirely useless without the heart?”
“Yes, completely useless!” I say as chills run thru me.
This has so many meanings, here are a few: 1) We need to step back and ensure our heart is centered where it should be – putting God first, our family and then the rest of life, 2) The body (i.e God’s children – that’s us! :) has no hope of succeeding if we continue to neglect the heart (i.e. God’s heart, His Love that we are to receive and share with others by living it), and 3) when we have pure hearts filled with unconditional Love that is the foundation needed to ensure the rest of the body gets everything it needs to have Life.
On the way to my mom’s on Sunday for Mother’s day, Ty and I were having a great talk as we often do on family road trips. I shared with him what had dropped into my heart last week and how it is time for God’s heart to come back to the earth. During our conversation I had a heart tug to look out the window and up to the sky. I couldn’t believe what I was seeing. I said, “Ty do you see what I’m seeing?” He said, “Yes, wow – you have to take a picture!” So I hurriedly grabbed my I-Phone from my purse and took this picture (God and Ty are my witnesses that this photo is original and has not been doctored in any way):
What do you see?
Let me crop it into a couple pictures.
Look again … now what do you see?
I see a left-hand holding a heart in the palm of its hand. Wait, there’s more – let me crop the bottom of the picture.
What do you see?
A Heart!!!
If you look closely at the first picture again, you will see the left-hand with the heart in its hand on the top. You then look to the center of the photo and it ‘s as if the heart was released and imprinted part of itself thru the cloud it fell thru.
And on the bottom of the screen you see the heart floating down to earth.
I am still in awe because that summed up all I have been feeling in my heart. God truly is extending His hand releasing His Love upon the earth. It’s up to us what we do with it.
I have to wonder if anyone else saw this beautiful writing in the sky on Sunday. I feel blessed for seeing Love in everything but to see it written across the sky was a Mother’s Day gift that I will always remember.
May your life be filled with the ability to see Love in all things and to understand that …
“Although it is good to keep the mind/hands busy at work, if we neglect the heart then the mind/hands have no hope of succeeding”.
I am thankful for this Word He poured into my heart last week and pray it blesses you as much as it has me.
With much Love to you all!
Sandi Rauwolf :)
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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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12.13.09
Posted in Christmas, Heart Tugs, Inspirational, Judging Others, Love, Special Needs at 8:04 pm by Sandi Rauwolf
This weekend we were headed out of town for our annual trip to Indy to see Santa at the Zoo. The last two years I promised myself I would buy some warm boots so my focus wouldn’t be on the icicles forming on my toes but instead on the Spirit of the season. So before we headed out of town, we stopped at the store to buy some boots for me. As I was taking off a pair of boots and placing them in a box, I felt a tug on my heart guiding my eyes up and towards the beginning of the shoe aisle. I looked up and saw a mom walking down the aisle with her little girl’s feet on her feet. Her tiny arms were stretched up with her hands held tightly by her mom’s. Every step the mom took the little one was able to take a step with her. The girl’s hair was blonde and hung over her face as she looked down at her feet.
I finished putting the boots in the box and as they walked closer I felt my heart overflowing with so much love. The tug on my heart then said, “Look closer.” At that moment, my eyes met the eyes of this precious little angel. She had the most beautiful blue eyes you could ever imagine. I stayed knelt down and began talking with her, “Hi honey, what’s your name?” The little girl tried to form the words to say her name but couldn’t. Her mom then softly responded, “Her name is Jenna.” I said, “Well, it is great to meet you Jenna. You have a very special soul, you know that?” I could see her eyes light up and her mom said, “Yes, she sure does.” Jenna then began to point to her left shoe all excited. I could feel her heart communicating directly with mine. It felt like I was living her excitement right along with her. I said, “You are excited because you got some new shoes.” Her mom then said, “Well, she actually only had to get a new left one.” Although the girl couldn’t speak, our hearts were able to communicate perfectly. The love and excitement that filled my heart and the store from this little angel was amazing.
I asked Jenna, “How old are you honey?” Her mom then said, “She will be 18 this Saturday.” I said, “Wow! Eighteen that is great. I hope you have a wonderful birthday and a lot of fun!” I couldn’t stop smiling just feeling so much gentleness, kindness, and love from this little angel. Her mom said to me, “Thank you so much for talking to her that was really nice of you.” I hesitated for a minute and thought why wouldn’t I talk with her then at that very moment it was as if I could see her thru the eyes of how most people in the world saw her. This little angel had a disorder of some type that prevented her from growing like other children. She was the size of about a 1 ½ year old. She was going to turn 18 years old Saturday, not 18 months. She could not walk on her own. She had no teeth on the top and a few scattered teeth on the bottom, spaced out and growing in every direction. Her skin was tight like leather so the bottom of her eyelids were pulled down as if someone was intentionally trying to make a strange face by taking their fingers and pulling the bottom of their eyelids down. My heart swelled. I smiled at her and said, “No, thank YOU for talking with me. This little angel just made my day today. The world needs to be filled with more hearts like hers, it would change the world.” Her mom smiled really big and I could feel Jenna’s heart smile even bigger. I felt something inside of me change that day as if the love from that special little angel brought my heart to an even higher level of love. I didn’t do anything special, I just saw her for her heart and not for her circumstances.
I was then reminded how important it is that we see people for their hearts and not what’s happening on the outside. If we can see every person as the love that is within each and every heart (no matter how buried it may be) then soon the world will be filled with hearts like Jenna’s.
It reminds me of a story I once heard about a new teacher. She was given a list of her students and noticed they all had their IQ scores to the right of their names. She thought, “Wow! What an opportunity to teach such bright kids.” She met each one of them and saw them for nothing less than the IQ scores that she saw by their names each and every roll call. At the end of the first quarter the principal called a meeting with her. She was asked how she is obtaining such great academic achievements with these students. She told them it wasn’t her at all but thought it was brilliant to put such highly gifted kids in a class together. The principal looked at her puzzled. The teacher went on to share all of the things the students were doing, their progress and what she expected by the end of the year. She said, “Thank you for sharing their IQ scores with me. It was a great help having them noted next to each student’s name.” The principal looked at her and said, “Those aren’t their IQ scores but their locker numbers.” The teacher looked at him in amazement. He then began to share with her that she had been given a class full of children who had been struggling with grades and behavior issues. They had never taken interest in school and actually none of the other teachers were able to reach them because they had so many issues. She was shocked because she had never had a problem with any of the children. The principal said what she had achieved was remarkable.
The powerful lesson about this story is the only thing that had changed was someone’s perspective. The new teacher believed in them and saw the good in them. As a result, amazing things happened … each kid became who they were meant to be.
I want to encourage you to see each person for who they were meant to be by looking into their hearts and right past any outside appearance or circumstances. When we decide to change our perspective to see only the good within others, we then can experience the same gift of peace and joy as felt thru hearts of angels like Jenna. Who’s the Jenna in your life?
With much love!
Sandi Rauwolf
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05.26.09
Posted in Heart Tugs at 9:44 pm by Sandi Rauwolf
A couple of weeks ago Chris and Ty headed to Michigan for a Lacrosse tournament (Way to go Chiefs – they came home undefeated!) so Samantha and I found ourselves having a “girls” weekend! We had fun doing things that big girls do together – out the door we went. Samantha with purse on shoulder and baby in tow, she gently secures her baby into an extra car seat while strapping the little doll into safety. “We’re all set, Mom. Let’s go!” she said. Way too cute! All so the world could see that she was grown up enough to be mommy for the day. Her precious little 6 year old innocence was contagious! It was carefree, loving, worry-free … the kind of life we are meant to have – one of such peace. But yet instead of realizing this beautiful gift of Life she had been given, this sweet little soul wanted so desperately to leave that innocence all so she could please the world by “fitting in” proving she could be grown up! If she only knew she would spend the rest of her grown up life trying to go back to this priceless, peaceful state that was flowing from her inner-being and filling the room.
It brought to mind this scripture …
“But Jesus called the children to him and said, ‘Let the little children come to me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of God belongs to such as these. I tell you the truth, anyone who will not receive the kingdom of God like a little child will never enter it.’” Luke 18:16-17
This scripture has multiple layers of meaning but tonight I couldn’t help but think about it this way … children are so trusting, innocent and pure in heart. The world has not yet tainted their hearts or their minds. They operate in complete trust and love! They don’t even know how to think any other way other than knowing their parents will provide every single need that they have. They know the one place where they feel secure and loved is in their Father’s arms. They receive that love openly and joyfully and then return it right back to the world! They haven’t yet gone thru experiences teaching them to feel they don’t deserve the love – instead that love is all they know. It is the very thing they count on and turn to for comfort. That love then over flows from their hearts into the world – to all of those around them without a hesitation because they have not yet realized that this beautiful gift of love is not openly received by all … that some day they will find themselves consciously determining when the love will flow and to whom; I mean after all we can only show love and kindness to our friends and family – right? We have to be safe! We don’t know if some person will take it wrong or get angry for us invading their “personal space”. They do not yet know rejection so they give and receive love freely from a pure heart.
We can learn something from these precious little children. When was the last time we were able to give and receive love freely without worrying about offending someone or having someone think that we are strange or that we are only being nice because we want something? Well, I want to share with you a neat little story about that beautiful Saturday morning with our daughter.
Samantha insisted on going to McDonalds for breakfast which never happens – lunch, dinner of course! We have seen our share of McDonalds across America but breakfast? We have our favorite breakfast place that we always go to so a request to go to McDonalds was a shocker to say the least. I asked her a couple of times to ensure that was where she wanted to go. She kept saying, “Yes, Mommy we need to go to McDonalds.” I thought, “Need?? Hmmm” So we went to McDonalds for breakfast and sat in the Playland area. We had a nice breakfast together but she quickly drank her milk. “My a thirsty little one today,” I thought so I went to get her more to drink. As I walked thru the door exiting the Playland I see this older couple walking up the sidewalk and entering the door. The husband was so gentle and kind getting the door for his wife as she pulled an oxygen tank behind her with the plastic tubing securely tucked behind her ears. I could feel her soul was heavy and then suddenly felt as if her mind was entertaining the thought of how she felt like a slave to this tank. It seemed as if it surfaced additional thoughts that she was nothing more than a burden to those around her. It’s as if I could hear her saying “they would all be better off if they didn’t have to fuss with me so much.” My heart swelled with compassion for her. I wanted to cry – I remember all too well feeling like I was that burden to others for years during my illness.
I purchased Samantha’s drink and began to walk back to the Playland. The couple was nestled in at the table right before the Playland door. I glanced over at her and at that exact time she looked up. I wanted to spread the love from my heart with the innocence of a six year old so a large smile formed across my lips and I said, “Hello! How are you doing today?” She looked at me and smiled and said, “I’m okay, thank you” and watched me walk by into the Playland.
Samantha ran over and downed the drink so fast I was wondering where this little thing was putting it! She asked me if she could have more – this was very unusual! So I turned to go back to get her another drink. I couldn’t believe that within a few minutes the line had formed so quickly – actually was so long that I found myself exactly even with their table. I felt God say to me, “Turn and offer her another smile.” So that is what I did! I turned and she was looking right at me. I smiled and she said, “Miss, do I know you?” So I stepped out of line and over to talk with her a minute. I said, “No, I don’t think so.” She said, “Well you were so friendly and kind saying hello, asking how I was so I thought I must know you.” I replied, “No, but isn’t that so true. We live in a society where instead of it being the norm to offer a smile or a kind word, it is rare and almost only exchanged between people who know each other.”
Well that led into a great conversation. I was able to share with her that I had faced some health challenges myself. I shared one of the miracles God had sent me and she was in tears. I could see the weight she had been carrying lift from her soul. I saw hope in her eyes that I’m guessing hadn’t been there for some time. God made it clear for me to give her one of my books so I gave her my phone # and email telling her I’d be happy to send her a copy of my book for free if she wanted one. I said, “I know you don’t know me so I understand if you don’t feel comfortable giving me your address.” I barely got the words out and her sweet husband said, “Give her the address Joan.” It just so happend that they lived within 10 minutes of our house so I drove a copy over to her house later that day. After dropping it off, I could not help but to let the love flow out of my heart! Actually I couldn’t have stopped it even if I wanted to! What a gift God had given me all because our beautiful daughter listened to that heart tug about going to McDonald’s for breakfast and for her contagious way of sharing love with the world.
May you love with the innocence of a six year old. Love to you all!
Sandi Rauwolf
Author, Blessings Too Good
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03.30.09
Posted in Heart Tugs at 12:05 pm by Sandi Rauwolf
On my journey of faith, God continues to reveal more and more each day. It’s amazing all we see and hear once we believe in Him. The scales are removed from our eyes and the fluid removed from our ears so we can clearly see the world thru “His” eyes and clearly hear His voice with nothing clouding or muffling His Word. He is pushing us to a new way of understanding, a new way of thinking! He encourages us to seek Him and love Him with all our hearts and souls.
“Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength.” Deuteronomy 6:5
Once we do, it is amazing what He can do in our lives! He is teaching us how to stand on solid ground – the real rock! Once we have this understanding, our entire life will begin to change. It will cause us to go back and re-read our Bible. It did me – the more He shows me the more I read and re-read!
It started with Him reminding me of my journey. While I faced all that I did throughout my illness I kept receiving miracle after miracle. I didn’t realize until later the specific message that God would be sending thru me. Well until God took my hand and walked me back to those times and asked me these questions:
“Sandi, did you have a church?”
“No, Lord,” I replied.
“Sandi, did you have a religion?”
I replied, “No Lord, I wasn’t practicing one.”
“Sandi, did you read your Bible?
I replied shamefully, “No, Lord I did not.”
“What did you have?”
“I had complete love in my heart for you Lord,” I replied.
“What else?”
“I had unfaltering faith in You,” I replied.
“And what else?”
“I had prayer,” I replied as tears filled my eyes, chills came over me and a smile formed across my lips.
For so long I was shameful because I wasn’t going to church, practicing a religion or reading the Bible but God kept blessing my life. So my story is a different one – one that isn’t talked about often. It’s a story about a person who had complete love in her heart for God and for others, unfaltering faith, and prayer!!! I was not guided in life by religious rules but by what I have always called “heart tugs”. I was not taught the Word of God by the Bible, by any man, by any church or specific religion but by God Himself. This was a realization that I could not wrap my head around for many months because it required a renewal of my mind … a completely different way of thinking. A thinking that is very different than what the world has taught us.
After He pulled me out of impossible situation after impossible situation He led me to a church where week after week I would sit in awe seeing scriptures on the screen matching the very things on my heart that guided me all of those years. But God how is that possible? NO ONE HAS TAUGHT ME! He then told me, “Child, I have taught you and will continue to teach you but you have to listen to my voice.” I still didn’t understand but kept trusting Him and praying He would bring me clarity so I could share His secret of blessings with the whole world. The more I hungered and thirsted for His Word, the more clarity He brought me. He continued to bless my life more and more and also convicted me when I didn’t listen to that heart tug. I learned real fast that when I listened to His voice (those tugs on my heart) and did things “His” way, that He poured blessings into my life – talk about amazing GRACE!
He showed me that His laws are written right on my heart and mind so they are within me. They follow me everywhere I go instructing me (and convicting me!) every single step in life. It doesn’t matter if I live in a country where I can’t practice religion or have a Bible in my hands because He, the greatest teacher, will teach each of His children His laws when we believe in Him and love Him with our whole heart and soul! The Word of God is written right there within us so no man nor anything from this world can ever take it away from us. He then led me to scripture to back up what He was teaching me. Here are a few:
“I will put my law in their minds and write it on their hearts.” Jeremiah 31:33
“He who belongs to God hears what God says.” John 8:47
“Now what I am commanding you today is not too difficult for you or beyond your reach. It is not up in heaven, so that you have to ask, “Who will ascend into heaven to get it and proclaim it to us so we may obey it?” Nor is it beyond the sea, so that you have to ask, “Who will cross the sea to get it and proclaim it to us so we may obey it?” No, the word is very near you; it is in your mouth and in your heart so you may obey it.” Deuteronomy 30:11-14
Again He continues to awe me at how wonderful He is and all He does for us once we believe in Him. He continues to show me how critical it is that we learn to listen to His voice and that His Word has been here all along but no one recognized Him. So He then came to walk the earth in the flesh of Jesus (God being the spirit Christ within the flesh of Jesus) to show us how to Love, to show us how to live so we would recognize the spirit of truth.
I think every religion recognizes and agrees that Jesus Christ was the greatest teacher but since Christianity has become a religion, many look the other way because it doesn’t sit right on their hearts that people claiming to be Christians are showing everything but unconditional love. Instead many are condemning others (including Christians towards Christians), pointing fingers, and judging. Many also say that they aren’t Christian because it doesn’t sit right on their hearts that a loving God could send someone to hell who has never heard about Jesus Christ. So what’s important to understand is that God came here to teach us how to do things “His” way and that is Love. Jesus was not liked by the Pharisees because He listened to God to deliver Love and compassion even if it meant breaking their laws like healing on the Sabbath. He came here to teach us and to give us the most precious gift of salvation (freedom from the law of sin) leaving us with the Holy Spirit for all who believe in Him. That Holy Spirit, the spirit of truth, is the law on our hearts and minds, the mighty Counselor – His law (His voice, the heart tug) dwelling within us reminding us of what Jesus taught. The word “truth” in the original Hebrew context (Hebrew being the language the first scripture was written in) means “divine instructor” – that is powerful!
“And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Counselor to be with you forever the Spirit of truth. The world cannot accept him, because it neither sees him nor knows him. But you know him, for he lives with you and will be [fn] in you.” John 14:17
“Unless I go away, the Counselor will not come to you; but if I go, I will send him to you. When he comes, he will convict the world of guilt in regard to sin and righteousness and judgment.” John 16:7-8
This Counselor allows all who hear and believe to have eternal life.
God’s voice (Word) – those heart tugs that will guide us, is the true rock for which God is building His church on that Hades will not overcome. Jesus told us this when He asked His disciples who they thought the Son of Man was and Peter replied correctly with knowledge only God Himself could have taught him. He heard God’s voice.
“When Jesus came to the region of Caesarea Philippi, he asked his disciples, “Who do people say the Son of Man is?” They replied, “Some say John the Baptist; others say Elijah; and still others, Jeremiah or one of the prophets.” “But what about you?” he asked. “Who do you say I am?” Simon Peter answered, “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.” Jesus replied, “Blessed are you, Simon son of Jonah, for this was not revealed to you by man, but by my Father in heaven. And I tell you that you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of Hades will not overcome it.” Matthew 16:13-18
When we go to the Bible without a relationship with God first, it becomes a religious book that Satan uses to turn us away from God and each other (i.e. religious denominations, all of the wars on religion, division between His children) but when we seek Him first with our whole heart and soul, when we listen to His voice (His Word within us – the real “rock”) the Bible comes to life and teaches us more than the words written on the page alone could ever teach because we are able to see and understand the “truth” thru Christ’s eyes … a true blessing to all who read it.
I am not telling you to throw out your Bible or go live a life filled with sin, what I am encouraging you to do is to love God with your whole heart and soul – believe in Him so you can hear His voice clearly and PRAY ABOUT IT asking Him for wisdom. He will bring you understanding and guide your every step. I know first-hand that the spirit of truth will convict you of any wrong doing but it will also bless you more than you can ever imagine when you listen to His voice – the Word of God right within you … those “heart tugs”.
God bless you – 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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01.02.09
Posted in Believe, Blessings, Heart Tugs, Thankfulness at 4:26 pm by Sandi Rauwolf
I hope your holidays were filled with blessings! This Christmas God sent me another very special gift (and I didn’t think it could get any better than Christmas of 1998!). It started with Him opening up the door for me to appear on FamilyNet’s Mornings with Lorri & Larry on December 23rd. My son, Ty, asked if he could come along with me to the In Touch Ministries Studio in Atlanta (that really touched my heart knowing he wanted to share in this moment with his mom). Our flights were booked for Monday night. I had worked all day and barely finished up the things I needed to get done before the holiday. The stress of work combined with the hustle and bustle we all get into around the holidays didn’t allow a single second of relaxation. We rushed off to the airport to make our 5:30 pm flight. We left the gate a little late and arrived in Atlanta around 9 pm. The Atlanta airport is huge! I couldn’t believe how big it was. Ty asked if we could walk to the baggage area (5,000 ft away – ughh!) I was wearing 3 inch heeled boots (something I am use to since I am married to a 6 ft. 3 in husband!) so I said why not – God has blessed me with the ability to walk so let’s do it! Well I had no idea just how FAR that would be but we did it. It was an hour and a half before we got our baggage, rental car and arrived at the hotel.
As we walked into the hotel, Ty looks up at the huge beautiful lobby surrounded by marble and water fountains. He turns to me with a smile and said, “You really made it, Mom.” Tears filled my eyes and my heart – well, it was overflowing. God is amazing!! I had hoped to help one person and look what He was doing. He is just TOO GOOD!
We were starving so we dropped off our luggage in the room and headed straight down to the hotel restaurant. It was open for about 20 more minutes – thank goodness! We were greeted by an incredibly, kind man. His nametag read “Work”. I said “Work?” He explained he had that done as a conversation starter. Brilliant, I thought! He said, “So you are here visiting family for the holidays?” I said, “Actually we are here because I am an author and scheduled to be on the Mornings with Lorri & Larry show tomorrow morning.” A big smile formed across his lips and he said, “Yeah that is a very popular show down here – so you are a believer?” I smiled back and said, “Yes, I sure am!” We started talking about the book and some of the things God has done in our lives. He was a kind spirit with a huge heart for God. It was obvious he touched every life God sent into his path just by who he was. He was so positive and excited about life. He understands that each minute is a gift and to cherish it!
I then felt God tugging on my heart to give a book to him. I had packed some to bring to the studio so asked Ty if he would get one out of the room for me. He did and I signed it handing it to Work. He was so thankful! The excitement of others to my story surprises me each time :) I mean after all, it’s just me! I’m no one special, just a normal person who God guided to write a book. He tucked the book under his arm and carried it around. He seemed to cherish this special gift. I saw him talking with another gentleman. He then showed him my book and pointed over to our table. The two of them then walked over. Work wanted to introduce me to William. “It’s a pleasure to meet you, William” I said as I reached out my hand to shake his. William and Work have worked together for some time. William asked me what my book was about so I started sharing some things God has done in my life. He then began to share some pretty big crosses he had to bear himself including losing his marriage and almost losing his life! Challenges that brought him to his knees but He then quickly shared how thankful he was for those times because they led them to God. “Amen!!!” I said as I smiled. We began to share how thankful we were for the adversities and challenges we have had. Can you imagine? There we stood, both of hearts overflowing with gratefulness for all of the DIFFICULT times that we had faced in our lives. Why? Well because now we understand how critical those times are to strengthening our faith and maturing us in our walk with God. It was just another testimony to how adversities make us realize that in weakness is when we are strong because we have no strength left of our own so GOD IS OUR STRENGTH. “… For when I am weak, then I am strong.” 2 Corinthians 14:10
William said good-bye as he went back to finish his shift. Work then brought our check and shared with me that in all of the time he has worked with William, he had no idea he was a believer. I smiled thinking how amazing God is! There are no coincidences in life – not with God! I sat there thankful for how God connects people. How he connects the dots in life. How something as simple as a kind gesture of a stranger has now connected two believers, believers who can now help each other along their walk with Him. And, once again how important it is we listen to that tug He puts on our hearts because we never know how it may change the life of the person crossing our path. We headed back to the room to get some sleep – it was late! As I drifted off to sleep, I said a prayer to God thanking him for the gift of being able to witness His hand in connecting two of His children!!
I’m sorry, I know this is getting lengthy but I feel God wants me to share all of this with you :) …
The next morning, we headed out around 7 am. The studio was BEAUTIFUL! Security let us in and I was again overwhelmed with thankfulness. He led us to the make-up room and showed us where we could help ourselves to beverages and snacks. I sat in the chair while the make-up artist touched me up for the show. Is this really happening? I mean, am I really sitting here in Dr. Stanley’s studio? Amazing! We then headed into be part of the studio audience to watch the show until it was time for me to go on. (Lorri & Larry have such a wonderful show bringing inspiration and touching lives around the world. I was thankful for the opportunity of meeting them. I encourage you to tune in or be part of their studio audience if you are ever in the Atlanta, GA area)!
We were going live in 5, 4, 3, 2, 1 … There I stood on LIVE TV sharing the wonderful things God has done in my life with millions of people (they simulcast on both TV and satellite radio)! Lorri & Larry are WONDERFUL!! They were so kind and genuinely excited about my book. I had to fight back the tears … to think that just 10 years ago I was in a hospital bed fighting for my life, praying for a miracle and the realization overcoming me of just how far He has brought me – blessings that are truly “too good”!! There is NOTHING that He cannot do!
They announced they were opening the phones for viewers to call in to receive a free copy of my book, Blessings Too Good. My stomach dropped for a moment, “what if no one calls in?” I said a silent prayer in my head. I then looked down to see the phone lines lighting up! I cannot even express how good my heart felt knowing God was reaching this many people. The last call that came in was a woman who had been fighting an illness for 3 ½ years. She said she was in tears watching the show and was so thankful for the special gift God sent her that day in hearing my message. That single moment, I felt as of the world stopped and my soul was basking in a feeling of euphoria. Nothing fills every space of your heart like those kinds of moments from God!
God reminded me yet again that we cannot even comprehend all that He has planned for us. It’s more than I could have ever imagined!! And here I thought there could not be a gift more special than the gift He sent me 10 years ago at Christmas. “’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.” Jeremiah 29:11
May you seek Him in ALL things this New Year 2009 with a faithful heart knowing that He has a plan for YOU just BELIEVE!!
Love to you all!
Sandi Rauwolf
Author, Blessings Too Good
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