Rest for the Weary

Just a quick thought for today:


God gives rest to the weary and joy for the sorrowing.  Reference is Jeremiah 31:25 New Living translation.


If you are weary today or full of sorrow, God has just what you need.  Trust and have confidence in Him to lift you up and fill you with His joy.


Blessings......

Trip to Uganda -- Part 2

Here is more of the ongoing adventure that Judy shared with family and friends as she now has time to recollect and put her thoughts into some structured memories of her trip to Uganda.  Please enjoy them with me. 

"Here is  my account of my travels to Africa. The 1st and 2nd pics are of downtown in Kigali. RW where Halina and I went to buy lunch food. Before entering the mall we had to go through security. The last pic is of giving out shoes at the orphanage. Judy

 

 

 

 

Part #2 of Uganda Adventure

Traveling the Friendly Skies is full of surprises! Thankfully after the suitcase incident things are a lot more fun. I get a big laugh at myself when we board the plane for Brussels in DC and I enter the seating area. Wow! It looks like a lounge. Big cushy seats and lots of leg room! Now where is my seat….the numbers end at #10 and I am bound for #3. I ask the seated passengers where the rest of the seats are and they look at me strangely. Am I in the twilight zone or what? Then I turn red realizing that I am walking through first class. It’s time for Judy’s education to begin. Too long stoking the home fires. Off to Brussels! My seat mate is a sweet lady who needs encouragement and before the flight ends we pray together about her concerns.  A dream comes true. I am in Europe craning my neck to view the beautiful scenery and longing to see more. However it’s only a 4 hour layover and to my chagrin as soon as we land I am whisked off to our remote terminal. Three places to eat and nothing to see. My breakfast is the filling of a sandwich (I am gluten-intolerant) and an orange for 20.00 US. My change is in Euros. Feeling tired now; one more leg to go. We board a Brussels Airline plane to Rwanda. I enjoy hearing French spoken on the PA system and the delicious French cuisine. Much better food than on US flights. At last I sleep a couple of hours. My butt is killing me….too much bone and not much fat. I am here!! In Africa! Is this for real? Down the stairs we go carrying hand baggage and I wishing I had not packed so much reading material, etc. Over bumpy uneven sidewalks and up stairs and finally to the bag pickup carousel. The airport looks gloomy, old and in need of updating. Kinda reminds of the way things looked in the US about 50 years ago. Yes, I am old enough to remember though I don’t know when these years came on me. I should still be about age 30. In my dreams. The baggage comes and we head outside to meet our ride to the motel. It is night and the air is smoky. People burn wood to cook in this nation, that is Rwanda, and in Uganda as well. The ride doesn’t show, phone calls are made to the Guest House but the ride still doesn’t show. Other taxi drivers are eagerly assessing us and one assures us we will fit in his car. Five people with 12 bags between us. I think not. Two taxis are filled and off we go for the ride of our lives. The taxis glide over the bumpy streets filled with people, bicycles, motorcycles and cars. Our driver’s name is Innocent. He’s not the only one we will meet by that name. Nearing our motel we see a dim image of a man riding down the street in a wheelchair. I do mean the street as there are no real sidewalks. At last we reach the Dream Apple Guest House and bed! Halina and I share a clean room with two double beds and a bath. Lock the doors we are told and use your mosquito nets. First a shower. How to turn it on? We figure it out. The plumbing is old and strange. The sink water must be turned off and on underneath the sink. There is a big step-up when you first walk into the bathroom. Don’t miss this in the middle of the night! Sleep comes at last. Breakfast is hard boiled eggs, bananas, and pineapple. Good thing I have stashed some nuts. The motel owners are Indian as are most business owners in this corner of the world. They employ the natives. After breakfast I email Fred to tell him we have arrived safely. The it's up town with a Rwandan friend of the Dobbs to buy lunch food. Our ride coming from Uganda is running late. (That is, African time) We will eat lunch here before leaving for Uganda, another 3 hour drive. I’d better wind this up for now!"

Trip to Uganda -- Part 1

It's been quite awhile since I've had the time to add more posts to this, my second blog, as I've spent most of what little time I have to the first one, Ivegotconfidence.  Subsequently, you have missed out on some very interesting and exciting "stuff" that I've been sharing on my Wordpress blog (http://ivegotconfidence.com/) that I would now like to share with those of you who enjoy IvegotconfidenceTwo.  Please feel free to access the other blog for many other photos and a blow by blow, day to day description of life in Uganda.

My dear friend Judy, an old friend of many, many years, was able through an incredible coincidence and opportunity travel to Uganda to meet and share her love of Christ with orphans, school children, parents and caretakers, and partake of the life that is Ugandan for the month of October.  Although I was able to share much of her trip through her Facebook posts, photos taken by her hosts and others, and emails, she is now home and able to write down all of her thoughts and feelings and share her own pictures of her trip.  This is the beginning of her accounting of an incredible, eventful, and at times unnerving trip to a land very far away from our beloved America.

The photos below are of the people she traveled with and the wonderful people with whom she stayed and lived with for a month ... and yes, the children, so precious!

"Hi again!

As time permits I am going to write up my whole adventure and send photos as well. These first pics are of our travel and first visit with the children. Not all of the children pictured are orphans. Some attend the school that is associated with the Twinumjuni Children's Home. I hope you enjoy my account about this life changing and wonderful opportunity to serve God in a small way in a very needy nation. It was a great honor to live in an African home and experience life on a day to day basis out of my comfort zone. Again I say, we are blessed to live in America. On landing in Washington DC I wanted to fall down and kiss the ground. Everything looked sparkly clean, the customs agents were friendly and respectful and business took place in an orderly fashion. And I found real food to eat!!
Picture #1 is of Halina Muller, Rick and April Dobbs and myself at SMF, #2 is in Brussels, #3 is in Kigali, RW, #4 is the Dream Apple Motel in Kigali with the Dodds, #4 is downtown in Kigali and the rest are of the children.

More to come, Judy  

 

At the beginning of my journey……God answers a cry for help!

It’s time to board the plane for Washington DC! I am on my way to Uganda!! At last, I am soon to become a world traveler. Oh no, there is a glitch. The baggage compartments are full and I am told to give up my carryon. What?! This can’t be. I am going to Africa and all of my emergency and essential items are packed in this small bag. Besides my purse/bag carryon is stuffed already and I cannot squeeze in another item. The United Airlines staff tells me to take out what I absolutely need. That’s everything. I pull out my blanket and blowup pillow and try to think, what else might I need if my other baggage does not come through. My mind is blank; they tell me to hurry up. The tears fill my eyes and I say to myself, please God, help! Out of my mouth pops these words, “but I am going all the way to Africa!!” I hear a quiet discussion amongst the workers and then a friendly smiling man says, “You can keep your carryon and we’ll find room!” And they do. Many thanks to my God!! As always He is so good. My friends however give up their suitcase and do not see it again until Africa."

 

Ever Wondered How to be Happy?

I know social media is the "in" thing nowadays and I do "partake" daily of some of its offerings, but occasionally it brings sad, maddening, disgusting things to light, besides all of my friends' events and pictures, likes, comments, etc. of course, and it's kind of a bummer.   Today though, I ran across a video that had a unique title, so I fell for it and was pleasantly surprised by the content.  You may wonder why I share it because it seemingly has nothing to do with God, as is my usual offering on this blog, but it seems to me that sometimes, things in the world just prove what He has been trying to say to us through His Word for centuries and He has to bring it out through a "scientific" venue, to make anyone listen.

Please take a few minutes to watch...I promise it'll have a positive impact in your life for a little while anyway, and maybe even longer!

Discover How to be Happy

Along the lines of gratefulness and thankfulness and the effects they have on us, I'd like to share a scripture with you that exemplifies why God wants us to be thankful.

"As He went on His way to Jerusalem, it occurred that [Jesus] was passing [along the border] between Samaria and Galilee.  and as He was going into one village, He was met by ten lepers, who stood at a distance.  And they raised up their voices and called, "Jesus, Master, take pity and have mercy on us!"  And when He saw them, He said to them, Go [at once] and show yourselves to the priests.  And as they went, they were cured and made clean. [Leviticus 14:2-32 talks about lepers and cleansing]  Then one of them, upon seeing that he was cured, turned back, recognizing and thanking and praising God with a loud voice; And he fell prostrate at Jesus' feet, thanking Him [over and over].  And he was a Samaritan.  Then Jesus asked, "Were not [all] ten cleansed?  Where are the nine? Was there no one found to return and to recognize and give thanks and praise to God except this alien?"  And He said to him, "Get up and go on your way.  Your faith (your trust and confidence that spring from your belief in God) has restored you to health."  Luke 17:11-19  The Amplified Bible

Here we have 10 guys walking along the road when they spot Jesus.  They know He's been called a miracle worker so since they have a deadly serious illness that causes parts of their body to decay and fall from their bodies, it had to be worth a shot to see if Jesus would help them.  Fortunately for them, Jesus took pity on them and following God's direction healed them all.  But, they still had to use their faith by following His instructions to go to the priests to declare they had been healed in order to activate the healing.  Many of them had lost fingers, toes, ears, and other body parts, but now the disease was no longer ravaging their bodies to do further damage.

As they walked, I'm sure they talked amongst themselves about this miracle happening to them, but only one of them, a Samaritan--lowliest human on the social ladder in those days, scum of the earth, felt that he wanted to say a personal thank you to the One who gave him such incredible mercy.  When he returned to thank the Master, Jesus wanted to know where all the others were.  Were they not grateful as well?

As Jesus acknowledged the man's faith, confidence in God, and thankful heart, He said that his actions had put into motion a complete and total healing in his body.  All the parts that had been missing from his body because of the disease, had been recreated and he was made "every whit whole."

So, nine guys went away healed of the disease but were left for the rest of their lives with missing parts because they didn't consider it important enough to say thank you.  The one who was willing to show his gratefulness went away completely whole.

Happy?  Yeah, you bet he was happy!

What about you?  Are you happy?  Well, if you could use a little more happiness in your life, take a tip from the Samaritan.  Go to God and thank Him for everything...hot running water for your morning shower, food to eat, clothes to wear, a roof over your head, and so on and so on.  If you don't have everything you want in life, tell him you're thankful for that too.  There's a good reason we don't get everything we want sometimes.  He knows some things aren't good for us!  Or, we need to mature a little before we can handle some of the things He wants to entrust us with.

Check your Happy-O-Meter...if you need more happy...give appreciation, be thankful.  You'll be amazed at what God will do!

A View into the Heavens

Below is an inspired comment by my dear friend, Doris, who one day, hopefully, will offer some of her own insights on having confidence in God on this very blog, or one of her own making.  For now, I will share just this much because I could not have said it any better. 

"This image just takes my breath away and Helen Keller's words here take on an other-worldly significance. In the words of my youth..."it blows my mind" and I think that's a good thing. My God is so much greater than the image of "a kindly old man" sitting on a throne in Heaven. My God, through His ineffable love and omnipotent (((and yes, I said omnipotent...I would not worship a being without the power of creation in His very hand))) and majestic power, has given me all I need to live the life He has planned for me. I only limit that fact by my own hesitation and earthbound fears. I'm learning that there are far more open doors than obstacles in life...but I must step out of the confines of my own making...and I must step out in faith."  Doris H.

"When one door of happiness closes, another opens; but often we look so long at the closed door that we do not see the one which has been opened for us." Helen Keller

God is an awesome God and to think, He cares about you and me, and even things as insignificant as a tiny sparrow. That, too, "blows my mind".

Think Like A Donkey!

Ran across this story on Facebook and thought it held some good advice..thought you would like it too!

How did this happen?

One day a farmer's donkey fell down into a well. The animal cried piteously for hours as the farmer tried to figure out what to do. Finally, he decided the anim...al was old, and the well needed to be covered up anyway; it just wasn't worth it to retrieve the donkey.
He invited all his neighbors to come over and help him. They all grabbed a shovel and began to shovel dirt into the well. At first, the donkey realized what was happening and cried horribly. Then, to everyone's amazement he quieted down.
A few shovel loads later, the farmer finally looked down the well. He was astonished at what he saw. With each shovel of dirt that hit his back, the donkey was doing something amazing. He would shake it off and take a step up.
As the farmer's neighbors continued to shovel dirt on top of the animal, he would shake it off and take a step up. Pretty soon, everyone was amazed as the donkey stepped up over the edge of the well and happily trotted off!
MORAL : Life is going to shovel dirt on you, all kinds of dirt. The trick to getting out of the well is to shake it off and take a step up. Each of our troubles is a steppingstone. We can get out of the deepest wells just by not stopping, never giving up! Shake it off and take a step up.
Remember the five simple rules to be happy:
1. Free your heart from hatred - Forgive.
2. Free your mind from worries - Most never happens.
3. Live simply and appreciate what you have.
4. Give more.
5. Expect less from people but more from yourself.
You have two choices... smile and close this page, or pass this along to someone else to share the lesson

I Wanna Fly!

There comes a time when each of us will have the opportunity to meet our Maker, I suppose, but some seem to have that chance far sooner than we would like, at least too soon for those of us who are left behind to live out our lives a little longer without them.  For Tami, whose story we shared some time back (see http://ivegotconfidence.com/ or http://ivegotconfidence.wordpress.com/), that time came almost two weeks ago.  Her mother, my friend Doris, wrote this on her Facebook page on that day:

Tami: "Mama, will we be able to roller skate in Heaven?"'

Me: "I don't know honey...Why do you ask"

Tami: "Well, when I'm on my skates, I feel like I'm flying, and when I go to Heaven, just in case I don't get my wings right away, I'll have... my skates...so...I'll still get to fly...right?"
Tami: "Mommy, can I swing in Heaven?"

Me: "I guess so...Why"

Tami: "Cause I wanna fly."

 

I guess you've got your answers now sweetheart.  It occurs to me that you have always wanted to fly, Tami, and tonight you're flying free and unfettered by Cancer, pain or sorrow.  You've seen His face, you've sat at His knee and you've basked in His healing touch.  Go fly, baby girl...you just go fly all you want!!

 

Tamara Anne (Last name withheld by author) : June 3, 1971---August 19, 2013

 

Although it's been many years ago that I met Tami as a little girl, I'll never be able to forget her.  I was not privileged to meet her as an adult, and don't know if we'd have been good friends or not, but she'll always be a treasure in my heart, one of God's little jewels.  She touched my heart then as she still does today.

I'm sure her meeting with her Lord and Savior, Jesus, was a glorious one...filled with lots of hugs and joy, laughter and giggles, and maybe even some roller skates and a swing with her name engraved on them.  I'm also thinking, based on her free spirited behavior as a child, that her guardian angel will have heaved a great sigh of relief knowing that he finally got her to her final resting place in one piece!

While she waits for the rest of us to finish our course here on Earth, she will have the joy of learning all about everything she's ever wondered about.  Questions will be answered, sorrow and pain will disappear and her body will be whole, as God intended from the beginning when things were clean, new and sinless.


Although I missed watching you become the beautiful young woman you were and are in Heaven, I want you to know you were a blessing to me and I'll see you on the other side!  Rest in God's wonderful Peace sweet Tami Anne.
For those of you who would be interested in helping Tami's family bear the mountain of financial obligations they face, please feel free to find out more by accessing the following link:  http://www.gofundme.com/3va7xs   Any amount you wish to donate will be gratefully appreciated, I can assure you.
 
God bless you!