“Therefore He says, Awake, O sleeper, and arise from the dead, and Christ shall shine (make day dawn) upon you and give you light.Look carefully then how you walk! Live purposefully and worthily and accurately, not as the unwise and witless, but as wise (sensible, intelligent people), Making the very most of the time [buying up each opportunity], because the days are evil.”
(Ephesians 5:14–16 AMP)
tannngl 
That’s what you call, claiming a Scripture.
LikeLike
That’s what I’m doin!
LikeLike
My claims change almost daily….God always provides a verse that I need so long as I take the time to do my.personal devotions
LikeLike
That’s great. Mine is more a present situation. Stagnation. I’ve taken steps…
LikeLike
Oooh, can you share… so that are very personally mine too? 😀
LikeLike
ugh. ” so that THEY are very personally mine too?”!! 😀
LikeLike
I’ve been pretty much in a rut. Mom is weaker and weaker. I think it’s the cancer that she ‘might’ have that has made her horribly fatigued. It’s so uncomfortable for her and yet she tries with my encouragement to come out to the kitchen for meals. But I’m doing a lot more for her…
I’ll have to admit to some depression. I haven’t been leaving the house, afraid to leave her, since she came home from the hospital in June. I’ve been out perhaps 4 times.
But I watch my husband come home from work in a great mood and then working outside on some of the things I haven’t been able to do lately. I’ve been a little jealous that he sees people, interacts, gets his ‘pats on the back’ for doing the great job I know he does. So, in a way, I have been asleep. I know I haven’t been showing the fruit of the Spirit…I’m irritable, moody. It’s been hard for me.
But I know I’m taking good care of mom. She is the 4th person I have cared for at home. Hubby’s brother came here to die with his colon cancer. His mom stayed with us while his sister was in the hospital. And of course my dad. I moved them both in with us when he needed more care than mom could give him. We tried so hard to get him back to health but it wasn’t going to happen. He died here with mom and me by his side.
Now, mom.
But God has told me to AWAKE!
There is no reason that I can’t display that Spirit gifted fruit: Love, Joy, Peace, Patience, Goodness, Kindness, Gentleness, and Self Control.
Because the days are so evil. I must walk close to Jesus, in his Love and Redemption and make the most of every opportunity I have to tell others in our godless world that Jesus came to save.
A few months ago I bought 20 copies of ‘The Gospel of John’. Each is only a dollar. I ordered them from here: http://www.ptl.org/?utm_campaign=invite_friends&utm_source=hs_email&utm_medium=email&utm_content=10059503&_hsenc=p2ANqtz-_T-QnlJTGHmtAcX6wmp6uLN9IRPWsRvgx0sp60hmOUMQBupXk8O-FG-SNN3UY2OVWea0MqoGNT73ikobAmsckS2wAJqA&_hsmi=10059503
I had planned to give them out to my bank teller, checker at the grocery, others and give them to my grand kids to pray about them and give them to their friends. 2 of the kids just weren’t sure about doing it. But my grandson took 2 and planned to talk to his youth minister about how he could hand them out. I still have mine in my purse and haven’t done anything.
So, it’s time! Awake!
(for me)
LikeLike
AWAKE sister… so that you can see the blessed hand of God at work as you do His Will by caring for your Mom!! ((HUGE HUGS)) I know that hug is not ‘the real thing’, but please accept it with agape from me to you! To everything there is a season, and He gives us hope and blessings even while we are in the valley… so awake and experience His compassion and comfort during this time! 🙂
I am struggling as well… completely different circumstances, but struggling and YES it is time to awake! Lately, when I find myself falling, I start singing… I AM WEAK, BUT THOUGH ARE STRONG… JESUS KEEP FROM ALL WRONG… I’LL BE SATISFIED AS LONG… AS I WALK, LET ME WALK, CLOSE TO THEE… JUST A CLOSER WALK WITH THEE… GRANT IT JESUS IS MY PLEA… DAILY WALKING CLOSE TO THEE…. LET IT BE, DEAR LORD, LET IT BE!
God bless you and yours dear sister… time is drawing nigh
LikeLike
ugh. I really need to proofread. *sigh* thou not though
LikeLike
I do that a lot in comments. I fully understood what you said.
LikeLike
Love that song. Thank you.
LikeLike
First of all, I pray that your Mom.
I dealt with my own mother and cancer: I can commiserate all too well.
As for you, I pray that you find the strength and courage, daily, to bear the burdens which have been given to you right now, tannngl. You have strength in Him which will see you through…. as I KNOW you’re aware, far better than I.
Praying for your spirits to bubble and burst forth in joy:
you’re doing God’s work, quite literally.
LikeLike
Thank you JRT. I am very thankful for that prayer for us. And thank you for your encouragement. I remember that your mom had cancer too. Seems to our family’s disease of ‘choice’.
These blogs sometimes giver me some time away from the troubles.
LikeLike
Aaaaaarrrrggghhhh: first sentence should have “for”, not “that”.
No clue what happened; I assume my Android decided to ‘correct’ my spelling again.
It’s mighty helpful that way…..
😀
LikeLike
I know! And when you post comments, you can’t start over or correct on another’s blog! But I knew what you were saying. Thanks!
LikeLike
What a blessed calling you’ve been given. To be a calming, gentle, godly presence in the lives of those preparing to leave this world is truly a gift. True, it is also a lot of work, and I hope you aren’t saying, “Oh, if she only knew…”. That’s not God speaking, by the way.
The character traits this is developing in you are beyond imagining. You’ve grown much, and will continue to do so. When all is said and done, there will be a deep sense of joy at all that has been worked into you as you’ve served others. After all, Jesus said that to keep our lives, we must lose them. There’s no better way to lose ourselves than in faithful service to others.
It’s not easy to watch the pages fly off the calendar while our lives are seemingly on hold. They are not. Out of this time of “treading water” will be borne a ministry the likes of nothing you ever imagined. Wait for it, it will surely come.
Thank you for sharing this today. I also attend those who are dying, although we’ve only had my father-in-law live with us when he was on hospice. He improved so much that he was able to return to his home and live there for another three years. He passed away only a few weeks ago.
As I read your story, I realized that I was angry with God. The word, “robbed” came to mind. I was forced to split my time between caring for my family at home and my mother (who was in the hospital) during the last month of her life. We did not expect her to leave us.
She was always too busy to spend much one-on-one time with me. I was scheduled to care for her during the weeks following her heart surgery. She was only able to remain at home for a few days before complications began and she had to be hospitalized again. From there it became a nightmare. I felt…robbed…there is no other word…of the time we were supposed to finally have together. I’ll need to talk to the Lord about that.
Today I’m providing hospice care for a sweet godly woman who will be leaving us soon. I give her all the care I wanted to give to my mother. I’ve seen the brusque, insensitive care of her wound nurse, and she deserves better service than that.
It’s also an opportunity for me to provide support to her daughter. I know the anguish of watching your mother die, the exhaustion, the pain of impending separation. I can share with her the things I’ve gleaned from my own experience, strengthen and encourage her in ways others can’t. I feel honored and blessed to be invited to be a part of this season of their lives.
Ah me. I have no idea why I felt the need to share all that with you. Thank you, though, for uncovering an issue between God and I. One that I didn’t realize was there until I read your story.
May the Lord’s presence overwhelm and comfort you every day. May His face shine brightly upon you, giving all the peace you need. May you hear Him whisper, “Well done, dearly beloved.”
With much love,
Tami
\o/
Praising Jesus who gives us peace!
LikeLike
Thank you so much for that comment, Tami. I read it last night.
My mom has gone to be with Jesus, my daddy and my brother just last night. I think I heard the happiness up there.
But my heart is breaking right now. I kissed her goodmorning first thing every morning and I kissed and hugged her good night every night. We were kind of joined at the hip for over 5 years. I need the Lord’s joy right now.
I’m so glad that what I wrote might have been some aid to you. God bless you, Tami, in your ministries.
RA
LikeLike
Dear sister:
My heart aches for your loss. May the Lord so enfold you with His love that you’ll remember the nearness for years to come.
It may not seem like it, but this is the beginning of a season with the Lord that is like no other in all of your life. Five years from now you will look back and be astonished at the changes and the growth that has taken place.
I “coped” with my loss by imagining what my mom was doing…was she sewing quilts for all of us with heaven’s finest fabrics? Was she dancing in the fields with Jesus? I knew she was getting acquainted with my siblings – over 17 that had all miscarried, and one that died shortly after birth.
From there, I began to “decorate” my home with Jesus’ help – asking for moss carpet (no more vacuuming), flowering vines for walls (no more painting or scrubbing hand prints), open spaces instead of windows (no bugs bugging or burglars “burgling.”) If the stones would have cried out, that means they CAN cry out…so He and I designed my own “rock” band in the back yard! (I love music!)
It all sounds really silly, but it ended up being excellent food for thought. After all, what DO you think we’ll be doing a million years from now? This line of “imaginational” license given to us by the Lord (more than eye has seen, or ear heard, or has entered into the heart of man…this is what the Lord has prepared for us…to me this says, use your wildest imagination. You won’t come close, but you’ll sure have a lot of fun.) kept me from losing my mind.
After while, you’ll find yourself Homesick, and this world will lose much of its grip on you!
Mmm. “This mortality shall be swallowed up by life.”(2 Corinthians 5:4) Now there’s a promise we can take to the bank.
How I wish I could be there to give you the warmest hug you’ve ever received. May the God of all comfort make His presence known to you in the days and months to come.
With all my love,
Tami
\o/
LikeLike
Oh Tami, your post gave and continues to give me peace. Someone at the funeral home said the same thing to me on Thursday! That the Bible doesn’t give us a whole lot of description about heaven, we probably wouldn’t be able to understand it anyway. But we should use our imaginations to think about it and what it will be like. And whatever we imagine is still inferior to what will be!
You’re a sweet sister in Christ’s body and I sure thank you for that post. I felt your love.
LikeLike