A Few of FR's Finest....Every Day....05-12,13,14-06....T.G.I.F. at the Finest

Billie

[luvie]

(((hugs)))...we can all use prayer in our lives. Stay strong.

[MEG33]

I think sharing it with all of you and typing out my prayer helped give me strength..I know there are strong prayers in this good company.(((Hugs.)))

[luvie]

I pray that your daughter gets some relief. She is very brave to be going through all she has been.

[MEG33]

She is very brave indeed.

[The Mayor]

May 13, 2006

Leader Or Follower?

READ: Luke 5:27-32

[Jesus] said to him, “Follow Me.” —Luke 5:27

A close friend asked Gandhi, “If you admire Christ so much, why don’t you become a Christian?” It is said that he replied, “When I meet a Christian who is a follower of Christ, I may consider it.”

But isn’t that what a Christian is supposed to be—a follower of Christ? Joe Stowell, former president of Moody Bible Institute, wrote in Following Christ: “Many of us live out our faith as though [Christ] exists to follow us. We come to believe that Christ exists to satisfy our demands. . . . This disguised form of self-serving religion sets Christ up as just one more commodity in life that will enhance and empower our dreams.”

When Jesus called His disciples to follow Him, He meant that He would do the leading and directing; they would do the following (Luke 5:27). Like the disciples, we must give up our will, obey Him, and choose to “lose” our lives for Him (17:33).

Without too much thought, this might sound simple. But in reality, it is impossible to do on our own. Only by choosing each day to let go of our own plans and by trusting the Holy Spirit’s leading can we cooperate with His work in us.

This is God’s way of teaching us to become His submissive followers instead of the leader. —Anne Cetas

Because Christ is the One who holds
The key to all our needs,
We can release what we hold dear
To follow where He leads.  —Sper

To lead others to Jesus, you must first learn to follow Him.

[Excuse_My_Bellicosity]

060510-N-5330L-794 Norfolk, Va. (May 10, 2006) - Master-at-Arms 3rd Class Matthew Kaczynski, assigned to Inshore Boat Unit Four Two (IBU-42), mans his .50-caliber machine gun during a Naval Coastal Warfare Squadron Four (NCWS-4) demonstration at Naval Amphibious Base Little Creek. The squadron's primary mission is conducting anti-terrorism and force protection in harbors and coastal waterways overseas. U.S. Navy photo by Journalist 3rd Class Matthew D. Leistikow (RELEASED)

060510-N-6901L-144 Guymria, Iraq (May 10, 2006) - Iraqi girls wave national flags just given to them by Iraqi soldiers at a school in Guymria. Coalition Forces visited the school for a Community Health Outreach Program (CHOP) that delivered much needed medical assistance to the town's residents. U.S. Navy photo by Photographer's Mate 1st Class Michael Larson (RELEASED)

060509-N-0191T-026. Atlantic Ocean (May 9, 2006) - A rescue team from the amphibious transport dock ship USS San Antonio (LPD 17) approaches the recreational boat Denise Marie in an attempt to help the crew restart the boat's engine. The small craft had drifted without power 50 miles off shore. San Antonio was transiting back to her homeport Norfolk, Va., after attending Fleet Week USA 2006 in Ft. Lauderdale, Fla. U.S. Navy photo by Journalist 3rd Class Anthony C. Tornetta (RELEASED)

060510-N-9621S-032 Caribbean Sea (May 10, 2006) - An S-3B Viking assigned to the "Checkmates" of Sea Control Squadron Two Two (VS-22) refuels another S-3B Viking, during routine flight operations from aboard the Nimitz-class aircraft carrier USS George Washington (CVN 73). George Washington Carrier Strike Group is currently participating in Partnership of the Americas, a maritime training and readiness deployment of the U.S. Naval Forces with Caribbean and Latin American countries in support of the U.S. Southern Command (SOUTHCOM) objectives for enhanced maritime security. U.S. Navy photo by Photographer's Mate 3rd Class Christopher Stephens (RELEASED)

[LadyX]

"I think sharing it with all of you and typing out my prayer helped give me strength..I know there are strong prayers in this good company.(((Hugs.)))"

It truly is so that we are instructed to pray for one another, and here at the Finest we indeed follow that.

It is wonderful that Our Father has gathered many together here for mutual understanding and caring. Every heart and need is lifted up, asking the Holy Spirit to be in the midst of each situation. The power in that is so uplifting!

Only with Him present can we get through life's stumbling blocks and setbacks - all the undermining work of the one who with (temporary) power on earth, seeks to separate us from God.
Learning to yield and trust and allow Him to see us through is often difficult, but when we walk in strong trust and faith, He we can see He is there.

In all things, The Timetable is His.
As many here know, a kidney biopsy in December 1985 on me revealed diabetic glomerulosclerosis - gradual thickening of the kidney walls so they become unable to filter wastes. It is "progressive and irreversible," and the prognosis then was poor...probable dialysis and death within two years.

I then worked at Moses Cone Hospital in Greensbro, NC, and the physician who had cared for me for 3 years told my husband that from what he knew of me and saw (with extremely brittle diabetes as well), to expect to bury me within one year - and more likely, 4 or 5 months.
The nephrologist who did the biopsy and became my Primary Physician scheduled me to receive the biopsy results on a Friday the 13th in the late afternoon... hmmmmm.. it so happened that morning my m-i-l in Florida passed away. [double hmmmm..]

Having been in and around medicine a long time, and having researched in the hospital library what he was looking for, the outcome was the same for all 3 possibilities.
Okay - also knowing how hard it is for a physician to give a patient bad news, I stopped him as he gave me the name of The Problem. He was about to say all he could do was "hold my hand while I went down the tubes," and I interrupted him to say I understood the course, but knew The Great Physician and rested in His Timetable - and meant it!

The truth is God had just 3 weeks before dramatically removed from me the Spirit of Fear, and I truly and totally accepted His Will for me.
Since I worked quite visibly with the entire hospital in my position, including coffee privileges in the Physician Lounge, God used me to show the professionals a thing or two! He has a wonderful sense of humor, keeping me *in their face,* going like Energizer Bunny 9 more years before He put me out to pasture to rest!

Count it up - the biopsy was 20 1/2 years ago.
He still had and has things for me to do.

The prayers of those here at The Finest have genuinely been felt in a very tangible way, and I cannot thank you enough for their sustaining power...

Meg, we lift up your precious family - and you - in this stressful time, knowing Our Father hears every prayer.
May He sustain each one of you, infusing in you His grace and peace.
Amen.

[MEG33]

Thank you, LadyX, for your prayers and strength.

[LadyX]

"Only by choosing each day to let go of our own plans and by trusting the Holy Spirit’s leading can we cooperate with His work in us."

The Daily Bread had not yet been posted when I wrote my Reply #87!
It reinforces what I learned - we must consciously get out of His way and allow Him to guide our course...

Blessings to you, Your Honor, and to all...

[The Mayor]

Amen..

[MEG33]

GOOD NEWS!! Praise God ..Everything looks good..They just returned..It was a nuclear dye test..Praise God! Thank you Lord Jesus. Thank all of you. Hugs

[Texagirl4W]

Hi, Miss Billie. You've outdone yourself this time. This is such a beautiful picture of Ms. Bush. She is so beautiful and a wonderful speaker. I'll be keeping this one. Thanks for sharing.

[The Mayor]

Great news Meg! Thank you for the update.

[DollyCali]

Oh meg, wonderful news it seems! PTL Indeed. Keep us posted.

I just worked outside for a couple hours. The heavy rain that cancelled the orienteering outing this AM, never seemed to have materialized (at least here) & it is sunny now.

[MEG33]

Thank you,Dolly!I have no details..just the doctor's opinion that everything looked good...Have a good weekend and don't work too hard!

[LadyX]

Oh, dear Meggsie - I circled to check the thread before I went outside to *play in the yard, planting flowers,* and am thrilled with this very Good News!!!!!

Thank you, Lord, for hearing our prayers - -

I will praise Him as I decorate His already beautiful world!

[MEG33]

Thank you..!

[DollyCali]

Well where are my manners? Here is it Saturday afternoon & I have yet to thank you for the weekend thread. As usual I appreciate you opening the doors with the thread, lovely pledge & our First Lady gorgeous in red.

This are my 2 favorite outfits of hers in red(I cannot find my good stash of Laura in the gown from Inagu 2001):

[Majie Purple]

Oh Meg...Count me in as one whose praying re: these concerns... H*U*G*S for you & yours.

[MEG33]

Thank you Majie The news is good.