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"Today Matters!"

4/28/2016

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"I cannot take this day back, Lord, Thank You for it all. I look toward a new day tomorrow in You. Let me seize it for Your glory. In Jesus's Name - Amen!"
-When I'm on My Knees Devotional

What's your goal for today? Do you have plans for making today matter?

My day today started out rough. I am one week out from a major surgery,  my mom's health is deteriorating and our family is faced with some significant decisions that need to be made about how to best care for her - and the list goes on and on and on.

When I was diagnosed with an aggressive type of breast cancer in 2009, I was reminded of how fragile life really is and how important it is to make each day "matter" especially when we are faced with difficult situations, challenges and decisions.

A precious young girl that I love deeply recently shared that she was considerting suicide - that her life didn't have meaning and purpose and that she had no worth or value. How does this happen to a beautiful, healthy, talented and gifted  young person with her whole life ahead of her?  What brings anyone to such a place of despair and hopelessness?

We spent several hours together talking about why she wanted to give up on life and it became obvious that she was suffering, that she was grieving the loss of someone she loved and that there didn't seem to be anything in her life that mattered anymore. I listened intently, I let her talk without judging her or preaching to her and before long she realized that she was confused, reeling and hurting from the loss and she found comfort in being able to finally pinpoint what was troubling and crippling her. Our conversation seemed to somehow miraculously bring light into her darkness, because in a matter of a few hours, she shifted her focus from ending her life to beginning again with renewed hope and purpose.

I believe that each day brings possibilities and challenges, and each day is a blessing in Christ, as we have the opportunity to begin again with a renewed perspective and that these words are true "This is the day that the Lord has made, let us rejoice and be glad." Psalm118:24. Believing and standing firm in agreement with these words to be truth, we can therefore "begin again" with God's provision and guidance, and I want to be intentional about making each day matter, how about you?

Rejoicing and glad for this and everyday,
Angie "a mom like you"
www.amotherlikeme.info
amotherlikeme@gmail.com



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"A Fresh Start"

4/27/2016

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What does it mean to experience a "fresh start?"  Does it mean that we can go back to where we started and have a do-over? In a way, the answer is "yes!"

For me, to  have a fresh start requires a personal decision to not linger too long or dwell in the past, but rather to be intentional about looking forward with renewed interest and hope for tomorrow.

How many times have you sensed that you needed to begin again? To start over? Do things differently? When you have wanted to give up, quit or cave into heartache, disappointment and despair, what did you do to keep on going?



The human spirit is likened to that of our Father God's, because He has created us to not just survive, but to persevere and live triumphantly. When I remind myself that I am a "new creature in Christ" with access to God Almighty, then I am able to pick myself up and begin again with a refreshed outlook, courage and hope.

 I never want to be stuck in the past, or waller in self-pity or hopelessness, because that would mean that I have given up something of my inheritance in Christ, for which He paid the ultimate price that I might have a "do over" whenever I need it. And, the same is true for all who have received the blessed gift of redemption and salvation in Christ Jesus our Lord, as He tells us, "I AM the only One to bring the miracle in you," and I believe and have experienced this to be absolutely true!

I pray constantly that I will never lose sight of what it means to have a fresh outlook on life, as I turn each page of the story of my life. When I focus my attention on beginning again, I am encouraged, inspired and motivated to reach for what lies ahead, rather than lingering too long in the fields of yesterday.  I am thankful for and passionate about life, because I have learned how fragile and short it really is, and I thank God that with and because of Him I can begin again; renewed, strengthened and empowered by His Holy Spirit!

Do you need a "fresh start" today?

With Faith, Hope and Love,
Angie "a mom like you"
amotherlikeme@gmail.com
www.amotherlikeme.info





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Who's In Control?

4/16/2016

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Next Wednesday, I face another opportunity to experience God's peace that "surpasses all understanding," as I trust Him and my plastic surgeon who will do a third post-mastectomy breast reconstruction surgery. 

I share this not for attention or sympathy, but in anticipation of what I know will be a blessing, whether or not the outcome of the surgery is all that I hope it will be.

My plastic surgeon is an amazing doctor who I trust completely, because I know that he trusts God first and foremost above his own giftedness and skill as a surgeon. We share a mutual faith that God is in control and that it is He who is the great physician and ultimate healer.



Am I worried about the 3 hour surgery and 12 week recovery? Not all all. Not because I am incredibly brave or clueless about what's ahead, but because I look ahead with faith that just like the previous 6 breast cancer related surgeries since 2009, God's plan is for "good," even if things don't always go the way I think they should go. I have learned through the years that being anxious, worrying "and trying to do everything myself" doesn't change a thing, it just robs me of God's blessed peace. 

In reflecting on this past Easter season, I was once again reminded that God's "resurrection power" is in me, because I have given up control and accepted His gift of eternal life and indwelling peace, so what's there to worry about? Nothing at all!!! 

How about you?  Who or what is controlling your life? Are you a worrier - distressed and depressed? Are you trying to do "everything yourself?"  Won't you join me in giving up control in exchange for God's peace?
 

At peace and allowing God to be in control,
Angie "a mom like you"
www.amotherlikeme.info
amotherlikeme@gmail.com



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    These blog pages are written by and for moms who have suffered the loss of a child.

    May the reflections and expressions of mothers' hearts be a source of comfort, help and encouragement and may you, like these moms, accept God's great exchange as "He gives beauty for ashes, joy for mourning, praise for the spirit of heaviness . . " Isaiah 61:3

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