HOW TO DEAL WITH LOSS

A few years ago we hit hard times and had to cut down expenses. I cut back our TV service which meant we lost all but about 5 channels. My roommate Jane said, “Carolyn, I gotta tell you, I’m really having a problem with getting less channels. I miss not having baseball.” At that moment I realized that the loss of anything is like the death of it and as long as we live on this earth, grief and loss are realities. So how can we deal with them in the most positive way?

Trying to ignore the loss of something or someone is just as devastating as letting ourselves get overwhelmed by it. It’s better to face the loss head on and admit to it. We especially need to acknowledge our emotional reactions, speaking them out loud, even writing them down; to answer the question, “How do I really feel about all this?” Most people know we have to give the grieving process time before we can move on.

Sorrow is universal. There’s plenty of studies on it, but still much to be learned about how it works, how long it takes, and the effects it has on a person. The one thing we do know is that it’s a process and it varies with situations and people.

We can see from the Bible different examples of grieving. Signs included tearing one’s robe, weeping, having disheveled hair, putting dust and ashes into one’s hair or shaving the hair or beard. Other indications of sorrow included wearing black or sad-colored clothing, removal of ornaments or neglect of person, fasting or abstinence in meat or drink, and wearing sackcloth. Sackcloth was made of goat or camel hair and was course and uncomfortable.

All of these reactions are manifestations on the outer man, of what is being felt on the inside. One Bible dictionary said that men were generally more silent in grief and women more vocal and demonstrative.

The grieving process hasn’t really changed much over the years. Just one example I can think of is female friends who’ve done something to change the style or color of their hair after a divorce. I don’t know if it’s even a conscious decision or an extension of the inward, inherent grief reaction.

In the Bible, the days of mourning also varied. In the case of Jacob, it was 70 days (Gen 50:3). In Saul’s case, only 7 days (1 Sam 31:13). In Moses’ time the official period of grief was 30 days.

For everyone there comes a time when the grieving must stop; not the memory but the extended deep sorrow and negative effects on everyday life.

When Moses died and the allowable 30 days was over, God told Joshua it was time for him to get up and get going. I think that a lot of times we need someone with insight to help us get going too, to wake us up out of our grief and get us to move on before the sorrow destroys us or makes us someone nobody wants to be around.

I know I needed a push when my dog Spike passed away. I was so sad I couldn’t see getting a new dog and had convinced myself that I couldn’t get one because of our old cat. My friend Miki kept pestering me with pictures of rescue dogs that needed homes and I kept pushing the idea away. Then my roommate Jane rescued an abandoned starving chihuahua from an alley by our house. We made two failed attempts at giving him away and finally got the message: “Keep the dog!” My time of grief was supposed to be over and God was working through insightful people, forcing me to move on.

When God pushed Joshua, it was a new thing for him. Moses was gone and now he had the responsibility to lead God’s people. I’m sure it was a little intimidating. Any time we have to embrace something new, after losing something we loved, it’s hard. But we don’t have to do it alone. God told Joshua, “Be strong and of a good courage; be not afraid, neither be thou dismayed: for the Lord thy God is with thee whithersoever thou goest” (Joshua 1:9).

When we lose our loved ones, our homes, our jobs, our 150 channels, it’s normal and it’s right to grieve those things.

The most positive response to loss is to recognize and face the loss head on, acknowledging it for what it is and letting all the corresponding emotions come to the surface and come out. Then lastly wake up to know the loss has opened up an opportunity to seek and trust the Lord to fill the gap.

In Isaiah 48:6 God promises He will show us new things, hidden things that we’ve never known before. “I have shown thee new things from this time, even hidden things, and thou didst not know them.”

We put our hope in God and the Lord Jesus Christ, that when the grieving process has run its course, there will be something wonderful and new to enjoy. And one day all grief will be gone.

“God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes; and there shall be no more death, neither sorrow, nor crying, neither shall there be any more pain” (Rev 21:4). What an amazing and awesome promise to all who have chosen to believe and accept Jesus Christ as Lord.

***HAPPY NEW YEAR***

Love, Carolyn

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CONFIRMATION IS AWESOME

I was grinding on some fiberglass sculptures. It was really hard work; there was lots to do and we were in a rush to get the project done. I was taking it way too personally, like I had to get it all done by myself and I was stressing out. There were only two of us working on it and my partner was feeling sick, so he wasn’t able to work as quickly as usual.

My arms were getting so sore from grinding and I noticed that my shoulders were super tense. I had them raised up by my ears in a tight and pinching way. Mentally and emotionally I was worrying and stressing out, questioning whether I could keep this up. Was this going to end in total failure?

Then I remembered the scripture we repeat every morning in prayer, “And it shall come to pass in that day, that his burden shall be taken away from off they shoulder, and his yoke from off thy neck, and the yoke shall be destroyed because of the anointing” (Is 10:27). Instantly I let my shoulders ease down and the thoughts rolled in: “This is not my responsibility. I am a worker, not the one in charge. The burden is off my shoulders.”

For the rest of the day I continued grinding and the whole time my physical shoulders were at ease, relaxed. At the end of the day, the painting boss came over and told me he was sending all his guys over to help with the grinding so we could get the project done on time. It was amazing. I quietly thanked Jesus for what happened.

From that time on I noticed that I stopped the mentally stressing and my shoulders stayed at rest. The few times I started to hunch them up, I quoted the scripture again and they instantly released.

To literally have my shoulders relax back down from being hunched up around my ears, was a sign—a confirmation that I was truly released from all the stress.

In the next week and a half of work there were more opportunities to get stressed out but my shoulders weren’t hunching. I had a physical confirmation that I was free mentally and emotionally and it was GREAT!

As Christians we should be expecting righteous signs and confirmations. The Bible tells us that when Jesus gave instructions to His 11 apostles to preach the gospel, “they went forth and preached everywhere, the Lord working with them and confirming the word with signs following: (Mark 16: 20).

We often just hope we’re doing the right thing and never really ask for the Lord to confirm it. Here it says that He confirms. We have a relationship with our Lord Jesus where we can ask Him to kindly confirm. And here it is in scripture saying that He is totally able and WILLING to do it! “He confirms with signs following.” Isn’t that so great?!

As I was thinking about Christmas coming in a few days, the Lord showed me that even Mary needed to get some confirmation about what the angel told her about having the Christ child. She went to visit her cousin and sure enough Elisabeth confirmed the angel’s words with a prophecy over Mary, “Blessed art thou among women, and blessed is the fruit of thy womb…that the mother of my Lord should come to me” (Luke 1:42-43).

Mary believed in her spirit but it was only after Elisabeth’s confirmation that Mary got her soul in line and in her entirety really truly believed. “And Mary said, ‘My soul doth magnify the Lord” (vs. 46). Her mind, emotions and decisions were now settled and in solid agreement. (Read Luke 1:26 – 56).

The Lord Jesus confirmed that the work burden is off my shoulders. He gave me the physical sign of releasing those tight shoulder muscles. Mary, the mother of Jesus, got a confirmation in the form of a prophecy from a relative.

Jesus Christ is our personal Lord and a master at life. He knows that being human we often have difficulty in believing the awesome things God has for us and that we can greatly benefit from confirmation.

It’s my prayer that in this upcoming year our relationship with Jesus Christ becomes more intimate. I pray that as we do our best to live and preach the gospel, we will be asking Jesus for true confirmation as we go. I pray that we will receive more of the deliverances and healings in spirit, soul and body that we need and desire. And I pray that we will enjoy our discipleship and our freedom in Christ more than ever before.

Love, Carolyn

Have a Merry Christmas

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GATHERING TOGETHERGATHERING TOGETHER J

I listened to the woman on YouTube speaking about the second coming of the Jesus Christ. She taught from the book of Revelation about what the people on earth would be enduring after all the born again believers are gone.

We are told several places in the Bible that no man knows when that day will be.  

“For the Lord himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God: and the dead in Christ shall rise first: Then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air: and so shall we ever be with the Lord” (1 Thess 4:16-17).

This woman’s teaching struck a note with me and I thought: If Jesus came tomorrow there would be turmoil and anyone who was not a believer in the Lord Jesus Christ at that time would still be here. That means people we know—neighbors, friends, family members, store owners. Most of them would know that we are Christians, so with the chaos, they could end up at our house. Since we don’t take anything with us when Jesus comes for us, all our stuff is left.

Would there be blankets for them? Water? Food? But my big question is: What would they find in my house that would be spiritual food to help them to turn to Jesus and receive eternity in heaven?

What’s in your apartment, house, dwelling? If Jesus came tomorrow, would there be a Bible? Some good teaching on your computer? Books that would help them to find the truth about Jesus Christ?

Or would there be lots of extraneous things that wouldn’t really be that helpful?

Proverbs 15:6 says, “In the house of the righteous is much treasure.” 1 Corinthians 1:30 says we are righteous. So what kinds of treasures are in our house?

I remember several years back I looked around my house at the pictures I had on my walls. I had Jesus in my heart, but I didn’t have much on my walls that indicated my love for Him. So I changed that.

Let’s take an inventory of what’s in our house. If Jesus comes soon, we want to leave something great for those left behind.

John 14:3 “And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again, and receive you unto myself; that where I am, there ye may be also.”

                                             

Revelation 22:20 “Surely I come quickly. Even so, come, Lord Jesus.”

Love, Carolyn

Find more great keys to living in the “now” with the Lord Jesus Christ in your everyday life. WINGS: A Journey in Faith: http://www.amazon.com/gp/search?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=9325&index=aps&keywords=WINGS%20Carolyn%20molica&linkCode=ur2&tag=jmbcsds-20&linkId=XQMVLVZYNBLYAGEM

THE MOCKINGBIRD AND THE PIGEONS

I watched my one-legged mockingbird chase away several bigger pigeons. It’s like he didn’t even know or care that they were greater in number and more than twice his size. And the pigeons flew away. It’s like that with us spiritually. When we get to know our Lord Jesus Christ, we don’t need to have any fear about getting rid of the spiritual pigeons. If we can truly, from the bottom of our hearts, do what the song says, “I surrender all,” we are on a path to greater freedom and victory than we’ve ever known. “And ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free” (John 8:32).

Jane and I pray and read our scriptures each morning. When we come Luke 5:5 and read the phrase, “nevertheless at thy word I will let down the net,” I look up at the picture across from me of Jesus and the children and say to myself, “Jesus I’m letting out all the nets.”

It doesn’t mean every day will be a happy one; but I do know that I will have another portion of His truth and that’s worth everything.

Each day we end our prayer time with, “I can hardly wait to see what You have for today.”

Surrendering all to Jesus Christ, the Lord of our lives, is not a flippant act. It means you open yourself up to see some of the bigger pigeons in your own life as well as those in other’s lives. But the great thing is that “in all these things we are more than conquerors through him that loved us” (Rom 8:37).

My eyes have been opened in the past 7 months to new spiritual truths and where to find them in the Bible: things like Legion and the cause of mental disorders, Agag and the influx of witchcraft (it’s a lot different than you might expect), and Balak, the demonic power that tries to stop us.

This is worth listening to. It’ll give you answers to some of those tough questions. It’s all in the Bible, but sometimes we need someone to open it up to us. Just get past her flesh and listen to the truths she exposes.

Part 3 is on Legion, Part 4 is on Agag and 5 is on Balak. This will change your life.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zSBqSRx4ZAQ

Love, Carolyn

BEGINNING TO UNDERSTAND AND HEAL INJURIES TO OUR HEARTS AND SOULS

When we get tired or stressed or feel needy, we fall into old traps that we know aren’t good for us. We want to spend too much money, we drink too much, we tell little lies, take things that don’t belong to us, fall prey to sexual instincts: all things that God has lovingly already told us are dangerous to us and harmful to others in the end. Why is it we desire to do those things that aren’t good for us?

Romans 7 tells us the dilemma and the answer. The dilemma is that even though our spirits got perfect when we got born again, our souls didn’t. Our soul consists of the way we think, our emotional responses and the decisions we make on a daily basis. The healing of our souls is a miraculous PROCESS, not an instant thing. Even though we are Christians and have asked Jesus into our lives, we come to the table with many soul wounds that need healing.

For instance, I used to be a bit of a thief. I took small items from work: things like paperclips, a roll of tape, a writing pad. And don’t act so shocked. I know many of you have done the same. My rationale was that I’d used my own supplies from home sometimes so the company owed me. But stealing is stealing. Why was I tempted to take things that didn’t belong to me? Where the heck did that come from? Definitely a glitch in my soul.

That temptation came from when I was a teenager. When I started at a new school as a 7^th grader, most of the girls had more than I did. I never felt poor growing up until I compared myself to these new girls. I started stealing coins from my dad’s change dish.

Then Sheila, also poorer than the other girls, showed me how to steal makeup from the Woolworth’s store. It made me feel good. We’d steal clothes too. But when I stole four bikinis and hid them under my bed, my mom caught me and I had to personally take them back to the store and tell them I’d stolen them. It was devastating and I stopped stealing for a while.

But the trauma had already made such a wound in me that if the right circumstances came up, the scab was torn off and the wound opened up. It hadn’t really been healed. The hurt, the feeling of lack was not resolved. When I felt deprived or cheated it was a trigger that tempted me to take something for myself, “because I really needed it.”

I am totally healed of that now and let me tell you how, so that you too can begin to get healed of some of those soul wounds too—those things that the Bible says are not good, but you do them anyway.

The answer is in the resurrection power of Jesus Christ. It’s the miracle-working power we already have in us but we have to use it. It’s in the Greek word for “power” used in Philippians 3:10, “That I may know him, and the power of his resurrection.” The Greek word here is “dunamis.” In the online Strong’s Concordance you see that in the definition is “power for performing miracles, and moral power and excellence of soul.”

It takes a miracle from Jesus to totally heal our soul wounds, give us true moral power and excellence of soul. Everyone knows that as hard as we may try with our five senses to stop a bad habit, it will eventually stick its ugly head up again and again.

Moral power and excellence of soul doesn’t happen automatically, even for Christians. We have to call it into our everyday lives. We do that by first believing we’ve received it through the power of Jesus Christ in us. It’s a gift of healing. We can never live a holy life by pious acts. We can only have excellence of soul by letting Christ Jesus heal our wounds.

Once a wound is truly healed it’s like a scar. If we poke at a scar, there’s no feeling. We may have the memory of the source of the original trauma or the sin committed, but the hurt is gone and the consequential inappropriate actions.  

When I was tempted to take something that didn’t belong to me, Jesus told me and I told myself, “You don’t need that. You have excellence of soul.” I repeated to myself several times in this temptation and others, “I have excellence of soul. I have excellence of soul.” And it works. I believed in the soul-healing miracle-working power of my Lord Jesus.

We can change our lives one soul wound at a time by applying the DUNAMIS miracle-working power of the wonderful resurrection of our Lord Jesus.

If you’d like to know more about soul healing DUNAMIS power, check out these scriptures. These are just a few of the many.

Luke 24:49 “And, behold, I send the promise of my Father upon you: but tarry ye in the city of Jerusalem, until ye be endued with power from on high.”

Acts 1:8 “But ye shall receive power, after that the Holy Ghost is come upon you: and ye shall be witnesses unto me both in Jerusalem, and in all Judaea, and in Samaria, and unto the uttermost part of the earth.”

Acts 4:33 “And with great power gave the apostles witness of the resurrection of the Lord Jesus: and great grace was upon them all.”

Acts 10:38 “How God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Ghost and with power: who went about doing good, and healing all that were oppressed of the devil; for God was with him.”

Romans 1:4 “And declared to be the Son of God with power, according to the spirit of holiness, by the resurrection from the dead.”

Romans 1:16 “For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ: for it is the power of God unto salvation to every one that believeth; to the Jew first, and also to the Greek.”

1 Corinthians 6:14 “And God hath both raised up the Lord, and will also raise up us by his own power.”

2 Corinthians 4:7 “But we have this treasure in earthen vessels, that the excellency of the power may be of God, and not of us.”

Love, Carolyn

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HOW TO SAVE RELATIONSHIPS WHEN THE GRUMPIES HIT

I worked a lot of long hours the past few weeks and the other morning I was grumpy and crabby with my roommate Jane. Until we train ourselves otherwise, we often take out our frustrations on those closest to us. We figure they love us and will put up with our bad behavior. But what about when they don’t?

“I have feelings too,” she said. “When you do that, it makes me feel bad. You said mean things to me and I didn’t do anything wrong.” Well it cut like a knife to the heart, but my immediate response was to get all defensive and instead of apologizing right away, I got even angrier. I think we get the maddest when we know we’re wrong. No one wants to be wrong. Why couldn’t she just have ignored it?

But she didn’t. She confronted me and that was the right thing to do.

How many times have relationships fallen apart because stabbing words have been ignored rather than confronted? The hurt turns into a festering, decaying puncture wound that may appear to go away, but only gets buried for a while and never really gets healed. Finally all the little punctures and cuts connect and the resultant rotting wound is nearly irreparable and the original source of the problem is some distant fuzzy memory.

The source of my anger, for instance, had nothing to do with Jane, and I think this is often the case. Something becomes a trigger and we bring emotional responses from an incident in the past into the present when they don’t belong there.

Learning to act right is a constant process. Peter tells us, “Now no chastening for the present seemeth to be joyous, but grievous: nevertheless afterward it yieldeth the peaceable fruit of righteousness unto them which are exercised thereby” (Hebrews 12:11).

I was glad Jane confronted me. She made me see my sin and I felt bad about it. She didn’t deserve my wrath. We talked. She understood that I was acting out of the past and was lashing out at something totally not related to her. I told her I was sorry. She forgave me and I determined to act better.

Sometimes after we get confronted with our sins, we get all down on ourselves and pitiful, but the Lord is not one for pity parties. He says, “Lift up the hands which hang down, and the feeble knees; and make straight paths for your feet, lest that which is lame be turned out of the way; but let it rather be healed” (Heb 12:12-13). This is a really important point.

When we get lovingly confronted with our wrongs, we need to choke down our pride and straighten up our ways so that our relationships can be healed. If we don’t do this, the scripture says we are lame and could be turned out of the way. If we value our relationships we don’t want to get turned out of the way.

After our incident the other day, neither one of us carried any residual bad feelings and went on to have a great day. Our friendship is peaceful and richer because of the honesty, boldness and transparencies we share.

Love, Carolyn

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WILLIAM BRADFORD'S PERCEPTION OF AMERICA'S FIRST THANKSGIVING

Recently I’ve come to know that “history” as we read about it or think we know it, is not necessarily the absolute truth, but is a perception formulated when certain “facts” pass through a person’s thoughts, experiences, emotions, former reactions and probably other factors as well. One person’s perception of an event can be totally different from another’s perceived “truth” concerning the very same event.

I’ve heard different versions of the original Thanksgiving in America. Here is one version. No matter the actual truth of all of it, which none of us really know, but God alone, it is a reasonable story and a good one. No matter what the actual events, being thankful is essential to living well.  That’s in the Bible.

Within the first year, half of the 102 Pilgrims who landed in America, died. Of the 50 who remained only 6 or 7 were strong enough to care for the others.

William Bradford was their leader. He survived the first devastating winter of 1620 and went on to serve as governor of Plymouth for 33 years. From his book, Of Plymouth Plantation, comes his perception of what happened; this amazing story of how God intervened for the Pilgrims’ survival in this new land:

“About ye 16. Of March a certaine Indian came bouldly amongst them, and spoke to them in broken English, which they could well understand, but marveled at it… He tould them also of another Indian whos name was Squanto, a native of this place, who had been in England & could speake better English then him selfe.

“Afterwards they (as many as were able) began to plant ther corne, in which servise Squanto stood them in great stead, showing them both ye maner how to set it, and after how to dress & tend it. Also he tould them excepte they got fish & set with it (in these old grounds) it would come to nothing, and he showed them yt in ye midle of Aprill they should have store enough come up ye brooke, by which they begane to build, and taught them how to take it, and wher to get other provisions necessary for them; all which they found true by trial & experience… And thus they found ye Lord to be with them in all their ways, and to blesse their outgoings & incomings, for which let his holy name have ye praise for ever, to all posteritie.”

Bradford added, “Squanto… was a special instrument sent of God for their good beyond their expectation.”

How God worked in Squanto’s life is really amazing. In 1605, a member of the Native American Patuxet tribe, Squanto was captured by an English explorer and taken to England where he learned to speak English. In 1614 Captain John Smith brought him back to America but he was captured again and taken to Spain to be sold as a slave.  Local Catholic friars rescued him and introduced him to Christianity.

He went back to England and got on a ship to his native America. But when he got home, he found that all of his tribe had been killed by a plague. The sudden death of the whole tribe scared the neighboring tribes and so they never went onto the property, making it available for the Pilgrims. Also because of the odd circumstances of the tribe’s annihilation, the other tribes didn’t attack the Pilgrims and Squanto facilitated a peace treaty that lasted over 50 years.

With Squanto’s help, the Pilgrims’ second winter was much better. To celebrate, Governor Bradford appointed a day of Thanksgiving and invited Squanto’s newly adopted tribe to come and give thanks to God with them. The chief and 90 of his men came and feasted. They ate deer, turkey, fish, lobster, eels, vegetables, corn bread, berries, pies and popcorn that the Native Americans showed the Pilgrims how to make.  They competed in games of wrestling, shooting and running. The chief had such a good time he and his men stayed and celebrated for three days.

This was the first official American Thanksgiving.

If you’d like to read more about this time in America I recommend America’s Providential History by Mark Beliles and Stephen McDowell and William Bradford: Plymouth’s Faithful Pilgrim by Gary Schmidt.

Love, Carolyn

BEING SPIRITUALLY PREPARED FOR THE HOLIDAYS

BEING SPIRITUALLY PREPARED FOR THE HOLIDAYS

The holidays are upon us and though we would love for everything to be cheery and bright, in reality many of us will face some awkward situations.

Here’s five keys to help us:

Key No. 1: GIVE IT TO JESUS. Sounds so simple but even Peter couldn’t quite get himself there. He did the best he could and that’s all we can do too. In Luke 5 Jesus told Peter to “launch out into the deep, and let down your nets for a draught.” But Peter said, “Master, we have toiled all the night, and have taken nothing.” He just couldn’t see getting all the nets dirty and tangled again and besides he knew from experience that if he tried fishing in the day he’d get nothing. “Nevertheless at thy word I will let down the [one] net” (Lk 5: 4-5).

It’s like Peter had already been to holiday after holiday with the same results. He was pretty sure it would be the same as before. But when he did his best to give it to Jesus, everything changed. Even Peter’s small amount of true trust got results in a wonderful way. “And when they had this done, they inclosed a great multitude of fishes (vs. 6) and he was astonished, and all that were with him, at the draught of the fishes which they had taken” (vs. 9).

Key No. 1: GIVE IT TO JESUS. Jesus knows how to do celebrations. When he was at the wedding in Cana, they ran out of wine. The party was turning sour and Jesus turned the water into wine and made it sweet again. Who’s to say He wouldn’t do that for us??

Key No. 2: RETREAT TO ALMIGHTY GOD. Sometimes when we get into tense situations and conversations the best thing to do is excuse ourselves for a few minutes and go to the restroom or take a short walk: Retreat.

The King James Version of Psalm 91: 9 tells us to make the Most High our habitation. The Hebrew word translated “habitation” means “retreat.” It goes on to say that because we retreat to Him “He shall give his angels charge over thee, to keep thee in all thy ways. They shall bear thee up in their hands, lest thou dash thy foot against a stone” (vss. 11-12). Stones represent the natural world.

During the holidays we have so many opportunities to get trapped in conversations about many worldly things, tripped up on those stones thrown into our paths. But we can be willing and ready to physically take a quick retreat to the restroom or somewhere else to talk to God Almighty and He will send His angels to keep us in the Lord’s way so we don’t crash into the stones, getting offended or offensive.

Key No. 2: RETREAT TO ALMIGHTY GOD.

Key No. 3: BLESS THOSE AROUND YOU AND ANYONE ELSE WHOSE NAME COMES UP IN CONVERSATION. God created every person with something marvelous in mind for them. So no matter what little they seem to be doing toward that goal, we give them a better chance by praying, “God I bless them to be able to do Your perfect will for their lives, in Jesus name. Amen.”

Key No. 3: BLESS THOSE AROUND YOU TO DO GOD’S WILL.

Key No. 4: BLESS YOUR BODY. Going into situations where we’re uncomfortable because of incidents or feelings from the past, tend to make us vulnerable and weak and susceptible to old soul wounds. These can make us feel badly, think badly and act badly, which can quickly take a toll on our physical bodies as well.

Pray this: “I bless my body to do and be as You God intended it to be.” Ephesians 4:16 says, “From whom the whole body fitly joined together and compacted by that which every joint supplieth [is supplying], according to the effectual working in the measure of every part, maketh [is making] increase of the body unto the edifying of itself in love.” That’s a good one to pray too.

Key No. 4: BLESS YOUR BODY.

Key No. 5: BLESS YOUR MOUTH. One of the biggest tricks Satan pulls with family and friends is to get us to say something we later regret. Proverbs 18: 21 tells us, “Death and life are in the power of the tongue.” Once said, it’s out there and nearly irretrievable unless we almost immediately ask forgiveness and even then it’s awkward. The best way to avoid this is to bless your mouth. Pray, “Lord, I bless my mouth to only say what You intend.”

Key No. 5: BLESS YOUR MOUTH.

5 KEYS.  The number 5 in the Bible represents God’s grace. God’s grace abide with you and on you this holiday season.

Love, Carolyn

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BEING STRONGER THAN OUR NEGATIVE THOUGHTS

I was starting to get symptoms of a cold. The symptoms just kept getting worse and the voice in my head said, “I’ve got a cold.” I hadn’t spoken anything out loud yet and instantly I knew I needed to shout: “The Bible says, by Jesus stripes I was healed, so I’m healed!” My cold symptoms were gone overnight.

Sometimes we need to shout louder than the thoughts in our head—drown them out with a shout of God’s word (the truth). For those of you who aren’t shouters, you can speak His truth in your most assertive “outside voice.” Authoritative self-talk or self-speak with God’s truths can have a powerful and positive effect on an apathetic, wandering, or bored mind. It can rescue and release us from being lazy, the victims of “maybe” or “I hope so.”  And it can put a stop to confusion.

There’s a great example of this principle in John 11 where Jesus shouted to Lazarus to come forth from the grave. He had all kinds of negative words and thoughts coming at Him. First of all the religious leaders were trying to shame Him in front of the people. Even Lazarus’ sisters were bothered by the fact that Jesus hadn’t come earlier, and they said so. It had been four days since he died and friends had gathered to grieve. What did they think and speak when Jesus showed up late and told them the dead Lazarus was going to live?

Since the Bible tells us Jesus was tempted in every way that we’re tempted, His mind would have been bombarded by all kinds of negative thoughts (Heb 4:15). The discord of inaudible voices in the air was thick, raucous and confusing. I’ve been in situations where I could almost hear people’s negative thoughts and accusations and I bet you’ve been in situations like that too.

But Jesus put his faith in what God told Him and in the midst of the confusion He stood in front of the tomb and He shouted, “Lazarus, come out!”  “And he that was dead came forth, bound hand and foot with graveclothes: and his face was bound about with a napkin. Jesus saith unto them, ‘Loose him, and let him go’” (John 11:43-44).

We need to be assertive with the truth we speak to ourselves. We are not victims of our environments. Our faith isn’t insipid or limp, but “strong in the Lord and the power of His might” (Eph 6:10).

Jesus shouted louder and with more authority than the voices of cultural norm; life returned to Lazarus. Against the thoughts in my head, I shouted God’s healing words to my cold symptoms; my good health returned to me. We are so blessed to have great spiritual power available to us. (1 Pet 2:24)

Love, Carolyn

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WHAT DOES GOD SAY ABOUT OUR ANIMALS?

WHAT DOES GOD SAY ABOUT OUR ANIMALS?

In my last article I suggested making a list of all the things you do in a day and then next to each put why you do them.  One of my things was feeding the cat and dog, loving on them and taking the dog for rides in the car. Why? Because I love them.

Most of you probably don’t know that there is a verse in the Bible about our relationship to our animals. It’s in Proverbs 12:10 “A righteous man regardeth the life of his beast: but the tender mercies of the wicked are cruel.”

The Hebrew word for “regardeth” has many meanings including “to care for and respect.” So there you have it. As righteous people it’s our duty to care for and respect our animals and not be cruel.

Every aspect of our life here on earth is covered in the Bible, God’s guidebook for living well.

Have a great week.

Love, Carolyn

CHRISTMAS IS COMING.  Take a look at my assortment of books and booklets: http://www.amazon.com/gp/search?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=9325&index=aps&keywords=WINGS%20Carolyn%20molica&linkCode=ur2&tag=jmbcsds-20&linkId=XQMVLVZYNBLYAGEM

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CROSSROADS - WHY AM I DOING THIS?

CROSSROADS – WHY AM I DOING THIS?

Carbondale University of Illinois May 1970. I stood in the crowd of protesters chanting, “Ho Ho Ho Chi Minh, NLF is going to win.” I picked up a rock and threw it as hard as I could. The minute it flew from my hand I was jolted! “What am I doing?” I’d gone too far.

I was throwing a baseball-sized rock into a line of policemen, not even thinking who or what it could hit. I quickly backed out of the crowd of protesters and retreated to the trailer. I waited for my friends. I was silent on the trip home.

And when I got there I had some real soul searching to do. My next semester at school was awfully lonely. I’d abandoned my protester friends and began to look inward and to the Lord for answers.

At some point we all come to crossroads where we’re startled into asking, “Why am I doing this?”

Second Kings 7 tells us about four lepers who were in that predicament. The enemy was coming from without the city and there was a great famine within the city. They just sat there. Finally they woke up and “they said one to another, ‘Why sit we here until we die?’” They realized they were being foolish just sitting there and waiting to die. Instead they were motivated by a tiny spark of hope.

Crazy hope, but hope none the less. They decided that they’d make a move toward the enemy camp and just maybe there was a very slight chance something good would happen. As it turned out, their hope was rewarded. As the lepers went out, the enemy thought they heard a great army coming against them and they fled.

“And when these lepers came to the uttermost part of the camp, they went into one tent, and did eat and drink, and carried thence silver, and gold, and raiment” (2Kgs 7:7). There was so much food and wealth, the whole city was able to prosper from it.

The lepers’ action was motivated by hope and they were rewarded.

Life is relatively short. “For all flesh is as grass, and all the glory of man as the flower of grass. The grass withereth, and the flower thereof falleth away” (1 Pet 1:24). If we’re wise we can handle the problem of motivations before a shocker comes, like my rock incident.

Here’s a lifesaving, life changing exercise we can do now:

For a day or two write down an inventory of all the activities you do and next to each write what motivates you to do that activity: “Why am I doing this?” Be honest. “I don’t know” is not a valid final answer.

If you really can’t come up with anything, it’s okay to ask someone close to you. People close to us sometimes know us better than we do.

Sometimes we may have to re-examine our motivation for certain actions and sometimes we may have a valid motivation but an inappropriate associated action.

Finding out what motivates us is a step in becoming who we want to be.

Love, Carolyn

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HALLOWEEN SURPRISE - LITTLE BIG THINGS

The week before Halloween Jane and I talked about what we wanted to do. For several years we’d been going out on the porch to greet the kids and hand out candy. We put up a few decorations and usually had about 100 kids visit. But this year was different.

When we talked about it, we felt that the Lord didn’t want us to do our normal routine. We weren’t supposed to put up decorations and we weren’t supposed to go outside to sit on the front porch either. This was really different for us and we wondered why we felt this way. But the Lord wasn’t talking.

It’s harder to obey when you don’t know why He wants you to do or not do a certain thing. We tried to come up with our own answers as to why the change. But eventually we knew it was futile and we just accepted the fact that if we didn’t need to know ahead of time, then that was that. We’d just obey anyway.

As it turned out, a really small but wonderful thing happened. We paid more attention to each individual group of kids that came. There was one group that especially caught our attention. When the three of them came up with their faces painted like skeletons, Jane told them to take as much as they wanted of the candy and popcorn.

Their eyebrows arched up and the surprise was evident. This was a new experience. “Take as much as you want” wasn’t a phrase they were used to. They stood still and paused for just a moment before all three small hands dove into the bowl and pulled out all they could get a hold of. A big “Thanks!” and off they ran.

It was a delight to give those kids perhaps their first Ephesians 3:20 experience. “Now unto him that is able to do exceeding abundantly above all that we ask or think.”

It was great to be a part of the Lord’s plan for those kids, to show them that things don’t always get doled out in small, constricted increments. Sometimes the treats come big and are more than our expectations.

I’m not saying that we wouldn’t have seen this if we had been sitting outside like usual, but we both knew it was connected to our obedience to do the things He said. Deuteronomy 11:26-27 tells us, “Behold, I set before you this day a blessing and a curse; A blessing, if ye obey the commandments of the Lord your God, which I command you this day.”

I have a plaque in my bedroom that my friend Wendy gave me. It says, “Enjoy the little things in life…for one day you’ll look back and realize they were the big things.”

Have a wonderful week full of little BIG things as you go about obeying the words of Lord.

Love, Carolyn

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PEANUT'S NEW SHIRT AND THE $100.00 BILL

Summer 2014: Lightening, thunder, wind, rain in sheets and big drops. 15 minutes of torrential rain blowing hard in every direction, then done. That’s our typical summer storm here in Las Vegas and we had one this Sunday.

On Monday I came home from shopping, got out of my car and walked across the lawn toward the new water dish I put out for the wild birds. I wanted to see if the rain had filled it up. I looked down and there in front of the dish was a neatly folded $100.00 dollar bill. My instinct made me look around quickly to see if anyone was looking for it, but there was no one around. I picked it up and put it into my pocket. I’ve picked up pennies and even quarters, but never a $100.00 bill. I smiled.

Someone must have lost it in the storm, but no one was coming around to claim it. And I found it just in time, because a few minutes later my lawn guys came and they would have either found and kept the money, or chopped it up in a million little pieces in the lawn mower.

I tried to figure out why God would drop me the $100.00 but I couldn’t connect it to anything at all. I don’t believe in coincidence. Saying something is a coincidence is man’s attempt to explain away what he has no control over. I tried to tie it to some good deed, but everything I could think of fell flat and the Lord wasn’t talking. It wasn’t until 2 days later that I understood.

I was buying dog food and bought Peanut, my little dog, a shirt just because I love the little guy and I thought he’d like it. Then it dawned on me that my $100.00 bill had come to me the same way. The Lord gave it to me just because He loves me and He thought I’d like it. And He was right. I liked it a lot.

We receive God’s grace, not just because we are desperate, or because we pray so hard or any of those other religious things we do. We can pray and believe and fast and a lot of other things, but then there’s the extra blessings God sends “just because He wants to.” He doesn’t have to wait for a holiday or birthday. Any day will do. It’s kind of like random acts of kindness. We have the opportunity to follow His example and drop a special blessing on someone every once in a while. It’s fun.

God told Moses, “I will make all my goodness pass before thee, and I will proclaim the name of the Lord before thee; and will be gracious to whom I will be gracious, and will shew mercy on whom I will shew mercy” (Exodus 33:19).

Keep it up Lord! And thank you so much!”

It’s been more than a year since this happened and Peanut still enjoys his shirt and I still enjoy the memory of finding the neatly folded $100.00!

Love, Carolyn

If you’d like a FREE pdf file or word document of my booklet, UPGRADING TO GOD’S REALITY, let me know at cjmolica@hotmail.com . Check out my other books at: http://www.amazon.com/gp/search?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=9325&index=aps&keywords=WINGS%20Carolyn%20molica&linkCode=ur2&tag=jmbcsds-20&linkId=XQMVLVZYNBLYAGEM

STANDING WITH PEOPLE THROUGH THE HARD TIMES

One month after her surgery Anne entered into the familiar store front meeting room. All her old friends were there but they treated her differently.

She looked pale and weak, not the funny, fearless person they knew pre-surgery. They smiled politely and got involved in other conversations, leaving Anne out. What was going on?

The Holy Spirit told me they were afraid. They had been used to a person who had answers, wisdom, and strength. Here was the same person, but her outward appearance was so different. They didn’t know how to handle it so they didn’t talk to her. They avoided her for several months after her surgery.

At first I was mad at them for being so callous and disrespectful, but then I realized THEY were the ones to be pitied.  They were missing out on a great experience. What they could have gained in wisdom, understanding and guidance, they had given up because of their own fears.

They just couldn’t seem to see past Anne’s exterior appearance and perceived weakness.

People get sick and have things happen to them that change them. That’s just a fact of life. But as Christians we need to be able to still give people the respect and love they need.

The other day I was driving home from work and Jane was in the passenger seat. We were approaching a corner where we’ve seen a skinny raggedy-looking homeless man many times waving and smiling at everyone. The Lord told Jane to give the guy $2.00. He was so excited and talked super-fast as he told us he had been off of drugs and alcohol 15 days now and he could drive and he could work. Jane and I both told him, “good job!” He “God blessed” us several times as we said the same back to him. When we drove off we both realized the guy was not nearly as excited about the money as he was about having someone to tell his story to and them telling him he was doing a good job. People want to be respected and appreciated.

Our God looks at the heart of a man or woman. When God sent Samuel to find a king to replace Saul, even the great prophet was only looking at the exterior: “And it came to pass, when they were come, that he [Samuel] looked on Eliab, and said, Surely the Lord’s anointed is before him. But the Lord said unto Samuel, Look not on his countenance, or on the height of his stature; because I have refused him: for the Lord seeth not as man seeth; for man looketh on the outward appearance, but the Lord looketh on the heart” (1 Sam 16:6-7).

God doesn’t look at race or nationality, at male or female, background, culture, sickness, weakness or health. God looks straight through to the heart and we need to practice this too. We all go through down times, weak times. We don’t want to abandon people when they’re going through something. We need to have a little patience, respect and more love. Isn’t that what we’d want?

Love, Carolyn

Christmas is coming. Any of my books or booklets would make great gifts.

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