Serving a Supernatural God in an Ordinary World—Is He Your Superhero?

25 September, 2012 by 10 Comments

 

For seven years I sought the help of medical doctors, psychologists, chiropractors, and other natural healers to cure me of grand-mal seizures, migraine headaches, depression, and opiate addiction. I hate the think about the thousands upon thousands of dollars I spent doing so.

All that time, I had a direct line to a Superhero. I kept relying on worldly resources when I really needed the Great Physician. The creator of the universe. The ultimate healer. The one who holds the answers to every question. The one who holds the master plan.

As is human nature, I looked for answers myself. I failed. As a Christian, I had direct access to the supernatural. Being born again give you access to the spiritual world. I mean think about it. “Born Again.” You certainly can’t be stuffed back into your mother’s uterus!

 Jesus replied, “I tell you the truth, unless you are born again, you cannot see the Kingdom of God.” (John 3:3 NLT)

Born again = Born from above.

I just had to get past myself to realize it. Which apparently took seven years, because apparently I’m fairly stubborn. Once I finally stopped looking inward, and began looking upward, asking God his plan, he healed me overnight. Exactly two years ago today.

On September 25, 2010, I woke up completely free.

Seizures? Gone.

Headaches? Gone.

Depression? Gone.

Addiction? Gone.

He reached his arm down into this ordinary world, and lifted me up to a supernatural place. Other than a few minor headaches, I can honestly say I’ve been completely free from seizures and all medication.

Happy Birthday to me!

Do you have a problem that is beyond your control? Release it to God. Seek out his plan. He can handle it. He’s THE SUPERHERO.

 

From my heart,

Celeste

Filed Under: Beating Depression, Chronic Illness, Fighting Your Fears, Freedom in Christ, Living in Faith, Living with Purpose, Miracles Do Happen, Overcoming Addiction, The Power of Prayer, Uncategorized, Your Relationship with God Tagged With: , , , , , ,

Make-a-change Monday~Prayer & Circumstance

11 June, 2012 by Leave a Comment



Have you ever heard God speak? 


If God called you on the phone, would you recognize his voice? 


I remember as a teenager trying to figure out if God was telling me to do something, or if it was just made up in my head. It can be very confusing to know God’s voice as opposed to the “voices in your head” if you don’t talk to him—and listen to him—enough. 


Many people ask, “Why pray if God already know what’s going to happen?” Here’s the answer: 


Prayer doesn’t change God, it changes us. 

When we seek God’s help through conversations with him and through specific requests, and he answers us, our faith is increased. If we never ask, however, and he gives us whatever we need, our faith is not changed. We chalk it up to circumstance. 

Let me give you two examples. 

Me? A Speaker? 

I went to a speaker’s conference in October of last year. Everyone tells me that with the type of book I’m writing, I need to be a speaker as well. If you know me at all, you know I hate speaking in front of a group of people. One of the things I liked about being a pharmacist is that I didn’t have to sell myself. I stood behind the tall counter and people came to me…one at a time. But I felt like God was nudging me in that direction, so I went.

After the conference, all of the other speakers got their one-sheets ready to be put in a database of speakers to be “on the market.” But not me. I obeyed God and went to the conference, but specifically told God afterwards that if he wanted me to speak at an event, he was going to have to “drop it in my lap.”

Four months later, I was on my way to church with my family and I pulled my phone from my purse and put it in my lap. I turned it on to see if I had any Words with Friends moves, and I saw I had a new text: 

Now how was that for an answered prayer? Even though it wasn’t quite the answer I was hoping for, I certainly couldn’t deny that God had heard exactly what I said and responded in such a way I knew it was him. 


Her Ship Came In. 


My very oldest friend Jacqueline (not in age but in how long I’ve known her) was having a financial crisis a few weeks ago. It was Friday and her family had $30 to make it on until Tuesday. Pretty tough for a family of four, and that included the weekend. She and her husband have both gone back to school for the last few years, and have really struggled financially, saving and getting by the best they could. She was really at her wit’s end at this point, and prayed, “Okay God, it’s time for my ship to come in.”

Now back up a few months for an important detail: Jacqueline’s husband opened something in the mail that had to do with her mom’s estate. He handed her the letter and told her it looked fairly important. She responded by sending them a copy of the death certificate and the other information they needed to settle the issue. 

On this gloomy Friday afternoon, as she was wondering how in the world her family would make it on this $30, she went to the mailbox. In it was an envelope, with the return address simply as “SHIP.” Not thinking too much about it, she opened it to find a check for $10,000.

How’s that for an answered prayer?  

It turns out that the unresolved issue from her mom’s estate was money that had not been claimed, and the company who was now handling that went by the name, or acronym, “SHIP.” 

Jacqueline prayed that prayer on that Friday when she was in a bind. God orchestrated the $10,000 check several months before. That check was coming. God knew she would need it. But when she prayed and her “SHIP” came in, her faith grew by leaps and bounds! 



It’s so easy to recognize God’s voice—even when it’s not audible—when we talk to him enough to recognize when he answers. 


So here’s my {make-a-change} Monday challenge for you: Pray specific prayers. Pray believing that God can and will answer your prayers. It may not be an immediate answer, and the answer may not be what you want to hear. But he will answer, and when he does, your faith will skyrocket. 


From my heart, 
Celeste

P.S. I did speak at the event for Mauldin First Baptist. I was a nervous wreck at first, but God calmed my nerves as all of the women there were so sweet and receptive to what I said. It was a great first speaking event. 🙂

Filed Under: Living in Faith, Living with Purpose, Make-a-change Mondays, Miracles Do Happen, The Power of Prayer, Your Relationship with God Tagged With: , , ,

Make-a-change Monday~Post it!

6 February, 2012 by 7 Comments
New Year’s Day 2008~
This is it. This year is going to be the year. 
I’m going to read my Bible more and pray more.
 I want to be a better person. Closer to God. 
New Year’s Day 2009~ 
This is it. This year is going to be the year. 
I’m going to read my Bible more and pray more.
 I want to be a better person. Closer to God. 
New Year’s Day 2010~
This is it. This year is going to be the year. 
I’m going to read my Bible more and pray more.
 I want to be a better person. Closer to God. 
Are you getting the picture? Have you made similar promises to yourself and to God only to fall asleep while you’re praying on January 3rd? And sleeping too late to get up and get your Bible read before getting the kids up for school? 
I did this year after year after year. 
But then, on September 25, 2010, God revealed himself to me in a very real, miraculous way. He reached his loving arms down, gently scooped me up, and saved me from my pit of seizures, addiction, and depression. I now knew and loved Him in a way I never had before. I was smitten. 
From that moment on, I knew I could never live without Him. But I also knew that Satan would do everything he could to make me forget to pray. He would do everything he could to make me the estranged daughter of my Heavenly father. So I put the almighty post-it note to use. Not just the yellow ones, either. NEON colors. 
I placed them on:
•   My bathroom mirror
•   The dash of my car
•   My washer and dryer
•   Above the kitchen sink
•   On the refrigerator 
                         
…And simply wrote “God” on them. 
So, every time I put on makeup, drove my car, did laundry, washed dishes, or ate, I remembered to have a conversation with God. It’s been shown that if you do something for 15 days in a row, it becomes a habit. Once I did this for a few weeks, I no longer needed the post-it notes.
Now, with the post-it note in mind, go back and read the prescription verse for today. “Tie them on your finger, wear them on your forehead, and write them on the doorposts of your house.” Who knew post-it notes were Biblical? 
So this week’s “make a change” is to improve your spiritual walk and your relationship with God—get to know your father as you never have before. And believe me, this one will change every single facet of your life. It has mine. 
From my heart,

Celeste
P.s. Don’t forget to keep doing last week’s change—keep drinking your water!
Filed Under: Beating Depression, Living in Faith, Living with Purpose, Make-a-change Mondays, Making Changes, Simplify Your Life, The Power of Prayer, Your Relationship with God Tagged With: , , , , , , ,

What I learned from Rudy Giuliani…

6 September, 2011 by Leave a Comment
A few weeks ago, David and I went to a big motivation seminar held in downtown Greenville. I was pleasantly surprised at how much I enjoyed it. Rudy Giuliani spoke about something that’s
fascinating and frustrating to me these days…the “almighty” internet. 
With the invention of the internet, we have “knowledge” at our fingertips and it travels faster than we are capable of dealing with. Computer knowledge is necessary to live in this century. It’s here, and it’s here to stay. The problem is, however, that we have stopped thinking for ourselves. We are becoming a manipulated society. 
One of the problems I have with this computer generation is how we are becoming so accustomed to immediate gratification. With health issues, it is frustrating because as patients, we punch in our symptoms on the keyboard and the computer generates a list of possibilities. Within an hour or so, we have diagnosed ourselves! Let me give you an example of a pharmacist “friend” of mine…
She was seven months pregnant, had an eight-year-old and four-year-old also, and a husband who happened to be out of town. After work, she went to retrieve her children, and her mom commented about a “bump” on her forehead. She had thought it was just a weird zit! In a panic, her mom said, “You call the dermatologist in the morning and you tell him you have to be seen immediately! That looks exactly like what Nita’s daughter had and it was melanoma!” 
Well, since she was a pharmacist, she knew to just look it up on the computer and she would see it was nothing. SO…after getting the kids to bed, she finally sat down at the computer around midnight. By 1:00 a.m. she was convinced that she was dying of melanoma and would be leaving her husband with three kids to raise alone. That made for one long, sleepless night. 
Anybody had a similar experience? I’m sure you’ve realized that that “friend” was me. As a pharmacist, I should have known better! The sad thing is I have gone to the computer more than once for my need for immediate gratification, and more than once I’ve come to the wrong conclusion.
To keep us thinking for ourselves and not relying on Sir Google, Mr. Giuliani suggested five things we must do to keep our minds active and maintain our ability to think independently:
1) Read books–have a basis to make your own decisions. Don’t just read other people’s opinions about what they’ve read. 
2) Listen–to other people. Seek advice from people you look up to and believe in. You can become a leader by learning from other successful people. 
3) Take notes–never stop writing. Write your thoughts, goals, lists…keep the parts of your mind active that make you an individual.
4) Take five minutes every day to just STOP–relax, pray, stop your world for a few minutes.
5) Most importantly, we must care and love other people. The computer tends to isolate and disconnect us from people. Sure we have Facebook and email, and they are great ways to communicate. But they don’t allow us to see the heart of people or minister to their needs. 
Coming from the person in charge of NYC when the twin towers were hit on 9/11/2001, I wanted to listen.  The Rudy Giuliani I watched handle that chaos and tragedy obviously had standards and values in place that helped him. While he relied on computers and statistics to help New York recover from that tragedy, it was his willingness to listen to people one on one and his compassion for them that made the difference in those months after September 2001. He prayed and asked God’s guidance in knowing the right steps to take. He relied on his heavenly father for wisdom and instruction. While it was one of the toughest times our country has endured, I consider Rudy Giuliani a man of great character and principal, and someone to learn from. 
I thought his “five things” were very interesting. I find myself doing all of those things these days, though I would have never put them together in a list on thinking independently. I realized, though, that during my seven years of depression, I didn’t want to do any of those things. I didn’t want to read books to because I just wanted to mindlessly watch television so I didn’t have to think about my world. I got to a point where I didn’t want to seek advice of others because I was convinced it was hopeless. I never thought writing things down would help me, although I’d been told to try it more than once. I prayed, but it was selfish prayer. I was too busy being self-absorbed in my own pity party to worry about anyone else long enough to actually do something that required effort. 
I wonder now how much sooner I could have overcome the depression if I had made the items on this list a priority? Hmmm…
From my heart, 
Celeste
Filed Under: Beating Depression, Handling Stress, How to be Happy, Living in Faith, Making Changes, The Power of Prayer, Your Relationship with God Tagged With: , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Do you get it?

6 August, 2011 by Leave a Comment

Have I told you lately how incredible it is to be made brand new in Christ? Well, until September 25th, 2010, I really had no idea. I was saved when I was seven years old, and I did all the things that a good lil’ southern baptist girl should do (or shouldn’t do), but I just didn’t get it. The weird thing is, though, that because I didn’t get it, I didn’t know I didn’t get it. Get it?

I went to church. I prayed every day. I read my bible. I went to bible studies. I would see people like Beth Moore or Joyce Meyer speak, and I would always be amazed at the passion they had for Christ. I truly just thought my personality was different and I didn’t express myself they way they do. What it boiled down to is I didn’t truly down deep, to the core, feel like I needed Christ. My brain knew I did, because I’d been taught all my life that Jesus is the only way. My heart, on the other hand, could not simply “learn,” it had to “feel.”

I don’t know whether it’s because I’m stubborn, my sinful human nature was too strong, or it was simply God’s plan, but I had to endure some pretty tough stuff to realize how much I needed God and how much he wants me. I believe wholeheartedly that accepting Christ as your personal savior will get you a ticket into heaven, but to have a full life on earth, you must not only accept him, but pursue him…constantly.

When I was seven, God wrote my name down in the lamb’s book of life, and secured my reservation in heaven. But on September 25th of last year, he made me brand spanking new! Now I know some of you who are reading this are thinking…”here’s another one…thinking God is the answer for everything.” I promise you I had those thoughts about people all my life…until now. I’m not saying God is the only answer for everything, but I promise you that if you invite him into every situation in your life, he will meet you there. Good or bad, happy or sad, you will never be alone. I just want to share a few areas in my life that have changed since I let God be God, and welcomed him into every part of it.

My depression is gone…completely and totally gone.
My migraine headaches are minimal, and when I do still have one, I can handle it.
My seizures are completely gone.
I am free from the prisons I kept myself in…fear, dependence, worry, guilt, failure…and the list goes on.
I have a much more eternal perspective…a new “destination” in life that I actually think, read, and wonder about.
The act of forgiveness is no longer such a struggle. There is such a freedom in letting go of a grudge and letting God handle it. (I hesitated to list this one…God may test me on it!)

Now those are some pretty big areas right there…but what I did not expect were the changes in the seemingly insignificant areas in my life.

Meal planning and cooking are easy. No longer the daunting tasks they were.
The heat of the summer has not bothered me at all compared to summers past.
The housework gets done when it gets done. Not a single soul that walks into this house cares if I have a sink full of dishes or a basket of clothes to fold.
Exercising and losing weight is not the overwhelming goal it used to be (although definitely a long term goal).
If something on my “to do” list doesn’t get done, it’s okay. I just move it to tomorrow’s list!

Do you see where this is going? EVERYTHING in my life is easier. Now I see why Beth Moore teaches with such passion. When you can finally “get it,” you will know it, and you will be compelled to share your joy with anyone and everyone who will listen.

From my heart, 
Celeste

Filed Under: Your Relationship with God Tagged With: , , , , , , , ,