Wake up call.

A friend of mine has cancer. He was scheduled to have a major surgery before Christmas the last time I talked to him which was in November. Then I didn't hear from him for a while. Christmas and the New Year came and went. My phone messages weren't returned so I didn't know what was going on. Well yesterday I had the privilege of talking to his wife and getting the update. His surgery went well!

One reason I was so curious, other than my concern for my friend's health, of course, was that on January 14th God woke me up at 3AM and I felt very strongly that I needed to pray for them. I did not know why, but I did just that.

Well in telling me their story it was clear that the surgery had went well and did indeed happen before Christmas so I had to ask his wife what was going on on January 14th. She told me that they had been out of the hospital for several days; staying in a hotel across the street during his follow-up time and went back on the 13th for a routine follow-up visit. During this visit it was discovered that part of his blood chemistry was dangerously high and he was immediately re-admitted and steps were taken to try and get it back down. At the precise moment he was struggling for his life, God woke me up to pray for him!

That's water in my cup for sure!

Default setting

I was speaking with a brother last night about how our goal in the Christian walk (one of them anyway) is to move from selfishness (our default setting) to selflessness. In the process of sanctification (big church word for becoming like Jesus) we have this battle because our default setting is to be selfish...to take care of ourselves. We battle daily to get out of ourselves and first look at the needs of others and then to take whatever action we can to help others. I love how Jesus boils down "the law and the profits" into two commandments, "Love God with all your heart, mind, soul, and strength and love your neighbor as yourself" Brilliant! And it sounds so simple, but then putting it into action takes getting ourselves out of the way and well that requires changing our default setting which, like on a computer, can be done, but takes some help from the Holy Spirit living in us and seems to be a very slow process. And sometimes even seems to be one of those one step forward, two steps back situations, but we must remember that it is a process. So don't get discouraged! Hang in there and trust God to work in you.

Move forward

The past few days I have been contemplating what could turn out to be a major turning point in my practice. The addition of a procedure called Manipulation Under Anesthesia. I had inquired of God and today I got my answer. He reminded me of how the Israelites were camped next to the Red Sea when word came that Pharaoh was in hot pursuit. Many of the Israelites wanted to return to Egypt. Many wanted to stay right where they were but God had another plan...move forward! "But God, the Red Sea is in the way of forward" I'm sure they said. Nevertheless, God said move forward and move forward they did. They not only crossed on dry land but their pursuers perished in the waters. I think thatGod wants me to move forward with adding this procedure to our office (it would actually be done in an Outpatient Surgical Center), so that is what I will do. Is God calling you to move forward with something in your life?

Day 1

God pours His living water into the cup of my life every day in many forms and from many sources as He seeks to sanctify me and draw me closer to Him. This blog is about recognizing that water when it comes and sharing it with the blogosphere. My hope is that you will be encouraged in your walk. After all, there is plenty of water for everyone!