Have you ever heard of Beth Moore? She is a wonderful Christian author, Bible study leader & speaker! If you haven't picked up one of her books you are missing a good thing! God has used her to speak to the hearts of MANY women!! Here is one of my favorites of her stories from one of her journals.....
April 20, 2005
At the Airport in KnoxvilleWaiting to board the plane, I had the Bible on my lap and was very intent upon what I was doing. I’d had a marvelous morning with the Lord. I say that because I want to tell you it is a scary thing to have the Spirit of God really working in you. You could end up doing some things you never would have done otherwise. Life in the Spirit can be dangerous for a thousand reasons not the least of which is your ego.
I tried to keep from staring, but he was such a strange sight. Humped over in a wheelchair, he was skin and bones, dressed in clothes that obviously fit when he was at least twenty pounds heavier. His knees protruded from his trousers, and his shoulders looked like the coat hanger was still in his shirt. His hands looked like tangled masses of veins and bones. The strangest part of him was his hair and nails. Stringy gray hair hung well over his shoulders and down part of his back. His fingernails were long, clean but strangely out of place on an old man.I looked down at my Bible as fast as I could, discomfort burning my face.
As I tried to imagine what his story might have been, I found myself wondering if I’d just had a Howard Hughes sighting. Then, I remembered that he was dead. So this man in the airport…..an impersonator maybe? Was a camera on us somewhere?There I sat, trying to concentrate on the Word to keep from being concerned about a thin slice of humanity served on a wheelchair only a few seats from me. All the while my heart was growing more and more overwhelmed with a feeling for him. Let’s admit it. Curiosity is a heap more comfortable than true concern, and suddenly I was awash with aching emotion for this bizarre-looking old man. I had walked with God long enough to see the handwriting on the wall. I’ve learned that when I begin to feel what God feels, something so contrary to my natural feelings, something dramatic is bound to happen.
And it may be embarrassing.
I immediately began to resist because I could feel God working on my spirit and I started arguing with God in my mind. “Oh, no, God, please, no.” I looked up at the ceiling as if I could stare straight through it into heaven and said, “Don’t make me witness to this man. Not right here and now. Please. I’ll do anything. Put me on the same plane, but don’t make me get up here and witness to this man in front of this gawking audience. Please, Lord!” There I sat in the blue vinyl chair begging His Highness, “Please don’t make me witness to this man. Not now. I’ll do it on the plane.”
Then I heard it… ”I don’t want you to witness to him. I want you to brush his hair.” The words were so clear, my heart leapt into my throat, and my thoughts spun like a top. Do I witness to the man or brush his hair? No-brainer. I looked straight back up at the ceiling and said, “God, as I live and breathe, I want you to know I am ready to witness to this man. I’m on this Lord. I’m you’re girl! You’ve never seen a woman witness to a man faster in your life. What difference does it make if his hair is a mess if he is not redeemed? I am on him. I am going to witness to this man.”Again, as clearly as I’ve ever heard an audible word, God seemed to write this statement across the wall of my mind. “That is not what I said, Beth. I don’t want you to witness to him. I want you to go brush his hair.” I looked up at God and quipped, “I don’t have a hairbrush. It’s in my suitcase on the plane. How am I supposed to brush his hair without a hairbrush?”God was so insistent that I almost involuntarily began to walk toward him as these thoughts came to me from God’s word:
“I will thoroughly furnish you unto all good works.” 2 Timothy 3:17 I stumbled over to the wheelchair thinking I could use one myself. Even as I retell this story my pulse quickens and as I retell this story, I feel those same butterflies. I knelt down in front of the man and asked as demurely as possible, “Sir, may I have the pleasure of brushing your hair?” He looked back at me and said, “What did you say?” “May I have the pleasure of brushing your hair?” To which he responded in volume ten, “Little lady, if you expect me to hear you, you’re going to have to talk louder than that.” At this point, I took a deep breath and blurted out, “SIR, MAY I HAVE THE PLEASURE OF BRUSHING YOUR HAIR?” At which point every eye in the place darted right at me. I was the only thing in the room looking more peculiar than old Mr. Longlocks. Face crimson and forehead breaking out in a sweat, I watched him look up at me with absolute shock on his face, and say, “If you really want to.”
Are you kidding? Of course I didn’t want to. But God didn’t seem interested in my personal preference right about then. He pressed on my heart until I could utter the words, “Yes, sir, I would be pleased. But I have one little problem. I don’t have a hairbrush.” “I have one in my bag,” he responded. I went around to the back ot the wheelchair, and I got on my hands and knees and unzipped the stranger’s old carry-on, hardly believing what I was doing. I stood up and started brushing the old man’s hair. It was perfectly clean, but it was tangled and matted. I don’t do many things well, but must admit I’ve had notable experience untangling knotted hair mothering two little girls. Like I’d done with either Amanda or Melissa in such a condition, I began brushing at the very bottom of the strands, remembering to take my time not to pull.
A miraculous thing happened to me as I started brushing that old man’s hair. Everybody else in the room disappeared. There was no one alive for those moments except that old man and me. I brushed and I brushed and I brushed until every tangle was out of that hair.I know this sounds so strange, but I’ve never felt that kind of love for another soul in my entire life. I believe with all my heart, I - for that few minutes - felt a portion of the very love of God. That He had overtaken my heart for a little while like someone renting a room and making Himself at home for a short while. The emotions were so strong and so pure that I knew they had to be God’s.
His hair was finally as soft and smooth as an infant’s. I slipped the brush back in the bag, went around the chair to face him.I got back down on my knees, put my hands on his knees, and said, “Sir, do you know my Jesus?” He said, “Yes, I do.” Well, that figures, I thought. He explained, “I’ve known Him since I married my bride. She wouldn’t marry me until I got to know the Savior.” He said, “You see, the problem is, I haven’t seen my bride in months. I’ve had open-heart surgery, and she’s been too ill to come see me. I was sitting here thinking to myself, what a mess I must be for my bride.”
Only God knows how often He allows us to be part of a divine moment when we’re completely unaware of the significance. This, on the other hand, was one of those rare encounters when I knew God had intervened in details only He could have known. It was a God moment, and I’ll never forget it. Our time came to board, and we were not on the same plane. I was deeply ashamed of how I’d acted earlier and would have been so proud to have accompanied him on that aircraft. I still had a few minutes, and as I gathered my things to board, the airline hostess returned from the corridor, tears streaming down her cheeks. She said, “That old man’s sitting on the plane, sobbing. Why did you do that? What made you do that?” I said, “Do you know Jesus? He can be the bossiest thing!” And we got to share.
I learned something about God that day. He knows if you’re exhausted because you’re hungry, you’re serving in the wrong place, or it is time to move on, but you feel too responsible to budge. He knows if you’re hurting or feeling rejected. He knows if you’re sick or drowning under a wave of temptation. Or He knows if you just need your hair brushed. He sees you as an individual. Tell Him your need!I got on my own flight, sobs choking my throat, wondering how many opportunities just like that one I had missed along the way… all because I didn’t want people to think I was strange. God didn’t send me to that old man. He sent that old man to me.
John 1:14 “The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the One and Only, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth.”I hope this entry has touched you as much as it touches me EVERY time I read it!
Don't strive to be successful.... strive to be a blessing!!
it
He does not promise us a path without bumps and bruises.... but He DOES promise that He will 'never leave us nor forsake us!' (Hebrews 13:5) and that my friend, is a HUGE & comforting promise!!
The tree was almost finished when Pete made the comment to me, "Do you remember when most of the decorations use to be on the bottom half of the tree?" I laughed as I looked at the tree..... "YUP, and now look, they are some on the bottom half and lots on the middle & top! A sure sign that the kids are getting bigger!" 
He helped to crack the eggs,
AND ate the cookies after they were all baked!! :)
Since leftovers are a big things around here, I had a turkey cooking at home too! Naturally, we were all tooo full to eat again, but we did enjoy pie, cheese & crackers, eggnog, cider, tea & coffee! We were blessed to have a family friend with us for the day, to have another family member join us later in the day, and also a couple of friends from church popped in!! We had Amazing Grace playing in the living room and a game of 'Fill or Bust' going at the table! (Steve won, Rita was second, Audrey & TJ were in 3rd & 4th place and Pete & I were 5th & 6th .... ) It was alot of fun... Travis, Jason & Austin were watching the movie and had to turn it up a few times, I guess we were a bit loud! :)
Can you believe that the radio is playing CHRISTMAS music already!! Tomorrow is "Thanksgiving" and usually the Christmas music starts the day after... so much for tradition! 
(I have to admit.... the snow and music sure are putting me in the 'holiday mood'!) :)
Here is Travis at 22 days old!! :) His teddy bear that Uncle Marc sent from Guam was bigger then he was!
The temperatures are dropping, yesterday morning it was 41* F and this morning it is 42*F .... brrrr a bit brisk!! Thank God we got a bushel (plus) of apples this past Sunday!! Now, I need to make the applesauce and pie filling for the freezer. That will help warm it up on the inside at least! YUMMY....
The next card shows MY personal favorite drink..... a hot cup of tea! :) I popped up the lemon, watercolored them and then added a bit of sparkle to the center! The pictures NEVER show them nicely... (I'm gonna have to figure that out next!) I added a delicate white ribbon just above the sentiment and sent this to a friend recovering from surgery.
Finally, the last card is all black & white! MUSIC is our family's passion so naturally I couldn't resist these stamps!! I used the big notes & G clef with clear embossing on black paper and then mounted it on white for contrast. I added the G-clef, quarter note & popped the sentiment "Those who wish to sing will always find a song".... 
Hope you are finding some rest & relaxation in whatever you enjoy doing best... Audrey and I are having fun creating again..... it has been quite a while! (NOW FOR THAT NEW CHALLANGE OF FIGURING OUT AN ATC! YIKES! I'll keep you posted!)
I don't know if they show up well .... but the flower card is suppose to be eggplant & mellow moss while the teapot card is using navy blue & mellow moss! I enjoyed my quiet day..... It sure felt good to dust off this old hobby and try my hand at it again!
Oh boy... I hope I don't let my heart rule over my head this afternoon. Pete is coming home later this afternoon to help load them up.... it is a family decision and truly one for the best! New Thought...(grin...) I'll just keep reminding myself that spring is coming.... and springtime brings more barnyard babies!! :) HMMMM, maybe more chicks..... maybe turkeys, maybe a calf..... or a piglet or two!! 
