Inspirations from the Funny Farm

I John 5:14-15 This is the confidence we have in approaching God: that if we ask anything according to his will, he hears us. And if we know that he hears us—whatever we ask—we know that we have what we asked of him.

Mark 11:24 Therefore I tell you, whatever you ask for in prayer, believe that you have received it, and it will be yours.

Matthew 18:20 For where two or three gather in my name, there am I with them.

I remember with great fondness our first church prayer meeting after reopening following closure due to COVID. Oak Hill Baptist Church gathered together, and we prayed! Boy did we pray! We prayed with specificity for our nation and our national leaders. We called out specific requests for specific leaders. We prayed for our own church family, our community, families who have recently lost loved ones, those who are ill, and so many more. I’m here to tell you that I enjoyed that prayer service with every ounce of my being! There is something special about gathering together with a body of believers, your church family, and praying.

I’ve already told y’all that I pray from the time I wake up until I fall asleep at night. I even pray if I wake up during the middle of the night. So what’s the big deal about gathering together for prayer meeting? Oh, my friends, that’s where mountains are being moved! Am I saying that God doesn’t hear my individual prayer? Absolutely not! In fact, I’ve seen Him answer my prayers all too often so I know for a fact He hears. But there is just something so sweet and so special when two or more are gathered in His name, calling on Him together, for a common request or need.

I love what John tells us in I John 5:14-15. We can have CONFIDENCE in our prayers! If go to the Lord and ask Him anything that is according to His will, He hears us, and if we KNOW that He hears us, we can KNOW that we will have what we asked for. That’s a pretty awesome truth! There is a little catch there if you didn’t see it. We have to go to Him and ask in accordance to His will, and if we ask according to God’s will, we can rest assured peacefully knowing the prayer has already been answered.
As a small child, I remember our pastor preaching a sermon from this text, but of course, I was too young to really comprehend the “according to God’s will” part. I remember praying for a Hershey’s candy bar. I could say that God didn’t answer that prayer, but over the past 50+ years, I’ve consumed my share of Hershey bars so even though that wasn’t an appropriate prayer, I guess God even answered that one. But seriously though, when we go to God in prayer, and we ask things of Him, we need to ask for His will to be done in the situation.

There’s a movie called “The Wishing Well,” and in this movie a person could throw a coin in a wishing well, and the wish would come true. There was a catch though. The wish had to be “the right wish” in order for it to come true. In a way, this can be related to prayer. God hears everything we say to Him. Every coin we toss into the wishing well is acknowledged. But God isn’t a wishing well or a magic genie in a lamp. He’s God. If we go to Him with the desires of our heart, and our desires are the “right” desires that align with His will, then we can rest assured that the prayer has been heard and will be answered. We may not see the answer today, but we can rest peacefully knowing that God has already handled it. There is true power in prayer!!

Proverbs 17:22 A joyful heart is good medicine, But a broken spirit dries up the bones.

Proverbs 15:13 and 15 A happy heart makes the face cheerful…. the cheerful heart has a continual feast.

Proverbs 31:25 She is clothed with strength and dignity, and she laughs without fear of the future.

Ecclesiastes 3:1 There is a time for everything, and a season for every activity under the heavens.

When is the last time that you had a good old belly laugh or laughed until tears ran down your face? I don’t think we do that nearly enough, but God gave us the gift of laughter and joy, and He takes pleasure in seeing His kids happy and laughing.
This morning while getting dressed, I picked my kinky hair out, flipped my head upside down and back up, and then my hair was standing out on every direction. I grabbed a hairbrush off the bathroom counter, and I ran into the kitchen where Jeff was cooking sausage. In my greatest Tina Turner impression, I belted out, “What’s love got to do with it? What’s love but a second hand emotion?” Jeff about jumped out of his skin, and I rolled in laughter. I don’t know if it was the hair, the screaming like Tina, or the fact that I snuck up on him, but his response was hilarious. I laughed so hard. We all know that I can’t sing, but that doesn’t stop me. Plus, I definitely had that Tina Turner look going on so there was that, and the opportunity couldn’t be wasted!
Jeff and I do silly little things like this all the time. We enjoy laughing together. I think a lot of folks thinks Christians have to be boring old sticks in the mud. Not so! Christians love God, love life, and love to laugh! We can’t help but laugh as the joy of Christ in our hearts spills out to those around us.

Besides the fact that it’s so much fun to laugh, laughter is a natural stress reducer. Laughing improves our circulation and muscle tone, and when we laugh we produce and release endorphins which are “feel good” hormones. Yep, God designed us so well that He actually packaged us up in a body that can produce feel good hormones when we laugh and exercise. How cool is that?

Laughter is good for you! Faith in Christ fills us with joy, and we need to share that joy with those around us. This world appears sad and broken, and if we’re not careful, we will start to feel sad and broken too. But with Christ, we are renewed daily. Our spirit is refreshed on a regular basis, and we have joy in Jesus. We can laugh because we are filled with joy. How about giving it a shot and laughing out loud today? Laughter is indeed good medicine, and it certainly does the body good!

Psalm 146 Praise the Lord! Let all that I am praise the Lord. I will praise the Lord as long as I live. I will sing praises to my God with my dying breath. Don’t put your confidence in powerful people; there is no help for you there. When they breathe their last, they return to the earth, and all their plans die with them. But joyful are those who have the God of Israel as their helper, whose hope is in the Lord their God. He made heaven and earth, the sea, and everything in them. He keeps every promise forever. He gives justice to the oppressed and food to the hungry. The Lord frees the prisoners. The Lord opens the eyes of the blind. The Lord lifts up those who are weighed down. The Lord loves the godly. The Lord protects the foreigners among us. He cares for the orphans and widows, but he frustrates the plans of the wicked. The Lord will reign forever. He will be your God, O Jerusalem, throughout the generations. Praise the Lord!

Praise the Lord…as long as I live…with my dying breath, I will praise the Lord with all that I am. Peeps, this Psalm is a great praise Psalm, and its chock full of good stuff! Verse 3 and 4 remind us that we shouldn’t put our confidence in powerful people. They may be powerful in the here and now, but when they take their last breath, all their plans and power die with them. Look around for a moment. Who are you putting your confidence in? We place our confidence in powerful politicians, winning athletes, movie stars, the top 40 singers or bands. We listen to what they say, and many times we believe a whole lot of misinformation because we feel that the person speaking is speaking with authority so therefore, whatever they are saying has to be true. Sometimes, they speak truth, but more times than not, they’re just speaking.

Thankfully, we have One that we can place all confidence in: our Lord and Savior. We are reminded in this Psalm that we can be joyful and have hope in the Lord. The promises made by the Lord are never broken. He created the heavens and the earth. He gives justice. He feeds the hungry. He protects His children, and He frustrates the plans of the wicked. He is definitely worthy of our praise!

God gave us eyes that see and ears that hear, and He imparts wisdom to each one that asks. We have to view this crazy world through a God lens rather than the rose colored glasses that we so often wear. Be careful not to put your confidence is people of power merely because of the position they hold. Listen to what is being spoken. Is it godly or is it worldly? Watch carefully with your eyes. Is the person behaving in a godly manner, or are they living for the world? Pay attention, and ask God for wisdom and discernment while muddling through each and every crazy day of life. And when you wake up and before you fall asleep at night, you can have absolute confidence in One for sure and can praise His name continually! Yes, Lord, I will praise you as long as I live, with my dying breath, and with all that I am. Praise the Lord!

Job 38:41 Who provides food for the raven when its young cry out to God and wander about for lack of food?

Luke 12:24 Consider the ravens: They do not sow or reap, they have no storeroom or barn; yet God feeds them. And how much more valuable you are than birds!

Job 12:7-9 But ask the animals, and they will teach you, or the birds in the sky, and they will tell you; or speak to the earth, and it will teach you, or let the fish in the sea inform you. Which of all these does not know that the hand of the LORD has done this?

Last night after feeding up at the barn, I noticed that the peacocks had started dropping their feathers. Despite the fact that I already have two very large vases full of their feathers upstairs, I excitedly gathered up a double handful. The feathers are beautiful, and I occasionally like to be crafty. Peacock feathers can add beautiful accents to flower bouquets and wreaths, and they’re quite expensive to purchase so I just gather my own crop of feathers each year from our males. We have one gorgeous Indian Blue, and the other male is a pied Indian Blue. He has the typical plumage but his center most feathers are white, and when he spreads the feathers out and struts, it looks like fireworks!

Our peacocks are pretty to look at, and they gift me with craft supplies, but other than that, they really aren’t of much use to us. The females lay eggs sporadically, but they never sit on them. They make loud noises whenever they hear a noise so there’s that. But really what else are they good for? Their beauty is why we keep them around. Have you ever looked at a peacock feather? The colors are brilliant iridescent, emerald greens and royal blues. Maybe I love them because they sport two of my favorite colors. They are truly beautiful birds.

Ponder for a moment about the exquisite beauty of this bird. Could the world survive without them? I think so. Would it make a difference if they disappeared? Probably not. But still, God created them. He saw a need for these beautiful creatures to adorn the glorious earth that He created for you and me. And though I haven’t found a significant purpose for the peacocks, God designed them with His purpose in mind.

They are silly birds, and they are insignificant, although beautiful birds. But God must’ve put a lot of thought into designing those peacocks. One feather alone is captivating. The colors are gorgeous and so appealing to the human eye. Just look at the detail in the feathers.

God put that much thought and care into the design of a bird…a bird, Peeps! He also provides a means for the birds to have food. They don’t have to go out and get jobs or store food up in barns the future. God takes care of them. He even saw fit to place a few at Hodge Critter Lodge because He knew we would take care of them for Him.

If our awesome, gracious, loving Father put that much thought and care into the design of a bird, how much more thought and care do you think He put into designing you and I? He formed us in His image. His image, Peeps! He designed us specifically for His glory. He designed us to have a relationship with Him, to live for Him, and to glorify Him. God doesn’t make mistakes. God made you, and you are a whole lot more important to Him than a silly old bird. He put a lot of thought and care into creating you. He loves us so much more than we can comprehend. You are valued by our heavenly Father. Yes, you are valued, you are loved, and you are the child of the Most High! When you’re feeling down, just spread those beautiful feathers and strut, straighten your crown, and remember whose child you are!

James 1:5 If any of you lacks wisdom, you should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to you.

Psalm 27:14 Wait for the Lord; be strong and take heart and wait for the Lord.

We have all had to make a variety of decisions throughout our lives. Some decisions were bigger than others, and some were much tougher than others to make. This old hard headed girl has learned through the years that instead making decisions on my own, I need to run all my decisions past Christ first. Seriously, Peeps, we should pray about any decision we have to make.

A little over 5 years ago, I was working in Poplarville. I truly loved working right here in my hometown, but the company that I was working for was not honoring the staff, the providers, and most importantly, the patients. I didn’t care for the way things were being run, and I started praying about it. It was time to renew my contract. I was locked in with a no compete clause so I couldn’t leave this clinic and work at another one in Poplarville. The local hospital administrator interviewed me and talked with me for hours on end trying figure a way out of the clause. I interviewed with Hattiesburg clinic also, but still..there was that one little hiccup…the no compete clause. I kept praying this prayer, “Lord, I don’t think that this is where I’m supposed to be. I don’t think that this is a God honoring company. But if this is where you want me to stay, I’ll stay. If it’s not, open a door, and I’ll jump through it.”

Several weeks passed, and I had sent the contract back for revisions several times…stalling. I was trying my best not to sign it. Then, finally, there was nothing left to revise. The final contract arrived on my desk on a Friday. I decided to let it sit until Monday, but I had resigned to the fact that I was going to have to sign it. But wait…wait on God!!! Monday morning arrived. I was in an exam room seeing a patient, when one of my coworkers knocked on the door and said that I had a phone call. I took the call expecting the other provider to be calling about a mutual patient, but I was wrong. Instead he asked, “Are you happy with your current job? The PA here is leaving and I’m looking for another nurse practitioner for my clinic in Carriere.” I looked at the contract on my desk in awe, and I looked up and said, “Okay, God, I’m jumping through that door!”

I had practiced in Picayune my whole career before going to work at the clinic in Poplarville, and I was future minded enough to include in my contract that if I wanted to, I could go back to work in the Picayune area, however, I’m sure that was insight from God too. I put my notice in, and have been working for Hattiesburg Clinic at the Carriere Immediate Care for almost 7 years now, and I love it!! (Well, I’m not loving this “season of COVID,” but I do love what I do!)

This is just one example of how God has answered a prayer in my life. He may not answer the prayers immediately, and He may not answer them the way I want Him too, but He will answer. Sometimes, He opens a door, and we have to have faith and just jump through it. Sometimes, He closes a door, and we need to put a deadbolt lock on it and throw away the key. God knows our every need. He puts us where He needs us to be for certain seasons of our lives. We need to only have faith in Him. Pray, ask God for guidance, pray some more, and wait. The waiting is always the hardest, but the reward is always great! God’s timing is always right on time!!

Matthew 5:5 Blessed are the meek, for they will inherit the earth.

James 3:17 But the wisdom that comes from heaven is first of all pure; then peace-loving, considerate, submissive, full of mercy and good fruit, impartial and sincere.

Peeps, I am so saddened by the state of affairs of this world right now. I pray for peace, I look for peace, but it seems the only place that I can find that peace is within my own heart and home. If you watch the news or you read social media, it looks like everybody woke up on the wrong side of the bed. As a Mama and a Mimi, I want to tell everybody to go back to bed and take a nap. Who knows, it might help and it wouldn’t hurt.

But what I really want to do is tell all the Christians out there to WAKE UP! We’re sleeping too much. We are napping when instead we need to be out hitting the highways and the hedges sharing the good news and peace that we know. Seriously, it’s time to wake up!

God created us for His glory, and I bet He’s up there in heaven shaking His head at the mess we’re in right now. I don’t think He’s surprised by it. I’m sure He already knew it was going to happen. I’m just not sure where we’re going from here, although I know that God does.

There is so much hate and anger and division in the world. No one can find peace because they don’t know Peace. As Christian’s we can’t sit idly by on the sidelines and ignore what is going on. Now, I’m not saying get in the middle of all the fighting and acting ugly. Rather I’m challenging you to get out there and show the love of Christ. Don’t argue with those that have a different viewpoint. Instead, have a lovingly, meaningful conversation. Spontaneously treat someone to a meal. Share a smile or a kind word. That doesn’t cost a thing. Tell someone how your life has been changed by Christ.

Don’t be a part of the ugliness. Be a part of the peace. Show others the love of Christ, and make a difference in this world…one person at a time! As Christians we know the secret to peace. The old saying is full of truth. Know Jesus, know peace. No Jesus, no peace. Let us not keep this secret to ourselves. May we share the love of Christ today and show the world true peace!

Psalm 119:32 I will run the way of thy commandments, when thou shalt enlarge my heart.

2 Samuel 22:33-34 God is my strength and power: and he maketh my way perfect. He maketh my feet like hinds’ feet: and setteth me upon my high places.

Hebrews 12:1 Let us run with patience the race that is set before us.

I guess you could say I’m a morning person…some days more than others. There is always a lot to do around here, and we want to beat the heat of the day, but that old bed can feel good! I usually roll out of bed by 5:00 am, but on Saturdays, I may stay in bed until after 6:00. I make a list in my head of all the things I need to accomplish during day, but first I have to make time for God.

It’s so easy to get busy around here the second our eyes open. There is always, always something to do, and there is not a lot of down time at Hodge Lodge. It would be easy for me to not have quiet time with God, but it wouldn’t be rewarding.
I have to get up a little earlier and make myself prioritize my time to include studying God’s word and spending quiet time with Him everyday. It’s not a chore. It’s not a thing on my checklist. It’s something that I feel like I need to do, and it’s something that I want to do. When I spend time in the Word, reflecting on Christ, and speaking quietly with Him, the whole day is just better. It is important for my spiritual well being to sit down with at sunrise with my coffee and my God.

We are all busy. Society says go, go, go. It is like we are in the middle of a never ending race to an unseen finish line. Well, I don’t know about you, but my finish line looks like beautiful pearly gates! I pray that yours does too. If I am to run this race in life well, I need to train. In sports, athletes train hard. They study the rule books, work out, study the plays, learn from their coach, and train for upcoming events because they want to win. We are all racing to our eternal finish line daily. Shouldn’t we train too? Shouldn’t we stay in the Word of God and spend time reflecting on the Word and quietly speaking to our Father? Yes and yes! I’m running to Christ and those pearly gates of heaven. I’ve already won this race in life the minute I asked Christ into my heart so I can just stop training, right? No. Knowing Christ personally just makes me want to train harder. I want to get to know my Father better. I want to walk (or mostly run) in His ways. I want to be sure that I am on the right path. I crave the encouragement, grace, and mercy that I can only receive from Him. I want to run the race well. So I will keep training. I will continue to drink coffee with God at sunrise because I need God the first thing every morning and all day long! Find a time that works best for you and set that time aside daily to spend time with God. You won’t regret it! It is one habit I truly recommend!

Jeremiah 29:11 For I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord, plans for welfare and not for evil, to give you a future and a hope.

Philippians 3:20 Our citizenship is in heaven, and from it we await a Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ.

I John 5:13-14 I write these things to you who believe in the name of the Son of God so that you may know that you have eternal life. This is the confidence we have in approaching God: that if we ask anything according to his will, he hears us.

One of the absolute hardest parts of my job as a nurse practitioner is delivering bad news to a patient. It may be a suspicious mass on a CT scan, critically abnormal labs, or confirmation of cancer on pathology. Delivering this type of news is always so hard to do, but one thing that makes it a bit easier is prayer. When I receive the news, before I impart any of the information to the patient, I pray over it. Yep, I’ve told y’all before that I talk to God all day long. There’s this thing called HIPAA so I can’t and won’t discuss patient personal information with others, but thankfully, God is excluded from that and I can talk to him all day long! So yes, I go to God on the behalf of the patient, but also for myself. I ask God to give me the right words when delivering the news and the strength and grace to do so. Then, I talk to the patient, pray with the patient, and even cry with the patient.

I’ve been asked many times, “Is there any hope?” That, my friends, is an easy one to answer. There is ALWAYS hope in Jesus! In my many years of practice, I have seen many miracles. I have witnessed patients surviving from terminal illness, but I have also watch as one slowly declined from terminal illness. No matter the outcome, there is still hope in eternal life if you have Christ. The hope lies in Christ, not in the illness.

I could share so many stories, but I have one fond memory than comes to mind this morning. A patient whom I didn’t really know was having some female issues. She hadn’t had a Pap in many years, and after the work up was complete, she was diagnosed with cervical cancer with metastasis. I talked to her as I have done many times before and shared the hope of Jesus with her. I didn’t see her again for about 3 years. She came in for a visit and told me that she wanted to thank me. She said that it was because of our conversation that day 3 years ago that she became a christian. She hadn’t known Christ before then, but she does now. She said that everything changed for her that day. She was filled with hope and love and joy and peace!

There is eternal hope in Christ. We may not want to dwell on it, Peeps, but unless Jesus comes soon, we are all going to die. When I was younger, I fretted about that. I even prayed telling God all of the things I needed to do before I died. I laugh at myself now. I know that God has a plan for me, and I know that my time is already recorded, but I live knowing that when I die life is going to be unimaginable with my heavenly Father! That is hope eternal! If you don’t have that assurance, get you some of that! It’s better than Allstate, State Farm, Farm Bureau or Liberty Mutual all tied up in one! If you want to talk about it, I’m a pretty good listener despite my wordy self! Message me! I love you, Peeps! Live your life with eternal hope! There is no better peace!

Psalm 62:5 Yes, my soul, find rest in God; my hope comes from him.

Philippians 4:7 And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.

I have seen wall hangings, canvases, t-shirts, and a variety of other products with the words “it is well with my soul” beautifully scripted on them. The words are from a beautiful hymn written by Horatio Spafford in 1873 during a time of tremendous grief. Horatio was a successful lawyer and businessman in Chicago. He had 5 children with his wife, Anna. They lost one child to pneumonia in 1871, and later the same year, they lost much of their business to the great Chicago fire. They were no strangers to tragedy, but God was merciful and allowed his business to flourish again after the fire.

In 1873, Anna and the 4 surviving daughters boarded a French ocean liner for Europe. Horatio was supposed to go too, but had to stay back to attend business. He planned to join them later via a different boat. Four days into the journey, the ocean liner collided with another ship, and it went down. A sailor spotted a woman floating on a piece of the wreckage. Anna survived, but she had lost all four of her children. She wired her husband upon arriving in Wales, and he took the next ship to meet her. When the ship was about four days our, the captain called Horatio to his cabin and told him that they were over the place where the ship went down. According to a daughter born after the tragedy, Horatio penned “It is Well with My Soul” while on that journey. “When peace like a river, attendeth my way, when sorrows like sea billows roll, whatever my lot, thou hast taught me to say
It is well, it is well, with my soul.”

Wow! I can not even imagine the sorrow, the emotions, or the grief, but I am amazed at his great understanding of God’s grace and mercy and peace. During the greatest tragedy of his life, Horatio knew that all was well because of Christ. I know too many people who become angry with Christ when they lost a loved one or when tragedy reared its ugly head, yet it is during those times that we see God show up and show out. We cry out to Him, and He hears us. He gives us a peace that trascends all understanding. Peace that can come only from Him. He gave that same peace to Horatio. He will give that same peace to you and I. No matter what trial you are facing, no matter how badly you are grieving, no matter how hard things appear to be, you can have peace and rejoice in knowing that God is going before you, and it is going to be alright. It is well, with my soul!

Ephesians 4:20-24 That, however, is not the way of life you learned when you heard about Christ and were taught in him in accordance with the truth that is in Jesus. You were taught, with regard to your former way of life, to put off your old self, which is being corrupted by its deceitful desires; to be made new in the attitude of your minds; and to put on the new self, created to be like God in true righteousness and holiness.

Our mission trip to the Dominican Republic was probably my favorite mission adventure. There are many reasons why it was my favorite, but the main reason was because it was a totally mission minded mission trip. We were there to provide medical care, but more importantly than caring for the physical needs of the people, we were there to share Christ. We were there to attend to their spiritual needs.

It wasn’t the typical scenario of seeing as many patients as we could see in one day. Rather we were only allowed to see a certain number of patients each day because the mission was to get to know the patients and their families on a personal level and share Christ with them. Medical care was just a little lagniappe. We were allowed to pray with every single family. It was amazing!

One thing that stands out in my mind was the fact that a good bit of the people I spoke with wanted to be Christians, but they weren’t ready to make “the change” yet. They usually stated an age in the future, such as, “I’m going to become a Christian when I’m forty.” They had an age in their minds at which time they thought they would be good enough to become a Christian, wise enough, or changed enough. I had great difficulty with the language barrier, but I did my very best to explain that we would never reach that age. No matter how good we try to be, how many church services we attend, or how much we read the Bible, we will never ever be good enough to deserve salvation. We just aren’t that good! We are all sinners saved by grace.

God knew this well in advance. He knew that we couldn’t earn salvation, so He designed a plan through Christ on the cross so that we may be made righteous through Him. Christ makes us right. When we accept Christ as our Savior, we begin to change. The change doesn’t come first. The salvation does. Once you allow Jesus to take over your heart, you just can’t help but change. When you realize how much He loves you and what He did for you, you can’t help but become a better person. Your heart fills up with love for Christ and love for others, and before long everyone around you sees the fruits of the Spirit. You start serving others and loving others and sharing Christ with others. Those old bad habits slowly but surely begin to fall away. You will be changed! It doesn’t happen overnight, but if Christ is truly in you, it will happen!

If you haven’t made that change yet, if you aren’t producing fruit, if you are waiting for a certain age or date, please don’t wait one minute longer! We aren’t promised tomorrow. There is no better time than the present. Make the change! You won’t regret it!