Oh my, I was heading out to meet friends @ World Outreach for the last outdoor preach/concert to partake in. Please Pastor Jackson re-consider and let them continue on throughout the Summer. Last night was the beautiful CeCe Winans. She is full of life and the love of Jesus permeates from every part of her. Joy in Jesus is what I see when I see her ministering. I think I shared this story before but I feel compelled to share again. Do you bring joy into a room or do you bring an atmosphere of the people around you thinking, here comes the opposite of joy walking into the room. If that is you then work on that because joy in Jesus should be all about what you bring to others. You know you may be the only smile a person may see for a week. I remember once when I lived in Ohio I was standing in line at a local grocery store, Giant Eagle, and I observed the check out person was not really smiling so this is what I did when it was my turn to check out and pay. I mentioned how they had a nice smile and that the very person that would come through their line may not of had someone smile at them for a week and what an important job they had. You know what, their countenance changed before my eyes and they smiled. Imagine that!
So, after my father died you all heard by now how his children had to contest his will and how uncles & a cousin received the majority of his 1.98 million estate that it was valued at. For some reason I fought for this one item. I wanted the right to purchase one of his vehicle license plates, they simply said JOY. I won that and had them in my name for a years time. Why only a year you may ask? I truly do have the joy of the Lord in me and I thought at the time it would be a great witnessing tool for me. Beleive it or not, people at church would call me Joy and not Kimberly. Did they really not know my name yet? That would baffle me. This is the real reason I did not renew those very license plates because Holy Spirit spoke to me. He said who gives you the joy you have, is it me or the license plates? I was stunned by this reality and gladly relinquished the plates because the joy has and will continue to come to me through Holy Spirit.
Today, 6/13 my father would have turned 92 years old, Happy Birthday Dad. You are in a much better atmosphere in the presence of Jesus then what goes on now. Except, when you find pockets of the presence of God, like I have found at the awakening going on at the church. There are times a smile so big comes upon my face even with my eyes closed worshiping Jesus there. The same place I can also experience tears flowing in His tender presence. Have you been there yet? Come and find refreshing and great joy as you gather with others. I have found that as He takes me on His journeys, that same joy bubbles up inside of me. Yes, it can be at the grocery store or even the local farm I go to to get fresh produce. Just yesterday I needed some fresh squashes for the salad I am making for the picnic today. When you go somewhere frequently enough you begin to know the people there. As I walked up the young lady greeted me with a greeting that you knew she was glad to see you. Nice feeling inside of you. I had on my "Need Prayer, ask me" tee shirt yesterday. I finished shopping and noticed she had on an engagement ring, I asked her if she got engaged and she responded yes. I asked to see the ring closer and it was beautiful and he picked it out for her. He did a very nice job. They are waiting until after they both graduate college in 2023. I have been going to this local farm for several years now. I would give her little words of encouragement here and there when she was going to start college, etc. In that moment I had one 2.00 bill in my purse. I gave it to her to celebrate her engagement and how it is not so easy to find the 2.00 bills now. I then left and onto my next visit.
Sometime in the list of errands yesterday I knew 1 thing ... go to Publix and get a small birthday cake for my dad. Yep, I will asks those at the picnic if they would indulge me and sing Happy Birthday to him since he would have been 92 years old today if he was still alive. Let's see what happens. You know I still have to defend him at times now even though he has not been alive for many years now. Yes, I will admit that he may have not been the nicest to people. I was at a wedding recently and I had a conversation with a cousin on my dad's side of the family and one of my children. In the course of the conversation she just kept talking about how he was not nice at all. I then defended him and said he is in heaven today I saw him give his heart to Jesus. I was not going to back away from this defense. I was given that look by one of my children to back off but I held my ground. I said maybe others feel that but he paid for the attic in our home to be remodeled into a master bedroom with a 1/2 bath for us. Maybe he was not fair amongst us siblings but you know what? I had a relationship with him and at times I would stand my ground with him. I remember a time when he tried to bribe me with 100.00 if at the time I named our son John L. and not the name my husband and I selected just for him. I know it sounds crazy doesn't it. We named him with the name we selected just for him.
I suppose it was a mixed blessing when he threatened me to change his will when I went through with my divorce. His reasoning was at the time we were no longer a family. Meaning husband, wife & children. I saw that will and boy it would have been hard to try and make things even with my siblings at the time if he would have kept that will. See, no amount of money or things were worth trading peace in my life once I was set free to be me after the divorce. Peace far out wins things and money, it truly does. In that prior will we were to get a beautiful condo in Bratenahl along with 2 boat slips near the Shoreby Club. We were also to get 2 condo's in downtown Cleveland with underground parking spots also. My dad was a visionary when it came to real estate. He saw Cleveland being built up again before it ever happened. He saw it and purchased 2 condos that the view was the Cuyahoga River (the one that was in the news for catching on fire before.) Sure enough, it happened and downtown Cleveland is quite beautiful now. At one time I used to lease for him the 1 condo to executives that would be in town as a consultant and needed a fully furnished place to stay.
How would we have ever begun to make this will right with my siblings? I have had people say to me if you would have only stayed married to my husband a few more years it would have been yours. No way, peace is too valuable to me and look what I would have missed out on with Jesus adventures and Holy Spirit teaching me in those few years before he died. Think about the greater picture in this story ... I would have never leaned how to evangelize when I did so I was able to lead Him to Jesus? See what I mean and then I would have had to deal with making things even with the distribution of wealth left to us. God has a plan and I am most thankful to say His plan is far greater than man's plan Amen.
Oh, by the way, that one child of mine apologized to me at the end of the evening telling that they were sorry for trying to stop me from speaking what is spoke. I shared with my children how my elderly aunt told me recently to keep doing what Holy Spirit shows me doing even if others will not understand or even like it either. I am and will continue to do so.
One more thought, my dad loved birthday cakes from Hough Bakery so in his honor I did get a white cake with butter cream frosting. Do you like it?
Oh my I almost forgot to include my new favorite Crowder song that is in "repeat" mode in the car. It is "Glory, Glory (God is Able)"
Glory, Glory (God Is Able)
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| Very interesting, there were only 2 choices for this cake yesterday either for a boy or a girl version. I chose the boy version. I remember correctly that my dad's favorite color was blue except for the interior color of places he lived, that would always be in neutral colors like variations of beige. |