THE VOICE

MIRACLES Pt.1

Talking with my brother the other day, we looked back on “close calls” we’ve experienced. I started to think about past situations that occurred in my life, and recalled stories other people have told me and it led me to this format.

According to the Webster dictionary, Miracles mean; an unusual or wonderful event that is believed to be caused by the power of God.

 In the first part of the series, I will be talking about what some people have called, “the little voice” or even, “something told me”. Others are calling it “your inner voice (an internal monologue or speech)” and also “intuition (comes from the Latin verb; intueri or to contemplate, a phenomenon of the mind, the ability to acquire knowledge without inference or use of reason.)”. Whatever title you have placed on it, you can reasonably say that this has happened to everyone at least once in their life. I want to share with you some of the times this “voice” has saved my life, and I’ll leave it to you to decide if its intuition or your inner voice. Personally, I believe in the power of God and I know no matter how good you think you are, you cannot predict an unforeseen event that is about to take place without the help of the Holy Spirit. Most of the time, we can predict the actions of people or animals because of past behavior, habits, routines and information that was told of them. We can also determine what could take place with objects i.e.; side effects, warning labels. These are common notifications you are told to expect to happen. What about the unexpected?

I was driving home from work one day and the road I was using was a two lane street. I had to pick my kids up from my Grandmother’s house who lived quite a bit away and I wanted to be home before the sun set. The traffic was moving at a good pace when I heard a voice say, “Be still”. Now it wasn’t audible but I could hear it in my head. At first I didn’t really pay attention to it until further down the road I heard it again, “Be still”. I pondered on why I was thinking this and kept driving until I heard it again. By this time I knew it wasn’t me and started asking myself what does that mean? As I got to a 4-way stop sign, an old beat-up truck turned in front of me and it seemed his top speed was 20 miles per hour. Every time I attempted to go around him the traffic on the opposite side wasn’t clear. I was getting frustrated and just wanted to get away from him. Again, I hear the voice, “Be still”. Earlier it was soft, and this time it was a little more amplified, not loud, just stern. Already agitated by the slow driver in front of me, now I can’t stop hearing this voice and I didn’t know what it was talking about! I knew that up ahead at the next intersection the lane would spilt into 2 on both sides and I decided I’m going to punch the gas and go around him using the right hand lane. As I was approaching the light I looked in my rear view mirror and no one was behind me so I thought, nice this will be over in a minute. I placed both my hands on the steering wheel so I could swing to the right and I heard the voice repeat, “Be still” again, but sharp like a command, and then I heard a different loud voice say, “GO NOW!” As I went to turn the wheel it kind of froze for a second and in that split second I felt the car rock hard along with a gust of wind. A huge rig flew past in the right lane, the speed he was going caused my little car to rock. That was the same lane I intended to use. My heart was beating hard and my hands were shaking badly. I was still in disbelief when I arrived at my Grandmother’s house. I told her what happened and she replied, you know that was the voice of God warning you the whole time. And what about that other voice, the loud one? I know that wasn’t God, if I had listened to the loud voice I wouldn’t be here writing this now.

My brother had a similar experience while he was driving. He said it was late at night and he was taking a friend home. He was going at a good speed as they were approaching a signal light when he said, “Something told him” to take his foot off the gas pedal and pump his brake a bit. The light had changed to green before he reached it and as he was entering the intersection an old Cadillac ran through the red light on the stopped traffic. My brother said if he had not slowed down and pumped his brakes a bit, they would have been t-boned. When they got to his friend’s house the friend asked, “How did you know to pump your brakes?”

How many times have that “voice” told you not to change lanes just as a car flies by in the lane you were going to change to? Or you are sitting back relaxing watching tv or reading a book when it tells you to go check on a child, and you just happen to catch them doing something they didn’t have any business doing or going somewhere they thought you would never find out about. What about when a friend or family member you haven’t talked to in a while comes to your mind and the “voice” tells you to give them a call or stop by, and it happens that they were sick or depressed and were glad to see or hear from you?

Let’s talk about if we didn’t listen to the “voice”. Where would you be? How different would things have turned out if we hadn’t acted on that “voice”? I would love to hear your stories of how a “voice” changed your life. –L.G.

WRITE UP FRONT

WRITE UP FRONT

L.G.LONDON:  on real life, real people with “LONDONTALKS”

With an upcoming podcast in the works, time is really a luxury I look forward to. Never give up and pursue your dreams, if God gave it to you, believe it and stay on it. I’m blessed in all I have and fortunate for what’s to come. No-one, even I, thought that I would be the author of 3 published books and 3 more in process! Starting 3 other businesses which will all tie in together for my fathers' Kingdom! But God! Stay encouraged and on focus-L.G.

THE MIRROR

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Facing the truth

MIRROR:  a.) something that shows what another thing is like in

                      a very clear and accurate way.

                  b.) something that gives a TRUE representation.

The cares of this world tends to keep us busy, and our daily chores and work continuously are before us. On top of that, we are dealing with issues our family or friends may be going through. Maybe it’s church or marital issues. Problems with our co-workers or bosses, whatever the situation is, unknowingly attach itself to us and many times we aren’t aware that it is affecting us more than we think. Years go by and you think you are the same person with the same beliefs, morals and convictions.

One day you’re praying and telling him that I just want to make it into your kingdom and I need to know if I am pleasing to you? I would put off every business I own, every book I’ve written just to put you first in my life, what do you need me to do Lord?

I got my answer when I got up from my knees and began to read the bible. I opened up Galatians and began to read from the fifth chapter. Now I’ve read the bible over and over many times but it’s funny how sometimes we need a little reminder of HIS instructions. I was sorry to say that I’m guilty of a few of them and I would like to say a couple but I don’t want to add lying to the list. Some of the words I had to look up just to make sure I understood what they meant. It is my desire and goal to put God first in my life and to obey his commandments. I wanted to share this reminder and their definitions according to the Merriam-Webster version. I knew what most of them meant like: Adultery, fornication, Idolatry, wrath, witchcraft, hatred, envyings, murders, and drunkenness. But these words I wanted to look up:

Lasciviousness:  filled with or showing sexual desire.

Uncleanness: not innocent and good: morally impure

Variance: the fact or state of being in disagreement

Emulations: ambition or endeavor to equal or excel others (as in achievement)

Strife: very angry or violent disagreement between two or more people or groups

Seditions: the crime of saying, writing, or doing something that encourages people to disobey their government

Heresies: a belief or opinion that does not agree with the official belief or opinion of a particular religion

The last two, seditions and heresies I needed a clearer interpretation of, so I researched and found this:

Heresies:  This word also denotes divisions or schisms in the church ( 1 Corinthians 11:19 ). In Titus 3:10 a "heretical person" is one who follows his own self-willed "questions," and who is to be avoided. Heresies thus came to signify self-chosen doctrines not emanating from God ( 2 Peter 2:1 ).

Seditions:  An uproar; insurrection; dissension.

Source: biblestudytools

And what really got me was the last verse I read that said: Gal. 5:21 that they which do such things shall not inherit the kingdom of heaven

. The fruit of the Spirit is what we need to strive to obtain from the Lord. No, it is not easy when he puts us through the fire to burn off things that are not like him, but the end result is priceless.

So faced with this revelation and looking in the mirror I see things I need to work on and asking the Lord for help in areas of my life that I hadn’t confronted or acknowledged. I thought about many times if my time came to meet him would I be ready? I’m not willing to take that chance that I was. I saw something on Facebook a clip where a preacher was at the pulpit speaking to the congregation about if the Lord took him right now, that he was ready. He took a drink of water and dropped down dead on the spot. I pray that he was ready. I can almost guarantee that he didn’t know that at that moment would be his last. We are not promised tomorrow and you never know when your appointed time will happen. Look in the mirror. Are you really ready? Pray and ask God to show you what you cannot see. Below I will leave the link to the Pastor who died at the pulpit. Let’s keep his family in prayer.   –L.G.
 This pastor said he was ready if it was his time to go to Heaven. Mere moments later, he was at the pulpit giving his sermon when something happened that...

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SAYING GOODBYE....PT 1

SAYING GOODBYE…

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One of the most difficult things to do is to say goodbye. Whether it’s to the death of a loved one or the ending of a relationship, the process nevertheless is hard. When the only woman I called my mom (my grandmother) was passing away in hospice, they had given our family some pamphlets to read and one of them was explaining how a person behaves when they are dying. Now we knew she was sick but we didn’t think she was leaving anytime soon. But according to the booklet we had she had been showing the signs of dying a couple of months before she passed and we didn’t even know it. If I had known that I only had a short time left with her I would’ve taken off work and spent more time with her. To talk or travel….something. I felt robbed and I was really upset with myself that I didn’t realize and see the signs that she was leaving me. That saying is so true, that you need to appreciate the time you have with loved ones because you never know when the last time will be. It is agonizing to watch, and care for a loved one who is slipping away, you deal with setbacks and deterioration as well as periods of “seeming” remission. It wears us down and we find ourselves wishing at times for the process to just end. Grief involves confronting family issues that may have been dormant and unresolved for years. Issues that may reemerge as you are forced to interact and work together through the grief. And finally, it means moving forward as a stronger family, after the loved one passes. If we don’t learn to understand and work with each other in learning to cope with prolonged grief, we are vulnerable to serious psychological consequences, including depression, guilt and anxiety. This all can lead to physical illness. There are certain signs in the last few months, weeks, days and sometimes hours of life that show when someone is preparing to die. Recognizing what these are will help you to say those important goodbyes, and prepare you for what is to come.

 *They begin to withdraw from their surroundings; they are beginning the process of separating from the world and those in it. They may refuse visits from friends, neighbors, and maybe even family members. When they do accept visitors, they may be difficult to interact with or care for. They begin to contemplate their life and revisit old memories. ( my grandmother would come to tell me she dreamed of her siblings and her parents who have all passed on. She had a few dreams about them and at one point asked me if that meant she was dying? I told her no, of course not. And quite frequently she dreamed about falling off a cliff into black water, she asked me again if that meant she was dying. After her second dream  and I saw how disturbed she was I looked it up on the internet and under spiritual dreams, water and cliffs represented end of life, death. I never told her that. This happened a few months before she passed).

*They may experience reduced appetite and weight loss. As the body begins to slow down, it doesn’t need the energy from food that it once did, or the nourishment. The dying person may be sleeping more now and not engaging in activities they once enjoyed. The body does a wonderful thing during this time as altered body chemistry produces a mild sense of euphoria. They are neither hungry nor thirsty and are not suffering in any way by not eating. It is an expected part of the journey they have begun. (My grandmother did start sleeping a lot more. She used to be up when I left for work and would be up when I got home, but towards the end she was asleep when I left and seemed to be the same way when I got home. I would wake her up and ask her why was she sleeping so much and was she ok? I got worried but I figured she was getting older and maybe she just needed to rest. And although she would tell me what she craved to eat she would barely touch her plate, and I just blamed her sleeping so much to her not eating}.

*One to two weeks prior to death; this is the time during the journey that one begins to sleep most of the time. Disorientation is common and altered senses of perception can be expected. One may experience delusions, such as fearing hidden enemies or feeling invincible. The dying person may also experience hallucinations, sometimes seeing or speaking to people that aren’t there. Often times these are people that have already died. Some may see this as the veil being lifted between this life and the next. The person may pick at their sheets and clothing in agitation. Movements and actions may seem aimless and make no sense to others. They are moving further away from life on this earth. (Remember I told you my grandmother dreamt of her family, what I didn’t say was she was talking to them out loud and my niece overheard her. Later my grandma told me that her whole family was sitting at a big table where lots of food was and they were all smiling and telling her to come on. She said she thought it was so real).

*Physical Changes;

The body is having a more difficult time maintaining itself, look for some of these signs:

·        Body temperature lowers by a degree or more

·        The blood pressure lowers.

·        The pulse becomes irregular and may slow down or speed up.

·        There is increased perspiration.

·        Skin color changes as circulation becomes diminished. This is often more noticeable in the lips and nail beds they become pale and bluish.

·        Breathing changes occur, often becoming more rapid and labored. Congestion may also occur causing a rattling sound and cough.

·        Speaking decreases and eventually stops altogether.

The last few hours or minutes the person usually becomes unresponsive and may have their eyes open or semi-open but not seeing their surroundings. It it believed that the hearing is the last sense to go so it is recommended that you sit and talk with your loved ones during this time. Eventually, breathing will cease altogether and the heart stops. They have passed on.

I hope this helps those of you who are caring for loved ones and really this is a message for everyone. You are not promised tomorrow, and you never know when your loved ones walk out the door if you will ever see them again. What were the last words you spoke to them the last time you saw them? Did you give them a kiss or hug? Or will you have regrets if anything were to happen? You should’ve, wanted to, almost did, does not matter when they’re gone. Take time out to spend with your family and loved ones; don’t take it for granted that tomorrow they’ll be there. I would love to hear from you on this topic “Saying Goodbye” please leave a comment. –L.G.

CHANGE-passing to the next phase

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CHANGE!

We all come to a point in our lives where we began to question our existence and the purpose of it. Many times I’ve heard people say; why was I born? Or why am I here? Or, “Is this all there is to my life?” I’ve even made the statement,” There’s gotta be more to life than this.” At times we even feel like something’s missing or wrong. A void that reminds us that we are not completed. We could have the family we always wanted, or enough money in the bank, or even a million friends but we can still feel lonely in a room full of people. We could be married and still feel single. We could even have a great paying job, but driving the same route and performing the same habitual rites is enough to send you over the edge!! It’s leading to …CHANGE!

: To become different

: To make (someone or something) different

: To become something else

photo by businessgross.com

Another description of change according to Merriam-Webster is:

To pass from one phase to another

So when I asked God to change my life, he really challenged me to see what he sees in me. I used to be a hermit who just worked and came home. As I got older I didn’t socialize as much and spent most of my free time with my family. My life was empty even though people were always around me. I could not believe this was how I was going to die! Work, go home, go to sleep, wake up and repeat it all over again. No! I will not die this way and when I cried out to God he heard me. I am an author of 3 published books, and I am currently working on 2 more. I started a clothing company and currently am waiting on a second license for a  company. I never thought I could accomplish these feats and it never crossed my mind to do these things. My life has certainly picked up and I don’t have time to wallow in self-pity or foolishness. I thank my Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ for answering my prayers. I challenge you to seek a CHANGE if you are not happy with your life. I am truly passing from one phase to another, ARE YOU?

Tell me your story. –L.G.

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