Friday, July 26, 2013

07/26/13 - Friday - 008 Where are you?


Some people that make a big impact on you come into your life for only a brief moment.

At some point in time, I would really like to say, "Thank you!", to one person who had that kind of impact on my life.

Let's set the scene.  I'm 22 or 23 years old.  I go out on Saturday nights.  Usually I'll go over to the Lakeview in Argentine, MI.  They have live bands and I like to dance and have a few drinks.

One of the bands I really used to like listening and dancing to was the Mustangs.

One Saturday night, I go out to the Lakeview and I'm sitting with a female friend of one of the band members.

A couple of guys walk up to the table we are at.  The first one introduces him and his friend as 008 and 009, 007's back-ups.  The most unique come on line I've ever heard.

These two gentlemen come and sit with us.

We all start talking and at some point 008 does a quarter-bound that ends up going down my top into my bra.

After that 008 and I end up dancing most of the night.  He's a pretty good dancer - slow, fast and to me, sexy.

Good conversation too.

After the last set is over for the night,  008 offers to walk me to my car.  At the car, 008 gives me a hug and a kiss on the forehead.

That's the first and the last time I ever saw him.  I never did get his name.

What did I learn and what do I now appreciate most about him?

That night, I was lonely and not feeling to good about myself.  This man showed me how I should be treated and by the end of the night I felt like one special lady.

When I think about that night, I still feel pretty special and it always brings a smile to my face.

What I appreciate most to this day is that 008 was a gentleman and taught me how I should expect to be treated.  I took a long time for that lesson to penetrate.

This was 23 to 24 years ago.  That's an impact.

If anyone knows of someone who used to introduce themselves as 008 and has a good looking friend with strawberry blonde hair.  Please have them get in touch with me.

No matter where 008 is in his journey today, I want him to know that he's had a good positive impact on my life.

Monday, July 22, 2013

07/21/13 - Sunday - A Simple Sinner's Prayer?


"God, I acknowledge that I am a sinner and that your son, Christ Jesus, died on the cross for my sins. Thank you. I ask for your forgiveness.  Please show me the way forward.  In Christ Jesus' name I pray.  Amen"

This is what some would call "A Simple Sinner's Prayer".

The prayer may be simple.

In order to truly know God's grace through this prayer you have to mean it with every once of your being and be repentant. 

The process for saying that prayer and meaning it are anything but simple.

To get to the point of saying this prayer, accepting God's mercy, grace and opening my soul to be filled with his Holy Spirit was a journey of missteps, bad choices and of a life for a person who felt she was unimportant.

From that point to today, there is the old Malinda and now the Malinda who is perfectly herself each and every day.

This new Malinda knows:

  • I am important and at the same time everyone else is too.
  • I have made mistakes, they are a part of me that I will not deny.  Without those mistakes, I would not be who I am now - I own them.
  • That God has a purpose for all of us.
  • The only person I can change is me.
  • That as I move forward on my journey I need to continually seek and effect changes in myself that will help me to become the Malinda that God wants me to be.  In this way I leave the old Malinda behind.
  • That God EXPECTS me to share my journey. That is the job he has set before me.  We all have a different journey that will lead us to kneeling before God on Judgment Day.   At the same time, our paths intersect at different points.  God tells me that just as I have learned from him and through others, others can learn from me.  In this way, others can make their own changes.
  • That I have been forgiven.  Being forgiven came at a high cost to one person, Christ Jesus.
  • That God loves me, no matter what, and that as long as I listen and continue to strive to move towards his vision of the perfect Malinda, I will continue to receive his grace and mercy.
  • I know I will face challenges, I will suffer loss, grief, harm and hatred.
  • I know a sense of peace and joy, that will not leave me for I know I am God's.

This knowledge and more is available to all of us.

All we have to do is say that Simple Sinner's Prayer, mean it and be willing to live in it.  How you and I get there and move forward is what's not so simple.

As I move forward, I will share what God has shared with me through all the formats he has shared it.  God's word starts with the Bible and that is just the beginning...for our God is a living God.

Abba,

Thank you for that still quiet voice.  Thank you for Pastor Jim Combs.  Thank you for all of the seed planters and gardeners in my life.  Please continue to lead me forward so that I can better serve you and those you place in my life.  In Christ Jesus' name I pray.  Amen  :-)  XOXOXO

Monday, July 1, 2013

Monday, July 1, 2013 - Being Scared

God has given me an assignment for this Summer.  The assignment is to become a more approved worker.

I will strive and grow to meet this challenge and in the process conquer more of my fear.  For fear, anger, envy, etc.... is what stops us from being all that God knows we can be.

The following used to be the introduction that people would see when they came to this blog:

I've always told Kelsey, my daughter, that if you're scared to share what's going on you know you're doing something wrong.  I believe this might be one exception to that rule....Sharing what's going on in my life is scary just because it is...

God's been wanting me to share what's going on in my life, so that other people will know they aren't the only ones.

I was sharing a little through Facebook.

Then God asked me to start a blog....it's taken me a while.  I believe God wants me to touch the lives of friends that I know and those I have still to meet.

So, today, Saturday, 10/20/12, I am growing my faith to move another mountain.  A personal mountain, my fear that what I have to say won't be of interest to others.

One other reason for doing this is that I believe we are all more alike than any of us will admit.

Here we go through the laughter, the tears and through the times when God says, "When you are ready to stop hitting your head on that brick wall, I'm here, I love you and I have faith that you can do this."


As of today I'm changing the introduction to read:  2 Timothy 1:7-8  For God has not given us a spirit of fear and timidity, but of power, love, and self-discipline.  So you must never be ashamed to tell others about our Lord.

These are the verses that have been running through my head lately.

I will shake my fear and timidity. 

In the process, I hope others will too that we can together gain power, love and self-discipline together.

I love you.  :-)  XOXOXO

Malinda A. Gottschalk