He Calls Me Friend!

So this morning I wake up to this song playing in my head, just this one line and I truly hope I am able to find the song on You Tube so I may share it with you. In the mean time, I will share this single line:

'I am a child of God, I am a Child of God, I am a child of God,  He calls me friend.'

Talk about music that will put a smile on your face! Occasionally in our home, we have a mini-dispute over the music being played on the radio. I would prefer to listen to either Moody and its teachings or K-Love for a constant flow of music. Mike still likes to listen to good old rock n roll. So the other night, last night specifically, I was in our room working on laundry and Mike was cooking in the kitchen. He asked for some jams so I put it on the only station I know of outside of those two and went back to processing the laundry.

After about fifteen minutes, I came out to make myself a cup of coffee and move the loads when I heard a song from my own past; I want my M TV.

I couldn't help but giggle over the silliness of the song and I began singing it on my own. The children began giggling at me which honestly only encourages me to keep being silly. You don't get moments of pure laughter often enough.

Mike and I were laughing about it all as the song ended and then Marie came around the corner smiling and I looked at her and started the chorus line: I want my, I want my, I want . . . and I looked at her and she finished up by singing "my own TV".

I think Mike and I cracked up for a straight three minutes. All of them chimed in marching around as they sang their own version of the song. After all, they had no clue that there was such a station as M. TV, M being for music. Laughter truly is the best medicine.

Often, sadly, we get so caught up in all the things this world tells us that matters that we lose sight of what truly matters. We are all children of God. Even though our own children sometimes seem more like burdens than the blessings they are meant to be, if we remind ourselves that the Lord giveth and the Lord taketh away, than we may more appreciate all the blessings we are given while we are able to enjoy them.

As parents I think we feel the pressure to perform or for our children to perform. We all want to succeed in life. I think perhaps sometimes we measure success the wrong way. It is not in money or fame that we succeed. True success is found in the growing of viable fruit in ones life. If we can pass on this to our children we not only have success, we have guaranteed them success.

How do we go about such an endeavor? We feed our minds with truth. We read the word, we breath the word, we sing the word, we fill our minds with all things good. What goes in will come out. It clearly tells us that wisdom comes from God. It also tells us that everything begins with the renewing of our minds. With so many choices on what to watch or read or listen to, it is tempting to fill our minds with things of this world.

I believe the closer you draw to God, the more you truly seek what He has to say. I know there were many many many years in my life that I did not converse with the Lord. I shut Him out. In moments of trouble, should I call on Him, He never failed me. However, I still shunned Him on a daily basis. Today, I cannot imagine not talking to Him. I am back where I began as a child. I am truly a friend of Gods again. I can't think of a better friend to have in this life. I don't have another friend in this world that can pull of absolute miracles and save me from situations that look utterly hopeless.

I heard the other day that God always has one more move that we ourselves just don't see when we find ourselves in a check mate situation. With our backs up against the wall, we see no way out in sight. Trapped. Lost. Believing the game is over, our souls cry out to the Lord.

It is all He needs to step in and show you there was one more move to be made. One that totally changed the game and moved it all into your favor. That is something only God can do.

Often I have wondered why He waits until the last moment to step in. It is my belief that it gives us something to talk about and in doing so, we bring Glory to His name. Everyone loves a good story. They are the ones that get told and retold. It is often through a story that one is introduced to the glorious ways of the Father. This is truly why we are to share our stories and our testimonies.

I know this is why God called me out to share my story. It is hard to believe that He began encouraging me to do just that back in September of 2012. I laugh that we think God doesn't move fast enough when in all reality often we don't move as fast as I am sure He would like us to!

I shared a post that I made on Face Book back on September 19th, 2012 in my latest book. In a gist, I mentioned that I recognized the voice in my head that was talking to me about sharing my story in written form. I really began the process almost 3 months after He initially prompted me to begin. Baby steps is often the only way we get to where we can run freely! Now two years later I have written over 130 blogs and have published 3 true life books!

I would encourage you today to open up the line of communication. Your father would love for you to get to know Him. The only way that happens is for you to knock on that door. I promise you it will be one thing you will NEVER regret doing. Blessings to all who knock.

Father today I come to you singing songs of thanks. I am in awe of the mighty ways you are working in my life. I am excited to see what today has to bring and to hopefully catch glimpses of your hand moving things into position. It truly leaves me as a child in awe when I do. Daily I hear of others taking their own lives. Hopeless and lost. There are so many. The evil one is winning the battle on the ground and we need more soldiers in action on the forefront. I cannot help but recall that the harvest is plenty but the workers are few. Please help me be a tool that helps others Father. Let my words that you have given me to share reach their ears and their hearts. Give me the right words to speak to them Lord so that I may be a worker with a large harvest. In Jesus name I pray. Amen.

Wendy, walks with God, Mom of Many

© Wendy Glidden, 2014

Lol, okay the words in the song are really 'I am a friend of God, He calls me friend' ~ I think it is pretty cool that this morning I heard it as I am a child of God, He calls me Friend. I love knowing that I truly am a child of God. Took me a long time to believe it even on my worst days! I love you. Please support me in my next move by purchasing one of my three books. They truly can be read apart from eachother but as a set they make a moving testimony to the Love the Father has for all of us and the great desire the evil one has to rob us of feeling the Love. By purchasing my books, you allow me the freedom to keep writing! You can get all three for less than $13 in ebook format and less than $22 in print form! Won't you help our my cause today. I assure you, you will get your money's worth and more! Thank you <3,

Your sister in Christ, Wendy

you can find all 3 of my books on amazon by going to www.amazon.com/author/wendyglidden

or google this to find each one on their own, they are available on ITunes as well:
You Are Worthy Too: In the Beginning for book 1
You Are Worthy Too: Marriage, Motherhood and My Moral Meltdown for book 2
You Are Worthy Too: Angels, Answers, Signs and Wonders for book 3

Today Has Enough Trouble of It's Own!

Last Tuesday night, December 10, 2013, was the final night we HAD to spend in the RV this winter! What a crazy week this last one has been. We had counted down the last thirty days until we were going to move in to our new apartment which Jeffrey calls 'The Castle'. He cracks me up. I have explained to him that we will only be living in a tiny section of the castle. His excitement has not been phased.

Monday morning, December 9, 2013, I had called over to verify my time for my walk through and to make sure they'd gotten confirmation of my renters insurance and the fact that the utilities were in my name. All was going smoothly and we set my appointment at 11:30.

At three that afternoon, I received a phone call letting me know there was a slight problem with my new apartment. Sometime between Sunday night and Monday afternoon, a water pipe had burst and there was so much water on the floor that they were going to have to replace the carpet and padding in the bedrooms and the flooring in the 2nd bathroom where the leak had happened.

They told me it would be completed by Friday. I admit I was a bit sad. I had seen the weather forecast for the week and it was not pretty. We have been below freezing for over a week now and it was only going to get colder over the next couple of days.

Towards the end of the day, I saw a post asking for help with a chain saw crew being called to give a helping hand in Texas where they had been hit by a massive ice storm. I knew Mike would be great help so I quickly got in touch with him and asked if he'd be interested. Seeing how we weren't going to be moving now until Friday, the biggest need for Mike to be home was taken care of. Our money is really tight this month and we both agreed that him helping out would be a beautiful way to tithe. I gave him Rusty's number and Mike was the final man they needed to be able to go.

They were heading out Very early in the morning so we set our alarm for 4:20 AM and the next day we headed out before the sun came up to get Mike to one of the meetup locations on time. Once he was dropped off I made my way to work.

At eleven that afternoon, the apartment complex called me with great news. They were ahead of schedule and as it turned out if I wanted to, I could begin moving in anytime after 4:00 pm on Wednesday! The irony did not escape me! I was super thrilled that we would be in the new place right before the coldest night of this winter arrived.

With Mike being gone, I knew I could only do so much as far as moving everything was concerned so Tuesday night I packed up the majority of food, all our dirty clothes, all of our clean linens as well as the entire bathroom including all of our clean towels! All I could think was, 'I get to do laundry IN my home and everyone can take a shower!'. It truly is the little things in life that make me the happiest.

Wednesday came and after work I headed over to the apartment complex to sign my new lease. I thought I had help lined up to move the three beds I had been given along with a few odds and ends. As it turned out, my moving help was a no show and we ended up sleeping on the floor the first night! Thank goodness I had thought to grab the one cot with the 1" foam mattress and a really thick sleeping bag.

The funniest part of our first night was when I had two children in the two tubs only to realize I had nothing clean to put them in when they got out. I quickly went through all the dirty clothes and picked out things for everyone to change into and got my first load of laundry going.

Bonus things I did not know came with my apartment. A microwave above the stove, a dishwasher and an ice maker! Life is good!!

Thursday night, my help arrived and I got the few things I had been given moved into the apartment and placed in their spots. Jean, one of my many sisters in Christ, kept the children for me while another sister in Christ, Ana, helped me get the items I had been gifted into place.

When we arrived back to Jean's we discovered she had made dinner for all of us. We ate, joked that we should take a picture to post to Facebook with the a note about how all that was missing was our Pastor and his wife for our old Thursday night Bible study. Weirdly we have not gotten together since the night Ana and I were baptized. We were left hanging in the midst of Acts.

Friday night in the midst of the approaching winter storm, the chain saw crew made it safely back. I picked up Mike and we headed home. We caught each other up on all that had transpired.

The gist of this post originally began to show that the best laid plans are often disrupted. I was being led to blog on the verse regarding the fact that each day has enough trouble of it's own. Allow me to share that here, from Matthew, Chapter 6, verse 34:

So then, do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Today has enough trouble of it's own.

The entire chapter has wonderful wisdom. I love reminding myself of this final thought for I have found it to be so very true. There is no sense in getting all wrapped up in tomorrow.

As my mind often does, while I was typing the above sentence, I recalled something I heard on Moody radio the other day. It was on a Friday around 5 PM and they were playing a series of voice mails that people had left. One of them stuck out more than the rest to me and it was about 'I Am.' In a gist the guy was talking about how you shouldn't focus on the past for God has said His name is I Am and while He is in the past and the future, it was never the past and the future when we found Him on any given day, for His name is always in the present and that was where we should be ourselves. That's not exactly how it was phrased. In all honesty, it was stated in a much more impactful way. Regardless, this has seemed to be the lesson I was being taught this past week. Stay in the here and now for this is the moment we are living.

I pray that this rambling blog has lifted your spirits, given you something to smile about or perhaps even caused you to seek a little more from the word of God Himself.

Father, I come before you today singing your praises and giving thanks for what a wonderful Father you truly are. You never cease to amaze me with your ways. I love living this life of mine under your terms. No longer do I feel the need to control everything for the illusion of me being in control of anything has long gone! Thank you for that!! I love where you have placed me. Close to work and home and surrounded by many brothers and sisters in Christ. How blessed I truly am. Thank you for loving us and always being faithful. My life is so colorful and bright and I truly look forward to each day. I pray that I continue to grow spiritually. I pray you lead me in the direction I am designed to go in. I pray I am able to see and hear all you have for me to see and hear each day. I pray that my fellow brothers and sisters in Christ grow closer to you as well. May this season that we celebrate the birth of Christ in be full of your love. May more and more and more of us come to see the Glory of God. In Jesus name I pray. Amen.

Wendy, walks with God,
Mom of Many

© Wendy Glidden 2013

Unpacking Treasure! Show Me a Sign Part II

Wild Wacky Wonderful Weds. Today my friends, I am unpacking treasure! I am nervous, excited and ready to share what I buried in an envelope and then tucked away in a drawer months ago. On days when I am feeling attacked I pull it out and read it to myself. It helps me recall that day. It helps me feel loved by my Heavenly Father. It helps me every time I read it. It is absolutely my most valuable possession. I felt it was too much to share with the world. Never do I want to appear to be putting on airs. I am better than no one.

About 2 months after I first received this letter, I felt the pull to share it. I sought out the permission of the one who had written it to me. She agreed then to let me share it but asked that I remove her name as she is going through some pretty serious times herself and was seeking to be invisible. I decided with that request, the time was not right. Since then, we have talked through face book about boldness and how we are not meant to cower and hide. We are loved by God. As a song I have shared says, "Whom shall I fear?" She agreed, but I still felt sharing the letter without her being comfortable with it meant the time was still not right.

Shortly after that conversation, I was looking for something and I opened the drawer my treasure is in. When my eyes saw the envelope, I clearly heard, 'You are not meant to bury treasure.' I quickly dismissed the thought and continued in my search for what I was looking for. Then yesterday I received a message from someone that basically said, "I never realized God is real" my heart exploded and I knew I must share this letter. For it leaves little doubt about not only God's existence, it speaks volumes for his love for all of us.

With this being said, first I am going to request that if you have never read my post "Show Me a Sign" that you read it first. This link should take you right to it: http://youareworthytoo.blogspot.com/2012/12/show-me-sign.html

PLEASE read my testimony regarding where I was at when I first met this messenger from God before you even read this scanned inserted letter. It is through both of them you will find it undeniable that God is at work in our lives.

With that being said, it is my prayer you followed my directions. Here is the scanned letter. She sent it to my sponsor for the Great Banquet. He delivered it to me on the following Sunday. Needless to say it left me in tears. I had asked her to share her side of the story for 6 months when I received this at the most perfect time.

This letter reminds me of God's love for all of us. In one amazing "Only God could pull that off" moment, He answered the prayer of two girls. What a gift. I count myself blessed to have received such an undeniable sign. 

It was out of fear of what others would think that I shoved this letter in a drawer. It was God that continued to prompt me to share. With the blatant statement from a fellow sibling who was in obvious pain, the weight of guilt outweighed the fear of judgement from others. I NEVER want to appear grandiose. I am nothing more than a girl who sought God. 

The things that have carried me through the darkest moments of my life have been things like this letter. Being told by a visible angel as a child that I was beautiful and that I was a child of God was a statement I clung to in the dark. 

When I was in the 8th grade we did a study on names and what they were supposed to mean. Wendy was not listed in 1983. My religion teacher promised to due further research. She caught me in the hall one day to let me know what she had discovered regarding my name. She said, "Wendy. I wanted to let you know your name means 'Walks With God'. I cannot begin to explain how that caused my heart to soar. I loved my name after that for I feel as if I indeed walk with God. 

My heart is overflowing with emotion as I come to the end of today's post. Please KNOW you ARE a CHILD of GOD. Please SEEK HIM. HE IS FAITHFUL. I am blessed beyond measure. While it is true I have lived through more than some, it is also true I have lived through MUCH LESS. We all have our own trials and tribulations to overcome. These are much easier to get beyond when you LEAN on God. Why not begin practicing that today!

I heard this song a couple months ago. I am not sure if I have tied it to any other blogs but in a world where the Lord of Air has whispered false names to all of us, I find it fitting to place this song here! I hope it encourages you to change your name! 

Father God, I come before you today with such gratitude, simple words cannot begin to explain how much I love you. I ask that as my sisters and brothers fall to their knees and give their lives to you asking that your will be done in their lives that you in turn answer them as clearly as you have me. We need you Lord. More than ever if that is possible. So many are asleep. So many are lost. So many have been deceived by the Father of Lies. I pray you take off the blinders and allow my fellow brothers and sisters to recognize truth as truth. I pray all ears are unplugged and lies are heard as lies. Give us hope Father. Reveal silver linings to all who seek you even if they seek you timidly at first. We live in a world that has begun to call your words 'hate speech'. How clever the enemy is. He has had too much time here. He is a genius when it comes to deception. I pray his slight of hand, his lies, his deceptions all fall to the ground as useless weapons against your children. In Jesus name I pray. Amen.

** I am also adding another song I heard today (December 16, 2013) It's called Friend of God and it is sung by Craig and Dean Phillips <3 God is the Best Friend a girl could ever hope to have <3

Wendy, Mom of Many

© Wendy Glidden 2013