Do You Consider Yourself Among the Humble?

The humble will see their God at work and be glad. Let all who seek God's help be encouraged. Psalm 69:32 NLT

I have wondered often if I fall into humble or haughty. I try to keep myself in check during the times in my life when my head has gotten too large. I have even prayed for help in this area yet this morning as I read this encouraging word I could not help but smile at its message.

For my third book is full of recognition for the work God has done in my life and I am both glad and encouraged every time I read any part of it.  For this reason alone, I would encourage you to read this third volume that God placed on my heart to write. Should you find yourself moved the slightest, I would encourage you to read the first two volumes as well . . . He had me write them in hopes of encouraging and strengthening the faith of many . . . will you be one of them?

Here is a direct link to purchase this volume: https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/430837

Thank you so much for taking the time to check out the free content available via the link! Love it, buy it!

Be blessed and be a blessing <3

Wendy, walks with God, Mom of Many

© Wendy Glidden, 2014

Dear Reader

Dear Reader,

Today is March 18, 2014. That would make it Totally Terrific Testimonial Tell All Tuesday! This is my tell all:  It was my belief that the third book God put on my heart to publish would be out before the end of this month. So many obstacles have occurred since the editing process for book two in February that I am not sure You Are Worthy Too: Angels, Answers, Signs & Wonders will be available before months end. I do know the evil one does not want this one to hit the shelves.

An element I had wondered how I would write is what I have written this morning. In each book, I include a Dear Reader letter. I feel it lets the reader know I truly have heart in the game. It is a more personal call out to them than the true life events I share. To me they are truly a very important element of my books if not the most important one.

With this book I was not sure what I was meant to say in my dear reader letter. I knew of one thing that needed to be a part of my letter, but how to take that and stretch it into a letter when it was simply a single truth, well that was an entirely different matter. That brings me to today:

This morning I knew God wanted me up early. Funny enough, a dream I had just prior was so real I was able to share a point of view with Mike because of it without him getting bitter or offensive.

When Mike woke me up at 5:15 AM to ask if I had seen his gloves, I went to look for them. I asked him where he last saw them and he insisted he had left them in his helmet and now they were gone! I wasn't angry at all that he'd woken me up because I already knew in my heart God wanted me up. In my sleepiness and honestly disobedience I was trying to deny what I felt to be the case.

When Mike decided we had looked everywhere that the children may have hidden his gloves, he apologized for getting me up so early. I confessed that God wanted me up anyway so he had done me a favor as I was being disobedient. I was pretty sure Mike had been used to force me to get up. He kind of laughed me off until he went to leave. When he went to put his helmet on his head, he found his gloves inside. He looked at me astonished and said, "God really did want you up."

Everything about this morning makes me smile. It is God that took away the pain that made me dread each morning. That in itself is a wonder. I still hurt a little ~ perhaps a gentle reminder of how life used to be.

I marvel at God and His ways. We all often complain about how God works and his timing, but do not see how weak willed we truly are. In all Honestly, God has been extremely patient with me. All awful moments in my life were never the end of the world. They were just awful moments. I also have many moments I treasure. Some of them, the ones I feel called to share in this volume God put on my heart to share, are within this book.

My next book coming out will be entitled 'In the Midst of Spiritual Warfare'. I thought it would be my second book but it has become my fourth. That just may be so that I am more prepared to write what God wants in it than I was prior to writing my second book and starting my third!

I have been under the craziest attacks since I began piecing this book together. In every way I have been under assault. It has been eye opening amazing to watch God come through for me in all aspects. Each time I have found myself no worse off and perhaps even a step ahead, just in another way, as I have continually walked faithfully in the Spirit come what may. I find myself instantly praying as I have felt myself pulled away from the fruit of the Spirit. I quickly call upon God to carry me through. Refusing to fret and worry as I am bombarded with fiery arrows by being on alert and picking up my sword. By recognizing the enemy at work and being dressed for battle, I go into the fight calling out, "My Lord help me."

I pray as you read this book what you walk away with is an unshakeable faith. A faith that anytime anything in your life begins to take place that your heart frets, you panic, any form of fear or distress weigh in upon you, you find yourself on your knees. You do not always have to be on your knees in a physical sense but that is your posture in a heartfelt sense. You will recognize that force of fear upon you deeply and you will pray in a way that you speak from your heart and He will answer.

If you have read my first two books you know I am NO 'angel'. Yet, when I was at the end, knowing on my own I was not going to make it, I called upon the Lord from my knees. I was desperate but seeking. I wanted help but did not realize quite yet that I was forgiven. It took me a bunch of reading and listening to have that light come on. In all honesty, it was three years down the road before I was able to believe and KNOW I was forgiven. As if I heard Jesus himself say that it was done.

I was at a weekend event called the Great Banquet. I see how God put me there right when I was meant to be there. I was asked to write down anything I felt kept me from the Lord and I wrote it all down. I said them all out loud. I knew in my heart I had repented for all of them. Until that day, I was still convinced that I was unworthy of forgiveness.

When I took that paper with me into the next room, there were 3 crosses on the ground. I went to the one in the middle, picked up my hammer and with three blasts drove that 16 right into that post nailing it all on the cross that Jesus was nailed to as a sacrifice for all sinners. As a carpenters daughter one thing I know is how to drive a nail. It was as if I broke every chain Satan had on me as I drove that nail deeper and deeper. With my final blow I knew I was free and belonged to Christ. I wear my ring and my cross to this day. They remind me of the vow I made; to spend the rest of my life sharing the good news.

We have a way out of this place many truthfully call hell. I get why so many refuse to believe that God is in Heaven cheering them on. I too believed I had fallen too far to ever be picked back up let alone though of. That is a lie! If you seek, you will find but you truly have to seek. You have to give God the best of you every day. You have to rely on Him when trouble hits. As you do these things you allow Him to show Himself to you. We are blind to the heavenly realm. It is beyond our understanding. It just is. I have been blessed to have seen both a person and my Winnebago shrouded in indescribable lights. As if surrounded in a ceiling of diamonds. I wish that mental image did due justice but it truthfully doesn't. More Beautiful than you can imagine. Those two stories as well as how God got me jogging, bending and jumping again as well as strong enough to pick up my littlest one are all shared in my next book.

I leave you with a smile on my face this morning for I have fretted about what I was going to put in my dear reader letter. It is, after all, a very important component of all my books. I want you to know I am truly interested in helping you find your unwavering faith. It is a vital part of your armor and in my opinion one of the coolest elements of your suit!

As you read my book you will see that I have had run ins with angels. As a word of caution, do not get caught up in the angels themselves. Remember that it is God that created them. Should you find yourself amazed or curious about them be more amazed and curious about their Maker. He is the one that sends the angels to you.

I pray this book finds you building your own relationship with the Lord. As a child I talked His ear off and asked many questions. It was when I mistrusted Him that I cut myself off. I truly was that teenager with the worst attitude toward my loving Father for a decade. Then for two more decades I was convinced I had to find a way to work my way to forgiveness and worthiness. I was so lost. The truth was hidden from me by my own misunderstanding and lack of effort. Don't repeat my behavior then, repeat my behavior now. For as boldly as I talked to God as a child, I talk to Him today. As much as I depended on Him then, I depend on Him now. He is my Lord and Savior and He loves me. Should I be weak, I call upon Him for strength. When I feel myself becoming who I was through anger or frustration, I quickly realize I am in the flesh, and I do not like how it feels at all. I give my situation to God and let it go. Often I walk away for a moment and quickly call out to God to help me with my tongue. I pray you get here too, because here is where life becomes amazing.

With that, I leave you with this final statement; Be blessed AND BE A BLESSING

Wendy, Walks with God,
Mom of Many

© WendyGlidden, You Are Worthy Too: Angels, Answers, Signs and Wonders 2014

My Savior Lives, My Savior Loves, My Savior's Always Been for Me!

Hello! I hope the day has found you with a smile on your face, a light in your eyes and a bounce in your step! If not, hopefully what I have been given to share today will change that! I was on my way to work this morning listening to K-love and as this song began to play, big as day, I had my alphabet picture blow up in front of my eyes enlarging the next verse I needed to write on. If you have been following my blog you know that I have written on A - H to date. I have read what is under letter I a couple of times over the last few days and wondered when I would be inspired to blog on the verse. Today is that day. I am thrilled to introduce to you first the song that inspired the flash. It is "My Savior My God" by Aaron Shust.

And next, today's bible verse from my alphabet picture above my desk. It is taken from Psalms, Chapter 4, verse 8:

I will lie down and sleep in peace, for you alone, O Lord make me dwell in safety.

With the world being in the state it is in, I find much comfort in this verse.  A couple of years ago, when there was much talk about the end of the world as we know it, on a few occasions I found myself in a discussion group with several people.  They were discussing the best ways to ensure their food supply as well as safety should the worst come to pass. In the midst of all these great provisional ideas that were being shared, I would chime in with this: "All that sounds great should we be able to stay close to where we currently are. The likelihood of that being the case is not certain so I'm just going to pray that God throws me some manna from heaven. He's the only true protection I can count on." 

Throughout all the various conversations I have been a part of over the last two years, some have chuckled. Someone once stopped talking and stared at me as if I was speaking in another language. The best response in my mind was when I had a guy high five me and say, "I love that. That's what I'm talking about." He was a fan of Ron Paul. I have been a fan of Ron Paul since I first researched him during the 2008 presidential election. He has written several enlightening books on what goes on behind the curtain. If you are into politics he is hands down someone that should have caught your attention for he stands apart from the majority of representatives we are presented with as candidates especially when you take a deeper look at what he stands for. I find it absolutely hilarious that our news crews called him a kook among other unkind names when he was a Presidential Candidate during the 2008 election. However, once the election was over, they had him on as a knowledgeable source for questions regarding our economy! The irony of the situation did not escape me!

We turned off the TV in our household in April of 2008. Mike and I came to the certain belief that 96% of what came out of the TV had a negative tone to it. Not a good percentage to win 'front and center time' in any household, let alone mine. Today I have no idea how I ever had time to watch it. I know one thing for certain, I don't miss it. You would be amazed at how much your children don't know they 'need' when they are no longer being feed soundbites every day. I often refer to the TV now as white noise. I would encourage you to turn it off for one month and see for yourself if anything changes in your home. 

With all that being said, I end today's post with the acknowledgement of how freeing it is to KNOW 100% that God has this. I don't need to understand everything about God. I don't have to defend his existence. I simply am blessed to have testimonies to share with my brothers and sisters. I too know how dark some of the roads we walk down can be. I've walked many of them myself. I am so blessed to have sought God and His advice, for when you seek, you will always find. The more you seek, the more you find. The more you find the more you seek. Until one day you see things shrouded in Heavenly lights so bright it takes your breath away and leaves you in a state of awe. When you get here, you will experience such a freedom, you will finally understand rest! Brace yourself though for Satan does not want you to remain in that state of mind. He will come at you in ways you have yet to experience. Remember to lean on your Heavenly Father. He is faithful. He will always see you through. 

Today I pray countless begin to seek you Father. I pray they seek you daily. I pray they sing your praises morning, noon and night. I know how faithful you are. May they come to know this as well. How blessed I am to have felt so tangibly your love for me. I thank you for that. I am in awe of your love for me. How I am counted as righteous still baffles my mind. How loving and gracious you are! Thank you. I pray more of my sleeping brothers and sisters awaken and step into action. I pray they hear your voice and recognize the signs you send them. I pray I recognize the signs you flash before me. I pray for more signs! I thank you for past signs. How they caused me to lift my head. I pray for your protection when it comes to those the evil one and those unfortunate souls he has connived, deceived and lied to. As you promise the enemy is crushed under my feet, let me never fall victim to him. Protect my heart and my mind Father as only you can. In Jesus name I pray. Amen.

Wendy, Mom of Many

© Wendy Glidden, 2013

Show Me a Sign!

Chapter 7

Show Me a Sign (Out of the trilogy: You Are Worthy Too: The Proof is in the Pudding!

This actually happened to me on December 26, 2010. It is one of the things God urged me to share again. As his humble servant I have promised to listen to his direction! I hope this true story helps you with your faith!

Boy oh boy do I have a story to share! I am a real believer in not getting into debt. If I don't have the cash, I can't afford it.  So I pay all of my bills in cash. This is why on December 26th, I was walking around with approximately $1300.00 in my wallet. It was all earmarked for bills that I needed to pay and a whopping $240 to play with that my kids and I had received from family for Christmas.

Now you should know in my house we don't put up a tree and do the whole Santa thing. I just really think the whole world has gone a little crazy in the Christmas area. So, we bake a cake and sing happy birthday to Jesus even though we know December 25 is not the day he was born.

I tell my kids that they need to pray to God to for wisdom, protection, and for kinder hearts. I tell them to ask for help when dealing with their brothers and sisters. I tell them they can also ask that He help me find things they have wished for throughout the year. I go to Goodwill's and Thrift stores to shop. With 7 kids in the house, it is honestly the only way I can afford to do anything special at all!

On a short list, I did find a Tonka remote control dump truck for Michael for $4.00 and a Fisher Price Digital Camera for Marissa for a whopping $3.00. I also found a Barbie computer learning game for Marie that was the exact same one her cousin had gotten the year before that Marie LOVED and had asked for about a million times priced at $2.99! For my littlest one and my two-year-old, I found some awesome toys all wonderfully priced. You know God loves his babies! Tia and Travis were just as lucky with items they had asked for. Goodwill is also the greatest place to buy books for kids and since we have what we call library time at night. I wanted some new kid books to read and boy oh boy did I score there!

After breakfast I asked who wanted to help me in the bonus room with laundry and of course everyone offered as they were still on their best behavior knowing that God was watching.

I had spread all the gifts out on the floor and as we walked out the door they were all overwhelmed with joy over the items God had led me to for them. Needless to say for the rest of the morning everyone was wonderful, sharing their toys, reading the books, taking pictures, and driving the dump truck. It was a truly pleasurable morning. I sipped on my coffee and smiled to myself as my kids all thanked God for helping me find what they had wanted.

From there we went to my Grandma's house and then off to my sister's house for the remainder of the day. Worn out and looking forward to a shopping trip to Value World on 52nd and Keystone where I had been blessed enough to score a 50% off coupon for the entire thrift store, the kids and I all fell into our beds and were fast asleep.

The next day around 11:00 AM we were officially on our way to go shopping. I had seen some bird cages at a local goodwill when I had gone shopping prior to Christmas. My Uncle Bob loves birds and I had asked if he’d be interested in these cages. He had said yes so we stopped there first. I grabbed the cages and then saw a high chair that was marked $10 but was also 50% off so I grabbed it.

Mike lost patience while standing in line and left me in the store with 5 children and a full cart along with the high chair.

This was a time in my life where my pain level was off the charts. Mike felt that he was doing me a favor by making me struggle. He claimed it kept me strong.

All I really longed for was him to help out more or for him to be gone. What good is a partner who doesn’t do his part?

Anyway, my back was pretty bad and I was hurting something awful. I paid for our stuff and then fought my way out the store with the children, the highchair, and my cart. Mike was in the van waiting for us.

I was so mad I didn’t trust myself to speak. I loaded the children and the items into the van while Mike watched me struggle. I climbed up into the passenger seat and requested we stop off at home first to unload all of our items.

When we got home he did help carry in the high chair at my request. I stopped him in the garage and said, “Look. I’m really bad today and I don’t want to get angry with you. So, if you can’t be a gentleman today, I’d rather you stay here.”

He looked at me with this blank look. I continued, “Opening that side door on that van kills me. Having you walk off leaving me with everything makes me insanely angry. I don’t want to be angry so if you can’t do this for me today, it would be best for you to not join us.”

He grinned at me and asked me to clarify what I wanted. I said this, “Every movie that you have ever seen where a man treats a lady like a lady, that’s what I need from you today. If you can’t do that then don’t come.”

He assured me he was capable of that. I tried calling Tia and Travis one more time as they were at their Grandmother’s for Christmas morning but they were still not answering the phone. I told Mike I wanted to drive since I knew the best route to go and giving him directions usually ended up with me being upset.

We headed out and had made it to 80th and Keystone when Jeffrey, my youngest child was losing his mind. Mike suggested we pull over and switch drivers so I could tend to Jeffrey Thomas. When I pulled over, I got out and walked around to the side door of the van and waited for Mike to open the door from the inside. All of a sudden the side window rolled down and he yelled, “Are you going to get in or what?”

I can’t even tell you the anger I felt in that moment. It took everything I had in me to get that door opened and then closed. I was so mad I was crying silently. He so didn’t get it! No sooner than I got buckled in, Tia and Travis called. I had Mike head over to Allisonville to go back and get them. Not five minutes into our ride Mike began berating me over the amount of gas we had in the car.

Somehow I managed to calmly say, “Mike if the level of gas is a problem, pull into the next gas station and we can fill up.”

Like most children do, when we pulled up to the pump, they all suddenly needed to go to the bathroom. I unloaded them and told Mike I’d pay inside. Once in the store, I reached into my coat to get my money out. That is when I realized I did not have my wallet on me anymore. I told myself even though I was already beginning to panic, it’s in the console.

I ran to the van and asked Mike if my wallet was in the console. It was not. "What about on the floor." I suggested, "Maybe it fell."

Again he said, "No."

I was sick. Every dime I had was in that wallet. I was crying pretty hard on the inside and praying to God silently to please help me.

I called the Goodwill I had gone to first to see if by chance I had left my wallet there. No. They did not have it but they did take down my number just in case someone found it and turned it in.

When we picked up Tia and Travis I told them the bad news.

Just as we were getting ready to turn around and back track our steps, my phone rang. Now, bear in mind, my cell number is listed on our voice mail message at work just encase someone needs something after hours so I was not sure who was calling. Even though the last thing in the world I wanted to do was talk about was fence, I answered my phone trying not to let on to the fact that I was crying. "Hello." I said as calmly as I could muster.

The voice on the other end asked if they could talk to Wendy.

I wasn't sure I could pull off a long conversation at the moment without giving away the fact that I was crying so I asked who was calling.

They said, "Well I am someone who might have found something she has lost."

I replied, "Oh my! Did you find my wallet!"

She said, "Yes and I can’t wait to meet you.”

We arranged a place to meet and described our cars to each other. (It turns out I had actually lost the wallet when we had pulled over into an apartment complex on 80th street between Keystone Ave & Dean Rd to switch drivers so I could calm down the baby.)

When we arrived, I got out of the van. The most beautiful woman I had ever seen was standing there to greet me. She took my hands and said, "I have to bear witness to you."

She proceeded to tell me the unusual journey she had taken, completely out of her way, but led in that path by God's voice when she came upon my wallet. This angel of God had to look me up on the Internet and she found me through Glidden Fence!

The most amazing thing to me, is she gave me a direct answer to a prayer. There is NO way she could have known what I had been asking God for over the last six months. She told me as if it were no big deal, "Oh, God told me to tell you that you are one of his favorite people and to let you know not to worry, he has heard you. In me returning your wallet, you have your answer to your prayer."

Now, to many of you that most likely is vague, but to me, she was right. That message did answer my prayer. I could not have asked for a bigger sign. Just so you know, my prayer for the last six months had been. “God, I have failed at this relationship thing so many times. I have 5 children with Mike. I want these children to grow up with their father in their lives but I'm not sure I can continue with him. I need a sign. If I leave Mike will I be able to make it financially on my own?”

So, to all of those of you, who have questioned whether God is with us or not, I assure you He most definitely is!

Wendy, Mom of Many

Purchase the Book today ~ click here!