'What Can Mortal Man Do to Me?'

Good morning! According to my calendar, it is Totally Terrific Testimonial Tell All Tuesday! Here is one of my testimonies: Last night I was assistant coach for my son's 2nd grade basket ball team. I was able to participate in all the drills and it was awesome!

A year ago everywhere I went, I shuffled. Lifting my feet off the ground was something I simply was not capable of doing. Toward the end of summer, I prayed to God to have my healthy body back. I cried out in anguish. After being in massive pain for almost three years, He had answered my prayer for healing regarding my back and had literally placed a wellness doctor in my path. He was delivered to me in such a way there was no denying it was God that was placing me in his care.

Upon my first visit to him, he began putting my bones back in place. I knew I was in bad shape, I just did not realize how bad! I began seeing him late April / early May and now I only see him once a month for an adjustment.

With his help, I had the confidence to begin a workout routine that another friend suggested I try. She had been pursuing me to try one of her companies workout videos and I had told her about the fact I truly needed a 'Physical Therapy' kind of work out video to follow and she knew just what I needed. She excitedly told me about it and I decided to give it a go.

I am so happy I did. In 42 days, which is only six weeks time, I have dropped 36 pounds and 34" of body fat from my skeletal frame and have gained amazing agility and flexibility in the process. I am so happy with how far I have come I could cry tears of absolute joy. I am now one of 'those girls' with a fat loss story that is unbelievable! I have not made it to my goal size or weight but I now know it is 100% possible in the next 42 days to get the job finished!

My goal is to lose 78 pounds. This will also mean losing 4-5 more inches around my waist, 2 - 3 more at my hips and another 1 - 2 off my chest area. With that my arms and legs will also shrink a bit.

I read once that for every pound you take off of your body it is like removing 4 pounds of burden. I know my frame appreciates the lighter weight it must still tote around. I can only dream about how awesome getting back to where I want to be will feel! Only 42 more pounds to shed!

I have promised to reach back and help anyone who is desiring to truly lose weight. It is hard work. It takes determination. However, this works so well and is so healthy, you will secretly enjoy watching yourself melt. If you need a coach or someone to encourage you or whatever label you want to slap on it, I would be thrilled to be that for you. Simply email me at wendyglidden123@gmail.com and indicate what you want help with.

I'm into total wellness so from helping you with your mindset and your relationship with the Lord to losing weight and getting into the size pants you want back into or into for the first time, I am here for you! Nothing would please me more than to reach back and help someone who has tried almost everything and failed.

Recently God has been flashing me things from my past again. As far as my life line goes I managed to get beyond the adoption to the point I almost lost my life in a bike wreck due to literally working myself to death so that I could fall asleep without thinking. Absolute off the charts craziness is what follows that scene and I have once again been dragging my feet.

However, this past Sunday, when we were asked what becoming a believer in the cross and Jesus Christ had changed in our life, I replied, for me it had meant freedom of fear. Fear of judgement from others, fear of failure, fear of rejection, fear of anything.

It reminds me of David when he asks, 'What can mortal man do to me?' I love David's Psalms. We are covering 4 different Psalms in November. Last Sunday we covered Psalm 32 and touched on Psalm 56, which is one of my endless favorites. I am going to share David's words here, right out of my MacArthur study bible. I hope you love his trust and enthusiasm half as much as I do! Psalm 56 in it's entirety:

** My study bible highlights this as Supplication for Deliverance and Grateful Trust in God. This took place when the Philistines seized David in Gath.

verse 1: Be gracious to me, O God, for man has trampled upon me; Fighting all day long he oppresses me.

verse 2: My foes have trampled upon me all day long, For they are many who fight proudly against me.

verse 3: When I am afraid, I will put my trust in You.

verse 4: In God, whose word I praise, In God I have put my trust; I shall not be afraid. What can mere man do to me?

verse 5: All day long they distort my words; All their thoughts are against me for evil.

verse 6: They attack, they lurk, They watch my steps, As they have waited to take my life.

verse 7: Because of wickedness, cast them forth, In anger put down the peoples, O God!

verse 8: You have taken account of my wanderings; Put my tears in Your bottle. Are they not in Your book?

verse 9: Then my enemies will turn back in the day when I call; This I know, that God is for me.

verse 10: In God whose word I praise, In the Lord, whose word I praise,

verse 11: In God I have put my trust, I shall not be afraid. What can man do to me?

verse 12: Your vows are binding upon me, O God; I will render thank offerings to You.

verse 13: For You have delivered my soul from death, Indeed my feet from stumbling, So that I may walk before God in the light of the living.

I love the trust King David places in the Lord. I know just how he feels. As I go forth and share more things from my early to mid twenties, I too will trust in the Lord knowing that He is using my stories to inspire and encourage and call others home. All for the glory of God.

I thank the Lord for all He has delivered me from. While I have shared a ton, I have so much more to reveal. I keep saying I am going to get to it and truly I am. I must go back and refresh my memory of where I ended exactly so that I can continue from there.

Should you just be joining me in this journey, I invite you to go back to my introduction post, in my mind humorously titled, 'In the Beginning' and read the personal posts up to 'Saying Goodbye to Amanda Rose' there is one after that where I share my bike wreck, but for the life of me I cannot remember it's title right now.

It is my prayer that my story inspires hope and reveals the glory of God. It is also my prayer that it helps you in building your trust and your relationship with the Lord.

I have missed out on sharing the last couple days encouraging words by K-Love on my Facebook page and I love both Monday's and Today's, so I am going to share both of them now:

Monday 11/4/2013

But the Lord stood with me and gave me strength ~ 2 Timothy 4:17a, NLT

Tuesday 11/5/2013

I promise this very day that I will repay two blessings for each of your troubles. ~ Zechariah 9:12b, NLT 

The Lord has stood with me time and time again and has given me strength. I know this as truth for I have felt myself drained of all strength, yet remain planted on my feet, held up firmly by the mighty hand of our Lord. 

I too am beginning to witness what I would say are more than two blessings for each of my troubles. Perhaps it feels like more for I have had much trouble over my life span! Us saints are not promised an easy life you know!! I hope I have managed to leave you with a smile today! Remember be blessed and be a blessing to others!

Father, today I come to you singing praises for all the miracles you have performed concerning me. I am blessed to call upon you and have you deliver me. I am blessed to have the relationship that I do with you. For decades I called upon you in times of big trouble but turned my back on you in my daily life. What a fool I was to think you were not for me any longer. What a fool to believe the lies that were being fed to me by the evil one. He is clever but not wise for he set himself against you to begin with. Thank you for speaking to me. Thank you for your signs and wonders. I pray I am witness to many more for they tickle me to no end. Father, it is my prayer that more of my brothers and sisters that are today where I have been in my past concerning a relationship with you step fully into the light and draw much closer to you. May their eyes and hearts be opened my Lord. May they begin to seek more of your wisdom and love and may they grow and become workers. In Jesus name I pray. Amen.

Wendy, walks with God
Mom of Many

© Wendy Glidden 2013

Remember, With God, ALL Things are Possible!

It's Tremendously Thankful Thoughtful Thursday! As I look back at the blogs I have written, and ahead at those still left to share, I am awe struck at the strength the Lord has given me through my journey. As many of you know I listen to Christian Radio, Read my Bible, Read devotionals as well as countless posts from other believers. They all fuel my fire and renew my mind. The more I learn, the more I love. The more I seek, the more I find. It truly is a vicious cycle!

I subscribed to K-loves Encouraging Word this year. They say the encouraging word throughout the day on the radio itself, but they email it as well. This was the one from Tuesday and I just love what it says. For I know the truth behind the words. Without further ado, I introduce to you from Isaiah, Chapter 41, verse 10, taken from my email quoting the NLT:

Don't be afraid, for I am with you. Don't be discouraged, for I am your God. I will strengthen you and help you. I will hold you up with my victorious right hand.

Doesn't it just warm your heart to know that this promise is true! No matter what you are going through, what travesty you are facing, what mountain lies before you, Don't be afraid or discouraged. He will hold you up. I can't help but smile for I see so vividly how many times I have been held up and strengthened. There is no denying it.

This morning I heard the testimony of a man on K-Love who said he had the most amazing revelation almost as if Jesus was in the truck with him and he just knew even if he were the only human on the face of the earth Jesus would have come for him. I know that feeling myself. I smiled. The man made the comment about how personal the feeling was as if Jesus had reached out to him right there and filled him with that knowledge. It is my prayer that all my fellow brothers and sisters in Christ have this same revelation regarding themselves when it comes to the Love Christ has for them.

Sometimes I feel guilty being so joyous in my confidence of God's love for me. I know no matter what happens tomorrow, God will still love me. When it all boils down to nothing if you have a relationship with God, you are going to be just fine. It reminds me of Janice Joplin when she sang, "Freedom is just another word for nothing left to lose" there is an element of truth to that. Many people add stress and fear into their lives due to the things they don't want to give up or lose. Possessions and belongings and even relationships can imprison you. When you have nothing there is no fear of what you may lose. I am free today for I know I have everything I need. I have God's love. 

Last night after I read Mike the blog "Dissed, Disowned, Disgraced and Darn Near Destitute" I asked him what he thought. He said, "Scary". I laughed and asked, "What do you mean by scary? What all we went through?" He laughed and said, "No, your memory of it all. Amazingly scary." I asked him, "Okay, aside from that what did you think?" He said, "I liked the ending." I was surprised, "The prayer?" He said, "Yea, it was really good." That made me smile. At one point in time Mike was not impressed by the prayers of others for others. That is obviously not the case today. Don't think a person can never change, it truly begins with the renewing of one's mind. Put in positive and positive will begin to flow back out. 

He ventured to ask me what my next title was that I was hoping for healing from and I said, "Landing on a Ledge". He shook his head and repeated what I had said as if asking a question. I said, "Yea, here I have been for the last couple blogs commenting about how I was tumbling straight down a mountain I couldn't stop long enough to get my footing. I was so confident that because you had asked God for me and had won me that you would always be for me. I felt we were so in love then I never saw what happened next coming and when it happened it was like wham, I landed on ledge so hard it took my breath away." 

As we carried on our conversation, Mike made the statement that we had really been through a lot. I said, "Yes, you are blessed to have a girl like me. You look at all of that and how calm I was through it all, even when I was 28 weeks pregnant with twins. You do realize all that I blogged about in that last chapter happened within the first 6 months of our relationship?" He said, "Wow." I said "I know. I never freaked out on you once." I may not have realized it fully back then but I was held strong by God's victorious right hand. Jesus Christ died for me. He died for you. Grab a hold of that truth. Recognize that Love and hold tight to your Faith. I promise you, He will see you through. 

I am encouraged to share a song, hoping you enjoy it. Sung by Brandon Heath "I'm Not Who I Was"

I am blessed to have Mike know both who I was and who I am today. I went to God when I needed help with our relationship and I was shown how to manage and today I stand with Mike and am thrilled to announce that January 18, 2014 we will be renewing our vows and for the first time saying them in front of family and friends as well as praising God as we share how we went to him alone the first time we said our vows. It will be exactly 10 years from our very first kiss. It was only do to my following Jesus that we are where we are at today. 

I just want to let you know, what ever you are facing today, whatever obstacle seems to large to overcome, with God all things are possible. Trust in that and walk in Faith my sisters and brothers. You will LOVE who you become and how your view of things will change. You will discover Joy in the midst of madness. 

Please leave me a comment on this post or any post you read. We are meant to encourage one another and comments lift me like I cannot even put into words. Nothing stokes me more than being an inspiration to someone helping them find their way home. The most awesome gift one can give to another is "The good news". You want to truly help a friend out, help them build their Faith. Through Faith they will find hope and when they stick the course they will discover Love. God is Love. Love is God. It truly is as simple as that!

Father God, Today I come before you and ask that you strengthen me when judgement from non believers strikes. I thank you for filling my life full of fellow brothers and sisters in Christ. They help with their encouraging words. Thank you for always being there. Thank you for loving me. Thank you for your council over the years. I love who I am in you. I pray I am a light for others. I pray you use me to call others home. I pray I am a mighty warrior in your army of saints. Use me Lord in ways I can only imagine. Allow me to be a voice in the darkness. Let my story of triumph be heard. May my testimony reveal your Grace and Glory to all who stumble upon it. May it inspire others to not only seek and find you but to in turn share the good news so that a wave of triumph becomes louder than the news of dark deeds. In Jesus name I pray.

Amen

Wendy, Mom of Many

© Wendy Glidden 2013