Letting God speak through you

Sometimes when people pray, I am in awe of how heartfelt and specific their words are to my situation. What's their secret? It's not them -- it's God. I get a little nervous when I'm praying with people. I'm not sure if my words will be applicable to their situation.

Jonathan Payne, a senior at Jackson Christian School, also felt nervous about praying with people on a recent mission trip to Kenya, according to an article in The Jackson Sun:

[Payne] spent 13 days in Kenya, where he spoke to children about AIDS and making healthy choices.


Payne said he was nervous about speaking to the students.


'It was a God thing,' he said. 'I wanted to say the right thing. I'd been praying, 'God give the right words,' and I believe God spoke through me. It was a humbling experience.'

I pray that God will give everyone the right words in their interactions today.

Breast cancer survivor shares journey

Like most women, Sabrina Goble rarely did her self breast examination for cancer. In 2007, she had a routine mammogram. The gynecologist said that everything was fine, and to come back in a year. But God had something else to show Goble, according to a story in the Cabarrus News:

'My husband and I were touring homes on a Saturday. They had nice outdoor bathrooms with sinks and mirrors and skylights that let the sunlight come through the roof. As I went in, the spaghetti strap on my blouse, that had been falling all day, fell again. In the light from that skylight I saw an indentation on the top of my chest. I ran my hand over it and said 'What is this?' It felt distinctively different. Round. And hard. Like a BB. And I saw it with my eyes.

'So I was in the doctor's office on Monday morning. I want people to know this is not something you put off. You go immediately.

'The surgeon removed the 0.6 centimeter tumor the same week. Five days later, I got the devastating phone call. I was in shock when they told me it was malignant and that a second surgery would have to be scheduled because they didn't get it all.

'At that moment, I fell to my knees in anguish. God spoke to me and said that if I would trust Him, He would use it for something good to help others.'

The breast cancer survivor since has embarked on a campaign to educate women about the importance of self breast exams, mammograms, and how to deal with breast cancer.

Sabrina Goble

Everything is spiritual

As I am going through phase three of The Ultimate Journey/Christ-Life Solution, I was reminded of a key principle: everything is spiritual.

During this past week, our assignment was to keep track of how we spent our time. Since I have worked for public relations firms, I have experience with documenting how I spend my time.

When our class was reviewing our time sheets, I noticed that I spent a lot of my time applying for jobs and being with my wife and son. My only "religious" times were reading the Bible for a bit each morning, attending church and doing my Christ-Life Solution homework. When I mentioned that to the group, a classmate reminded me that everything is spiritual.

What an excellent reminder! Every aspect of how I go about my day and how I interact with people is God living through me. It's really easy to feel guilty for not spending enough "religious" time; remember that everything is spiritual as you go about your day.