Holly Michael's Writing Straight

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Category Archives: Prayers Needed

Trust

29 Thursday Aug 2013

Posted by Holly Michael in Christianity, Diabetes, Family, Football, Inspiration, Jake Byrne, Prayers Needed

≈ 16 Comments

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#89, Betsy Byrne, big dreams, Bishop Leo Michael, diabetes, Dreams, Faith, football, God, Holly Michael, Holy Catholic Church Anglican Rite, Hope, Houston Texans, Isaiah 40:12, Isaiah 40:27, Jake Byrne, Jesus, Jesus Christ, Nick Byrne, Prayer, Proverbs 3:5-6, Rajun Cajuns, Saint James Anglican Church, St. James Anglican Church, T1, trust, trust God, type 1 diabetes, Type One Diabetes, www.writingstraight.com

Proverb1Big dreamers must be equipped with bucket loads of trust; trust they will see their dreams to fruition. They need to mix that trust with hard work, confidence, and a little brain power, too. BUT the most important ingredient needed to bind all of this together to really whip that big dream into a reality you can sink your teeth into: God!

We must trust in God. Have confidence in God. And use the brain power He gifted us with to know that ultimately, we can do nothing without Him.

I never understand how people disregard the power and strength of God while struggling to make their dreams become reality. Last night, during a Bible study at our church, St. James Anglican, our facilitator, Dan Hartshorn, drew our attention to Isaiah 40:12 which describes God: Who has measured the waters in the hollow of his hand and marked off the heavens with a span.

Now, if you can measure the waters of the earth in the hollow of your hand and measure the heavens with the span of your hands, you have some really big hands! And these big hands are not only big, but loving hands. Why would we ever want to do anything without those big hands helping us? Seems pointless, really.

I’ve been working hard to finish a third novel and prepare for a very important writer’s conference. I’ve got really big dreams that I want to become reality.

My son Jake, a rookie in the NFL with the Houston Texans has big dreams too. He’s playing a very important pre-season game tonight (Texans vs. Dallas Cowboys) where he will be put in to play the entire game to really prove himself. Both of us realize that we need to rely on God’s power and strength so much now. Jake is a type one diabetic. He will surely need God’s strength tonight and always. Please pray for him. #89

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Funny, but reading the above verse, verse 12 in Isaiah 40, I read a little lower to verse 27 and had to text it to Jake. It begins with God addressing Jacob, so appropriate for my Jacob, too: 27 Why do you say, O Jacob and speak, O Israel, ‘My way is hidden from the Lord, and my right is disregarded by my God’? 28 Have you not known? Have you not heard? The Lord is the everlasting God, the Creator of the ends of the earth. He does not faint or grow weary; his understanding is unsearchable.29 He gives power to the faint, and strengthens the powerless.30 Even youths will faint and be weary, and the young will fall exhausted;31 but those who wait for the Lord shall renew their strength, they shall mount up with wings like eagles, they shall run and not be weary, they shall walk and not faint.

Jake’s text response: “Love it! Thank you. I should be good to go for this one!!”

Yeah, I think we’ll all be good to go, trusting in our God.

Proverbs 3:5-6: Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways submit to him and he will direct your path!

And thanking God for daughter Betsy getting an internship this week. (below, left of big brother Jake)

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…and getting ready for the next football game. younger son Nick (University of Louisiana-Lafayette-Ragin Cajuns), also a tight-end, will play against the Arkansas Razorbacks this Saturday! We’re pretty excited about that, too! Go Nick!!!

headshot_1_Bryne,%20Nick%202013

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God bless you all and I really appreciate your prayers and support!

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Christmas Challenge: Romans, Day 6 – Horrific Loss, Grief, and Comfort

14 Friday Dec 2012

Posted by Holly Michael in 16 Chapters to Christmas, Christianity, Inspiration, Prayers Needed

≈ 13 Comments

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Alfred Sturges, Bible, Blog, Ch. 6, Children, Christianity, Christmas, comfort, commentary, Connecticut school shootings, Deacon Alfred Sturges, death, Death of a child, Faith, God, grace, Grief, Heaven, Hell, help, Holly Michael, Hope, horrific death, horrific loss, Jesus, Jesus and Children, Jesus Christ, Lord, Loss, Love, Peace, Prayer, Romans, Romans 6 Bible Commentary, Romans Chapter 6, school shooting, Sin, Suffering, www.writingstraight.com

Christmas Challenge: Romans, Chapter 6

Dead to Sin, Alive in Christ

Thanks for joining me on Day 6 of Deacon Alfred’s Challenge to read Romans: A chapter a day, each day, to Christmas. I’ll post the Chapter, then a short reflection at the end. Whether you are following every chapter, stopping by occasionally, or just reading this one time, I pray that God will bless you through His Word. Today, while considering what Paul is saying in Chapter 6, I’m reflecting on the horrific school shootings. I pray for the families of the victims and hope that somehow God’s word can ease the pain we all feel in our hearts at this unthinkable crime.

Here’s Romans: Chapter 6

6 What shall we say, then? Shall we go on sinning so that grace may increase? 2 By no means! We are those who have died to sin; how can we live in it any longer? 3 Or don’t you know that all of us who were baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death? 4 We were therefore buried with him through baptism into death in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, we too may live a new life.

5 For if we have been united with him in a death like his, we will certainly also be united with him in a resurrection like his. 6 For we know that our old self was crucified with him so that the body ruled by sin might be done away with, that we should no longer be slaves to sin— 7 because anyone who has died has been set free from sin.

8 Now if we died with Christ, we believe that we will also live with him. 9 For we know that since Christ was raised from the dead, he cannot die again; death no longer has mastery over him. 10 The death he died, he died to sin once for all; but the life he lives, he lives to God.

11 In the same way, count yourselves dead to sin but alive to God in Christ Jesus. 12 Therefore do not let sin reign in your mortal body so that you obey its evil desires. 13 Do not offer any part of yourself to sin as an instrument of wickedness, but rather offer yourselves to God as those who have been brought from death to life; and offer every part of yourself to him as an instrument of righteousness.14 For sin shall no longer be your master, because you are not under the law, but under grace.

Slaves to Righteousness

15 What then? Shall we sin because we are not under the law but under grace? By no means! 16 Don’t you know that when you offer yourselves to someone as obedient slaves, you are slaves of the one you obey—whether you are slaves to sin, which leads to death, or to obedience, which leads to righteousness? 17 But thanks be to God that, though you used to be slaves to sin, you have come to obey from your heart the pattern of teaching that has now claimed your allegiance. 18 You have been set free from sin and have become slaves to righteousness.

19 I am using an example from everyday life because of your human limitations. Just as you used to offer yourselves as slaves to impurity and to ever-increasing wickedness, so now offer yourselves as slaves to righteousness leading to holiness. 20 When you were slaves to sin, you were free from the control of righteousness. 21 What benefit did you reap at that time from the things you are now ashamed of? Those things result in death! 22 But now that you have been set free from sin and have become slaves of God, the benefit you reap leads to holiness, and the result is eternal life. 23 For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

My thoughts: It’s very difficult to offer encouraging words, given the news about the school shooting in Connecticut. But, perhaps sin, death, hell, and the gift of eternal life are helpful topics to consider today.

Paul basically says that believers must die to sin and live to God. Because we are baptized in Christ, we have a union with Christ. We are alive to God and free from the dominion of sin. The wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.

Regarding the school shootings, my first thought is a visual image of that man who shot those kids being grabbed by demons and dragged into hell like how it was done in the scene from Patrick Swayze’s movie, Ghost. But God is that young man’s judge, not me. On the other hand, maybe it’s better that we replace that image, with an image of the children who were killed, all together in Heaven, celebrating this Christmas with Jesus. Like this:

Jesus and Childfen

Or this:

jm_600_GIA.pd-P9.tiff

Maybe they get a real life look at the stable scene…

vintage_religious_christmas_nativity_baby_jesus_placemat-rf42a23c68a89449686a5c3c3b89843a0_2cfku_8byvr_512

white-jesus-001

For sure, Jesus will love them. Jesus will care for them. So, in my heart, I have comfort that Our Lord, Jesus will take care of those babies. The pain and suffering remains here on earth, in the hearts of their loved ones.

When I was fifteen, I lost my beloved six-year-old sister to a horrible death. Knowing I was losing it, a friend took me to church to talk to the pastor. I asked him questions about death and where my sister was.

I’ll never forget his words, “She’s with God, our Loving Father, and He’s the best caretaker there is.” Those words really helped me at a time when I thought I couldn’t go on. I had been her caretaker. I found comfort knowing she was okay, more than okay. I needed to hear that. So, I determined that if she was okay, then I would be okay, too. God helped me through those days, continued to be with me, and has never left me. I look forward to the day I see our Lord and my sweet sister Amy again.

Bringing Romans 6 back into this topic. Paul says, “Do not offer any part of yourself to sin as an instrument of wickedness, but rather offer yourselves to God as those who have been brought from death to life; and offer every part of yourself to him as an instrument of righteousness.14 For sin shall no longer be your master, because you are not under the law, but under grace.”

We have been brought from death to life, everlasting life. Sin, whatever sin we struggle with, can not be our master. But it’s not a sin to grieve. Grieving is a God-given emotion. We should grieve and I pray that all those grieving the horrific loss of their child or loved one, will find comfort during their moments of grief. I pray God will soften the pain, give them strength to go on, and guide them closer to His heart.

Considering what Paul says to the Romans, even though we may struggle and suffer from the consequences of the horrible sins of others, we can’t let the sin of hate, guilt, anger, or whatever enter our hearts or turn us from God. These kinds of sins or any other sin, should not dominate our thoughts or lives. God didn’t make this happen. He gives humans free will. But God will deal with that shooter and all others who harm the innocent. The Bible assures us of that. As for us: We have been united with Christ in a death (He died for our sins) we shall be united with Him in resurrection (new life in Heaven).

On a final note: One day, while driving to the grocery store, my youngest son, Nick (four at the time), out of the blue asked me this question: “Mom, what happens when we die.” While I pondered, wondering about this profound question and how best to answer it to a preschooler, he said, “Never mind, Mom. I know. Jesus comes and takes our hand.” Bingo! That is an image I want to keep in my mind.

Jesus holds our hands now, during our difficult times and He will take all of our hands one day and lead us to verdant pastures. Let His Peace comfort us all now. Dear Father, in the Name of Jesus, please embrace the victims of this shooting into your loving arms. And, be with and bless each person who grieves the loss of a loved one during this Christmas season. Amen.

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The Destination

09 Sunday Sep 2012

Posted by Holly Michael in Christianity, Prayers Needed

≈ 55 Comments

Tags

death, God, life support, prayers, Vicky Sclafani

Our friend, Vicky, tells my husband and I she’s on a bus, traveling. She wants to get to her final destination, only she’s not sure where the bus is headed.

On Wednesday, Vicky went on life support following a massive cardiac arrest incident and multiple organ failure. Vicky has no family, no living will. On Thursday, the medical staff made a decision to stop life support. The tube was removed and the doctors concurred that she could not survive. After several hours, extremely dehydrated but alive, Vicky opened her eyes and said, “I want to live!”

With those words, the atmosphere in the ICU changed. Bright lights. Busy staff. Medical procedures.

Vicky needs a new heart, but she’s not a candidate, given her damaged and failing organs. No one can explain why she’s alive. But she is. Vicky has a brilliant mind, even now. She’s a deep thinker, even now. She’s an educated, vibrant, witty woman, who can crack a joke, even now.

But Vicky also cries often. She has a sensitive heart, maybe too sensitive. Her wounds, going back to her childhood, are deep and like open sores that she shows to us from her hospital bed in the ICU.

She’s the same Vicky we’ve known, but the ammonia build-up in her liver causes her confusion. She thinks she’s on a bus, or perhaps a train, she says. But she feels as if she’s traveling. “What’s happened to me?” She often asks, especially after waking. “Where am I?” Where are we going?”

When the tsunami hit South India, in 2004, Vicky was instrumental in our church’s major fundraising event. Vicky came along with my husband and I to India. Together, we walked through devastated remote villages and shed tears on beaches that had become cemeteries dotted with coconut sapling gravestones. Vicky hugged children, prayed for the wounded and was a trooper through horrendous conditions.

Now, Vicky hugs us and says she loves us. She jokes, smiles, chats, and contemplates on her past, and often cries, touching the sandalwood rosary around her neck that she purchased during our mission trip to India in 2004.

Please pray for Vicky. I’m not sure why shy can’t get off the bus she thinks she’s on and why she can’t reach her final destination. I wish and pray she could survive and be the full and complete person God meant her to be. I want her to live. The medical staff says she has zero chance of recovery. She has the will to live, but so do many others who still die. God is a factor in why she is surviving. We can’t get anywhere on our own. There is more going on, spiritually, in this situation than I can wrap my mind around.

I just don’t want Vicky to remain stuck on this bus going nowhere, sad and confused.

Tonight she told us she wants to go home, but she says she’s stuck in a bizarre situation, in a house with three girls who say they are nurses, but she knows it’s not so. She says her house needs to be cleaned and she’s really worried about that mess.

Please pray for Vicky. Pray to God that she can find peace and healing so that she can reach her final destination. Pray for God’s mercy for Vicky, for God’s Grace and for Jesus to take her where she needs to be.

I am human. I am frail. I am sad. I am not the driver of this bus.

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Done this: Regular freelance ghostwriter and online editor for Guideposts for Teens/Sweet 16 Magazine, creator/editor of a magazine for Wal-Mart Corp., journalist, newspaper features writer, published in a variety of national magazines and local newspapers, script writing/editing for corporations. Doing this now: author of fiction and nonfiction, blogger, and editor of Koinonia Magazine. I’m the wife of Rt. Rev. Leo Michael, an Anglican Bishop in the Holy Catholic Church-Anglican Rite. Mom to three great kids: Nick (#81 Rajin Cajuns), Betsy (Super cute professor) and Jake (T1D & NFL player) Also, enjoy my travels extensively across the United States and internationally.

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