Rambling out of Hibernation - Keeping it Real

Just me.  Just what I feel.  Just putting it out there and knowing it will set me free - as the truth always will.  I feel like I am finally coming out of my winter cave.  I began this blog in January 2012 and had stopped blogging by February 2012 because the response had not been that great.  Of the two responses I received, one was encouraging while the other gave me guidelines on how to blog.

I then began Facebook gaming.  Boy, was that a day taker.  Sure, I would get tidbits of housework done here and there, but it was "in between" my gaming.  I felt useless and guilty, but I told myself that it was okay to sit at the computer and achieve getting to the next level because I needed the down time.  It was bringing me down alright. 

It didn't get really bad until the end of February when my neighbor lost her husband and the father of her children - I ran deeper into hibernation.  I was running on autopilot.  The pain I was experiencing behind his death was almost unbearable.  I was consumed with a sadness that I couldn't express to anyone, so I burrowed deeper into my cave.

I would see my neighbor pushing through her day and wonder, "How is she doing that?"  I knew that she had to be hurting one hundred times worse than I was, but there she was - out taking care of business, taking care of her children, cleaning the yard, etc.  All I wanted to do was wake up and just sit with her and hold her.  Yet, there she was living - - - living with an incredible support system.

It was during that time that I realized I didn't have the kind of friendship I so desperately needed and desired.  I couldn't think of anyone to call and talk to about how I felt because everyone I knew was going through some sort of major ordeal.  I needed a friend who would for once just listen to me about what "I" was feeling or experiencing and then just hang out with that person.  I craved the friendship of godly women who were not too spiritual to bust a rib laughing.  I desired a friend who would mentor me and be an example to me.

So many times, I reached out to people to see how they were doing and the conversation never turned to me or my children (aside from the obligatory, "How are the kids?")  Before I could really answer, the conversation had turned back to her.

I am not bitter.  I am just being openly honest so I can shed these winter clothing...before the real winter sets in.  I don't want to be covered up under layers of movement-restricting emotions and thoughts while I'm inside a closed up house. 

Do you now see why I chose the title, 'Rambling out of Hibernation - Keeping it Real'? 

Some may read this and think, "What does this blog have to do with embracing your storms?  How is this encouraging?"  My answer would be, "It has EVERYTHING to do with it."  By writing this, I am allowing myself to be rid of the dark clouds I have been under for the past few months.  This way, I can get on to writing better things.  It is encouraing to ME.  As the songwriter penned, "Sometimes you've got to encourage yourself."

Surviving a Storm

Below are some storm survival tips.

1.  Do not panic.   Know that God is in control and He said that He would work this out for good.

2.  Find shelter.  Remember there is safety in God's arms.

3.  Praise God.  This takes the focus off of your storm and places it where it should be.

4.  Listen to God's Navigational Instructions.  You don't have to stay in your storm.  There are times when your obedience will push the storm out faster.

5.  Keep busy.  Some storms are out of your control.  Working on situations you CAN control can give you a sense of purpose.

Singing in the Rain

When you praise God in spite of your circumstances, you confuse the enemy.  I learned ten years ago that the best way to fight the enemy is to praise God until the enemy flees. 

Fear had gripped my heart.  On a Thursday night, I sat in the parking lot of the church I was attending at the time and cried my eyes out.  I was terrified because my doctor suspected I had ovarian cancer.  My children were small (3, 5, 7, and 9), and I had only been married for ten months. 

I was crying so hard that my chest began to hurt.  I told myself I had better calm down because even if I did not have cancer, I would surely die of a heart attack from the panic I was feeling.  I had to get myself out of victim mode and demonstrate my faith.

I went home and posted scriptures all over my bedroom wall...then I began to sing.  I began to sing songs of praise to God.  One minute I was allowing the enemy to attack me and the next minute I was attacking back.  I felt so much better because I was giving credit where credit was due.  The devil had no choice but to flee.  The devil can't stand to be around us when we are ignoring him and praising God.

The bible tells us to submit ourselves to God and resist the devil.  Then he will flee.  It is not enough to just try to fight him alone.  We have to redirect our attention to the One who really deserves it.

When we sing in the rain, we bring sunshine into our storms. 

CLICK A LINK BELOW TO HEAR SONGS OF INSPIRATION DURING YOUR STORM



The Storm is Over Now:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FtNVn9IvWyI&feature=player_detailpage

I Told the Storm:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_detailpage&v=nVIPymcDpbA

Bow Down: 
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fQNp4n_5VFE&feature=player_detailpage

A Song in the Night: 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3AQ6TvH7CGo&feature=player_detailpage

Shelter From the Storm - God's Arms

"When the storms of life are raging, and the billows roll, I'm glad He shall hide me in His arms."
- Safe in His Arms

Safe in the Master's arms is where I want to be when storms break out in my life.  The time to seek shelter is not as the storm is in full force, but before you even know a storm is approaching.  In order to be in position when the storm hits, you must stay in your place and not go outside the shelter.

Whether you are on a mountain top or in a deep valley, the safest place in all the world is in the will of God. 

"When I am in God's arms, the devil can't find me." - Safe in His Arms 

He may know where you are in the building, but his access is cut off when you are wrapped in God's arms.

Dreaming in Storm Mode

Early this morning I had a dream.  In my dream I was in a terrible storm.  I got news from my son Michael that my younger son Jordan had been killed by a driver at The University of Akron.  I did not understand how that could have happened.  He had only been nipped by the car's mirror.

When I got the news, I was so saddened by it that I could not even cry.  In reality, I have never felt a sadness that solid and deep in all my life.  As I called Jordan's grandmother to give her the news, I felt a spirit of calm through my remorse.  Although I was hurting, I felt the comfort of God telling me that I would go on because I could go on.

When I awakened, I felt such a relief that it had only been a dream.  That is when I began to cry from my core.  Try as I might, I could not hold the moan and cries in. 

After calming down, I realized that I should not focus on his dying in the dream.  Instead, I should focus on the promise in the dream.

I used to always say, "If something happened to one of my kids, they would just have to put me away."  I stopped saying that two years ago.  I did not want to give the devil a reason to try to prove me right.

God showed me in my dream that even in the darkest hour and during the darkest storm, there is comfort and hope.

I kissed Jordan as he slept this morning.  I woke him up and kissed him again.  I told him about my dream, cried, hugged him as he hugged me back and kissed him again.

He just sent me a text that reads, "Every time it comes to mind, just remember:  God ain't done with me yet."

I know, Jordan; and "ain't" isn't a word.

                                                                                                              

The Rainbow

Why am I going through this storm? 

Why does my life have to be so difficult? 

Why can't I get out of this situation? 

I always say that there are four reasons God allows us to go through a storm.


*God wants to draw us closer to Him and build our character.


*God knows we can survive the storm.


*God wants us to learn how to handle future storms.


*When we make it through to the other side of a storm, God wants us to share 'the rainbow' with
  someone else.

The rainbow is your testimony of God's greatness and how you made it through.  The rainbow is encouragement for someone else experiencing a storm. 

Once we have experienced the wind, rain, lightning, and thunder, seeing a rainbow should bring us peace.  It lets us know that we have survived the storm and God holds a promise for us.  When we have weathered the storm and come out intact and stronger on the other side, we should never be the same.



"Like the appearance of a RAINBOW in a cloud on a rainy day, so was the appearance of the brightness all around it.  This was the appearance of the likeness of the glory of the Lord . . . " (Ezekiel 1:26-28)

At the end of the storm, we should be able to see God in all His glory. 

Be thankful for your storms and all that they entail.  Embrace your storms knowing that they will make you stronger if you let them.  Give a testimony of how God brought you through.  Do not let your storms be for nothing.  You got closer to God.  Your character is stronger.  You learned something about yourself.  You survived!  Now go and tell someone.  Be a source of hope. 

Share the rainbow. 

Thunder - Rumblings in the Night

Clouds bumping together, friction in the air, angels bowling in heaven, the voice of God, God laughing.  There are many analogies for thunder.  The analogy I like best is the one that suggests thunder is the voice of God speaking to His children.

Have you ever awakened in the middle of the night and could not go back to sleep because you were not able to see your way out of your storm?  Everything you are experiencing in your storm seems larger than life in the midnight hour.  I suppose it is because there is really nothing you can do about your situation at that hour.

During the night, most people and things are usually shut down.  If you are struggling with your marriage, your spouse is probably asleep.  If you are wondering how you will pay your electric bill, the power company is closed.  If you are having problems on your job, you probably do not have the number for your boss - who you surely would not call at that hour anyhow.

In the midnight hour of your storm, you hear every taunt from the enemy a lot better than you do during the day.  Perhaps this is why God brings the thunder.  The thunder rumbles over you and through you.  Listen.  Do you hear what it is telling you?

I remember my first encounter with the thunder.  I was 30 years old.  I was in an abusive marriage and had four small children (4 months, 2, 5, and 7 years of age at the time).  I was sound asleep when something awakened me at 3:00 in the morning.  A voice in my head said, "Get up and lock the bedroom door." 

Rewind:  Approximately one week before, I had been dreaming that I was in bed and a spider was making its way down its web from the ceiling right above my head.  In my dream, my room was dark, but I could still see the spider.  In reality, I woke up and rolled over to go back to sleep.  A voice in my head said, "Get up and turn on the bedroom light."  I do not know why I listened, but I am glad I did. 

I turned on the light and looked around my bedroom.  Right above where I had been sleeping was a spider just beginning its descent from my ceiling.  I stood there frozen for a moment.  I then killed the spider, scanned the room, turned off the light, and got back into the bed.

As I lay there looking at the clock which read 3:03, I wondered at what had just occurred.  Not long after, I fell asleep again.  That was my training day.

As I was saying, a voice in my head said, "Get up and lock the bedroom door."  I immediately did so.  I had fallen asleep with the light on, so it was easy to find the chain.  No sooner than I had the chain in place did my husband at the time try to bust open the door.  The force was so great that the chain vibrated.  He said, "I hate you!  You ruined my life.  I wish I could kill you!"

My first encounter with 'the voice' came to mind.  I understood at that moment what had happened the prior week.  With a peace I had not felt in a long time, I turned off the light and went back to bed with a subtle smile on my lips.  "I have you," is what God was telling me. 

The rumbling thunder of God's voice inside my spirit gave me a feeling of security.  Ever since then, if I awaken in the 3:00 hour of the morning, I just turn onto my back and ask, "Yes, God?"  Then I listen. 

The thunder can seem pretty scary during a storm.  It makes the storm seem so much worse than it really is - if you do not know its source. 

The next time you are in a storm, allow the thunder to be your friend.  Let it be the friend that sticks closer to you than a (sleeping) brother. 

When you awaken in the midnight hour and everyone else is asleep, listen for the thunder.  It is very likely that the thunder will help to lead you out of your storm.

The Lightning - Is It All It's Cracked Up to Be?

Years ago, I heard about a man who walked on a manhole cover and was electrocuted because of some extra energy he had in his body - I now avoid manhole covers.  I heard that you are not supposed to touch a light switch with wet hands - if my hands are wet and I need light, I use my elbow to lift the switch.  I heard that you shouldn't bathe while it is lightning - I won't even wash the dishes when it is lightning.

Are any of the previous warnings true?  To be honest, I am not really sure.  To be even more honest, I do not care whether they are true or not.  I just tend to believe them and adhere to them to ensure my safety...especially when it comes to lightning.

I am afraid of lightning.  I freely admit that.  "My name is Sheila Fisher.  I do not like lightning."  The only cracking of the sky I can get excited about is the one that will occur upon Jesus' return.

Because I try not to think too much about lightning, I do not think I have a lot to say on the matter.  However, since it is part of storms and for the sake of this blog, I will attempt to touch on it briefly.

Maybe my fear comes from not understanding its purpose.  I know the cause of it.  I just don't know why God created it.  The only reason I can think of is lightning could be a warning.  God could be saying, "Get inside.  This storm is going to be serious."  Knowing that being around trees can be dangerous when it is lightning, He could also be saying, "It's time find shelter."

In a spiritual sense, lightning during a storm can be the perfect flashlight during the midnight hours of your life.  It can light your path away from danger.  When we cannot see the forest for the trees, it can direct us to shelter.  Again, trees and lightning do not mix...or so I heard.  Lightning can lead us out of the woods and into the shelter of God's arms.

Why?  The reason is because lightning directs our attention upward.  We can be so focused on what is going on around us that we neglect to even acknowledge God's presence in the midst of our storm.  God will definitely use lightning to gain our attention.  Just think about the conditions at the foot of Mount Sinai right before the children of Israel were in the presence of God. 

Exodus 19:16,17 - And it came to pass on the third day in the morning, that there were thunders and lightnings, and a thick cloud upon the mount, and the voice of the trumpet exceeding loud; so that all the people that were in the camp trembled.  And Moses brought forth the people out of the camp to meet with God; and they stood at the nether part of the mount.

After writing this, I can definitely view lightning a little differently now.  Is is possible that lightning is not my enemy?  Could it instead be God's way of warning me?  Perhaps, it is God's way of getting my attention.  How assuring to have confirmation that God knows our storms and will guide us in the midst of them. 

Another scripture just came to mind.  It will help me to change my fear of lightning into something useful.

2 Timothy 1:7 - For God has not given us the spirit of fear; but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind.

I ask you to join me in not cringing from the lightning portion of your storms.  Instead follow the path it lights for you.  Take the path that leads you to safety.  Will you give God your attention during your storms?

The Rain - Making Mud Pies

I remember my sister and I as children playing in the rain with our friends.  I especially loved the moment when the rain was beating down so hard you could see the small circles it made as it hit the ground.  That was the best rain for us to run around in.  The raindrops would be so cold that we would instinctively hunch our shoulders because our bodies couldn't take a direct hit.

We would squeal with delight as we dared to face the powerful rain, not concerned with our hair or clothing getting wet.  In fact, the more our clothing stuck to our bodies, the prouder we were.  With feigned dismay and in an attempt to outdo each other, we would show each other how wet we really were.  Afterward, we would feel exhilarated and victorious for having survived such a brave feat.  We were rebels in our own minds.  We were defying the umbrellas, rain slickers, and goulashes.  All of these items dictated that we should be afraid of the rain.

As a child, I thought that someone should have told the adults responsible for producing the protective rain gear that the rain was refreshing.  The rain washed away the summer heat.  It turned the dirt into mud, which was perfect for making mud pies.  It allowed us to be refreshed and renewed to face the heat again.

I am an adult now.  As an adult, I realize that the rain can be an inconvenience.  Who needs something extra to worry about?  Who needs another object to carry when our hands are already full of briefcases, keys, and coffee.  It is difficult to balance an umbrella on top of all these things, however we still struggle with one all in the effort to not let the rain touch us.

When the rain comes in the midst of the blowing winds, it can feel like needles pricking our skin.  When we are going through a personal storm, it can feel like needles pricking our spirit.  It is okay to feel the pain.  It lets us know we are ALIVE.  AWARE.  ACKNOWLEDGED. 

How can we truly appreciate the sunshine without the rain?  Just as the rain helps plants to grow, we grow when we allow life to water us with difficult decisions to make.  We become challenged when we are faced with trials and tribulations.  It is during these times we learn to fight and to rely on God to offer adequate protection. 

When the rain hits so hard that it leaves holes in your spirit, God is able to then fill those voids with the right measure of mercy and grace.

What would happen if we looked at the rain through the eyes of a child on a hot summer day?  Would we dare to stand in the rain?  Would we allow it to wash away our grime?  Would we make mud pies out of the mud surrounding our feet?  Would we stand exhilarated and refreshed after the rain had ceased?

Sometimes I sit on my porch when it is raining.  I watch to see which direction the wind is blowing and pray that I will get touched by the blowing mist.  As I do, I close my eyes and try to muster up the nerve to go play in the rain.  Maybe one day I will.  

I challenge you to let the situations that fall into your lap like raindrops take you to a place of cleansing.  Let the situations reveal what is truly inside you underneath the grime of fear, pain, anger, and insecurity you may carry inside.  When the rain stops, pick up the mud and make a pie of experience, growth, and learning - then share your mud pie.  There will be enough to go around.

Beauty in the Wind

When you think of a storm, out of all the elements it consists of the wind can be the most damaging.    Hurricane winds cause waters to move with such rapid speed that they destroy everything in their path.  A fire with no wind is easier to contain than a fire being driven forward by the wind.  Tornadoes cause houses to be lifted from their foundations and vehicles to fly through the air as if they were mere sheets of paper.  When I was a child in elementary school, I saw a film about tornadoes.  In the film, there was a scene where a pencil was driven straight through a tree due to the force of the wind.

Yes, the wind is definitely a formidable culprit in all great storms.

The wind can take your breath away when you are facing it.  It can also push you back when you are trying to make forward progress.  However, the wind can also be so mild that it is called a breeze.  This breeze is what I speak of when I say, "There is beauty in the wind."

I used to be a customer service representative for a third party health insurance administrator.  The customer service line I worked at the time was geared toward helping college and university students understand their health insurance benefits.  I also answered questions regarding the status of medical claims filed by doctors on the students' behalf.

These calls were literally non-stop and often very tedious.  I dealt with all types of students and their parents - not all of them had a meek spirit.

One day in particular had been extremely stressful.  I was full of anger from being cursed at, fatigued from being overworked, depressed because I did not see a way out, and frustrated because the department was short-staffed.  It was next to impossible to take a break.  On top of that, not all of the members of the customer service team carried their own weight.  Needless to say, I could not wait to take the hour-long lunch I had coming to me. 

Winter was just beginning to set in, but the sun was shining.  While at the printer picking up a document I needed to scan and e-mail to a plan member, I glanced outside and saw the tree branches gently swaying.  Tears pricked my eyes and my nose began to sting.  I fought back the tears because I wanted to save them for after I opened the gift God was dangling in front of me.  I could hear His voice in my spirit saying, "Just hold on a little longer, Sweetie.  I have something special just for you."

Well, 12:30 rolled around.  I grabbed a blanket I kept for cool days in the office from my desk drawer and headed outside to the sitting/smoking area.  I prayed there would be no one there.  I had never been a smoker and definitely did not want to be a talker that day. 

When I got there, God had answered my prayer.  As I sat (alone) in one of the resin chairs, I closed my eyes and let the wind just wash over me.  I smiled inside and out as I allowed God to blow away the poison that had built up inside me.  All the frustration, anger, fatigue, and depression I felt earlier was replaced by peace, love, hope, and gratitude to God for all He provided for me.

The breath of God (the breeze) washed over me and through me as I sat there basking in His love.  The tears I had held in at the printer left their trail of relief as they ran down my cheeks.  I felt the heaviness seeping from my body with each tear that flowed. 

I was so lost in the sweet release, I did not hear a coworker approaching.  She asked me what was wrong.  I explained to her that there was nothing wrong.  I was just enjoying the wind. 

Her response was, "I hate when the wind blows.  It makes the air so cold this time of year."

I looked at her and slowly shook my head while asking, "Don't you know there is beauty in the wind?  It's God's way of blowing away the dirty and bringing in the fresh."

I will never forget that day.  It's the day the breath of God kissed my ouchie.