However, at the age of 16, I responded to God’s love and salvation. I began reading His Word, and He graciously placed good friends and influences in my life. Unfortunately, I was still haunted by fear and rejection. I often questioned how God could love me and if He was willing to continue to forgive me when I sinned! As I look back I can see crucial points in my life where bad choices led me away from God and His plan for me. However, I can also see His loving pursuit of me throughout my life!

At pivotal points when I have called out to Him, He has responded with love and acceptance. One such point was just a few months ago when my husband and I started attending Church Alive. Again I was feeling fearful and alone. As the church sang, “I am a friend of God” I began to pour my heart out to God and tell Him that I wanted to be His friend! Abruptly the song stopped and a man said there was someone in the congregation who was anxious, fearful and alone. The man said he saw Jesus pushing His way through a large crowd to get to this person and throw His arms around them. I was that person! I felt such a strong presence of God—the tender and relentless pursuit of the One who chose me before the creation of the world. God’s love continues to amaze me and drive out my fear (1 John 4:18).

When my sister was 26, she was diagnosed with leukemia. She lived in Houston and we were very close. I flew there and stayed in the hospital with my sister for a few weeks. I did miss a bed though. I returned on a Friday and the very next day, Saturday, I was in an auto accident which put me in another hospital, this time as the patient.

We wore no seat belts then and the car ran off an embankment and flipped over 3 times. I didn’t remember anything, but was told my body was being thrown all over the inside of that car like a gum ball.

I was rushed to the nearest hospital, but I needed more than that particular hospital could do for me, so they again rushed me to one of the best hospital in N.O. My head suffered the most damage. My brain was swollen so much they were going to open my head to relieve the pressure. Thank the Lord the swelling subsided and that was not done! I stayed in a coma 7 days and the doctors did not know how I would be once I came out of it. I know the Lord was right there with me and when I woke from my coma He was there, His peace, His love, and His compassion. My life changed forever.

Once I was released from the hospital, I had to learn to do many things over again. I couldn’t walk, talk normally (I spoke like a child), or conduct my life as an adult but I know having the Lord come into my life Nov 13, 1977, was a new beginning. I had a nurse with me during the day to help me walk, eat, and to basically take care of me and in time, I even learned how to drive again. My jaw was broken and I remember one of the first things I ate once the wires were cut, was a small tomato (not sure why, ha) one bite and it squirted all over the place.

My parents told me I hugged everyone, doctors, nurses, visitors, even other patients and told them I love them and Jesus loved them. I will never forget one of my friends told me I needed a psychiatrist because of the change in me. I tried to tell her about the Lord, but she said I should have another head injury so I would be like I once was! The change affected my marriage and in time, he left me of course, I was now in North Carolina, not Louisiana with my family and friends but He was here with me.

I want to say this, there are many more answers to prayer and of course unanswered prayers, but the Lord knows what is best for all of us.

Somewhere between starting college and graduating, my whole career focus shifted from making a career out of doing something I love to making money and job security. I started out with the intent of writing and working in the arts for a living. Money was an afterthought. I figured I would just live on whatever amount I would make and it would just work itself out. Then, through many spheres of influence, I began to doubt my dreams, and so hopped from one major to the next until I felt completely “secure” in my career choice. Secure in this sense means it was a very solid career choice, but I was completely insecure about doing something I had never once been interested in pursuing. I went forward anyway, graduating from one of the best nursing schools around, my type A personality telling me not to stop now that I was so close to graduating.

I did graduate top of my nursing class. I worked in nursing for two years, switching jobs once, and at the end of 2008 my body told me I had enough. I started getting chest pains. My blood pressure was stroke level. Migraines were becoming a weekly occurrence. A doctor pulled me out of work for several weeks and had me do a whole battery of tests looking for everything from adrenal tumors to aneurysms. He did find a heart condition that had gone undiagnosed since birth. Normally this heart condition does not cause problems, but my stress hormones were sky high. This was the culprit of all of my symptoms, stress.

After talking with my doctor and my husband, and after a lot of praying, I decided to leave my job and make a fresh start. This was a HUGE leap of faith for me, and I mean huge. I felt like I was jumping off a cliff blind. I had no idea what I was going to do, and I was putting it all in God’s hands. Since leaving my nursing job, I have started back with painting, photography, and writing.

Most importantly, I have had more time to build a stronger relationship with God.I still have no idea what God has in store for my life, but I am excited to live for Him in the meantime. My husband and I have also grown closer since I left my job. We have placed God at the center rather than on the outskirts. And soon we will be leaving for Guatemala for our first foreign mission trip. I have never felt such joy in my life. Don’t get me wrong. Each and every day I am challenged to relinquish control, and sometimes I falter. But that is the beauty of God’s grace. Before all of this I would have never even considered letting go of anything so huge as my job and career. I can only imagine what this could have done for two newlyweds if this continued for much longer. Now, even though I do falter, I at least recognize my faults and give it to God.

When you feel the weight of the world on your shoulders and you are trying to figure out the how; remember to let go and let God!

I could not speak. My breath caught in my throat. The voice on the other end said, “Are you alright?” I muttered, “I will call you back.”

My thoughts were adrift in rapid movement of my dad, his life as I knew it and our 59 year relationship.

I know that more than once I have heard or been told that the basis of all male relationships a girl has is predicated upon the relationship she was afforded with the first man in her life – her father. I will not venture into the how it can benefit or hinder our future love relationships. I will however, share with you a birds-eye view of my relationship with my own father. (I read the following as a tribute to him on his “home going day.”)

The first man I ever loved was my Daddy.
(God tells us in His word to love and protect our children and my daddy did just that.)

He taught me how to dance by stepping on his feet when I was small. I would hold on tight and we would twirl and slide around the kitchen floor. When we were out and I would tire from walking – he would carry me on his back and I would put my arms tightly around his neck and kiss him on the back of his bald head as he carried me piggy-back down the street.

As I grew, he taught me how to ride a bike, change the oil in a car, drive a boat, tie nautical knots, and paint primer on a car. It did not matter what we did, just as long as I was with him.

OH, LIFE WAS EASY THEN LIKE SOFT SWEET BUTTER ON HOMEMADE BREAD.

In the summers we would spend Sundays after church on the Kanawha and Coal rivers. We would dock on sandy beaches and talk to other boaters, eat the chicken mom had fried, drink some pop and just before the sunset we would head home.

He was a man of few words, HE NEVER SPANKED ME- He’d simply say “NORA ANN” … and I would listen.

AND LIFE WAS EASY THEN LIKE SOFT SWEET BUTTER ON HOMEMADE BREAD.

I was proud of my daddy and he was proud of me.

When I made some decisions that changed the road I’d intended to travel…

And life wasn’t so easy anymore,

He was there to love and support me. And he never said “I told you so”.
He always told me I could be whatever I wanted to be!

He never presumed.
He always persevered…even when he fell off a ladder cleaning leaves out of the gutters…fractured some ribs and later was found to have a clot on his brain sustained in the fall – he preserved!

Even when he learned that a tire rolls down a driveway faster than people; and he ended up in the hospital – with a 3 fractured vertebrae in his cervical neck and shards of glass around his eyes from his broken glasses that didn’t penetrate his eyes (God was merciful) and Dad persevered!

He was strong, determined, kind, gentle and sweet in a salty way! And he planted the same seeds in me!

I PRAISE GOD FOR THE MAN WHO LOVED ME, PROVIDED WELL FOR ME – and helped to shape me into the woman I am today.

HE WAS MY DADDY…THE FIRST MAN I EVER LOVED.
(End of tribute)

Jesus walked my daddy into heaven on June 10, 2009 at 10 AM.

I am always awed at God’s faithfulness! Around 9 am that morning I asked God to take my daddy’s hand and walk him comfortably and without fear into heaven. As I prayed that prayer – a vision of dad and Jesus walking hand-in-hand popped into my mind. Dad had a hospital gown on with the split in the back – and I chuckled at the vision and felt peace. The message came two hours later and I was reminded of the prayer and the vision!

Now, he’s free from pain and free from worry and it gives me great joy to know that he is worshipping at the feet of the Savior.

Father God, creator of all life, thank you for the life of William Alexander Smith. Thank you that you picked him to be my daddy but most of all thank you that he living in eternity just as you promised to those who believe that you are Our Creator, Savior and Redeemer!

My heart is comforted by God’s promises in MATTHEW 5:4.

BLESSED ARE THOES THAT MOURN FOR THEY WILL BE COMFORTED.
AND IN ISAIAH 61: THAT THOSE THAT MOURN WILL BE PLANTED LIKE MIGHTY OAKS OF RIGHTEOUSNESS FOR HIS GLORY. He will care for all their needs and give them bouquets of roses instead of ashes. (Adapted from the Message Bible.)

I grew up in a Christian home but was not fully aware of what the Bible says about our tongues until later on in my Christian walk. My husband, early in our marriage, gave me a book to read called Hung by the Tongue by Francis P. Martin. I highly recommend this book to every believer; especially if they feel they are not fully receiving God’s blessings in their life. The Proverbs verse said that we can choose. What choice does God give us? In Deuteronomy 30:19 God is speaking to the Israelites through Moses saying: “This day I call heaven and earth as witnesses against you that I have set before you life and death, blessings and curses. Now choose life, so that you and your children may live.” We all want God’s blessings right?

Before I knew these scriptures, I was a pessimistic person with the mentality of the glass is half empty. Naturally my talk was very negative. How many of us say any of these comments on a weekly basis: “Nothing ever goes my way.” “I am so stupid.” “I am so clumsy.” “This is going to be a bad day.” “I have no luck.” “I am a loser.” From one friend to another, I admit to you that I have said all these things before. I do not want to live a stupid, clumsy, unlucky, bad life. How about you? I started to understand what Proverbs 18:21 really meant. I needed to stop saying these negative things out loud. I also even needed to watch the thoughts that entered my mind. I did not want what I was thinking or saying to happen to me. It was a hard change to make since I lived most of my life speaking that way. Since it was not easy, I turned to scripture. I knew that nothing in the Bible would bring about curses in my life; only blessings.

I went to a website called BibleGateway.com. At this website you can enter key words and search for what the Bible says about that topic. You can also change translations to find one that speaks to you in a personal way. Scriptures began to jump out at me and I typed up pages of scriptures and began to confess them during my devotion time. After a few weeks, these scriptures were stuck in my mind.

When I would feel the desire to say something bad about myself I would stop and say “IS THAT WHAT YOU WANT HEIDI, SPEAK WHAT YOU WANT!” I would then follow it up with a verse that I had memorized.

A good example was “I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.” Philippians 4:13. There are so many verses in the Bible that you can use to speak blessings over your life. Even if you only memorize one verse a month or 6 months, it is better to speak that one verse over your life than telling yourself you are a loser.

I promise you that God will begin to bless you and you will live a happier life. Ask for God’s favor on you every day. You will also desire to read His word more because you will see on a much more personal level how it affects you. Women are so hard on themselves. We are our worst critics. I know because I lived that way for years. I still struggle with my speech but I have made a huge change and I am much more optimistic and blessed beyond measure. God wants that for all His children.

I just recently finished a book called The New Spirit-Controlled Woman by Beverly LaHaye. She says that “The Bible tells us to let the Word of God dwell in you richly.

The more a woman has the Word of God in her mind, the easier it is for her to think godly thoughts and to have godly emotions and desires. Just as looking in the mirror each morning is important for good physical grooming, so looking into the mirror of God’s Word is important for daily spiritual grooming.”

What if this happens? What if that happens?

I got up, went into the hotel bathroom, and cried out to the Lord. “Don’t let these things happen!”
I could almost sense his wrinkled expression and a Godly, “Huh?”

For the next couple of days I tried not to think about it, though I was careful to hold onto it tightly and not give it to God. Someone has to worry about these things!

But finally I just couldn’t take it anymore. I couldn’t live like that. So I went into a quiet room and prayed, “Lord, no matter what happens you are in control. So what I pray is that I will know you are in control and I won’t be afraid.”

That’s when the burden lifted.

He is faithful! Since then He has reminded me of His goodness. He has renewed my hope by repeating His promises to me. He has shown me how He has been there in the past, even when I did not know it at the time. He spun me around to show me His perspective.

Instead of promising me nothing will ever happen, He has promised me He is in control of everything that happens and He is with me through it all.

“For I know the plans I have for you,” says the Lord. (Jeremiah 29:11)

Older people tend to take more medications than the younger population and some of which may contribute to dehydration such as ‘fluid pills’ that make them urinate more often. This can contribute to dehydration especially during the summer months.

Symptoms of dehydration can include fevers, changes in heart rate and/or blood pressure, confusion, irritability, eyes that appear sunken in, and/or nausea as well as other individual symptoms.

Additionally, we can determine if a person is dehydrated if when pulling up on the skin of the hands it does not immediately return to its place. Also another tell tale sign is if the person is not excreting as much urine as usual.

If any of the above symptoms are affecting any person, you should call a physician for instructions.

Please remember to take in extra fluids during the summer. Typically eight 8oz. glasses of fluid are enough but more should be consumed during this season and especially in the elderly or if a person is outside for prolonged periods of time. Included in fluid is coffee. Fluid does not have to mean all water. Pudding, yogurt, ice cream, and popsicles are other ‘fluids’ that count.

If a person has CHF (congestive heart failure) and/or is on ‘fluid pills’, please seek the advice from their physician prior to offering many extra fluids to avoid excess liquid in the lungs and/or heart.

Symptoms of excess fluid in the lungs/heart may appear as swelling in the extremities and in particular the legs. Elevating the legs may assist with decreasing the fluid noted in them. Be certain that the person is breathing without any difficulties. If breathing increases or sounds ‘noisy or congested’, call 911.

Again, if any changes in condition or symptoms, alert the physician.

“Something worse than fear . . . living with regret!” POW! It hit me right in the chest. It wasn’t some profound statement from Confucius or Abraham Lincoln or even Dr. Phil. It wasn’t even an Ah-ha moment brought on by an emotional topic on Oprah. It was a simple quote made by a wise women, friend and Life Coach, Janet Daughtry, but it is a simple sentence that has changed me forever!

A fact about me, that most people do not know, is that I have struggled with fear and anxiety for most of my life. In the past, I have sought the help of counselors, doctors and even prayer partners to help me to try to overcome this one obstacle that I have dealt with for as long as I can remember. I know the feeling of sitting on an airplane, with that nauseous feeling in the pit of your stomach, sweaty palms and racing heart waiting for take-off. I also know the terror of an oncoming panic attack, during which you feel that you can’t get oxygen in or out, your body is tingly and numb all over and you feel like you’re going to die. I’ve experienced it all. I’ve used any means possible to try to alleviate my fears (from therapy to medication), but ONE simple statement has completely changed my view of life AND of the fear I have lived with for so long.