The Joy Stealer in Me

Lately, it seems as though whatever I hear and read—through my devotions that I receive in my inbox every morning, listening to Joyce Meyer on my way to work, hearing Pastor Ken’s sermons on Sundays, and over the radio via a Bible Study program as I am driving away from Patterson—I hear the encouragement and reminder to be joyful always. I hear Paul telling me, “Rejoice always, pray continually, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus” (1 Thessalonians 5:16-18, NIV).

Maybe God is trying to tell me something. Maybe He’s telling me that I need to be more joyful reminding me that I am a representation of Christ while I’m at home or out there in the world. And, He is right. I surely am a representative of His. I am a chosen child of God and I must behave and carry myself accordingly. And, to be a child of His is a true blessing—this calls for a joyful heart. I can always work on myself and get closer to that joyful always part. I can make a conscious decision to do what God says and acknowledge my dependence on Him and when this happens, my perspective will change for the better.

I must admit that I can certainly be a joy stealer. It is so easy to go there—to be negative, to complain about anything and everything from my one-and-a-half hour commute, to my 12-hour workday, to the assignments I get at work, to not getting enough time to be with my family…and the list just goes on.

I am guilty of being that whiner to my poor husband when I get home from work. I would tell him, “I’m tired. I’ve worked all day and was on the road for three hours. Just need to go to bed and do it all over again tomorrow.” In other words, leave me alone. See how easy that was? I am so guilty of this and after I have said this to the guy who proclaims his love for me every day, waiting for me to arrive home safely from work with a smile on his face and “baited-breath” (as he likes to call it), I feel so bad. I regret saying that to him. And, it’s something that I can’t take back. I can apologize, but it is only meaningful and sincere if I purposefully and intentionally change from the negative, joy-stealer to a joyful person. It’s not that hard to reciprocate that joy that he gives me when he finally gets to see me again after 15 to 16 hours of being gone. And this, sisters, is happening at home—I must change my attitude starting inside my home to the world.

If we are representatives or ambassadors of Jesus Christ the Risen and Saving One, in other words, the dictionary defines an ambassador as a person who acts as a representative or promoter of a special activity and in this case, that ‘special activity’ is Jesus Christ…then we must portray ourselves, behave, and act as such.

We can make that decision today and everyday to “rejoice always, pray continually, and give thanks in all circumstances”. My attitude has changed before I hit the road every morning to work from: “great…here we go again…not looking forward to this traffic…” to praising God for giving me a job to look forward to—a place where I can use and explore my talents and gifts that God has given me, for the long commute so that I am able to listen to amazing Christian influencers on the radio like Chip Ingram and Ravi Zacharias, then singing along to worship songs by Christian artists like David Crowder and Lauren Daigle.

How my perspectives change when I turn negative thoughts and energy into joyful, thankful, and prayerful ones! And, when this happens, that joy is contagious spreading to the important people in my life like my husband and daughter. They appreciate seeing that and most of all, God loves seeing a joyful heart. He loves to hear us giving thanks and praying to Him because prayer is the line that we use to connect with God and to build a relationship with Him. He is so eager to be our friend.  

Fearfully and Wonderfully Made

Autumn is in the air. This is my most favorite season of all. A reminder of time to rest, and be prepared to cozy up with a fresh cup of coffee and the Greatest Book ever written—the Bible. First of all, I praise God for this day of rest, much needed, too actually. And, God knows that. He knows all of this and searches our hearts. I am thankful for this time given to me to commune with Him—to allow the Holy Spirit to pursue my heart and soul and mind with undivided attention.

Along with this fall weather also comes a feeling of some sort of sadness or melancholy as the leaves on the trees change color and start to fall onto the ground creating this beautiful road carpeted with orange and yellow leaves. I will never understand why I feel sad this time of year, yet the beauties of nature during this season lifts me up. But, I will take that because I am lifted in spirit by the creation of God. How beautiful the weather is outside right now with orange trees all around as it is drizzling. I have recently learned that feelings of sadness may have originated from expectations that went unmet, or the feeling of being overlooked, underappreciated, unwanted, and unloved. I’m sure most of us have felt this way some time or another by the people that we care for and love. People will disappoint us and expectations will go unmet. Yet, what do we do about this and how do we manage these feelings of sadness from growing into bitterness and anger? My solution is the Bible and the Word. There are all kinds of truths that can be found in the Bible to brighten our days and to remind us of the promises that God has made for us.

If God is for us, who can be against us? (Romans 8:31b) He is all that should matter because He is for us. When we rest in the truth that His love is perfect and unfailing and when we accept the fact that He cares for us so much, all sadness shall dissipate. Be confident in God’s redeeming grace. Let His promise comfort us and satisfy us so that we shall not look for satisfaction or comfort elsewhere. He is here for us. Dive into His Word and let the healing process begin. We must realize, recognize, and accept this truth: our worth must come from God first.

When we are complete in Him, the confidence that we have in Him will not crush our hearts so easily when people disappoint us. In addition, we must not find our worth in other things or from other people when the One who created us have given us this worth. Do not let outside things define who we are. We have been defined by God before we were even born. Let our identities be defined by the One who created us. “For you created my inmost being; you knit me together in my mother’s womb. I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; your works are wonderful, I know that full well,” says David found in Psalm 139:13-14 (NIV). Do not let the world tell us otherwise. Resonate in this truth found in Ephesians 1:4, “For he chose us in him before the creation of the world…” Another scripture found in Jeremiah 1:5 says, “Before I formed you in the womb I knew you, before you were born I set you apart; I anointed you as a prophet to the nations (NIV)”. Surely this scripture was spoken to Jeremiah, but we can also apply it to our lives. God knew us long before we were even born or conceived. When we feel discouraged—look to Christ for courage. When we feel disappointed—look to God for the appointments He has made and fulfilled. When we feel inadequate—we must remember that God has always thought of us as valuable and that he has a purpose in mind for us.

Now, let us enjoy the beauty of this season that God has created for us to soak up and appreciate! I praise God for all the blessings that He has given me, for all the difficult times that brought me to my knees to pray and commune with Him, and for reminding me that in Him, my worth is found.

Blessings,

Seda

Encourage One Another

To make someone more determined, hopeful, or confident; to inspire with courage, spirit, or hope is to encourage someone. Whenever I need a few words of encouragement in instances such as before I get out of my car and clock in to work, or before I go into someone’s home whom I do not look forward to but know I must face, or before I meet with a friend in need, or when I see that my daughter is downhearted, or when my husband needs an extra boost of confidence and motivation, I think of the apostle Paul.

Paul was such the encourager! He took it upon himself to write letters to the different groups of people he encountered. He wrote wonderful letters of encouragement, of love, and of support to the Romans, Corinthians, Galatians, Ephesians, Philippians, Colossians, and Thessalonians. He also wrote to Timothy, Titus, and Philemon.

Paul was an outstanding man of God. However, prior to being the devoted man of Christ that he became in the latter years, he had a strong conviction to persecute Christians and destroy Christianity. Paul’s story is one in the Bible in which is most admirable to me because he is such the reminder to me that we can be transformed in our lifetime to be such lovers of Jesus Christ no matter where we are in life. There is hope.

When I read and reread his letter to the Philippians, my heart gets so caught up in the truth of Christ Jesus that I am so on fire to spread the Word and the love that God has for us. I rejoice in the Lord because the circumstances that I have gone through in my own life have driven me closer and closer to Him. Letting go of all things that were once deemed as important but no longer mean anything. I truly get it when he encourages for us to be joyful even through our trials and tribulations because it is those things that make us better people.

Like Paul who was imprisoned, we too are imprisoned not in the literal sense so to speak but in the sense that we are bound to our worries and concerns, worldly things and the ways of the culture that we tend to lose our focus on God. These things do not matter, sisters and brothers. What matters is where our hearts are in terms of our spiritual maturity in Christ. And, in turn, how we use our spiritual blessings from our Father to bless others, encourage others and love others as He loves us.

Do we give it all to God like He asks us to? Do we accept the challenges we're given with grace or do we go to God and question Him asking for more and better? When we find ourselves there, reflect on these verses found in Isaiah Chapter 55 verses 8-9 (NIV):

'For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways,' declares the Lord. 'As the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts higher than your thoughts.'

We feel so in control of our own lives. When good things ramp up, we say, “We’ve got this!” We keep pushing through without praising God for such blessings. But, when we go through trials and tribulations—boy, do we get on our knees fast to pray to God and maybe even question ‘His’ doing. Rather, we should press on and be on our knees everyday anyway praising Him and thanking Him for our blessings and the obstacles we encounter! Yes! I said it! Even the obstacles we encounter!

God gave us tough situations and sandpaper people (as Mary Southerland from Girlfriends in God likes to call them) throughout our lives because He wants to see how we do and how we handle them. His purpose is to build on our character and our sandpaper selves and to mature us in Christ as mentioned in James 1:4 (NIV), “Let perseverance finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything.” In other words, these are opportunities for growth so that He may continue to use us through our hands and feet in whatever we do whether it is in our home, in the workplace, or out in the community.

We were made for more and more. And, God has those plans for us. He will continue to give us more and more complex cases as we continue to prove to Him that we can grow and mature as Christians. Therefore, we must encourage one another in all that we do just as much as I rely on Paul’s words of encouragement, or God’s promises, or Job’s story, or King David’s cries out to God—my goal is to be the encourager to those around me--to always build and never destroy because if it weren’t for Christian sisters like Linda who helped build me, I’d be a terrible sandpaper person. Through her words of encouragement, her advice, her listening ears and patient heart…I am getting better and better at this! Thank You God for sending friends like Linda into my life!

I would like to close with one of my favorite verses from the Bible found in Proverbs Chapter 27 verse 17 (NIV): "As iron sharpens iron, so one person sharpens another."

With Love,

Seda

(Courtesy of google.com)



Answered Prayer (Part 2)

The decision has been made regarding my job situation. I have taken up the offer from John Muir Health and have been an official employee since April. Wow! I seldom use this word, 'Wow'. I like to save it for those Wow-God moments in my life, for those miracles of God's work transparent to me. And, for this occasion, it is definitely a wow-moment in my life.

I have recently been convicted that prayer is the most important form of worship and communion with Jesus the Christ. In everything that you do, do it prayerfully, whole-heartedly, willingly, and openly. Just as Paul suggested in 1 Thessalonians 5:16-18 (NIV), "Rejoice always, pray continually, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is God's will for you in Christ Jesus." This scripture here sums it all up as to how I feel about my new gig at John Muir Health and about life in general.

From Day One, at the general hospital orientation, the speakers who spoke made me feel like I was at a women's retreat. I was in awe thinking to myself: I didn't pay for this! Yet, I got paid to sit in the front-row-seat to some of the most amazing people and what's more amazing is that they, too work for John Muir Health! They were encouraging and inspiring!! They get paid to do that, and I got paid to see and hear the words of encouragement, the hand-shake to an outstanding new job at a renowned hospital, and a welcoming applause. And I didn't mean to or ask to be treated like a celebrity or anything close to that, but we were in the spotlight for sure! Forty-something of us were there: from nurses like myself to ITs to Lift-Team members to medical assistants, to returning nurses. We were truly inspired with smiles on our faces and an open heart to a new experience in our lives. Amen and Praise God for all of the blessings in our lives.

Since my introduction to John Muir Health at the orientation to now being in the operating rooms of the Surgical Department I work in, I have been continually praising God for His glory, His meticulous plans, His grace, and most of all, His love. I go into work every morning shielded with God's Word and Truth being mindful of His presence in obedience, rejoicing in the blessings I have been given, praying prior to going into the work field, and thanking God for all those circumstances that would try to bring me down.

I look up and say, You are here with me, Father. With You, anything is possible. Take me, use me through my hands and feet and heart and mouth to be a great follower of Yours! Let your Light shine through! Continue to inspire me to encourage others...especially my patients who are at their most vulnerable times of their lives. I pray for healing through your power, God. You are omniscient, omnipresent, and omnipotent. Especially during times like these when cancers are multiplying left and right, be the gentle whisperer to our ears. Let us know and remind us that we need You in whatever circumstances we are in, from illnesses to marriage issues to parenting problems, and so much more. This starving world needs You! May You show us that we thirst and starve for You! You are mighty and glorious for without You, we are nothing! We thank You for Your love, Your mercy, Your protection, Your provision in this life. But, the life that we look forward to is the eternal life spent with You!!

Praise God! We love so much and in Your Son's name we pray, Amen!

Answered Prayer...What's Next?

Life’s tough decisions are not only dependent upon our experiences, knowledge, and wisdom, but weighs heavily, first and foremost on prayers and our communion with God--just as how Ezra and Nehemiah have displayed in their lives. Nehemiah prayed at any time, even while he was talking with others. He knew that God is always in charge, is always present, and hears and answers every prayer. And, through his in-depth prayers, he established an intimate relationship with God. 

Ezra was the same way when it came to prayers. He knew God's promises to protect his people, but he did not take them for granted. He also knew that God's blessings are appropriated through prayer, so Ezra and the people humbled themselves by fasting and praying, "So we fasted and petitioned our God about this, and he answered our prayer" (Ezra 8:23, NIV).

Too often we pray quickly and superficially. Instead, we should pray seriously requiring forethought and concentration. It puts us in touch with God's will. In doing so, we also open up our hearts to God. Though He has promised to search our hearts as stated in Jeremiah 17:4 (NIV), "I the Lord search the heart and examine the mind, to reward each person according to their conduct, according to what their deeds deserve"...let's make it easy for Him by communicating with Him our deepest thoughts and concerns. 

I remember when I first became a Christian at 15 years old—my prayers were short and vague. I am sure that God heard my prayers and they may have been answered, but in a vague manner. So, I did not really understand whether they got answered or went unanswered. Who knew? If my prayer was “Lord, help me get this job.” And, I got the job. My next question was then, “Hmmm! Did you really want for me to be here, God?” I wouldn’t know that either. And, to answer that question—I am sure He wanted for me to be there. And, that was my first job at KFC. The job that led me to one of the strongest Christian women I have met in my life, thus far. Linda Lemmons. I still speak and think of her dearly along with the influences and impact she had on my life at that time. She empowered me. At just 16 years of age, she asked me if I wanted to be a training manager after having worked for her for only 8 months, part-time hours because along with a job, I had to focus in school. It was even more challenging because I was in the International Baccalaureate (IB) Program requiring much more study time. But, Linda had every Sunday off. And, that time was the time she set aside to worship God and involve in fellowship at her church. She was oh so inspiring to me!! There’s more about this Linda that I will continue to mention here and there in my blog entries.

Speaking of jobs…recently, I have made the decision that it was time for me to move on from my current job. Mainly for the purposes of growth and the opportunity to work in a bigger hospital that has the status of being a Level 2 Trauma medical center. What this means to me is that I will be trained in the operating room to scrub and circulate as a nurse in neurology and trauma cases after major accidents and so forth. I will also be involved in other surgical cases, of course. But, this is what I would love to learn. God knows the desires of my heart because I have shared them with Him.

I applied to the position and received a phone call to arrange a phone interview with the OR manager. The phone interview took place. I shared with Ty my job experiences and a little bit about me in regards to my professional goals, desires, and so forth. At the end of the phone interview, Ty asked, “Seda, I am interested in moving this process forward, are you still interested in us?” My answer was, “Of course, I had been pursuing a job with your hospital for two years now.” In my heart, I really asked, “Who would ask me that? If I am still interested? Of course, I am. Of course.” That question he had for me just shows how much respect had been given to the kind of experiences that I have and to the person he was getting to know. It was also a boost of confidence for me because it was a gentle acknowledgement of... "Just-so-you-know, you have something valuable to offer to the company." Such a great feeling!

The next morning, another manager, Carol called me—someone I had been communicating with for the past 2 years about obtaining a position in her department.  A panel interview was arranged. She said it will happen on her day off but she is going to come in anyway because she’d really like to meet me in person especially after two years of corresponding with each other.

Prior to the panel interview, I prayed a very specific prayer to God. It went something like this:

Heavenly Father, You are omnipotent and omnipresent. I rely heavily on You to guide me and point me in the right direction. You know what is best for me. And, if John Muir is better for me and You have plans for me to be there as an employee, then please show me by making this interviewing process and obtaining this job as easy as it can be. If it isn’t the place You desire for me to be, then throw in obstacles! Make me work hard to get this job. Create heavy traffic on my way to the interview and make me late for it because You know that that is possible especially on that freeway. Give me a sign, God! I desire to make decisions according to Your will. I long to hear from You, I long to hear Your voice, and I long to see You someday in Heaven. Thank You for Your unfailing love. I love You!

--In Jesus’ name and for Your Glory, I pray—Amen!

So, the interview happened. It seemed so unreal! I got to meet a few people in the lounge prior to the interview. They were kind and supportive. Friendly and warm. The interview went absolutely well. It was easy for me to open up my heart to the managers and staff nurse who were there. I felt like I have known these people for quite sometime because they understood my humor. Thereafter, Carol, the manager whom I had been connecting with from two years ago walked me to Human Resources. On our way there, we talked and laughed. Then she said, “There is another person I would like for you to meet and be interviewed by, her name is Jill.” She sent me off and told me she would contact me by the end of next week or the following Monday. 

I got to meet and talk with Jill for another hour. She told me that this rarely happens. Usually, after the panel interview, that is it for the candidate. There is no meeting or interviewing with anyone from HR. We chatted and got to know each other. We even got to talk about our 10-year-old daughters and the life-changes that are happening.  Oh boy! The things we have to look forward to. With Jill, I also shared the rewarding experiences I have had working as an operating room nurse. One of which includes the few times when I was asked by my patients while interviewing them if I can pray for them before going into the operating room. Sidebar: I was more than happy to and so we prayed. I felt like I played a big part in helping my patients to experience peace, protection, and love from our God during their surgeries. Back to Jill: she smiled and we got to chat some more. The interview came to an end after 2.5 hours or so spent at John Muir Medical Center!

The following week, on Tuesday morning, I received a voice message from Jill while at work requesting for my permission to run a background check and for a list of professional references. Wow! I thought. That was fast and easy! I was told that I would hear back by the end of the week or the following Monday. But, it’s only Tuesday!

Since then, I have been struggling with this decision as to whether or not I should leave San Ramon Regional Medical Center and go work for John Muir Medical Center. And, I keep hearing that still, small voice saying, “Seda, you asked, you have received. Now accept it with both hands.” "Don't be afraid," he said. "Take courage! I am here!" (Mark 6:50, NIV) It is such a tough decision to make because since the possibility of me leaving San Ramon Regional was made public, I have been offered another chance for the hospital to make it right for me. A few conversations and meetings with surgeons, director of perioperative services, and manager later, I am now left in this state of contemplation.

What I do know is that after my meeting with God, having my prayers answered through that still small voice, Beth Moore’s Bible Study session this past Wednesday with some of the women from my church, prayers from girlfriends whom I have met for the first time at the California Women’s Retreat in San Ramon, the godly counsel of my girlfriend Linda (not the other Linda who was my former manager at KFC) this past Tuesday, and the daily devotions that I have received in my email inbox…is that God wants for me to take up the job offer from John Muir Medical Center. I do know that I will gain further knowledge and skills among other factors, but I do know also that God has greater plans for me. And, I have yet to find those out.

I am overwhelmed by God’s love and blessings (in a great way)—all that I can say is, “From the fullness of His grace we have all received one blessing after another” (John 1:16, NIV).

Thank You God for your blessings! So, girlfriends…open up your hearts to His counsel whether it is through prayers, godly girlfriends, the Bible, daily devotions, or worship songs. Pray to Him and ask Him for wisdom especially when it comes to making huge and drastic decisions. And most importantly, listen to that still, small voice of His truth--for when you trust and believe in Him and the plans that He has for you…those blessings shall continue to come, one after another! Yet, the greatest blessing that I look forward to is that one day...I will be spending eternal life in heaven with Him with Jesus sitting at His right hand…Oh, how I long for that day!

I would like to close this entry with a scripture I received from Susan Hasekamp, Pastor Ken's wife in our prayer together...

"And this is my prayer: that your love may abound more and more in knowledge and depth of insight, so that you may be able to discern what is best and may be pure and blameless for the day of Christ, filled with the fruit of righteousness that comes through Jesus Christ--to the glory and praise of God." --Philippians 1:9-11, NIV

Blessings!
Love, Seda

To be continued…

(Courtesy of imgkid.com)

Let's take a look at the wonderful weekend I had at California Women's Retreat (CWR) 2015:

This is Linda and I. She is THE Woman who invited me to CWR. Next year, we will be part of the Hospitality Team! Wahoo!!

Julie, Joy, and Nell. I had the honor of sitting with them during the retreat. They attend Trinity Baptist Church of Livermore, CA with Linda. Amazing women! Julie flew all the way over to the area from Alabama. She does this every year! Praise God! 

Our dining setup for lunch on Saturday, February 28th. Iced tea, coffee, and a whole lot of worshiping our Lord preparing some of us for water aerobics that afternoon--so much fun!

The flower basket I won from California Women's Retreat. The purple tag says 'Courage'. My 'Key to Courage Basket'...4 weeks later. Still beautiful. :)

Say cheese! :D A selfie of my crazy family in Columbia, CA...a week after the retreat. Thanks for keeping it all together while I was away for the weekend--as I knew you would. You guys rock! Love you so! ♥