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God Changed My Plans

God Changed My Plans

My New Friend Joey

“Take delight in the Lord, and he will give you the desires of your heart.” Psalm 37:4

October 19, 2025, Crisp autumn air beckoned me as I began the beautiful drive to a country church I had planned to attend for quite a while. I left home in plenty of time to arrive early. Ooops! I can’t hear the turn signals! Oh, no!  My hearing aids are on the table (where I surely would not forget to pick them up!)

As I left the house for the second time, my spirit lagged a bit as I changed my destination. Was it me, or was it God doing the changing?

Thankful for a spot near the front door of our old home church, I grabbed my Bible and entered the sanctuary. It had been a long, weary week; I needed God-hugs from His children and His word. My first hug was from a sweet neighbor lady who “just happened” to be there for a baptism..

The music drew my hungry soul straight into the Lord’s presence; the pastor’s clear message nourished my heart. Since the baptism was in an adjoining building at the back of the church. I planned to quietly slip out the front entrance and head home. I knew the walk would be too much for me. Yet, as we stood to leave, my feet followed the crowd!

Only God could orchestrate what happened after the baptisms. I approached a young man in the crowd. “Hi, you don’t know me, but could you bring my car to me from the front of the church? I know I can’t walk that far.”

“Of course,” he said. “And I know you. When I was helping build this church, your husband would come by my house often to visit. He was a really nice man. He encouraged me to join this church, and I did.”

As I pulled out of the driveway of the church I had no plans to attend today, my heart was exploding. I can’t begin to tell you all the God-hugs of this day. Words don’t adequately express the joy of being in the right place at the right time.

Do you know my Jesus? Do you have the peace in your heart that only He can give? Have you learned to trust Him when things do not go as you planned? Can you freely give Him your itinerary? If not, we need to talk.

With prayers and hugs,

Susie

 

Posted in All Posts | Tagged baptisms, church, hungry soul

Finding Our Happy Amidst Turmoil

“Rejoice in the Lord always: and again I say, Rejoice.” – Philippians 4:4 KJV

Today, let us count some happy!

We are bombarded with heavy news: he said, she said, they did …!  Our schedules are overwhelming. Our friends and family are weighed down with the cares of this world.

HELP! I need encouragement right now, so today I will get out of this rut and find some Happy. I promise, p-r-o-m-i-s-e, you will find some Happy too!

(For the record, this computer is insisting I replace happy with happiness! NOT happening! This isn’t an English class, this is Susie just being Susie!)

Five reasons to be happy today.

#1 I’m happy because I can read. Seriously? Yes! Recently, I made a casserole with hot, hot peppers in the chopped tomatoes because I didn’t take the time to read the label. I don’t do hot!  What about those shoppers who brave the stores and cannot read labels?

#2 I’m happy because I can open my door and breathe in fresh, clean air. No raging war outside my door, no fires, no starving wee ones on the corners.

#3 I’m happy because I chose to care for Mother, hubby, and family. Not everyone has someone to care for. God entrusts us with loved ones; then He enables us to care for them and love on them, even when the road gets rough at times.

Click here for verses on happy from God’s Word.

#4. I am happy because I have a bed to crawl into, a chair to rest in, a refrigerator with good food and fresh water to drink. Many, many, many do not!

#5 I am happy because I have friends to write letters to and friends who share their burdens and joys with me. Friends like you, dear ones, who make my life happy by simply sharing in it.

#6 I am happy because I have the freedom to choose how I spend my days and who I spend them with. Believe me, this is not a small thing.

#6 My Greatest Happy – JESUS

I have a Friend, Jesus, I can talk to every day. He shares my joys, my sorrows, and knows my deepest needs. I pray you know Him, too. He can make the heaviest day a happy one as we learn to leave our burdens with Him.

Thanks for dropping a note!  Where did you find your Happy today? Did God surprise you? Have a great week.

Susie

 

Posted in All Posts, Hope | Tagged choose happy, happy

Thanks for Being My Friend

the value of a true friend

“Two are better than one; because they have a good reward for their labor. For if they fall, the one will lift up his fellow: but woe to him that is alone when he falls; for he hath not another to help him up.”  Bible: Ecclesiastes

What makes a friend?

“The only way to have a friend is to be one.”  Ralph Waldo Emerson

If you desire a friend, be one. It’s amazing what a smile will do. Do you realize we have contact with people who have no friends, no true friends who love them as they are? To be a good friend, be friendly.

Who is your best friend?

“A friend is one who knows you and loves you just the same.”  Elbert Hubbard

My husband was my best friend — a tried and true friend. Loving and trying to understand me when others would toss me out! We did not think alike on many issues, but respected each other’s differences. We challenged each other to be better, to do better, and to grow.

And this has value now: we encouraged each other to build relationships outside our home. I am so thankful for friends who pray for me as I learn to navigate life alone.

Do you have friends from childhood?

If so, treasure that friendship. The first year after graduation, I was in eighteen states. My father called me a gypsy. I lost contact with the most precious people in my life-girls and boys I had known from 1st grade to graduation. I recently found a few of them. We may be a few years older, but the memories we share are priceless!

Do you make friends at work or in town?

Some strong relationships are built as you work side-by-side with others. You laugh and cry and share personal stories, and you learn to trust one another. I challenge you to find someone at work or in the shops you frequent who is less likely to have a string of friends. Smile at them, remember names, and compliment a job well done.  I am amazed how this has opened doors in my community to be an encouragement to someone.

Find a friend in your neighborhood –

Yes, neighborhoods are different from what they used to be; work and more activities pull them away from home. A single fellow lives up the road from me. He is not overly friendly as he drives by. However, for years I have prayed for him and waved and smiled every time I see him pull in or out of his driveway. Who do you think he will contact if he ever needs a friend?

“And if you are nice only to your friends, then you are no better than other people. Even people without God are nice to their friends.”  Matthew 5:45 ERV

You are my friend.

I seriously value your friendship and your trust. I hope that as you read Encouragement from the Heart, you will pray for me. I like to hear from you, how you are doing, and what topics are helpful to you. Thank you for being my friend!

For more fascinating quotes and poems, click here.

The Bible has some interesting advice on being a friend. Spend some time pondering these verses.

Live together in peace with each other. Don’t be proud, but be willing to be friends with people who are not important to others. Don’t think of yourself as smarter than everyone else.  Romans 12:16
People want a friend they can trust. It is better to be poor than to be a liar. Proverbs 19:22
You cannot trust someone who would talk about things told in private. So don’t be friends with someone who talks too much. Make no friendship with an angry man, and with a furious man do not go,  Proverbs 20:19
Click here for more verses and TO LEAVE A NOTE! Thanks
Hugs,
Susie
And if you are nice only to your friends, you are no better than anyone else. Even the people who don’t know God are nice to their friends. Matthew 5:47
Live together in peace with each other. Don’t be proud, but be willing to be friends with people who are not important to others. Don’t think of yourself as smarter than everyone else. Romans 12:16

A man’s growth is seen in the successive choirs of his friends.  Ralph Waldo Emerson

The only way to have a friend is to be one.  Ralph Waldo Emerson

A friend is one who walks in when others walk out. Walter Winchell

“Two may talk together under the same roof for many years, yet never really meet, and two others at first speech are old friends.”  Mary Catherwood

A friend is someone who is there for you when he’d rather be anywhere else. Len Wein

Don’t walk in front of me, I may not follow. Don’t walk behind me, I may not lead.
Walk beside me and be my friend.
Albert Camus

Posted in All Posts | Tagged Best Friend, blessings, encouragement, friends

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