Cara Lobaugh

Trust and thankfulness will get you through the day.  Living is a gift from God and we can’t just go through life worrying about how we are going to get everthing done.  How am I going to buy that new car, how am I going to get a raise at work, talking negatively etc.  Each of us has a purpose in this world.  It’s not so difficult to figure it out.  Each and everyday our actions touch every person we are in contact with.  At the grocery store, the gas station, eating out at a restaurant.  It’s really very easy to be uplifting to everyone we are in contact with.  By this we are speading Gods love.  You never know who’s life you are touching with a simple smile and hello.

It all comes back to our focus on God.  Just focus on God, study his word and your life will just fall right into place.  You will have peace no matter what your circumstance may be.

In 2011 my new years resolution was to stop complaining.  It is not at all easy to change and I really don’t think anyone really can without having the spirit of God dwelling inside.  It just all comes back to focusing on God.

Here’s a good verse that I really like a lot.

Ephesians 4:29  You must let no unwholesome word come out of your mouth, but only what is beneficial for the building up of the one in need, that it may give grace to those who hear.

Just emagine how much better our world would be if everyone on earth lived up to this verse.

When you’re dealt with what the doctors say is usually a death sentence, it’s an extremely hard situation to process.  Some people get it all at once and some people have time to soak it all in.  For example: Someone may have been told that they have cancer and and have 4 months to live, or 2 years to live.  Some people are told they have a 50/50 chance. Some people are told it can be cured and they will be fine. The bottom line is that unless you’ve been through a life threatening condition, it’s very hard to understand.  It hits you like a rock and you go numb.  God has given us a protective mechanism and doesn’t give us more than we can take.  Little by little we can comprehend the magnitude of our disease.  It’s important to be as strong as we can, but at the same time you have to grief.  Grief is healthy. Having cancer is the same as getting attacked.  What do you do? Fight back.  Never give into cancer. I don’t know how people who are not Christians deal with this because I could not have done this without God.

Don’t believe it when a doctor tells you how long you have to live because only God knows.  Follow the necessary steps to save your life then give the rest to God.  Study the Bible and speak to God daily.  Focus on God, let him be the center of your life and I promise you will be happy.  It’s just a new and better way of looking at life.  We are all going to die someday and it will be in Gods time, not when the doctor says.

Exodus 23:25  You shall serve the Lord your God: He shall bless your bread and water, and I will take sickness from your midst.

A friend of mine mentioned to me last night that she hasn’t seen a post from me in a few days.  I’ve been so caught up in work lately that I’ve been letting other very necessary things slip by such as my daily devotions, studying the Bible, exercising and eating right.  The thing is, I really like my job and when I get on a role, I want to get up and jump right into it.  Throughout the day I always pray, but that is just not enough.  My job should be the last on my list of everything that’s important to me.  It’s very simple; keep God first and everything will fall into place as it should.

For Christmas, my sister gave me a daily devotions book that I love.  The book is called, “Jesus calling” and it’s written as if they are letters from God.  Today God told me to wear my peace with regal dignity.  It will keep my heart and mind close to God.

I know in the beginning I mentioned that I was going to memorize a verse everyday on healing.  Well, for one thing, my chemo brain can only handle a little at a time.  But also, it’s not all about God healing me, it’s really about me living my life for Christ.  It’s all about him, not me.  Like I said, put God first then everything else will fall into place.  About a year ago my niece posted a verse to me on facebook:

John 14:27 Peace I leave with you, my peace I give you.  I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid.

Peace is so extremely important and you can only get real peace through Christ Jesus our Lord.

So, I said that I was committed to memorizing verses on healing daily until my next cat scan.  In thinking about it, over the years God has given me all kinds of words, most have to do with a plan for a prosperous future. As I mentioned earlier, I am still alive 5 years after God first told me that.  He’s already honored his word because I’m still alive, but I really believe with my whole heart that he meant much more than that.  Over the years I’ve found myself wondering if I really understood God when he’s speaking to me.  I talked to  my mom about this and she tells me to hold on to God’s word.  Satan will do everything to make you doubt it.  This is where studying the word of God really comes into play.  It’s not just important to quote scriptures of healing.  They’re nothing if you don’t believe whole heartily in the word of God. Remember, God doesn’t lie.  You must treat God like your best friend always and never loose focus.  As long as your number one priority is focus on God, everything else in your life is going to fall right into place.  Just try it and see what happens.

In my devotions book today by Sarah Young, I read that whatever is on your mind the most becomes your God.  Whether it be worry, anxiety, money, a person.  Keep God the focal point of your life.  Nobody can see your mind, only God knows.

Psalms 112:7 – He will not fear evil tidings; His heart is steadfast, trusting in the Lord.

Today is Monday, the beginning of yet another week.  Last week my goal for myself for this week was to practice focus like crazy.  There’s so much I want to accomplish in my job, but in sales I constantly have so many little things that need to be done.  I find myself bouncing around a lot and forgetting what I was initially doing.  Not only that, but this week I have a personal project that I need to complete that I’ve been procrastinating for quite some time.  I’m trying to organize a lifetime of photos so that I can make a scrap book of my  life.  Saturday the girls in my family are going to a creative memories conference in Portland and I’m trying to juggle this project and still make a lot of sales this week.  I just need God’s help and I’m confident I can focus and have a successful week in all areas.  The one thing that I can’t sacrifice is time with God because if I do, I won’t accomplish a thing.

When I prayed this morning I asked God to speak to me and show me that he will be there by my side to give me a helping hand.  This is what he told me today in my daily devotions:

“I am with you Always.  These were the last words I spoke before ascending into heaven.  I continue to proclaim this promise to all who will listen.  When My Presence is the focal point of your consciousness, all the pieces of your life fall into place.  The fact that I am with you makes every moment of your life meaningful.”

Matthew 28:20 Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you, and, lo, I am with you alway, even unto the end of the world.

Also read Psalms 139; God is always with us.

Yesterday I had a really great day.  When I left the sky was a beautiful blue, and the temperature wasn’t even freezing.  It actually got into the 50’s yesterday and we haven’t seen that for a while here in Washington. I had a work appointment with a very nice couple yesterday and was so happy that I was able to help them and save them a ton of money.  To top it off, I had a very nice dinner with a good friend.

I really love studying the Bible and painting a picture for myself of how it all fits together.  I like how when you read one passage, that passage is backed up by a lot of other passages in the Bible hundreds of years apart.

Matthew 8:17 is my verse today.  This was to fulfill what was spoken through Isaiah the prophet:  “He Himself took our infirmities and carried away of Diseases

This passage goes back 700 years earlier when Isaiah prophesied in Isaiah 53:4, “Surely our griefs He Himself bore, And our sorrows He carried; Yet we ourselves esteemed Him stricken, Smitten of God, and afflicted.”

Matthew 8 is filled with Jesus healing the sick.  I believe that Jesus also took away my disease.  One of the many things that I learned through cancer is that we can die anyday.  God knows the day he has planned for us.  Every single day, we need to wake up and just be so thankful for this particular day.  Just love it like it’s your last.  Before I got cancer, the thing that I wanted to do more than anything was travel every where before I died.  After I got cancer the 2nd time, I just wanted to be with my family.  Now I just want to love everyday I live.  I still want to travel and be with my family, but it’s the little things in life that really make life meaningful.

What a beautiful sunny WARM day it was today when I left home today.  A blistering 43 degrees!  Now I know why my sister complained so much about how hot it was last summer.  She’s used to 10 months of cold, cold weather.  43 degrees is warm compared to the weather we’ve been having.  To top it off, the sky was blue and no rain. For anyone who’s vision is not sharp enough to see the blue sky, God will reward you greatly in heaven.  Once you get there, you will have vision much greater than most.  I believe that with my whole heart.

Today God was telling me about faith.  If you walk by faith, you won’t fear.  You will have your eyes focused on God, you will walk in confidence.

Faith is so completely important to living.  Without faith, you DO walk in fear and constantly plan for the worse case scenario.  Believe God and take life as it comes with Him right beside you.

Hebrews 11:6  And without faith it is impossible to please Him, for he who comes to God must believe that He is and that He is a rewarder of those who seek Him.

I’m sure we have all felt belittled by another person at sometime in our life time. It’s not a good feeling.  Maybe it’s a fellow Christian, maybe not. Sometimes you feel like youre being condemned by a person.  It happens.  We don’t always pick the best ways to respond to something that people say.  It’s happened to me and I know that I’ve been known to hurt others feelings from time to time.  We all have our own personalities, most of us try to be the best we can.  Some times it just feels good to be alone rather than dealing with these other personalities.

God wants us to be social though, so we have to learn to love each other for who they are and just let his light shine through us.  The thing that I like about God so much is that when someone makes you feel less than you should, you can always rest assured that God loves us unconditionally.  We can rejoice in his love for us which has no limits or conditions.  As we live in close contact with God, the light of his presents filters through you to bless others.  (I got that out of my devotions book by Sarah Young)

I think this next daily verse is good whenever anything is bothering you.

Proverbs 3:5-6   Trust the LORD with all your heart, and do not rely on your own understanding.  In all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make your path smooth.

Today I was in Seattle all morning and it was your typical Washington weather.  Cold and gloomy.  I really don’t mind it, I knew what I was getting into when I moved back to Washington.  When I was driving back home today, as soon as I got to Centralia the sky was completely blue.  It was so beautiful and made me so happy.  I remember before I left So. California thinking I don’t know how I’m going to deal without this beautiful blue sky.  I never took the blue sky for granted in California.  Everyday I was thankful for it.  Now that I’m in Washington I’m thankful for less stress.  I can’t even believe the difference.  I never realized how stressed out I was all the time.  No wonder I got cancer.

Psalm 91:16  “With long life will I satisfy him and show him My salvation.”

I especially like the verse before that. Psalm 91:15  “He will call upon Me, and I will answer him; I will be with him in trouble; I will rescue him and honor him.”

This is God telling me that all I have to do is call upon him and he will be there to rescue me.  I know that for a fact because he tells me that all through his word, and God doesn’t lie.  Not only will he rescue me, but he will also honor me.

Well it looks as if I’ve taken about a week off.  I’ve also taken about a week off of exercising.  I don’t know why, but when I get lazy in one area, I seem to get lazy in other areas.  It’s hard to constantly do everything I need to do.  I spent a lot of time working but I need to have a balance.

I did a good job memorizing my  verses, but my head was getting too much of a work out.  Ha-ha.  Anyway, this is very important for me and I’m having fun with the challenge.

I’m also concerned that this blog is a bit boring, so I need to figure out a way to make it interesting enough for others to enjoy besides just me!

Psalms 89:34  “My covenant I will not violate, Nor will I alter the utterance of My lips.”

This is God speaking to us.  If any part of the Bible is not true, that means God lied to us.  God does not lie, so it’s all true.  If he has made you a promise, he will honor his promise.  You can go about your days and not worry.  Just keep looking toward the Lord in all things and don’t forget that he is with you always.