Let's Do This

A Cup of Tea with Carol
Written By Carol McLeod

Strong.

Peaceful.

Joyful.

As you read this today, January 29, 2015, I will be entering a hospital operating room to have a second cancer surgery in as many months.  I am still incredulous that the enemy would attempt to engage me in such a health battle but I am ready for it!

I am strong knowing that “no weapon formed against me shall prosper”. (Isaiah 54:17)

My friends … weapons will indeed be formed against us but they shall not prosper.  It is a promise found in the Word of God.

I am at peace knowing that God has promised “never to leave me or forsake me.” (Deuteronomy 31:8).

My friends … no matter what you are going through today … know that He is with you.

I am filled with the joy of His presence as I delight myself in all that He is and all that He does!  (Psalm 16:11)

My friends … linger in His presence today where there is ALWAYS fullness of joy!

How about you?  What are you going through today?

You may not be having cancer surgery but perhaps you feel alone … achingly alone.

Maybe you are a single mom with too many bills to pay … or a grieving widow with a broken heart … or an unemployed father wondering how to provide for his precious family.

Maybe you are battling depression … or discouragement … or bitterness.

Maybe your circumstances have mounted up until you are unable to see your way out or around them.

Maybe you are fighting illness and so the fear of the unknown is gripping your very soul.

This is what I know … this is what I have built my very life upon:

God is still on the throne!

God only has good for me because I am His beloved daughter!

God only has good for you because you are, indeed, His beloved child!

When you walk through the fire, He will be with you!

God hears us when we pray!

God is my Healer and my Provider!

God is a friend Who sticks closer than any family member!

And when my heart is broken, He stays close to me.

And … when your heart is broken … He stays close to you.

What do you know for sure and for certain this winter day, 2015?

What promises from the Word of God help to comfort your soul as you face difficult circumstances?

For me it has always been a powerful choice to declare the promises of God … to pray them out loud … to pronounce them … to talk about them … to write about them … to think about them … to embrace them as the greatest truth of my life.

I can choose to focus on the needles, the disease, the hospital corridors, the diagnosis, the prognosis, the treatment plan, the anesthesia, the pain and the disfigurement …

Or I can choose to focus on my Healer and on Him Whose word is final.

I have found that as I travel through life and encounter circumstances that I do not like and certainly would not choose that what I choose to focus on makes all the difference indeed.

What I choose to talk about makes all the difference indeed.

What I choose to think about makes all the difference indeed.

The biggest and most insurmountable challenge comes when I focus on the pain and not on the promises.

The true battle is fought in determining, with triumphant resolve, to keep my heart, eyes and mind set on the Author and Finisher of my faith.

If I spend even one day of my life playing the blame game, I am wasting the power of a miraculous day!

If I spend even one moment of my life focusing on the wrong stuff, I am wasting the delight and joy of an irretrievable moment!

And so, as I am wheeled into surgery today about 4 p.m. Eastern time, you better believe that my gaze and my heart will be firmly set on the Lord, my Healer and my Comforter.

As I drift off into an anesthesia-induced sleep, I will be declaring -

“Bless the Lord, O my soul, And all that is within me, bless His holy Name.  Bless the Lord, O my soul, And forget none of His benefits;  Who pardons all your iniquities, Who heals all your diseases;  Who redeems your life from the pit, Who crowns you with lovingkindness and compassion;  Who satisfies your years with good things, So that your youth is renewed like the eagle!”
– Psalm 103:1-5

And, as men and women of science and medicine use their God-given gifts to remove cancer from my body, the song of my heart will resound high above the impact of pain and disease:

“Why should I feel discouraged, why should the shadows come,           Why should my heart be lonely, and long for heav’n and home,         When Jesus is my portion? My constant Friend is He:                          His eye is on the sparrow, and I know He watches me;  “Let not your heart be troubled,” His tender word I hear, And resting on His goodness, I lose my doubts and fears; Though by the path He leadeth, but one step I may see; His eye is on the sparrow, and I know He watches me; Whenever I am tempted, whenever clouds arise, When songs give place to sighing, when hope within me dies,  I draw the closer to Him, from care He sets me free;                           His eye is on the sparrow, and I know He watches me;                         I sing because I’m happy!  I sing because I’m free!                             His eye is on the sparrow, and I know He watches me!

Know that I am praying for you today, as you pray for me.

I can’t wait to write another book … to create a new Bible Study … to record more radio programs … to share my heart in a new blog … to travel across the nation and teach women the power that is in the Word of God … to go to foreign nations as an ambassador for Christ!

I can’t wait to partner with the Holy Spirit and make hell smaller and heaven bigger!

I can’t wait to pray for men and women in the throes of depression and believe that they, too, will discover the joy of His presence!

I can’t wait to stand in faith with women who are dealing with infertility and then hold their babies in my arms and bless them in Jesus’ Name!

I can’t wait for all that God has in the days and years to come!

I can’t wait!

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Carol McLeod
Carol says, “I am just a girl who is head over heels in love with Jesus ... passionately addicted to His Word ... and find all of the joy that I need in time spent in His presence." Carol is a Christmas-aholic, loves ACC basketball and the beach! Like all menopausal women, she is overly fond of chocolate and enjoys a good read. She doesn't like cleaning her house and is an expert in carry-out dinners. She hates to shop … loves to jog … and somehow finds time in her busy life to hang out with small children. She is the kind of woman that you could laugh with over lunch, cry with over disappointment and shout with over a victory! But … if you need her official bio … read on! Carol is an author and popular speaker at women's conferences and retreats, where she teaches the Word of God with great joy and enthusiasm. She also hosts highly successful Just Joy! outreaches. Carol encourages and empowers women with passionate and practical biblical messages mixed with her own special brand of hope and humor. Carol has written three books, "Holy Estrogen!", "The Rooms of a Woman's Heart" and "Defiant Joy!" which was released by a subsidiary of Thomas Nelson. Her teaching DVD, "The Rooms of a Woman's Heart", won the Telly Award, a prestigious industry award, for excellence in religious programming. Carol has also been featured on YouVersion (the smart phone Bible app) with several devotionals, including: "For the Journey Set Before Him", "Jolt of Joy", and "Joy to YOUR world", " Carol has a daily radio program, "Defiant Joy! Radio" which is available in several national markets including Youngsville PA, Warren PA, Buffalo NY, Roanoke VA, Norfolk VA, and Nashville TN.  A 1977 graduate of Oral Roberts University with a degree in Music and English, Carol has the distinction of being both the first Women's Chaplain and the first woman to speak at the university's Vespers.  Carol currently serves on the ORU Alumni Board as chaplain.  She is married to her college sweetheart and love of her life, Craig, who serves as senior pastor of Life Church, a church near Buffalo, NY.  Craig and Carol have been happily married for nearly 37 years and are the parents of five children and three delightful daughters-in-law. Craig and Carol are thrilled with the joy of being grandparents to five precious grandchildren! Carol has written three books, "Holy Estrogen!", "The Rooms of a Woman's Heart" and "Defiant Joy!" which was released by a subsidiary of Thomas Nelson. Her teaching DVD, "The Rooms of a Woman's Heart", won the Telly Award, a prestigious industry award, for excellence in religious programming. Carol has also been featured on YouVersion (the smart phone Bible app) with several devotionals, including: "For the Journey Set Before Him", "Jolt of Joy", and "Joy to YOUR world", " Carol has a daily radio program, "Defiant Joy! Radio" which is available in several national markets including Youngsville PA, Warren PA, Buffalo NY, Roanoke VA, Norfolk VA, and Nashville TN.  A 1977 graduate of Oral Roberts University with a degree in Music and English, Carol has the distinction of being both the first Women's Chaplain and the first woman to speak at the university's Vespers.  Carol currently serves on the ORU Alumni Board as chaplain.  She is married to her college sweetheart and love of her life, Craig, who serves as senior pastor of Life Church, a church near Buffalo, NY.  Craig and Carol have been happily married for nearly 37 years and are the parents of five children and three delightful daughters-in-law. Craig and Carol are thrilled with the joy of being grandparents to five precious grandchildren!
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