Hello!  My village and tribe!!  It is so good to be back!  The very first thing I have to say upon returning is “Thank You”!  Thank you for your faithfulness to my family and life.  We were lifted up over the past year due to your committed prayers and care.  We have traveled the learning road over the last year.  And all my lessons have allowed me to return and share inspirational words of grace, faith, and love again!

My journey the past year has provided me with new insights of life, lots of time to talk with God, and a tremendous amount of time to listen to God.  Over the past year, Seth, my oldest son, discovered he had Hodgkins Lymphoma (cancer), and he beat it with the help of God and his support system!  My loving husband, Danny, became a member of the double zipper club.  He had his second open heart surgery to replace his mitral valve and aorta.  He has recovered and going strong with the help of his family, friends, and Karate family.  Jim, my dad, totally recovered from a major surgery and set back.  He demonstrated fight for family and life.  He reached 82. Recently illness has hit him hard again, but he is being strong and continuing to fight.  Please pray for his peace.  I am presently fighting a major back issue that is showing me this is my time to rest and follow God’s direction for me.  And to top off all of these blessings we received over the last year, we welcomed our fourth angel granddaughter, Caroline, into our family!  We gave blessings for Danny’s retirement after 40 years of teaching.  Celebrated Cam, our middle son, graduating graduate school and setting on his professional counseling path!  Rejoiced with Lori Lynn, our daughter, getting a promotion and raise with her advertising firm!  And witnessed Seth, our oldest, being sworn in as a Tennessee lawyer!  So you can see God’s grace has been amazing and continues to be even though evil and other negative forces pursue our daily lives!

I am sure my life has been like yours the last year.  Ups and downs—just like a roller coaster!  However, the one consistent component in this traveled journey has included God’s grace and God’s angels, the many people in this wonderful world.  Whether I am at the up part, the down part, or the in between part, God’s people have been there.  Their hearts travel with us as amazing companions on this journey.  I know there were many heart wrenching and negative stories and experience this last year, but I was given the privilege to see all the good in this world through amazing, positive, and live-giving people!

I fear over the last year I may have lost many of you.  I pray you will find your way back and re-connect each week.  I truly believe you will be missing out on great blessings, because the one thing I know for sure is that God has given me many stories and messages to spread more inspiration!  Like the message today, a spiritual blessing can be gained from something as small as a river stone.  So, I hope you will be able to join me again.  Thanks again to my village and tribe!  I want God and the Holy Spirit to bless the words and inspiration I give in order to spread love!

The Message in the Physical

I reach into my pocket,

And I rub the stone very gently.

I caress it with my fingers.

The word on the stone is why I hold this stone so close.

 

Faith.

It was passed to me one day in a bible study.

The tray being passed had the stone face down.

Why was I drawn to pick it up?

It had to be the Holy Spirit.

 

Because God knew I was being tested about my belief.

This stone doesn’t just remind me of the physical world,

But of the spiritual world.

The spiritual pull to the physical, so that I might experience the Godly.

It is amazing how the physical is thrown toward us.

 

We can accept it

We can receive the message.

Or we can let it slip by us.

The messages are always there.

Don’t let the blessing go by.

Lori Rennae Hickman Chapman

Be attentive!  Look for the message anyway, anywhere, and within anything or person!  Please extend your prayers for my sweet friend, Katie Ross Therrien, as she faces life challenges in the coming weeks during her journey.  Love to you Carrot Cake!  God bless you and yours this week as He has mine!

 

Love,

Rennae

 

 

 

 

Journey