Hope

30 Day Prayer Challenge

~ Ann Cuddy-Sullivan ~ Leave a comment

So we’ve just entered the last week of the “When A Woman Says Yes To God” online bible study that I’ve been participating in.  This really has been an eye-opening time for me.  I’ve learned so much about myself and my walk with God during this time.  I’ve discovered that I’m tired of “dancing around the edges”.   I’ve found that I am hungry for more of Him.   I’m finding that I have no desire for useless noise (ie television)… I am savoring the quiet.  I am anxious to wake up in the morning to see what blessings and knowledge the day will hold.

In the last Chapter of the book, the author – Lysa TerKeurst – challenges the reader, that after reading and studying this book still says NO to becoming radically obedient to God, to spend the next 30 days praying and asking God to reveal Himself to her and fill her with a desire for Him like never before. (pg 143)

I read this paragraph a few times and I wondered why it pertained only to the reader that says NO to being radically obedient to God.   I have said Yes to God, and with apologies to the author, but I am going to spend the next 30 days asking God to reveal more of Himself to me and fill me with a deeper desire for Him like I’ve never felt before.

So what do I really want?

  • I want more of God’s blessing on my life and my family.
  • I want to know without a doubt what His plan is for my life. Continue reading →

A Changed Perspective

~ Ann Cuddy-Sullivan ~ Leave a comment

December 16, 2005

On that day everything I knew and loved came to a screeching halt.  That was the day that my late-husband was diagnosed with inoperable metastatic lung cancer.  We were given the prognosis of 6 – 8 months.  I don’t know how I knew, but I just did.  I knew when the doctors came in that the news was going to be this bad.  Of course the frantic calls were made to family and friends asking, no pleading for prayers for us.  Nothing short of a miracle could fix this.

This journey (which I will detail sometime) lasted just 8 weeks – not 8 months.  But in 8 short weeks, I learned to rely totally on God as my strength.  I had no choice.  I was alone 1000 miles from my nearest family member.  With no help except occasional help from friends, I had to do it all.  I don’t know where the superhuman strength and fortitude came from…, but when I needed it, it was there.  Continue reading →

Never Again

~ Ann Cuddy-Sullivan ~ Leave a comment

(note: I do not take credit for this list, I found it a few years back)

 

Pray these scriptures over yourself and anyone else you choose daily

Never again will I confess “I can’t” for “I can do all things thru Christ which strengthens me.” Phil 4: 13 

Never again will I confess lack, for “My God shall supply all my need according to His riches in glory by Christ Jesus.” Phil 4:19 

Never again will I confess fear, for “God has not given me the spirit of fear, but of power, and love, and of a sound mind.” 2 Tim 1:7

Never again will I confess doubt and lack of faith, for “God has given to every man the measure of faith.” Rom 12:3  Continue reading →

Saint Patrick

~ Ann Cuddy-Sullivan ~ Leave a comment

I found this in a book I was reading today…  thought I would share.

“Most poeple assume that Saint Patrick is from Ireland.  This is not true.  St. Patrick was actually kidnapped as a teen from his native land of Britain and forced to be a slave for six years in Ireland.  During his captivity, his job was tending sheep.  he spent many hours each day in prayer.  By the time he escaped back to Britain, he was no longer a self-centered aristocratic child.  He had become a man sold out for the cause of Christ.  Severeal years later, he returned as a missionary to Ireland and lived out his life winning that country to Christ. Continue reading →

John 14:20

~ Ann Cuddy-Sullivan ~ Leave a comment

“On that day you will realize that I am in my Father, and you are in me, and I am in you”  Jn 14:20

So, as you know I’ve been involved in an online bible study via the Proverbs 31 Ministry.  We are using the book, “What Happens When A Woman Says Yes To God” by Lysa TerKeurst  book cover.

As it happens, we have just ended week 4 of the study and the facilitators of the study posted a YouTube video that I find truly humbling.

Just go ahead and fast forward to start watching at approximately 5 mins 20 seconds.  I think you’ll enjoy it.

www.youtube.com/watch?v=N0wwfI4tubM&feature=share&list=UUVY8N4SKqcK_Zo0TrlFUOiQ

Galatians 5:22-23

~ Ann Cuddy-Sullivan ~ Leave a comment

“But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness,  goodness, faithfulness, gentleness
and self-control”

Lord help me to live by and walk in the fruits of Your Spirit.

Help me to LOVE those that perhaps I don’t always find loveable, and to those that I have been withholding my love.  Help me also to love myself when I don’t feel as though I deserve to be loved.

Let me feel the JOY of your presence around me at all times, not just when everything is going perfect.  But most especially when life happens.  When unhappy circumstances take over and grief and sorrow begin to invade my days.  Continue reading →

Is it really okay to sometimes pray for ourself?

~ Ann Cuddy-Sullivan ~ Leave a comment

Is it really okay for me to pray for myself Lord?  Is that being selfish?  It seems that I think about and pray for everyone I know, but I never seem to ask for help for myself… except for the occasional “Lord Help Me Now” exclamation.

I don’t know that I’ve really ever sat down and said to God… okay God… here’s me… and here’s what I need your help fixing. ( I would hope I wouldn’t be that blase’)  I just feel like I get so wrapped up in everyone around me that I have such little time for me.  I come from a large family and an even larger “framily”… add to that the in-laws and their framily and yes… you’ve got lots of people around.  And with lots of people comes lots of crazy drama and lots of real issues.

And then there’s times that I get so wrapped up in “other thoughts”.  Human thoughts… worldly thoughts… just pure real people thoughts.  So how do I re-adjust my thinking?  How do I re-adjust my perspective?

I started re-reading a book today.  “A Woman After God’s Own Heart” by Elizabeth George. woman after gods heart book  In chapter 1, the author talks about this in the story or Mary and Martha.

Luke 10:41-42 41 “Martha, Martha,” the Lord answered, “you are worried and upset about many things, 42 but few things are needed—or indeed only one Mary has chosen what is better, and it will not be taken away from her.”

Continue reading →

Hearing God’s Voice

~ Ann Cuddy-Sullivan ~ Leave a comment

book coverSo this week we are studying chapter 2 of this book.  The chapter title is : Hearing God’s Voice. 

I think that we all want to be able to clearly distinguish God’s voice.  We want to hear it loud and clear so that there is no mistaking it or His message.  Oh if only it were that simple.

I can remember only one time in my life that I feel that I heard God’s voice loud and clear.  I can’t say what His voice sounded like, only that I heard words…  not an impression of words, but actual words.  It was during a time that I was so overwrought with life and my emotions were so out of control.  It’s as though God in His wisdom knew that He better say the words, because there is no way that I was going to hear Him.

But that got me to thinking about hearing from God.  Just a thought to ponder…..

The God that we hear today is the SAME God that walked and talked with Adam in the Garden!!!!  That image always blows me away. 

Just a thought to ponder.

Sometimes You’re Just Out Of Sorts

~ Ann Cuddy-Sullivan ~ 1 Comment

So I don’t really know why I’m feeling like I’m feeling, I wish I did.  Since this past Sunday, I have been in a terribly foul mood and oh just so angry.  I have lots of busy “head talk” going on and that is never good.  My poor Michael, he just can’t seem to do or say anything right this week.  I wish I knew why.

I really expected this week to be a beginning.  I recently signed up for an online Bible Study hosted by the Proverbs 31 Ministry – Proverbs31.org –  It is a bible study on the book “What Happens When Women Say Yes To God” by Lysa TerKeurst.

     book cover

The pearls of wisdom in this book are really wonderful…  Continue reading →

More of the bathroom mirror

~ Ann Cuddy-Sullivan ~ Leave a comment

So…. Last month, in a post called “The Bathroom Mirror”, I made reference to the fact that we had received some disturbing news that an xray showed that Michael (a smoker) had the beginnings of emphysema.  I wanted to give an update to that post.

I posted that news on 7/2/13.  It was about 24 hours later that Michael chose the date of 7/7/13 as the day that he was going to quit smoking.  Now I would like you all to keep in mind that Michael is 56 years old and has been smoking since he was 12.  Do the math, that’s 44 years!  The longest that he has gone without smoking during all those years is approximately 4 days when he was in the hospital. Continue reading →