Harris' InkWell

2022 Be Present, Be Faithful, Be Generous: February Edition

February has its challenges. God had used this time to help me learn to be present, faithful, and generous.

This month God has reminded me time and time again that his timing is perfect. This morning my husband and I were talking about our wedding. We originally had plans to get married in March, but God’s timing is perfect. One of our family members is ill, and if we had planned to get married in March, he may have not been able to attend. God allowed us to get married in October so all family members could attend.

Recently, God has given me a crash course in being faithful. Last August I took a stand for my faith by telling my grandpa that I wouldn’t be taking the Covid shot. He said that if I did not take the shot I would have to move. Thankfully, God had placed on Matt’s heart that he and I were in love, and it was time for him to propose to me. 😊 However, this past month I have been focusing on the things that I lost. My husband reminded me of 2: Corinthians 4:18 NIV: “So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen, since what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal.” I should not be worried about my retirement or about my books that I left behind but focusing on things in heaven. It also says in Matthew 6:19-20 NIV: “Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moths and vermin destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where moths and vermin do not destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.” It was hard for me to walk away from the things I knew. It was an adjustment to get married and move to another state, but God reminds me that I did it for his glory.

God reminded me of his faithfulness when he provided medicine for me. In early January I got a mystery rash. My nurse has no clue what is causing it and how to get rid of it. I have been through two rounds of steroids. It has improved, but not much. Some days are better than others. But I know that God is with me. For it says in 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.”

God has also taught me about how to be Generous. Each month my husband and I step out in faith, and we sent out 10 to 15 copies of his book, Seeing Through Blindness. We have gotten some amazing feedback and this book has touched a lot of people. For us, it is our offering to God. It is a way to spread the Good News which is the Gospel of Jesus.

I am patiently waiting for God to continue to teach me in the month of March.

Introducing 2022 theme: Be Present, Be Faithful, Be Generous

I am so excited to see what this year brings for me. I chose the theme be Present, be Faithful and be Generous for different reasons.

I chose to be present. I have noticed since my marriage I have been thinking about my past and about my life in Florida. I had dreams and goals I felt like I had to either put on hold or I had to stop them completely. For example, I had to put my braille classes on hold. I have plans on resuming my studies again once I get some paperwork in order. My husband has been very supportive of me by reminding me to stay in the present and stay focused on Jesus. I feel that the disciple Paul said it best: “Brothers and sisters, I do not consider myself yet to have taken hold of it. But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead. I press on toward the goal to wind the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus.” (Philippians 3:13-14 NIV)

I chose to be Faithful. This has two meanings for me. I want to work on being a faithful servant of Jesus. I must remind myself daily that God is faithful to those who serve him, and he hears our prayers when we come to him. Here is an example, this month I broke out in a mysterious rash. I went to the doctor and got some medicine. It has taken some time, but I am slowly on the mend.

… “How much more will your Father in heaven give good gifts to those who ask him!” (Matthew 7:11 NIV)

Faithfulness is also one of the fruits of the spirit. When someone accepts Christ, we get the fruits of the spirit. “But the fruit of the Spirit is love, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law.” (Galatians 5:22-23 NIV) I hope to grow in this fruit this year.

Lastly, I want to be Generous. I have been blessed beyond measure. God has called us to be generous. I can be generous with my time, money, and personal belongings.

“A generous person will prosper; whoever refreshes others will be refreshed.” (Proverbs 11:25 NIV)

I hope that God allows me to grow in all these areas over this year.

2021: More Life, Peace and Goodness-End of the year wrap up!

I cannot believe that the end of 2021 is already here. It seems just like yesterday I was planning my goals for this year. God certain did teach me about how to have a full life, have more peace and that his Goodness is all around me if I just pause and look for it.

God certainly did change my life for the better in October when I married Matt. Since my wedding day my life has been busy. I have been working hard on making our little apartment a home. We have added some home décor such as our plaque with the wedding poem we recited.

If you have been watching my Instagram posts, I have been cooking a lot. From chicken soup to pot roast, it makes my heart happy to see my husband enjoy the meals I make.

On top of that, we have come together as a family to help take care of a family member in need. Sometimes it isn’t easy, especially when you do not see where God is, but he always reminds you that he will provide.

God gives me peace by providing for me. After I moved to Maryland two pairs of jeans shrank. I was so sad, but God provided when I found a few more pairs at Walmart. I have warm winter clothes and I’m ready to take on the snow whenever it gets here.

Lastly, his goodness is around me. I have friends and family who love me. But the best goodness of all is that Christ died on the cross for my sins, and I am saved by grace.

I hope each one of you have a happy and safe new year and I’ll be announcing my 2022 theme for the year soon.

I’M ENGAGED!

In December 2018, I posted a blog on the Bird Box Challenge in a group for blind people. Matt commented on my article, and we started commenting back and forth. When I learned that he was an author himself, I asked if we could chat via Facebook messenger. We took our time getting to know each other, writing to each other on Facebook messenger and calling each other on the phone. Soon I realized that I had a friend. As the months went by, I drew closer to Matt despite the geographical distance that existed between my home in Florida and his home in Maryland. I was drawn to Matt’s honesty, respect, and his love for the Lord.

In the summer of 2019, while working together with a workbook to help improve my self-esteem, Matt and I both realized that I could benefit from therapy. After finding a therapist I was comfortable with, we began to see my self-esteem improve.

As our friendship continued to develop via Facetime, I asked Matt about the possibility of dating. He told me that he wanted to finish college and was not ready commit to a relationship. I knew what that was like because when I was in college, I wanted to finish my education before I started dating. We continued to pray for one another and about the possibility of dating. Then one afternoon in the spring of 2020, while on a bumpy bus ride in Baltimore, Matt called me on the phone and confessed that he liked me more then a friend. Once he graduated college, he would like to possibly consider dating. I was head over heals that day.

We continued to do Bible study together and talked. Then one day I asked if I could come for a visit. Matt agreed to this plan. God had one bigger plan for this visit. During one of our Bible Studies, I asked Matt if he could Baptize me, and he agreed. We planned my Baptism for over a month. During the time I was preparing to come visit Matt gave me a facetime tour of his apartment. In addition to this, he introduced me to some of his family and friends.

After doing a background check, and a friend doing an even deeper check, I realized that I had actually learned more about Matt’s history from reading his memoir, Seeing Through Blindness, than from the background checks. I agreed to come for a visit. 😊

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My visit in March of 2021 went wonderfully. My Baptism was everything I ever could want. The night of my baptism, and after taking the lord’s supper, Matt asked me to be his girlfriend and I agreed. Because my visit went so well, we planned to see each other again in October.

During the summer of 2021, as we continued to get to know each other even better via facetime our relationship evolved.

In August, because we were in love, I mentioned the possibility of getting married one day. We continued to pray and ask God for wisdom. God answer our prayers.

In September, Matt asked me to marry him, and I accepted.

I am so excited to become his wife and to see where the Lord is going to lead us as a couple.

Book Time!

I have exciting news to share! My book is now finished, and I am currently working on getting my KDP account set up so I can get it published.

I would like to thank following people for helping me make this book happen. Jessica, you are an amazing editor. Not only did you edit my book twice but multiple times. You made the editing process a great learning experience. Matt, my assistant editor, thank you for helping me when Jessica was taking a personal leave of absence. To our editor dogs, thank you for all the giggles and fun. 😊 Thank you to my graphics artist for helping me with the cover. Thank you to my Friend Tea and Beckie for helping me understand the formatting.

Guys, as you can see, I’ve worked hard on this book. I know this is a cheesy plea, but please buy my book. I hope you enjoy it.

2021:More Life, Peace and Goodness-August Edition

This month went from being a good one to a rough one. I had my six month follow up appointment with my nurse. My nurse took her time with me an answered all of my questions about my medicines and about some other concerns I had. What I really appreciated about this appointment was one of my friends was able to join me via telephone to help me with my notes. Believe me I had a lot of them. 😊 All in all, it was a pretty good appointment.

I started working on my continuing education class. The class’s focus is how to write a full-length memoir. My prayer is this memoir helps others and reaches those who do not know Christ as their Savior. I already have an idea of where I want to start and end my memoir. I just need to learn how to make these ideas flow.

God certainly has shown me peace this month. Two weeks ago, my grandpa and I had a disagreement. I was ready to leave and move out of state because of this. However, after a few days of this my grandpa and I decided to let our differences go and just move on with life. I would like to thank everyone who has stepped in to support me during this difficult time.

Another way that God has shown me peace is he is teaching me that there is power in prayer and patience. The past two nights I have gone to bed angry. The first night I was angry because I am nervous about my upcoming vacation, and I fear I will be judged by my looks. Even though my friend has assured me that I will not be judged even if I do not meet my weight loss goal, I feel like I have been failing for the past two weeks. I have not been walking and I feel like I am overeating. I constantly feel like I am craving sweet things. I really am going to have to push myself next month to reach my goal. Then I felt like I could not reach any goal at all. With the way the world is constantly changing I do not know if I should set goals and work towards them or not. This feels especially true when it came to financial goals. I really want to get a debit card so I can start paying for some of my own things, however I am still researching the one that is right for me. All I could do was turn my anger over to God and ask him to soften my heart. The next night I was angry because my friend was having some technology issues with his Iphone. I was able to teach him some things last March, but I was not able to teach him everything. Because he has not been able to learn how to troubleshoot yet I felt guilty that I was unable to teach him this yet. I once again went to God and asked him to soften my heart. I was able to share my heart with my friend today. He gave me reassurance that he was the one that has to learn these lessons and I did nothing wrong.

Lastly God’s goodness is once again all around me. I feel this month I need to take a step back once again and look at the goodness that God provides. I have friends that have become like family to me, that truly listen and care for me and my wellbeing. I have been able to go through my belongings, and I plan to donate to those less fortunate than I. I am doing well with my Braille classes, and I have two book clubs that I can enjoy. Yes, God is good all the time. Even when the month has been challenging.

2021: More Life, Peace and Goodness-July Edition

Oh boy, July was another month that was full of surprises. For the first three weeks of the month, I was battling some severe nausea off and on due to some of the medicines I am on. Luckily, I was able to deal with it with peppermints, some over the counter medications, and a whole lot of prayers. Then the day after I posted Pains, Plans and Prayers my stomach issues stopped. I thank God for that.

I had my sixth month evaluation with my therapist. The good news is I am making progress with my therapy. I am working on being less angry, building self-confidence through exercising, and saying positive things to myself by using a technique called “thought stopping.” Let me give you an example of how this works. I was going on a walk, and my mind started to worry about my next vacation. On my last vacation I had problems with my state ID being accepted at the security checkpoint. I decided to apply for my passport as a backup. As I was walking my mind started to race. “What if I did not get my passport in time?” “What if my ID did not work again and I could not leave?” At this point I told my brain to stop. I was on my daily walk, and I was not at the airport. I had already applied for my passport, and I am patiently waiting for it. All I have is today which is full of God’s grace. The very next day my passport was in the mailbox. It really is in God’s perfect timing.

God is showing me how to have peace in more ways than one. One day my grandpa came to me and told me he found a dead snake in the gutter. Since he was busy helping a neighbor, he asked me to pick the snake up with a big shovel and throw it in the woods. I am terrified of snakes. I walked out into the yard and called my best friend. I complained for at least five minutes of how scared I was and how much braver his daughters and he was. He reminded me that standing there looking at the animal and not taking care of what my grandpa asked of me would only prolong the process. I mustered up the courage and gave the snake a nice burial. I felt great that I faced my fear, but later that day the Holy Spirit reminded me, “Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God.” (Philippians 4:6.)

Another example of peace was when I had to walk home with Duke from the groomers. I was scared. The last time I walked Duke home the neighbors came after me thinking that Duke was lost. Then the neighbor took me to the wrong grooming center. This time I was determined to walk Duke home by myself. Duke’s still working on learning how to walk calmly on a leash. Duke did great on his walk. I felt good about the walk too.

The last example I can give about learning how to walk in peace is a friend of my is having a lot of medical tests going on to find out what is going on with his hip and back. Instead of panicking on the days he has an appointment I pray for him, and I ask Jesus to keep me calm. I have learned that worrying is not going to make the appointment go by any faster nor will it change the outcome of his appointment. Praying and staying calm is the best I can do.

When I stop and look around, I can see God’s goodness. I was able to enjoy a shopping trip to the mall. I was able to get a few items that I needed for my upcoming trip.

In the world of business, I made three keychain orders. I am so happy that my butterflies love my keychains.

How was July for you? Let me know down in the comments below.

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