God Connects the Dots for His purposes

There has been so much going on this past month.  I have to tell you all about it!  About a year ago, we visited Maryland and stayed with a lovely couple and it was just after I spoke at a women’s retreat called “The Heart of the Pioneer Woman”.  Abe and Gail felt instantly like family.  We just clicked.  The love we had for the Lord drew our hearts together in a bond that I knew would last a lifetime.  It is interesting how we were connected.  Stories often have rabbit trails and so I have a fun little rabbit trail that led to the real reason I am excited to share with you, today.

The amazing thing is that God connects dots all the time.  He can put you with a person that connects you with another person who opens the door to His blessed will.  I met their daughter in law, Heather, over the phone 6 months prior, who was on my Plexus team. She happened to live in New Mexico and heard about Plexus from another great friend who lived there.  Well, she quit after a couple months.  I actually never met her before but after I had some life changing results I just started calling people like her to touch base.  She had Lyme like my husband and I urged her to get back on the program.  She listened and made sure to do everything I said, and in time she, too was feeling some major life changing results, just like we were experiencing.  Long story short, she signed up her Father-in-Law who was a dentist in Maryland.  He and his wife were just absolutely ecstatic about the products and really wanted to have me talk to some of their close friends which included some medical people.  Some were doctors and nurses and others were church members in their community who were really struggling with their health.

My husband was telling me, “You better know your stuff about all these ingredients and how they work in balancing the body, because you are now going to be speaking with people that will know way more than you about health.”  I knew my stuff so I was not worried in the least.  I just had an overwhelming passion to help people.  It was genuine because I really felt like my husband, my daughter, and I had our life dramatically changed by it.  Why not share?  It seemed selfish not to.  So on with the story!  These people were very skeptical, mind you, so it was not the easiest crowd to convince.  I met a lady whose hands were stricken with pain from arthritis and she was telling us how bad off she was.  She could not work or do very much because of her issues.  My heart broke for her and I knew with her situation, it would not be something she could take consistently.  I just knew for her, I would just pray!  God can work miracles, I am proof of that.

Gail was a great hostess and she sure made us feel like we were home.  As I shared about the women’s retreat in Wisconsin, she so quickly asked if I would be willing to speak next year for their church’s women’s retreat.  Gail happens to be the creative coordinator for the whole event.  It is amazing how she puts it all together.  I quickly agreed and we went on our way back to Wisconsin.  I did not think much about it until she contacted me a few months ago to see how my plans were coming.  Needless to say, I started preparing.  I know that it all seems so strange how I started with this whole Plexus thing, yet how God used that to connect the dots for me to speak at their church!  And that is the real reason I am sharing!

I spent most of this past month preparing, praying, and digging deep in God’s word to humbly put together something that would be life giving to these precious women’s hearts that day.  All the while I had been preparing, I was running a private book study on Facebook with my Living Virtuously book.  This was needful because that book covers all the blessings of the Proverbs 31 woman!  I was reminded of so many truths as I was ministering to over 200 ladies online!  The nicest part was that I could hear how their lives where also impacted by the things that the Lord had taught me through writing the book nearly 3 years ago.  It was just what I needed to help prepare for my upcoming event!  God is faithful as we seek Him diligently each day!

I had not checked in on the blog here due to the huge amount of work that I was investing in the book study and the presentations that I needed ready.  About a week ago, we headed out with the four youngest children and Molly’s faithful sidekick, TEDDY to Maryland for the event.  On our long journey across the country, the Lord kept springing more truths in my mind and in my heart about what I was to share.  I kept hauling out my little lap top and adding more and more slides to my presentation.  I could not believe how clear it all became in such a short time.  That is just how God works!  As soon as we arrived, Abe brought me to their church where Gail was busy being the Proverbs 31 woman.  She decorated the entire church and made so many lovely table runners, a Sun Bonnet Sue quilt, lots of baked goods, and even an old fashioned artificial fire place which would stand right behind me when I spoke.  What a humbling thing to behold.  These lovely people spent hundreds of hours preparing for “ME” to come and speak.

Then this little lady popped out of a doorway with such exuberance.  She looked awfully familiar.  It took me a few seconds, but it was that woman I met the year before at their home who was stricken with so much pain.  I was not thinking about Plexus at all nor did I plan to mention it AT ALL, of course, because that was not why I was called to be there.  BUT she said, “Remember me, Erin?  Plexus helped me get my life back!”  She was telling me that she was able to tie those 180 bows on each table.  Praise God! She was able to work and had so much life again.  There is always a reason.  2 years ago, I was scared to death to share about Plexus because I just did not want to sell anything and I wanted to be true to my purpose as the Proverbs 31 woman in my home.  As I submitted to my husband’s desire for me to actually be his helper in the ways that he needed me to be and share our health stories with others, I have been blessed to meet hundreds of lives that were changed just by health.  God uses the unlikely things that we feel stubborn about at first.   I was humbled that I was not afraid to share when I did and that God used me to help this poor woman who literally had no hope. I learned that day that God uses us for many different purposes when we aspire to walk the Proverbs 31 way!  God can use ALL THINGS to connect dots and bring healing to people whether it is with their health or healing of their soul.  It is such a blessing to serve an Almighty God!

We came back the next morning to the church and over 180 women from over 25 different churches showed up to hear my stories!  I plugged in my drive with all my powerpoint presentations in.  At first, the churches computer stopped working and I became a bit nervous.  As you know, I was going to be sharing about anxiety and the power of the mind.  How we can overcome our negative thought pattern with the tools Christ died to give us and there I was being tempted to fall under that temptation to lose my peace.  I bowed my head and accepted it.  I just tapped into the God of all creation who knows all things and realized that I was right where I needed to be in that moment.  Peace fell on me like a dove and my heart said silently to myself, “If I have no slide show, Lord, I will just share whatever you lead me to share.”  I knew that we can fully trust in the Holy spirit to take the wheel when we do not have a
plan.  As I made my way to the front stage, I knew that I had no presentation.  I looked across the room and said with all faith, “Ladies, I came prepared but God intervened.  Sometimes we think we have our own plan, and then God has a different one.  There must be something I need to share that is not planned.”  Just then, the slideshow came up and I felt like I was transported to the mount where Abraham came in faith with his promised son and this moment where God saw his willingness to trust and he blessed him with the ram which took the place.  I know it is a long shot to compare such things, but yet, in my heart, I could see that by my willingness to accept what was not in my control, God simply blessed me.

I shared stories of my testimony, my life story, how God was faithful in all things.  I would have never known 20 years ago that God would call me up to share anything worth listening to because I was such a horrid mess.  I had everything backwards and upside down, been through a hundred trials that made me want to die and give up, and yet as I was seeking God each time, He lifted me from the ground and gave me hope that this is not all there is, that He has even greater things in store for them that trust and believe him.  I am a living testimony of how one life can be changed by the grace and mercy of God and how one life and be used as a vessel to bring forth hope to others.I had three separate sessions.  One of my life story, the next on the Proverbs 31 Blessing, and the last one was Hospitality of the Mind.  Women were coming up to me in tears so filled with hope again.  Their souls were uplifted by the music, the testimony, and there was healing and conviction, life, and such an overwhelming sense of encouragement being filled with delicious food, delightful music, and fellowship.  It was a day I will not soon forget. It truly was one of those amazing moment where you know that God is in control and connecting the dots as how He sees fit.  Am I to question why He would use something like Plexus to reach this amount of people, I dare not!  I can’t apologize to share this story because I know God uses all things!  I am just sitting here in awe, that He could use a person who was so broken to shine through my cracks to give others a taste of what things are possible!  To God be all the Glory!

After an amazing evening with the Abe and Gail, so much fun and fellowship, we decided to take the opportunity to travel a couple more hours East to visit our Nation’s Capital.  It would be an excellent homeschool adventure because it is all free to walk around in the museums to see all the great history!

We were so blessed to visit DC during the Cherry Blossom event.  How lovely!

It was so great that TEDDY got to be with Molly the whole entire visit.  When you have a certified medical assistance animal, you can literally take them everywhere you go in public.  One time at the hotel that we stayed that night, when we went for the continental breakfast, a gentleman sternly said, “No dogs allowed!”  Molly showed TEDDY credentials and he quickly apologized and wanted to give us the best service he could.  He was so impressed with how TEDDY watches Molly like a hawk and simply lies, very still and quiet under the table.  People only feel endeared towards him, wanting to cuddle his white soft fur.  He is just such a blessing.  So many times he has been able to alert our daughter and her health has been so much more stable because of his keen ability to sense her blood sugars.  Also, TEDDY has become a faithful companion to Molly.  She could not imagine her life without him!

It was such an amazing weekend, one that we will always remember.  It was amazing to reflect on our nation’s birth, how our country was founded on God and so many Godly principles.  We also took time to remember and honor all those that served to protect the freedoms that we now enjoy in our country!  So thankful!

Mark gave me this wonderful sign to hang in our home because it truly says it all…