Heavenlynotice.com

I took a few days off from blogging as I have been recovering from Covid 19 over the Christmas Holidays.  I am writing this to tell my story of the battle I fought with Covid and how it has impacted me and the family this past week and a half.  Since Covid hit we have been very focused on avoiding it the best we could and took precautions to not contract it.  That all changed a week and half ago as we were exposed to someone that did not know they were a carrier and within a few days the wife and I started feeling bad and suspected that we may have contracted it just prior to the Holidays.  It started out like a common cold with runny nose, chest congestion and stomach ache.  We tried for three days to find a testing site close to the house and eventually drove down the road about forty five minutes to be rapid tested.  We were steadily getting sicker and within  a few days of the test we got the results back that we were positive for the virus.  At this point we cancelled Christmas wi

My wife and I have grown kids and they are always asking us what we want for Christmas.  Many parents out there of grown children can relate to this dilemma and we all probably give the same answer over and over.  We say "I don't know", "I don't want anything", "I don't need anything", or my favorite which is "I just want to be with you on Christmas day".  I sometimes even tell them "my two front teeth" just to get them riled up.  My wife and I are blessed and we really do not have anything on a list that we need.  Heck, we all have online ordering and next day delivery for all those things we want to buy.  I wrote yesterday about A Covid Christmas which is what we are celebrating this year as we all have Covid and are separated for the Holidays.   We all have family traditions like gathering, eating, fellowshipping and sharing gifts with family and friends.  For years we have always opened one present Christmas eve as a fa

This week my wife and I tested positive for the Covid 19 virus and are locked down at home for the Christmas Holidays.  We have been very careful to avoid people, mostly staying at home and using proper protective measures for months.  Our oldest daughter has it also and is stuck in Florida for the Holidays, while our youngest daughter is finishing up her covid lockdown from being positive a few weeks ago.  We have called all the family to advise that we cannot meet with them on Christmas day to eat breakfast, open presents, fellowship and most importantly celebrate the birth of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.   This however does not mean that Christmas cannot be just as special because we will get together in a week or so when everything clears up and everyone is well enough to be safe to gather.  This Christmas will be unlike any we have ever experienced with covid lockdowns, infection rates spiking and the need to being safer than ever.  People are stuck at home, in nursing facili

 Today I am writing about toxic relationships that people have and how they destroy families, friendships, marriages and cause chaos.  I have been fortunate in my life to find a loving and wonderful wife that seeks a great relationship with me.  We get along mostly, disagree at times, but in the end we are together and strong.  I see this in many of my friends and family as well.  Positive, supporting and loving relationships that are far from perfect, but in the scheme of things are solid.  Then comes the reason I am writing this today as I see so many toxic relationships, people unhappy, angry, upset and constantly fighting. These are very unhealthy and will eventually destroy the relationship, create hostility and resentment which leads to divorce, breaking up or worse (possible abuse).  I put together a quick list of five warning signs you should avoid once you see them come to light.  As soon as one of these pops up, you best get out now or eventually face chaos, fighting, anger a

Today I was thinking about some recent changes in my life that are spiritual, mental and emotional.  These changes are all positive and something that cannot be seen by the eye.  Sure, people may be able to sense or see a difference in a persons attitude or behavior.  However, changes like these are internal and occur within ourselves in the heart, mind and soul.  These are not tangible things one can touch and therefore hard to describe to people at times.   I have had a spiritual awakening of sorts is the best way to describe what is occurring within me and to me.  As a good friend described her similar changes to me as "Shedding my old skin".  That made perfect sense to me and got me to thinking about belief and how it guides our lives, actions, behaviors and reactions to events. I started thinking about Christmas and the gifts we all receive during the Holidays and celebrations.   I am not talking about the gifts under the tree as those are tangible things we can see, fee

I was coaching at my old high school in 2009 and in the middle of the season I suddenly lost my dad. My dad was a 30 year retired police officer who also served over 30 years volunteering at the local high school as president, vice president and secretary of the boosters club.  My mom and dad along with several great parents had helped raise millions of dollars and build most of the very nice athletic facilities the school has today.  They loved to go to football games home or away.  For over thirty years on Friday night if they were not rotating in the concession stand they sat in the same seats at home games every Friday night.  My dad sat on the top row, on the brick at the corner.  I can see him now sitting there watching me, my brothers, cousins, and nephews playing football on Fridays.   Dad and mom were road warriors and followed the football team wherever they played.  They went to every game home or away for a minimum of 30 seasons. Even when their health started to fail them,

Sisterly Love- My mom and her older sister, my Aunt Beona were two of the most wonderful people one could ever know.  My family, immediate friends and so many others were touched by these ladies in so many ways.  Both of these wonderful ladies have went on to be with God and I know they are now watching over their kids, families and others.  They talked everyday on the phone, regardless of what happened or may have come up they spoke everyday.  My mom would call over and ask to speak to Beona and of course, my Uncle Robert would answer the phone and proceed to give her a hard time about calling and pick at her.  Mom loved to talk to Robert and looked forward to giving him a little of his quick wit right back to him on those phone calls.  Robert didn't hear very well so the television would be turned up to about maximum volume if you called or stopped by to visit with them.  You would have to knock on the door several times for him to hear you.  One thing is the door was cracked abo

  Serving Others Above Yourself Serving others is something many people do.  I grew up watching my parents serve the community in various capacities for the majority of their adult lives.  I watched the impact they had on people and saw the joy they got out of living a servant based life.  My dad was a police officer and he served the people diligently.  My mom was a school custodian and cafeteria worker and she worked so hard to prepare the food and serve it to the kids.  She always spoke so kindly to every kid, every day and they loved her for that.  We all have the opportunity to serve others and put them above us. Christ called us to serve others and he lived a life of service in his short time on earth.   Jesus prioritized us over his own needs and wants.  He was the most powerful man to ever walk the earth.  He could have walked right away from the cross and did what he wanted to do.  Instead he gave the ultimate example of having a servants heart.  He gave his life so we could h

Today I am writing about the random acts of kindness that people show one another and how they can make a huge impact on that persons day.  Being kind is something we all like to see in people and it shows that one has a love for their family, friends, neighbors and strangers.  I can think of some examples of random acts of kindness where people have done something that seemed small to them, but was a huge boost to me at the time.  Examples of  this are below: 1- A good friend had someone come mow my yard while I was at home recovering from a heart procedure. 2- A random person (more than once) has let me turn into traffic on a packed road risking someone honking the horn at him or her for doing it. 3- People saying hello, smiling, and asking how you are today. 4- Kind words on face book, emails, and text messages that lift my spirit. I did some research so I will not lay claim to being a guru on random acts of kindness and built a simple list of ways we can all be kinder to one anothe

Dealing With Anxiety and Depression Let us begin this topic by stating how real and aggressive anxiety and depression are in the lives of millions of people of all ages.  Anxiety and depression often go unnoticed by people close to those that are suffering until it is too late.  These are two leading causes of death and health risk in the world.  Being anxious and depressed can go hand in hand and are a double whammy that is hard to overcome in life.  Let's look at a few of the many symptoms of anxiety and depression before talking about dealing with it. 1- Feelings of hopelessness, worthlessness and pessimism 2- Mood swings, not sleeping, shutting down mentally 3- Difficulty with decisions, lack of confidence, and irritability 4- Mental, physical and spiritual health issues These are just some of the major symptoms and signs that I could find as I made my list. At some point, I think we all have faced depression and anxiety in life. Major causes of anxiety and depression are life

  Living Out Your Dreams One of my wife's favorite movies, Pretty Woman has a line in it where the guy yells out, “welcome to Hollywood, what's your dream”.  That line has stuck with me all of my adult life as I have pursued my dreams one at a time.  How do you live out your dreams?  Do you have dreams and what are they?  We all have something we want to accomplish and they can be really big or really small.  Some want to be a movie star, be rich, be successful and have money.  Some want to achieve a certain career like a teacher, lawyer, accountant, business owner, etc.   I had a dream growing up of being a professional football player.  Most young boys have imagined themselves catching a touchdown in the super bowl, making a free throw to win the national championship, kicking the winning goal in a major league soccer game or hitting a grand slam in the baseball world series.  I talk about sports because for over 45 years of my life sports has been my thing.  Your dream may b

The Lions Today will be a quick write about my continued spiritual growth as I get closer to God everyday.  I prayed last night for God to give me direction, grace and mercy all the days of my life and as I ended, I asked if he had a specific message for me to send it.  Well, let me tell you that God is good, he is the greatest, he is the undefeated champion of all time.  I had been struggling with some health issues lately and have been really seeking God's word by reading the bible, researching, reading other blogs and praying.  All this as a way to gain a more direct connection to God and move forward with his plans in our lives. After asking for God to send me a message I dreamed about the Lion and a Shepard.  In the lion dream I saw two lions walking with each other like a pack would do. They kept their distance and walked near each other growling and grumbling as if they were seeking a meal.  I was watching them in the lion's den when suddenly someone threw a large piece

  Facing Your Demons This entry is very personal to me as I have recently been involved in a spiritual awakening due to a near death experience that opened me up to a much higher level and understanding of God’s power, grace and mercy.  I also have gained a higher understanding of evil and demonic activity in our life.  When we get closer to God by reading his word, praying and submitting to his plan.  The devil will dispatch demons to try and defeat us.  He will assign one of his many dark spirits to attack you, your family and friends. Please be advised and acknowledge that the devil and evil are very real and will attack your life and destroy it if they can. After my near death experience, I started to have visions, dreams, and spiritual activity that was a gift from God.  God had chosen to save me and gave me a gift of spiritual enlightenment.  With this opening of my heart, soul and mind I became a target of evil.  I was attacked twice by demonic entities in my bed as a result.  Y

  Do Not Fear, God is Near Fear is one of the biggest enemies we face daily and it can overwhelm you really fast.  Fear is defined as a feeling of an impending danger, anxiety and worry about a perceived threat to our physical, mental or spiritual well being.  Fear is a weapon that the Devil uses against humans to cast doubt, anxiety and worry in our lives.  Fear can come on really quick or begin slowly and build up to eventually overcome us emotionally.  I can think of many times when fear struck me in my life.  I once had to go to the 30th floor of a building and put furniture on a tiny little deck about six feet wide and that scared me to death.   I am not a fan of heights and have a philosophy of why leave a good solid piece of ground.  Many of you have been to a haunted house and remember how that sudden fear of someone jumping out at you, grabbing you in the dark or just scaring the “you know what” out of someone happens.  You know it is going to happen and just anticipate it and