Cancer
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Pain
Posted by Paul on 02 Mar 2010 | Tagged as: Cancer, Coffee Thoughts, Divorce, General, Hope, Prayer, Remembering
Why Write About Pain?
Pain is one of the things that I have been dealing with for the last seven years. It is part of my normal, everyday life. It never, ever goes away. The medications that I take, dull it and the side effects of the medication cause drowsiness and other effects and because of that I have to rest a lot.
This pain and the side effects are the very things that keep me focused on the Lord, reminding me of how far He has brought me and how much He has been changing me, that I am in the process of changing daily, becoming more like the Lord in heart, in attitude. It is an inner journey, that I am not the same man, that I was seven years ago, that I am becoming more conformed to the Lord.
Yes there are days that it takes everything within me to move forward, to go out into the marketplace, to be out in the coffee shops, etc., for those are the very places the Father wants me to be, For it is there that I can focus on others, to look outward, not inward.
It is there that I get to meet new people. To listen, a lot of listening, to encourage, exhort, lift up others. To share the hope, the peace, the rest that I have in the midst of this journey called life. The pain, the things I physically go through maybe my thorn, for they keep me focused and remind me that my strength comes from the Lord.
Yes there are days, I want to let go, but I cannot because I know that the life I live now is because of the Lord, that he is allowed my children and grandchildren to see the changes he has made in me over these last seven years. That others can see and know it is the grace of God, that has enabled me to be where I am now spiritually, and emotionally.
Though I’m on full disability and I can’t do the things I used to, I can do what I’ve been called to and that is to go out into the marketplace, where people are. For me it is the coffee shops, it is amazing how long I can make a large cup of coffee last
I have met so many awesome people over the years in the coffee shops and made so many new friends. I’ve been able to exhort, encourage and lift others up. In a coffee shop you overhear so many things and many times I feel a sense of the Lord to lift those things to Him in prayer and I do, others may reap the fruit, but I get the honor of planting the seed, even though I didn’t talk to them personally. I have learned it is important to respond to those promptings of the Lord. In a coffee shop as well as other places, you overhear conversations, even when you don’t want to.
I don’t know exactly why I felt to share this today, but I have learned when the Lord says to write, I write, the rest is up to him!
I hope the words that I have written will encourage you in your walk, in your life, for we all deal with pain, not all of it is physical. He uses the things we go through to make us stronger and enables us to touch others, because we share out of a relationship, out of a life with the Lord, and we share that very life with others, not out of theory but out of a relationship, that our lives reflect that reality, for often our lives speak louder than our words.
Till later,
Paul
New Direction For 2010
Posted by Paul on 22 Dec 2009 | Tagged as: Art, Cancer, Coffee Thoughts, Encouragement, Family, Friends, General, Hope, Ponderings, Prayer, Remembering, Writers
Hi Everyone,
Just want to let you know that beginning in January 2010 I will be concentrating more and more on writing, to share the things that have been made real in my life over these last sixty plus years, especially these last six years.
You will noticed that I have changed the title of my blog to “Write From The Heart“ to reflect more of the direction that I feel like the Father wants me to take.
The most important thing that I have learned over the last six years is how important relationship is and that is the one thing that He has made real. That He desires to walk with us, day by day, be one with Him, with the Lord!
We indeed serve a living Saviour, a risen Lord, Jesus Christ!
My desire is to be honest, open and real, to share from the heart, hopefully that which will uplift, encourage, exhort others in this walk called life, that I will be able to share the hope, the rest, the up’s and down’s, victories and defeats, but more important, the hope that I have in the Lord Jesus Christ, in a heavenly Father, who has taken all that I have gone through, to turn me around. New doors and new opportunities will be happening in 2010.
Thank you my many friends, for the encouragement, the reminders, and the hope you have shared with me. I ask for your prayers as I begin this new path, that I will be sensitive to the Lord, to the Holy Spirit, to give out of what has been given too me, the hope that I have in God, that through this journey, I have never, ever been without hope!
Blessings and Merry Christmas my friends!
Till later,
Paul
The Mayor 
In Your Midst!!
Posted by Paul on 03 Dec 2009 | Tagged as: Cancer, Divorce, Encouragement, General, Hope, Poetry, Ponderings, Remembering
In the midst of the pain,
in the midst of despair,
in the midst of it all,
You are there!
In the midst of failure,
in the midst of hopelessness,
You are there!
In the midst of a heart broken,
in the midst of life shattered,
You are there!
In the midst of tears flowing,
You are all knowing and
You are there!!
In the midst of life’s turmoil’s,
when all seems at an end,
You are there!
In the midst, when we want to quit,
You are there!
When our hearts cry out, no more,
please no more,
you are there!
In the midst of Light breaking and Life flowing,
You are there!
In the midst of restoration, of mending,
you are there!
With life flowing,
With Hope knowing,
You are there!
In the midst of it all, Father,
in the midst of it all,
You are there!
In the midst of Your presence,
in the midst of your Spirit,
in the midst of who you are,
We are there!!
For in Your midst,
Our hearts heal, our wounds seal, and life
restored!
In your midst we see that You and You alone
are the source of our life,
for in Your midst is where we belong!
For it is in your presence and in your midst that you
have called us,
for it is here, in Your midst, that
We belong!!
Writing for the King,
Paul E. Dawn Jr.
(C) June 2007
Fear Factor!
Posted by Paul on 01 Nov 2009 | Tagged as: Cancer, Coffee Thoughts, Encouragement, Friends, General, Hope, Ponderings, Remembering
If there is one thing that the enemy tries to do in our lives is to introduce fear. Fear that will paralyze our very being because of the events that are taken place in our lives.
Over the last couple of months as I went through various tests at the VA Medical Center, Atlanta and Outpatient Clinic in Smyrna, Ga, I begin to wonder about the results of the tests, of the possibility of another surgery, that I began to have a feeling of fear, of anxiety.
As I begin to think about it , I began to realize that it was a tactic of the enemy and I began to focus on the Lord, on His word and to remember that which He has and is doing in my life. The peace that He has given me.
It is only as we focus on the Lord, set our affections upon Him that we can deal with the fear factors in our lives.
“For God did not give us a spirit of timidity (of cowardice, of craven and cringing and fawning fear), but [He has given us a spirit] of power and of love and of calm and well-balanced mind and discipline and self-control.” II Timothy 1:7 Amplified Bible.
We draw strength from the word, from the presence of the Lord in all aspects of our lives. We need to act daily. To realize that our Father has not given us the spirit of fear, of cowardice, but He has given us a spirit of power, of love and a calmness that can only come from Him. That we can discipline our mind, our thoughts, to stay focused on the Lord, upon the life changing word of God.
I am learning what it means to walk with the Lord on a daily basis. A day by day walk. I cannot do anything about yesterday and tomorrow is not here. Today is the day that I need the strength, the assurance, the rest and the peace that passes all understanding.
The Lord wants to take us from the realm of theory to the realm of reality, to see that we can walk daily in the life giving power of the word, of the spirit and presence of the Lord.
He is not afar off. The Lord is ever present and in the midst of our lives as we yield to Him. He wants to reveal Himself to us now.
Is there a fear factor in your life? Is there something the enemy tries to use to paralyze you, to keep you from moving forward in your walk with the Lord?
Give it to the Lord! Allow Him to replace it with His presence. Acknowledge that He is Lord of your life and that you desire to walk in the fullness of His purpose in your life.
It is amazing to have that peace, which brings rest to the heart, peace to the soul and an assurance that the Lord is in control, even when we cannot see it with our eyes.
Then, it becomes an act of Faith!
Till later,
Paul
First Love Lost?
Posted by Paul on 09 Oct 2009 | Tagged as: Cancer, Coffee Thoughts, Divorce, Family, General, Hope, Ponderings, Remembering
To abandon, to dissert, to forsake, to remove, to give up, resign, relinquish, forsake, one who quits the service without permission and in violation of his engagement!
What does this have to do with love, especially first love? Jesus makes the following statement in the book of Revelation: “But I have this [one charge to make] against you: that you have left (abandoned) the love you had at first [you have deserted me, your first love.]“ (Revelation 2:4 – The Amplified Bible)
Charles “Chuck” Swindoll makes the following statement “…Jesus said, in effect. You left that love. You once had a love that was incorruptible, but you abandoned it. You once enjoyed a devotion that was constant, meaningful, satisfying. In fact, the warmth of your love transformed your thinking and your attitudes; it revolutionized the way you related to me, to your heavenly Father and to your brothers and sisters. But you cooled off.” (So You Want To Be Like Christ – Chapter 1 Page 7)
Sometimes it so easy to be sidetracked by the things of life, the things that we go through, that we lose sight of what it means to be in love with the Lord. We lose that passion, that hunger for the word, for the presence of the Lord. The zeal is gone and and the sad thing is, we don’t even realized it until it is almost too late.
As I look back now. I don’t regret what I have gone through because it has brought me back to the center of God’s will for my life. He has and is restoring my first love for Him. Oh, I am sure that there was a much easier path for me to have taken, but what has happen in my life, is what it took to get my attention.
That in loosing all, I have gained much. Through the trials, the surgeries, the divorce, the Lord reached out and drew me back to that first love relationship with Him, to begin to see things through His eyes. To have a new appreciation of my children, grand children, of all those in my life past and present.
As I began to focus on Him I began to see more clearly. He began to open my heart and life again, to reveal things that needed to be changed, removed. Things that hinder my relationship with Him, as well as with others.
It is so easy to take things for granted, whether it be people, things or the Lord. We become complacent in our relationships. We forget the “little” things in our relationships. The importance of the word love, or a hug or the encouragement that we give one another and then one day we wake up and wonder, what happen, how can this be?
In Revelation 2:5 we are told to remember. Think back, repent, change the inner man to meet God’s will. We are are told to remember the love, the passion that we had for the Lord. Allow the Holy Spirit to rekindle that fire, the passion for Him. To hunger after the word, the presence of the Lord.
Let us learn to dwell in that presence of the Lord. To abide in Him. That we can have an attitude of worship, of praise. That we can walk with the Lord daily in this present world. He is not a Father who is afar off. He is as close as we want Him to be. He desires our fellowship, our communion with Him. He delights, takes joy in us. He has chosen us, called us for a day such as this, that others might see the reality of the Christ within.
The Lord is calling us back, calling you, calling me, back to a place of intimacy, of a place of knowing Him, not just about Him. He is calling us back to a relationship, where He will reveal Himself to us!
He is calling us back to that First Love!
Till later,
Paul
*Orginally posted May 2005
The View From Here
Posted by Paul on 02 May 2009 | Tagged as: Cancer, Coffee Thoughts, Encouragement, Family, Friends, Hope, Ponderings, Prayer, Video Posts
