For Mother’s Day~ A Secret Family Recipe For Healthy Living

My 75 year-old mom told me “you certainly have your life together.” Ha ha ha ha. I’m not going to argue with my mom. However, a necessary addendum to that statement would be I know the secret of a “put together life”.
I propose to you, if you start the day asking Jesus to show you what He wants you to do, then your day will go easier~ your heart will beat stronger, your step will be lighter, and, your way will be clearer.
For one week, wake up one half hour earlier then usual. Begin by praising God with a scripture or a worship song. Ask the Lord to open the eyes of your heart to all He wants to show you.
In one week, you will have a new excitement accompany you as you complete your mundane chores because you will know God is with you.
No person, special diet, exercise routine or vitamin can fill you with the energy that the joy of anticipation can give you from seeing God at work in your day.
Successful living begins with committing your steps to the Lord as you walk in faith according to the scriptures and fortified with the daily bread of Jesus Christ. As you build yourself up in this~ body, mind and spirit, you will find favor and grace wherever you go.
Of course, the enemy whispers “you will fail” on every turn through difficulties. When God’s time comes there is no power in hell that can stop you from receiving the spiritual blessings in your destiny.
Think of it this way~ God formed you in your mother’s womb. He has a plan for your life. It is hand designed by the Creator to succeed. Satan will use anything and everything to come along to entice, distract, or try and crush you.
Yet, in God’s own time that divinely appointed job, opportunity for reconciliation, or medical intervention will come. It’s only a matter of time.
God’s promises contain your individualized health plan to live a full and abundant life.
Just like any other recipe, you need to open the recipe book and follow directions. In time and with practice, you will be blessed, fortunate, and happy to follow God’s recipe for success.
So once in awhile, you’ll crack a bad egg, or make a mistake. Just get back into the “Joy of Living” book and find out what you did wrong. I guarantee, this stuff works!

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Kelly Anne Liberto

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HEALING IN THE HANDS OF THE FATHER

Psalm 103:5 “who satisfies your desires with good things
so that your youth is renewed like the eagle’s.”

I was seven. We ran in the back alleyway between row homes in West Oak Lane.
It was a game of fun called “horsey”. Did you have a game like that from childhood?

Galloping in front with a rope around my waist, I usually led the pack of revelers. My greatest delight was running in the sunshine with no goal other then the pure joy of racing ahead of the pack. I guess that will give you some idea of my personality.

Any pulling on the rope or change of pace from my posse in back would cause me to trip, so, when I fell headfirst into the gravel, it was no surprise to me.
My mom, uncles and aunts were sitting around the formica kitchen table in our home drinking coffee and chatting.
My tears and bleeding hand brought an urgency to clean the wound.

Unfortunately, there was a piece of gravel that sat in between a bundle of nerves in my little hand. I know it was with the greatest intentions that my uncles held me down on the table that morning to try and pick that stone out of my hand.
Every time the tweezers went into my hand, I would jump. So, off we went to the hospital to have it done properly.

Can you imagine the person who is walking around this life today with a piece of sharp fragment sitting in their soul? Every time a certain word is spoken, or a song is sung, or a fragrance lingers in the air, it is like someone is poking in that raw area with a sharp instrument.

We often wonder why a person we love reacts oddly to our words or our actions. Perhaps the intent is to bless. But, they receive it as a “blast”. What can we do?

It is good to remember that only God knows our hearts. Only He can truly give us the desires of our hearts, not those that we love.
Yes, He places others in our lives to love, and to be loved.
However, nobody else knows those dark places of pain better then the Father.
He, like the good doctor that fateful day, can circumnavigate your hurts, your sorrows, and your tender places. He knows how the hurt came in. He knows what is needed to tenderly heal those wounds. He knows how to anaesthetize the wound and when it is time to safely deal with it.
So, why isn’t He the first person that we go to in times of confusion, fear, doubt?

Why must we run around trying to be the “leader of the pack” and heal ourselves, others, especially our loved ones?
Why do we try and mask the pain with alcohol, food, sex or other worldly pleasures? Or, sometimes, become dead to all of our emotions?

I would venture to say, maybe, it is because we do not trust the One who promises to heal us from all of our sins, wounds and sorrows. We would rather allow life’s problems poke, prod and dig into those hidden places of irritation until we can stand it no more.

Yes, it was painful to have five needles poked into that sore area to take the pain away enough so doctors could remove the offending shard. But, what relief when the pain was taken away! And, the hand was completely healed.

Well, there is still a small scar there to remind me of my childhood foolishness. It also serves to remind me to take all of my wounds, whether they are mine or another’s, into the hands of the all powerful, mighty, and healing God.

For He will give His angels to guard over you…

Driving down to see my grandmother on her deathbed in 1996. It was not easy as I was recieving shots of chemotherapy for a health problem that came in the aftermath of a miscarriage. But, MomMom helped to raise three Kraft kids and memories of her chasing us with a broom when we were bad brought me to Philly that day. I used to run just for the fun of it, her rarely catching us.
When I arrived at the hospital, Mom Mom asked me to pray for her. This was out of character for her because she was particularly fiesty with me. We had a “love/not love” relationship. I gave her a lot of flack when I was growing up. But, she was my source of comfort when Mom was working.
“Lord will you please have Mom Mom ask Jesus into her heart?” I prayed. I wasn’t so sure that she had prayed that particular prayer, though she was familiar with saying the phrase “Jesus, Mary and Joseph ” quite frequently. I’m sure that she needed that extra surge of strength to watch over her three rapscallion grandkids in her fifties. She liked to say that the “divil” was in us, though, that might seem sacrilegious to some, it was simply a term of endearment to her. The Irish have their ways of blessing and cursing all in the same breath.
Anyway, after praying with MomMom that day, I drove back home to take care of my own growing family.
I must add at this point that I was going through a faith crisis myself at the time. I was figuratively, “shaking my fist” at God for some heavy losses that I was in the middle of experiencing. He seemed far away from me and I raged at the heavens in my grief. What you need to know is that I was raised with a Catholic deep reverence for the heavenly Father and raging at him was bound to bring lightening bolts and fire from heaven reigning down on my head.
The next day,  Mom called to tell me that MomMom had passed.
Her intestines were shot and her body just gave in to old age.
She told me one of the nurses came into check with MomMom. He came into check the morphine drip, make sure that she was comfortable and turned to say “God bless you” as he left.
Mom said, “God bless you.”
He turned to my grandmother, “Mary, would you like to accept Christ as your savior?”
My grandmother nodded yes.
Mom told me the rest of the story with the peace of heaven in her voice. After MomMom prayed with this “man” to be saved, she passed onto her celestial home.
My mom asked around the nursing home if anyone knew where she could find the kind nurse to thank him. No one knew of him or had ever seen him. Have you seen your angels?

Review of Ronie Kendig’s book Wolfsbane

I began reading Ronie Kendig’s books with Dead Reckoning in 2010. Knowing Ronie as an excellent storyteller,  I immediately “signed up” to be an influencer for book #3 in her discarded heroes series “Wolfsbane”.

Little did I know, Wolfsbane centers around a subject near and dear to my own heart~ human sex trafficking.

The book propels you into the jungles of Venezuela, opening with Danielle “Dani” Roarke, U.S. army demolition expert escaping from the Venezuelan rebel army general who keeps her imprisoned in his underground network.

The book stays at a breakneck speed throughout her return to the states where she is faced with charges of espionage due to her detailed knowledge of the enemy.

Dani is forced to return to enemy camp with her new comrade in arms, Green Beret Medic, Canyon “Midas” Metcalfe.  These two soldiers are drawn to each other through their wounds of the past, and thrown together through dire circumstances of bringing back the truth from the Venezuelan stronghold.

Separated from the others in Special Forces group “nightshade”, they plummet over a mountain cliff from flooding waters in an army hummer.

Finding themselves warm, dry and exhausted, they succumb to their attraction for each other. And to their sorrow, add another obstacle to overcome in this growing, yet, complicated relationship.

Ronie deals with many issues in this story that we fight in everyday life.  Life is a battle, and Wolfsbane brings these trials out wrapped up in a military saga that demands for you to turn to the next page through suspense and interesting story lines.

Suicide, sexual abuse, pre-marital sex and drug addiction are all handled deftly, without judgment and given the weight that is needed for the world today.  As humans we are flawed and we make mistakes that need to be dealt with in the proper way, not buried under religious mores or societies dictates.

It was hard for me to read this book as I, too, have been touched by some of the tragedies that intertwine through this book. I applaud Ronie for her honesty and courage in dealing with these very real issues affecting us in a realistic way.

After suffering from the grief of making love to the woman that he adores outside of matrimony,  Canyon Metcalfe explains his repentant thinking this way~

“By breaking my promise to God, by not obeying His command, I opened vulnerability in our relationship that should not have existed.  I hurt you.”

The book rises above the mundane as it deals with the conflicts that we all face in life, and also gives a clear picture of redemption that can come only through God.

I highly recommend Wolfsbane.  Five stars!

So what is all this about gossip?

Here is an age old conundrum, why do people enjoy talking about other people when they are not around?
The dictionary defines gossip as the idle talk or rumor, especially about the private affairs of others. Rumor is of course, unsubstantiated information, not proven to be true, and often times part fabrication.
God’s word says to stay away from all gossip. Proverbs 4:23 (the message)
“Keep vigilant watch over your heart; that’s where life starts. Don’t talk out of both sides of your mouth; avoid careless banter, white lies, and gossip. Keep your eyes straight ahead; ignore all sideshow distractions. Watch your step, and the road will stretch out smooth before you. Look neither right nor left; leave evil in the dust.”
It’s usually best to consider the counsel of God for our own hearts, versus looking for this fault in others. Examining our own hearts keeps us from pointing our finger to another and leaving an opening so that we might quickly fall.
Gossip is like “candy” for us to imbibe, just as whiskey is for the drunk.
It tastes good while it goes down, but, in the end the gossiper suffers as much as the one who is being talked about.
Consider this~”A gadabout gossip can’t be trusted with a secret, but someone of integrity won’t violate a confidence”Proverbs 11:13. Joining in gossip whether you are listening or telling will ruin your reputation.
[ Wise People Take Advice ]” The gossip of bad people gets them in trouble; the conversation of good people keeps them out of it.” Proverbs 12:13.
“Mean people spread mean gossip; their words smart and burn” Proverbs 16:27. Gossip hurts people. It hurts in a way that physical pain cannot even come close.
The media is filled with news of celebrities and their lives. The pervasive thinking is that if this person is rich and famous then gossiping about them goes along with the money, fame and power. It is no wonder that so many of our nation’s television, sports, and political men and women fall into trouble.
Painful as it is to hear news of the downfall of a stranger, how much more
difficult is it to hear vicious or idle talk of a friend or loved one.
Proverbs 16:28 says, “Troublemakers start fights; gossips break up friendships.”
That’s a lot of damage from a few thoughtless words.
After seeing the recent pain in a close friend as a result of gossip about her, it will be harder for me to do.
So, if not gossip, then what?
God’s way brings life, health and refreshing to us in all things. In Ephesians 4:29, his word tells us to “Let no foul or polluting language, nor evil word nor unwholesome or worthless talk [ever] come out of your mouth, but only such [speech] as is good and beneficial to the spiritual progress of others, as is fitting to the need and the occasion, that it may be a blessing and give grace (God’s favor) to those who hear it.”
In all things, grace.

False Guilt~ Master of Disguise

My daughter and her friends just recently enjoyed watching Dana Carvey in a silly movie called Master of disguise. The premise is a man who is coming to learn that the family “gift” for disguising themselves is available to him as well. His grandfather comes to train him in order to save his mother and father who have been kidnapped by the evil villain.
The main character, Pistachio,  disguises himself to infiltrate the enemy’s base and sets his mother and father free.
Lately, I have been struggling with getting all of the work done that I feel I am called to do.
When the duties of motherhood, writer, counselor and speaker begin to build up into a mountain of the “to do list” and I can’t seem to get it all done, the temptation to feel guilty insinuates itself in to weigh me down.
The false guilt that I am feeling comes disguised as righteousness. ” If you were good, you would be able to do more for Jesus.” Usually, it comes wrapped up in a desire of my heart. ” Your family would be better off if you
were better at…(fill in the blank)”
I totally understand when someone that I am counseling is under the load of condemnation that false guilt brings. It is a weakness that has been in my family for generations.
God’s words negate the power of our enemy, guilt. In Psalm 51:7 we are told that through him we are clean!
“Cleanse me with hyssop, and I will be clean; wash me, and I will be whiter than snow.”
The next time guilt comes knocking at your door disguised as something “holy”, give it the boot and lock the door with the knowledge that you have been cleansed and made righteous by the blood of the lamb.
1John 1:9 ” If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness
Part of Pistachio’s training in  the movie includes his grandfather showing him how to  slap a dummy while  saying, “who’s your daddy?”

If you are a believer in Jesus Christ, then you can tell the enemy in whatever form it comes, “My daddy is bigger then yours!”

God’s Protective Power

Have you ever heard from other people that they could not accept a loving God when there is so much evil in this world? They have a certain perspective on God, all evil is His fault, yet, how do they explain the good, even great things that happen in our lives?

You cannot predetermine a belief based merely on one aspect of the evil in our world today.
Let me take this thinking one step further, and suggest that God DOES bring good out of evil. I know having experienced sexual molestation at age nine, as well as battling choriocarcinoma some thirty years later.

I will suggest to you that God does allow suffering in this world, however, much good can come out of the suffering that we experience.

Case in point, at the very naïve age of nine, I entered my brother’s bedroom when a childhood friend called me in. It was not uncommon for me to play with my brother and his friends as we are twins and I was a bit of a tomboy.

What happened next was so traumatic to me, that I could not even think about it for the next thirty years. I “blocked” the incident from my memory.

The years after this experience were marred by a constant sense that I was dirty, that I was unworthy. My grades suffered, as well as my sense of security in other people. After all, this was a boy who I thought was my brother. He took my trust and smashed it, along with my innocence in one thoughtless act of selfishness.

Though my mom and dad are Christians, I had no concept of a protecting, loving God. Unbeknownst to them, I learned in church that God was a miserable, demanding tyrant. So, at the time of the molesting, I felt completely alone. My abuser threatened me if I told anyone what had happened.

Fast forward to my forties~ I have a family, a wonderful husband and had accepted the Lord as my savior. Many would look at my life and see a very blessed, happy homemaker with a full life.

I have three beautiful daughters, and managed to bury my fears, raising them was the joy of my life. Once in awhile, feelings of unworthiness, fear, self doubt would kick in, but, I just assumed that everyone struggled with these things.

At forty years old, my “normal” world came crashing to the ground at the sound of my doctor’s voice telling me that I had cancer.

Thankfully, and miraculously after three months of heavy duty chemotherapy, I was declared “cancer free”.

While God had delivered me from cancer, I could still not shake the sense of doom and gloom or
the sense of being unprotected.

I had nightmares at night where a shadowy figure was pursuing me. At forty years old, there was still a sense of urgency in dark places, like parking lots and other public places. I had a morbid fear that someday I would be attacked and raped.

As these fears and panic attacks intensified, I attempted to resume some normalcy in my life. My doctors put the anxiety down to the chemically induced premature menopause that I was thrown into from the chemotherapy. All the while, experts were amazed by my quick healing and lack of side effects from the drugs.

A friend of mine approached me in 2005, four years after my battle with cancer. She asked me if I would like to study biblical counseling with her. I accepted.

As a result of studying the word of God and applying it to my fears, the molestation surfaced and the process of healing began.

I felt that I needed to deal with the irrational fears that I struggled with on a daily basis, as well as needing to understand the word better while speaking at different places on how God had healed me from cancer.

I wanted to be ready with an answer for those who had questions about why God allows such tragedies to exist.

Today, I am free from the anxieties that plagued me through my youth, and I’ve been set free from any residual trauma of having been molested. I rarely feel afraid for no reason at all.
And, I know a peace and a joy that I have not ever known before. It is a peace and joy grounded in the knowledge that God is my protector.
The biblical counseling has helped me to encourage others through similar traumas. The world needs overcomers to show others that though we walk through the valley of death , we can fear no evil.

It is possible because our great and mighty God is there to sustain us. He simply wants us to know him through the trials and tribulations that we go through.
God is a God of impossibilities. He has taken a broken little girl and brought her back to wholeness as a grown woman.

Would I want to go through the trials and suffering all over again? No, probably not. But, I can’t help but be grateful that God used these trials to help me experience him on a deeper level.
It’s a mystery for sure. And, I sure do love mysteries.

Psalm 121
1 I will lift up my eyes to the mountains;
from where shall my help come?
2 My help comes from the LORD,
Who made heaven and earth.
3 He will not allow your foot to slip;
He who keeps you will not slumber.
4 Behold, He who keeps Israel
Will neither slumber nor sleep.
5 The LORD is your keeper;
The LORD is your shade on your right hand.
6 The sun will not smite you by day,
Nor the moon by night.
7 The LORD will protect you from all evil;
He will keep your soul.
8 The LORD will guard your going out and your coming in
From this time forth and forever.

What Is Your Heart For Human Sex Trafficking?

WHAT IS YOUR HEART FOR HUMAN SEX TRAFFICKING?

I was molested at age 9. This one act stole my innocence, my childhood, my voice.
Imagine what a lifetime of sexual abuse could do to a person’s soul? The Human sex trafficking trade of lost girls, teens and women has become endemic in this part of the world. These girls, teens and women have the same act done to them over and over until there is not a shred left of who they were created to be.
No amount of human retribution or compensation could be given to these women that could heal the wounds created by the abuse of their selfish, greedy captors.
At Truth For Women, a nonprofit ministry dedicated to helping women in the Lehigh Valley, we have been given the precious opportunity through the donation of land and a building to bring those who have escaped this living hell and give them a real place to heal. This will be a “safe house” for those who have tasted a level of evil that goes beyond anything that any of us could ever know or frankly, want to know.
Who would want to dip into this cesspool of sorrow?
Why do the brave women at Truth For Women want to give up their own lives, many of them troubled with financial problems, dealing with serious health problems and family problems, themselves?
They all have a Savior and His name is Jesus Christ.
They know that they have been delivered from eternal flames for nothing that they have done. They simply understand mercy was extended to them through God and they wish to extend the same opportunity for salvation to all, especially those who need it the most.
My question for them is this, what is your heart for this important issue?
Irene G, Chairwoman of the board expressed it this way, “My heart is broken over these women.”
Irene has endured years of battling cancer, counseling the weary and broken hearted, pouring out her life, so that others might know Christ.
“I like to tell others that I’m nobody, but that I am highly favored and blessed of the most high living God, and they can be too.”
Irene recognizes that as we are truly horrified, righteously angry over what is being done to these women, so we need to be restored and made whole through the father’s love so that we can “stand up, Pray up, and help!”
Teresa, the office book keeper, said, “this is deeply personal for me”. Teresa was molested by a family member at a very young age and then raped as an adult. Her journey of healing took her through drinking and smoking pot to help take away her pain. She has been set free by forgiving her abusers. And, her words to describe her newfound freedom is that her “afflictions have been eclipsed by God’s glory.”
Kim C., the center’s president said, “the hard part is that we are going to have to love the abuser.”
Kim is excited for the opportunity to show these women the Father’s love, for them to see themselves through His eyes, and not the dirt or filth that they see in themselves.
Vice president Eileen A. can personally testify to the redemptive life changing power found through Jesus Christ.  Her heart’s desire is to share his grace and mercy with those who need it the most.
The office receptionist, Shana M, talks about the issue this way, “I want to see these women have hope when they feel broken and rejected.” Her heart is to see these women restored to the calling that God has given to them. She wants to be able to build them up spiritually so that they can know that they were put on this earth for a job to do and to help them find that job. She is excited to see the women restored to their true destiny on this earth.
For me, I have seen God’s hand miraculously heal me from childhood sexual abuse and cancer. I have been a witness to his power through the Holy Spirit in so many lives that I stand amazed and humbled to be a part of this new work of his on the earth. It’s truly a privilege to be a child of God in this day and age.
As the miracles continue , I will keep you posted.

How YOU doin’?

Back home in Philly, you can walk by a person of any color, size or sex and hear, “how you doin’?”  It might sound cliche or even funny to you, but, I hear the community behind it.

There is a sense of community to big city life that is sometimes lacking in the smaller rural areas of the country.  I’m not too world traveled, however, Sam and I have been to enough places around the country ~ thanks to his “frequent flyer” miles from work as a chemical engineer.

Our middle daughter, Rachel loves city life in Philly. She is a junior attending Temple University for her Bachelors of Science in Environmental Science.  Kind of an incongruity to me, she loves the city, but has a passion for the environment.  She always has. In High School, she would go out with her classmates and biology teacher in her free time to collect random samples of creek water to run tests at the lab.

Philadelphia has the type of camaraderie that comes with people who are living through hardships together.  It’s not called the city of “brotherly love” for nothing.

Last year, after a huge snow storm, we drove down to pick Rachel up for winter break.  Some of those back city streets are no bigger than an alleyand there is no way to get a full- sized snow blower down there.  With my husband driving, it was a wild ride!

Sam  is the Mario Andretti of the engineer set, and managed to use our RAV 4 to simulaneously plow through the snow while he drove through the alley to get Rei.  Just goes to show you what  a daddy will do for his little girl.

But, those of us in the car, including myself and our youngest daughter, Rebecca, were praying.  I was actually praying quite loudly, and it went something like this~ JESUS TAKE THE WHEEL!  Just kidding. I’m not trying to be disrespectful, just trying to convey the “thrill” of the ride for you…

Every year, we have to get to the city, whether it be Philadelphia to see the historical sights, or into New York city for a show.

We don’t realize how wonderful our area is in comparison to the rest of the country.  Skiing is available in the winter in the poconos, with the beach in the summer.  We always go to the “joisey” shore for a week with the family for a reunion.  Shout out to my jersey girls!

This year, we will be gathering with my side of the family to enjoy the beach in New Jersey and get caught up with family from Washington State.  Since retro is in right now, I’m thinking about throwing a 70′s celebratory party with Motown music, platform shoes and disco balls while we are down there.

Life is so full of uncertainties these days, it’s good to remember our roots.  Brings a kind of stability into otherwise shaky times.  Shaky weather patterns, shaky economy, even shaky ground in some parts of the world. 

My biggest security even before the love of family and neighbors is our heavenly Father.  These days we need him more then ever. He is the Creator of this great land, yet, he holds us in the palm of his hand.

Psalm 4:8 (NASB)

    ⁸In peace I will both lie down and sleep,
         For You alone, O LORD, make me to dwell in safety.