My Spiritual Father

Today I'm Honoring the Birthday of my Spiritual Father & Pastor...Bishop Norman L. Wagner.  There are many things I could say about this great man...but I'm going to let a few of the many verses that God has given me for the Bishop over the years to speak my heart. 

Pastor Wagner

Birthdays remind you that life is moving on

and that time on this earth is growing shorter.

That reminder causes you to vocalize the

Love and Appreciation you feel in your heart

that often doesn't come out of your mouth!

I don't tell You often enough that I'm Grateful for...

the sacrifices you have made

the wisdom you have bestowed

the dreams you have inspired

the correction you have given

the strength you have modeled

the faith you have exemplified

the God you have glorified,

and the unconditional love you have shown.

You are the Greatest Pastor in the world

and I Thank God for blessing me with You!

Have a Blessed and Happy Birthday 

My Pastor - God's Shepherd

A Shepherd finds the lost

and returns them to the fold.

A Shepherd nurtures the weak

until they are made strong.

A Shepherd inspires the weary

by teaching them to war.

A Shepherd guides the blind

before their eyes are opened.

A Shepherd feeds the young

with warm milk and soft meat.

A Shepherd serves the mature

spiritual manna from on high.

A Shepherd protects his flock

while watching for their soul.

A Shepherd is known for his

unconditional love and compassion.

A Shepherd is - My Pastor! 

Thank You for...

praying, sacrificing, interceding, 

guiding, chastising, training,

and most of all...

for loving me!   

  

Pastor Wagner

For praying for me

when I wasn't talking to God -

Thank You!

For believing for me

when I was completely out of faith -

Thank You!

For lifting me up

when I fell time after time -

Thank You!

For securing my dreams

when I ran from commitment -

Thank You!

For refusing to let go

when I wanted to throw in the towel -

Thank You!

For loving me

when I didn't love myself -

Thank You!   

From A Writer's Heart

Pastor Wagner

There has to be an artistic way

to express how I feel about you,

There must be words, but finding

them is not an easy thing to do.

There has to be Thanksgiving

written somewhere on a scroll,

There must be an epic poem

that conveys my heart and soul.

There has to be Appreciation

published for all the world to see,

There must be an unending book

that tells of all you've done for me.

There has to be Godly Respect

printed out in black and white,

There must be a mega volume

honoring you - my guiding light.

There has to be Divine Relationship

precious memories on hard drives stored,

There must be a one-of-a-kind collection

"Pastor Teaches Daughter About the Lord."

There has to be great tales of selflessness

endeavors like works of art on heaven's shelf,

There must be a library filled with Love -

Your sacrifices documented by God Himself!

Those are just a few of the many card verses God blessed me to write for my Pastor while he was on this earth.  He has since gone to be with the Lord, but his legacy lives on!  God gave me the Best Pastor in the world and I Thank Him for that privilege and Gift!  I also Thank Lady Rita Wagner, Christian and Camille for sharing the one they loved so with me! 

Be Blessed!

Sherry 

 

  

 

The Beginning

"I don't even know where to start," I mused when thinking about my first blog, then God said, "Start at the beginning." 

Most of my life I have wanted to be a writer.  Throughout my school years I read one book after another, and would often tell my friends, " I know I can write better than this!"  But when they challenged me to do so I could hardly put two sentences together that made sense.  My dream of being a writer seemed to be just that - a dream.

Years later, I started going to church and found out that God Dreams too!  I learned that He had a purpose for my life, and that He had given me gifts and talents to fulfill His plan.  Perhaps my dream of becoming a writer would happen now!  But after four years of being saved, I still wasn't writing.  

Then one night at church, I saw something that launched my writing Dream!  

Has God ever given you a Word or a promise about something?  And have you ever waited and waited for that Word to manifest in your life and it doesn't look like it's going to happen?  Well, that's where I was.  I believed God had given me a word about the man I hoped to marry, an Encouraging word, and I was trying to hold onto that Word, but it was hard to do!  Especially, when that man was now seeing someone else!  They had been dating for awhile but I was still believing God.  However, something snapped in me that evening when I saw them walk in and take a seat a few rows in front of me.  As I watched them talking and laughing together, my faith came tumbling down and I said, "God, how am I supposed to believe you when I See things like this?"  

Immediately, God said, "I wonder does the wind say to the trees....."  I grabbed pen and paper as the words flooded my mind and in a few minutes my first poem from God was written!  It is a simple poem with a profound message and it reads like this... 

  

I BELIEVE GOD

I wonder does the wind whisper to the trees

I will be back tomorrow every time it leaves?

I wonder if the sun makes agreement with the moon

If I should be late, take my place, I'll be there soon.

I wonder if the sea is ever fearful of leaving her shore

Afraid that the harbor will open its channel no more. 

I wonder if You doubt the thing that God has said?

And must He repeat Himself until the day you're dead?
                                                 As for me I have to say, I BELIEVE GOD!

I don't believe the trees would ever question the wind,

Forever its singing will cause their branches to bend. 

It's hard to believe that the sun has ever come up late

Since the beginning of time it has never missed a date.

And assuredly the sea must return to its place.

Where else is there for it to go?  Out into space?

What is mankind that they would doubt the things that they have heard?

When all of creation is held in place by the power of God's Holy word.
                                              I guess you can tell, I BELIEVE GOD!

Is God less than the wind?

Does He have a beginning or an end?

Has the sun ever refused to shine

Since He established its earthly time?

And what about the boundless, roaring sea?

It's only a walking place, for Him, you and me!

Now since it is God's word that keeps the wind, sun and the sea,

I choose to believe everything He says!  Do you Believe with me?
               I BELIEVE GOD!

I know - you're wondering if I married the man that I was believing God for?  No, but I did learn an important lesson from that experience.  God can give you a word, but if that word is related to another Person, You can't make that person Obey God's word to you!  It doesn't mean You didn't hear from God, it just means they didn't, or that they won't obey what they heard.  Ok, done preaching, let me get back to my Dream!

After that, I wrote several poems.  I wasn't real happy about that at first because I thought of poetry as "cheap" writing, just silly, rhyming words about flowers or love or some mushy stuff.  I soon changed my mind and fell in love with poetic expression.  Since then, God has blessed me to write books, songs, essays and short stories.  I have Become my Dream!!

To this Writer, there is one thing that is almost as Wonderful as the writing itself.  It's the Story behind the written piece.  Thankfully, this blog spot gives me an opportunity to tell those "behind the scene" stories.  THANK YOU for taking the time to read them!

Be Blessed

Sherry