Christmas Card for Brandon

Brandons Christmas

Dianne in black and white

Picture

Dianne, a story about a bent, jacked up tool in Jesus's tool box.

Dianne - A Story about a Bent Jacked Up Tool in a Tool Box with the Name Jesus on it.

Before we get to the story of Dianne, let me share with you a chapter from Max Lucado’s book called, SHAPED BY GOD,  from chapter 15, Anvil Time. Then you can read my less gifted writing.

“ON GOD’S ANVIL. PERHAPS YOU’VE BEEN THERE.
Melted down. Formless. Undone. Placed on the anvil for…reshaping? (A few rough edges to many.) Discipline? (A good father disciplines.) Testing? (But why so hard?)
     I know. I’ve been on it. It’s rough. It’s a spiritual slump, a famine. The fire goes out. Although the fire may flame for a moment, it soon disappears. We drift downward. Downward into the foggy valley of question, the misty lowland of discouragement. Motivation wanes. Desire is distant. Responsibilities are depressing.
     Passion? It slips out the door.
     Enthusiasm? Are you kidding?
     Anvil time.
     It can be caused by a death, a breakup, going broke, going prayerless. The light switch is flipped off and the room darkens. “All the thoughtful words of help and hope have all been nicely said. But I’m still hurting, wondering….”
     On the anvil.
     Brought face to face with God out of the utter realization that we have nowhere else to go. Jesus in the garden. Peter with a tear-streaked face. David after Bathsheba. Elijah and the “still, small voice.” Paul, blind in Damascus.
     Pound, pound, pound.
     I hope you are not on the anvil. (Unless you need to be, and if so, I hope you are.) Anvil time is not to be avoided; it’s to be experienced. Although the tunnel is dark, it does go through the mountain. Anvil time reminds us of who we are and who God is. We shouldn’t try to escape it. To escape it could be to escape God.
     God sees our life from beginning to end. He may lead us through a storm at age thirty so we can endure a hurricane at age sixty. An instrument is useful only if it’s in the right shape. A dull ax or a bent screwdriver needs attention, and so do we. A good blacksmith keeps his tools in shape. So does God.
     Should God place you on his anvil, be thankful. It means he thinks you’re still worth reshaping.” (END OF MAX LUCADO

WHAT FOLLOWS ARE DIANNE’S WORDS FROM HER HEART…

     On the cold, hard anvil. Hammer constantly pounding, reshaping. Being formed. Being molded.
     He’s still working on me, to make me what I ought to be. God will continue to work on me until I gain my wings.
     I have been reshaped by the Master. His skillful work has shaped me into a lover of others. Molded into my being a compassion for others.
     Hammered out the lies and deceit that I thought was needed to make people like me…love me.
     I cried out for attention and learned that what Dianne really needed was to be on the anvil and have that bent for favor in the worlds eyes hammered out. The attention I longed for was found in Jesus. He lavished me with love and constant care. I am a reshaped tool for Jesus.
     When I cried out for mercy, thinking I was finished, He showed me His scarred hands. I then remembered His work on the cross…humbled and thankful, although thankful isn’t big enough for what He endured for me and you.
     When I get “out of shape” for Jesus or when I lose sight of the path I should be on…my Master, my friend, my Lord is there. With tears in His eyes and hammer in hand ready to mend this wayward daughter named Dianne. Thank you Jesus for thinking that much about me.

Thank you for reading - please pass it on.

Always Smilin’,
Dianne
The tool that knew she could:
Be used by God
Be a valuable instrument in advancing the Kingdom of Jesus Christ
Be reshaped
Share Jesus through her walk

Hammer Time

http://diannesjourneywithjesus.tumblr.com/post/67496238577/anvil-time-for-dianne

Sarah

I found a treasure in 2004.
She had been so close,
Just a few steps from my front door.

Our kids met first
Then drew us single Moms right in.
A garage sale date soon was set.

That's when Sarah's giving began.
She gives from the heart,
A treasure so grand.

Travel cat cage she gave me for free.
I was curious about her
Yet a part wanted to flee.

We found we were sisters of the heart.
Sarah and me
Abuse, neglect and love torn apart.

Friendship developed
But more than that
A bond that holds over time was formed.

We don't always agree
With decisions the other has made.
Love sees us through that's plain to see.

We laugh, giggle and cry
Pray for one another and
Talk about the men who fed us lies.

One stands before a judge
Attempting to halt an abuser
And keep him at bay.

Another struck NY poverty
Grateful for her sister friend
Who fights fearlessly

Thank you Sarah for standing by me.
I lift you up to God
Praying blessings come ceaselessly

Freezing in Arizona and Thankful

So our electric went out this morning. On top of it being 24 degrees outside and I have not had water in the mornings due to pipes freezing...now, the electric goes out in our neighborhood!
All I am doing is laughing...and being thankful. God tells us, "In everything give thanks. A shower on these abnormally freezing mornings would probably make me sick- praise God for frozen pipes in the morning. Praise God the electric was on all night keeping the heater on to make us cozy. The electric went off at 7 am...just minutes prior to us leaving. Our bill will lower when the electric is off. I praise God for all of this and esp for His sense of humor!
I love you Jesus and am thankful for You meeting all my needs.
Love,
Always Smilin' Dianne

Ripple Effects

Ever had a finger pointed at you and your response is to look around you and then get a quizzical look on your face and say, "Are you pointing at me?"

That recently happened to me the month before Christmas 2012. I was dumbfounded! What really floored me was that this was a high school friend who should of known better.

In my friends (yes, I still consider her a friend- misguided, but a friend nonetheless) defense let me say that due to the emotional hurt she was enduring it prohibited her from seeing beyond that emotional hurricane that she was in the midst of.

Facebook is a great venue for sharing and expressing feelings. When something is so explosive and potentially damaging though its unfortunate that the accused isn't confronted prior to viscous posting on a social media site.

I truly am hurt by what has transpired. I have noticed some mutual friends have dropped me as a friend on facebook. What happened to innocent until proven guilty?

I don't want to leave you scratching your head in wonderment so let me rewind to allow you to catch up. I am not a Picasso, who was a brilliant artist, but would leave you standing in front of his artwork for hours attempting to decipher what he was expressing. So let me splain it to you, Lucy!

A few years ago as I was experiencing one of the many trials in my life, my high school friends from around the country rallied to assist me! I was so thankful for this encouragement and financial support they gave me. The help came right when the handmade noose was slipping around my neck.

At the center of this help was one classmate who took it upon herself to use social media to make a post to reach many other classmates to help me. What love she showed me and her actions brought me to my senses. I could never thank her enough for what she did.

My eyes were opened to the amount of people who believed in me and loved my family and I.

During this time frame my e-mail accounts were compromised. The unsavoury people who do this really create havoc and can hurt relationships. This is where the problem occurred.

My friend who went to great lengths to help me became a victim to one of these unsavoury characters who took over my e-mail accounts. One of my accounts were taken over by someone who opened a sex hotline account of some sort.

So all the time that she is helping me, the character that became my pseudo-character was making sexual type of contacts with her husband!!! The husband was contacting the me who wasn't really me!

Then my friend's world blew up. She found out that her man was talking to Dianne Turner that wasn't me but the one who had taken over my accounts.

The only way I knew it happened was when my friend started posting terrible things about me. She said I was wrecking her home. I was a liar and not the Christian woman I claimed to be!!

Then my world blew up. I had no clue what she was talking g about. In fact I was in a deep depression over the death of my Mother a few months earlier. The terrible writing kept coming and I crawled up in a ball and cried.

Then I had Ryan talk to me about it and told me to call her. So I called her and gave her my side of it - which was that I didn't know her man yet talk to him. I explained about my emails being compromised. She had a difficult time understanding it and most of all crushed by her husband whom she trusted and loved.

Can you imagine her devastation? I think the bottom line is that she thought 2 people had deceived her, one being me who she just spent countless hours trying to help. The other person - the love of her life. I am so sorry my friend.

I am so glad I could tell her it wasn't me but the thing is - the situation still happened and it did devastate her world. So if you would - please pray for her and her life. Lots of physical problems have plagued her - pray for physical and emotional hurts heal. Pray that the love that only Jesus can give will surround her and lift her up.

I love you my friend and never stopped. I appreciate what you did for my family and I.

Always Smilin',
Dianne