Category: Uncategorized

Posted on

So Blessed

Romans 15:5-6
May the God who gives endurance and encouragement give you the same attitude of mind toward each other that Christ Jesus had, so that with one mind and one voice you may glorify the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ.

I know normally I do my grateful blogs on Fridays.  However, last week was so full I never even got to blog on Friday.  Besides after a very bad awful good for nothing weekend, I have broken through and been blessed!

So, here we go!

1. Dad was able to eat on Sunday

2. Dad gets to come home from the hospital on Wednesday

3. Both of my parents’ vehicles died, but we were able to get them taken care of and no one got stranded or hurt in the process.

4. I have wonderful friends and family helping my mom get back and forth to the hospital since she has no vehicle.

5. My husband was blessed with a wishlist item.  We got a great deal on a truck that he has wanted for the last several years.

I know things look bad somedays.  I know Satan can seem to be pulling every rug he can find out from under you.  However, if we can just hang on and keep on keeping on you will find blessings.

Just remember you always have friends around to help you.  Make that call, don’t let pride get in the way. We are all called to give a helping hand.  This is how we show God’s love to those around us.  We help whenever and wherever we can.

3953AE46-9717-4C2D-9B4C-36463E960B26

Copyright © 2017 Tabetha Frick All Rights Reserved.

Posted on

Learn to Fly!

2 Timothy 4:18
The Lord will rescue me from every evil attack and will bring me safely to his heavenly kingdom. To him be glory for ever and ever. Amen.

I am reading Anxious For Nothing: Finding Calm in a Chaotic World, by Max Lucado. In his book, he talks about an acrobatic team.  The flyer explains how the key to their success is remembering he is a flyer and his partner is the catcher.  His job is just to jump and let his partner do all the catching.  It is dangerous for him to try and catch his catcher when he jumps.  It simply is not his job!

Max goes on to compare that to our relationship with God.  We have to put our full trust in him.  Let God do his job! “Your Father has never dropped anyone. He will not drop you. His grip is sturdy and his hands are open.” It is not our job to control things.  we must let go and Let God!  As Max puts it, a wonderful thing happens when we let go and let God, we FLY!

Paul went through some pretty horrific moments in his lifetime.  If anyone deserved to have fear and trepidation in their walk with God, I am saying Paul had reasons.  However, Paul never questioned any of the positions he was left in.  Not when he was stoned, ran out of town, or thrown in prison several times.  Instead, he went out of his way to encourage Timothy and the church by saying,

The Lord will rescue me from every evil attack and will bring me safely to his heavenly kingdom. To him be glory for ever and ever. Amen. (2 Timothey 4:18)

Wow!  Can you sit back and let that sink in for just a moment? I mean really let that sink in!  No matter what we are facing in our lives, God is there. No job, God is there. Cancer, God is there. Divorce, God is there.  He will rescue you from every evil attack and will bring you safely to his heavenly kingdom.

What does that rescue look like?  I don’t know.

How long will it take? I don’t know.

What I do know is he has promised to catch me.  All I have to do is Fly!

IMG_1234

Copyright © 2017 Tabetha Frick All Rights Reserved.

 

 

Posted on

Give Me A Pen!

Romans 15:13 
May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.

I need a pen
Give me a pen
I must write
My soul is swirling
My thoughts are jumbled

I am a complete mess
Nothing makes sense
My nerves are raw
My body is jittery
I am overwhelmed

I can’t control this feeling
The darkness haunts me
It is coming fast
I can’t stay ahead of it
How long will this last

I have the shakes
I want to pick a fight
A blood thirst some would call it
I need to calm down
I need to take a breath

I need a pen
Give me a pen
I must put my thoughts down.

~Tabetha Frick

Yesterday was a strong day for my depression.  I felt it creeping up on me.  Stalking me like a lion. I pleaded with God to take it away.  I didn’t want to walk down that path again.  I was afraid to walk down that path again.  I am always afraid I won’t find my way back.

Satan loves to play with me that way.  He loves to use my fears against me.  He loves to make the darkness swirl around me and try to strangle me. He likes to try and snuff out all my hope. My joy. My peace. He drives me to the one place he never wants to find me. Writing!

People ask me why I write.  I write because I have to.  God has placed this need inside of me.  It is my escape hatch from the darkness.  I fall on my knees and pray.  I grab a pen and just write.  Some of my darkest and yet most beautiful poetry has come out of these horrible places.

It is there in that desolate place I find joy and peace as I learn to trust in the God of hope. It is in that deserted place I begin to overflow with hope because of the power of the Holy Spirit.

I write because I need to leave a piece of me as a map for those who travel behind me.  I need to let them know they are not alone and that I pray over them constantly,

May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.

 

Screen Shot 2017-09-12 at 3.43.22 PM

 

Copyright © 2017 Tabetha Frick All Rights Reserved.

Posted on

Let There Be Light…the End

Psalms 97:11
Light shines on the righteous and joy on the upright in heart.

So I began this journey talking about PTSD, anxiety, and depression. I then moved on to my seizures and two wonderful pups that were placed in my life. How do I connect all of this together? That is easy, God!

Only one of my seizure ever came back as epileptic. For many years, I was told my seizure activity was made up. The official term was pseudo-seizures. I had several doctors who truly made me feel like I was making it all up for attention. It wasn’t really their fault. Little was known about seizures at the time.

A few years ago, some new studies came out that linked pseudo-seizures with stress levels much in the same way they link migraines. As a matter of fact, I also suffer from migraines and my doctor said very often instead of coming out as a headache, sometimes my migraines were coming out as seizures.

These stressors can come in many different packages. I have environmental ones like certain foods I am allergic to as well as seasonal allergies. My body getting run down because of being sick or lack of sleep can become a trigger. Then there is the biggest one of all, life!

Annie was very good at noticing when I was getting stressed. She would often walk up to me and get me to pet her to take my mind off things. It was very calming and I can’t tell you how many seizures she helped me avoid by just calming me down. However, when those really difficult moments came and my PTSD kicked in I would get lost in the darkness. Even Annie struggled with how to bring me back.

I don’t know if it was because of the life he endured or if God just decided to equip him with a little extra light, but Meshach knows exactly what to do. Meshach runs to my side when he feels those anxieties creeping up inside me. When I am so frightened, reliving each and every moment of torment, he doesn’t let me walk alone. He cuddles me. He licks me. He simply stays right by my side and never takes his eyes off me. Just like when we first met.

God sends him to light the path for me. He is there to let me know I am not alone and we will get through this together. In the military, it is often referred to as “he’s got my six.” The really cool thing is I have his too. There are times when he leans into me when we are in a big crowd. I reach down, place my hand on his head and he looks up at me with those big brown eyes and I remind him, we are in this together. He lets out a slow breath, stands a little taller and we go on.

I don’t know what the future holds, but I know who holds my future. Right now God has chosen to show me his love and light through four big paws and a very wet nose.

IMG_0059
Copyright © 2017 Tabetha Frick All Rights Reserved.

 

Posted on

Let There Be Light Part 2

Psalms 67: 1 & 2
May God be gracious to us and bless us and make his face shine upon us, that your ways may be known on earth, your salvation among all nations.

This was not my first service dog. As a matter fact, my first answer to prayer had come eleven years before. Let me back up a little.

It was September of 2006. I had spent the last thirteen years going from doctor to doctor and trying a long list of medicines to control my seizures. Nothing was working and I had enough. I gave up all meds and decided to try a totally different avenue.

After lots of research and prayer, I chose to seek out the assistance of a service dog. My doctor at the time refused to sign off for me to get one from a company who trained seizure response dogs. As a matter of fact, he didn’t believe in them and told me he thought it was a bunch of “Hooey” and yes that was his professional opinion!

With the help of the company and lots of lessons from other sources, I learned how to train service dogs. So, we went on a search for the perfect dog. We called it operation Annie. My mother-in-law’s best friend had passed away and she was all about children and animals. I wanted to honor her memory.

My husband and I walked into a local shelter to just take a look. I remember I was on the phone with a friend walking around when my husband stopped in front of me. I heard him laughing. He had tried to walk by a cage and a cute little puppy reached out and grabbed him and wouldn’t let go.

MVC-545F

We escorted the little bundle of brown fur to a play area. She was all over my husband and would have nothing to do with me. I thought there was no way this dog was going to make a good service dog for me. However, my husband was in love and there was no telling him no.

So as he went to sign the papers and pay, I was left sitting in a little fenced in area. It was a showdown. We stared at each other. I hated the name they had given her. I sat there trying to decide what name we should give her. I swear I felt the Holy Spirit hit me upside the back of the head and say, “I don’t know what about Annie!” I felt like an idiot, but I looked at her and said, “Hi, Annie.” She leaped across the space between us and fell into my lap giving me the facial of all facials. That was just the beginning of many miracles yet to come.

Within the first week of owning this 6-week old chocolate lab/German pointer mix, she alerted to two seizures. Now let me explain something to you. You cannot train a dog to alert to a seizure. It is a rare thing for them to be able to pick up on them ahead of time. When you train a dog, you simply train them to respond once you start having one. This little thing dug her heels and would not walk another step, turned and jumped up on me before I had a seizure. I can only explain this with one word, God!

Over the next ten years, she served me well. She not only would give me a 15 to 30 minutes heads up, but she also learned how to make me start breathing again. It happened when she was quite small. She watched my mother push in on my diaphragm when I quit breathing during a seizure. The next time it happened she jumped on me trying to push in the same spot. When she realized it wasn’t working, she got frustrated and she bit me. It shocked me right out of it and I began to breathe again. Again, I can only sum this up as God!

Annie was a blessing to so many people. God truly shined his light through her everywhere she went.  She worked with kids with emotional issues as a therapy dog. She alerted to not only my seizures but also a student of mine’s, a substitute teacher’s I worked with and my son’s. She helped educate our community about service dogs and spent many hours in hospitals and nursing homes comforting people.

In 2015, Annie became very ill. When she finally bounced back she wasn’t the same dog. Her ‘get up and go’ was a little slower, her tail wagged a little less and she began to bump into things. Annie was going blind. We both knew it was time to find a replacement, but how was I ever going to replace her. The love of my life. The saver of my life many times over.

It would take lots of prayers, lots of dogs and seven months of searching. To paraphrase Bogart in Casablanca, “Of all the shelters in all the towns, in all the world, I walked into his.”

Come back tomorrow for more of my story.

IMG_0027
Copyright © 2017 Tabetha Frick All Rights Reserved.

Posted on

I am confident that I have no confidence! Or, do I?​

Judges 6: 12, 14 & 15

12When the angel of the Lord appeared to Gideon, he said, “The Lord is with you, mighty warrior.”

14The Lord turned to him and said, “Go in the strength you have and save Israel out of Midian’s hand. Am I not sending you?”

15“Pardon me, my lord,” Gideon replied, “but how can I save Israel? My clan is the weakest in Manasseh, and I am the least in my family.”

I have confidence in sunshine,
I have confidence in rain.
I have confidence that spring will come again!
Besides what you see I have confidence in not me.

confidence-i-can

For those of you Sound of Music fans who were singing along above, I apologize for the word change.  But I have to tell you confidence is not a close friend of mine.  I am so glad the bible is filled with not-so-confident characters to help me not feel alone.

One of my favorite Bible stories, when I was little, was about a man who had very little confidence.  As a matter of fact from the world’s point of view, he really didn’t have much to be confident of according to the bible.  This man described himself like this, “Look at me. My clan’s the weakest in Manasseh and I’m the runt of the litter.”

You can read the whole story in Judges chapters 6 through 8.  But for now, let me give you a little taste.

The Israelites had messed up yet again and turned back to doing evil in God’s sight.  So, he turned them over to Midianites who were very cruel to them.  They would march into their land and destroy everything. So the Israelites made hideouts in the caves of the surrounding mountains.   After being reduced to grinding poverty they finally cried out to God for help.

So, who does God send but Gideon the man of the weakest clan and the runt of the litter!  As a matter of fact, poor Gideon has such little confidence about anything he asked God for signs just to make sure he was hearing him correctly.

Oh, and to add insult to injury. Gideon was just finally finding a little confidence and sure that he was supposed to go out and defeat those guys who eat nuts and bolts and drank motor oil for breakfast. God gave him stepped up and gave him the next part of his plan.  Gideon my man you are getting an army of just 300 men to fight along side you!  Oh, and by the way, for your weapons of choice you will get a torch, jar, and trumpet.

Yes, you read that correctly!  God not only chose what the world deemed as a wimp, but he gave him just 300 men to go fight a huge army of elite fighting machines with just a torch, jar, and trumpet.  Now doesn’t that just scream confidence builder! Personally, I think I just would have screamed.

Insert Tabetha now.  I lack confidence in my abilities all the time.  I am not confident about being a wife and mother.  I am so not confident in my writing or teaching.  I am so not confident in standing up in front of people and speaking.  Let me let you in on a little secret.  Confidence does not mean lack of fear. Confidence means you go through with the plan in spite of the fear.

Much like Sister Maria, Gideon had lots of concerns, questions, and fears, but he marched on.  He took those three hundred men and defeated that army of ninjas, without lifting a sword

So you see it is OK to have questions, concerns and even fears because…

Strength doesn’t lie in numbers.
Strength doesn’t lie in wealth,
Strength lies in nights of peaceful slumbers,
When you wake up, wake up! 
It’s healthy!
All I trust I leave my heart to,
All I trust becomes my own!
I have confidence in confidence alone.
Besides, which you see, I have confidence in me! 
(I Have Confidence by Richard Rodgers)
Copyright © 2017 Tabetha Frick All Rights Reserved.

Posted on

Storm Alert!

Psalms 119:33&34

34 Give me understanding [a teachable heart and the ability to learn], that I may keep Your law; And observe it with all my heart.
35 Make me walk in the path of Your commandments,
For I delight in it.

Have you ever had to pray, “Lord, make me willing to be willing”?  I know for me there are some days that is all I have in me to give.  I am not in a place to even be willing to do the right thing.  No way! No how!  It is usually because I am so frustrated, angry or hurt at the moment that my inner rebellious little tantrum throwing child is screaming out in pure agony.

Just ask any of my children or my hubby and they will tell you I am very good at the hands on hips, foot tapping, laser eyes, and tightly drawn lips.  Shoot I even add the jaws clenched and teeth grinding some days.  It is in those moments I really need a heavenly attitude adjustment.

I know it.

Everyone around me knows it.

But I! Don’! Want! To! (Please insert stomping foot for full effect!)

I want to hand on to my anger and hurt.  I mean, it was obviously someone else’s fault that I am in this mess.  Somebody did something to me.  I would never choose to be acting like this; would I? Or would I?  Is that somebody really making me act this way?  Do they have so much control that they pull my strings and I perform?

Well, let me tell you, last time I checked Pinocchio and I could sing a duet.

I’ve got no strings
To hold me down
To make me fret, or make me frown
I had strings
But now I’m free
There are no strings on me

I am sorry to say, there is no one making you or I DO anything.

Now please pause with me here just one moment.  I am not saying we never have a reason to feel hurt or angry.  What I am saying is we can choose not to hit DEFCON 1 and let your Mt Vesuvius spew everywhere, while balancing on an earthquake during a hurricane. Oh come on, you know you have all been there.  I am not just being a drama queen here.

When those weather patterns start circling and I feel my temperature rising, I have to choose to step back.  Somedays I have packed all the right gear and can avoid the storm altogether. Other days it rushes up on you out of what seems like nowhere and I have to start with just being willing to be willing.

When I step up and say, God, I am willing to ask to be willing, I can almost hear see him slap and rub His hands together and say, “OK, Challenge accepted!”

I think that is why I love the amplified version of Psalms 119:34 & 35.  In those moments I am reaching out to God and saying my heart is pretty hard right now.  Please give me understanding, soften my heart teachable and make it teachable.  God, I am willing to put one foot in front of the other but please MAKE me walk in Your path.  I know in the end gray skies are gonna clear up and I will put on a happy face.

So the next time the weather alerts to possible storms ahead, grab your rain coat to show God you are at least willing to be willing and He will handle the rest.
Copyright © 2017 Tabetha Frick All Rights Reserved.

Posted on

Somebody Call the Prayer Chain!

Galatians 6:2

Carry each other’s burdens, and in this way you will fulfill the law of Christ.

Was your mama on the prayer chain?  When I was little our church had the prayer chain.  It was a list of prayer warriors and phone numbers.  Anything happened to anyone in our church you called one person on the list and it was then passed down to the next person.

I still remember my mama saying things like, “I better start the prayer chain!” when she would hear about a problem.  It was often the first she asked when she got to a sick person’s side, “Did anyone start the prayer chain?”

It is a legacy that she has taught to me and I am ever so thankful for.

Luckily, with today’s technology, the prayer chain is a little easier and quicker.  As a matter of fact, almost a year ago I started a little prayer group my husband so lovingly dubbed the Yada Yada Sisters.  He named us after a series of books by Neta Jackson called the Yada Yada Prayer Group.  If you haven’t read the books I would highly recommend them.

As a matter of fact, feel free to swish me to the side and go check them out on Amazon right now.  Don’t forget me though.  Come back when you are done. Go ahead, I’ll wait.

Oh, glad to see you back.

As I was saying, we started out with six ladies all from different walks of life but linked by our church.  I had a problem one night and reached out to them in a group text.  The next thing I knew, we were adding ladies and not only sharing prayer requests but praise reports, jokes and recommendations on where to get your car fixed.  Nothing is too small or too large of a concern for this group.

I would love to show you a picture one of the ladies sent us today to make us all laugh.  It has been a rough week for many of us and we just needed to relax.  She, however, would probably kill me if I shared, but let’s just say imagine your worse hair day and multiply it by 1 million…lol! Her water heater went out and so no shower this morning and she has REALLY long curly hair.

I don’t know what I would do without these ladies.  They are the true walking talking manifestation of Paul’s orders to the Galatians to Carry each other’s burdens, and in this way you will fulfill the law of Christ. Galatians 6:2 (NIV).

I pray you have people in your life you can depend on like my Yada Yada Sisters.  Please know even if you don’t, we are praying for each and every one of you.  I pray the Lord gives you strength and blesses you with his peace in every walk of your life.

Many blessings to you and yours,

The Yada Yada Sisters!
Copyright © 2017 Tabetha Frick All Rights Reserved.

Posted on

A Glimpse Through God’s Eyes

Psalms 18:29 (NIV)

With your help I can advance against a troop; with my God I can scale a wall.

Last week I took my granddaughter to an indoor play area at our local mall.  Actually, we originally went there to get some yummy Chinese for lunch.  However, when she saw all the children running, jumping, climbing and screaming she looked at me with those big sparkling eyes and starting pointing and pleading, “Play MawMaw, play?!”  OK, this MawMaw’s heart melted in about 2.2 seconds and said, “Of course we will play honey.”

Now Baby-bop is petite for her age, but she is one tough little chickadee.  She is only one and a half, but she struts around like she is fully grown.  That is probably because she is around adults most of the time being an only child.

The play area was completely surrounded by a huge couch for adults to sit and relax on while their little monsters ran to and fro.  This MawMaw was still kind of leery of letting her precious little monster just go and play.  I mean there was some bigger kiddos in there.  The toys were huge and slippery.  By the way, who makes a play area where we tell you socks only and then makes all the climbing thingies slick and slippery.  I mean really??

When we first entered, Baby-bop must have been a little apprehensive as well.  She clung to my hand pretty tight and held blanky ever so closely as she sucked her thumb.  She watched the kids very carefully, cocking her head when she couldn’t quite figure out where they disappeared.  Then smiled when they came down a slide or out the other end of a tunnel.

Soon, she dropped my hand and wondered a little closer. Then she started giggling and clapping her hands as she watched several boys playing tag.  Before I knew it, blanky was left on the ground and she was screaming off into the distance.

Occasionally, she would turn and make sure I was still there.  Sometimes she would scream, “Look MawMaw” and point to something or simply want me to watch her.  A few times she came and grabbed my hand and pulled me over to make kids move out of the way or help her climb up something.

As I sat on that couch listening to her shouts of glee and occasional frustration, I saw a glimpse of us through God’s eyes.

I mean this must be what it is like for him to watch us take those first few steps into a new journey.  At first, we are frightened but we step out.  Then as we familiarize ourselves we slowly try new things, meet new people and then in a blink of His eye, we are off to the races.

Like my granddaughter, I hope you never forget help is always there.  Sometimes we just want to yell, “Look at me God, I’m doing it!”  Other times, we are racing back because we are curious or frustrated and need him to show us the way.  Yes, there are even times we come back hurt and crying.  But just like MawMaw, God will pick you up, cuddle you, dust you off and then send you back on your way.

You see even though it is nice and warm and safe cuddled in God’s arms, God knows we have to get back up and go again.  Yes, we could get hurt again, but we also get to love, learn and be filled with joy again too.  With his help we can advance against the troops; with our God, we can scale the walls!
Copyright © 2017 Tabetha Frick All Rights Reserved.

Posted on

Darkness to Light

Isaiah 41:13 (NIV)

For I am the Lord your God
who takes hold of your right hand
and says to you, Do not fear;
I will help you.

I promise this devotion is filled with hope and light, but to get there you must travel through my darkness.  Many years ago I was diagnosed with bipolar disorder which brings with it much panic, anxiety, depression, and mania.  As a matter of fact, in more recent years I was told I was diagnosed incorrectly and it is more likely PTSD.

Which ever label you want to give it, there are moments where the darkness attempts to engulf me.  If you suffer from any of these, I urge to reach out to someone.  Do not let go!  It is not the end!  You are not alone!

We are many and God knows each one of us by name.  He has not forgotten or forsaken us.  He is there in the midst of every second of our fight.  He is battling in places we can’t even see and doing things we can’t even imagine.

When the darkness comes and threatens to extinguish all the light around me, I often turn to writing poetry to describe what I am feeling.  The feelings seem so real at the time; I draw pictures in my mind.  The following is an example of my darkness.

The End?

I am spiraling down the hole.
I grasp and grab but nothing is there.
Air slides through my fingers
All is dark, no light at all
When will this end?

I am afraid of hitting bottom
But anything is better than this
The deep depression of unknown
The anxiety, the panic
Will this never end?

What will I find at the bottom?
What is waiting for me there?
Will I die if I reach it?
Will there be an escape?
Do I want to see the end?

I feel so alone
I feel like an idiot
I am out of control
I should have control
Please let this end!

I see how you look at me
I see the anger and disappointment
You think I am making this up
Just looking for attention
This is not what I want in the end

My heart is heavy
My head hangs low
I want to give up
I want to stop trying
I want this to be the end

So, why do I fight?
Why do I care?
Wouldn’t it be just easier to say I am done
It is finished
Now leave me to the end

Yet, I cannot
I am not finished
There is so much more to do
I must continue
I must fight until the end

How do I know God is there?  I know because in that dark cavern when I am ready to just lay down and not get up again there is a small quiet voice.  It just repeats, “I AM here, now fight!”  It starts as the dimmest of light. I can barely see if flickering far off, but it grows each time I focus and listen. It grows louder, brighter, stronger. Its name is Hope and it is hand delivered by I AM.

Isaiah 41:13 (NIV)

For I am the Lord your God
who takes hold of your right hand
and says to you, Do not fear;
I will help you.


Copyright © 2017 Tabetha Frick All Rights Reserved.