Living in the Spirit: Plus My Prescription for Health Ihn

By Dee Lindsey

Everyone is born with a living spirit that came from Godit is up to each of us to nurture it to full expression of peace and joy, found in being close to Him. Living in the Spirit is the journey of a lifetime, however long or short our years may be. It is in how we live the days of our lives that we ultimately find that blessed happiness we seek, as the true stories written herein show.



These pages illustrate how we have the ability to think, feel, and make decisions, which can lead us into a higher existence beyond just the physical consciousness we all know. Our bodies relate to our spirits, so meeting our bodies needs may now be seen as necessarily connected to the spirits needs. Understanding this interrelationship can lead us into following a more healthful lifestyle and prepare us for a totally spiritual life to come. Inevitably, we will lose our physical bodies, but our spirits will live on forever.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Trafford Publishing
• Release date: Oct 5, 2009
• ISBN: 9781426939549

Dee Lindsey

AU wants no biography included for this book.

Book preview

PROLOGUE – LIVING IN THE SPIRIT

Looking at society today, we see children doing their own thing everywhere at every age level…and so are the adults…. Self-gratification is not a condition of any particular age, for there are adults in their senior years who continue to exhibit it. When society had an accepted moral base, most children grew up knowing what was expected of them. Today, there is no overall high moral standard to protect them. Modern technology has made every form of self-indulgence an open book, to be read by anyone.

Is it any wonder people choose their own way? With our relinquishing of God’s supreme authority as the foundation of our nation’s strength, have we now given up almost every vestige of basic goodness built on faith in Him? That seems to be the case in our current national secularist society. How did we give up all that was holy and uplifting in our lives, the very roots of what made this nation a shining example of what a country could be when God is recognized as its divine inspiration? By what weakness in our spirits did we permit the changes that now allow our laws to take the very God who made us, out of all public presence? What was once the province of society to support the training and education of our children in the right way to go has now been relegated to all the religious organizations and/or the confused families in which they may be living. And our nation is fast becoming a good example of what a Godless society can be.

Yes, there are some good people in authority who do keep God in their lives, but being in public service seems to endow too many of the rest with the feeling that they are free to do what they want to do…apart from God’s truths.

Why should this be? It is said that evil can only flourish when good men do nothing, but we have many good people in our nation who individually see the danger. We who still believe that God is the highest authority are filled with hope that others will wake up to the truth, see what has happened, but even our children are attuned to society as it is now.

We believers are tested daily; we are capable of distinguishing between right and wrong, because we make our choices based on our Lord’s teachings and God’s laws. We know what is right or wrong; but those who don’t believe in Him seem to think they can decide for themselves, have no God-given standard to guide them…or if they once knew it, have chosen to overlook or forget it. Their major problem, therefore, is figuring out exactly what is right and what is wrong and who is the final authority in setting it. And some make themselves, or whatever else, that final authority….

Our nation is on a slippery slope…God is calling all who believe in Him to hold fast to the miracle of His love, to pray faithfully, to follow the Lord’s Way, and to witness to others about all the Father and Son do for us…! And the Holy Spirit helps our spirits grow and mature as we take care of our physical beings and fulfill all that God has called us to do. Everyone is born with a living spirit that belongs to God…it is up to each of us to nurture it to full expression of peace and joy, found in being close to Him. Living in the spirit is the journey of a lifetime, however long or short it may be. We inevitably lose our physical beings, our earthly temples, but our spirits will go on forever. .

As you read Living in the Spirit, consider thoughtfully what has been written; then get in touch with your own spirit. You, too, can know the same absolute security I have had all my life. No matter what happens, my spirit lives, full of faith and belief that I have the help needed to handle anything…everything will work out all right, for Father, Son, and Holy Spirit are always with me…. Get to know your God-given spirit and live in all its possibilities! Let the Lord show you the way….

A BIT OF HEAVEN

The family is the foundation for providing the nation’s succeeding generations of educated, loyal citizens for its growth and prosperity. When the family falters or ceases to exist as a healthy unit, the nation’s well being is in question. But when the family fulfills all its promise and rears its children to take their place in society, the Lord has been with them, and the nation is blessed. Many do this…I want to tell you about one of them….

There was something warmly beautiful in the look on her face as she surveyed the group of children she was shepherding into their seats at church. Each child was dressed in what appeared to be Sunday best. Once seated, the white-haired lady took her place next to them with her husband joining them on the aisle seat. My eyes were drawn to this large family with the old couple and all those young children, so well behaved and quiet when the service began. A soft look met the eyes of a child wiggling in her seat, and the movement stopped. I was impressed. This kind of response was rare among most of the children in church today. I hadn’t noticed this family before, but now my interest was piqued, and I looked for them every Sunday when they came in, sometimes with more children, sometimes less. Occasionally I wondered where all these children came from, to whom they belonged, but only in passing thought.

Time moved on till the day came when I was no longer able to be active in church programs…barely able to make it to church. I had always made small talk with this couple, about gardens and lifestyle – everyone knew that I followed a disciplined diet – and much of our talk dealt with foods that are good for you. So one Sunday, when Chester, the head of the family, had problems with his arthritis and thought that eating blueberries had cured him, he had to tell me about it. This was intriguing to me since I had been eating them for a long time for their known benefits to health…commented wistfully about wishing I could get out to the u-pick farms again to fill my freezer, the way I used to do. The following Sunday, Chester told me that he had a box of blueberries for me to put up in my freezer! He told me how to get to his home to pick them up. My daughter who had become my driver took me out to get them later that day. And that box turned out to be a bushel size filled with luscious berries the family had picked for me when they went to get their own to put up. Those berries almost filled my freezer space for sure. For a long time after that, he kept me supplied with fruit…at times all packaged and frozen by his ever-loving wife.

With our common interests and their simple generosity, I got to know this couple and was moved with joy at their faith and goodness. All those children were grandchildren or great-grandchildren, plus assorted neighborhood children. Their doors were always open to any child who longed for love and attention and caring, and their parents were blessed with having such a safe and loving environment for them. Thelma was a natural-born mother, reared on a small farm in New York where she met Chester Webber who worked at a local manufacturing plant. She has always been filled with joy when her home was full of children. They raised four of their own in their younger years, then retired to Florida when age caught up with Chester.

This good-hearted couple moved from a medium-sized farm to a few acres of fruit trees in Florida…still, they keep their home stocked from their garden or local pickings. Thelma fills five freezers with the best food possible for feeding the loves of her life, her family and all those children she draws to her daily. Chester does his part within the limits of his waning health but dotes on his wife and her happiness. And he gets them to church every Sunday because that’s where they should be….

I have such a feeling of tenderness and gratitude when I think of this couple, see them following the Lord’s admonition to His followers: Suffer little children, and forbid them not, to come unto me: for of such is the kingdom of heaven. (Matthew 19:14). From their limited resources, they give gladly to those they think they can help, faithful to the Lord’s teachings in the simplicity of their daily activities so filled with love and caring. They truly live in the spirit…and more, for this is living in the kingdom of God, heaven on earth…surely ‘tis so, for God lives in their home. Praise the Lord for such as these…! Our community has been blessed to have them live here…the children are blessed to have their love…I have been blessed to know one more beautiful couple who love and serve our Lord by living in the spirit….

A LITTLE PIECE OF HUMANITY

It was a beautiful, sunny day as I headed home after a long night of work at the hospital, when I remembered to make the right turn toward my insurance agent’s office. As I stood at the counter, waiting for the clerk to give me my papers, a young boy came running in, yelling something at the lady. She stopped to ask him to slow down, make sense, but he was crying so hard it was difficult to understand his words.

Is it your sister? she asked him, kindly, and he nodded, adding that she was awful sick and needed help. His panic was increasing, so the lady hesitated, then turned to me and asked if I would mind waiting while she went to check on the girl. The boy had already run out toward the back of the building.

Then, as the clerk started to follow him, the phone rang and she hesitated again, torn between going or staying to answer the phone first. With sudden thought, she asked me if I would go and see what was wrong with the girl…pointed out that I was a nurse and would know better whether she were really seriously ill. The request seemed reasonable at the time, and I headed toward the door, meeting the boy who was coming back to be sure someone was coming. He led me to a small building behind the main strip of offices on the highway – more like a converted shed of some sort. The boy took me to the rear where I saw a young girl, maybe 11 or 12 years of age, holding her stomach and crying piteously between yelps of pain. I told the boy to tell the lady in the office to call 911, and he took off like a deer.

Though I had been a psychiatric nurse for years, I could easily recognize the signs of an impending birth. The girl was eager to do anything, take any help offered, and did as told, lay back down on the bed. Her scared brother kept asking me what was wrong with his sister, circling around the bed excitedly. I made a quick check of the area, and asked the boy to get all the clean towels and clean sheets he could find, and also a bucket, pan or whatever he had to put water in for me, plus some soap…there was no sink in the shed. He scooted off, came back with two towels and one sheet that were clean, the rest soiled. He said the clerk was bringing the water. She came shortly after with a basin of warm water and some soap, along with a pack of paper towels. She said she had to go back to the office, would direct the ambulance to where we were, and agreed to take the little boy with her. I continued to work with the girl, placing the clean sheet under her, bathed the birth area, and positioned a clean towel to catch the now-crowning baby as it was being born.

My heart was pounding at the primitive birth and the extremely small size of this little piece of humanity, coming into an unwelcoming world…and then she was here. I held her feather-light, limp body in my towel-draped hands, heard the faintest of mewing sounds, indicating she was alive, and I prayed. In that instant, the paramedics were there, saw what happened, and took over immediately, efficiently. As they put her on their transporter, they listened to my brief report on the birth…there was nothing I could tell them about the girl, not even her name, and they took off for their vehicle.

Standing in front of the clerk in the office again, I asked her what was going on, why those children were left alone in the supply-type building, converted to some kind of living area. I learned it was not being rented, just permission given for the family to stay temporarily till able to move into an apartment. She told me the mother was presumably at work, thought the girl was old enough to watch her younger brother, though a male friend was to look in on them occasionally, during the day. She had seen him earlier but he was gone now. She told me she had given the paramedics the name of the girl’s mother when she directed them to the shed…had no other information, no place of employment, nor the male friend’s name.

Thinking the paramedics might want more information from me, I walked out to the ambulance where they were still working on the baby and mother. One looked up when I asked if they needed me for anything more – their answer was a short no and they went back to work. Puzzled, having thought they might want my name or something, I returned to the office, completed my insurance papers, and asked the clerk to let me know what happened to the girl, smiled reassuringly at the little boy, and left for home.

As I drove, my mind kept going to that scared little girl, too young to have just become a mother, kept wondering who could have violated such a child, and how could the mother have missed what was going on with her…. I prayed for that frail little baby that had such a hard beginning to her life, prayed for the young mother to come through this experience as little scarred as possible, prayed for the little brother who had known such panic, showing obvious love for his sister. I couldn’t pray for the adults in their lives…felt a burning anger inside at the neglect, the lack of care for these children – sweet gifts from God our Father, they should never be treated so carelessly.

For days, I prayed to get over my anger, prayed to find some other feeling, maybe compassion for a struggling child mother, anything…. And one morning, I finally turned my car toward that insurance office…I had to know what had happened. The clerk seemed surprised to see me, waited for me to speak. All I could say was what about that girl? Then I added something about the brother and mother, whether she knew anything at all about any of them. Her face softened somewhat, and she leaned nearer to tell me sadly that the baby hadn’t made it, it was dead, and the girl hadn’t been seen since she went to the hospital. Then she added that the brother had been picked up by the authorities. She knew nothing about the children’s mother, just that she was gone, had not even returned for any of her meager belongings in the shed. And there had been no sign of the mother’s male friend either. I thanked her for the information, expressed my sorrow about what had happened, and as I was leaving, she said quietly that she was glad I had been there to help with everything.

My heart was heavy with sadness, wondering what would happen to that little family after its recent experiences. Had the law stepped in and taken over? Was the male friend responsible for that child’s violation? For a time, I checked the newspaper for any information, but there was never any mention, not even a death notice for that little piece of humanity that breathed so briefly. Had that infant girl even lived long enough to make it to the hospital? So many questions, no answers…. I prayed – I prayed for her and the family she left behind. I could do no more….

To this day, I remember every moment of my only experience with delivering a baby…still feel the sadness of that lost life. We all have different memories of past experiences that stay with us, especially the ones that had no resolution. That little piece of humanity lives on with God and with me….

ALTAR CALLS

I like some TV preachers, seeing and hearing them in their programs…many seem to be deep thinkers and believers, often charismatic in their preaching. At times, they speak of personal experiences such as when they were saved…when they were reborn. I too have always felt called to witness to what God and the Lord have done and do for me, any time, anywhere, any place – I owe God my life…I want the world to know it…! But I cannot tell about any rebirth in my life, for I have no memory of ever being without Jesus. Jesus has been with me forever, my Brother and my Friend. I have written of His being with me, my talking with Him, from toddler stage and on. People speak of the imaginary friends of childhood that most outgrow in time, but my Brother never left me…I could never outgrow my Lord who has been an integral part of my being since birth.

When people talk about being born again as if it were a wonderful happening, I used to wonder what I missed in not having had that wonderful born again sensation in my own life…but then I had to feel extraordinarily thankful for just having had my Jesus all my life. I have never known a day without Him, He is my big Brother. In my early years, I felt God was too great to approach the same personal, intimate way I do with my Lord, but over the years, I have drawn closer to God my Father, knowing that Jesus is there with Him. I carry on a running commentary with Jesus about everything I’m doing…I pray to my Father to hear all my prayers in the name of His Holy Son, my Lord and Savior. I have no doubt whatsoever that He will answer them if the time is right.

About that born again experience I never had?...there was a time (I was 12 years old), when the preacher at one of the many denominations of churches I attended during my childhood years…well, he made what is spoken of as an altar call, asking if any of the children felt the Lord’s call stirring in their hearts, and if any did, to come forward to the altar rail, so I went. Once there, I realized the pastor thought I had come with one of those experiences like the other kids had. When he came to me, I told him I had the Lord in my heart all my life, and he looked at me intensely, hesitated, but then moved on to the next child, seemingly with no further