Author: Lori Casto

When I was a kid, I would walk often by myself (5, 6, 7 years old) in my bare feet to JB’s ice cream shop to get a 55-cent treat. For 55 cents I would get one of three things- an ice cream sandwich, vanilla/orange sherbert twist cone, or a frozen chocolate covered banana. Sometime when I would ask my dad for the money, he simply didn’t have it. Every now and then I would search the couch cushions to collect my change to get ice cream. God always provided. He didn’t have to.  It wasn’t like it was food to keep me nourished or water to keep me hydrated. It wasn’t a need. It was a want or desire.

Every summer that I can remember, our family would take a vacation to Florida. My dad grew up in Miami and he loved going back to Florida each summer. We specifically loved the Daytona and Orlando areas. We didn’t have a lot of money, but God always provided a way for us to have a family vacation. Just like the ice cream, our family vacation wasn’t a need. It was a desire.

The same God who always provided me 55 cents for an ice cream, always provided a summer vacation for our family.

When I was very young, my dad got saved and felt a call into the ministry. My parents made the decision that my dad would quit his very good paying supervisory job in a steel mill and they would sell our home in a beautiful residential area of Bedford, Ohio to move our family to the small town of Lexington where my parents would pastor a little white church. While dad pastored, he also went through pastoral studies at MVNC.

I remember conversations my parents would have questioning how we were going to pay bills or sometimes eat. GOD ALWAYS PROVIDED. Not only did God always provide our needs, He provided our wants.

My parents taught me such valuable lessons through their lives. When we are willing to be obedient to God, whatever that obedience means, God always takes care of the “What ifs” and makes a way with all provision that is necessary.

What is being obedient to God mean in your life? He will make a way where there seems to be no way and He will meet all of your needs according to His riches in glory through Christ Jesus.

Step out in faith and let God handle the “what ifs.”

I’ve been thinking about what God was reminding me the other day:

1. Don’t lean on my own understanding (He’ll direct my path)
2. If I trust God, I need to let go of the rope (my understanding)
3. The more I trust, the less I need to know

Close to the end of the sermon “When God Said to Let Go,” There was a scripture reference about “Honey in the rock.” It wasn’t a big mention, yet it struck me big. 6 months ago, I heard the song “Honey in the Rock” for the first time. Being completely honest, I didn’t really care for the song, so I didn’t listen to the words. Shame on me.   A few weeks ago, I heard the song again. I was reminded of when and where I heard it almost 6 months ago, looked at my husband, and we almost laughed. Shame on me again.  The story is too long and unimportant. Anyway, I didn’t listen to the song when I heard it the second time. When I heard the scripture reference in that sermon, now for the third time, it hit me like a brick, that God was trying to teach me something.

I thought I’d better look up scripture references, commentary, and lyrics all pertaining to Honey in the Rock.  Here are a few things that stood out to me….

In this context, the imagery of honey in the rock is a powerful symbol of God’s provision and abundance. Honey, being a natural sweetener and source of energy, represents the goodness and blessings that God provides for His people. The fact that it comes from the rock highlights God’s ability to bring forth abundance even from the most UNLIKELY or barren places.

Moreover, the symbolism of honey in the rock can also be interpreted metaphorically in a spiritual sense. Just as honey is hidden and waiting to be discovered within the rock, so too are spiritual treasures and blessings concealed for those who seek God diligently. The rock may represent challenges, obstacles, or trials that we face in life, but within them, God has hidden blessings and provision for those who trust in Him.

A few lyrics from “Honey in the Rock”

Freedom where the Spirit is
Bounty in the wilderness
***You will always satisfy, yeah
Purpose in Your plan
Power in the blood

I have all that I need
You are all that I need

I keep praying, You keep moving
I keep praising, You keep proving
I have all that I need
****You are all that I need ****
I have all that I need
You are all that I need, yeah

Jesus, Jesus, ***who You are is enough***

How sweet it is
To trust in You, Jesus

God continues to pour into me. Sometimes even though He shows me things, I still find it difficult to apply it.

One last thing He keeps showing me over and over and over and over again…

I can’t wrestle with doors. 

 Maybe God can help someone as I share this journey.

How I Really Feel

I mentioned my husband and I have been on a “journey of wellness” for 6 months. I began by taking a mile and a half walk and working my way up to 6 miles a day carrying 8 pounds of weight for half of it. I’ve made variations and changed things up. I added weightlifting to my routine about a month ago. I had to cut back on some walking to add lifting.

I don’t like weightlifting. In fact, this morning I thought about several reasons why I could skip. I didn’t skip, but if I’m ever tempted to skip any part of my routine, it’s lifting weights. I lift around 4 days a week. 2 days upper body and 2 days lower body. I admire those who lift. I just hate doing it myself. This part of my routine takes the most discipline. Honestly, most days I’d rather pick lint up of the floor and eat it than lift weights.

So why bother with weightlifting?  Here are a few reasons.

1. Lifting weights will cause me to burn calories beyond my workout
2. Lifting weights will help me to gain muscle, which I hope will boost my metabolism.
3. Muscle is so important for longevity, mobility, energy level, and overall health. I feel I’m helping my 75-year-old future self.

The older we become; we tend to lose muscle and replace it with fat. The more this happens, the slower our metabolism becomes. There are other reasons for slow metabolism, but this reason is something I can work on, so I will.

***The benefits of weightlifting are worth more to me than the fact that I don’t like doing it. ***

I’ve told many about an accident my husband and I were in earlier in the summer. God delivered us from a very serious situation. When I opened my eyes after impact and all the extreme pain inside my body had subsided, I noticed all the air bags had been deployed, even airbags in my door. My passenger door was mangled and there was no way I could get out, so after getting the ok from emergency personnel, my husband and I exited through his door. I wanted to get out because I was afraid the car might catch fire or something. I could smell gas and tires, and it was awful.

I noticed soon after I got out of the car that I thought I was going to pass out. I really thought at that moment that I had internal injuries and that I might die. Randy was doing remarkably well. I now believe it was an adrenaline thing because he felt worse later. When they got us in the ambulance, they found my blood pressure was 190 over 110. I was lightheaded and felt like I needed to sleep. (Randy & I were in the same ambulance and he was sitting  up beside me.)

Once we arrived at the hospital, the trauma team was amazing. Randy and I separated at that point. They checked my heart, blood, neck arteries, brain, abdomen, etc. They did x-rays with and without contrast, ultrasounds, etc.. They were very thorough and outstanding. The process from beginning to results was incredible. I never saw the results that day, but they told us everything was ok and released us after maybe 2 hours? My blood pressure was still high, but it had lowered some.

A few weeks later after I had an opportunity to get online and look at all the test results, I found out that since they had taken the scans, they felt the need to look at everything. It turns out my results showed my brain, heart, arteries, etc.. are “Grossly normal” or “normal for my age” That made me feel pretty good. Though I did get a good laugh at the “normal for my age” results.

They did request I go to my doctor within 4 weeks to investigate my blood pressure. The trauma from the accident and all the internal pain was certainly a big factor, but I absolutely agreed and made an appointment. I bought a blood pressure monitor 2 weeks prior to my appointment and found my BP was still too high. As days went on, it began to lower. When I went to the doctor, she wasn’t convinced that I should be put on a BP med even though it was a little high. Since all my x-rays, scans, etc.. looked good, she decided to have me record my BP for a month and come in for another appointment. I still a have a few weeks until my appointment, but my BP has come down significantly and is looking really good. PTL

I say all of that to say this:

I really believe If we had not started or gotten back into our wellness journey in March, I could have had a heart attack or stroke the day of the accident. Yes, God provided us the miracle of survival and life, but I also believe He planted in us the desire for wellness so that we could be prepared for our journey ahead. God can do anything. And yes, He could have kept us from having the accident, I don’t understand everything. I do understand that I have an amazing God who does like us to do our part when we can.

Our body is a temple of God. We are supposed to treat it as such. I can’t be perfect, but I certainly have goals moving forward to continue this wellness journey. I am very open to BP medication if I need it, but I sure would love to see if I can control it through diet, exercise, and weight management.

I am a proponent of the food pyramid. God created food to enjoy. It’s amazing how He created foods with different vitamins and value for our bodies.

Or do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit within you, whom you have from God? You are not your own, for you were bought with a price. So glorify God in your body. 1 Corinthians 6:19-20

 Do you not know that you are God’s temple and that God’s Spirit dwells in you? If anyone destroys God’s temple, God will destroy him. For God’s temple is holy, and you are that temple. 1 Corinthians 3:16-17

Every morning before I begin my weightlifting & morning walk, I get motivated by waking each day around 5:15 and pouring a cup of coffee. I participate in “the morning scroll.” I than go to my Bible Gateway app and read wherever God is leading me. Sometimes He really isn’t leading me anywhere. There are seasons. Sometimes I’m reading continuously through various books of the Bible. Sometimes He’s got a lot to say to me and it’s obvious. Other times, I pick a passage and see where it leads and what direction He may take. Sometimes I feel He’s really pouring into me other times not so much. But the most important thing to me is that I keep reading even when I’m feeling like I’ve hit a dry spell because just when I least expect it, He shows up in a big way. When I say he “shows up”, He is always with me, I’m just not quite feeling a stirring, if that makes sense.

I love meditating on God’s word. It’s a key component to my overall wellness. There are so many scriptures I can meditate on any given day depending on what is happening in my life. Meditating on God’s word allows me to not only continuously pour positivity into my life, but it also makes me open to allow God’s Holy Spirit to work. (**His word is like medicine) I rely on The Holy Spirit as I rely on water to keep me hydrated. It isn’t always easy, and I’m not always disciplined. Some days it’s like starting all over. It’s kind of like learning to ride a bike…except you never fully learn. It’s always important to get right back up and right back into His word even when you don’t feel like it. If you exercise, there are days you simply don’t feel like doing it. Often, though, those are the days you experience the best workouts. It’s the same with reading and studying God’s word.

**Proverbs 3:7-8

Do not be wise in your own eyes;
Fear the Lord and depart from evil.
It will be health to your flesh,
And strength to your bones.

**Proverbs 4:20-22

My son, give attention to my words;
Incline your ear to my sayings.
Do not let them depart from your eyes;
Keep them in the midst of your heart;
For they are life to those who find them,
And health to all their flesh.

These words went through my mind as I was heading into work: “Don’t limit God by limiting yourself.” Sometimes words reach out and grab me. This is one of those moments. It was a God- kind of moment.

Last night I was watching a sermon called “When God says Let Go.” It was such a powerful message and reminder in my own life about hanging on too tightly to my own understanding of how things should unfold moving forward and really trusting God with the details. Several months ago, my husband and I received a text that said they had been to a conference and were introduced to a 6-word challenge. They shared a scripture reference that included God’s 6 word promise but also included our responsibility before the promise could manifest. Their challenge was “in all your ways acknowledge Him.” The promise was “And He shall direct your path.”  I adopted my own 6 words that day… “Lean not on your own understanding” it includes the same promise… “And He shall direct your path.” I typed it out and put it in a place where I could be constantly reminded of my part in the promise.

This morning, I was reminded about a skit I was in when I was in High school. I’ve been reminded about this skit several times in my life. It’s amazing how God knows me so well that He would have me perform this skit and use it as a reminder throughout my own life. He knows what we struggle with.

In this skit I was mountain climbing and got detached from the equipment holding me up and keeping me from falling to my death. The only thing keeping me alive was the end of the rope I was holding. I found myself holding the rope and crying out to God… “Help! Help!” In the skit, the voice of God answered me with this response… “Do you trust me?” I asked God to repeat Himself… He said it again… “Do you trust me?”  I responded… “Of course I trust you, God.” He said, “If you trust me, let go of the rope.” Of course, in the skit I was going over all the obvious possibilities and reasoning in my mind why I shouldn’t let go of the rope. I was truly at the end of my rope. My own understanding was that I would obviously fall to my death if I let go. But in the skit God said again… If you trust me, let go of the rope. Finally, I made the decision to trust God and let go of the rope. That was the end of the skit. I had to trust that God would take of me.

God has been talking to me over the past few years about our future. I couldn’t be more excited with anticipation. However, lately I’ve gotten caught up in my own understanding. In Lori-like fashion, my overthinking gets in the way. I have questions and don’t understand what I should do next. I feel like I need more answers. I wish I understood more. The fact of the matter is, the more I trust God, the fewer details I need.

The more I trust, the less I need to know.

Now that I’ve been gently reminded of this important detail, God is telling me yet again, “Let go of the rope.” It’s one thing to say I trust God and another whole thing to live it out by letting go of my own understanding and the rope.

I’ve learned so much on this area of letting go and trusting God, yet often I feel I’m at square one.

Lord, help me to truly lean on your understanding, not mine. Help me to trust you so much that I don’t need the details.