September 2011: Remember the Sunday School song that included the words, "the rain came down and the floods came up..." Here in the Northeast that has been our reality for a year of record rainfall. You only need to come to my basement to see the high water mark (or look at my bank statement for clean-up costs!) to know it has been a year like no others. But in what was an exhaustive and horrifying experience, I felt God's love .... through others.
When facing the daunting task of staying on top of the ever-rising water table gushing into my basement, I will not lie - I felt fear and despair. How could I do this AGAIN! I was filled with panic. I outwardly cried to God (probably scaring my kids a bit); at one point reciting over and over again "I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me." "He is my rock and my strength. My ever-present help in trouble" as I set up the monster trash sump pump I had to rent (supplementing the three installed in my basement). I was terrified but had no choice but to conquer this beast before me. My oldest son watched as little mom (he's now taller than me) primed the pump, hoisted huge hoses and cried out to her Jesus. I think I impressed him in the end (Brad .. maybe Jesus too!).
The lessons continued as one by one, people who knew my situation arrived at my door ... at such God-appointed times. The man across the street - whose name I still don't know after 8 years of head-nods and waves, but will soon be getting some cookies and a formal introduction -, the husband of my friend Kelly, and neighbors Donna and Mike. Each one coming at a moment when I was facing uncertainty or panic. These people were the hands of Jesus to me.
After the last onslaught where I had been up for 3 nights with only 2 hr period of sleep at a time, the song "Blessings" by Laura Story came on the radio in the car. I love this song and have been moved by in a number of times but the chorus hit me anew. "Sometime Your blessings come in rain drops ...sometimes the sleepless night are how we know that You are near " and I cried ... right there in the Wegman's parking lot. These words were literal to me this time.
So thankful for my Lord blessing me amidst the horrible. He was ever-present. He was my rock and strength. Thank You Jesus. You are all I need!
August 2011: Incredible blessings sent to us from Alburque, NM! Many thanks to the Women at Calvary for standing alongside us in support for the hurting among us. Your support is a great comfort and encouragement - to us here at Crowns and beyond into the world God has sent us to minister.
July 2011: "GOD IS GOOD... ALL the time!" If you're in it, there's glory to be had. He will bring about beauty and growth from the darkest of days. My misperception was that glory meant important - in a grand way. But I know realize that glory does not need to be something splashy and big. It can be a maturing of your teenager who now understands compassion. It can be coming into the knowledge of what it means to walk with God intimately - counting on Him for every breath because you can not do another moment on your own.
The purifying of our faith brings glory to God. "God works for the good of all who love Him and are called according to His purpose". Rely on this promise. Somedays it may be your lifeline. Cling to it ... Cling to Him. He will bring the good and the glory!
June 2011: Kay Arthur has an incredible book on knowing (and praying) the names of God. How powerful is just the mention of His name. In reading this book and becoming acquainted to the many facets of His being, I felt humbled and empowered at the same time. I found myself crying out in prayer with the Hebrew names that best described the character of God that I needed/felt at that moment. To me there is intimacy in knowing these names. And let's not forget the POWER. He is the all-surpassing power in us. Let's release it today!!
May 2011: I probably shouldn't tell you this ... one of the security questions on my account is "who's your favorite author".... why Beth Moore! ... I'll admit, I am a bit of a biblestudy gypsy. Traveling to many of our great area churches so that I can be a part of one of her studies. My most recent journey is in the study of David in Beth's David: Seeking a Heart Like His
Today Beth had me looking In 1 Samuel 22:6-23 where Saul once again acts with great evil. She pointed out the following. David responded to this tragedy in the following way:
1) He placed blame where it should have been; on Saul, on evil
2) He reminded himself that God repays evil (vs. 5)
3) He placed his hope solely in God (vs.9)
4) He reminded himself that God is good (vs.9)
She then pens these words (oh, how I love her!), "In the face of unimaginable horror, we must cast our imaginations on Christ, our only hope. His Word will be our anchor when our faith is tossed like the waves." (p. 66 of workbook)
I will send you in the same direction Beth sent me for sorting through tradegies:
John 10:10
Lamentations 3:33
Lamentations 3:59
Psalm 100:5
That's right. Get out your bible and start looking. For the anchor we need is in those pages!
April 2011:
March 2011:
February 2011: Does the Enemy ever paper the walls of your mind with lies? Do you feel a sense of abandonment or unworthiness which then can lead to depression and bitterness? Oh the cycle of self-pity and anger we can feel when we allow untruth to trump God's Truth. It takes intentional "reprogramming" of our thoughts to undo what Satan has so cleverly done to our minds. Remember ... Satan is the great deceiver but GOD IS THE TRUTH. And His truth will set us free!
Do you need to be freed from negative and distructive patterns and strongholds? I suggest emersing yourself in the study of God's word. An incredible study that focuses on this is Beth Moore's Breaking Free study.
It can be transformational when we let God step in to our lives!
January 2011: A new year ... a new start. Sometimes encouraging, refreshing, or perhaps frightening. We had thank the Lord that each day starts anew with fresh possiblilities. His grace and mercies are new every morning. That's reason to rejoice, even in the darkest of days.
December 2010: Safe drowning
November 2010:
Have you ever been in a pit? A pit of despair, pain, sin, addiction, bitterness, grief, unforgiveness...the list may go on and on. Perhaps you fall into the same one over and over. Clawing your way out only to find yourself back days, months, years later. These pits often litter our lives.
I would not describe my pit as filled with darkness but emptiness. It was not that God's presence wasn't with me but I was without myself. A shell. A void. I was so depleted that I was almost unable to stand on my legs or hold my head up. Not sure I could even take another breath because life was so crushing. I was completely overwhelmed. I no longer had strength ... any. But it is when we are nothing, that God can be our everything.
In our weakness, He is our strength. We are not meant to conquer this world by our own strength. We are made to overcome through the power of Him who loves us (Romans 8:37). In your utter desperation, let him step in and pour out His Holy Spirit; that is power. Our Almighty God, the God of the impossible, makes this promise to us in Hebrews 7:2
"He is able to save completely
those who come to God through Him
because He always lives to intercede for them."
October 2010:
"Learning to live off God's daily manna of grace and mercy is like being a substitute teacher..." You may laugh, but I've found it to be so true! Many days I can be found in a classrom working as a sub in our local elementary and middle schools. I never know quite what I'm walking into each morning. There is always that moment when my eyes first hit the "plans" when my stomach clenches as I wait to see what kind of support I have been given. Sometimes it's sketchy (even non-existent at times!) and then there are the days when it is lengthy and detailed ... fully suffient in getting me through the day.
As I learn to rely on God's faithfulness daily, I realize that He is much like that ultimate lesson plan - providing everything I need to get through the day. He has already written out, step-by-step, my day. He has made sure I have what I need to be victorious that day.
While wandering in the desert, the Israelites received daily manna - collected each morning ... it was always the exact amount needed for that family that day - never a shortage ... always enough. Today under the new covenant of Jesus Christ, our daily manna is the grace and mercy given us through the unleashing of the Holy Spirit. For God's grace is sufficent for us and His power is made perfect in our weakness (2 Cor. 12:9).
God provides just what we need for just the moment we need it. None of your day surprises Him. He anticipates our needs and pre-provides the strength to handle it. So gather what you need, sweet child of God, from His heavenly storehouses.
Let us then approach the throne of grace with confidence,
so that we may receive mercy and find grace
to help us in our time of need.
Hebrews 4:16
September 2010:
As I struggle through an unwanted and unhappy situation, I wrestle with my attitude. The PEACE and FAITH that I cling to most days sometimes alludes me and the bitterness and anger begin to creep in. God's promises assure me that He is protecting, empowering, and guiding me along; all the while changing me into something better than what I once was.
Is my impatient and sour mood much different than a child who feels grumpy and fussy after being stuck in the backseat of a car for hours on end; unable to see what awesome things await them because they are so focused on their discomfort and desire to get this all over with already! I too am allowing myself to lose sight of the destination.
I heard Billy Graham's daughter speak on the radio the other day and she said that God understands if we verbalize our pain to Him, but we need to understand that His ultimate goal is to make us more like Him. If God is allowing this to be in our lives then there is ultimate victory in it for us if and when we let Him change us. Now that's a destination worth traveling to!!
August 2010:
I just worked my way through Charles Stanley's book When the Enemy Strikes . Incredible lessons and insight are within the pages. I highly recommend both the book and the workbook. I would like to share one of my favorite "ah-ha" moments. It has to do with faith and trust ...
" Faith is passive; the active counterpart is trust. When you move from having faith in God to putting your trust in God and begin doing tangible things as a result, you've moved into a whole new dimension ....Faith is hopeful and involves waiting on the Lord. Trust is bold and certain and involves acting as He leads you, not waiting for Him to lead you." pg.130 - workbook
I have been living with inactive faith. I having been sitting and saying, "Lead me Lord." and I stay still and wait. Not realizing that taking my faith into action gets me where both God and I want to go. But I've got to start taking those steps in order for Him to lead me. It has been transformational for me.
July 2010:
Today in my daily devotional, the authors had us study the 23rd Psalm. I was asked to "list all the benefits our Great Shepherd provides for His sheep." I was impressed anew with what these verses offered me.
What He promises:
I shall not be in want
He will restore my soul
He will lead me on paths of righteousness
I can live without fear
Comfort
Overflowing blessings
Goodness & love
Salvation
Wow! For me that says it all. These are the very things I yearn for and here God is telling me this is what He provides for His sheep! And His promises are for you too.
At times I think portions of scripture become so familiar to us that we fail to see God. So, I encourage you today to open your heart and return to God's word asking for a fresh perspective. That He may speak to you in a new way!
Devotional used - Live Deeply: Fresh Life Study Series, Lenya Heitzig & Penny Rose
June 2010: God's AWESOME timing - Lessons learned while serving God's time is perfect - despite administrative and legal delays that were beyond my control, I signed off on the last legal document on Mimi's birthday! I didn't even realize it until I signed that last paper and wrote the date, March 24th, next to my signature. I had been so disappointed and discouraged the previous week when the lawyer had to reschedule. "Yet another delay", I thought. I was so frustrated that things were drawing out ... "when would this all be finished and I could finally move forward?!" God's timing touched me gently. Reminding me that He was in control and this was His plan. What a sweet gift.
God is full of grace. He has me covered - I was thrilled to have all the print material (business cards, brochures, letterhead, flyers) ready to go to the printers but unfortunately the total of the order was more than the remaining balance of the ministry's checking account. I was anxious to have at least something, so I cut my order to the bare-bones and was ready to purchase when I came across two small errors in the brochure that needed to be fixed. I couldn't place the order. Well, in the few hours I had to wait for the corrections to be made, the printing service I was using started a HUGE Spring sale and all the items in my cart were slashed in price by 50% or more ... plus FREE shipping, plus FREE upload of images - in fact some of my items became promotional and were now being offered for FREE!!! I got even more than I originally planned on ordering for less than even my bare-bones order would have cost!!!
God's hand is on this ministry - I was waiting for the IRS to send my letter of declaration that Crowns of Hope was a recognized non-profit. The guidelines say the process takes 3-6 months. God did it in less than 6 weeks! The day before my print material had arrived. There was nothing holding me back - Crowns of Hope was officially opened for business and ready to go!
May 2010:
None of this - CROWNS - is me. It is completely a GOD THING. He is fully at the helm.
My heart's desire is that I do Him proud!
Much gratitude also goes out to ...
My sisters, Lisa and Holly as well as my friend of oh, so many years - Rosemary. They listened and supported, shared opinions and most of all reminding me often that I am in fact worthy to do this. Your prayers and love know no bounds. Thank you.
And to my children Brad, Carrie, and Connor. Thank you for getting excited for me and for being proud of your Mom. You are the jewels in my crown!!!
