Monthly Archives: February 2016

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When God Whispers

Sandra Update

I am happy to report that earilier this week I had a PET Scan done and my doctor said my scan was clear and I am offically in remission. I am so very thankful for those who prayed and supported us. In the fall when all this came about. People would tell me that it was going to be very hard and that I would need lots of help. I remember just staring back at them not knowing what to say. They were right. My family, Sam’s family and my church family stepped in to help us in so many ways. When I look back I have tears of gratitude and in mhy heart I feel full of true joy. Difficult seasons cancel out all the noise in our life to allow you to focus on what matters most.

I can’t imagine going through this without our families and our church families support. When you face something so profound I know that the reality is,when it’s over you feel a sense of relief. Often relief can be followed by grief and that pain sometimes can delay grief as you are gutting it out each day. In the next season as we rejoice together I pray that you hold me and my family up in prayer that the enemy could not use this next season as an occasion to bring fear, anger or sadness to rob our hearts of the true joy Christ can only bring.

Lastly I want to challenge you to obey the promptings of the Holy Spirit in your life. When you have a thought or feeling that you should pray for someone, stop by and see them, or show them some act of kindness. Don’t ignore it. Often times it’s like a whisper. C.S. Lewis famously said that God whispers to us in our pleasures and shouts to us in our pain. My prayer for you and for myself is that we become more aware of God’s whispers so we can comfort those who are in pain.

Sandra

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Overconfidence 

“When I felt secure, I said, “I will never be shaken.” Lord, when you favored me, you made my royal mountain stand firm; but when you hid your face, I was dismayed. To you, Lord, I called; to the Lord I cried for mercy: “What is gained if I am silenced, if I go down to the pit? Will the dust praise you? Will it proclaim your faithfulness? Hear, Lord, and be merciful to me; Lord, be my help.” You turned my wailing into dancing; you removed my sackcloth and clothed me with joy, that my heart may sing your praises and not be silent. Lord my God, I will praise you forever.”
‭‭Psalm‬ ‭30:6-12‬ ‭NIV‬‬

We often stroll through life, thinking everything will be fine, until suddenly it isn’t. Our unconscious or even verbalized thought is “I’m solid. I’m on top of things. I’ve got it nailed/ I’ve planned well. I’m secure.” Verses 6-7 show how even after a recent act of God’s deliverance we can slip back into self-confidence, this time by thinking of God’s favor as a right we earned. But God shakes our confidence in our earthly life so that we can yearn for our heavenly life, where our joy is truly unshakeable and where our wailing will be turned into dancing. 

Prayer – Lord, teach me during all the stomach-churning ups and downs of life, how to fix my heart where true joys are to be found. Amen.

[Taken from Tim Kellers Daily Devotional “The Songs of Jesus” By far the best daily devotional I have ever read. So timely so encouraging.] 


 

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6 Things parents need to know when talking about sex with their kids

Our school bus driver in 6th grade was Larry. I remember thinking he was mean but when you are 11 you don’t see the world clearly. He was strict but the last day of school he would always take the whole bus for ice cream. That is something you can’t do anymore due to lawsuits and milk allergies. It was that sixth-grade year that I had my introduction to the birds and the bees. I pretended like I knew but was totally shocked to learn my parents did it three times, I have two sisters.

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9 years ago today

Nine years ago today one the kids in our kids church suddenly went home to be with the Lord. Walking into the ER moments after he passed altered my life forever. I still do not understand why but through the years I have become more aware of who God is in the midst of life’s storms. It isn’t until you hit a storm head on that you realize how fragile life is. How weak we actually are and how strong God always has been. When 100-foot waves are crashing over you, it is easy to forget the anchor that is holding you that is keeping you. The past few months I have been meditating on a verse in Hebrews it says this.

Hebrews 6:18-19 Therefore, we who have fled to him for refuge can have great confidence as we hold to the hope that lies before us. This hope is a strong and trustworthy anchor for our souls.

The result of seeing Christ in this way leads us to worship, often through tears. Robert, you are missed. I long for the day when Christ returns and makes all the sad things in this world untrue.