566....there are 566 connections on my Facebook page, most of which I would say are Christians. Among these Christians are people who would consider themselves to be AOG, Baptist, Calvinist, Catholic, COG, Episcopal, Methodist, Pentecostal, Presbyterian or simply Non-Denominational. I love when I can scroll through encouraging updates, scriptures and photos. However, over the past year I have noticed in posts that there has been more of an increasing emphasis on the religion itself or predominate figures of those religions.
This past Sunday morning at church during our worship time we sang the song "How Many Kings" and it spoke louder than ever to me.
How Many Kings
In the words of this song....
How many kings, stepped down from their thrones?
How many lords have abandoned their homes?
How many greats have become the least for me?
How many Gods have poured out their hearts
To romance a world that has torn all apart?
How many fathers gave up their sons for me?
Only One did that for me.
Exactly....ONLY ONE did that. It was NOT a certain religion nor was it the Pope, Mother Mary, Adrian Rodgers, Billy Graham, Joyce Meyer, Joel Osteen, C. S. Lewis, John Calvin, Charles Spurgeon, Martin Luther, Amy Carmichael, William Carey, David Livingstone, George Muller, Hudson Taylor, Lecrae, Andy Mineo, Trip Lee, KB, Tedashii or Derek Minor.
The Great Commission clearly states in Matthew 28:19 "Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, 20 teaching them to observe all that I commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age."
While we may cherish each of our own religions, denominations or religious figures, there is only One that we should be making known to others, worshipping and giving glory to and that is our Savior.
Wednesday, December 4, 2013
Tuesday, August 27, 2013
I was helpless, and He saved me
I can not believe another summer has came and unfortunately gone so soon. Being the second day of school, there are no kids running around or snoring on the couch after a late night of watching television. My quiet time this morning is just that...quiet.
As life is all to often like a rollercoaster, I find myself on that uphill climb. You know, where you feel like you've almost made it back to the peak and you can throw your hands in the air as you shout for joy? This morning my eyes and heart landed in the 116th chapter of the book of Psalms. With God's perfect timing, no doubt, it washed over me and left me with a smiling heart.
I love the Lord because He has heard my appeal for mercy.
Because He has turned His ear to me,
I will call out to Him as long as I live.
The ropes of death were wrapped around me,
and the torments of Sheol overcame me;
I encountered trouble and sorrow.
Then I called on the name of Yahweh: "Yahweh, save me!"
The Lord is gracious and righteous; our God is compassionate.
The Lord guards the inexperienced;
I was helpless, and He saved me.
Psalm 116:1-6
In the last month we were faced with the ultimatum of "move or have no job". This was a huge decision to consider. Do we leave everything and everyone behind for a job and a promotion? Or, do we stay and be left with possibly no job at all to provide for our family? Our first response of course was to simply pray and seek God for His will in this situation. During that time I was reminded several times of a sweet scripture that basically gave us our instruction on what to do as we waited and prayed:
The LORD will fight for you; you need only to be still.
Exodus 14:14
Needless to say, the Lord did exactly that and a job presented itself for Chad here. This job will mean sacrifices for us all in several different areas of our family life. Regardless, we are so grateful for how He always provides.
As life is all to often like a rollercoaster, I find myself on that uphill climb. You know, where you feel like you've almost made it back to the peak and you can throw your hands in the air as you shout for joy? This morning my eyes and heart landed in the 116th chapter of the book of Psalms. With God's perfect timing, no doubt, it washed over me and left me with a smiling heart.
I love the Lord because He has heard my appeal for mercy.
Because He has turned His ear to me,
I will call out to Him as long as I live.
The ropes of death were wrapped around me,
and the torments of Sheol overcame me;
I encountered trouble and sorrow.
Then I called on the name of Yahweh: "Yahweh, save me!"
The Lord is gracious and righteous; our God is compassionate.
The Lord guards the inexperienced;
I was helpless, and He saved me.
Psalm 116:1-6
In the last month we were faced with the ultimatum of "move or have no job". This was a huge decision to consider. Do we leave everything and everyone behind for a job and a promotion? Or, do we stay and be left with possibly no job at all to provide for our family? Our first response of course was to simply pray and seek God for His will in this situation. During that time I was reminded several times of a sweet scripture that basically gave us our instruction on what to do as we waited and prayed:
The LORD will fight for you; you need only to be still.
Exodus 14:14
Needless to say, the Lord did exactly that and a job presented itself for Chad here. This job will mean sacrifices for us all in several different areas of our family life. Regardless, we are so grateful for how He always provides.
Wednesday, June 19, 2013
Prophet of the Most High
It is 4:00 in the afternoon here at home but 1am in Dubai. I pray that Braeden and his mission team had a fabulous day while there in Dubai. Just think....after 6 months of preparation HE'S ALMOST THERE! So exciting! We've been studying the book of Luke in our life groups the past few weeks and I love how each time you go back through a book you may have already read, something different stands out. That is exactly what happened as I read these verses from the first chapter in Luke when Zechariah prophesied over his son, John.
He has given us the privilege,
74 since we have been rescued
from our enemies’ clutches,
to serve Him without fear
75 in holiness and righteousness
in His presence all our days.
76 And child, you will be called
a prophet of the Most High,
for you will go before the Lord
to prepare His ways,
77 to give His people knowledge of salvation
through the forgiveness of their sins.
Braeden immediately came to my mind when I read this. Even though he won't be able to talk to his friends or family for an entire month, even though he will not have the luxuries of a bed, real roof over his head, running water or electricity...he counts it as a privilege to serve our Savior despite his emotional and physical discomfort. I love how he serves Him without fear like this scripture says and how he is determined to go and give His people knowledge of Him and His salvation.
My angel is absolutely a prophet of the Most High and we are so incredibly proud of him!
I have no greater joy than this: to hear that my children are walking in the truth. ~3 John 1:4
He has given us the privilege,
74 since we have been rescued
from our enemies’ clutches,
to serve Him without fear
75 in holiness and righteousness
in His presence all our days.
76 And child, you will be called
a prophet of the Most High,
for you will go before the Lord
to prepare His ways,
77 to give His people knowledge of salvation
through the forgiveness of their sins.
Braeden immediately came to my mind when I read this. Even though he won't be able to talk to his friends or family for an entire month, even though he will not have the luxuries of a bed, real roof over his head, running water or electricity...he counts it as a privilege to serve our Savior despite his emotional and physical discomfort. I love how he serves Him without fear like this scripture says and how he is determined to go and give His people knowledge of Him and His salvation.
My angel is absolutely a prophet of the Most High and we are so incredibly proud of him!
I have no greater joy than this: to hear that my children are walking in the truth. ~3 John 1:4
Monday, June 17, 2013
Overwhelming Emotions
The final day is here. We dropped Braeden off on Saturday for missions and ministry training in Garden Valley, Tx. Once again we seen the instant transformation of our usually shy son change into a confident outspoken young man. I'm reminded of the conversation in Exodus between God and Moses. Moses was pleading with The Lord to send someone else to the Pharaoh in order to lead the Israelites out of Egypt. He tried to explain that he wasn't fit to do so because he felt as if he was slow and hesitant to speak. Then in Exodus 4:12 God responds "Now go! I will help you speak and I will teach you what to say."
I fully believe this is what happens to Braeden each time he prepares to leaves. He is overcome with the confidence that only God can fill us with in order for us to lead others to Him.
I am overwhelmed with emotions today as we get ready to travel back to Garden Valley to attend tonight's Commissioning Ceremony. This will be the last time we are able to see Braeden before he flies to Zambia. I remember breaking down like a blubbering idiot last year on this day so I'm quite familiar with this feeling that is coming over me today. These are not emotions of apprehension and fear but rather love, pride and gratefulness for such a child and Savior. I am grateful that when Braeden is not within my reach, he is in our Heavenly Father's hands.
You will keep the mind that is dependent on You in perfect peace, for it is trusting in You. ~Isaiah 26:3
Tuesday, May 28, 2013
Trials & Triumphs
Last week was quite a week. The tornadoes demolished parts of Oklahoma and thousands of people's lives were turned upside down on Monday.
Tuesday, the storms made their way through East Texas and my Facebook news feed was filled with statuses complaining about having no electricity for a few hours. My thoughts were of the people Braeden spent last summer with who NEVER have electricity or running water. I got the kids together and we prayed for protection and that Chad would make it home safely since he was out working, running tools around for a job. We thanked God that we still had a home to give us shelter from the storm unlike the many people in Oklahoma.
Wednesday came along and while we were at my sister's graduation Chad called to let me know that our AC went out at the house. I was a little discouraged but only because we still had a 3 page list of supplies left to buy for Braeden's mission trip which was going to be pretty expensive. Still we didn't complain, we thanked God again that we live well enough to afford a home that has AC. Believe it or not there are people out there who don't have the slightest clue what air conditioning even is. We lifted the windows when we got home that night and made it a camping adventure...and ended up cold by morning time. :)
Thursday, after a long exhausting elementary school field day, the house was super hot so we played outside until it was dark again. One of our neighbors came over to look at the AC to see if he had any idea what might be wrong. He said our capacitor had gone out and get this...he had a brand new one (the exact model we needed) in his storage building! I was thinking no way, this is too good to be true. Within 5 minutes we had cold air and he didn't charge us a thing, praise God!
Friday I began to get everything rounded up for Braeden's car wash fund raiser. I was talking to him about the car wash and how we both hoped to be able to not only pay for the rest of his trip but also that we would make enough to buy all the supplies he still needed. Then he said "oh that reminds me, here's a check someone gave me today to help me with my trip" I nearly fell over, it was the exact amount we had estimated his supplies to be! Again, God provided....and his suitcase is now packed and ready to go, praise God! Friday night the weather was showing rain all day for Saturday, still we continued to load everything up for the car wash.
Saturday morning proved to be dark and cloudy, we went anyways. Even though it looked like rain the car wash still raised over $600! Once again, God provided. Sunday met us with several more donations to Global Expeditions for Braeden's trip. As of Friday he still needed $2,487 and today he currently needs only $1,349. Within a couple days God provided more than we could have ever expected for B's mission trip!
As I look back I realize throughout my prayers last week I never once asked God for any of the things He had provided. Instead of worrying or complaining I simply kept giving Him heartfelt thanks for everything we already had. You see, God knows what we need before we even do. Sounds so simple doesn't it? I can tell you though, it's a whole other extraordinary thing to be able to experience it the way our family has this past week. Praise God!
Don't worry about what you can't control. What you can control is your attitude, your effort and your focus. -can't remember where I heard this but I loved it and saved it in my notes a while back :)
Tuesday, the storms made their way through East Texas and my Facebook news feed was filled with statuses complaining about having no electricity for a few hours. My thoughts were of the people Braeden spent last summer with who NEVER have electricity or running water. I got the kids together and we prayed for protection and that Chad would make it home safely since he was out working, running tools around for a job. We thanked God that we still had a home to give us shelter from the storm unlike the many people in Oklahoma.
Wednesday came along and while we were at my sister's graduation Chad called to let me know that our AC went out at the house. I was a little discouraged but only because we still had a 3 page list of supplies left to buy for Braeden's mission trip which was going to be pretty expensive. Still we didn't complain, we thanked God again that we live well enough to afford a home that has AC. Believe it or not there are people out there who don't have the slightest clue what air conditioning even is. We lifted the windows when we got home that night and made it a camping adventure...and ended up cold by morning time. :)
Thursday, after a long exhausting elementary school field day, the house was super hot so we played outside until it was dark again. One of our neighbors came over to look at the AC to see if he had any idea what might be wrong. He said our capacitor had gone out and get this...he had a brand new one (the exact model we needed) in his storage building! I was thinking no way, this is too good to be true. Within 5 minutes we had cold air and he didn't charge us a thing, praise God!
Friday I began to get everything rounded up for Braeden's car wash fund raiser. I was talking to him about the car wash and how we both hoped to be able to not only pay for the rest of his trip but also that we would make enough to buy all the supplies he still needed. Then he said "oh that reminds me, here's a check someone gave me today to help me with my trip" I nearly fell over, it was the exact amount we had estimated his supplies to be! Again, God provided....and his suitcase is now packed and ready to go, praise God! Friday night the weather was showing rain all day for Saturday, still we continued to load everything up for the car wash.
Saturday morning proved to be dark and cloudy, we went anyways. Even though it looked like rain the car wash still raised over $600! Once again, God provided. Sunday met us with several more donations to Global Expeditions for Braeden's trip. As of Friday he still needed $2,487 and today he currently needs only $1,349. Within a couple days God provided more than we could have ever expected for B's mission trip!
As I look back I realize throughout my prayers last week I never once asked God for any of the things He had provided. Instead of worrying or complaining I simply kept giving Him heartfelt thanks for everything we already had. You see, God knows what we need before we even do. Sounds so simple doesn't it? I can tell you though, it's a whole other extraordinary thing to be able to experience it the way our family has this past week. Praise God!
Don't worry about what you can't control. What you can control is your attitude, your effort and your focus. -can't remember where I heard this but I loved it and saved it in my notes a while back :)
Friday, March 22, 2013
Summer Is Coming
Every time we are able to visit Teen Mania/Global Expeditions we are overcome with emotions and memories of the very first time we dropped Braeden off to fly to the islands and jungle of Panama. On the drive home last night I saw the sparkle return to Braeden's eyes as he talked about his impatient excitement to serve and make a difference in someone's life this summer. This is what this kid lives for...to make a difference, listen to kids' problems, pray with them, feed them, hold and squeeze them and show them they are loved. He tries so hard here at home only to be laughed at when he asks someone if he can pray for them. It hurts my heart when I hear these kids that he has to spend every school day with calling him names and making fun of him for simply wanting to be a good caring person. But, thank goodness, Summer is coming and in 84 days he'll be with children that will absolutely eat up every drop of attention has to pour out on them :)
Thursday, March 21, 2013
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