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Kerrington's Posts, {Faith}

{Faith} 10 Days later.

UYM

Written By: Kerrington Sweeney

10 days later…
It was May 1st, 2016, the beginning of a brand new month. A chilly spring afternoon. Didn’t know it then but can tell you now, I didn’t really have a clue that later on in to the evening, I would be entering into a brand new season for the rest of my life. A season I had waited for, desired for, and prayed for, for many months. Something I wished now that I had more time to prepare for.

That evening Joshua asked for my father’s blessing in a dating relationship. I was beyond flattered. I would be dating the young man of my dreams. He was truly my hearts greatest desire.

That evening Joshua and I went for a stroll, even in the chiller weather, we didn’t care. It was exactly 8 side walk blocks away from my bonogolo-styled home into our walk, that the moment I had waited for, for so long had came true. Joshua asked if he could have the honour of being my boyfriend and of course, I couldn’t say no to that sweet guy! Nor did I ever want to 😉

The first step we took hand in hand as a dating couple…even if it was just around the block, we had no clue, we had just entered into a place of war in our lives.

An unknown place. A place of finding a new balance. Filled with fears, emotional highs and lows. A place of finding pure love in the culture we live in.

It was…
10 Days of just two.
10 Days of joy.
10 days of sweet contentment.
10 Days without worry.
10 Days without fear.
10 Days without anyone “looking up” to us.
10 Days of just Joshua & I getting to know each other on new levels of vulnerability.

It was on the 10th day of our happily ever after relationship, I received a phone call on our first date night out at a local coffee shop. This call would make or break our relationship. This call would mold us into the people we are today. This call would change our lives drastically forever.

The very next day early in the morning,
I was hired as a Children’s Pastor at a church, 2 towns away from mine at the age of 18.

I left the church that day after being officially hired, with excitement and mounds of fear. Anxious thoughts, unsettled emotions and complete unrest, swirled around me as I attempted to ‘hold it together.’

Joshua & I were no longer, just Joshua & I.

We had just stepped into something so fresh. I had no words to describe the emotions I was experiencing through that time. All I could do was chain myself to the words of hope the Lord had given me:
You were created to be fearless, by the fearless one.

The Giants would come, the many never ending expectations would come, the oppressing constant pressures would come, the corrupted voices of the enemy would come, and the twisted words and labels on us would come. But we knew, they were NOT our portion. We knew we didn’t have to be enslaved.

We knew what we were getting into saying “Yes” to God. We knew the possibilities, we knew the stats, we knew that this could potentially ruin and fracture the foundational moments in the beginning stages of our relationship. Yet, we said yes. The calling of ministry God had placed upon us, we then turned around and placed it at His feet.

Giving Him our all.

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Unsure of really what else I was to do, I sought refuge in one of my close mentors and asked him to cover me in prayer. I knew, I could share with him in this journey. I knew, that I could trust him, with this special portion of my heart. I just knew that I knew, he was placed in my life to truly lighten my load. Especially, when my load unexpectedly became a little heavier than usual.

Continued Next Week with “10 Days Part 2.”

Until Next Time,

~Kerrington

Uncategorized

{Faith} Transitions.

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Written By: Kerrington Sweeney

Here it goes, today we are going to be talking about Transitions. Transitions that happen frequently, transitions that we can see and expect and transitions that are unknown to us until we are in the thick of it.

My entire life has changed this year and let me tell you, it was a joyful, yet painful and a stretching season of my life. I was about to enter into the craziest transition and I can truly say now…I was not at all ready for what was ahead of me.

Now I don’t know about you. But for myself I can personally say, that when I am entering into something brand new, I like to have familiar faces around. I know some of us as young adults still attend Doctors appointments that our Mom’s have scheduled for us. There is just something about having that figure in your life to look to, in a time of tremendous transitions.

A true sense of comfort is found in familiarity. 

I remember a time in my life, where I was riding parallel on the tracks of life with many friends.

Experiencing the same scenic routes, going through similar struggles, and bending on the same curves on the tracks of life.

Being stopped at the same crossways. Getting refuelled at the same conferences and church events. Volunteering in many different areas together and growing stronger in our faith. But there came a time, where the parallels weren’t and couldn’t be parallel any longer. It was a time of direction changes for many. An entrance into the season of the unknown. A roundhouse was upon us.

Things that were established and always constant in life weren’t about to be anymore. Familiar places and faces where that comfort was truly found, would be ripped right from underneath us.

As teens, we were guided through our high-school years on a track that was forged by our parents. (For example for me: Attending church with my parents, eating at the same restaurants as my parents. Going to the same family outings with my parents…the list could go on)

This was a straight track guided and directed by them.

Which most of us willingly followed along this path with them and maybe some of us got a little tired of it and tried to start forming our own track earlier on.

Now a little history lesson for us all, Early steam engine locomotives normally travelled forwards only back in the day. (Just like we did with our parents guiding us through our teen years…)

Although reverse operations capabilities were soon built into these steam engine locomotive mechanisms, the controls were normally optimized for forward travel only, and the locomotives often could not operate as well in reverse.

Turntables allowed locomotives to be turned around for the return journey and for the next tracks ahead of them. These places, now known as roundhouses were designed to radiate around the turntables. They were built to service, store and restore these locomotives for certain time frames of being in use and not.

I entered my roundhouse of life at the same time as many of my friends. I watched them metaphorically speaking, come into their own roundhouses, being refuelled, having a drastic direction life change and then off they were on to the next chapter of their lives. Already traveling down a brand new set of tracks on their own, without me.

My experience in the roundhouse was a little different,

I got pulled into what they call the “back storage area” of a roundhouse and there I was kept for awhile.

During that uncertain time in my life I had just felt that I was about to be released in to my calling, into the next chapter in of my own life. I loved volunteering. I loved serving. I loved everything about my life. I always had felt a call to ministry and I thought this was how it was all going to begin. I found my “sweet spot” so to say. I began to gain a level of comfort with where I was at, at that point.

Personally I thought, that I was just about to pull out of that season of being in the roundhouse storage area and then…God had other plans.

Another fact about locomotives pulling out of the roundhouse for the first time after being in storage for awhile is…That they always drag them out very slowly to get them started on their next part of the journey. 

They want to make sure that the areas they have oiled,  refuelled, and fixed up are still working in proper order before beginning the journey ahead. 

As I thought I was slowly being pulled out of my life roundhouse, I was quickly thrusted back in and kept in.

In storage, in safe keeping, and under the watchful eye of my Heavenly Father. In the dark and the unknown, I waited…

In the early spring of 2015, I was physically attacked by a horrific, unknown virus. I was emotionally drained and spiritually on a desperate searching quest. In search for something to quench my never-ending thirst of strength in my physical, emotional, and spiritual needs. Resulting in, me spending several horrific nights in the Emergency Room…waiting hours and hours in search of answers.

That season was absolutely lifeless. No growth took place, rather the roots of a health filled life-style, were ripped out from underneath me. I felt weary, defeated, and ragged. My soul was in pieces, scattered around, limp with no life left within me.

Failure. Defeated. Worthless.

These were the words so often spoken in my mind, on a vicious cycle that seemed to never end. I felt like I was drowning in a sea of mystical voices. I was numb to the Lord’s presence. I had no emotional balance. I was knee-deep in a place of utter chaos and complete confusion. A season of wandering, searching, and questioning God.

A choice was placed in front of me. Would I begin to take up the quest in hope of finding my authentic purpose once again, or would I continue to lay limp, life-less in a state of complete exhaustion?

My weary soul felt no reason to pray. No reason to read my Bible and not even an ounce of reason to attend a church service during that time. I was tired. Weak. Ready to, in all honesty, give up.

“What was the point anymore?”, I thought.

This soul was mine. I, Kerrington, had to take ownership of it. No longer was I being a slave to the fears, raging inside of me. This was not my portion and I knew that I knew, something had to give. It was a season full of hardship. Harsh words, temptations, and faithless defeat. Unsettledness, sleepless nights, and never-ending tears. Oh, and change. Lots of it.

A season of questioning what truly defined me. Crammed with medical tests and procedures. Ugly moments and real jealousy. It was a season, I thought I had truly fell in love and then, got my heart recklessly broken.

The season of learning to love and somewhat trust once again. Full of higher than high mountain tops and lower than low valleys of deep feelings and insecure emotions. The season of pursuing, a true balance for my life.

It was a season of realignment and of a complete shift that took place. A brand new purpose and an intimate calling was being birthed directly into my weary heart, into my very spirit. I would either embrace it with open arms, wholly surrendered or I would resist it, and be shaken to the very core of my being and be tested on my every move.

God was calling my heart deeper through this year and I honestly was struggling to trust Him through it all.

I was so ready to leave that season of my life behind.

I desperately wanted to leave that roundhouse. I wanted a new direction. I longed for a safe place. A place of refuge. A place where I could just…belong.

But then friends, ……..Jesus. I think at times I often forget, especially in the fast-paced culture we abide in, that God is such a personal God. We forget that He deserves our undivided attention first and foremost.

We just need to Stop. Seek. Pray. Reach and Regenerate. Because, He’s there.

He’s there in those moments when you could just break down and cry. He’s there celebrating with you in your greatest achievements. He’s there in the stormy crashing waves of life, and He’s there in those moments of sweet peace and stillness. He’s with you in hardship and in worship. In agony and in freedom. He’s always there.

For awhile, It was quiet. I asked the Lord many times, “When will it be my turn?” “When will I have the opportunity to leave this place of storage? This place of the unknown?” “When Lord?” 

It was about 3 months, after I had prayed those words of desperation, that I not only got pulled out of my roundhouse, but I was thrusted out onto my own brand new set of tracks.

Not predetermined directions from my parents. Just me, myself and the Holy Spirit on a brand new journey of life together. A new level of trust had begun to be built.

It was exactly 3 months after those words left my lips,

and there I was….started dating the love of my entire life, I was hired as a Children’s Pastor at Amherstburg Community Church at the age of 18, I moved to a new church, passed my G2 license test and bought a car. Everything…All done within one month’s time. One thing after another. One change after another. One major life transition after another. My life was set before me and there I was riding down a brand new set of tracks on my own.

Trusting God when the battles came. Because, oh did they ever come. Ferocious and fierce did they come. War after war. Battle after battle. Tear after tear. Fire after fire. Physical. Emotional. Spiritual they came.

I had to trust God on new levels with every single area of my entire life, knowing that when I was riding through those dark tunnels, that He went before me, that He was the one waiting at the end of that dark unknown place, that He was my strength, that He was the director of my foot steps, my lead, my guide, and my Heavenly Father. Always…even in those rough times.

The verse that I cling to so often is the second half of Isaiah 43:2, it says…

“…when you walk through fire you shall not be burned, and the flame shall not consume you.”

If you remember one thing from tonight, I encourage you to take note of this outstandingly- powerful quote from Lisa Bevere:

“God prepares you in private, to release you in the public.” 

The transitions, the roundhouses, the unknowns and the uncertainties during this season in our lives…Hand the keys over to God, let Him begin to be the leader of those things in your life. Let Him cleanse your weary heart. I know for a fact, beyond the shadow of a doubt that He has mighty, and prosperous plans for each of you.

Until Next Time,

~Kerrington

Guest-Writers

Infertility Story

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Written By: Kristina Meece

The first time I was pregnant, we had been married for less than a year. I was only 20 years old. Just as soon as I found out I was pregnant, it was over. Just like that. Only my husband and I saw the faint blue positive line on the test. It was never confirmed by the doctor. It was before social media, smart phones and even digital cameras. No proof. Nothing. Just emptiness. Just nothing. One “friend” even said to me one day that because it happened so fast it was like I was never pregnant. Maybe it never happened. Maybe it was a false positive and there was never a baby. I carried that secret guilt around for a long time. Maybe I was never a ‘real’ mother. Empty. That is how I felt. Just empty.

I was still in college. We weren’t really trying, but we weren’t really not trying to get pregnant. My period were never regular. I never quite understood the whole fertility “thing”. My husband and I were just along for the “ride”. Yet, after several years, I was getting frustrated. Several of my friends were getting pregnant and I was not. I started praying Hannah’s prayer. I also pleaded with God. “Make me a mom and I will be the ‘cupcake, craft-making, zoo-taking-ist’ mom you’ve ever created.” In 1997, I went in feeling ‘weird’ and got the call that I was pregnant. Three months pregnant to be exact. Who knew? I had my daughter May 1998. We named her Hannah. Seemed appropriate for all the praying I did.

When Hannah was around 18 months, I was done with college and had a full-time teaching job. We thought it was time to start trying for another baby. (Notice there was very little praying about it from us.) My periods were still irregular. Knowing how long it took to get pregnant with my daughter, I headed to a regular OB/GYN.

I had great insurance, and at that time, referrals were easy to get. My doctor immediately referred me to a fertility specialist. I just knew I would be pregnant within 6 months. I still giggle at the naivety of that moment.

First came the paperwork and lots of it. Embarrassing paperwork. There was nothing left to the imagination when the paperwork was completed. Nothing. My entire life stripped bare for the entire medical world to read. But…I wanted a baby.

Next came the tests and lots of them. Plus, the charting that took months to do. All this in a few words but the time I spent waiting. Waiting in rooms and for test results to come back. That was the hardest part. I wanted a baby and I had no patience for tests and waiting and charting and disclosing all parts of my life to a doctor who “cared”. Waiting. Waiting. Waiting. But…I wanted a baby.

Then, my doctor wanted me to lose weight. And, I did. The goal was 30 pounds. I wanted a baby. I started to eat right. I started to exercise. I lost that 30 pounds. Within that 6 months that I thought I was going to get pregnant,  I charted, had tests, waited and lost 30 pounds. But…I wanted a baby.

My husband and I had been trying for a baby for a year when I went to a woman’s retreat. I went up to be prayed over for the infertility and because I needed to know if I was pushing aside the one gift from God to be “selfish” in the pursuit of a second gift from God. The woman did pray over me. She said the ‘oddest’ thing to me. She said “Be patient. Wait on God’s timing. You will conceive again.” When? I wanted to know when? I wanted to shake the proverbial ball and know when.

My husband consented to be tested after a year and a half of charting and testing on my part. He was great. He was beyond great. He was super great. We left the doctor’s office and had a steak dinner to “celebrate” his test results. While this meant good news on that end, I was a tad jealous. That meant it was all my fault, in my eyes. I was the proverbial Rachel in this story. He could produce children, but not me.

That is when we did the round of shots. Right in the hip. For several days. I felt during that time I was going completely crazy. One night, I could have sworn one of the smoke detectors was going off. (It wasn’t.) I sweated all the time. I cried a lot. I was miserable. I felt like our lovemaking was just routine and just “let’s get it over with.” No joy. Nothing. Emptiness. And…I still got my period after all that. I cried for days.

I had one more test. One that hurt so bad that I thought my insides were being torn in two. We sat in the office. The doctor looked us right in the eyes and said “I’m sorry. You will never have children without going through in-vitro.”

I was done. I was done with having charts and tests and kits and everything. I told my husband that if we were going to make love again it was when we wanted to really make love. Nothing routine or empty. I cried a lot during that month. We made love once. I missed my period.

My doctor told me to come in. She said the fertility drugs were still messing with my body. She did an ultrasound. She told me to come back in two days. There was an egg sac, but because of the test she knew it wasn’t viable. They only way we could tell if it was viable was to wait for the heartbeat.

I started praying. I only told those very close to me what was happening because if the “egg” was stuck it would mean major surgery for me, and the “death” of the baby which devastated me even more. Two days I went back and was told to come back in two more days. They would know for sure by then. This time the waiting was horrific. I won’t even begin to tell you what my mind went through. I slept very little.

On June 6, 2001, I was once again waiting in a cold, dark room. For the first time in my life I prayed this prayer “God, I don’t know what to pray here. Whatever happens let it bring glory and honor to your name. Please intercede on my behalf. If this baby is viable, let this baby always bring glory and honor to You.”

The doctor began the ultrasound. I will never forget her words. “I don’t believe this. I don’t understand what happened here, but your baby is in the right spot and has a healthy heartbeat.” She turned the monitor and I saw this little beating heart. I said “All things are possible through God.” I do remember her going “Ummm Hmmm.” As if there had to be another reason why my unviable womb not just weeks ago had open up and accepted this little human being into it.

Today, Alexander is a healthy (and very tall) 14 year old boy who is a delight to everyone he meets. God has great plans for him.

The verse that I clung to after the woman’s retreat and all through his rocky pregnancy (which is another God-thing) is Deuteronomy 31:8 “The Lord himself goes before you and will be with you; he will never leave you nor forsake you. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged.”

Secondary infertility is one of the most painful, dark experiences I walked through for many reasons. There is a God who goes before you. There are also women who have as well. He led me through this path so that I can share with you today that there is hope and healing. You are amazing. If you are struggling, you are not alone. I may not know your name, but I pray for you daily. One day you will share your story as well. Hang in there.

PS…I very rarely make cupcakes. I am not a crafty mom. I only take my kids to the zoo when it is cool weather or a birthday party. Funny what we pray when we are desperate.

~Kristina

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Bio: My name is Kristina. I am a 41 year old Rockin’ Jesus Girl. I will be married to my husband Eric 22 years this August. We have three children. Hannah, who is 18 and going to start a new life at Valparaiso University as a Freshmen in Environmental Science. Alexander, who is 14 and going to start a new adventure this fall as a freshman in high school.  Jillian, who is 11 and going to start her new adventure in middle school as a 6th grader. While I spent many years as a special needs teacher, God had other plans for me and I have spent the last 7 years as a stay at home mom. The last 4 years, I have had the awesome adventure of driving a school bus for our local school district. In my spare time, I love to volunteer at my church in many different capacities with the coffee house being one of my favourite places to meet God and his people. My favourite motto is C.O.F.F.E.E. “Christ Offers Forgiveness For Everyone Everywhere”.  I know that God has great things planned for me and I am so excited to meet Him there. Every day. Every moment is a miracle and I love sharing it.

 

Guest-Writers, {Worth}

{Worth} Grace Upon Grace

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Written By: Tricia Underwood

How could a mom let that happen?

That was my first thought when I read the doctor’s summary of what happened to the toddler I was about to receive in the PACU (post-anesthesia care unit) one weekend at work. As a nurse in the recovery room, I sadly see many tragic accidents and many cases of abuse and neglect of precious children. So it was natural, at least I thought, that my mind went to the latter when I first read about one-year-old Baby T (due to HIPPA, that’s the name I’ll refer to her by, as well as change a few details of her actual story to protect her privacy).

Although she didn’t have surgery this day, Baby T was coming to me after a minor procedure that required anesthesia. The procedure was done to determine what, if any, effects she sustained from falling out of a window of her home onto a paved driveway. Being such a emphatic person, I always very easily put myself in someone else’s shoes, and so I quickly reacted in such horror and fear for that mother who witnessed seeing her child on the pavement, after only seconds before seeing her safe in the room indoors.

Yet, I’ll admit, there was this side of me that also judged her, way too quickly, and said, “How could you let this happen?… An open window and a toddler?! Where were you or what were you doing that could have possibly been more important than keeping an eye on your child?”

And almost as instantly as those thoughts came into my mind, God quickly pricked my heart with reminders of how it’s only been by HIS Grace and Mercy alone that my own children are safe, healthy, and alive today. How many times did HE catch my own children from falling when I wasn’t looking? How many times did He divert their attention from doing something abruptly that I wouldn’t have been able to stop (like touching the hot oven or fireplace)? Then, I was reminded of the time He brought life and color back into my premature daughter, Maegan’s, blue face when she was only home from the neonatal ICU four days. Only His Grace and Mercy.

“From His fullness we have all received, grace upon grace.” ~ John 1:16 ESV

I cried out to God in my heart and asked forgiveness for being so judgmental towards this sweet mother. God softened my heart and gave me a renewed tenderness towards her as I looked into her face a short while later. As her precious little child opened their eyes when the anesthesia wore off, it was her mother’s eyes and arms she searched for, and it was into her mother’s arms I gently placed. I could sense the mother was finally at peace, knowing her daughter had come through the procedure just fine and was back in her arms, yet she was short with her words and even less generous with her eye contact.

I began to talk with her about how beautiful her daughter was and especially how much I loved her hair. That brought a smile to the mother’s face and softened it a bit. Then we talked about the weather and how hot it had gotten lately, as summer has come to our area in full-force. The mom then disclosed, in a sad, quiet voice, that it was the weather that had led to this horrible accident. She explained that they don’t have air-conditioning and that she had the window open with fans through the house to try to cool it off. She said, “I only took my eyes off her for a second.”

All I could think about was the imagine she must have seen when she looked out the window, and my eyes filled with tears.

I get it, Lord.

Only by Your Grace and Mercy alone.

I could tell by her expression that she felt remorse and fear.

I didn’t know what to say to calm her heart, so I just placed my hand on her shoulder and looked into her eyes, as if to look way into her heart. She actually held the eye contact and it was as if she knew I, for one, wasn’t condemning her for what happened.

Later on, I asked her if her daughter has any older brothers or sisters at home. She explained that her older brother is 4-years-old but is “back home” in Tanzania. She said she came here to the United States and gave birth to Baby T, but that she hasn’t been able to go back home yet due to the medical problems that Baby T has (she had a long list of health issues since birth), and I’m assuming that the older brother can’t come here legally.

So with that news, my heart ached for this mother even more so~ she has a 4-year-old son that she hasn’t seen in over a year and she has a daughter with such an extensive health history, and obviously doesn’t have the greatest living conditions if she is living without air conditioning!

In the hospital, we have ways to help assist patients and families with resources available in their communities, so I know we will be able to begin to help her find and utilize what may be available. But, my prayer is that other members of the healthcare team didn’t question this mother’s worth or value, just because an accident occurred.

A horrible accident, yes, but an accident none the less. An accident that could have happened to any one of us.

I pray that just as God did with me, that they will realize how easy an accident can happen and perhaps think of how many times God has saved them or their own children from numerous accidents throughout their lives.

We don’t even know the kinds of prayers to pray to ask for His protection each day, or what kind of battles He is fighting for us each day in the spiritual world, yet He fights for us each day! Our God is so faithful.

When He looks at that mother, He doesn’t see a stressed out, single mother living in substandard housing. By these standards, she might believe she isn’t even worthy to be loved or cared about from anyone, let alone our God. Yet, when God looks at her, He sees His Son who died for her and has great plans for her and her children! (Jeremiah 29:11) Her worth doesn’t come from what she does or where she lives. Her worth comes from the fact she is one of His creation… one that His Son died for.

The same is true for each one of us. We are worthy because we are His creation~ the ones He sent His Beloved Son to die for~ and He loves us!

 

1 John 3:1 (NLT)

See how very much our Father loves us, for he calls us his children, and that is what we are!

Until Next Time,

Tricia

Tricia’s Blog

 

Guest-Writers

Prayer Life Problems (Or Maybe They’re Not Problems After All)

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Written By: Kelly Stanley

Calling all prayer warriors! I’m talking to you — yes, you, the one who knows what she’s doing.

Hey, where did everyone go?

I used to think I knew how to pray. I had some glorious times, late at night while my husband worked a second shift and my kids slumbered upstairs. I could pass an hour or two, face down on the floor, pouring out my heart and feeling God’s presence as a tangible weightiness in the atmosphere.

And then I didn’t have those times anymore.

My excuse? Well, like all of us, I got busy. We moved to a house in which my favorite prayer spot, the living room, wasn’t as private and secluded, and my husband started working days and my kids stayed up later at night. But if I had to point to one thing, I’d say it was because my mom died and I was hurt. Or, to be totally honest, furious. So angry I didn’t want to admit I needed Him.

I didn’t know how to pray to the God who didn’t save her, how to believe that He might intervene in another situation when He didn’t change the outcome of the one situation that had me lying on the floor of my empty church, begging for her life. Because, clearly, God should not have let my mom die of cancer.

Right?

But the hard truth is that we don’t always get what we want. And yet God is still God. Still sovereign. Still good.

Over the past few years, I’ve worked my way back. Slowly, incrementally, warily. I’ve painstakingly torn down some of the walls I erected around myself. I’ve taken a deep breath and let myself be vulnerable. I’ve had to be purposeful and give myself grace every time I’ve stumbled. (And believe me, I’ve stumbled.)

But those intense, beautiful prayer times? Still nowhere to be seen.

I sat at my desk one day, half-praying — you know the way you have a conversation with yourself (and/or God) and you’re kind of arguing both sides and you don’t even think you’re really paying attention and suddenly the biggest, shiniest, brightest light bulb you’ve ever seen appears in the air over your head?

Because in one giant flash, I remembered my friend Peggy’s quiche. She loves it, but her teenage boys and firefighter/soldier husband thought that quiche was a frou-frou food and didn’t want any. Until, in a stroke of brilliance, she called it “bacon pie.” And it became a family favorite.

The only thing that changed was the name. But that was enough to transform her family’s perceptions, and thus the whole experience.

And right then I understood that the problem with my prayer life wasn’t the prayers themselves. It wasn’t that I’d forgotten how prayer worked or that I was doing it wrong. It was that I was limiting myself by the way I was defining prayer.

Because the truth is, I still pray. It just doesn’t look the way it used to.

The more women I talk to, the more I find who feel inadequate. Women who think they should pray more, or pray better, or pray differently. Women who think there’s a secret ingredient they’re lacking.

Remember the bacon pie? It’s still eggs, milk, cheese, and bacon. Just like the quiche, but it tastes better.

And my prayer life? Even if it looks different than it used to, the same ingredients are present — reverence for God.Gratitude. An understanding of Who He is. A certainty that I cannot control or fix the situations I bring to Him. There may be silence where words once reigned. I might type on a keyboard more than I write in a journal, and my prayers may go up in random short increments instead of purposeful hour-long blocks. I may even feel a little more cynical. It might possibly be harder for me to believe He’ll answer the way I want.

But it’s still prayer. He hears it all, accepts it all. And answers it all.

No matter how it’s mixed up — or what you want to call it — prayer still changes things. And it changes me.

So how about it? Ready to join me for a slice?

I originally wrote this for (in)courage last year.

~ Kelly

kelly
Kelly O’Dell Stanley is a graphic designer who writes. (Or a writer who also designs?) Either way, when she found the place where the two intersected, she was exactly where she wanted to be. She’s a redhead who’s pretty good at controlling her temper, a believer in doing everything to excess, and a professional wrestler of doubt and faith. She’s been married for 25 years (making Tim a saint), and she loves her three quirky nearly-grown kids. Even if they do call her all the time. (Maybe especially because they call her all the time.) She lives in Crawfordsville, IN.www.kellyostanley.com.
Guest-Writers, {Life}

{Life} My Mission Field

UYM

Written By: Tricia Underwood

I still remember the feeling of actually literally seeing a prayer being answered in front of my eyes for the first time.

I was 18 years old and was on a mission’s trip in Mexico. The larger group our small youth group was ministering alongside of were spending the days walking around from neighborhood to neighborhood, inviting anyone and everyone that would listen from some of the poorest places in Mexico, to the outdoor “church” service we would have each evening. The children’s service consisted of a puppet show and artistic drama with chalk that captivated children of all ages. Meanwhile, the adults were seated within eyesight of their children, hearing their own age-appropriate gospel message~ most for the very first time!

Day after day, this was our routine. The places I saw that people lived, broke and melted my prideful and apathetic heart. Up until that point in my life, I never really stopped living my own, self-centered life long enough to truly consider that there were people living in the conditions I saw. I saw mothers~ good, loving mothers~ doing the best they could to provide what little food and dry shelter they could for their children. It was hard not to question if God had forgotten these people. I remember feeling like these people were living on the island of misfits (from the Christmas movie, “Rudolph”) and thinking, “What did I ever do to be born so lucky in the country and family I was born into?!” I remember thinking it’s not fair, but also wondering how or why God could allow people to have to continue living like this.

During the daytime, if there were large numbers of kids around, we brought coloring books and crayons, along with bubbles to play with the kids, while our adult leaders would talk with the children’s parents, inviting them to the church service.

One evening, a horrible storm came and we were all so worried that no one from the villages would come out to hear the gospel due to the weather. I have never seen land so flat, where I could stand at the top of a tiny hill and see for miles and miles. I could see the storm getting closer, watch the rain miles away while it was only starting to get cooler and darker where I stood. The lightening was a beautiful, yet worrisome, sight because I knew that if that storm kept coming, that meant no one would make it to the service.

We had a small utility trailer that was used to transport items used for the children’s service. Someone suggested that whoever wanted to, should gather in the utility trailer to pray for the service and pray that God would move the storm, so that it would pass over our area and that the Word of God could be shared with these people. I joined in that utility trailer and prayed so hard. All day I had spent falling in love with these people. My heart was so broken for them. I didn’t want to leave without them hearing the real reason we were there.

I still have pictures of myself and a friend from youth group, squatting on the ground playing with those kids who had never seen either crayons or bubbles before.

I think about that picture and remember that experience frequently. My heart still breaks for those precious children.

But more than crayons and coloring books, more than bubbles, more than time spent playing football (soccer) with them on their dirt fields, more than any of that, I yearned to share with them something that I knew would stay with them long after I left. I wanted them to know the One True Source of Living Water. I wanted them to know how very much God loved them, that He sent His One and Only Son to die for them. I wanted them to know that His love is unconditional, and He is full of grace and mercy. That He doesn’t care where you live or what you do for a living… He desires to give you a freedom and peace the world can’t give. I began to receive answers for the question of “why” I was born into the country and family I was born into~ so that I could come share the gospel with others! I felt I could redeem the unfairness of it all if I shared the gift that I had been given to others, rather than keeping it bound up within my own heart. 

I have no idea how long we were in there praying. I do know, though, that I never heard it rain. As we opened the door to walk out, my breath was literally stolen from me as I saw that the ominous clouds that were previously closing in on our area were now gone and were now replaced with just mild overcast. As if the storm just decided to turn around.

God’s Hand, or His Voice, moved that storm! Many people that night came to know the Lord as their own Savior! I remember thinking then, although I didn’t know the full meaning of it, that I had been walking on Holy Ground.

I remember being so moved with what I was able to be a small part of, that I praying to God while feeling God prompt my heart towards a life on the mission’s field, “Lord, if being a missionary is what You want me to do, then please show me. Please give me a sign.” Almost immediately God brought a literal road sign to my sight, with a name of a place on it that has forever been on my heart since then. The name of that road was the name of an actual country.

As time has gone by, as it seems to do so quickly and without warning, I haven’t yet been able to go to the place I feel God called me to go. I pray for those people and I feel a constant drawing to that area of the world.

Now, I am a wife and a mother. I am not able to pick up our world and go to that place (at least not, I feel, without my husband being 100% on board with the same calling). However, recently I was contemplating where I am in my life and where I thought I’d be… the dreams I have for doing BIG, BOLD Kingdom work for the Lord, and I found myself in a bit of a pity party {ok, more like a pit… period}. Let’s just be honest, I was complaining to God about where I am, what I am (not) doing, and how I feel so STUCK in the season in my life.

Once I finished with my pity party rant, God quietly spoke to me again and reminded me that THIS place, this season, right where He has me IS my mission field. I am working a job that I am not at all happy in, BUT I have the opportunity to help people when they are in the most vulnerable places, and I’ve already had multiple opportunities where I have shared God’s love with people that didn’t know about it, had chosen to ignore it, or had forgotten about it long ago.

Perhaps more important to me than the job I do as a career, is the role God has me in as wife and mother. Specifically, the calling He has called me to in homeschooling our precious children. The days are oh-so-long (and not at all easy), but the weeks fly by, making the years oh-so-short! Everytime I hear about something awful in the news involving the younger generation of today, I realize how blessed I am to be able to have such a flexible job that allows me to stay home to educate our kids during the week and provide the education my husband and I feel is most important. We want God to be the head of our school and lead us with how and what to teach our children. We know there are some awful things going on in the world, because sin is so prevalent in the world, but I’m thankful that our children get to learn of that from my husband and I, and take them straight to the Bible for answers, to see for themselves what God says about it all, rather than what the world would have our kids to believe, leaving Christ completely out of it altogether.

Deuteronomy 6:6-9 (NLT)

And you must commit yourselves wholeheartedly to these commands that I am giving you today. Repeat them again and again to your children. Talk about them when you are at home and when you are on the road, when you are going to bed and when you are getting up. Tie them to your hands and wear them on your forehead as reminders. Write them on the doorposts of your house and on your gates.

God reminded me, as He spoke to my heart about my mission field, that I AM doing Kingdom work for Him~ perhaps the most important work I could possibly do! I am influencing our two children who will go on to be adults and hopefully raise their own children to follow Him just as closely.

Deuteronomy 4:9 (NIV)
Only be careful, and watch yourselves closely so that you do not forget the things your eyes have seen or let them fade from your heart as long as you live. Teach them to your children and to their children after them.

When God helps change your perspective and helps you see your daily routine (what I used to see as being “stuck”) as Kingdom work for Him, it will renew your passion for life and for what He has you doing! I now pray,

Dear Lord, I am FAR from perfectly walking out the calling you have in my life, but help me to focus on this one thing: to forget the past [and all my past hopes and dreams that may not be what You want for me at this season in my life], but rather look forward to what lies ahead. Help me, Lord, to press on to reach the end of the race and receive the heavenly prize for which You, through Christ Jesus, are calling me. (Philippians 3:13-14) Help me to remember that because I am Your masterpiece, and You have created me anew in Christ Jesus, I can do the good things You planned for me long ago (Ephesians 2:10) even if that “good thing” may look differently than what I think it is. Help me to accept, joyfully, any new mission fields You move me into throughout seasons in my life, and to be grateful for what you are teaching me in them. Because I am surrounded by such a huge crowd of witnesses to the life of faith, Lord, help me strip off every weight that slows me down, especially any sin that easily trips me up. And, Lord, help me to run with endurance the race that You have set before me, remembering to always keep my focus on YOU, Jesus, the champion who initiates and perfects my faith. (Hebrews 12:1-2) Father, you know that my desire is to fight the good fight for the true faith. Help me to hold tightly to the eternal life to which You have called me (1 Timothy 6:12), knowing that it is only through You, not myself, that I can do anything. For indeed I can do everything through You, Lord, who gives me strength. (Philippians 4:13) And Lord, finally, as You are my heavenly Father, You are also the Heavenly Father to my children and love them even more than I do! What peace and comfort that is to me. I pray that you will continue to lead and guide me in all the details of living each day of my life, especially in my role as a mother; nothing is too small for You. I pray that You will impart wisdom to my husband and I as we try to be good stewards of the gifts You have given us in these children. For my heart’s desire is to hear You say that You have no greater joy than to hear that Your children (and their children and their children, for generations to come!) are walking in the truth!! (3 John 1:4) Help me each day on this mission field, Lord. Forgive me for not seeing it as that before, and give me renewed strength, wisdom, and endurance to run this race well! In Jesus’ Name, amen!

Until Next Time,
Tricia

Tricia’s blog

Guest-Writers

When You Don’t Deserve God’s Grace

UYM

Written By: Kelly Stanley

One Sunday morning when our son, Bobby, was six, he left our pew and walked straight to the front of the church, up the steps onto the platform, right in the middle of our worship. Pastor Nathan was sitting in a chair off to the side, putting the finishing touches on his sermon notes. Bobby circled around the worship leader, ignored the musicians, and climbed into the seat next to Nathan.

With a sigh, he leaned back and then scooted to the edge of the chair. The big smile and hug Nathan gave him weren’t a surprise—Nathan had taught all the children that they were always welcome to come up front. That day, as I watched through tears, I finally understood the beauty of having direct access to God. Knowing that He welcomes me, and you, with joy. No matter who’s watching.

That’s what the Bible means when it says, “So let us come boldly to the throne of our gracious God. There we will receive his mercy, and we will find grace to help us when we need it most.” (Hebrews 4:16, NLT)

It’s a perfect picture of how we are to approach God. Boldly, with the faith of a child. Not hesitating, not being hindered by all the reasons we—or someone else—might think we’re not worthy to be up there right next to the King. All that matters—the only thing—is that He loves us. He could be annoyed by the interruptions; He could shush us and say that he has more important things to do. But He doesn’t.

Some people have trouble coming to God because they don’t feel worthy. They quote scriptures like Psalm 22:6 (“But I am a worm and not a man. I am scorned and despised by all!”). Their understanding of mankind’s (general) and their own (specific) sin, paired with an awareness of the holiness of God, cripples them, making them afraid to trust that He really wants them. Because they are convinced they don’t deserve to be there.

Somehow, I didn’t have that same struggle. I knew I couldn’t earn my way to a relationship with God, but like my son, I approached God with confidence. I took the Scriptures at face value: “God showed his great love for us by sending Christ to die for us while we were still sinners … So now we can rejoice in our wonderful new relationship with God because our Lord Jesus Christ has made us friends of God.” (Romans 5:8-12)

But then.

My mom was diagnosed with small-cell lung cancer and I started a three-year roller-coaster ride. I claimed to have faith, but I was as dry and parched as a desert inside. When it came time to pray, I had nothing to say. Bitterness and sorrow and pain replaced any words I might have had. After Mom died, I built the walls even higher—fortifying them, adding a moat filled with alligators, for good measure—to protect myself from being hurt again. I rolled my eyes when someone at church would stand up and testify that they had been healed. Or even that they believed in healing.

I wasn’t sure if God didn’t answer or if He gave me the wrong answer. I began to doubt whether He was able to effect change at all. I hadn’t just lost Mom. Not to sound overly dramatic, but I’d lost everything I believed in. My grief made me incapable of seeing the truth. And the fickleness of my faith filled me with shame.

I had ceased to be the child approaching God without hesitation, or even the temperamental teenager stamping her foot and refusing to look at Him—and turned into that lowly earthworm. Why would God want me back? Once I realized how much I wanted—needed—Him, I didn’t feel like I had the right to ask Him. Because I had rejected Him before.

And then one Sunday morning at church we sang a song that broke through my defenses. “Through it all, through it all… I learned to trust in Jesus, I learned to trust in God.” I felt the walls crumbling as I thought-prayed, “No I didn’t. I failed miserably. Lord, I’m so sorry.”

Immediately I felt His response. “But I got to show you grace!”

Notice, He didn’t say that He had to. Nor that He did it grudgingly. Instead, it was like our magnificent, holy God was a little child Himself, hopping from one foot to the other, giddy with excitement at the gift He was thrilled to give me.

The one I didn’t deserve.

But that didn’t matter to God. All that mattered was that He wanted me back. He allowed me to march right up to that altar and lean into Him, to scoot close to the edge of His chair. To look into His face and see the kindness in His smile.

And to take a deep breath of relief, knowing I was right where I belonged. Filled with, wrapped in, emboldened by, and surrounded by His unfathomable grace.

~ Kelly

kelly
Kelly O’Dell Stanley is a graphic designer who writes. (Or a writer who also designs?) Either way, when she found the place where the two intersected, she was exactly where she wanted to be. She’s a redhead who’s pretty good at controlling her temper, a believer in doing everything to excess, and a professional wrestler of doubt and faith. She’s been married for 25 years (making Tim a saint), and she loves her three quirky nearly-grown kids. Even if they do call her all the time. (Maybe especially because they call her all the time.) She lives in Crawfordsville, IN.www.kellyostanley.com.
Guest-Writers

What Is Love

UYM

Written By: Bethany McIlrath

We know about many characteristics of love, traits like those listed in 1 Cor 13; patience, kindness, humility, etc. We certainly are aware of examples of Biblical love, like that provided in John 3:16. The Bible teaches us much about the actions and consequences of love, as in Romans 13 or John 15, which describe doing no wrong to a neighbor or laying down one’s life for a friend as loving.

But…what is love?

The definition that has most stood out to me is found on page 128 of R.T. France’s Commentary on Matthew. He states that love for others “will issue in prayer…it is not just a sentimental feeling but an earnest desire for their good”.

An earnest desire for their good. What a beautiful phrase.

Consider what this means. Love is not about how we feel. It is not about how other’s feel. To love others is not to please them (in fact, Galatians 1:10 reminds us that our goal is not to please people). Loving people is not about gift giving, intimacy, or even growing in a relationship.

To love someone is to desire for them that they know and follow the Lord. That is the “good” that we all need, the best a person can do. It is the greatest wish or prayer we can offer for another person.

This truth is so freeing and so challenging. The requirements of such a love are not what we expect. But then…that is often the case when we cease imposing our worldly definitions on the principles and concepts of the Bible.

  •  Love means speaking the truth, even when it is painful, so that we better follow the Lord.
    •  Love requires us to build others up, even when they’ve torn us down.
    •  Love asks us to remove ourselves when we become stumbling blocks, so that others are not dissuaded from the path of righteousness.
    •  Love keeps us quiet when we want to hand out answers but the Spirit is already responding.
    •  Love teaches us to pray that others accept His mercy, even when we see clearly that they do not deserve it -we’ve never deserved it either.
    •  Love gives us a spirit of forgiveness because it is through forgiveness that Christ enables us to stand before God the judge.
    •  Love causes us to do the things, big or small, that don’t please us, when another will see or       experience the Lord through the process.
    •  Loves leads us away and leads us to stay depending on the way of the work of the Lord in another’s life.

Loves dismisses the question of what we desire for ourselves and commands us to desire instead for others -that they too may have the full assurance of faith and submit to the light, easy burden and yoke of the only master who -indeed- loves us enough that His desire for our good broke the bonds of sin and death forever and for all who will receive His mercy.

True and absolute love, like that of Christ, surpasses all understanding (Eph 3:19). This perfect love of God’s is the desire that all will come to know His truth and be saved (1 Tim 2:4, 2 Peter 3:9). While we were still His enemies, God desired this for us (Romans 5:8).

Praise the Lord that, as John says repeatedly in His writings, we can love each other truly. Praise the Lord that, even when we don’t and can’t seem to feel affection, we can love others. Praise the Lord that, despite our mistakes or the failures of others, our love can be manifested in prayer for other people. Let our desire be that every person we encounter see Jesus as He is.

~ Bethany

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A learner at heart, Bethany McIlrath believes that listening to the Lord’s Word and being attentive to all that He teaches her through daily life is a priceless blessing. Eager to share about her Savior, you can find Bethany’s writing on her blog: Firstandsecondblog.wordpress.com. She would love to connect with you on Twitter or Facebook as well.  

 

Guest-Writers, {Love}

{Love} Pursuit of Love

UYM

Written By: Tricia Underwood

I’m sitting in the exact same chair I sat in when I told him I was done… it was over… that there was no more I could take of our marriage.

It’s a white rocker whose matching partner usually sits empty alongside of it most days, as I find myself swaying along to the rhythm of life outside on our front porch, taking in some much-needed deep breaths, and staring up at the blue sky above me.

That day, however, I don’t remember pretty blue skies. I don’t remember any birds chirping, as they are this very moment. All I remember is the love of my life now standing against the post that held the porch up, looking completely defeated, as if he were trying to hold the entire world upon his shoulders, after the words I had just spoken to him, begging me to tell him what else he could possibly do to fix this.

I had already checked out emotionally.

I was asking him to just let me go.

In my head, I had it all figured out. I had believed the lies the enemy told me that our kids would be happier in the long run with us living apart, as happier (separated) adults than what we were living at that time. He begged for patience and forgiveness… for me to offer him more time to work on some issues we had. I thought the time I had already given him had proved worthless and always ended with the same results. So.Why.Keep.Trying?! That’s the question the enemy kept asking me.

I was tired. Oh, so tired. I just wanted an end to the pain I was in and to somehow find peace in what I thought would be freedom.

Thank God that over the course of 3 more years, the man that God gave me, the father of my children, never.gave.up on me! He never let me go! He never said “yes” to my requests for separation. He fought harder than I ever imagined.

During that time, God broke and softened my own heart as He kept pursuing ME. I didn’t realize how far I had walked~ no, RUN~ from His ways and from His arms. When your own heart isn’t right with God, your relationships, especially your marriage, are bound to suffer!

God taught me so much during those 3 years about how marriage is so sacred to Him through my husband’s constant pursuit, patience, and unconditional love for me. Though I gave him absolutely no reason to, my husband showed me that he loved me as Christ loves the church.

The healing in our marriage finally came once I accepted God back into my heart and re-committed to live my life for Him. Once I finally realized just how far I had run away from the Lord and how badly I needed Him in my life, I cried out to Him from the deepest, darkest, most broken place I have ever been. And He Was There! Right there… with Open Arms! I would have never been able to accept my husband’s love again without first fully accepting God’s love, and God healing our relationship first.

Next, God healed our marriage. When I reached out to my husband with sincere words of regret for such time wasted, painful words spoken, and moments I can never get back to re-do or fix again, my husband welcomed me just the same as God~ with completely open arms… as if he had been waiting for that moment all his life! Our “issues” or problems were exactly the same as before. Nothing had been “solved”, however it was how I now chose to see them that was different (and that’s truly a miracle in and of itself)!

I realized how close I came to losing everything that was important to me in my life~ my husband, my marriage, my family, my home~ nothing that is replaceable! None of that is worth worrying over our “issues”. If love can win over what we have been through, then our issues are truly not that important.

My husband shows me he loves me in a million different ways now~ a lot of ways that are different than when we first got married, and those are the ones that mean the most to me!

Yes, love can change the longer you are married, but it can change for the better if you just look for the GOOD, appreciate what you have, and live your life to serve one another in love!


Ephesians 5:22-33 (NLT)
For wives, this means submit to your husbands as to the Lord. For a husband is the head of his wife as Christ is the head of the church. He is the Savior of his body, the church. As the church submits to Christ, so you wives should submit to your husbands in everything. For husbands, this means love your wives, just as Christ loved the church. He gave up his life for her to make her holy and clean, washed by the cleansing of God’s word. He did this to present her to himself as a glorious church without a spot or wrinkle or any other blemish. Instead, she will be holy and without fault. In the same way, husbands ought to love their wives as they love their own bodies. For a man who loves his wife actually shows love for himself. No one hates his own body but feeds and cares for it, just as Christ cares for the church. And we are members of his body. As the Scriptures say, “A man leaves his father and mother and is joined to his wife, and the two are united into one.”This is a great mystery, but it is an illustration of the way Christ and the church are one. So again I say, each man must love his wife as he loves himself, and the wife must respect her husband.

Until Next Time,
Tricia

Guest-Writers

But God!

UYM

Written By: Dana Hoebek

…But God!

Feeling hopeless, depressed and that the situation is unredeemable. Nothing can fix it and you’re out of options….

A medical diagnosis

A personal loss        

Broken family relationships 

Job loss/change                        

Buried deep in sinful choices        

Even the state of the politics right now?

I have tremendously good news for you! It’s in two small words that appear in God’s word over and over. They appear when something is on the brink of all loss, the point of no return.

BUT GOD!

The entire crux of the issue of Christ’s salvation offer is based on our hopelessness, our inability to reach the mark and earn our own salvation. BUT God so loved the world that He gave His only Son!

If we believe Him for His salvation of our very souls, how can we not take Him up on the other “But God” moments He offers us in scripture?

I can testify to some horrendous moments in my life, where all hope was gone, no human possibility of redemption or restoration was showing up on the horizon. As a matter of fact, it just kept getting worse. I had made choices that had removed my options. I had placed myself on the ineligible shelf, forever to be marred and broken, never again to be of any use for the Kingdom, much less my family.

Then a glorious moment happened where my depravity met grace and mercy when a face full of God’s light came crashing in to rescue my sorry state. I had a tiny, weak prayer that shot up to heaven, asking God to get me out, acknowledging that I couldn’t do it. This was one of my “BUT GOD” moment.

God does not deal in the absolutes we place on ourselves here in this world. He operates true to His word each and every time! There is not one situation that cannot be used by Him. There is not one thing or a compilation of things that you can do to make yourself ineligible for His “BUT GOD” rescuing.

Look at some of the ways He tells us about His “BUT GOD” moments to encourage us to believe Him!

(emphasis’ are mine)

Ephesians 2:4-5: But God, being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which he loved us, even when we were dead in our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ—by grace you have been saved—

Romans 5:7-8: For one will scarcely die for a righteous person—though perhaps for a good person one would dare even to die— but God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.

Acts 13:29-30: And when they had carried out all that was written of him, they took him down from the tree and laid him in a tomb. But God raised him from the dead!

Genesis 50:20: As for you, you meant evil against me, but God meant it for good, to bring it about that many people should be kept alive, as they are today.

I Corinthians 3:7: So then neither is he that plants anything, neither he that waters; but God that gives the increase.

Psalm 49:15: But God will redeem me from the realm of the dead; he will surely take me to himself.

Psalm 73:26: My flesh and my heart may fail, but God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever.

Psalm 66:19: but God has surely listened and has heard my prayer.

From the Old Testament to the New, you can find many stories that include desperate situations and then something happens. “BUT GOD” happens. The supernatural power of God meets the ordinary struggles of this life and suddenly it’s transformed into something so beautiful it’s not recognizable as the old thing. The Light of heaven has touched the stifling dark of this earth. All the experiences of this world that mirror Satan’s involvement get abolished, wiped out and completely transformed.

You cannot have an encounter with God in your dark place without it leaving a deposit of that Light. It’s so potent and powerful, there’s nothing on earth that can compare.

The answer to your darkness is to access the Light! Your physical circumstances may not change, but your heart, mind and actions will most certainly change. The level of healing and redeeming that God provides has nothing on the medical community!

God’s presence in a situation changes the very atmosphere.

It’s palatable.

It’s powerful enough to bring you to your knees in worship

It’s the only answer, all others are smoke and mirror replicas that try to imitate God without bringing Him the glory.  

I have a song that I love. I heard it in the very beginning of addiction recovery and it changed how I viewed my restoration. At that moment in life, I NEEDED a God who ripped open the sky and crashed through the clouds in a big way and changed my broken-down addicted mind and changed the atmosphere around me. Boy did He deliver!

Take Him up on the promise to be your Redeemer, Restorer, Protector and Rescuer! He’s bigger than your problem and loves you with such a fierce love that He died for your sins before you were ever born so that one day you could access His power!

The song is “Strong Enough To Save” by Tenth Avenue North. The lyrics are below and a link to the song also.

Strong Enough To Save by Tenth Avenue North

You fought

but you were just too weak

so you lost

all the things you try to keep

now you’re on your knees, you’re on your knees

But wait,

everything can change,

in a moments time you don’t have to be afraid,

cause fear is just a lie

open up your eyes

 

And he’ll break

open the skies to save

those who cry out his name

the One the wind and waves obey

is strong enough to save you

 

Look

now is not too late

lift up your head

let the rain fall on your face

youre not far from grace, your not too far from grace

 

I know the weight of this world can take you down like gravity and I know the current of yourself can take you out, out to sea but hold on, hold on

~ Dana

me-profileDana is saved by grace, grateful to the core. She is a mother of four teenagers and married to an incredible man for 19 years. Life up to this point has been an adventure for her with so many stories to tell. Her hope and prayer is that God can use her life’s story to reach others and make an impact for the Kingdom.