Jul. 2, 2009 - Who Can Tell What God Will Do?
This post has been forming in my mind for the past two weeks, but getting it from my head to my fingertips has been daunting. Between trying to format the post in my mind to finding the time to sit down and type, I just haven't gotten it into words.
A while back, our pastor preached a message entitled, "Who Can Tell What God Will Do?". It profoundly altered the course of my thoughts with regards to how the Lord works in my life. God is so good to me, to my family, and yet often I overlook His bountiful blessings and focus only on the problems and adversity in my life. Yet, day by day, in the big things and the small, God is at work. He is a good God whose watch care blankets every second of my life. His hand guides each step I take. When I look back over the past 12 years of my life, applying this new outlook to all of its events, it's truly amazing.
Can I just tell you what God can do?
June 1, 1997: We left our church in NH after the a.m. service with our Penske truck loaded and headed to Pensacola, Fl and Bible college. I was 8 wks pregnant with our first child - our miracle baby - conceived after five years of fertility treatments. We left with nothing but God's direction - no money, no home, no job, no friends.
July 2, 2009: My husband has been a pastor for nine years now. We have been blessed with a place to live, all our needs met, a wonderful circle of brothers and sisters in Christ, and three beautiful daughters.
Who can tell what God will do?
June 1, 1997: I had spent my first 25 years in a christian environment. We went to church whenever the doors were opened, I had graduated from 12 years of christian school and I'd married a preacher. I was a religious Pharisee.
July 2, 2009: I've been gloriously saved by the blood of Jesus Christ. In April of 1999, God convicted me of my sin. I saw myself lost and on my way to hell. I repented of my sin and asked the Lord to save me. I'm not perfect but I am a sinner saved by grace!
Who can tell what God will do?
June 1, 1997: I said good-bye to all I'd ever known, to move to a place that was as foreign to me as if I'd entered another country. The transition wasn't an easy one and I can't say that I always handled it well Missing familiar faces and familiar places. Always being on the outside looking in. Homesickness had a grip on me every autumn through Christmas. I would spend the next eleven years never quite feeling settled.
July 2, 2009: It has been almost a year since we moved from KY where my husband pastored. In the past year, we have lived in NC and been back at our "home" church. it's here that I have found a place of contentment and peace that whatever the Lord has in store for us, it'll all be ok.
For the last year and a half, my dear husband has been seeking the Lord's will for our lives. He felt like God was telling him it was time to go home but the devil is very cunning. He used other people to tell him that we'd never be able to go back up there. That he'd never find a church up there. That he'd be better off just staying in the south. That we couldn't survive financially. The devil is a liar!
Who can tell what God will do?
The beginning of June, my husband attended a missions conference. Another lie the devil had been telling him was that the only way he'd ever be able to accomplish God's will was to go as a missionary. Never mind that he couldn't get past that he knew for certain God had called him to pastor, not to be a missionary. At that missions conference, he told the Lord he'd go up to NH and spend some time and pray for direction. He had to know what the Lord wanted him to do.
He came home Thursday evening and told me to pack, that we were leaving for NH on Monday morning. Needless to say, the weekend was frantic! On Saturday, he left a message for a preacher friend of ours letting him know that he'd be up in the New England area. That very evening, this man called back and said that he was meeting with a pulpit committee the next morning. The church he'd be at was looking for a pastor.
Can I ask again - who can tell what God will do?
On Monday morning, we began the 17 hour drive back to NH. Those are some familiar roads - one's we've traversed many times over the years. Only this time held a particular excitement because maybe - just maybe - a door would open for us to go home for good! That afternoon, our preacher friend called and said that the church wanted dh to come preach. Praise the Lord! Door opened.
The rest, as they say, is history. Words cannot express all that the Lord did during our two week visit. From providing the money for ALL of our expenses. We didn't spend a penny of our own money on gas, food or lodging. God used His children to meet our needs! And it was a splend revelation that God has like-minded believers all over this continent - even in places the devil wants to say they can't be found. The church we visited was such a blessing to us! They made us feel like family. The unity and fellowship was astounding.
Not only did we find a church that loved the Lord and each other, but one that truly wants to serve Him. Take that devil. And just to put the whipped cream and cherry on top of the sundae, they have a lovely parsonage for us to live in and want a full time pastor. The 'ol devil had assurred us that would never happen!
Ephesians 3:20 Now unto him that is able to do exceeding abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that worketh in us,
We have perfect peace about this church and God's will for us to be there. And if all goes well, we'll be moving back up there in a Penske the end of the month....the vote is July 12.
Who can tell what God will do?
to be continued....
©2009 Adorning Grace
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Jul. 1, 2009 - Relief from anxiety
While sitting here obsessing over NH home school laws (in anticipation of our near certain impending move), I came across several wonderful sites that offered some relief.
I simply must quote this dear lady over at ~Choosing Joy~ and thank her for the relief that flooded my soul when I read:
Do not become a curriculum/blog/magazine/yahoo group junkie if you are prone to feeling inadequate. Once you have God’s plan - stick to it. Look around when you have the green light from God to look for specific help. Don’t allow yourself to feel validated or invalidated based on what others are doing. Look to God for approval.
Can I get an "AMEN"?
©2009 Adorning Grace
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May. 24, 2009 - Regret: The Ultimate Sleep Robber
Regret. Yes, one small word that is absolutely awful to live with. Regret can keep you up at night; indeed, it is keeping me up this very night. It's a miserable companion and one that I wish I could bid farewell to.
There are a great many things that I have come to regret in my life. During my teenage years, I regret my rebellion and the grief that I caused my parents. In my early adult life, I regret things that I did that cannot be undone. As a wife, I regret that I have not been the help meet to my husband that he deserves. As a mother I regret that I have not been consistent enough with my children. As a child of God I regret that I have not done all I could to serve Him. Yet none of these things are keeping me awake when I should be getting a good night's sleep.
Tonight, my mind is going over the events of the past two years. Swirling around in my mind and through my memory are things that I could have done differently and yes, things that I have come to regret. If I could relive them, what would I change? I would:
- Be thankful for all that I have instead of focusing on what I do not have
- I'd realize that just because I'm right does not mean that I win.
- I would focus on being a friend to those in need instead of waiting for others to befriend me.
- I would praise God, testify of His goodness and do all that I could to encourage my pastor husband instead of waiting for others to do so.
- I would enjoy the treasure of family instead of taking them for granted.
- I would cast my burdens on the Lord instead of carrying them myself.
- I would look at myself first instead of blaming others.
- I would not take for granted the privilege it is to be in the Lord's service.
See, that is the problem with regret. You must live with its consequences every day. Yes, the Lord forgives but only time heals. Some things can never be corrected or forgotten, no matter how much we'd like them to be. Mistakes often have to be lived with.
Maybe you're like me and can't sleep tonight. Maybe you're asking, "What can I do?" when you're living out the results of your mistakes? You know, I don't have all the answers but one thing that I am sure of is that the past cannot be undone.
However, (and here's the bright side!) tomorrow is a clean slate!!! Praise the Lord! Beginning the very moment you open your eyes, YOU can do things differently! You can be more kind, more thoughtful, more consistent or loving or spiritual or whatever it is that you need to be. Do you regret not being a better wife? Be one today! Have you not been consistent with your children? Be consistent starting NOW. Is your walk with the Lord lacking? This very moment, spend some time with Him in prayer. You don't have to live the rest of your life with regret.
The future has yet to be written. So stop living in the shadow of your past. Ask forgiveness where needed and purpose in your heart to take "regret" out of the pages of your future's vocabulary!
© 2009 adorninggrace
