The Peace of God

Remember in Matthew 8, when Jesus and the disciples were in a boat and storm suddenly came up around them? They feared for their lives, the waves were washing over them, but Jesus didn't act immediately. Yet, Jesus had absolute control of the situation. All He had to do was speak; the raging storm around them stopped immediately. The disciples were awestruck; even a storm would obey His voice! I was reading over this account and I realized something.... Jesus could have prevented the storm from occurring at all. Or He could have told the disciples it was a bad time to go out in the boat! He could have saved them from even experiencing fear and anxiety of the situation!! So, why did He allow this to happen? He had something important to teach them, something they may have never learned without the storm. In the midst of their fear and anxiety, they learned about their own helplessness and their dependency on Jesus. And most of all, they learned about HIS sufficiency and HIS power!

I'm sure the disciples thought they might all die and wanted the whole frightening situation to end the second it began. But, if they had avoided this storm, they would've missed this amazing demonstration of Jesus' power over the wind and sea! It was proof of Jesus' divine nature. You know what? God wants to show us His power through our trials, too! And He has!

Praise Him for the storm!! He has infused us with courage, bolstered our faith and has taught us about His love, power and provision.

Please praise Him along with me for the following things:

• Our flour and oil still have not become empty!
• He continues to show us ways to stretch our food and money every day and multiplies our "loaves and fishes"
• He takes care of every true need we have! Last week, he provided a gift that took care of our groceries.
• Our kids are in a Madrigal Dinner and the tickets are expensive so we didn't plan to go... but we were gifted tickets to the show.
• We've had strep throat going around this week and we are especially thankful we still have health insurance.
• Mark had a good meeting with a recruiter this week. Continue to pray for God's direction!
  

Wait

I've been studying 1 and 2 Samuel and something very applicable to my life finally sunk in yesterday. In 1 Samuel, Saul became king over Israel, but he was repeatedly disobedient to God. Because of this, God told Samuel he would replace Saul with a man after His own heart. He lead Samuel to anoint David, son of Jesse, as the next king.

But, David didn't become King right away! He had to wait years!! And worse yet, he didn't wait in comfort.... Saul became jealous of David and tried to kill him. Saul relentlessly pursued David for years and David was forced hide in the wilderness and caves. During this time, David even had opportunities to kill Saul and end his suffering, but David trusted God so much that he didn't attempt to take the situation into his own hands. He waited for God's time. David understood the sovereignty of God.

Wait for the LORD;
be strong and take heart
and wait for the LORD.
Psalm 27:14

The First Christmas

After a crazy-busy last few days... wrapping, baking, having family to our home for Christmas dinner, etc.... it has been a little nuts. But, got a devotional from Charles Stanley today... loved this last paragraph that made me stop and take a deep breath and think.....

"Without a doubt, the first Christmas was hectic, too. And yet, there was Mary, calmly taking it all in. She knew every aspect of this night was important. Yet, her total focus was on the child in her arms. She did not simply notice what was happening; she “treasured all these things and pondering them in her heart.” She breathed in the full experience and held it in her spirit. As you celebrate today, take the time to truly experience the wonder of Christmas, and ponder it in your heart as well. "

Christmas Miracles

Can I share with you my Christmas miracles?

First of all, this will seem like a little thing, but it was a big thing to me! I pulled out my Christmas card box and found cards I purchased at last year's after-Christmas-sales and put away for this year. I don't normally shop the after-Christmas-sales because I don't like the crowds. But, I did get these cards and put them away without know what this year would bring. One might say it is fortuitous, but I say it is a God-thing!

Over the last several weeks, God and I have had lots of conversations about Christmas! I've begged God to bring Mark a job before Christmas. I couldn't bear the thought of not getting the kids any gifts. Eventually, God brought me to the place where I was okay with whatever Christmas turned out to be. Gifts or no gifts, we already received the incomparable Gift long ago... and this was just an opportunity to make sure Christmas was a celebration of THAT Gift.

On the heels of my coming to that "place", God provided in a big way. First, a dear friend sent a generous gift to help with Christmas. Then, other friends from church secretly took up a love offering and presented it to our family at a Christmas event I was coordinating on Saturday. I was taken off guard and was totally speechless and can barely remember the moment! Many of you will read this blog, so I want to say thank you from the bottom of my heart for the love and care you have shown my family.

Isn't the timing in this simply God? He finally brought me to the point where I was feeling at peace with Mark still not having a job and not being able to give the kids our "usual" Christmas.... when I learned acceptance, then He brought the blessing. Once again, it illustrates God's timing. It is beautiful and it is perfect. I am assured that His timing will be equally as perfect in the job search.

Thank you, dear, dear friends. We thank God for you. May God bless you again and again.

Merry Christmas!

Thank you, Thank you!!!

Today is the 6 month mark for us and I thought I'd post a great big thank you to everyone who has helped us these last several months. You ALL are such an amazing blessing to us. I think every time we've received a gift it has been in response to something we were praying about. Each time we didn't tell anyone but God about our needs, and He provided though you.

We have received quite a few anonymous gifts over the last 6 months. I was wondering if those people might read this blog and maybe it would be a way for us to say thank you. We've received some anonymous cash gifts in the mail and some left at my desk at church. I wanted to tell all of you, thank you, thank you for your generous gifts. They have helped us with food, household needs, and more... all carefully spent to stretch every penny!

In addition, over these months time, we've received some anonymous gift cards to Schnucks, Shop 'n Save, Costco and WalMart. These gifts have truly helped to keep food on our table and I thank you for your generosity. Part of me wishes I knew who you were so that I could personally thank you, but I am reminded of Matthew 6:4 and even though we don't know who you are, God does. Because of this verse I'm assured that God will, and probably already has, rewarded you. We are certainly praying for God's blessings upon you.

Also, we've received many notes telling us we were being prayed for or and others with encouragement and scripture. Those are so valuable to us, I cannot begin to tell you how much. I keep them all and reread them regularly to draw strength.

I pray that God will bless each of you and bless you again for your being His hands and feet.

May we kiss is His feet with our life and be worthy of all that He has done.

Praise Him

I shared that I was struggling to maintain my focus (on HIM!) and I can tell people have been praying. I learn the lesson over and over again, and maybe someday I'll learn it well enough that I don't need to keep repeating it..... Every time I try to rely on my own strength I fail... but HE never does. When I run to Him, rather than focusing on circumstances in our life, He does amazing things in my heart. He blesses again and again. I'm thankful for the opportunity to find new ways to celebrate Christmas. I'm thankful for the opportunity to show the kids that God continues to do miraculous things and provides for our every need. I'm thankful for our kids... who have not complained at all about not having allowance, but rather just worked harder and taken any jobs they can get. See... I was fretting over Christmas because it hurt to think of not giving our kids things they want, but I can see God using the situation to build their character and their faith.

We continue to covet your prayers regarding the job search. Pray for His guidance and that we will be putty in God's hands.

Consider It All Joy

Could I ask you to just really keep us and Mark's job search in your prayers this week? I also applied for a job that I'm waiting to hear about (though should've heard by now, so probably didn't get it) And maybe, if the Lord bring us to mind from time to time during your days, you could just stop for a moment and say a little prayer... He might be bringing us to mind for a reason. Plus, I am just feeling a burden to ask our friends pray for us this week! Please ask the Lord to direct us and to open the doors He wants us to walk through. Please pray for peace, endurance and wisdom and for Him to show us some way that we can provide for ourselves, however that might be. It is hard and humbling to keep accepting help from friends and we just really want to be able to care for our family ourselves. It is becoming more and more difficult to not be impatient!

More of God's blessings... our car needed more repairs, and the payment previously arranged before we knew we'd need it (through Mark bartering work). We needed some things at WalMart, but I was putting off purchasing... God provided through a friend's misplaced gift card... she then found but too late for the original purpose so she passed it on to us. Thank You, Lord.

God's been bringing James 1 to mind a lot lately.... I memorized it in the NAS years ago, but today looked it up in The Message (a paraphrase). I enjoyed the way the author chose to word it:

Consider it a sheer gift, friends,
when tests and challenges come at you from all sides.
You know that under pressure,
your faith-life is forced into the open and shows its true colors.
So don't try to get out of anything prematurely.
Let it do its work so you become mature and well-developed, not deficient in any way.

If you don't know what you're doing, pray to the Father.
He loves to help.
You'll get his help, and won't be condescended to when you ask for it.
Ask boldly, believingly, without a second thought.

~*~

Learn to Nestle Rather than Wrestle

I know today’s entry is long, but since today is the 5-month mark for us, I felt it was appropriate to share things how God has ministered to me during this time. So, I wrote a sort of “essay” about the spiritual lessons of the last 5 months. I hope that it might encourage some who are struggling .

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It has now been five months since Mark’s job loss. We’ve had our share of pain, fears, depression and struggles. But God, our Faithful Father, is bigger than all of that. As He leads us through each obstacle, He makes us a bit stronger and has grown the roots of our faith a little bit deeper. I cannot tell you what a Miracle Worker He is.

It takes trials to see miracles. And the trials are worth it all to see Him work in a new and profound way. Oh, may He be praised over and over again in the depth of our hearts for all He has done and for Who He is.

“… I have learned to be content in whatever circumstances I am. I know how to get along with humble means, and I also know how to live in prosperity; in any and every circumstance I have learned the secret of being filled and going hungry, both of having abundance and suffering need.

I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.”

Phil. 4:11-13

Have you ever thought about the fact that contentment is something to be learned? To learn something, you probably have to spend time in situations you would not choose. Mark and I have found this season of unemployment to be God’s greatest classroom. At the beginning of this whole situation, I had faith that God would take care of us, but I was still scared, and I know my faith hadn’t fully sprouted its wings! For me, the thing that unknotted my stomach and caused my faith to take flight was that simple little dollar-cross tucked in my son’s lost wallet (look in the June archives to find that story). I believe God sent that tangible sign to me to say, “Look… I’m watching over your money and I’m taking care of you and your family. Trust Me.” That little cross reminded me to take my focus off of money (or lack of!) and put the cross in its place.

“Let your character be free from the love of money, being content with what you have; for He Himself has said, “I will never desert you, nor will I ever forsake you,” so that we confidently say, “The Lord is my helper, I will not be afraid.”

One day I was studying Psalm 56, and I noticed that the word afraid was always juxtaposed with trust in that passage. David seems to be showing us that trust in God is the antidote to fear.

When I am afraid, I will put my trust in Thee.

In God, whose word I praise, In God I have put my trust; I shall not be afraid.

In God I have put my trust, I shall not be afraid. What can man do to me?

When we learn to nestle rather than wrestle with God, the contented sighs will come rather than the fears and complaints over our circumstances. There is only one place where lasting contentment comes from and that is through a relationship with God. I must run to Him when I am afraid. I must trust His decisions when He takes something away from us. We CAN learn the secret of getting along with humble means and suffering need. We learn to say, “It is enough just to KNOW YOU better, Lord!”

I love following the LORD, don't you? You never know what each day will hold, but one thing is certain, we are assuredly in His grip. I love trusting in Him. It's not that I don't experience the varying emotions that come with our circumstances. The difference is, when the worries of this world start to wash over me, I run to His arms. Sometimes I am panting to get there, but He never fails to give me peace and strength when I nestle rather than wrestle.

“I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.”

Another Amazing Week

Okay, the week has just begun, but it is already amazing! I won't go into boring details about some little things we were needing,but once again, we were thinking about whether we should spend money on some things. (That can be the most exhausting part of our situation... just trying to make good decisions about spending the money we do have... cause we can't see into the future and don't know how long we are going to be without Mark's income.) Sunday night, a dear couple at church gave us a gift and we knew that we could go ahead with what we were needing, plus it gave us some grocery money. What a blessing!

So, today my son and I went to the grocery store and as I was walking down one aisle another dear woman I know came up and said, "I just bought you some chicken for dinner!!" She plopped it in my cart with the receipt so that I could show it was paid for and went on her way.

The people of the Lord are simply amazing!

Lest you think every prayer we pray is answered in this way, it isn't always so. We have been praying about an appliance that needs a repair this week and so far the Lord hasn't seen fit to fix it. But, we are alright with that. HE is the master of our moments, the Lord of all there is to know... if we truly needed it fixed He would see to it that it were done or give us peace about spending money on fixing it. So far we are living with it the way it is and it is just fine!

Those who know your name will trust in you,
for you, LORD, have never forsaken those who seek you.
Ps. 9:10

Our Flour and Oil STILL Remain UNEmpty

As the weather turned cold, the kids have some needs... you know, last year's winter clothes don't fit, last year's shoes have holes or don't fit. It is always kind of stressful deciding what to spend money on and looking for ways to get what you need *cheap*! I was praying over these needs last week, asking for wisdom as to what to spend and what and where to buy, and for His continued provision. Then out of the blue on Sunday dear friends gave us some cards/gifts that I feel is God's answer for that particular need. It just amazes me that every time the needs grow the provisions grow. I'm almost embarrassed to report how good God is being to us! And, there is always a pride factor involved in accepting gifts from friends... but God keeps reminding me of Acts 2 .... it is the sign of a healthy church when it functions in this way. And, some day we will be in the position to again help others.

A little over a week ago, my cell phone fell into the kitchen sink (I don't know how, except I know that someone called while I was washing dishes and so I set it near the sink when I finished... so somehow it got knocked in after that). The sink was not full of water, but I think some water was ran over it because the phone functioned but the screen wouldn't. Last week I found out that it is very hard to use your cell phone without a screen! I tried taking the phone apart and letting it air out for 2 days. Still didn't work. I tried baking it in the oven on low heat for several hours (a solution found on the internet) but that didn't work. We looked on Ebay for used Cingular phones, but they were expensive. Paul's phone is having some problems, too, and we decided to go to Cingular to see if we could get new free phones with a renewal on our contract. But, there were no free phones. Then, Mark says, "Did you pray about the phones?" Duh. Maybe God would direct us to a solution.

Guess what? My phone's screen suddenly started functioning again yesterday! PTL!

"Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds
in Christ Jesus."
Phil. 4:6

Things to be Thankful for!

Answers to prayer!

About two weeks ago I started looking on craigslist.com for a computer. The kids have a lot of their school lessons and writing assignments to do on the computer, Mark needs to do his job searching and real estate work on it, and I have work and school records to do. Everyone is having a hard time getting all their computer work done! I found a couple of used computers on craigslist for $75-100, but while talking with the kids about the need for another computer I said, "You know, we should pray about this first and see if God provides one or gives me peace about spending some money on one." Fast foward to this week... Mark's grandma called said that she is going to be getting a low-end computer from her phone company (as a reward)... she doesn't need it and asked if we could use it.

The kids have a youth trip this weekend and I was concerned about providing them spending money. But, the Lord provided some paying work for each of them, allowing them to earn and save up enough to use on the trip.

A friend asked Mark to do some work for him a few weeks ago, and in exchange he'd keep track of how much he worked and give us credit for any future auto repairs we might need. The same month we had to get our van inspected for our license renewal... and we needed new brakes! God put the method to pay for the repairs in place before we knew we needed them!

"...for those who trust Him wholly, find Him wholly true."

God is good

You might wonder about the last several day's silence here! We've been on a mission trip! It is good to be able to give!! We went to help a church that had their main building destroyed by a tornado. It was a good trip, lots accomplished. I thought I'd share from some Bible studies we had while we were there:

1) The Pastor used the story of Moses having his hands held up by Aaron and Hur (from Ex. 17:8-15) to describe what our mission team was doing for them. Thinking about that later, I realized that is much what you, our friends and family, are doing for us... in holding us up in prayer and sharing with us from what you have. Many times I grow weary with all that is on my mind and in trying to make what we have stretch... and then someone comes along and supports my arms with prayer or a gift or encouraging words.

2) At their Wednesday prayer service, we were studying a chapter in 1 Peter and it was very applicable to our situation and I'm sure to any of you who are also enduring a trial. So, I thought I'd close by sharing the scripture with you today in hopes that it might also be an encouragement to others:

Humble yourselves, therefore, under God's mighty hand, that he may lift you up in due time. Cast all your anxiety on him because he cares for you.

Be self-controlled and alert. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour. Resist him, standing firm in the faith, because you know that your brothers throughout the world are undergoing the same kind of sufferings.

And the God of all grace, who called you to his eternal glory in Christ, after you have suffered a little while, will himself restore you and make you strong, firm and steadfast.

1 Peter 5:6-10

This Week

We will be spending the next week with my parents, so I won't be posting while we are gone. It will be nice to get away from the whole survivial mode for a week. If the Lord brings us to mind during this time, please continue to pray for us. We are still feeling very uncertain about where the Lord is directing us. I'd love to get some clarity on that this week!

If you are going through a trial similar to ours, you might wish to read the biography of George Muller, a man who ran orphanges in Bristol, England in the 1800s. He ran the orphanages entirely on faith.. he did not have any backing or regular funding from any souce. He did not publically share any needs the orphanges had, rather, he went to God, Himself, with every need they had. And, for years and years and years, God faithfully provided. This is a great quote from Muller... it expresses a confidence that only one who walks so closely to God can gain.... having the kind of intimate relationship that comes from spending much time with God and feasting daily on His Word.

"My dear Christian reader, will you not try this way? Will you not know for yourself . . . the preciousness and the happiness of this way of casting all your cares and burdens and necessities upon God? This way is as open to you as to me. . . . Every one is invited and commanded to trust in the Lord, to trust in Him with all his heart, and to cast his burden upon Him, and to call upon Him in the day of trouble. Will you not do this, my dear brethren in Christ? I long that you may do so. I desire that you may taste the sweetness of that state of heart, in which, while surrounded by difficulties and necessities, you can yet be at peace, because you know that the living God, your Father in heaven, cares for you."

A Display of His Glory

Tomorrow it will be two months since Mark was released from his job. I look back over these days and am in awe.... I could not have imagined that we'd make it even a month without Mark's income, to be quite honest. We've always had to live on a very tight budget and I just didn't think it was possible to live on less or budget more carefully than we already did! Mark didn't receive any kind of severance package, other than unused vacation pay so it is just miraculous... our loving Father has multiplied our "loaves and fishes".... And when I begin to worry, again and again God reminds me "the flour and oil will remain unempty until the rains come again"!

Even though we are only two months into the situation, we are already see God's hand and wisdom in it all.... Mark is out of a spiritually bad environment, out of a company that doesn't take good care of their employees, out of travel (which he had been praying for), and he has grown more spiritually than ever before. He had been praying to become a more caring, merciful, generous individual, and he believes that is all being born out of this experience. We've both grown much closer to God. I am learning a lot about releasing worries to God.... about trusting Him with it all... about faith and the reality of our God and all He is able and willing to do.

I can honestly say that I am thankful for the situation, although it is painful. But, I feel so honored, in a way.... I know that may sound strange.... but He has given us a "front seat view" to an amazing display of His glory! Every time He comes through with what we need at the precise moment we need it... I just want to fall down and worship... Trials and obstacles are just an opportunity for God to show us his love, power and presence in our lives!

Thank you to all of our amazing friends. I am praying that every person who has helped us through prayers, gifts, words of encouragement, etc. will receive blessings and that they, too, will see the awesome and amazing hand of God in their lives as clearly as we have. I pray that the faith of all who have been witness to this situation will become deeper and more true. And most of all, I pray that God might use our situation to win some into His fold... that they might gain the greatest gift of all... an everlasting relationship with Him.

Exalt the LORD our God
and worship at His footstool;
He is holy. Ps. 99:5

God's Assurances

Mark and I were discussing some financial issues and had some decisions to make that I won't go into here... but the next morning Mark's quiet time just "happened" to be in I Kings when Elijah was fed by the widow. My husband felt that the Lord was telling him that our "flour and oil" would remain "un-empty" until the "rains" come again. We were blessed by this reassurance.
(You can read the text of this passage in the right hand column of this blog... if you can tolerate the narrow column. Otherwise, you can look up the passage in your own Bible!)