Through the Storm

"Then the Lord answered Job out of the storm." Job 1

Job- I keep coming back to you...I find myself clinging to your story. Clinging to the words God spoke to you.


swallowed up
suffering and pain-
surround me.
i am swallowed up.
my heart aches-
it groans within me.
longing to be
touched by You..
this overwhelming feeling
is like a tidal wave..
i'm riding this wave-
trying to keep my head
above the water.
my eyes scower the seas
for a life boat.
scower for a hand
to lift me out.
then i blink-
you descend.
you lift me out-
out of the violent waves,
out of the chaos.
bring me to dry land.
wrap me in a blanket
of peace and calmness.
you descended-
and saved me from the
wild seas within me.
you pat me dry
wipe my face
lift my head
stand me up
and send me off.
I am yours.
And you are mine.
You descended...
or so I thought....
You were protecting me,
surrounding me..
you were the clothes
on my skin.
The air I was breathing..
The life within me.

what they said...

A man can no more diminish God's glory by refusing to worship Him than a lunatic can put out the sun by scribbling the word, 'darkness' on the walls of his cell. ~C.S. Lewis, The Problem of Pain

Young man, young man, your arm's too short to box with God. ~James Weldon Johnson


Let God's promises shine on your problems. ~Corrie Ten Boom


God enters by a private door into each individual. ~Ralph Waldo Emerson

Remember this. When people choose to withdraw far from a fire, the fire continues to give warmth, but they grow cold. When people choose to withdraw far from light, the light continues to be bright in itself but they are in darkness. This is also the case when people withdraw from God. ~Augustine

All that I have seen teaches me to trust God for all I have not seen. ~Author Unknown

the cry of my heart...

A thousand times I've failed
Still your mercy remains
And should I stumble again
Still I'm caught in your grace

Everlasting, Your light will shine when all else fades
Never ending, Your glory goes beyond all fame
my heart and my soul, Lord I give you control
Consume me from the inside out Lord
Let justice and praise become my embrace
To love You from the inside out

Your will above all else, my purpose remains
The art of losing myself in bringing you praise

Everlasting, Your light will shine when all else fades
Never ending, Your glory goes beyond all fame
In my heart, in my soul, Lord I give you control
Consume me from the inside out Lord
Let justice and praise become my embrace
To love You from the inside out


Everlasting, Your light will shine when all else fades
Never ending, Your glory goes beyond all fame
And the cry of my heart is to bring You praise
From the inside out Lord, my soul cries out

"from the inside out" by Hillsong

And she laughed...

¹⁰ Then the LORD ^" said, "I will surely return to you about this time next year, and Sarah your wife will have a son."
Now Sarah was listening at the entrance to the tent, which was behind him. ¹¹ Abraham and Sarah were already old and well advanced in years, and Sarah was past the age of childbearing. ¹² So Sarah laughed to herself as she thought, "After I am worn out and my master is old, will I now have this pleasure?"

¹³ Then the LORD said to Abraham, "Why did Sarah laugh and say, 'Will I really have a child, now that I am old?' ¹⁴ Is anything too hard for the LORD ? I will return to you at the appointed time next year and Sarah will have a son."

¹⁵ Sarah was afraid, so she lied and said, "I did not laugh."
But he said, "Yes, you did laugh."

I was reading this yesterday...It is so interesting to me. Sarah was barren for 90 years...and then when she was 90 years old- (and in her words- she was old and worn out and so was her husband)...she laughed at the thought of God blessing them with a baby after all those years. She was so stunned that she laughed at what God told her. But God called her out and asked why she laughed, why she had so much doubt that the Creator of the Universe couldn't bless them with a child just because they were old!?

"Is anything too hard for the Lord??"

Think about that... How many times are we like Sarah and we scoff at the possibility of God doing something miraculous in our lives?

Scoff at the idea of God healing us physically...emotionally...

scoff at the idea of God restoring broken family relationships..split up parents..

scoff at the idea of God using us to change our community, our world...

I know I have laughed about the thought of God doing certain things in my life...maybe not laughed on the outside but on the inside I know I have doubted and struggled...and I am sure I will again...but today-TODAY-- I want to to believe what God is saying he wants to do in my life...no matter what it is. I want to accept it and pursue it...he is a dream dropper...and he is faithful to those that are faithful- so God help me step out and grab life by the handles in the way you are leading me to go.

Help me not to laugh at the thought of the miraculous happening...

Oh and yes...God returned to Sarah and Abraham a while later and saw their son who was indeed born...he was named Isaac.

dry skin

In the winter time, my hands get so dried out...I am constantly having to put on lotion so they don't crack and bleed. I am constantly using my hands...whether to clean, do dishes, pick up toys, wipe dirty faces, wipe off the table after every meal, wipe off the countertops, after I change a diaper, after I go to the bathroom...etc...so they are always getting dried out. So I get out my extra moisturizing lotion and lather them up again. Sometimes they are so dry, they ache to be moisturized.
So why am I talking about my dry skin?? Well, I was thinking about it earlier, and I can see how it parallels to my spiritual life. All day long I am giving myself away...to my kids, my husband, my house, my family, friends...etc...all day. And at the end of that day- I am aching for relaxation, aching for refreshment, relief. Just like my hands- after being used up and dried out all day, they ache for moisturizer so they don't crack and bleed(which is very painful). SO I guess what I am saying is, just like my hands, I need to always make sure I am staying filled up, refreshed by the Holy Spirit- by his touch and by God's Word...so that I, myself, do not crack, do not become frail and dried up. (because that is painful as well.)

I have said it a million times...and I will keep saying it. It is my favorite song, it is the cry of my heart...
"I want to be unmoveable and unshakeable, so let my roots go down deep...unmoveable and unshakeable in you. I want to be like a tree, planted by the streams of Living Water. I want to be like a tree, planted by the streams of Living Water. This will be my song God, this will be my prayer. Til the end. Til the end. In the midst of the coming storms, in the midst of the coming blessing, that my life would be built upon the rock, that I would not be moved, not be shaken."


So there ya go...walk away thinking about my dry skin...lol. But remember...Aveeno may have the best moisturizing lotion...but God has living water for the soul.

Isaiah 58:11
The Lord will guide you always, he will satisfy your needs in a sun scorched land and will strengthen your frame. You will be like a well watered garden, like a spring whose waters never fail.

full of days...

..."And Job died, an old man, and full of days."
Job 42:17


An amazing story...Job had everything stripped from him, and still he did not curse God, still believed that God was GOOD. He still proclaimed that His Redeemer lives. After all of his friends had spoken, God told him that the story wasn't over yet, that the final word had not been spoken. And because of his steadfast faith, God not only restored what he lost...but blessed him with MORE than he had before! To be exact: 14,000 sheep, 6,000 camels, 1,000 oxen, 1,000 donkeys, seven sons, three daughters...AND he lived 140 years, saw his sons, and his sons' sons to the fourth generation!!! And Job died, an old man, FULL of days.

Wow...I want faith like that! Faith that is unmoveable and unshakeable no matter what! Job's story was not over yet and he never would have thought his life would play out the way it did. He couldn't see the big picture and what God was going to do for him. How he was going to redeem his life, but he stood unwaivering anyway. And so God blessed him beyond imagination.

Our pastor shared about this a few weeks ago...and it has been with me since. I know my story isn't over yet...that there are so many things in the big picture that I cannot see coming or happening...and I am believing, holding tight, standing firm...that MY redeemer lives. And my prayer is that it will be said about me...that I died, old and FULL of days...

Restored

"I can't understand this work of grace, how a perfect God- would come and take my place.
the stars they don't move you, the waves can't undo you, the mountains in their splendor- they cannot steal your heart, this God who is holy, perfect in beauty, awesome in glory... is ravished by my heart though I'm poor you say i am lovely though I'm dark you say I am beautiful..."

"Somehow my weak love, it has stolen away your heart.''

We were designed to love Him. We were created to worship Him. We were made for Him, to walk with Him in the garden, talk with Him. But we lost that because we thought we knew better, we thought we could know the knowledge of good and evil. So we fell. What was intended was broken. We fell short of the glory of God. But the word became flesh, and made its dwelling among us...and now...now we are restored...because Jesus willingly gave his life to bridge the gap between us and our heavenly daddy. He knew all along his purpose for being here, and He WILLINGLY....was beaten and broken beyond recognition...for us...for me...for you. So that we could walk with God in the Garden again.

That is what I want to remember this Christmas. I want to remember that precious, innocent baby that was born in that manger....that little life that came to save the world. As a mother, I cannot imagine watching my child suffer the way God watched Jesus suffer. He watched his son be whipped, disgraced, his flesh torn...

wow..

God so loved the World...God so loved me...and you...that he gave his ONLY Son...that we may not perish but have eternal life.


I gave my heart to the Lord 9 years ago this past September. And he has truly given me life, and saved me from perishing. I was dying 9 years ago...I was depressed and broken and lonely...but then he reached down into the pit and pulled me out. He has without a doubt saved me from the enemys plan of destruction for me. He has blessed me beyond measure with a wonderful husband, who is the father of two amazing, precious children. He has blessed me with more wonderful friends and family members than I can count. He has broken the generational curses, and now is preparing an inheritance for MY children. What an amazing God we serve, and how he loves us.

That He is not moved by the stars, mountains, or waves of the ocean....but he is moved by us, by our hearts for Him.