Perfect Timing

If you know my back story, then you already are well aware that I am a stroke survivor. If not, please feel free to read about it here. I have been going through the Esther study by Beth Moore with a group of missionary ladies here in Liberia and was completely caught off guard when I realized that much like the story of Esther, where the divine timing of God was impeccable, so too God had written my own story to have His divinely inspired timing. This last week of April I celebrate my eight year anniversary at my second chance at life. Mind blowing to me, was the significant shift in year seven and the importance that the number seven has scripturally.

Up until year seven I had not experienced any real solid stretches of relief in my daily head pain. Years one through six were pretty much defined by debilitating and incapacitating pain. I had pretty much settled in my mind that the rest of my life would be dictated by one uncontrollable headache after another. I figured that it was my “thorn” to bear so I may as well get comfortable with my pain. I had undergone countless doctors visits and medications with no significant change. I had grown discouraged with the constant array of prayers for healing since barely even a subtle shift or change had taken place in the first six years.

Our hindsight is often twenty-twenty while our “in the moment sight” can be completely blinded to the spiritual reality unfolding right in front of us. I have since come to realize that the first five years post stroke were merely preparation for year six. While year six set the stage for year seven to usher in God’s perfect timing. Let me explain what this looked like for my family and myself as we walked through these seven years. In years one through five the Lord was preparing our hearts to step through an open door in year six. He had been laying a foundation of which we would be forced to stand upon in the next phase of our walk. In year six, our family made the decision to walk through the door of missionary life. We were simply being obedient to what we had felt in our hearts for many years, but the timing was never right. Year seven was spent on the ground in Liberia and me flying back and forth for treatments. However, the significant change that took place this year was addition to my already extensive medication list. Within just a month after starting this new medication, I started seeing days go by without even a single twinge of pain. The days turned into weeks, and now the weeks have turned into months. It is no coincidence that I have experienced this breakthrough before year seven has come to a close. Let me explain why and how it came to my remembrance during the study of Esther.

In the story of Esther the first edict that was issued by Haman for the annihilation of the Jews on the 13th day of the month of Nisan. As you progress through the story and Esther finally brings her petition to the king, there was a second edict that went out by Mordecai to grant the Jews complete liberty to protect themselves against anyone who would bring them harm. This edict went out on the 23rd day of the month of Sivan. What is intriguing about these two dates on the Jewish calendar was that they fell exactly 70 days apart. The number 70, as well as the number 7, is frequently symbolic of completion and perfection throughout scripture. In the story of Esther, God’s perfect timing and reversal of the Jews’ destiny came 70 days after they thought they were going to be completely annihilated.

As I began looking at my own calendar and realizing that my 7th year was coming to a close, I began to realize what had happened in this year. I experienced months of pain free living! God’s timing is never late. I’m not claiming that I am never going to have another headache the rest of my life, but I do believe my days of daily incapacitating pain are behind me. If there is anything I have learned in my lifetime of serving the Lord it’s this, there are no coincidences in the kingdom, only God’s divine timing. God is directing a kingdom symphony where every note is perfectly timed. What an absolute privilege it is to be a part of the heavenly sound He orchestrates! To God be all the glory!

To read more about my stroke recovery journey please visit : My By Faith Shoes, My Battle Verses, Recovery Road, Prayer

Identity Crisis?

Knowing who you are and how you are wired is a pretty substantial thing in life to know and understand about yourself. But what happens when you feel like everything you have always understood about your identity seems like it is taking a paradigm shift? What if you feel like your identity is no longer clear? What if you feel like you are going through an identity crisis?

This was me, questioning who I was, where I fit into life and how I was supposed to be a thriving member of society anymore. Let’s back up and understand how I came to this dangerous mindset. As you may or may not know, my family has been called to the mission field of Liberia, West Africa. Our lives had always been pretty routine and predictable. We owned our own home and honestly, it was a little piece of heaven on earth. We had bought our house knowing that we would be leaving it one day, and eight years later the Lord called us to sell everything and leave. Without hesitation we did. In this monumental act of obedience, I later came to realize that I had inadvertently wrapped up my identity in my routine, predictable and my comfortable lifestyle. So, when we left everything behind I unknowingly left behind my identity as well. I had mistakenly thought that when God called us to the mission field I had to leave not only the material life behind but also everything I had become up to that point. This thinking had started me on a slippery slope of questioning who I was and how I fit into the calling God had for our family. Please know that I never once questioned the call, I questioned how I fit into the call because I had left my identity behind. In other words, I assumed that because we were entering a new phase of our spiritual walk that I would no longer function in the same manner in which I had before. 

I praise God for His grace and mercy to bring me to a place of understanding in this area. You see, God never called me to leave behind my identity of being a wife, a mom, a spiritual disciple of my children, the educator of our kids (aka homeschooling) or any of those things. God as simply called me to add to it. When God calls us into new realms he doesn’t ask us to abandon who we are. In fact, that is the very thing He desires for us to take with us. God has shaped our identity in a special way so that as we are called out into moments of ministry that our uniquely shaped identity shines through to bring honor and glory to His name. Upon reaching this understanding it brought my heart such peace and clarity. So, was I going through an identity crisis? No, I had simply misunderstood God’s intentions for my uniquely designed identity. I had mistakenly assumed that He wanted me to leave behind my identity instead of adding to it. This is such liberty to my spirit because it allows room for growth, room for further stepping out, room for more doors to open up and room for more callings to come. I don’t have to become anyone else. All I need to do is grow in the person God has created me to be!

If you are struggling with your identity in Christ, know that you are not alone. But also know that He has uniquely wired you to do things that are specifically designed for you to do in the kingdom. Take comfort in knowing Jeremiah 29:11.

“For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.” Jeremiah 29:11

For more reading on your identity check out the following posts: Who Am I?, You Are A Masterpiece, You Are A Masterpiece (Part 2), A Mother’s Commission

Father, I thank you for uniquely creating each one of us for plans and purposes you already have mapped out for us. Help us to know who we are in Christ and have full confidence in that identity. In the moments of our questioning help us to see things through your eyes. Direct us where to go in your word and to the right people in order to get the encouragement we need to search out our identity. Thank you for having a special place for us in the kingdom. We pray in the precious name of Jesus Christ.

The Gentle Nudging Of Christ

How many of you know that when the Lord is calling you to do something, even when it seems like such a little thing, you need to do it? I recently had a situation arise that challenged me with the verse in James 5:16. “Therefore confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous person is powerful and effective.” God had laid on my heart a specific person to go and seek forgiveness from for the attitude of my heart and I had put it off for several days. I really didn’t want to seek forgiveness, mainly because in my mind the very person God had asked me to seek forgiveness from, I felt was just as guilty as I was. So in my pride, I pushed it aside, thinking that maybe this person would realize what they were doing and be the more humble person in the situation. That never happened. God would not allow me to walk away from the responsibility He had placed in my lap. As the days went by the nudges kept coming. And finally, Sunday morning rolled around. The very first verse that was mentioned that morning was James 5:16. I always find it interesting how God uses others to seal the deal once and for all about my obedience. In that moment, I knew I could not fight the gentle hand of the Lord any longer. I knew if I continued in my disobedience the consequences would not be favorable for myself or the other person involved.

As humbly and gently as I knew how, I approached this person and asked for forgiveness. I shared with them that my heart had not been right towards them and that that I had not been treating them with kindness. My heart was laid bare and broken before them. Let me just say,  when God leads you to do something you will be amazed by the outcome! Psalms 51:17 tells us that. God will not despise a broken and contrite heart. He certainly does not! He loves and adores a humble, broken and apologetic heart. That is the very key to the kingdom. It was Christ’s broken and contrite heart that allowed Him to lay down His very life so we could live. Without Christ’s humble spirit we could never experience forgiveness of our sins nor could we experience eternity with our Heavenly Father. Such a beautiful example God has given us through His Son for us to follow. And when we are obedient to do so, the doors of heaven will open up.

The healing that took place in my heart from that experience was nothing short of a miracle. I had been experiencing so much strife and turmoil prior to that conversation. As I walked away from this conversation, my heart was filled with joy, and peace all because I finally chose to obey. When I opened my heart, the Lord poured in the oil of healing. That oil would not have come through any other avenue. This person not only received my broken heart well, but shared with me their heart as well. I had not wanted to open my heart to this person because of their unconfessed sin. God used the confession of my sin as a chance for this person to confess their own. This brought such a revelation to my spirit! How often do we get so caught up in pointing out the sins of others that we refuse to take care of the sins in our own lives?

Matthew 7:3-5 talks about this very concept. We want to pick out the sins of others when we have glaring sins of our very own that are in need of our attention. Jesus called those people a bunch of hypocrites. I don’t know about you, but I really don’t want Christ labeling me as a hypocrite. My heart keeps me plenty busy with the entanglement of sins I find myself involved with. I certainly have no business getting even more entangled by the sins of others.

Call to action

Do you find yourself quick to pick out the sins in others? Is God calling you to seek forgiveness from someone? Are you hearing a still small voice that is nudging you to do something and you’re resisting? If you can honestly answer “yes” to any of these questions or if you are feeling a stirring in your spirit, then run to our Heavenly Father. Seek clarity if needed, but most importantly, be obedient to His nudgings. Don’t put off His quiet gentle voice any longer. Simply obey. You will never regret obeying His voice. Our situations may not always turn out the way we hoped, but even in those instances, God’s ways are better than our ways.

Other posts aligning with this subject: What If?

Gracious Father, you know the inner workings of our hearts. You know what is best for us even when we do not know what is best for ourselves. I pray that as you call to us, we will be quick to listen and even more quick to obey. Help us not to push aside your gentle nudges, but to move forth with boldness and confidence in knowing that you have spoken to our hearts. Help us to remember that our obedience excites your heart. You get energized and captivated by our obedience. Lord, it is our desire to capture your heart and we know that we can do that by walking in obedience to that still small voice and those gentle nudges. We ask all these things in the precious name of Jesus Christ.

Provision In Obedience

“As Jesus was walking beside the Sea of Galilee, he saw two brothers, Simon called Peter and his brother Andrew. They were casting a net into the lake, for they were fishermen. “Come, follow me,” Jesus said, “and I will send you out to fish for people.” At once they left their nets and followed him. Going on from there, he saw two other brothers, James son of Zebedee and his brother John. They were in a boat with their father Zebedee, preparing their nets. Jesus called them, and immediately they left the boat and their father and followed him.” Matthew 4:18-22 (emphasis mine)

This portion of scripture clearly shows an unadulterated faith and obedience in Jesus Christ. These men recognized instantly the power and authority that was upon Him and did not hesitate to lay aside the things of this life to follow. Jesus had just begun His ministry and I am sure these men had heard from John the Baptist, but it is quite possible that this is the very first time that they had actually laid eyes on Him. Can you imagine leaving everything you have ever known to go with someone you have just met? I’m sure they had great anticipation of His coming since John the Baptist had relentlessly paved the way for His coming. I can only assume that they did not feel that they were meeting a stranger but a long-awaited friend and in the moment when their eyes locked they did not question His words. Jesus said come and they left the security of their jobs and families and without hesitation and followed.

As I have shared with you all a previous post our family has undergone a similar experience. We have left a secure job, our home, and everything we knew to be our “security” and followed. But can I just say this, when He calls and you go, your needs will always be taken care of. There will always be provision when we move in obedience! We have spent the last 3 months on the road raising funds for Liberia, West Africa and we are gearing up for another 3 months before we can leave for Liberia. We continue to pray that the funds come in to not only get us on the ground but to keep us there so we can do the things God has laid in our hearts to do. We are learning that our God is not limited in the slightest. He is also very creative in his ways of provision. When a family of five lives on the road for three months you can better believe that this is not cheap! But We watched the Lord use people in amazing ways to meet needs that we were not even expecting or asking for! Just as it says in Ephesians “Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us,” Ephesians 3:20. There were so many times we did not even ask or think about God providing in the ways that He did, but to this day He continues to astound us in His creative abilities the ways He provides for His children.

Examples

When traveling on the road we often found ourselves eating fast food. And let me tell you, this gets old quick! One of our go-to places to alleviate the greased down feeling that most fast food joints leave you feeling with is Subway. It is a much healthier option when you're in need of something quick. Like usual, we were standing in line conversing with the other customers. We often get asked why our kids are “out of school.” Well, since they are homeschooled this is an easy segway into what we are doing as a family. We get through the line and ready to pay and the cashier tells me that my bill has been taken care of. I almost cried! Here we were a family of five minding our own business and someone was willing to bless us with a meal. I looked around and caught eyes with the lady standing behind me in line and realized she had taken care of our meal. With tears in my eyes, I thanked her. My children quickly followed suit. We were completely blown away by God’s hand in it all.

While we are on the road we live out of a travel trailer. It is a tight squeeze, but it’s home and that thought seems to alleviate some of the discomforts of the close quarters. When you live in a travel trailer full time it is bound to have both the normal wear and tear of the road plus the general maintenance that any travel trailer is going to need. So when our initial three months was done we took it to an RV shop and told them everything we needed to be done. We had mentioned that we were paying about $50 a month to store it in a storage unit and he told us that we could store it at his shop for $30 a month. He stores a number of other trailers and RVs and that it would not be a problem. This was great news! Any way we could cut costs is always helpful! We also had the opportunity to share what we are doing as a family and upon hearing his, the owner of the RV shop got so excited. He had just started going to church about a year ago. So, it was very evident he was still a very new and eager Christian, such a refreshing thing to see! He talked about his wife and how faithful she had been over the years with church and now he had finally decided to join her and does not regret it one bit. He was so moved by our story he actually called up his wife while we were standing there. He shared with her that he offered to store our trailer for us, but he said: “we can’t charge them for that can we?” To which his wife quickly replied, “No we can’t.” So, now we have a safe place to store our trailer free of charge! Praise the Lord! After getting off the phone with his wife he told us he would take a look at our trailer, let us know if there was anything else that needed to be taken care of and give us a total cost before he did any work. We didn’t want to end up with a huge bill and wonder how we were going to juggle paying for it when it came.

About a week went by and we hadn’t heard from the RV shop and we were getting a little worried. When the phone call did come the RV shop owner ran down through the extensive list of work he had done to the trailer. This made my husband extremely anxious because we had specifically asked to have an estimate before the work was done. As the owner finished out the laundry list of items he concluded with this… “And your total comes to a whopping ZERO!” My husband was speechless. The RV shop owner had taken care of all of the things we needed to be fixed on the trailer plus did some things that we hadn’t expected all because he wanted us to be safe on the road! Wow! If that is not the hand of God, I don’t know what is. The total was over $800.00 but the bill said paid in full! It still makes me cry as I share this story with you all. Our God is so awesome! “...He will never let the righteous fall.” Psalm 55:22 (NLT)

When we were on the road time and time again we had people who give directly to our family rather than through the organization we are with so that they could help with food and gas. It truly was amazing to watch God’s hand of provision rise up. There was never a need that did not go unmet. We never lacked for a single thing. This is when you can be certain that you have heard the voice of the Lord correctly because “my God will meet all your needs according to the riches of his glory in Christ Jesus.” Philippians 4:19

Heavenly Father, I thank you that you meet all of our needs according to your riches in glory. I thank you that when you ask us to follow you that you will always provide for us, you are never going to let the righteous fall or your seed begging for bread. Thank you for taking care of us in the calling. Your hand is never too short! Our needs are always taken care of, even those needs we did not see coming or were not asking for, you have already provided a way for. Thank you! Help us to hear your voice when you call and not to question, but to follow without hesitation just like Simon, Andrew, James, and John. We ask this in the precious name of Jesus.

Dodging Bullets

I had shared in previous posts about our trip to Liberia, Africa. This trip has hurled us into a much larger plan that God has faithfully been revealing to us little bits and pieces at a time. We recently  found ourselves packing our bags for a whirlwind trip to Florida for an interview that would directly affect our ability to raise funds more on a full time bases for Liberia. I can only figure that satan felt directly threatened by this because he desperately tried all he could to distract us from the greater picture. He was shooting bullets at us left and right and all we could do was dodge them as they came and try to keep a good attitude while it was all happening. I wanted to share with you the events that took place surrounding trip so that you could see just how hard satan will work in our lives in hopes that things will go his way, as well as share with you a heart lesson that was learned in the process of being shot at.

The attack begins

Two days before our flight my husband was in a car accident. Praise God it was nothing too serious, but enough that caused us to recognize the attacks of the enemy when we saw them. That same night someone smashed our mailbox with a baseball bat, while this may seem unimportant and unrelated, we recognized that satan was kicking into high gear in hopes to distract us from the plans and purposes of the Lord. Unfortunately for him, we had already made up our minds, so we towed the car to our mechanic and straightened up the mailbox and headed for Florida. Once we got there, the attacks did not stop. I ended up leaving my purse on a chair in the airport, of which we quickly had to run back and snatch up before someone else did. By this point I was starting to get weary in the attempts to derail what God has already orchestrated. Once we landed in Florida we got a taxi from the airport to our hotel. While in the taxi, my purse fell off the seat onto the floor and I did not realize until several hours later that my phone had fallen out and was riding around in the taxi for the remainder of the afternoon. Upon discovery, we called my mother in law who was able to locate my phone using a simple app. We were even able to set an alarm off on my phone which then alerted the driver to call my husband's cell phone. We were able to reconnect with the driver and my phone was back in my hands by the next morning.

Round two

The interview came and went and you would think that by now satan would have given up. Nope, he was stubborn enough to keep shooting the bullets right at us. Our return flight was canceled due of a major snowstorm on the east coast. This forced us to reschedule our return flight and stay another night in Florida. But instead of being able to stay in the hotel that we were currently staying in, we were forced to find other accommodations because along with our flight, over 1,000 other flights were also grounded, so needless to say we were in a race with many other passengers to find a place to stay. We decided to book a room closer to the airport. Now, we just so happened to be in Florida over spring break, and the closer we got to the airport, the closer we got to the beach. And the closer we got to the beach the closer we were to unsupervised college students who were foot loose and fancy free to say it kindly. Now, I was a college student at one time. I did not enjoy the party scene then, and I have found that I enjoy it a whole lot less now that I am older. However, our new accommodations found us smack dab in the middle of a party we did not want to be in. I guess satan figured that by now, the interview was over and decisions had been made so now he was just going to torture us. We lay in bed listening to screaming and yelling college kids until about 3:00 a.m. At 1:30 a.m. one guy actually tried quite vigorously to get in our room, by pounding on the door and yanking on the door handle. I guess he thought it was his room. My husband forcibly reminded him without opening the door that he had the wrong room. (My hero).

The REAL Battle

As I laid in bed that night, all I could do was think about all of the emptiness that these young people were more than likely experiencing. They probably would not be able to remember what they had done that night or whom they had done it with. One guy walked past our room yelling “I don’t know where in the world I’m at. I don’t know how I got here.” That young man had drank himself right out of his cognizant mind and was left wondering around unable to navigate life in the slightest. My heart hurt for these young people who will more than likely spend eternity separated from the saving grace of our loving heavenly father. I prayed earnestly for their eyes to be open, for their hearts to be broken and for their lives to be transformed in the name of Jesus. As I lay there, I knew there was nothing I could do to save them from the choices they were making. My heart ached for them. I wondered if this is how our heavenly father must feel as He looks upon us when we make the conscious choice to choose sin over Him. Oh, how his heart must break as He watches his creation choosing the worldly idols to worship over their own loving creator. Yet, despite the scorn, rejection, and scrutiny the Lord still loves and desires that one day each one will look at Him with adoring eyes rather than eyes of disdain. I can’t even begin to imagine how bad that must hurt Him.

Our battles truly are not against flesh and blood, but the battles we face are in the spirit realm. We are called to battle for the hearts and souls of this generation, for a lost and dying world, a world that does not even realize they are lost and ding.  Our Lord does not want any to perish, but all to come to the saving knowledge of Jesus Christ (2 Peter 3:9). We are to stand in the gap in prayer for these people!

While this trip started out causing me to dodge one bullet after another, it ended up with me learning so much more about the heart of my Heavenly Father. This trip allowed me to see a world full of brokenness, hurt, and emptiness, a world desperate for the saving grace of the Lord Jesus Christ. My heart will forever be impacted by the faces that I saw bowing the knee to their own selfish ambitions. My heart was broken as I realized that the path these young people were on will never satisfy them, in fact it will do just the opposite. It will leave them more tormented than ever before.

Father God, I am so thankful that you allow us to have trials and hurdles come into our lives so  we can see the things of your heart. Thank you for showing me just how much this world needs you. Please continue to deepen my heart of compassion for those who do not know you.  I pray that each of us learns what it means to have your heart of compassion. Fill us with your love for the lost because we know it is not our desire that anyone should perish. In the precious name of Jesus Christ we pray.

The Power Of The Testimony

I want to share with you today the power that we have in the simple words of sharing our own testimony, our own God story. Let’s start with scripture shall we…

Acts 21:20-40, Acts 22:1-30, Acts 23:1-11

If you would prefer to listen to these sections of scripture click on each chapter below.
Acts 21, Acts 22, Acts 23

Background on Paul

As we read this portion of scripture we see that Paul stood up in front of a persecuting crowd and powerfully gave his testimony. This hostile crowd Paul was speaking to was ready to kill him on the spot, but because of Paul’s faithfulness to share, the Lord supernaturally protected Paul. There are some very significant things we learn about Paul from this portion of scripture. We learn that he was born a Jew in Tarsus in Cilicia, but he was brought up in Rome (Acts 22:3). This is significant for Paul because not only does he have the understanding of the Jewish culture, but he has the citizenship of a Roman. The Jews hated anything and anyone having to do with Rome. So, needless to say, Paul found himself  in a precarious situation with the Jews yet still having somewhat of an edge by being a Roman citizen. Paul finds himself  in a tug of war battle between two extreme worlds and to make matters even more complicated, Paul has converted to Christianity, a group of individuals more despised by the Jews then the Romans! His conversion itself is one of a peculiar nature because Paul had spent so much time and energy persecuting the very group of people he now has become apart. He persecuted Christians for what he saw as “blasphemy” and now he has joined them. Talk about a complicated life! I give you this history so you understand the significance of Paul’s testimony and the audience of which he was speaking.

Paul’s Testimony

If you examine this story closely you will notice that Paul was “all things to all men that he might save some” (1 Corinthians 9:19-23). Paul was an extremely educated man in his day. He spoke several languages. To the commander of the Roman army he spoke Greek in order to prove that he was a learned man and not just someone wanting to start a riot in the streets (Acts 21:37). He spoke Aramaic to the crowd when he gave his testimony not only to speak the language of his audience, but to also show that he was in deed a devout Jew. By doing so, he showed respect for the Jewish customs and laws (Acts 22:2). Paul was speaking to a very hostile audience and yet was still willing to stand and share the miracle that Christ had performed in his life.

Testimonies

I love hearing the testimonies of fellow believers. These testimonies always seem to encourage my heart so deeply. I recently watched a video of a testimony given by a married couple that are acquaintances of mine and it brought me to tears. I knew these individuals before they were saved and to watch the Lord move so powerfully in their lives is nothing short of an absolute miracle. The change in their lives is completely night and day. Their outlook on life, the way they communicate, the things to do and the things they no longer do have all changed. Even the countenance on their faces have changed. They love the Lord, love life, they love each other more now than before, and they are so enthusiastic about  going to church. In fact, so much so that they won’t miss a single event that the church has going on. If there is something at the church, you better believe they are there. It has been such a blessing to hear the testimony of this precious couple as they grow in the things of God.

My husband and I do a lot of traveling. We often get the beautiful honor of sharing Sunday mornings with different congregations. Every once in awhile we get the blessed opportunity to soak up a testimony or two. One particular Sunday on the road we found ourselves witnessing a baptism. We had the opportunity to hear this man’s testimony. Our Lord instantly delivered this man from a life long addiction to crack cocaine. When God got a hold of his heart he never once had the urge to return to that addiction ever again. He is now a member of his local church, serving God with all he has and sharing the love of Christ with whomever will listen, and even those who don’t want to listen he still will respectfully and lovingly share. He also has had some open doors to share with the very people that he had was getting high with before he was transformed by the blood of Jesus Christ. Think about this for just a moment. Those of us who would not be caught dead even thinking about doing drugs would never in a million years have any influence on that group people, but this man who was delivered from that addiction still has inroads into their hearts. The power of this man’s testimony can influence an entire group of people that you or I could never reach because so many of us would never consider walking down that road towards that particular group of people. I love that our Lord uses our life stories to influence the very people He has placed on our path.  

The above examples I shared are examples of how the Lord changed someone’s heart for the very first time. They are stories of hearts rescued from the kingdom of darkness and established in the kingdom of light. There are other realms of testimonies that have the ability to influence the heart and lives of others outside of our conversion story. I have listed just a few examples of different kinds of testimonies and each one is linked to an example from previous posts, please feel free to revisit each one for a dose of encouragement.

Testimonies of...

God’s faithfulness and goodness  -  “Unchecked Emotions And God’s Faithfulness”

God’s provision - “The Faithfulness Of God”

God’s teaching - “Precious Moments”

God’s protection - “Family History With Liberia”

God’s healing and deliverance - “Miracle Working God”, “My By Faith Shoes”

The beautiful thing about a shared testimony is the fact that as that testimony is being shared, faith is being imparted, deliverance and healing are being deposited into the hearts of those who are listening through the work of the Holy Spirit. Romans 10:17 tells us that “faith comes by hearing.” So when we share our testimony we are allowing others to hear the message of God and as I just mentioned, faith is being imparted in their hearts. Every time I hear a testimony I inevitably walk away feeling as if I have just gotten a double dose of faith. I feel encouraged and so deeply blessed! This is why we should never underestimate the power of our God story, we just never know how deeply it will affect the hearts of those who are listening.

The power behind  shared testimony is found

in the book of Revelation.

“They overcame over him (satan - the accuser) by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of their testimony; they did not love their lives so much as to shrink from death.” Revelation 12:11 (quoted from 1991 edition of the NIV, emphasis mine)

When we share our testimony not only are we imparting faith into the hearts and lives of others, including ourselves, we are also sending a message to the devil. We are proclaiming that our lives belong to the Lord Jesus Christ, and in doing so we are gaining victory on the spiritual battlefield. Satan does not like to be reminded of whom our loyalties belong. It does not make him feel good to bring to his remembrance that he is a defeated foe. Every time we share our testimony it is one more defeating blow to satan’s big and overgrown ego. Each blow brings an empowering to us and a weakening to him. Don’t be ashamed to share your God story! Besides, if Paul can stand in front of a hostile crowd and share his God story, then surely we can share our story to a willing ear. God has given you a story to share for the strengthening of the body of Christ, the changing of hearts and the overcoming of the enemy! When you think about these three things, our God story truly is a powerful tool that God has placed in our hands. What a tremendous responsibility we have to share it with the world!  

Call To Action

What is your God story? There are people out there who need to hear your God story. Don't be ashamed of the work that God has done in your heart. Find a listening ear and share.

Also, feel free to share in the comments below something God has done in your life. We would love to share in the joy of your testimony!  I guarantee it will bless and encourage someone who hears it!

Feel free to revisit “My Testimony” if you want to know about my God story.

Lord, thank you for writing us a God story! Thank you that you continue to write new chapters and pages each and everyday. Help us to be as bold as Paul and be willing to share even in the midst of turmoil all around us. Help us to be a blessing and encouragement to those around us because we are not ashamed of sharing the beautiful things you have done in our hearts and lives. We love you Lord and we do not want to keep our story hidden away. We pray this in the precious name of Jesus Christ.

Miracle Working God

When I have looked at some of the miracles Christ performed, they were nothing short of mind-blowing. Jesus made the lame walk (John 5:1-15), He gave the blind sight (John  9:1-12), He made the mute talk (Mark 7:31-37), and He even raised the dead to life (John 11:38-44).

“Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever.” (Hebrews 13:8).

Christ has not changed

Since Christ has not changed, then surely He is still the same miracle working God He was in the scriptures. As I was thinking about the miracles I listed above, I found myself quite flabbergasted when I realized that Christ did each and every one of these miracles in my life. I would like to explain what I mean because I’m sure by now some of you are thinking, “When did you die and Christ raised you back to life?”

As many of you already know I had a stroke over four and a half years ago at the ripe old age of 31! (For more details see: Welcome, Recovery Road, and My By Faith Shoes) Yes, you read that right, 31. I lost my ability to walk and to talk at various points in time. I had blind spots in my vision, so that if I tried to look at a person in the eyes, I could only see the outline of their face. Their face was nothing more than one big black spot. So in essence I had partial  blindness.

I’m sure some of you are probably still asking, “how were you raised from the dead?” Please know that while I did not physically die, my heart never stopped beating, and my lungs never stopped breathing it does not mean I was not knocking on death’s door. People who have died from a stroke, especially those who had suffered massive strokes, can do so in a matter of hours. I however, managed to drag my undiagnosed stroke out for almost two weeks! All because the doctors did not think I fit the “normal” age range for a stroke patient. Listen, death is no respecter of age. I found that out first hand. Christ took me from being the doormat lying in front of death’s door and into life. So when I say Christ brought me back to life, I mean just that. I was teeter tottering on the edge of death Christ pulled me out.   

Jesus gave me back my ability to walk! Jesus restored my sight completely! Jesus brought back my voice and last but not least, He kept me from the grave! So, you can see why I can say... “Jesus is still a miracle working God!”

Christ did not do these miraculous things in my life just so I can keep them to myself. What Christ has poured in I would be foolish to hoard away selfishly. Christ pours in so I can pour out. I am designed to be nothing more than a conduit for the kingdom, a channel that Christ moves through to minister to others. The miracles I have experienced are merely my testimony that I am called to share with others.  

Miracle working God

I have heard people say that the age of miracles stopped after the new testament church was established. But I beg to differ. I am a product of Christ's miracle working power. These words I type are nothing short of Christ’s handy work of miraculous power in my life. If it was not for Jesus Christ working some major miracles on my behalf I would not be here today! So, NO, the age of miracles has not ceased. Does it look different? Absolutely it does because we no longer have Christ here on earth in the flesh, but just because He is not here in the flesh does not mean He has stopped working. Christ sent His Holy Spirit so we can continue to experience a miracle working God! What a precious gift!

So be assured that in your darkest hour, in the moment when life feels as though you are loosing everything, that you can not go on any longer, that the worries and troubles of this life are more then you can bear, please know that there is a God who works miracles! He will hear your cries. He heard mine, even in the moments when I had no way to communicate them clearly, when all I could do was say “Lord help!” He heard me. He will hear you too! Our prayers don’t have to be anything elaborate and complex.

Lord, I thank you for continuing to be the same miracle working God that you have always been. Thank you for not changing! Thank you for hearing our cries when things are beyond what we can bear. Thank you for making a way where there is no way. Help us not to lose sight of the fact that you are still our healer, our deliverer, our strength, and our ever present help in time of trouble (Psalms 46:1). We love you so much! In Jesus precious name we pray.

Liberia Trip Part 2

Trying to share the extent of our trip in one post is about impossible so this week's post will be a continuation from where we left off of part 1 of our Liberia trip.

Along with crossing a scary truck collapsed bridge we also found ourselves trekking through swamps, rivers and even crossing over a “monkey bridge” to visit one of the churches. The "monkey bridge" is nothing more than a long jungle gym of logs and sticks that spans the width of an entire river. The “monkey bridge” trip is done by a pastor every weekend for Sunday services. This is a two-hour walk for him from the mission and believe me when I say Liberians don’t mess around when they are going somewhere. I had trouble keeping up! When we took this particular trip we were met on the trail by a woman who knew my husband's grandparents. When she found out who we were, she literally shrieked and wailed with tears of joy. It was such an emotional moment I cried for about ten minutes after we left the woman. Oh, the heritage of Christ! What a beautiful thing it is!

"Monkey Bridge", swamps and rivers we crossed getting to one of the interior churches.

Another big part of our trip to the mission revolved around the school. My husband and I both have our teaching certifications. So because of our backgrounds and experience in education we spent some time doing a teacher training for the mission school teachers. Most of the teachers we were working with had no formal education beyond high school, and some had not even graduated high school. Their education system is extremely rote and completely different than the way our American teachers are trained to teach children. We were so blessed to see their desire to want to learn new ways to effectively educate their students. We are praying that the Lord opens more doors to be able to bring further teacher training to Liberia.  

Presentation of various teaching strategies at the training.

Yet another adventurous part of our trip was the food. I have to say, I truly do like Liberian food, but there was for sure some stretching going on in this department as well. Their cooking takes place outside over a fire in an outdoor kitchen. We ate village chicken, which by the way, is not at all like our American chicken, lots of rice, plantain, fish, snail, crawl fish, collard greens, pineapple, cucumber, and a couple things that we were not sure exactly what they were. We ate what was placed before us because we knew that much love and hard work went into the preparation of our meals and we in no way wanted to disrespect that! We truly were blessed beyond measure as far as the food went.

We ate this bush snail and these crawl fish.

The first half of our trip to the interior was both a blessing to our spirits and humbling to our hearts all at the same time. We were so encouraged and moved to see the Liberians that the missionaries sowed seeds into years ago are still serving the Lord with every ounce of their being. On the same token, it humbled our hearts because we have also seen that the needs are so great! We truly found ourselves laying things at the feet of Jesus because we realized that we do not have enough resources at our human disposal to meet the vast quantity of needs we saw during our stay. The needs are so enormous that the only thing we can do is to rely on God to be the provider. Otherwise, we would walk away shaking our heads and throwing our hands up in discouragement. If we did not hand over our burdened hearts for these people to the Lord we would end up drowning in the overwhelming sense that we are in fact inadequate to begin making an impact on the endless needs set before our eyes. Everywhere we turned, every place we looked, every person we met, there were major needs.

The second half of our trip was not as adventurous, but just as important to accomplish what God had called us to do. We spent time with the Liberian national church leadership as well as the American national church leadership. We spent some time viewing churches in the various towns closer to the major cities. We were able to get a clearer picture of how the Liberians operate, and they, in turn, they got a better understanding of the role that the American side can play in supporting them.

God desires to come back for a united body. He desires that we work and function in a capacity that accurately portrays the love of Christ in all we do in and for the body of Christ. And sometimes that requires us to sit down and get a clear understanding of how we can best support one another’s needs with the resources that we each have. God desires for us to come together, not to push one another away. It is our hope and prayer that as we continue our work in Liberia that we can continue to unify the body of Christ and portray His love accurately.

See Liberia Trip Part 1 and for more details from our trip.

Father, I thank you for opening my eyes to the needs of others. I pray that as I share these stories with others, that their hearts are pricked to reach out to those in need. Lord, I thank you that we do not have to travel overseas to be missionaries. We can be missionaries in our own backyards, in our work places, at our schools, at our local parks, and at our grocery stores. Let your love be evident in our lives no matter where we go. Let your love flow out of us and penetrate others around us. Help us to be everyday missionaries for your kingdom. In the precious name of Jesus Christ.

Liberia Trip Part 1

Last week I shared with you our family history and ties to Liberia. This week I would like to share some more details of our trip and what prompted us to return to our family roots.

As I mentioned last week, Liberia sits right on the coast of West Africa. So needless to say, it is breathtakingly beautiful! My husband and I found ourselves saying time and time again… “If Americans knew about this place, they’d pay big bucks to come here.” Yes, no lie, it is that captivating! Aside from the color of the water, some of the places we saw reminded us so much of our trip to Hawaii. Not even joking!

Beautiful scenery!

We spent our first two nights in the capital city of Monrovia staying with friends of our family, actually a man who grew up in Grandma and Grandpa’s house. Grandma and Grandpa took in several young Liberians who needed a place to live. They raised them as their own. In the short time we stayed with this man we saw the fruit of the spirit flowing out of him that Grandma and Grandpa had invested so much time sowing. The family we stayed with lived in a small gated community with three houses inside. The houses shared a water pump and generator run electric power, which was only on from about 7:00 pm until 6:00 am. They did not have power during the day. They cooked over a coal fire. They did not have any running water. But thankfully they had a toilet that was able to be flushed when you dumped water down it. The mother was a nurse and who had received her training here in the States through a grant. This was quite comforting to us because she was able to acclimate us to Liberian life and prepare us for our next phase of our trip, a ten-day trip interior, where life is entirely different from life in the capital city.

Once departing the capital city we found ourselves on an all day car ride to the interior. Please note here that on a good day you might make it to the mission in about 6 hours from the capital city. However, if there has been any amount of rain whatsoever, you can expect that time to increase drastically. All I can compare the interior Liberian roads to is our off-roading excursions here in the States, only, forget the fun of flying through the dirt on an ATV. Oh no! I have to say, there was not really anything fun about being bounced around like popcorn. And believe me when I say our driver was not to blame for any of it! The roads truly are that rough!

We were blessed with a great driver the entire time we were there! Praise the Lord for that because driving in Liberia is like “diving on another planet!” (as one of our Liberian friends says). And may I add that there are no restrooms anywhere on any of these long jostling roads. So, yes, we did have to pull over for an up close and personal experience with nature. Thankfully, I was prepared! My husband’s aunt and uncle who are currently missionaries in another African country warned me that I would more than likely find myself in situations such as this. So, out came the lapper (a large piece of fabric when wrapped around you it can be worn as a skirt, as well as its many other uses when needed) and away we went. For most Americans, we would have trouble getting past the jarring all day car ride much less having to do our business along the side of the road. For me, it was somehow all so exciting. I was being stretched beyond recognition and loving every minute of it! However, this was only the beginning of my stretching.

We arrived on the mission late in the evening and quite exhausted from our popcorn journey. The Liberians on the mission greeted us as if we were old friends and it was such a comforting feeling, to say the least. Our living arrangements for the next ten days was with the pastor on the mission and his family. You could tell that they had put out their very best for us and was it ever humbling! We were received with such love and honor. By American standards, this family did not have much in the way of material possessions but you would never know that based upon their attitudes and actions. It truly was such refreshing to be surrounded by people who were so enamored with the Lord that the little they had was more than enough. Yes, their lives have challenges, but they have the Lord, and the Lord does not leave the righteous forsaken (Psalm 37:25).

The next ten days were filled with many adventures including an eight-hour motorcycle trip further interior to visit more churches. Getting a round in Liberia always seems to be full of adventures. Our motorcycle trip was just that. We traveled with two other motor cycles, and five of us all together. We had bikes break down, flat tires, we saw an entire village filled with excitement over a bush cow that was killed (meaning the village would have plenty to eat), and we rode for an hour straight in the pouring down rain. Thankfully this was the last hour of our trip and we had finished viewing all of the churches, so we were heading back to the mission to recharge.

The motorcycle my husband and I road on

One of several bike fixes on our motorcycle trip.

One of the churches on our motorcycle trip required us to walk over a bridge that a logging truck had tried to drive over several months before and collapsed part of the bridge in the process of crossing. So the truck was hanging on the bridge leaving only a single footpath for one person to pass by at a time. This made the bridge steep and honestly quite scary. Please note that my picture does not do the situation justice. It was a sight, unlike anything I had ever seen.

Men carried heavy loads across the bridge to the other side on their heads all day long. 

Safely on the other side, we met some precious church people who were so excited to see our arrival. There was one man who told us a story of my husband’s grandfather and the impact he had on an entire village all because he was willing to eat the snake that the village had just killed. This man was a product of our grandfather’s willingness to “become all things to all men that he might win some” (2 Corinthians 9:22). It brings me to tears just thinking about the stories that were shared as we encountered so many beautiful people!

See Liberia Trip Part 2 and Family History With Liberia for more details of our trip.

Lord, I pray that as I share about this trip that you open our hearts and minds to the world around us. Open our hearts to others who are in need. Help us to go outside ourselves and share with others the love that only you can give. In Jesus precious name.