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Returning!
When we return something, we take it back. We go back to where we once were. We make things right. We give back the things, exchange them, or we get what we need through the correct transactions. Then we take it with us! Or we go looking for what we did not yet receive. Sometimes they don’t have on hand what we went back for. And maybe it’s something we can live without. Maybe it is something we can wait for. Maybe it will show up later. When we go back to a previous store and talk to the person to get things figured out, we’re essentially looking for customer…
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Power Shortage
Have you ever experienced a major power outage? Unexpectedly, the electricity service goes out… Personal Story: I was blind and now I see. I turned completely in the direction of Jesus. Became apart of the church. Met a cute guy. Got married… but when we’re looking at the “better” of one another, we’re not yet seeing the “worse”. I found myself crying out for mercy! Often. I would feel like I kept losing the vision God gave us because it was too hard to see. Especially when the power was cut off. I was taking care of three little guys and Derek had a lot he was responsible for too,…
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The Overcomer of Discouragement
We have an overcomer at our side. The Lord, He succeeds in dealing with or gaining control of some problem or difficulty. He’s a Voice and Advocate for us in extreme moments that last longer than we anticipated or when we have lost our footing for a minute and just need the security of His presence. Nine years ago, Mandisa came out with a song: “Overcomer.” I was driving on a road that had a lot of hills and I was thinking through our lives of ups and downs as I saw my three handsome and active boys in the back seat. I started singing this song to the top…
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The Pile Up of Discouragement
Have you ever felt like you’re doing more things right than you have ever done, but more of the wrong things are happening to you than ever before? …And it’s like they’re not just happening. They are stacking up against you as a burial site or something. In my head as I saw the list of costly repairs to our vehicle along with the Christmas list and the camper renovation list and the house update list, I started feeling discouraged. On top of these things were dental appt.’s and doctor check ups, a much needed car cleaning, and some family needs. There were deadlines and pending dates that we had…
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Firmly Standing
Did you get knocked down a bunch of times like I did before finally finding a way to stand stronger? The red words in our bibles say this: “…the one who stands firm to the end will be saved.” When we are saved or rescued, we’re kept in health and well being! We are given the chance to recover. That is what Jesus does for us. By firmly standing, He modeled what it is to not stop during most difficult seasons. A firm stand is this… Resilient- Fixed- Decided- Settled- Definitely Established- Not uncertain. Having the opposite of a firm stand is this… Compromising- Fickle- Fluctuating- Hesitating- Undecided- Unhealthy. We…
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Glitches and Cancellations
The enemy has always wanted to cancel us out. From the beginning. Throughout our lives, and even til the end. But God keeps on coming through for us! We think we won’t make it out of all the problems and then here comes another way to combat what we are facing. Deuteronomy 28:7 “The Lord will cause your enemies who rise against you to be defeated before you. They shall come out against you one way and flee before you seven ways.” What’s really been “glitched” is Satan’s beginning position. Sparks were literally flying! He fell like lightening. He was stopped from being successful in his tactics. It’s the rise…
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HEALING COME!
Recently as I grimaced while working my shoulder out at the gym, a man walks by and says: “Don’t hurt yourself now.” I didn’t have to think. My response: “Oh I’m already hurt. I’m here to heal.” Relatably, he says: “I know how that feels.” For three years, I’ve endured a pain in my shoulder that never existed before. The tremendous stiffining pain took my attention. It distracted me from listening intently to people. I heard them but I almost always was in another land. Full of agony. God is meeting me each time I’ve been and am in my place of pain. Instead of backing away from faithfulness, He’s…
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Is faithfulness a place? (2!)
Faithful can be a place within us where we’ve made a decision to trust and trust and trust. Dwell there with God. How many times have we been in a place of doubt and it was truly a place we would describe as sad, limited, and confusing…? But faith kicked in and brought certainty again. Faith stands the tests and refuses to be run off the land! Our land of faithfulness has promises! Though layered with peace, places where the faithful reside can be a mixture sometimes of unease and unrest. These places are not absent of occasional problems and impatience. Pain is present at times. Tension often visits. But being faithful is to push…
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Is faithful a place?
When I think about faithful, I think about truth, promises, and loyalty. I think about Godly people, marriages, and long term integrity. I envision places where one generation followed the next. Where there’s been long standing business relationships. Where the old timers are still examples to the new comers. …So, faithful can be the place you built your house after all those months of scraping everything together to make it happen. -The place you got married after all the moments of waiting and believing in one another. – The place your kids grew up after all the memories spent together as a family. – The place you made a wise…
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Placing the Pieces
HAVE YOU EVER FELT THAT YOUR “LIFE PIECES” WERE SCATTERED? THAT THE PUZZLE JUST ISN’T COMING TOGETHER? Some of you have felt that your lives are falling a part. But God wants you to know it’s kind of like a puzzle. You see the box. You see the vision and the picture and your like… “That’s what I want. That is what I want right there. That’s my desire.” And then you open up the box… pouring the pieces out, and they’re just kind of everywhere on the table. He’s wanting you to know, they’re coming together. “AND WE KNOW THAT ALL THINGS WORK TOGETHER FOR GOOD TO THEM THAT…