Yesterday was a very rough day for Christina. She had a series of seizures and had to be taken to the hospital via ambulance. She is stable and the doctor says she’ll be fine now that her medication has been adjusted. She is very tired from the stress on her brain & body. Harvey stayed with her last night at the hospital. When we left last night she was resting comfortably. :-)
God bless you all!! Deborah
So God has been teaching me an interesting lesson; one I don’t think I’ve learned yet, but I think sharing will help me digest some of what I’m learning. Feel free to jump in and share your thoughts on the subject.
Before I get started, I wanted to make a point about the basis of my faith in God and Jesus.
The Bible is God’s word. From start to finish it’s a historical account of man’s experience with God, inspired by God’s own spirit. That being the case, there are human influences that can be seen, and some people would call these “flaws,” and use that as a way to argue that the Bible is just a book of stories and has no real value. I bring this up because I understand how one would come to that conclusion, but as someone who’s studying the Bible and still has a lifetime of studying to do; I believe it is inspired by God and that God’s spirit speaks and moves through it just as it says He does. But the only way for another person to gain proof of that is to read the Bible with an open mind and experience God’s wisdom firsthand. He is true to his promises and won’t force himself on anyone; but will give himself freely to those who seek him. We could have a pointless debate that goes nowhere or leaves one of us feeling like we won an argument, but God promises the truth and often times we resist that because it means we might have to admit we’re wrong about something and change. I know that’s always the hardest part for me…at first. Then it’s pure bliss.
So now that that’s out of the way, I want to talk about miracles.
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Hmmmmm, wonder where this is going? :-/
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Well, if you didn’t know, my little brother Daniel and I have brain tumors and we have TONS of wonderful people praying for our healing. There are a lot of types of healing, and I actually feel like God’s already healed me in a couple ways; but in this case, they’re praying we’re healed of these tumors.
Two people got me thinking about the miracle thing more deeply though. One was the boy from the youth group up north that talked about seeing people be healed of scoliosis and his own eyes being healed. He also brought up John 14:12-14, “Most assuredly, I say to you, he who believes in Me, the works that I do he will do also; and greater works than these he will do, because I go to My Father. And whatever you ask in My name, that I will do, that the Father may be glorified in the Son. If you ask anything in My name, I will do it.” Shortly after this, Jesus goes away willingly to suffer and die on the cross to pay for our sin so that we would be able to call on God as our Father, rather than the AWESOME, OMNIPOTENT being that we don’t have the ability to understand or describe because he’s that beyond our understanding.
My second encounter was on Memorial Day. It was so over-the-top, that I know God was just Loving on me, but it also made me start doubting my faith in miracles. I was walking to the gym to go swimming, one of the few exercises I can do that doesn’t hurt, listening to the song birds; and I found a perfect open flower on the grass on my way. I picked it up and took it with me. This is significant, because the day before I’d prayed to be like a flower open to God who was like the sun; to respond to His light and be a reflection of His greatness…and then rest. I enjoyed the flower and birds all the way to gym, and I figured I’d leave the flower somewhere at the gym for someone else to enjoy, pass along the blessing. It didn’t take long to find her. After I was done changing, I started talking with a woman who turned out to have recently had brain surgery and that got us talking about my tumor and our faith in Christ and a recent experience she had where she was “come over” by the spirit to pray for a young woman’s intestinal tumor to be healed, and it was. The woman healed wasn’t a Christian and came back saying that Theresa (from the gym), was the one who healed her, but Theresa insisted it was God and the younger woman accepted Christ that day. So Theresa, my new prayer warrior friend, asked to pray for me; and in the 24hr Fitness locker room, this passionate woman prayed over me with a booming, fervency that I’m not used to and I felt shaken in my faith a bit. Which made me start to feel bad; mostly because here was this wonderful person sharing her herself so freely with me and MY faith wasn’t strong enough.
But you know what I think the Truth is? Mark 10:45, “For even the Son of Man didn’t come to be served, but to serve, and to give His life a ransom for many.” God can heal, and does. I’ve met many people who’ve witnessed that today, and I do believe God can and will do that in my life if that’s what’s best. But it might not be what’s best. This challenge might be what’s best for me right now, and since God denies us no good thing, I know this is good for me until things change. The devil wanted to steal my joy that day. He wanted me to be upset with myself because of my lack of faith. And it worked for a while, but God is so good, and he loves me and restores my joy daily. I’m still having ups and downs. I still feel physically weak most of the time, I’m having trouble sleeping, and mentally I start to lose it in the afternoon. But I have all that I need and more. I have love, a joy that surpasses all understanding…when wait on the Lord like his word says to do and fantastic family and friends. I still have tons to learn…I’ll never learn it all. But if I keep seeking, I know I’ll keep finding that joy in the Great God who loves us all.
There’s more. But in the interest of not writing a book, I’ll save that for later.
God Bless You All,
Chrissy :rose: :sun:
We’re going back to Hoofs and Woofs this Friday morning for a few hours…probably 2-3; So if anyone’s interested in coming along let us know. I have some paperwork from Dorothea that you can fill out before so you don’t have to do it there. Sorry to the kiddo’s, but for the time being, only teens and older can come along. It’s a great place to volunteer and a lot of fun. I hope you’ll come if you’re able :fingersxd:
It’s in Valley Center, and we plan to be there 9-9:30a and stay for two or three hours. We’d probably meet there and possibly do lunch after if everyone’s still up for it.
http://hoofsandwoofsanimalrescue.org/
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Psalm 37:3-6a
Trust in the Lord, and do good; dwell in the land, and feed on His faithfulness. Delight yourself also in the Lord, and He shall give you the desires of your heart. Commit your way way to the Lord, trust also in Him, and He shall bring it to pass. He shall bring forth your righteousness as the light, and your justice as the noonday. Rest in the Lord, and wait patiently for Him;
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Hi Everyone,
Mom and I went out to Hoofs and Woofs again and actually did some ‘work.’ ;-) . We were aloud to do the most basic parts of grooming and lunging for a WILD :rotfl: pony named Shadow. She was such a sweetheart, and so patient with us. That’s her daughter, Lulu, in the back. Next time I’ll get pictures of some of the other horses; there are so many of them. We also met more of the volunteers; a woman who handles most of the landscaping…WHAT A JOB THAT IS :eek: , and another woman whose been helping out for about six months and was riding a huge horse that dwarfed us all.
We only stayed about two hours; and I found out a few very important things. One, I LOVE THIS PLACE and everything they’re doing for the animals. Two, I have A LOT to learn; and three…I’m turning into a wimpy little vampire whose scared of the sun :vampire:
Because of my ‘condition,’ (the tumor, the seizures), I’m indoors a lot more. So after being on the ranch, I realized how paranoid I was about getting burned from being out in the BEAUTIFUL sunshine for a couple hours. Sooooo Sad.
Well, I didn’t burn. So I am not a vampire. And I resolved to get out as much as I can and get as much sun as I can.
Let me know if anyone’s interested in coming along next time to the Ranch. We might go out this coming Wednesday or Friday in the morning. They could always use more help.
Love you all,
Christina
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(Ephesians 4:2-6)
Be completely humble and gentle; be patient, bearing with one another in love. Make every effort to keep the unity of the Spirit through the bond of peace. There is one body and one Spirit, just as you were called to one hope when you were called ; one Lord, one faith, one baptism; one God and Father of all, who is over all and through all and in all.
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Hi Everyone,
Sorry for the long hiatus. I’ve been a weepy girl lately and stressing out over a lot of things I really shouldn’t be. But, PRAISE GOD, He’s looking out for me and keeps reminding me of all the wonderful blessings in my life. And how LOVED I am even when I feel so unlovable :cry:
My Momma, shared this (and and a lot more) with me, and I was blessed by it and wanted to share as well. To be seen as perfect when I’m so flawed is very powerful.
http://gracethrufaith.com/ask-a-bible-teacher/how-can-deceitful-hearts-believe/
I hope you’re all enjoying the Sunshine!!
Christina :sun:
If you’re familiar with the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah, you know that God came in a physical form and met with Abraham before. They talked and ate and Abraham walked with him toward Sodom after. When God told Abraham of his plan to destroy it, Abraham humbly pleaded that the it be spared if God found any ‘righteous’ there; knowing that the ‘Judge of all the earth,’ would do right. Slowly, Abraham reduced the number of people he asked God to save the city until it was only ten, and God said if he found ten righteous he would not destroy it.
The two angels that were with God arrived in the city that evening and were met by Lot, who insisted they come under his protected for the evening. They wanted to stay in the square, but he pushed until they came. Later, the men of the city surrounded Lot’s home and demanded the ‘men’ (Angels) be handed over so they could have sex with them and tried to force their way inside. They accused him of trying to act as a judge against them when he was an alien among them. The angels blinded them and were able to get Lot, his wife and his two daughters out of the city, but they were the only ones; and even Lot’s wife turned back to remember the lusts of the flesh she was leaving behind, turning her to a pillar of salt.
Once Lot and his family was safe, God rained burning sulfur down on Sodom and Gomorrah. (Genesis 18-19)
But he saved those who showed kindness to innocent strangers coming through the town. I don’t know if Lot knew they were Angels sent by God, but he was the only person there who tried to help them rather than hurt them or abuse them for selfish gain. Not that Lot was a perfect man. We’re reminded of that in the next section. But he showed love and sacrifice. He made an effort when others embraced selfishness.
God knows how weak and incompetent we are. He knows how much we desire to be more than we are. We want to be like Him. So he’s Infinitely merciful and gives us every opportunity to turn away from the things that would drag us down and hurt us. And when we fail…he sends in the cavalry and tries harder. But eventually, that will change, and God’s word says that this world will burn and there will be a new one, a better one.
One where there are no Kony’s brutalizing people or where we aren’t polluting our beautiful world or hurting each other over our own vanities or allowing people to starve while we die of being overweight and lazy.
And one where we get to bask in the LIGHT AND GLORY OF OUR LORD AND SAVIOR JESUS CHRIST FOR ETERNITY :sun: :-D :sun:
All of our attempts to express Gods AMAZINGNESS fail, but I love them anyway. This is another GREAT song.
It’s hard to understand WHY he loves us so much, but he does. :heart: :victory:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dK80ZIHmW30&feature=related
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JoC1ec-lYps
Another great song by this Combo. It’s so beautiful and as always in God’s perfect timing. I’m going to make myself sick of it from listening so much…but it’s so BEAUTIFUL!!! And the youtube version has these beautiful paintings of Jesus to go along with it :cry:
That’s is why Mary could just sit at Jesus’ feet without remorse as Martha served; Jesus was SO BEATIFUL. :worship:
http://www.songlyrics.com/hillsong-united/like-an-avalanche-lyrics/
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FJ2_Gg6ka-k
(Mark 3:31-35)
Then Jesus’ mother and brothers arrived. Standing outside, they sent someone in to call him. A crowd was sitting around him, and they told him, “Your mother and brothers are outside looking for you.”
“Who are my mother and my brothers?” he asked.
Then he looked at those seated in a circle around him and said, “Here are my mother and my brothers! Whoever does God’s will is my brother and sister and mother.”
I think God might be leading me into some type of service, but I have no idea what that might be. Please pray for me to WAIT on Him and to be obedient. Even knowing how gracious God has always been with me, I’m really afraid of jumping the gun and failing or just being a big :chicken2: and not stepping out in faith.
Thank you all for listening to my rantings and for your prayers. I hope you enjoy the things Gods been giving me to share; and, I hope you’ll all take some time to stop and enjoy the beauty that God has blessed us with. Our lives are NOW, not in some distant future when we’ve gotten a degree, or some perfect career or made a fortune. OUR LIVES ARE NOW.
LOVE YOU ALL!
Christina :heart:
With Jesus as our example and as our model, we can never claim we deserve or have earned a place of favor. He demonstrated to us what it means to live life and love one another and then graciously reminds us that we’re going to fail and he’s here to help us when that happens…just because he loves us.
Thank you Lord :worship:
Mark 2:16-17
When the teachers of the law who were Pharisees saw him eating with the “sinners” and tax collectors, they asked his disciples: “Why does he eat with tax collectors and ‘sinners’?”
On hearing this, Jesus said to them, “It is not the healthy who need a doctor, but the sick. I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners.”
1 Timothy 1:15-16
Here is a trustworthy saying that deserves full acceptance: Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners — of whom I am the worst. But for that very reason I was shown mercy so that in me, the worst of sinners, Christ Jesus might display his unlimited patience as an example for those who would believe on him and receive eternal life.
I hope everyone is having a nice week. God Bless!!