November already?  It seems like the other day, we were ringing in the New Year at a hotel in Columbia, SC on our way to Hampton for the interview "try out" process at Lighthouse Church.  At midnight, we kissed our sleeping babies (the swimming pool wore them out) and each other.  We prayed together and asked God to bless 2010.

For us, a new year symbolized a new hope.  We've chosen not to publicly reveal details but in short we were living through horrible betrayal.  We had been cheated through our own naivety and willingness to be too trusting.  We put ourselves in a vulnerable position with no recourse.  It left us full of uncertainty and searching.  Very messy stuff. 

Everything that happens in our lives, the good, the really bad sad, the stuff we wish never happened - it all has purpose. 

And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose. Romans 8:28

God has done so much since January to bring healing to our lives.  He is revealing to me the purpose in the pain. God is bringing restoration to our family.  Financially, mentally (we doubted our discernment, our instincts, even our ability to hear from God), spiritually, and relationally. 

We still hurt.  Yet, at the same time we hurt less.  Sometimes our hurt comes from a memory or the mention of names.  But I know that God is working.  He's taking the bad things and bringing good from them.  I have peace.  I see glimpses of who we are becoming.  I'm rejoicing in Sweet November.  May you rejoice also, as God is bringing purpose from your pain. 

 "Be Blessed"  Part 1

Nothing worthwhile ever comes easy. So don't get tired of doing what is good. Don't get discouraged and give up, for we will reap a harvest of blessing at the appropriate time. (Gal.6:9.)

If you're discouraged, don't give up without a fight. Nothing really worthwhile ever comes easy in life. You keep hitting it and going after it,and little-by-little your life becomes a masterpiece of God's grace. 

(My friend Nancy posted this on her facebook.  It really touched my heart.  I hope this word inspires you like it did me.)

We've all got a race to run.  God has a race for you to run!  What a challenging and exciting thought—God has given me a race to run. God has designed a purpose for my life—a purpose that I can discover and fulfill.

We can run with the power of the Holy Spirit in our lives - energizing, strengthening, and filling us with joy.  It's like running with the wind behind us!  Or we can run in our own power - into the wind, fighting the wind. 

It is a marathon—not a sprint.  It begins the moment you receive Christ, and it lasts until you die or Christ returns.  The key is not how fast you start the race, but how consistently you run.

Are you weary and thinking about quitting?  Stay in!  Are you thinking about taking a detour?  Keep going straight ahead!  Run the race!

"...let us strip off every weight that slows us down, especially the sin that so easily trips us up. And let us run with endurance the race God has set before us."  Hebrews 12:1

There is this church that puts a pretty float in the parades.  All the beautiful children ride on it and wave to the onlookers.  You've seen those floats in your hometown parades.  Presh.  

It is also the church with the preacher on the back screaming into a bullhorn.

Hell. 

Fire. 

Eternal burning.

The thing is, I love Jesus. I don’t mean just a little bit or only on Sundays. I LOVE HIM!  Romans 1:16 says, For "I am not ashamed of this Good News about Christ. It is the power of God at work, saving everyone who believes—the Jew first and also the Gentile." 

What I don't want is to be so preachy that people are turned off from God.  How are people who do not know Jesus going to become interested in learning more about Him if they only hear hell and fire tirades?  I'd rather share with them the mind-blowing truth about a God who loves us so much that he gave his son for us. 

It's hard to find the balance between preachy and passion. 

My hope for the words coming out my "bullhorn"?

Love.

Grace.

Eternal life.

My heart fills with thankfulness for a dear friend who just birthed a beautiful baby girl.  We all awaited with bated breath and hearts full of prayers to hear that this baby was healthy and well.  This same friend many months ago carried her baby boy fullterm only to birth him into heaven. 

I received word of our answered prayers from another precious friend who several years ago lost her own baby boy just shy of his 1st birthday.  My heart breaks every time I see the sadness in her eyes.  Sadness she is much too young to know.

My thoughts wander to another friend who nearly two years ago said her goodbyes to her cancer stricken precious angel.  An angel who was wise beyond her age.  An angel I didn't get to meet but have been introduced to so well by her family and friends.

As I worship at church, I see a dear lady praying and pleading with God to help her.  She's enduring severe betrayal from a close family member.  Her heart is broken and her spirit is crying out to Jesus. 

After church, my homeschooling "mother of many" mentor, comes to see how my week has been and to offer encouragement in this never ending work I've taken on.  While we are chatting my mind goes back to when we first moved to SC.  Our move coincides with the loss of her forever baby.  You see, God gave them a down syndrome baby.  He was their gift to be enjoyed by all six of his siblings.  They anticipated having him forever in their home.  Only his stay with them was brief. 

Supper out with friends brings mention of another friend whose husband has rejected and betrayed her. 

I want to gather these ladies, take them away from the suffering, the pain, and Satan.  Only one person can.  I cry out to the one who can heal this depth of pain and restore hope to lives.  I put my faith in God who can heal the deepest hurt imaginable. I cry out to Jesus.

New paint, new carpet, new furnishings... It's an outward sign of the inward change occurring. 

More important than buildings and chairs, God's remodeling the hearts of his people.  God’s people have always found their destiny in abandoning their comfortable world and launching out into deep waters. 

We're on our way to deep waters and some of us aren't even sure we can swim.  But God has a message for us...He has made us for greatness. Until we embrace this hope, we will never achieve all that He has planned for us.  

We've been trapped in a world that is often gray and featureless, our lives defined by our routines.  With everything upside down and out of place, we're finding ourselves in a world of TECHNICOLOR possibilities.  We never knew it was just beyond the box in which we lived.

As a child I learned to sing this little song, "There really ought to be a sign upon my heart, Don't judge him yet, there's an unfinished part, But I'll be better just according to His plan, Fashioned by the Master's loving hands." 

I realize now more than ever that I'm under construction. I have been and always will be.  The sign upon my heart?  "Remodeling in progress".

Every moment is a gift from His throne room.

Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and cometh down from the Father of lights, with whom is no variableness, neither shadow of turning.  James 1:17