A Year of Miracles

"It's the year of miracles," my mother calls it. As 2012 comes to a close, I can't help but look back and evaluate what unfolded.

Miracles. 

2012 wasn't what I expected, but it's undeniable that God was performing miracles. 

I'm quite the impatient individual, so at times, I lose sight of the miracles happening around me.  Sometimes we tend to look at how far we are from our goals, and forget about how far we've come. We lose focus on the lessons learned during the journey, and tend to look at the stumbling along the way. 

Well as I look back and reflect, I'm seeing miracles. There's something humbling about the care and precision God took in planning my life. The numerous details that I would have overlooked, but He never forgot.

The first month of the year for me was a huge mess. A huge mess that God was working into His greatest miracle of the year. A huge mess that was pushing me toward the only Savior that could rescue me from the darkness I was in. In one day, He took a girl that was lost and lonely, and covered her in His grace. Forgiving her of a list of sins that would make anyone blush. 

Not only that, but He gave me an incredible church with great people to help me during all this change. I still stand in awe of how He orchestrated all of it with such ease. As fears surfaced, He had already put me at ease about them. The beauty in my move to Marshfield was something of awe also. I had an apartment within a few weeks of looking. I needed a job closer to town before winter time, I got one before September. I longed for my family to be closer, they were able to buy a house near me by October.  

He provided as scripture promises. 

So don’t worry about these things, saying, ‘What will we eat? What will we drink? What will we wear?’ These things dominate the thoughts of unbelievers, but your heavenly Father already knows all your needs. Seek the Kingdom of God above all else, and live righteously, and he will give you everything you need.

Matthew 6:31-33

I was in two car accidents this year. The first was my fault. God even provided during that time with money to cover my large deductible. The second accident, a semi-tanker ran a stop sign during a snow storm. God was keeping me safe during the whole ordeal. It didn't turn out too bad, but looking at the scene I realized if I had hit just a few seconds sooner, it could have turned out horribly for me. 

Each miracle was the Lover of my soul serenading me. As He whispered reassurances into my ear, and led me along gently. There are times I wonder if I'm messing up everything. Then I remember that He will never let me get lost. As long as I pursue Him and continue to praise Him, He will never let me go down the wrong path. 

So as the year wraps up, I hope you look back and see the miracles. No matter the size, a miracle is a beautiful thing. 

Connecticut School Shooting And A Call To Prayer

I think it's only appropriate to take a moment in our busy lives to stop, think, and pray over the devastating calamity that occurred today.  The Connecticut school shooting is just another example of the corruption and evil that rages across the world. It is a clear cut example of the need for Christ in our lives. It's a gut-wrenching heartbreak knowing innocent children are the victims of the evil that occurred. I can't even fathom the amount of pain a person experiences at the loss of a child. My prayer is that God pours down His healing and love over this land as people are grieving. Also praying for the adults that were victims. The people who cared for these children as they provided education. 

My second prayer is for the family and friends of the shooter, Adam Lanza. Too often we forget the pain that they are feeling over their loss, and the burden they may feel knowing the victim. I pray that God turns this travesty into a time of healing and change in the hearts of people affected. 

Lastly, pray for the children and family's remaining that hold a new fear in their hearts. A place that most children view as safe has now been stained with memories of a terrifying day. Their innocent hearts have been assaulted by Satan with fear and despair. Our only hope lies in God's healing, everlasting love, and true sovereignty. 

I just want to leave you with a few verses that are reminders of the Lord's grace and love. 

He heals the brokenhearted and binds up their wounds.
Psalms 147:3

The Lord is near to the brokenhearted and saves the crushed in spirit.
Psalms 34:18

Cast your burden on the LORD, and he will sustain you; he will never permit the righteous to be moved.
Psalms 55:22

One Big Fat Failure

When I came back to the Lord, I had grand and magnificent plans to speak out His truth with a boldness that couldn't be denied by any whom crossed my path. As time wore on, despair became a heavy burden on my heart. One of my greatest fears had risen up, and was beginning to overtake me... failure. As I evaluated my life over the last year, I was filled with sorrow thinking about how little of an affect I have had on anyone. Not only had I failed at something I had set my eyes on, but I surely failed God.  My boldness resembled a puppy yapping at a stranger walking down the street while tied to its post; very far from the lion I had envisioned. My feeble attempts had been fruitless, and just added to my list of failures.

Then one night, I picked up a book and read one chapter. Just one. The book was "When God Whispers Your Name," by Max Lucado. Lucado begins by painting for us a picture of John the Baptist, one of the great men God used. Then he paints a picture of Paul. Let me clarify, while reading I was visualizing these men, and the distressing lives they lived. All the while making a checklist of all the ways I have failed compared to them. I haven't been locked away in prison! I haven't eaten locust, been stoned, or been persecuted for my faith! Clearly I haven't stood up to my promise to preach the gospel of my Savior as I planned. 

Just before the despair swept over me completely, Lucado moves on to another story. This story starts with a blizzard. John Egglen, a normal man from England, trudged his way to church on this particular morning despite the weather. When he arrived, he discovered that a majority of the congregation had chose not to face the blizzard to get to church.  In fact, even the preacher had been snowed in. There were a mere 13 people present that morning.  With no one to preach, Egglen was left to step up to the plate because he was a deacon. He sputtered out a short and unimpressive sermon. Of the 13 people that were there, 12 were members and one was a visitor. That visitor was a thirteen-year-old boy. Just as Egglen was wrapping up his pitiful attempt at a sermon, he was struck with a courage, looked straight at that young boy and said, "Young man, look to Jesus. Look! Look! Look!" 

That young man grew up. That young man was Charles Spurgeon. As Spurgeon said, "I did look, and then and there the cloud on my heart lifted, the darkness rolled away, and at that moment I saw the sun." Egglen probably never knew the impact he made. Just as John and Paul probably never truly saw, or realized the impact of their words.  No one at those times in history had an inkling of the profoundness of the moment. 

Okay, so maybe I'm jumping to conclusions too quickly. Sure, my name hasn't been thrown across the front page of a newspaper proclaiming the great revolution I am leading. I haven't performed divine miracles in the name of Christ. But I have been living my life constantly seeking Christ. I have taken opportunities to tell others about my Savior, missed a few opportunities, and failed miserably during many. But as Lucado put it,

"But behind every avalanche is a snowflake, 

Behind a rock slide, is a pebble. 

An atomic explosion begins with one atom.

And a revival can begin with one sermon." 

This simple chapter gave me one realization. I may not ever realize the impact I have, or will have. I may even die with no indication that my life was of any importance. The moment that I will know, will only come when I stand before my Father in Heaven, and He says, "My child, well done."


Image Created By Emily Gibson
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Here is a link to check out where you can get Max Lucado's "When God Whispers Your Name."

Addiction

Addiction.
It's scary. It can bring a sense of hopelessness, and hide the true hope that lies in Christ. It's when it becomes the thing we fall on our knees to, instead of Christ, that the real danger surfaces. It sneaks into our lives in the dark, and robs us of the joy promised to us. Soon that addiction spreads throughout the rest of our lives until it has infected each part with its poison.

Instead, clothe yourself with the presence of the Lord Jesus Christ. And don’t let yourself think about ways to indulge your evil desires.
Romans 13:14

The true beauty of our Savior is that no matter the type of addiction, or the amount it has taken over, we are promised freedom. Addictions have been one of my worst enemies for so long. There are many that I have overcome, but there are still many I struggle with each and every day. My biggest fears always lays in those initial moments of trying to pull away. The anxiety that would wash over me always seemed too much to bear.  An instant fear that I was too weak would overpower me.

Ah, weak. The world has twisted our view of weakness. We live in a world where every corner we turn we are told, "Find your inner strength!" Well, that isn't what God has told us. Although I'm sure Satan would love for me to fall for these beliefs because then it would be easy for him to take me down. I have two verses to turn to in these times.

Each time he said, “My grace is all you need. My power works best in weakness.” So now I am glad to boast about my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ can work through me. That’s why I take pleasure in my weaknesses, and in the insults, hardships, persecutions, and troubles that I suffer for Christ. For when I am weak, then I am strong.
2 Corinthians 12:9-10

As far as those fears and the anxiety I experience are concerned. 

Then you will experience God’s peace, which exceeds anything we can understand. His peace will guard your hearts and minds as you live in Christ Jesus.
Philippians 4:7

I certainly have always struggled with fear of failure. I want to share with you this clip from a sermon by Matt Chandler. In less than two minutes, he reminds us of how God wants us to keep pressing. No addiction in the world could possibly separate us from Him. Nothing. He loves us no matter what we struggle with. All He asks is we continue to seek Him.

As one last note, I'm praying for you. For those who read this and think, "that's me." I'm praying for you to realize that all you have to do is surrender it all to Him, our healer. Lastly, I'm praying that you realize how big His grace really is, and how much He loves you. 

Image Created By Emily Gibson