Waiting
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Cast…Because He Cares
How many times has someone said something, or you read a quote, and it stopped you in your tracks? I love to read and I read a lot! I also love to listen to podcasts and attend conferences to continue to grow as a person and especially as a follower of Christ. Years ago I began collecting quotes so I wouldn’t lose them and decided to share these on my blog in a new series I’m calling Favorite Quotes. So, here is the first: If God cares for you, why need you care too? Can you trust Him for your soul and not for your body? He has never refused…
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Who Said It Would Be Easy?
When my husband and I surrendered to ministry, our lives became harder than ever before. Everything started breaking, including cars, furniture and appliances—big stuff on a very limited budget. We began to question whether or not God really called us to full time ministry. Shouldn’t it be easy to follow Jesus, especially since we were committing our family and vocations to His work? We only have to read the book of Job to answer “no” to the title question. In reading Disappointment With God by Philip Yancey I was stunned as he reminded us God never told Job what was happening behind the scenes. Job never knew about the bet…
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The Upside of a Struggle
The disappointment, the losses, the failures, the fears, the betrayals, the waiting and waiting. Why? What good is this in the life of a believer?? I’ve asked these questions many times. If I do get an answer to one, it’s not usually the one I want. It took 8 long painful years praying before the Lord brought restoration in a family relationship. But one thing I have learned over the years, nothing is ever wasted. The Lord uses it all. Scripture tells us: We know that all things work together for the good of those who love God, who are called according to his purpose. For those he foreknew he…
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The Hope Spring Brings
Wherever you live, do you see it? The green starting to pop out in the trees? The early flowers showing their beauty? I do! I love getting to enjoy my neighbors peach tree each spring without having to take care of it! Spring is absolutely, hands down my favorite season! I cannot tell you what it does to my soul every single spring. In the winter I feel more lethargic, but let the flowers and trees start to wake up, and so do I! My energy finds a whole new level! I hate to say it, but I spend most of the winter waiting for the spring! After multiple losses last…
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Just Below the Surface
As I write this my husband and I are on an extended time away from home. We don’t live here, but the beach is our home away from home every chance we get. Our time here began a bit sad as I wondered what God was doing. The first couple of days we were here, I saw only a handful of dolphins. It was in the morning as I sat on the balcony spending time with Jesus. The dolphin sometimes jump and spin and are very obvious. Today, they were only showing their fins once in a while. It was a quiet and slow movement and I had to watch…
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Timing is Everything
I often write about waiting, and God’s timing not usually matching mine. But throughout scripture we see evidence that God always has a plan, and His plan is always perfectly timed. In Genesis 21, after waiting basically a life time desiring to become a mother, Sarah became pregnant and bore a son to Abraham in his old age, at the appointed time God had told him (Genesis 21:2). The year was perfect for Isaac to be born. The next Israelite patriarch was born and it fit completely into God’s big redemption timeline. The timing for Isaiah’s vision of God seated on His throne was specific as well. God was calling…
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Waiting with Patience?
I’m not necessarily a patient person. I applaud those who are. Tending to work fast on most anything, I am a “get’er done” kind of gal. Waiting in line, waiting on answers, and well…just waiting in general, is REALLY hard! This year the Lord directed me to memorize Romans 8. My verses for this week are 24-25. The context is how we were saved through our hope in Christ and now we eagerly wait for our full redemption when Jesus returns and makes all things new. Read back a few verses in your Bible, or better yet, the entire chapter to get a better look at the context. My post…
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The Word on Waiting
As “waiting” has been on my heart, and in my advent study, I’ve also been working throuh a Melissa Spoelstra study on Isaiah. (Check the blog category for more on the topic of Waiting) Once again, the Lord has connected it all today as I was in Isaiah 49. The author’s focus was “we can trust God’s timing because He sent His Son, Jesus, just as He promised.” This message is very similar to what I’ve learned through the advent study, Our Hope Has Come! So, yes, Lord, I am listening while I’m waiting and waiting and waiting! I needed this reminder today and wanted to share some great waiting…
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The Waiting of the Second Advent
If you missed the last post, please read The Waiting of Advent first. This week the focus is: how we are to wait for what hasn’t happened yet? How do we wait when we have unmet desires? And especially how do we wait for the second and final arrival of Christ? A reminder, these thoughts were generated by the study of Our Hope Has Come as I led our life group through. Though we are never given exact dates for Christ’s return, we are told what we should be doing. The Great Commission, a few of Jesus’ last words to His disciples, is found in Matthew 28:18-20. “All authority has…
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The Waiting of Advent
This year my women’s life group studied advent through the Bible study, Our Hope Has Come. The major theme is on the waiting. Something most of us do not like to do! I hate waiting! Of course there was the waiting for the arrival of the Messiah for the Jewish nation. He had been promised and God would bring it to pass, but when? Finally, Jesus arrives, granted, not like most people expected. Many didn’t believe. But He came. Today, we wait for his second advent…the arrival of the new heaven and earth for all eternity. We didn’t just study the nativity itself as you might think for a Christmas…
