Promises, Promises ~ A Guest Post by Becky Dye

I wonder if he ran around tossing his toys all over the living room.

I wonder if he loved smearing his black beans all over his face….then all down his shirt.  Did he then take his gooey bean-covered hands and run them through his hair?

I wonder if he loved running around, squealing at the top of his lungs for all to hear.

I wonder if he ran from his momma in hopes she would chase him around the yard and follow him wherever he went .

I wonder about his momma, too. Did she pick up every mess he made or did she leave it till the end of the day when her energetic toddler was finally asleep?  Did she have the energy to chase her precious son around the yard as he gleefully begged her to play?  Did she just collapse at the end of the day from shear exhaustion?

I mean, come on….

She was old, ancient even, grandma age...no, make that great-grandma age.  Yet in spite of that, she became a first time mommy at the ripe old age of 90.

She was nearly double my age.

These thoughts have crossed my mind over the past 48 hours or so because I’ve had the joy of having my precious 20-month-old grandson for the weekend.  Oh, that boy!  I love him so! I cherish each and every second I get with him. 

When we agreed to take him for this weekend, we knew we had other plans.  Well, I should say JoePa had other plans.  So going into this weekend, I knew that the bulk of the responsibility of watching Holden would be mine.  I was OK with that, but it’s caused me to have some random thoughts.  So here you go…

Random thought #1... God has done many brilliant things since the dawn of time but making humans most reproducible while we’re in our 20′s and 30′s was amongst His most brilliant.

Random thought #2… I wish there was a way to bottle up the energy of a toddler so that old grannies like me could take a whiff of it later and have instant toddler energy!  I’d be a gazillion-aire if I could figure out how to do this!

Random Thought #3… I have no right to claim exhaustion as a young, sprite 50-year-old woman when Sarah gave birth at the age of 90.  Shewie……….

Exhaustion.  Did Sarah consider the fact that the older she got, the more tiring it would be to raise a child of her own?  I don’t think so, because she continued to want that child, and God PROMISED it to her.  He PROMISED!

I wonder now, as the years crept up on her, did she ever doubt God?  As she celebrated her 50th birthday? Her 60th?  Her 80th? Surely she felt God had forgotten her. Her friends were all mothers. Her maidservant became a mother FOR her……oh, Lord, what in the world was she thinking on that one???

God’s timing is always perfect.  We have to remember that only He sees the whole big picture.  To us, his timing may seem off at times.  I’m sure to Sarah, God’s timing was a bit odd, but we find in Genesis 21 that God does not withhold the fulfillment of a promise He makes…..

“Now the LORD was gracious to Sarah as He  had said, and the LORD did for Sarah what He had promised.  Sarah became pregnant and bore a son to Abraham in his old age at the very time God has promised him.  Abraham gave the name Isaac to the son Sarah bore him.”….Gen 21:1-3

Sarah was 90.  Her old man husband Abraham was 100.

And all I can say about that is, "Praise You, Jesus, for somewhere in time changing Your mind about the appropriate age for women to bear children!!"

God promised.  God fulfilled.

Friends, if you are still waiting on something you know God has promised you, remember Sarah.  God’s timing surely seemed slow and endless to her, but in the end, there was no better time for sweet baby Isaac to come into the world.  

God’s timing was perfect then, and it’s perfect now.  So don’t lose faith if you’re still waiting. And in the waiting, give a shout of praise because you know God is working out His promise to you……..and because you know you’ll likely never be a 90-year-old with a newborn baby!

Thank You Jesus!

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I’m Becky and I guess this is the part where I tell you a little bit about myself.  I’m Joseph’s wife.  I’m a mom to five. When I was a teenager, I used to spend hours coming up with baby names for my future children….I wanted six.  I settled on one name…Tiffany Marie.   That was it!   My children are Megan, Lauren, Alex, Josh and Noah.  Not a Tiffany in the bunch!   Maybe  Tiffany is that sixth child I never had!  Megan brought us Justin.  And together they gave us Holden, who calls me by my very favorite name, BeBe.   I’d heard rumors that grandkids were beyond fabulous.  If you have yet to be blessed with little grands, trust me when I tell you the rumors are true!

My biggest love is Jesus.  I hope you know Him.  If you don’t, I hope you’ll see Him all over the stories I share and come to love Him too.  He’s pretty awesome!

And I’ll leave you with a picture of me.   No matter how old I am, I’ll always be a work in progress!

***********  Connect with Becky at http://bebedyearies.wordpress.com/

  

Hope During Times of Prolonged Suffering Part 1 - by Jennifer O. White

Hope During Times of Prolonged Suffering

I am particularly burdened for a sweet friend whose life changed dramatically after a stroke. Three years later she’s living with great losses that stem from that one incident. Her heart longs for the one thing her faith is sure of – the hope of heaven.

Hope During Times of Prolonged Suffering

I am particularly burdened for a sweet friend whose life changed dramatically after a stroke. Three years later she’s living with great losses that stem from that one incident. Her heart longs for the one thing her faith is sure of – the hope of heaven.

Do you have a similar burden?

Is someone in your life in need of a NOW hope? Is it you?

Oh how I want her to hope for something In the more foreseeable future – something much sooner than heaven. I want to reach into her future grab something for her to hang her hope on, and bring it back for her to stare at everyday. Where is Michael J. Fox and that fancy back to the future car when we need it?

My heart scans the truths from biblical history and beyond.

How did Job survive the physical suffering as well as his many losses? How did Paul rejoice in prison and after beatings? How did Corrie Ten Boom survive solitary confinement, concentration camps, and the torture of captivity? 

Faith. 

Corrie Ten Boom explained,  

“There are circumstances where you cannot do anything. It was only the Lord who has carried me through, and it’s good that I have experienced that. For I have always believed, now I know from experience, that Jesus’ light is stronger than the deepest darkness. And a child of God cannot go so deep; always deeper are the Everlasting Arms that carry you.”

Hope

Our hope is in God. He has promised a beautiful, sorrow-free life in heaven but He has not promised when. For some, life can be so hard for so long that it’s hard to not wish it were now. How does a Christ-follower keep hoping for a better tomorrow when the much needed and prayed for miracle has been a no-show for years?

In the must-have devotional, Today is Your Best Day, Roy Lessin teaches,

·                  Today is your best day because you are here. God has placed you in this moment of time for a purpose, and the things that happen to you today will be an unfolding of that purpose.

·                  What happened to you yesterday, however easy or difficult, was used by God to help prepare you for what He has for you today.

·                  God will use what happens today to prepare you for what He has for you in future days.

·                  God used your past and worked it all together for the good, and He will use this day to add  to the good that He has already worked on your behalf.

Do you believe the above statements are true for you?

Do you believe they are true for the one who is suffering and is very aware this suffering is a hardship on others?

Re-read them. Put your name in the sentence: “Today is my best day because …”. Now, read it with the name of your suffering friend(s).

Prayer Prompt:

Let’s ask God, the Source of all miracles and Sustainer of the suffering, to grant us His perspective on this really difficult subject of suffering and hope.

We will continue exploring this subject in the next post. Until then, we can keep listening for God’s revelation. I’m eager to hear what you learn on this from Him. 

Jennifer O. White is an author, speaker and encourager to those seeking a life of hope, peace and confidence. You are invited to join her on a brave life, marriage, and world-changing adventure with Jesus at her blog: Prayerfully Speaking, and her free ebook: Prayers Spoken, Lives Changed: God’s Extraordinary Love in 18 Ordinary Lives. Check out her upcoming book for new brides here.

 

 

Do you have a similar burden?

Is someone in your life in need of a NOW hope? Is it you?

Oh how I want her to hope for something In the more foreseeable future – something much sooner than heaven. I want to reach into her future grab something for her to hang her hope on, and bring it back for her to stare at everyday. Where is Michael J. Fox and that fancy back to the future car when we need it?

My heart scans the truths from biblical history and beyond.

How did Job survive the physical suffering as well as his many losses? How did Paul rejoice in prison and after beatings? How did Corrie Ten Boom survive solitary confinement, concentration camps, and the torture of captivity? 

Faith.

 

Corrie Ten Boom explained,

 

“There are circumstances where you cannot do anything. It was only the Lord who has carried me through, and it’s good that I have experienced that. For I have always believed, now I know from experience, that Jesus’ light is stronger than the deepest darkness. And a child of God cannot go so deep; always deeper are the Everlasting Arms that carry you.”

Hope

Our hope is in God. He has promised a beautiful, sorrow-free life in heaven but He has not promised when. For some, life can be so hard for so long that it’s hard to not wish it were now. How does a Christ-follower keep hoping for a better tomorrow when the much needed and prayed for miracle has been a no-show for years?

In the must-have devotional, Today is Your Best Day, Roy Lessin teaches,

·                  Today is your best day because you are here. God has placed you in this moment of time for a purpose, and the things that happen to you today will be an unfolding of that purpose.

·                  What happened to you yesterday, however easy or difficult, was used by God to help prepare you for what He has for you today.

·                  God will use what happens today to prepare you for what He has for you in future days.

·                  God used your past and worked it all together for the good, and He will use this day to add to the good that He has already worked on your behalf.

Do you believe the above statements are true for you?

Do you believe they are true for the one who is suffering and is very aware this suffering is a hardship on others?

Re-read them. Put your name in the sentence: “Today is my best day because …”. Now, read it with the name of your suffering friend(s).

Prayer Prompt:

Let’s ask God, the Source of all miracles and Sustainer of the suffering, to grant us His perspective on this really difficult subject of suffering and hope.

We will continue exploring this subject in the next post. Until then, we can keep listening for God’s revelation. I’m eager to hear what you learn on this from Him.

 

Updated Bio:

 

Jennifer O. White is an author, speaker and encourager to those seeking a life of hope, peace and confidence. You are invited to join her on a brave life, marriage, and world-changing adventure with Jesus at her blog: Prayerfully Speaking, and her free ebook: Prayers Spoken, Lives Changed: God’s Extraordinary Love in 18 Ordinary Lives. Check out her upcoming book for new brides here.

 

 

Dealing with Discouragement - by @Lori_Kennedy

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DEALING WITH DISCOURAGEMENT

By Lori Kennedy

"When they came together in Galilee, he said to them, 'The Son of Man is going to be betrayed into the hands of men.  They will kill him, and on the third day he will be raised to life.'  And the disciples were filled with grief." 

Matthew 17:22-23 (NIV)

I don’t know about you, but I get discouraged sometimes.  Sometimes I see the glass as half empty instead of half full.  When this happens, it’s important for me to recognize my discouragement might be coming from the way that I am viewing the situation.  That means there is some ability for me to find a positive perspective. 

Jesus predicts his death the second time in Matthew 17:22-23 (above).  The scripture says that the disciples were filled with grief even though Jesus said that on the third day he would be raised to life.  They saw the glass as half empty and were unable to comprehend the rest of what was said.  Remember that before Jesus came to the earth in human form, the concept of death was the end, not the beginning.  This was a very out-of-the-box concept for these men, and they were unable to find the hope in Jesus’ death, even though he also stated that he would be raised to life.  

Our capacity to understand this concept on this side of Jesus’ death, burial, and resurrection is greatly increased, yet we still struggle with this concept.  Jesus conquered the grave, and his spotless blood covered our sins for all eternity.  We can now look at death as the beginning versus the end.  Revelation 21:4 (NIV) says, "He will wipe every tear from their eyes.  There will be no more death or mourning or crying or pain for the old order of things has passed away." 

It is a proven botanical fact that a seed that has been planted must die in order to grow into what it was designed to become and produce fruit.  Jesus spoke of this in the Bible in John 12:24 (NIV), “I tell you the truth, unless a kernel of wheat falls to the ground and dies, it remains only a single seed.  But if it dies, it produces many seeds.”  It will produce many seeds because from the death of the original seed grows new life.  From this new life many seeds can be produced. 

Sometimes something in our life must die in order for new life to be created.  Sometimes this “death” can feel very discouraging.  If you’re feeling discouraged or shrouded by shame today, go to God and ask Him if there is anything in your life that must die in order to bring about new life.  Feel confident today in God’s character and promises.  There is hope for your future!

• In what areas have you dealt with discouragement?
• How have you handled it?
• What was the outcome?
• What is your Heavenly Father leading you to do as a result of what you've read today?

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Connect with Lori Kennedy at www.LoriKennedy.com 

Click here to view the video of Hillsong's "Desert Song"

Hillsong United - Desert Song (Official Music Video) from hillsong-united on GodTube.