A Promise in the Darkest Times

I recently finished reading the prophets; only the second time as a believer that I’ve dedicated my quiet time to read from Isaiah to Malachi.  My 10 years as a believer definitely gave me a greater understanding and appreciation for these books then when I read them as a “newborn”.  If you haven’t undertaken the prophets yet, I suggest reading them in the context of the kings who were their contemporaries.  Although much of what they wrote involved the future of Israel as well as our future as believers (since we are grafted onto Israel), the prophets were also speaking to their kinsmen who shared that time in history.

 

When I read the prophets as a new believer, I remember Jeremiah really impressed me.  In my journal, I recorded several verses from the book: Jeremiah 33:4; Call to me and I will answer you and tell you great and unsearchable things you do not know.  Jeremiah 10:23-24; I know, O LORD, that a man’s life is not his own; it is not for man to direct his steps. Correct me, LORD, but only with justice – not in your anger, lest you reduce me to nothing.  And perhaps the most well known verse from the prophet, Jeremiah 29:11; “For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the LORD,, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future. . . .”

 

Jeremiah 29:11 is a verse I have relied on many times throughout my life, and I think for many believers, it is a verse that gives great comfort.  But I also think many of us read this verse out of context and, by doing so, we misunderstand whom God was speaking to and in what circumstances.

 

God was not speaking to Jeremiah the individual, a prophet who was obeying the LORD even as he was persecuted by his own leaders for declaring truth they did not want to hear. Rather, God was speaking through Jeremiah, to Israel, God’s people, who had been carried off to Babylon as exiles.  Moreover, God was not speaking to a repentant people, an innocent group of victims suffering because of the evil of others.  He was speaking to people who were guilty of incredible sin and who were still, it seems from 29:19, following the lies that provoked God’s wrath.

 

Jeremiah wrote during a time in Israel’s history that, one could argue, was their darkest. Because of their own sin and the sin of their leaders, they were experiencing the curses for disobedience God warned them of ages before in Deuteronomy 28:15.  Trapped in Jerusalem, surrounded by enemies, they were hopeless and despairing.  They were sick, without water, and so starving they were eating their dead.  Husbands turned against wives because they were competitors for resources.  Mothers abandoned their infants and children.  Everywhere, people were dying.  And, after their city fell, those who survived were marched away as slaves.

 

It was in their darkest days, in a situation caused by their own sin, that God tells His people through a letter written by Jeremiah, “I have plans for you, plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.”

 

I think it is entirely appropriate for believers to take this verse and apply it to their personal situations.  For those of us experiencing suffering caused by others, I think it is fitting to grasp hold of the promises God makes in this verse.  But for those of us who are experiencing the ramifications of our own sins, who may be, at this very moment, captured and enslaved by the desires of this world and our bodies, who are worshiping any number of idols, I think this verse is most applicable.  Even in our sin, God knows the plans He has for us.  Even in our sin, He has plans to prosper us, and not harm us.  Even in our sin, He plans to give us hope and a future.  For every believer, He has already done this. For those of us who are His, but are disobedient, His blessing waits for us.  For every person who does not claim Him as LORD, He gives this promise.

 

This is what the LORD says. “ . . . I will come to you and fulfill my gracious promise to bring you back to this place. For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the LORD, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future. Then you will call upon me and come and pray to me, and I will listen to you. You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart. I will be found by you,” declares the LORD, “and will bring you back from captivity. I will gather you from all the nations and places where I banished you,” declares the LORD, “and will bring you back to the place from which I carried you into exile.” Jeremiah 29:10-14 NIV

 

Amen. Carry me, Lord Jesus, away from my captivity and into the future hope you have planned for me.

 

written by Cary Ziegler

 

 

 

My Sincere Prayer

“Like all beliefs, you simply live them. Our children, neighbors, and co-workers know what we believe by the way we live daily.” A quote from the book, One Thousand Gifts, written by Ann Voskamp.

September, 2012, I found myself in a book discussion reading this book and sincerely praying that I might practice the presence of the Lord daily, enjoying the simple moments of life and intentionally finding daily gifts from the Lord. Like Ann, I started numbering and writing down my daily discoveries, surprising myself by the multitude of overlooked blessings, because of the many distractions of life. As I began a new year I wrote.  God has been faithful through the losses of this past year.

January found me in a Beth Moore video series on the book of James, Mercy Triumphs, and memorizing the first chapter.  In The Message, “Consider it a sheer gift, friends, when tests and challenges come at you from all sides. You know that under pressure, your faith-life is forced into the open and shows its true colors. So don’t try to get out of anything prematurely. Let it do its works so you become mature and well-developed, not deficient in any way.” What a rich, challenging, and practical study and before the study ended I was given the chance to practice what I had been learning.

I was a content Grandma, buzzing through life, with much to be thankful for:  a supportive church family, a loving husband, happily married sons, “daughters” and Oliver now living right up the road, so this Grandma can get daily doses of hugs and wet kisses. My closest friends knew I was secretly wishing to cut back from four to three days a week at the dental office which has been my workplace for more than twenty years. Journaling and writing have been a favorite hobby and help me to process life and reflect on events and I longed for more free time.  Then I felt a lump in my breast and quickly found out I had Stage 2 breast cancer. My world was turned upside down and I felt blindsided, but God does not waste our pain and He has a plan.

With that one diagnosis, and after one round of chemo, I found myself truly practicing the presence of the Lord daily, because I had no choice. The words in the song, Breathe, have taken on new meaning for me. I am desperate for His grace and mercy to get me through each day. I can now enjoy the simple moments of life, never knowing how I will be feeling an hour from now. Yes, even my work has been reduced to three days a week as I receive chemo on a Thursday and try to recoup over a 4-day weekend. God has answered my sincere prayers in a way I never imagined.

While I am humanly “sorry” for this diagnosis and the uncertainty of what lies ahead, please help me to keep my focus and remind me of His answer to my sincere prayers of the last year. Some days I want to get out of this disease prematurely; pray I will become mature and well-developed, not deficient in any way.

written by Coleen Gehman

Soggy Toilet Paper

The ‘Germany’ chapter of my life begins right after my parents divorced.  I was six, my sister was three and my Dad was a sergeant in the army.

It was routine for my Dad to take a nap in his recliner chair after my sister had been put down for hers.  Since I was old enough to occupy myself and keep quiet, I was left on my own.

During those afternoons, I used to gather toys or random objects around the house and wrap them in toilet paper.  Then I would wet the toilet paper in the bathroom sink so it stayed in place.  Finally, all my wet gifts would be placed in a circle around the foot of my Dad’s chair.  And then I would wait in anticipation for him to wake up and find himself surrounded in a soggy toilet paper ring of happy child love.

Twenty three yeas later, my style of gift giving is much different and dryer.  Somewhere along life, I learned to use wrapping paper instead of toilet paper:  tape, instead of water:  and something new, instead of a used, forgotten toy.  And my motive for giving has more to do with blessing the person than it does in just fulfilling my excitement to give a package.  But the heart is still the same.  I just want to say, “I love you.”

I share this story because it’s silly.  It makes me smile every time I remember it.  But it also reminds me not to be afraid to do good things, even if it doesn’t start out perfectly.  It’s nice to look back, laugh at myself, and realize how much I’ve grown and matured.

Then I’m encouraged to do it again . . . better.

written by Sophia Charles

Spitty Girl Learns Mercy and Tenderness

There once was a time when I wanted to point out to a young Christian his immature thinking and nonsensical decision making process.  I’m sure some of you can relate to those moments when we feel as though God’s favoritism has rested upon us and His spirit has given us full authority to verbally spank one another.  I learned later that this kind of attitude is really our sense of pride puffing up and just an overall false sense of authority.

I remember thinking, “How can I speak my mind to this person and let him have it, without any backlash on me?”  Yes, I was a silly girl and sometimes still am a silly girl.  But at the time, I really thought I had a legit problem on my hands.  And I did!  Only my problem was me!

Thank goodness I had enough sense at the time to ask a trusted sage for advice, who I knew truly loved me and would not shy away from telling me the truth and nothing but the truth.  (We must all pray and pursue people like this for our lives!)  My father in law did not give me ammunition to throw back, but gave me some valuable things to reflect on.

First, he (sort of) validated what I may have felt at the time.  That it may be worth bringing up in the future.   But for right now, I had an important question to ask about myself… Does this person know that I love him?  Can I confidently say that this person KNOWS that I love him?  That I really, REALLY, truly love him?

I think we all know the answer to that question, but just to make it clear, it was an emphatic NO.  And to be crystal clear, we are speaking of relationships with people, not in relationships with titles such as boss/employee or parent/child.

I’ve learned to take that principle and apply it to almost every aspect of my life.  Even if I don’t need to necessarily confront someone on an issue, I just ask myself, “Does he/she KNOW that I love him/her?”  If I can’t give a confident YES, then I know my job is to first love them.  No judgment.  No correction (unless it is clearly anti-Bible, such as murder). And most times, even no advice.  Just love.  Just encouragement.  Just affirmation of God’s love.  Just my prayers, sympathy and empathy.  Just my shoulder, hugs and tears. Just a loving letter from my heart to theirs.  Just a smile or a pretty package with a bow. And on occasion, a tender challenge.

To give you closure on the opening story, I did not confront this person.  And at this point, I had worked so hard thinking of ways to love him that I forget why I wanted to confront him in the first place.  Maybe this is one way we can effectively remove the plank in our own eye.

There will always be times during our life’s journey that we can choose to take a stand. Sometimes the stand is a must, no hesitation required.  But most times, at least for myself, I need to take a step back and ask, does he/she know that I love him/her?

So does she? Does he? Do they know who you are by your love?

written by Sophia Charles

Grief and Loss

I have become well acquainted with grief and loss. It is what the world is made of.

When I was newly engaged, my parents decided to move to Siberia. Who leaves their gorgeous, custom designed home in the woods with a pond, bridge, gazebo, water slide, snow tube run, and artfully designed gardens for SIBERIA? Who leaves their two lovely daughters and many friends? The answer is: a couple who is passionate for God. They wanted to bring the Gospel to Far East Russia.

I didn’t always have a positive outlook on this. In fact, I struggled with it. Yes, I had just moved across the country to Colorado, but children are supposed to move away– not parents! Furthermore, this was across the globe!  I understood in my mind that it was good they were following Jesus. But I hated when people commented on my parents’ noble endeavor.

In my heart, I felt abandoned.

Nevertheless, my life was exciting. I lived in the mountains of Colorado and skied free for a year.  I moved to Denver and enjoyed learning at graduate school and teaching children at a wonderful school.  I charted new territory in marriage.  I explored a vibrant city and the wonders of God’s creation in the Rocky Mountains.

After my parents were gone for two and a half years, I received a phone call that would change my life.

My mom had CANCER.

I did what one always does when faced with uncertainty- I Googled. Upon researching advanced colon cancer, I discovered that my mom had only an 8% chance of living five more years.

Although hard to admit, part of me was happy that my mom and dad would now live back in the States, at least for a time during treatment. My husband and I made our first difficult decision, and moved back to Pennsylvania to be near my mom. I cried as I said goodbye to Colorado, my dream-come-true home. But the loss was overshadowed by the new adventure I was embarking upon.

I spent five years growing closer to my mom and gained in her a best friend full of wisdom, encouragement, and joy. It seemed natural to have a mom nearby for support during my difficult pregnancies and the births of my two babies. She was a wonderful grandma.

When my mom was 58, I was 31, and my daughters were 3 and 1…. she died. I held her hand, bathed her, and prayed with her those last weeks, returning her favor of all those years she took care of me.

She’s gone from this world, but she is with Jesus in the Best Place ever!

Noelle, my oldest daughter, was only 3 ½, but she had such a spiritual awareness. We talked frankly to her about her grandma’s death and what we knew about Heaven. One day in the car on the way to dance class, we had this conversation out of the blue:

Noelle: “Why are we never home?”
Mommy: “But we were home all day yesterday. We’ve been home a lot recently!”
Noelle: “No, I mean our home up in the sky.”
Mommy: “Are you talking about Heaven?”
Noelle: “Yes…. I miss home.”

I miss home too. This life is about the journey to our true Home. It is full of disappointments and losses. I want my children to know that the world is not perfect, but there is hope!

Of course, there are good times here too, times when we laugh and times when we enjoy the beautiful creation of earth. These are glimpses of Heaven!

I feel like our family is in a good place for a season now. Our children are older and less time-consuming and we don’t have a foster child in our home. Even during these good times, I still yearn for Heaven. I heard the song Holy (Wedding Day) on the radio and cried when I heard the lyrics:

This is the story of the Son of God
Hanging on the cross for me
But it ends with a bride and groom
And a wedding by a glassy sea…
This is the story of a bride in white
Waiting on her wedding day
Anticipation welling up inside
While the groom is crowned as king.

There is a fairy tale ending! Right now, as I live my life, I picture myself as a bride dressed in white, anticipating the most wonderful union. I long for my Groom!

When Noelle was first born, I held this tiny, innocent, seemingly “perfect” baby, and wondered why I brought her into this big, not-so-innocent, imperfect world. Here she was—a blank slate. I thought of the pain she would endure. I hated trimming her excruciatingly minuscule fingernails. The first time I brought blood by accidentally cutting skin, she cried and cried. It was the first time I had brought pain to my baby.

She would go through other types of pain, harder ones. I vowed to help her walk through it and to show her the way to the One who could really help her walk through it.

We chose to take a foster child into our home, in the hopes of adoption. That story is for another time! Our little foster girl had to leave our home, and we were powerless to stop it. We knew this might be a possibility, but even so, the grief was more difficult than I had imagined. Yet God was in control, and we would trust in our sovereign Lord.

When we told Noelle that her foster sister would leave, she cried. I realized later that our youngest, Eliza (3 years old), probably did not comprehend. It happened a few days after Eliza had accompanied me to drop off our foster daughter with all of her luggage. At bedtime, she questioned when her foster sister would come back.

In the following months, Eliza often mentioned her foster sister, and it broke my heart when she wanted to bring home a pumpkin from the patch for her. Three months later, Eliza told me that she dreamed about her foster sister, fresh tears welling up in her eyes. She was only just growing up from toddlerhood, beginning to shed quiet tears over loss.

I will not and cannot shelter my children from life’s disappointments. God had to watch his son go through pain too. And we share in that pain, in Christ’s sufferings, here in this world saturated in sin.

We do it for the HOPE, the hope of that wedding day.

Jesus, my Groom and hero, will destroy every ruler and authority and power, will reign until he humbles all his enemies beneath his feet, and the last enemy to be destroyed is death (2 Cor. 15:24-26).

DEATH will be destroyed.

I’ve seen death, watched my mom take her last struggling breath. I’ve felt death, its power, its finality. Yet how powerful is God. Victory over death….

Death is swallowed up in victory.
O death, where is your victory?
O death, where is your sting? (2 Cor. 15:54-55)

Jesus came back to life. I will too, in a new resurrected body in Heaven.

Grief and loss is what the world is made of. And then I leave this world!

written by Angela Murphy

Valentine

Valentine’s Day is coming in about a month and at our house that means I’d better get started planning!  We celebrate here in a big way – we’ve done it several years since we’ve had children and they all have fond memories of it.   Several years ago I posted a photo story about our evening on Facebook and people seemed really interested, which prompted me to write about our family’s tradition.

Our party includes an elaborately set table with floating candles, all sorts of decorations, games, opening Valentines, and, of course, lots of yummy food eaten in candlelight.  Now that Sarah is ten, she loves helping me pull everything together, while the boys enjoy sampling the cooking.  Two years ago Sarah was responsible for planning one of the games and for setting the table.  I’m sure her duties will expand this year. I’m also going to have the boys get involved with helping to plan some aspect of the evening…other than eating the baked goods!

My desire in celebrating this way is to show the kids and Tom just how very much they are loved and help them show each other how much they love one another.  I try to pull out all the stops and just bless their socks off! It’s really fun for me and seeing their faces thrills my heart.  We usually have our party on the 14th, but there’s no reason you can’t adjust that to fit your schedule.  Do whatever suits your family!

Each year I try to hit the Dollar Tree at some point in mid-January so that I can check out their Valentine’s Day goodies.  I usually use decorative tablecloths, paper plates and cups, and often this is where I find them.  (In addition to adding a festive look, this also cuts down on much clean up time for me!)  I’ve also gotten a fun “Bingo” game from Current Catalog and some word searches and crosswords online.  I would think that Christmas Tree Hill might be another excellent place to check…not that I ever really need an excuse to go there!  This year I’ve been seeing some cute ideas on Pinterest.  The options are never ending.

Prior to the party, I create a Valentine for each person and then, secretly, everyone writes a message telling exactly what they love especially about each person in those Valentines.  In the Valentines messages, try to include words of praise, perhaps about how you see them growing in their relationship with God, or maybe about a Fruit of the Spirit that is becoming more evident in their lives.  If your kids are younger, just remind them of how special they are to Jesus.

After we eat, each person is given his special card and then reads aloud what has been written about him (or her ).   I take a picture of each person with his card for our photo album.  I really like each person to have a written record of what their family members love most about then, as that can be easy to forget during times of sibling strife.
Food-wise, I generally cook family favorites.  You know what brings a smile to your kids’ faces – make it! I always try to bake something in the pink ceramic heart-shaped pan that I picked up at Marshalls several years ago – anything to further the theme.  I like to make jello with fruit in the shape of a heart, as well as iced, decorated sugar cookies cut into heart shapes.  For our beverages, we have a special treat like soda or chocolate milk.

After our candlelight meal and the opening of the cards, we play a couple games – these range from games on paper (word searches, etc.) to our own version of “Pin the Tail on the Donkey” (at our house, we do stick the heart- tail on the dog that one of the kids drew and other creative things).  As I mentioned, there are tons of game ideas online.  No matter what you decide to do, really concentrate on enjoying each other!  After games, we have dessert and then wrap things up with praying and thanking God for each other.  I generally take a lot of photos throughout the evening because we all enjoy looking back over our various celebrations.

If you decide to give a family Valentine’s Day party a try, do it in YOUR style – go all out or be minimal – it’s up to YOU!  No matter what, your family will love it because you are doing it to celebrate them.  Also, involve your kiddos in some way so that they have something to feel proud of.  You’ll be glad you did!

written by Susan Matteson

Because He Lives

I love to hear peoples’ stories . . . I am a psychologist!  I also love to hear artists talk about their inspiration or process before, during and after their creation.  The meaning behind their work helps me connect with the essence of their piece.  Worship songs, particularly hymns, often capture the essence of an aspect of worship or understanding of God that makes Him all the more real to me.  I find reading the story behind the hymns quite rich and enhancing.

Because He Lives, although sounding like an old hymn, was only written in 1971 by Gloria and Bill Gaither.   Bill recalls that he was in a dry time of song writing, possibly due to the height of the drug culture of the 1960s, the tension resulting from the Vietnam War and the overall culture of “God is dead.”  Gloria and Bill had two daughters and it seemed that they had a somewhat unexpected pregnancy with their son, Benjy.  They wondered, “why now?”  Why would they bring another baby into this tumultuous world in which they lived?  Yet, when they held him in their arms, the words to the second verse came, “How sweet to hold our newborn baby and feel the pride and joy he gives, but better still the calm assurance that this child can face uncertain days because Christ lives.  And it gave us courage to say, “Because Christ lives, we can face tomorrow.”

The birth of something new, a baby, a new adoptive family, a wedding, new season of life, role change and so on, often brings significant unknowns with mixed emotions of joy, expectation, worry and/or dread.   I hope that you can rest in the assurance that no matter the circumstance, because of God’s great love for us expressed through his Son, Jesus, we can face one more day, one more hour or even one more minute.  Because He lives, I can face the unknown, the unsure, the uncomfortable . . . tomorrow.

You may enjoy listening and watching the images of the song.

In case you don’t have sound, below are the words:

Because He Lives
God sent His Son
They called Him Jesus
He came to love, heal and forgive
He lived and died to buy my pardon
An empty grave is there to prove my Savior lives

Chorus
Because He lives I can face tomorrow
Because He lives all fear is gone
Because I know He holds the future
And life is worth the living just because He lives
How sweet to hold a newborn baby
And feel the pride and joy he brings;
But greater still the strong assurance:
This child can face uncertain days because Christ lives.

And then one day
I’ll cross that river
I’ll fight life’s final war with pain
And then as death gives way to vict’ry
I’ll see the lights of glory and I’ll know he lives

Because He lives I can face tomorrow
Because He lives all fear is gone
Because I know He holds the future
And life is worth the living just because He lives

written by Michele Martin

An update…

Overwhelmed.

Fragile.

Feels like I’m telling somebody else’s story.

That’s how I’ve answered most people the past week who have asked how I am doing.  2 weeks ago I was the girl who was born with a heart defect, but had surgery to correct it and since then I’ve been basically fine.

Then, there was this surprise problem of the aneurysm.  And the bicuspid aortic valve. And my huge right ventricle. And my poor pulmonary valve.  After reading my TEE report online yesterday morning, add to that daunting list: an open foramen ovale and severely dilated pulmonary artery.

The foramen ovale is an opening inside the heart that is used for blood circulation in the womb since we don’t use our lungs until birth.  There are 2 openings that are supposed to close soon after we’re born.  One of mine was open, but was fixed and back then, they didn’t think the other one was open. So I have no idea if it opened again or if it’s always been open, but it allows blood to improperly pass from one top chamber of the heart to the other.  Just sloshing around, I guess.

All that craziness. 1 heart and 6 things wrong with it… and I’m walking around more or less feeling normal.  It is a testimony of the miraculous grace of God and His amazing design of the resilient human heart.  I’m still wearing a monitor that whines for 30 seconds like a whistling teapot when I have to press it and makes me look a bit like a unibomber with a wire coming out from under my shirt… and, well, there is the matter of those weird 15 second almost passing out episodes, but otherwise you know… I really do feel normal.

The plan is to wait for the cardiologist’s office to call me for an appointment, probably within the next 2 weeks and go from there.  I only know what’s broken.  Don’t know how or when or what they’ll be fixing yet.

The emotional weight of it all is exhausting at times. Tears come easily.  I don’t think I’ve had an all out ugly cry sobfest, though it might be good for my soul.  I’m just tender.  I’m not terrified.  I’m not panicked.  It’s not my nature to freak out until there’s something to freak out about.  I mean, of course I’m concerned.  I scroll through the what ifs and I would much rather stay in bed all day than attempt to go to work and be productive, which I’ve been doing… attempting, at least 🙂  But, given the situation, I think that’s probably normal.

I’m not mad at God. I don’t feel betrayed, short-changed, or wronged. I KNOW He is good, His ways are good, and the trial is truly a gift.  So, in this season, I’ll hold tightly to His hand, trust Him with everything that I am and know that I will find Him faithful.  He cannot be less.

This life is but a vapor.  None of us is promised tomorrow.  I have no doubt that because I have recognized that I am a sinner, have believed that Jesus Christ was born a sinless man to take the punishment for the sin of the whole world, including my own wrong and sinful choices and yours, upon Himself and pay the penalty of sin so that you and I don’t have to… He suffered and died, was buried in a tomb and 3 days later overcame death and the grave and was raised again to life…  Because I believe that with all my being, and know Jesus Christ as my Lord and Savior… I know that whenever this life ends, my body will remain on earth, but my soul will be at home in heaven.  I don’t just believe it like a fairy tale.  I know it with every fiber of my being.

What about you?  If you were in my shoes and you knew there was a possibility your life could be ending sooner rather than later, when you die, will you spend eternity in heaven? Do you know? Have you trusted in Jesus Christ as your Savior?

There will be no bargaining with a holy God.  He’s not Santa Claus.  He’s Father, Son and Spirit.  We won’t get to weigh our good versus our bad on a scale and hope that the good outweighs the bad so we can sneak in.  We won’t sweet talk our way past our sinfulness.  It will be too late to choose Him then.  Choose Him NOW.  The free gift of salvation Jesus offers is LIFE, abundant, hope-filled joy-filled living TODAY and for all eternity.

John 3:16-17 “For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. ¹⁷ For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him.”

Romans 3:22-23 “This righteousness from God comes through faith in Jesus Christ to all who believe. There is no difference, ²³ for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, ²⁴ and are justified freely by his grace through the redemption that came by Christ Jesus.”

Romans 6:23 “For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.”

Romans 5:8 “But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.”

Romans 10:9-13 “That if you confess with your mouth, “Jesus is Lord,” and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. ¹⁰ For it is with your heart that you believe and are justified, and it is with your mouth that you confess and are saved. ¹¹ As the Scripture says, “Anyone who trusts in him will never be put to shame.” ¹² For there is no difference between Jew and Gentile—the same Lord is Lord of all and richly blesses all who call on him, ¹³ for, “Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.”

 

So, how can you know Jesus as your Savior?  Pray.  Talk to God.  Tell Him you know you are a sinner and you believe Jesus died in your place and rose from the dead to pay the penalty for your sin.  Tell Him you want to accept His gift of salvation and eternal life.

If you’ve just prayed to ask Jesus to be your Savior or if you have questions about it, please get in touch and let me know.  It would be my privilege to introduce you to Jesus Christ or be crazy excited to know that you know my Jesus, too.  My email is eachus(at)lefc.net

I am so thankful for your many cards, emails, messages, posts, hugs, prayers, and words of encouragement.  I have been loved so well these past couple of weeks. I can’t begin to tell you how thankful I am.  Please keep praying… for peace, for my doctors and more than anything, regardless of how this ends… that Jesus would be made recognizable through me.

This trial is not about me, it’s about Jesus.

He is everything to me.

He is more than enough.

My flesh and my heart may fail, but God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever. Psalm 73:26

Love,

Katherine

Whom Shall I Fear?

As you may know, I was born with a heart defect that was fixed 2 days after I was born in 1980.  For pretty much all of my life, I’ve been “normal”… Required no additional surgeries, had no additional problems.  I was fine.

About 6 or so years ago when I lived in Virginia, I went to a cardiologist for a routine visit.  They did a series of tests and noticed on my echo what they thought was an aneurysm on my aorta where it leaves my heart.  After the testing, the cardiologist called me back and said it was just my anatomy and not an aneurysm after all.  Nothing to worry about.

Earlier this year, I started experiencing weird heart beats and have had a couple of almost-passing-out episodes.  It was time to find a cardiologist here in Lancaster anyway, so I scheduled a visit with a cardio guy who specializes in electrophysiology, or rhythms.  I had an echocardiogram (ultrasound of the heart) and wore a monitor for 3 days.  Tests were inconclusive, but because of my almost-passing-out not being caught on the 3 day monitor, he recommended an MRI and a cardiologist who specializes in valve problems.

I had an MRI the day after Christmas and saw the new doc 12/27.  As it turns out, I was misdiagnosed in VA.  I do have an aneurysm but they also discovered that my aortic valve is bicuspid, missing a leaflet.  This is the SAME problem my pulmonary valve has that I was diagnosed with at birth, but the aortic valve problem had never been diagnosed.  The threshold for thoracic aortic aneurysm in a patient with a bicuspid aortic valve is 4.5cm.  Mine is currently measuring 5.1cm.  It will have to be fixed.

I had a CT scan this morning, have a stress-echo test tomorrow morning, a 30 day heart monitor that begins on Monday and a TEE (ultrasound of the back of the heart though my esophagus that I’ll be sedated for) on Thursday the 10th.  It looks like the plan is to be referred to a doctor at UPenn in Philadelphia and discuss surgery to repair the aneurysm and perhaps replace the aortic valve.  But, they’re also reevaluating my original pulmonary defect and my right ventricle. It could be a complicated mess.  It could be a watch-and-see (very unlikely)…But we have a mighty and faithful God.

I am basically desperate for your prayers.  For the most part, I’m doing okay.  Today, I started to tell people and have been a bit of an emotional wreck. There’s so many unknowns and what-ifs going on, it’s hard to focus on “whatever things are true.”  I find myself remembering who I know my Jesus to be.  He is Healer. He is Faithful. He is the Great Physician.  He is FOR me. His ways are good.  He loves me. He is able to do immeasurably more than anything we ask or imagine.

Chris Tomlin has a new song called “Whom shall I fear?” The chorus goes:  “I know Who goes before me, I know Who stands behind. The God of angel armies is always by my side…”  So, so true.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qOkImV2cJDg

A friend of mine from college has a bunch of sermons online.  I literally stumbled upon them one day in October/November and they’ve ministered to my heart and faith so much… so needed.  There’s one called “The Kindness and Severity of God” that he preached 2 years ago.  I have literally listened to it about 5 times in the past 2 days.  He tells a story of the daughter of a friend of his, a sweet 5 year old girl, who had to have surgery to remove a tumor. When the nurses asked her parents about their faith while going through this trial, she spoke up and told the nurses that “This trial is not about me, it’s about Jesus.”

I could not agree more.

One of the pastors on staff here reminded me a couple of weeks ago during 2 different staff prayer times that God fashioned this heart in this body for His purposes.  I could go ahead and be mad at God for allowing this scary season.  Instead, I choose to give Him praise.  He has brought me this far… why would I not trust Him?  Had I been born a few years earlier or in a hospital far from Children’s Hospital in Philadelphia… perhaps, I would not be sitting here today, having lived this blessed life for the past 32 years.

I feel like I need to invite you along on this journey;  to stand with me in prayer and join me in asking for the right care by the right physicians… wisdom for them and me in making decisions.  All of this is happening really quickly.  I’d also appreciate prayer to not catch a cold or other illness that would hinder the tests in any way…and ultimately, Jesus gets the glory. All of it.  My peace comes from Him alone.  My faith is all from Him. I am nothing without Jesus Christ.  This trial is not about me.  This is all about Jesus.

“Count it all joy, my brothers when you meet trials of various kinds, for you know that the testing of your faith produces steadfastness. And let steadfastness have its full effect that you may be perfect and complete, lacking nothing. ” James 1: 2-4

written by Katherine Eachus

The Fullness of Time

I’ve been thinking about the phrase in Galatians 4 the past couple of days… “when the fullness of time had come, God sent forth His Son…”

The fullness of time.

Other versions use the phrase “when the time had fully come, when the time came to completion, when the right time had arrived…”
Comforting, isn’t it?   There was a plan.  It was decided.  God knew what He was doing.

God knew the young woman He would use.

Mary, a virgin, from Nazareth.  But as I was reminded this morning by a dear coworker, God didn’t use her because she (like Zechariah and Elizabeth in Luke 1) was “blameless and upright in the sight of God,” He used her because she was willing. Scripture doesn’t tell us about her spiritual character. It tells us that she was a virgin from Nazareth, betrothed to Joseph.  When the angel Gabriel calls her “highly favored/favored one” and later tells her she has found favor, it’s not because of anything she has done to earn His favor.  The word translated favor here is charis, or, grace. Certainly, she was willing to receive His favor, this gracious honor to give birth to the Messiah.  But the word favor speaks nothing of Mary other than being a recipient of His grace.

In Luke 1:46-56, the set of verses known as The Magnificat, Mary, who had been graciously blessed by God, proclaims His glory over and over again. She tells of His grace, she recounts His faithfulness, she declares His goodness and gives Him praise and honor.  “For He who is mighty has done great things for me,” she says in verse 49.

God chose Mary because she was willing and available.

On Sunday, Pastor Tony pointed something out at the beginning of the service that has stuck with me since he said it:  Mary didn’t argue with God’s messenger.  She just wondered HOW these things could be.  Mary simply believed the “that” and trusted God for the “how.”

Unlike Zechariah who questioned Gabriel’s message about the forerunner of the Messiah being his son.  Zechariah wanted a sign.  It was too much for him to believe.  He wanted proof because he had just been promised the impossible.  Instead of a sign, he received a consequence for his unbelief.  The angel says, “I am Gabriel. I stand in the presence of God, and I was sent to speak to you and to bring you this good news. And behold, you will be silent and unable to speak until the day that these things take place, because you did not believe my words, which will be fulfilled in their time” (Luke 1: 19-20 ESV).

There was a plan.  Gabriel, who stood in the presence of God, was sent to deliver the message at the precise time when Zechariah was in the temple making intercession for Israel.  Then, after Elizabeth conceived, He was sent to speak with Mary.  And after Mary had conceived, Gabriel went to visit Joseph who was considering divorcing her (Matthew 1:21).  Gabriel delivered these messages because there was a plan in place.  A plan as old as eternity itself that was unfolding in its time.

Zechariah wanted a sign, received a consequence, but still had a front row seat to the Messianic plan unfolding.  Joseph, a righteous man (Matthew 1:19), wanted to divorce Mary quietly and not let her be put to shame.  After his visit in a dream from Gabriel, “he did what the angel of the Lord told him” (Matthew 1:24).  Mary submitted to the plan: “behold, I am a servant of the Lord; let it be to me according to your word (Luke 1:38)” and “with haste (v. 39)”, Mary went to visit Elizabeth.  And she went with expectancy,  not to see if the angel was right or to see if she heard what she thought she heard.  How do I know that?  Luke 1:45 “And blessed is she who believed that there would be a fulfillment of what was spoken to her from the Lord.”

So what about you?  Is your faith dependent on the “how?”  If it is, I’ll bet you’re tired.  Tired of worrying.  Tired of controlling.  Tired of making the pieces of life’s puzzle fit perfectly together by your own control.  Tired of bossing God and Him not giving you your every whim.  What if, with His help, you step OUT of the driver’s seat and let Him lead you?  What if you release your tight grip on your expectations, demands, this-is-not-what-I-signed-up-fors, and turned your hands over… palms facing upward in complete surrender, hands positioned to fully receive every measure of His grace toward you.

His grace toward you.  Unmerited favor.  Unearned, undeserved, unexpected extravagance because He loves you and has a “fullness of time” plan for you.  Trust that yours is not the only piece in the puzzle.  God has a plan.  He knows what He is doing.  He is faithful.  He is trustworthy.  He is full of grace and truth (John 1:14).

And so, during this advent season of anticipation and expectancy, may we be filled with joy and awe at the perfectly timed plan that unfolded when “the Word became flesh and took up residence among us.  We saw his glory—the glory of the one and only, full of grace and truth, who came from the Father (John 1:14 NET).”  The birth of the long-awaited Messiah, the Christ.

written by Katherine Eachus