Category: God’s Love

A Place Called Home

Published on by katiesencouragementforyou13 Comments

Sometimes life can seem random, like there is no rhyme or reason to what happens or when things happen.  I’d like to share memories that still help me when I think of them, to know that I am not alone, that I am loved, and that there is more to life, than just what we see.

What I am about to share next will seem like the opposite of what I just shared—but read on, and you will see what I mean.

My dad had a stroke 5 years before he died; it left my dad without the power of speech.   I remember my son Sean told me that he missed hearing his Papa’s voice, and he was afraid he wouldn’t be able to remember what his Papa’s voice sounded like. (Sean didn’t have to be afraid of that—4 years after my dad died, Sean passed.  Sean is hearing his Papa’s voice in heaven.)

Not quite 3 years before my dad died, my youngest child was born.  She was my parents’ youngest grandchild.   When our sweetness was just over 2 years old, we went to visit my parents.  My sweet girl was a busy, busy, busy, 2-year-old, never sitting down, always moving.  On this visit, she climbed up into her Papa’s lap, and stayed there hugging him, for the next 45 minutes.   At the time, I was stupefied as to what was happening.   The next day, my dad had another massive stroke, and spent the next 6 months in the hospital until he died.

I still cry when I remember our precious little girl, crawling up into my dad’s lap and hugging him.  It was the last hug between them.  How did this tiny little girl know this would be the last time, she would be with her Papa?  How did she know to embrace him and the moment?

  I have many questions like that:  How do birds know to fly south for the winter?  How do bears know to hibernate in the winter.  Yes—I know the scientific explanation, but someone had to design the birds to have those homing instincts, and someone had to design bears’ bodies to go into hibernation.

Scripture tells us that God takes care of the birds of the air, and we are worth much more to God.  God loves us; He cares for us.  He has prepared a place for us. 

Every time, I go to a funeral, and see the body, I am reminded once again, that our bodies house our spirits.  When the spirit is gone, the person is gone, even though the body remains.

Sometimes—life seems random, like a big cosmic accident, and then sometimes—something happens—and it reminds us that we are not alone, that we are loved, and that there is a place we are all heading towards—a place I call home.   May we be encouraged!!

Yes, Jesus loves you!

Published on by katiesencouragementforyou4 Comments

I’d like to tell you about the times I’ve experienced Jesus’ presence.  These were times when I was scared and felt alone or bereft by grief. 

The first time I am truly aware of experiencing Jesus’ presence in a very extraordinary way was when I was 27.  I was single and on staff with Cru.  I was on a break before heading back to my assignment and staying at my parents.  I had gone to see my eye doctor.  He looked into my eyes, called an eye surgeon, and within the hour, I was being seen by an eye surgeon.

I knew there was something wrong with my eye, but I didn’t know what.  The eye surgeon, looked into my eyes, told me I had a detached retina, swore, then walked out of the room.  I was alone in the room, and so scared.  I didn’t know what would happen next.  Suddenly, I felt Jesus’ presence by my side.  I didn’t see Jesus, but He was there.  I was flooded by peace and strength.  Jesus said, “You’re going to be all right.  Your eye will be all right.”  I didn’t hear this in an audible voice, but it was so clear, I might as well have heard it that way.

Then the eye surgeon came back and told me that he was sending me to another eye surgeon.  He told me I would probably lose sight in my eye, maybe both eyes.   However, since experiencing Jesus presence, I was no longer afraid; I was calm and reassured.

I went down to the Detroit area, and had eye surgery done by a kind doctor.  He was encouraging and told me we were going to get the eye taken care of right away.   He did an amazing job, and I have almost 20/30 vision restored in that eye. 

 Every year when I go to my current eye doctor, he makes a comment about how astounding it is that I can see as well as I can out of that eye.   Jesus has healed blind people many times, and I think Jesus prevented me from going blind.  He bestowed his grace and mercy upon me.

 I have also experienced Jesus’ presence, when I’ve gone through labor and delivery.  Every single time, I have been apprehensive, (as most moms will tell you—each time is different, so you kind of know what to expect, but at the same time you don’t.) But the first time, the first time, I was terrified.  I don’t know why childbirth preparation classes show videos of other women giving birth, screaming at their husbands, in utter agony.   These videos do not help the fear factor of birth.  They just make it worse.  I kept praying over and over again, “God if you can make labor better for me than those women, I saw give birth, I would really appreciate it.”

Of course, I was not alone.  My husband was with me, and my sister, who is a labor and delivery nurse, was with me.  What comfort I drew from them!  My sister had already had 3 of her children and was 6 and 1/2 months pregnant with her fourth when she came to help me.

  I think my sister’s presence was equally helpful to both my husband and I.  She had been through this herself and as a nurse, and we drew on her experience and knowledge.  However, there was a point where my courage was flagging and at that exact point, I experienced Jesus presence once again.   I honestly don’t know how I would have gotten through labor and delivery as calmly as I did, without Jesus giving me His strength.

When I was in labor with Sean, (my third child), I experienced Jesus’ presence again.  It was a particularly grueling and painful labor.  I wanted to scream and yell and give up, and Jesus showed up.  He got me through.  He gave me courage when I had none left.

  In the past 6 ½ years since Sean has been gone, I have experienced Jesus’ presence so many, many times.  Usually it is when I am in the depths of grief and I think I can’t bear any more pain, that I experience Jesus by my side.  Often, He will comfort me with words of love and reminders that He is with me. Often, He is silent and listens to my grief.  He brings me His strength. 

For a long while, when our family would go to church, every worship service, we would be standing in the back row of church, crying during the service.  During those times, I would experience Jesus standing with us, throwing His mantle over us.  

It’s funny—something that hardly ever happened—experiencing Jesus’ Presence– is something that occurs rather regularly now.  Scripture is true, “The Lord is near to the broken-hearted.”

I hope when you are at your lowest points and you’re scared and alone, that you experience Jesus’ presence and intervention in your life—that you experience God’s grace and mercy and His miraculous blessings of life.   If you do, you will find what I have, God shows up for us — because He is such a great God and His grace and mercy are limitless; His love is unconditional.  Jesus cares for us. “The Lord is near to the broken-hearted, and He saves those who are crushed in spirit.”  Psalm 34:18

I know when someone shares their God stories with me, I can be tempted to compare myself to them and come out on the losing side of the comparison. I did not share these stories for that reason. I know Jesus did not show up for me, because I’m all that great. Jesus showed up because He is love. He is love to me and He is love to you. He simply loves us. If sharing my story, can help anyone know in a more tangible way–“Yes, Jesus loves me”–then I’m happy to share my story. I’m happy to encourage us to know that Jesus is real, and Jesus does love us. 🙂 So Be Encouraged. 🙂

Continue the Celebration

Published on by katiesencouragementforyou3 Comments

We have just celebrated Easter—and I heard a song that sent shivers through me, (a good thing), as it was so beautiful, and such a great song for this Easter Season.  It’s called:

My Savior, My God by Aaron Shust.

Lyrics

I am not skilled to understand

What God has willed, what God has planned

I only know at his right hand

Stands one who is my Savior

I take him at His word and deed

Christ died to save me: this I read

And in my heart I find a need

Of Him to be my Savior

That He would leave His place on high

And for sinful man to die

You count it strange, so once did I

Before I knew my Savior

My Savior Loves, my Savior Lives

My Savior’s always there for me

My God; He was, my God; He is

My God; is always gonna be

Yes, living, dying: let me bring

My Strength, my solace from this spring

That He who lives to be my King

Once died to be my Savior

My Savior Loves, my Savior Lives

My Savior’s always there for me

My God; He was, my God; He is

My God; is always gonna be

Without further ado:

My Savior My God (Lyric Video)

Eternal Love

Published on by katiesencouragementforyou6 Comments

I was in the hospital last week, for five days.  And–I had a blast.  I chatted with the nurses and the staff, finding out their stories, laughing and laughing with them.  It was a rare social occasion for me.  

On the other hand, my family has been very anxious over my health–we’ve had to face my mortality.  My daughters cried, my husband was tight faced, my boys were tender.

You see, once death has visited your family, you know–it can visit again.  You always know that–but last week was a slap in the face reminder of that.

I have found myself thinking of the words of the Apostle Paul, found in Phillipians 1: 21-25

“For to me, living means living for Christ, and dying is even better.  But if I live, I can do even more fruitful work for Christ, So I really don’t know which is better.  I am torn between two desires: I long to go to be with Christ, which would be even better for me.    But for your sakes, it is better that I continue to live.  Knowing this, I am convinced that I will remain alive, so I can continue to help all of you grow and experience the joy of your faith.”

I started out the week, wondering if I was going to die, and being actually kind of excited about it–about going to be with Jesus.  But as the week progressed, and I came face to face with the pain my death would inflict upon my family–  I found myself having conversations with the Lord like this,  “Lord, I would like to go home to be with You, but I think it would be better for my family if I stayed, however, You know best–You can see the future, I can’t, so Your will be done.”

As of now–His will is that I live, and stay to be with my family–but I wanted to share with you why I am so sure that I am going to go and be with the Lord when I die.  

I am sure because my eternal life does not depend on me–and how good I am–my eternal life depends on Jesus–and how good He is.  

“He made Him who knew no sin to be sin on our behalf, so that we might become the righteousness of God in Him.”   2 Corinthiians 5:21

What does that mean?  It means in Jesus–an exchange was made—when Jesus died He took my sin and your sin and everyone’s sin, (He could do this because He was God in Human flesh–so with His one death, He could take all our sins upon HImself),  and in exchange He gave us His righteousness.  So now God sees all who are in Christ as righteous.  Isn’t that amazing–God sees us as righteous–because He gave us His righteousness.

“And the testimony is this, God has given us eternal life, and this life is in His Son.  He who has the Son has eternal life, he who does not have the Son, does not have eternal life.  I have written to you who believe in the name of the Son of God so that you may KNOW that you Have eternal life.” 1 John 5:11-13

“This is eternal life, that they may know You, the only true God and Jesus Christ, whom You have sent.”  John 17:3

When I first read and studied these scriptures–things started to click for me.  First–God has given—that is in the past tense—God has already given us eternal life–because when we trusted Jesus to be our Savior–we began a relationship with God the Father, and with Jesus, God’s Son–and that is what eternal life is–it is a relationship with God—that goes on past this life into eternity.

Then I read the reason why this scripture was written—so that we would KNOW we have eternal life—not hope, not dream of, not work for—we may KNOW it!!

God wants us to know that He loves us, and nothing—not even death will separate us from the love He has for us.  He wants us to know that He has redeemed us.  He has bought us with a great price–the price of Jesus’ death—so that we may have life with Him eternally.  I use the word, “may have”, because we each individually need to receive this gift from God.  We receive this gift by faith, but prayer is a way to express that faith.  I think I said something like this to God:  “Lord Jesus I need You.  Thank You for dying on the cross for my sins.  Please come into my life and make me the person You want me to be.  Thank You for giving me a relationship with you–thank You for giving me eternal life.”

Jesus tells us in Hebrews 13:5  “….I will never leave you nor forsake you.”   So once Jesus enters our life, He will never leave, and Jesus doesn’t lie.

Our God loves us with an everlasting love!!!   How can we not be excited about being with this God face to face!!  I know that someday, we will all die, but death can be something we don’t have to fear, in fact it can be something we eagerly anticipate–as Jesus awaits us!!   However, we each have a purpose here in this world–and for now–I hope that purpose of loving others and pointing the way to Jesus will bring us all joy here on this earth.

May We Be Encouraged!!

Thankful

Published on by katiesencouragementforyou6 Comments

This week I had to go to the Dentist for a cleaning.  While there, and chatting with some other ladies, I was asked how many children I have.  I responded with, I have five, but one is in heaven.   This opened up the conversation–where I heard another lady tell me she had a child in heaven also, and then others started telling their tragic stories—an eleven year old killed while hunting, a car accident, a disease.   

Why am I recounting this—because tomorrow is Thanksgiving—the day we as individuals, communities, and a nation, give Thanks to God.   It is the time we recognise that God is God—the giver of our blessings, the giver of our lives–but is He also the giver of our trials, and the taker of life?    If so, why would we want to thank Him for that?   

Why would I want to thank Him for taking my son?   Why would others want to thank HIm for their trials, their diseases, the loved ones He has taken?  Why?

Wouldn’t we want to avoid this God, who can take from us our health, our loved ones, our very lives?

That is what many do.  They avoid God—thinking by doing this–that maybe He will forget about them—and they can avoid the pain of life.

Many wonder—how do I get on the good side of this God–so that I will receive good things from HIm?

Others say—it is not God doing these things to us—it is us doing these things to us—-we kill each other, we sinned in the first place–and this brought sin into the world—so now we have diseases, accidents and earthquakes and hurricanes and tornadoes.   God isn’t responsible for those things—we are responsible.

But what does God say?   He tells us quite clearly that He is sovereign over the affairs of men. He tells us that He is on the throne.   He is the King of Kings and the Lord of Lords.   Yet He also tells us that He has given us free will.  We can choose to sin.  He allows us the consequences of our sin.  If we point a gun at someone else and pull the trigger and shoot–the other person will be shot.  The other person will pay the price for our choice.  

If we choose to drive recklessly, others may pay the price of our choice.  

This King of Kings, and this Lord of Lords—chose to reveal Himself to us—by coming down from heaven, being born of a Virgin, becoming a baby, living life as a humble carpenter, having a three year ministry, where he healed people with diseases, healed the lepers, healed the blind, set people walking again—-He touched the suffering and the downtrodden—-and then He died for us, and as He did so—He forgave those who crucified Him, saying they did not know what they were doing.

Jesus showed us a God who loves us, all of us–deeply—a God who suffers with us—a God who heals us—and He heals not just our bodies—He heals our souls.

He deals with our sin condition—-when He was crucified on the cross—He crucified all our sin on the cross.  We can now experience freedom from choosing to sin. When He rose from the dead, He showed us a God who has power over death—and that He will raise us after death as well.

We are not condemned by Him.  We are not judged by Him.  We are forgiven.

We are forgiven.

We have been given life—for all eternity with Him.  The One who loves us.  The One whose scars show us His heart for us. Our great, powerful God—is humble, gentle and loving. He is near to the brokenhearted. He is near to me. He is near to you.

But He will not force Himself upon us. We each need to choose Him. He says, “Behold I stand at the door and knock.”… Rev. 3:20 Each person has a choice to make—will they let Him in? Will they open the door of their life and let Him in?

I let God in—and so…..

I am thankful!!  I am thankful!!  I am thankful to our God!!

May you be encouraged—during this season of thankfulness.

Lies We Believe

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Lie:  Everybody else has it all together except for me.

Truth:  

Rom 3:23:  For everyone has sinned; we all fall short of God’s glorious standard.

1Co 10:13:  The temptations in your life are no different from what others experience….

Lie:  There is no hope for me.  I will never change.

Truth: 

Eph 2:10:  For we are God’s masterpiece. He has created us anew in Christ Jesus, so we can do the good things he planned for us long ago.

 Phl 1:6:  And I am certain that God, who began the good work within you, will continue his work until it is finally finished on the day when Christ Jesus returns.

Rom 12:1:  And so, dear brothers and sisters, I plead with you to give your bodies to God because of all he has done for you. Let them be a living and holy sacrifice—the kind he will find acceptable. This is truly the way to worship him.

 Rom 12:2:  Don’t copy the behavior and customs of this world, but let God transform you into a new person by changing the way you think. Then you will learn to know God’s will for you, which is good and pleasing and perfect.

When we look at these scriptures, we can see, that we are God’s work–but we are not His puppets—He wants us to respond to Him and what He is doing in and through our lives, by trusting Him, and offering our lives to Him.  This is when we really start to see the transformative work of God in our lives.  This is when Hope is born.

Rom 5:5:  And this hope will not lead to disappointment. For we know how dearly God loves us, because he has given us the Holy Spirit to fill our hearts with his love.

Offering ourselves to God is an act of faith, just as beginning a relationship with Him is an act of Faith.    Faith can be expressed through prayer.  If you want God to fill you with His Holy Spirit, you can ask Him to do this.   Here is a link to click on that will explain more about being filled with God’s Spirit.

As always, May We Be Encouraged!

The Feast

Published on by katiesencouragementforyou2 Comments

Once upon a time, there was a girl who had a peanut butter sandwich.  It had a few ants in it, and there were a few smudges of dirt on it.  However, it was her sandwich–and in her mind–it was the thing that was standing between her and starvation.

While she was sitting there with her sandwich, hanging unto it, but not really eating it, she was approached by the King of her country.  He told her that she was invited to a fabulous feast. He described the delicious, well-crafted food at the feast.  It all sounded so, so very very good.  

However, the King told the girl that she had to give Him her sandwich.  If she gave Him her sandwich, then she could go into the feast.

The girl thought and thought, she wanted to eat the feast, but she was afraid to give up her sandwich.  She had the sandwich, the feast was still a promise.  Did she have enough faith to let go of the sandwich and walk into the feast?

I think in many ways, I am that girl and I’m holding unto the sandwich because I’m afraid to let go and walk into the feast.

This story is an illustration of faith.  It is an illustration of God promising us His feast, but first we have to let go.  We have to let go of the things we turn to for comfort—and everything we think will feed us–and turn to Him—-our true comfort, and our Feast, our Food—the bread of life.

Let me further illustrate with a story from my life.  I have turned to food for comfort for most of my life.  I remember when I was 9 years old, and a package arrived for me in the mail.  It was a present from a favorite Aunt.  I was hoping it was a box of chocolates.  Instead, she had heard me talk about how my older siblings had a baby book, but I didn’t–so she bought me a baby book, so I would have one too.  Presently, I treasure that baby book, and the thoughtfulness of my Aunt in thinking of me.  However, at the time, I was disappointed that it was not a box of chocolates.  I tell this story to illustrate my problem with sugar.

One might even say that I even have an addiction to sugar—it is what I turn to for comfort, and it is what I crave.    For a long time, the Lord has been speaking to me about this issue, He has asked me to give this addiction to Him.   I ignored Him.

I gained weight, and could not lose it.  I developed a problem with my sugar levels.   Finally, I turned to Him, and gave Him my “sandwich” so to speak.  And My King has given me a feast.

It has not been easy to hand over my “sandwich”, in fact, it seems like each day, and many moments a day, I am faced with a decision to hand over that sandwich.

There are some verses from Romans 12 that have helped me so much:  Therefore I urge you, brethren, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies a living and holy sacrifice, acceptable to God, which is your spiritual service of worship.

And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, so that you may prove what the will of God is, that which is good and acceptable and perfect.

 In offering my life to God, I have seen God transform me.  Physically, I have lost weight, and my blood sugar levels are good.  Mentally, my mind seems clearer.  Spiritually, I am seeing the truth more and more about who God is, and who I truly am in Him.   

Just as a baby grows to be able to walk and talk, but that growth is a process, so too, my growth and faith have been and will continue to be a process.   However, God’s love remains constant each step of the way.  

May we be encouraged!!

Listening

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Listening—-one of the best things one can do for someone who is grieving–is to listen to them–just listen–just be with them. So often, people don’t know what to say, and so they say–well–really stupid things–  Things to try to “fix”, things to try to make the one grieving, “feel better.”  Perhaps there is a reason one can’t think of what to say–perhaps the reason is–that nothing needs to be said, but instead listening needs to happen.

After we lost Sean, some dear friends who were in the Pastorate, met with us once a week, for over a year, and they listened to us–and they gave us books to read, and they “were there” for us.  During one of our times together, I was telling our friends–that I could sense God’s presence with me, but God was not saying anything to me–He was “silent.”

Recently, I was reading a friend’s blog–and she discussed this idea of listening, and she discussed how God is listening to us.  Suddenly, it hit me.  When I sensed God’s presence–but He was silent–He was listening to me.  He was just being with me.

He wasn’t trying to fix my pain.  He wasn’t trying to “make me feel better”, He was just listening.

Even as I write these things–I cry.  Lord knows, I need to be fixed.  Lord, knows, I need to feel better.  Yet God listened.  And in the listening, it was communicated, “ I am here for you.  You are accepted by Me.  You belong to me.  You are my beloved.  You belong to Me.  You are accepted by Me.  I am here for you.”

All these things and more were communicated in the listening.

Listening—sometimes it is the best thing, it is the only thing….that is needed by the one who is grieving.

A Place Called Home

Published on by katiesencouragementforyou6 Comments

Sometimes life can seem random, like there is no rhyme or reason to what happens or when things happen.  I’d like to share memories that still help me when I think of them, to know that I am not alone, that I am loved, and that there is more to life, than just what we see.

What I am about to share next will seem like the opposite of what I just shared—but read on, and you will see what I mean.

My dad had a stroke 5 years before he died; it left my dad without the power of speech.   I remember my son Sean told me that he missed hearing his Papa’s voice, and he was afraid he wouldn’t be able to remember what his Papa’s voice sounded like. (Sean didn’t have to be afraid of that—4 years after my dad died, Sean passed.  Sean is hearing his Papa’s voice in heaven.)

Not quite 3 years before my dad died, my youngest child was born.  She was my parents’ youngest grandchild.   When our sweetness was just over 2 years old, we went to visit my parents.  My sweet girl was a busy, busy, busy, 2-year-old, never sitting down, always moving.  On this visit, she climbed up into her Papa’s lap, and stayed there hugging him, for the next 45 minutes.   At the time, I was stupefied as to what was happening.   The next day, my dad had another massive stroke, and spent the next 6 months in the hospital until he died.

I still cry when I remember our precious little girl, crawling up into my dad’s lap and hugging him.  It was the last hug between them.  How did this tiny little girl know this would be the last time, she would be with her Papa?  How did she know to embrace him and the moment?

  I have many questions like that:  How do birds know to fly south for the winter?  How do bears know to hibernate in the winter.  Yes—I know the scientific explanation, but someone had to design the birds to have those homing instincts, and someone had to design bears’ bodies to go into hibernation.

Scripture tells us that God takes care of the birds of the air, and we are worth much more to God.  God loves us; He cares for us.  He has prepared a place for us. 

Every time, I go to a funeral, and see the body, I am reminded once again, that our bodies house our spirits.  When the spirit is gone, the person is gone, even though the body remains.

Sometimes—life seems random, like a big cosmic accident, and then sometimes—something happens—and it reminds us that we are not alone, that we are loved, and that there is a place we are all heading towards—a place I call home.   May we be encouraged!!

Let Me Tell You ‘About My Jesus!!

Published on by katiesencouragementforyou4 Comments

This week my daughter and I were riding in the car together, and this song came on. There is something about this song, MY JESUS, by Anne Wilson, that I love. We turned up the volume and listened to this bluesy singer, belt out, “Let me tell you ’bout my Jesus.”, as she also detailed the ways that so many of us today are in need. In reality, even if one does not “feel” the need for Jesus–we all “need’ Jesus. So enjoy this great song, but even more–be encouraged–because every thing she sings about is true–Jesus makes a way where there is no way!! Let me tell you ’bout my Jesus!! Amen!! Amen!!

LYRICS: Are you past the point of weary

Is your burden weighing heavy

Is it all too much to carry

Let me tell you ‘bout my Jesus

Do you feel that empty feeling

‘Cause shame’s done all its stealing

And you’re desperate for some healing

Let me tell you ‘bout my Jesus

He makes a way where there ain’t no way

Rises up from an empty grave

Ain’t no sinner that He can’t save

Let me tell you ‘bout my Jesus

His love is strong and His grace is free

And the good news is I know that He Can do for you what He’s done for me

Let me tell you ‘bout my Jesus

And let my Jesus change your life Hallelujah, Hallelujah, Hallelujah, amen, amen

Who can wipe away the tears

From broken dreams and wasted years

And tell the past to disappear

Let me tell you ‘bout my Jesus

And all the wrong turns that you would Go and undo if you could

Who can work it all for your good

Let me tell you about my Jesus

Who would take my cross to Calvary

Pay the price for all my guilty

Who would care that much about me

Let me tell you ‘bout my Jesus

May we Be Encouraged!!