May 3, 2015

The God Who Sees

By Christina

GodSeesShe gave this name {Ishmael} to the Lord who spoke to her: “You are the God who sees me,” for she said, “I have now seen the One who sees me.” 1 Genesis 16:13.

Have you ever been in a situation where you felt like no one saw you?  A place where you no longer think you have a friend left in the world.  It is a place where you have to make life altering decisions on your own when there is no one else left around.  This was Hagar in the book of Genesis.  She had a difficult life from the beginning as a slave girl.  Then comes a day that she is told to go sleep with her “bosses” husband!  Imagine the look on her face at that moment.  Her heart must have caved in.  She had absolutely no say in the matter.  She had nowhere to go and nowhere to turn.  Reluctantly she obeys and ends up pregnant.  Poor Hagar!  For the first time that she meets a man it is not even one that she loves.   Then to make matters worse she becomes hated for bearing this child and gets mistreated.  What did Hagar do wrong?  Absolutely nothing!  She just obeyed her orders, done her due diligence and then suffers for it.  How many of us been in this situation.  A lot of us end up in places where we have to submit to the very thing that is actually crushing us.  At this point in life we could all use a friend.  Someone to help us and support us along the way.  Continue reading

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April 29, 2015

Room For Redemption

By Christina

redeemed

I remember walking in my counselor’s office broken, tattered and torn.  I was in a dark place and I told him that.  He listened to me share a lot of things I have done, many of which I was not proud of and suffering for.  I will never forget any of the words that he said to me especially on that day.  I was having a hard time coping with life, situations and everything inside me was in turmoil.
This is what he said:

Control your feelings
But don’t deny them
You are human
Give yourself room for redemption
Because we ALL need it!

I walked out of that room feeling like such a weight was lifted off my chest.  That was in December of 2013.  Sometimes we forget what Jesus Christ did for all humanity.  He died for ALL our sins which will encompass past, present and future.  He took our burdens to the cross and our sickness and shame.  Isn’t that what the word declares?  That is why Jesus said on the cross “It is finished” in John 19:30.  As humans, we always see from a human perspective and not from a spiritual and biblical perspective.  God sent His one and only Son for this purpose.   Continue reading

1 Comment | posted in Encouragement, Restoration

April 27, 2015

The Silent Prayer Works

By Christina

A-Prayer-For-YouI love the life of Hannah in the book of 1 Samuel chapter one. You can reference this in verses 1-19, with a title, “Hannah Pours Out Her Heart to God”, in The Message Translation.  In this passage Elkanah has two wives, Hannah and Peninnah.  This becomes a story of rivalry where Hannah has no children and Peninnah has many.

I believe Hannah has such an amazing story that so many of us can relate to.  She has a prayer that all of us have prayed.  For some this is a prayer that they know often which is called “the silent prayer.”  That is the kind of prayer where there is such an anguish of soul that you really have no words to say but only a sound coming from you as a harmonious cry to God’s ears.  It is the type of prayer where you think you are not even heard and that is why you are crying all the more.  But I love how Hannah, this woman of God, makes such a decision for a turning point in her life.  Continue reading

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April 26, 2015

The Soul Cries Out

By Christina

FullSizeRender“Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil for though art with me; Thy rod and Thy staff they comfort me.” Psalm 23:4

I was running through the fields today and stopped to take a picture of my long journey with no one there.  I was not afraid of my surroundings.  I knew God was with me.  I was enjoying the sunlight, sound, solitude and serenity. Yet in all of this I always feel this heaviness pressed upon my heart where my soul just cries out.  I begin to feel this absence where no one else can fill but him.  The tears sting my eyes and I feel all my soul shake at the hollowness that was left there.  I ask “Why do I still feel this, Lord.  Can’t you just take it away.”  But even in that I know the answer already.  It is always going to remain there.  That place will only be filled by God now and forever.  That is the place that was taken so that He could remind me of everything else I tried to do to fill it.  It is not meant for anything or anyone else to fill but Him.   Continue reading

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