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Showing posts with label Heaven. Show all posts
Only Imagine
Wednesday, August 20, 2008
Our brother in Christ Todd Mitchell has changed his address to Heaven. I can only imagine the glory that he has discovered! In the presence of our Saviour in a Home prepared for Him. Praise be to God for Eternal Life that awaits all those who receive Christ as Lord of their life. Amen.
My heart breaks for His wife Paula and their 3 boys. Their are no words to speak. God's Grace is sufficent. Please be in prayer for this family. Pray for their church body as they minister to them.
Pray for my dear, dear friends Mike and Kristen Jones as they minister both as a pastor and best friend. Pray for their children as well, Faith, Kylee, Seth, Josh.
For more information regarding the Mitchell Family visit the Orchard Blog.
You too may have the assurence of Eternal Life. It is a free gift offered to all who will but receive through Faith in Jesus Christ, the son of the living God.
Cafe Chat Soundtrack of Faith
Saturday, August 16, 2008
Tell about one time in the past 5 years where you took a HUGE Step of Faith in your journey with the Lord. What was the outcome?
I am hearing music everywhere! The sounds of a life of Faith.
If my life....If your life... had a soundtrack created for it....What would it sound like?
Light and melodic ? Brassy like clashing cymbals? Soft and tender? Loud and dramatic?
When God listens to the Faith soundtrack of my life, Does He hear a Worship Song?
The music is complex. Filled with wild rhythms, crescendos, and sometimes mesto (mournfully sad). The sounds are sometimes pesante (Heavy, ponderous) or filled with tenerezza(tenderness).
I love listening to the faith of your lives. Watching as the music is written note by note. Hearing the stories of risk taken, steps of faith both large and small, harmonies of lives that effect another.
Faith is being sure of what we hope for, and certain of what we do not see.
Hebrews 11:1
Wonder what the soundtrack for these scenes would reverberate like?
Wonder what the soundtrack for these scenes would reverberate like?
By Faith God accepted Abel's Gift.
By Faith Enoch was swept away without dying.
By Faith Noah built a boat.
By Faith Moses delivered God's People.
By Faith the walls of Jericho fell down.
By Faith Rehab was spared.
By Faith Sarah gave birth to a child.
Or this moment in time taken from God's Word. Daniel 3
Three Men refusing to bow down. Standing up for Christ! Thrown into the fiery Furnace.The music is solemn, grave. Suddenly in their midst is the saviour! Can you hear the music? They are protected...not even a hint of smokey smell on their garments. The one in whom they put there trust has come to the rescue.
All who witness...All who see their salvation...All who listen to the music of their faith respond with Belief. "For no other God can do what this one does" Daniel 3:29
I often wonder how the music would change with the ending.
What if God showed up in the fiery Furnace for Shadrack, Meshack, and Abednego.....held their hands...offered comfort...looked into their eyes as... they perished, as the were consumed by the flames. How would the witnesses respond? How would their families and friends remember their story, their song of faith?
A Crisis of faith perhaps..... Or simply acceptance for Gods plan.
A Crisis of faith perhaps..... Or simply acceptance for Gods plan.
This is my story, This is the story of my baby sister Michele.
Shelly changed her address to heaven last year and now lives in a home created especially for her! This was my Crisis of Faith. The moment when I had to choose to believe, accept God's will, or sit in sack cloth and become bitter, angry and un trusting of God and his plans.
Shelly was an ordinary girl, you wouldn't notice her in a crowd, and she preferred it that way. She was a young women with no hidden agendas, or ulterior motives. Simple Girl, Simple lifestyle, extraordinary heart.
At the Age of 21, in school to become a nurse with the intentions of becoming a foreign missionary and living her life in extreme areas of poverty, my sister learned she has a brain tumor that was inoperable and given 6 months to live.
God had other plans and so did she. He provided 1 of 2 doctors in the states willing to take the risk of operating on her tumor. We new the risks. 80% chance of Loosing all sight, altered personality, vegetative state.....But what choice do you have at 21 years of age. God was there, a miracle was performed, she recovered from a partially successful surgery and was left with no harm and a shunt in her head that allowed spinal fluid to drain into her abdomen. God Provided a Miracle for my family.
6 weeks later she was on the ground in Romania ministering to Gypsy children. She came home with no shoes and very few clothes. She gave them away to anyone who asked.
Christ became my sisters beloved! She had no earthly love except him. I can recall 2 kisses from boyfriends. But nothing serious. How do you start a relationship, a family, when you know that you have heard from God and He is saying your life on this earth will be very short. She obtained a job working with Alzheimer's patients and continued to travel the globe.She devoted herself to the people in this world with no voice, no hope. She shared the hope she had flowing from her soul. The hope of Christ.
She would endure 8 years of brain surgeries, (7), excruciating pain, migraine headaches masked by medication....several healing touches from the master, open heart surgery at 28....all while returning to Romania or Kenya shortly after a quick recovery against the advice of her doctors.
At the age of 30, lying in a hospital bed, she developed a brain infection. She was surrounded by family. Especially my Mother and Father. My Mom traveled the country with her...to special research hospitals, rehab centers for traumatic brain injuries. My Mom lived in hospitals and hotels for nearly a year. She would sit by my sisters side and then leave her room and minister to other families in traumatic events. Pray with them. Lead them to Christ. Share the testimony of God's faith fullness to our family and speak of a heaven that awaits those who love Christ Jesus. I know of many who received Christ. Whose lives were strengthened as a result of the path God had chosen for my sister and our families.
One thing I am sure of...She was in perfect Peace at all times! Never complaining always gracious...I Know it was God at work in her, in the midst of the fire, holding her hand while she was consumed!
She was at peace.......
She was at peace.......
Outwardly this was no peaceful thing. Death was not pretty, dignified, or gracious to her. My family suffered, our hearts cried out, pleaded, begged, bargained, accepted.
We watched as our God who can heal the sick, save the soul, command the wind, Raise the dead, we watched as he held her hand and allowed her to suffer and die. This is a Crisis of Faith.
We gathered together as she was dying, singing songs and praise and rejoicing in the healing that was about to take place, we read scripture, we cried, my mother talked her into the arms of Jesus.
When she was finally absent from the body and present with the Lord my dad gathered us around her, we held hands.
He prayed this prayer through tears, traumatic pain and agony......He could barely utter the words.............
"Father God I give to you my child...my baby girl...
The Lord giveth and the Lord taketh away, In all things Blessed be the name of the Lord."
We sang a song of Praise to the creator who held our hands as we were consumed.
This is my crisis of Faith. It is being worked out on a daily basis.
" I know whom I had believed and am persuaded that he is able to keep that which I've committed unto Him against that day!"
My perspective has changed. My view of Life and Gods plan. I am much more focused on preparing for the gazillions of years I will spend in the presence of Christ than in the insignificant things, material possessions, and nonsense of the world. I seek after the eternal. The things that will last. I am teaching my children to long for the eternal while experiencing to the fullest all Christ has for them in this world.
I am trusting with blind faith in the things I do not understand. Gods ways are higher than ours, His plans are greater than ours. Of this I am certain.
I wonder what the music sounds like?
I Hope the soundtrack of my faith walked out is pleasing to my savior.
"Take Joy My King in what you hear. May it be a sweet, sweet sound in your ear."
Cafe Chat- One Passion
Saturday, August 9, 2008
What is one thing or cause that you are passionate about? (More specifically, something you feel that the Lord has burdened your heart with) 
Have you ever visited an aquarium? I am fascinated by the ocean fish and love admiring them with my children, pointing out their uniqueness, and observing them as they move about in their pre-made environment. As I watch I can't help but feel that something is wrong. They don't belong here....It is not their home. These fish were not made for this giant glass box....They were made for a vast ocean! Maybe the fish don't know any better but I wonder if their instincts tell them that they were made for somewhere magnificent , that their true home is somewhere else, beyond these glass walls.
If you know me well, you might think my passion is children. I Love Kids!
Not just mine, but yours! Laughing, smelly, cute, dirty, sad, excited, hungry, hurting, discovering, wondering, questioning, Kids!! The ones that pee on you, love on you, play with you, hurl on you, jump on you, sleep on you, and throw fits on you! It's what I do...It's who I am.
If you know me well, you might think my passion is relationships.I care about people! Brown, white, beautiful, ugly, tall, short, fat, old, young, rich, mean, kind, homeless, hurting, happy, poor, smart, People!
The ones that hurt you, bless you, call you, comfort you, help you, annoy you, encourage you, use you up, love you, curse you, pray with you, and strengthen you. It's what I do...It's who I am.
It goes deeper than that...My True Passion. It is the root of all I do and think.
What is My True passion? The Desire that drives my actions and thoughts?
Have you ever been on a trip like this: You are having fun, doing new things, enjoying life when suddenly everything becomes miserable. The car breaks down, someone steals your wallet, everyone gets sick, and it seems nothing is going right. What did you want more than anything?
To Go Home!
As you are driving back, you can't wait to get home! You can almost feel your comfy bed, taste the home cooked food, and envision yourself sitting around with friends and family laughing together , telling funny stories about all the things you saw, and what went wrong along the way! The craving for Home is sweet. You throw on your comfortable clothes right away, kick off your shoes! It's were you are you. Your friends come to visit, you love your favorite chair.
No matter how much we enjoy our trip, our adventures, we anticipate, look forward to coming home!The strongest Passion that drives me...That God has placed deep within my soul is Eternal Life...Heavenly Treasures....Eternal significance!
I must keep alive in myself the desire for my true country, which I shall not find till after death; I must never let it get snowed under or turned aside; I must make it the main object of life to press on to that other country and to help others to do the same. C.S. Lewis
I have never been to Heaven...Yet I miss it! It is what I was made for!
My passion lies in the things that will last forever...The smile and wonder on a child's face when they hear how amazing God is...How powerful...And that this God wants to have a personal relationship with them. The understanding of a friend who has just discovered a truth in God's word that they can apply to their life! Attitudes...Motives... Heart Issues...Good works.....A smile....Kind words....Encouragement...Tears shared...hearts restored....lives changed....Truth realized...Grace accepted....compassion shared...mercy given.....This is what drives me!
Everything in this world will completely pass away....I could care less about cars, clothes, furniture, houses, toys..etc... Don't get me wrong, I enjoy these things and when my engine light is on in my car I care...But only because it might keep me from church or you or your kids.
As a little girl growing up in church I would listen to sermons about Heaven. Honestly I was afraid. I just had this image of me and my family floating around on a cloud, dressed in white , and singing....forever and ever....andever....andever...with an endless harp playing in the background. I was afraid because I didn't even like some of the songs we sang at church. I was afraid of what would happen if I got tired or bored . Would I be struck by lightening?
I have come to learn the awesomeness of my Lord! The beauty of His creation, and the miracle of life that He gives. Imagine a Heaven, a New earth Restored to it's original design! Hand crafted by our saviour! The way it was intended to be before the fall of mankind. Before sin entered our hearts.
I am passionate about things eternal. All That will last...I am passionate about a home I have not seen...A place I have not visited...
Revelation 21The New Jerusalem
1 Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and there was no longer any sea.
2 I saw the Holy City, the new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride beautifully dressed for her husband.
3 And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, Now the dwelling of God is with men, and he will live with them. They will be his people, and God himself will be with them and be their God.
4 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.
5 He who was seated on the throne said, I am making everything new! Then he said, Write this down, for these words are trustworthy and true.
6 He said to me: It is done. I am the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the End. To him who is thirsty I will give to drink without cost from the spring of the water of life.
7 He who overcomes will inherit all this, and I will be his God and he will be my son
This is what Drives me...What I long for..My Passion...
Life eternal with Christ Jesus!
I would love to recommend this book for you!
This book is amazing! Apart from God's word this book has had an incredible impact on my heart.
God Bless you!
John 14
1 Do not let your hearts be troubled. Trust in God; trust also in me.
2 In my Father's house are many rooms; if it were not so, I would have told you. I am going there to prepare a place for you.
3 And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back and take you to be with me that you also may be where I am
