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Deuteronomy 31:8

"The Lord himself goes before you and will be with you; he will never leave you nor forsake you. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged."

Praise You in This Storm by Casting Crowns

About Me

McAlester, Oklahoma, United States

Saturday, September 6, 2008

An Answer to Prayer...

I want to thank you all again for your prayers yesterday (if you prayed). God answered my prayers to give Krischan and I a peaceful, successful completion of the MRI. It went so smoothly, I could have not asked for a better day yesterday! Krischan took the sedative, did not even cry when the nurse inserted the IV, and he fell asleep within a couple of minutes, slept through the whole procedure and afterward for awhile! It truly was all my prayers answered! We will not receive the results for a couple of weeks, as they have to be sent back to the states to be read by a radiologist. I am excited to share the results with you all, as I feel they will be very encouraging that God has healed Krischan!

John 14:14 (NIV)

"Ask for anything in my name, and I will do it."

God certainly did what I asked yesterday, as he continues to do day after day. When I am praying in line with God's will and character, I see answered prayers almost daily. He answered another one of my prayers last night. I had been praying over the situation I went through at the Christian preschool. I have had peace with what happened, and felt the Lord was pleased with my obedience. I had not spoken to my pastor about what happened. Last night, he invited us to dinner with his wife, and we were able to discuss what happened. I thank God for using him to encourage me, and to confirm the timing and accuracy of the word that was spoken. The Lord told me that he had sent people before to complete the same task he gave me. My pastor confirmed this as well.

Once again, the Lord's voice proved to be true, faithful, and trustworthy. Many people seem to be very skeptical when I tell them that I hear God talking to me. They may even think I have a psychological or delusional disorder, or that I have lost my mind. Trust me, when it first started happening, I told a friend that I would normally think I was losing my mind, except everything that he said lined up with the Word of God! Also, one particular verse encouraged me that those who follow Christ CAN, in fact, hear God. This scripture is:

John 10:27 (NIV)

"My sheep listen to my voice; I know them, and they follow me."

Every time the Lord speaks to me, and what he says happens shortly after, my faith grows in Him. He is my Lord who leads me daily through everything I do. I have heard people ask if I am robotic, and ask me "Why did God give us a brain if he doesn't want us to use it?" People are misconstruing their own decisions in life to be intelligent. What is intelligent is following what the Lord tells you because it requires us to use everything that he has created and put inside of us to accomplish the goals for which we were created in the first place. We are not robots, but we do have to surrender in humility and realize that the Ancient of Days, Lord God Almighty knows a thing or two about how to have abundant life. Before we come to Christ, we think we are so smart in figuring everything out ourselves, but that way of life only brings us trouble, pain and heartache. Nothing ever quite works out completely right, but people say "That's just the way life goes." That is a lie. There is a better alternative out there, but it involves admitting that you were wrong (sin) and asking for forgiveness (through accepting Jesus as Lord and Savior) and asking for wise counsel in the rest of your life (by teaching from the Holy Spirit). When we do this, God forgives us for the wrong things we have done and he shows us how to live a life that is full of joy, accomplishment, peace, fulfillment of our truest desires, and complete satisfaction. So, maybe it is time for you to stop struggling through life, and start LIVING in power and victory! I challenge you today to ask God in prayer if he is real. Ask Him to show you if he is real. He will answer that prayer. He is waiting for you to ask the question. Going back to John 14:14, he encourages us to ask anything in His (Jesus) name, and it will be done for us. So, if you are brave enough, ask God to reveal Himself to you today, ask in the name of Jesus, and just see what happens. God bless you and keep you today!

I want to share a wonderful passage of scripture today for those of you who wonder what the Lord does in the lives of believers, it is Psalm 23 (NASB):

"The Lord is my Sheperd, I shall not be in want. He makes me lie down in green pastures, he leads me beside quiet waters, he restores my soul. He guides me in paths of righteousness for his name's sake. Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for you are with me; your rod and your staff, they comfort me. You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies. You anoint my head with oil; my cup overflows. Surely goodness and love will follow me all the days of my life, and I will dwell in the house of the Lord forever."

I pray that each and every one of you is securely resting in the protection and peace of the Lord Jesus Christ. I pray that if you do not know Jesus as your Lord and Savior, or if this passage does not resemble your life, that you would reexamine your faith, and be sure that you are indeed resting in Him. If you find that you are not in the peace and joy of Christ, this is a prayer you can pray to accept his sacrifice today, and begin to live a new life with Christ.

2 Corinthians 13:5 (NIV):

"Examine yourselves to see whether you are in the faith; test yourselves. Do you not realize that Christ Jesus is in you--unless, of course, you fail the test?"

“Father, I know that I have broken your laws and my sins have separated me from you. I am truly sorry, and now I want to turn away from my past sinful life toward you. Please forgive me, and help me avoid sinning again. I believe that your son, Jesus Christ died for my sins, was resurrected from the dead, is alive, and hears my prayer. I invite Jesus to become the Lord of my life, to rule and reign in my heart from this day forward. Please send your Holy Spirit to help me obey You, and to do Your will for the rest of my life. In Jesus' name I pray, Amen.”

If you prayed this prayer, write me a quick comment and let me know. I will pray for you and with you, and congratulate you on your new life in Christ. I will help you to know what to do next, and to walk in the power given to you by the Holy Spirit. I love each and every one of you very much, and I pray God's blessing and favor upon you today in the name of Jesus.

In His Love,

Sarah

Friday, September 5, 2008

Healed or Not?

As a quick post for today, I would like to share that Krischan is going in for his follow-up MRI today. We have spent the last year medicating him for seizures (epilepsy) and he has not had a seizure since November 2007...praise the Lord! After his first MRI last year, we were told that he showed slowed maturation of his brain in the areas that deal with motor development and speech development. He is currently speaking in 2-3 word sentences and has a good vocabulary. He speaks like a child that just turned 2 years old, but he is certainly not behind in motor skills as he is constantly climbing on anything he can! He tries to jump up and down like his big sister, and tries to skip and gallop like a horse. He is very energetic!!! However, today is another step in this journey of finding out whether he is healed from his seizure disorder, and if he will be able to cease taking medication in about 6 months (without another seizure). Please be in prayer today about his appointment, and ask the Lord to reveal the state of his condition. Jeff and I have both prayed over the past year, and believe the Lord has healed him from this, but have been in wisdom to complete his round of medication until further proof is revealed of his healing. Pray for Krischan to have peace, and sleep well for the MRI! Last year was difficult because he was falling asleep from the sedative he was given, and they put a Hep-lock IV into his arm, and he woke up completely. We had already given him the full dose of the meds and he could not go back to sleep for another hour or so! I am praying today that he takes the sedative, gets the IV without much fuss and goes straight to sleep. Might be a long shot, but I am believing that God can help this to happen more successfully than last time! I thank you in advance for all your prayers and thoughts of our little one. He is truly a gift from God, and we are praying for his sake that this whole ordeal will be over very soon!



My verse for encouragement today is Joshua 1:9 (NIV):



"Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be terrified; do not be discouraged, for the Lord your God will be with you wherever you go."



I had been nervous when I found out yesterday that Jeff would not be accompanying me this year to the MRI testing. Because it was a struggle last year, I began to get anxious, but this is what the Lord told me. Jeff will not be with me, but my Lord will be right there with me, and I could not ask for a better companion to come along today!



Thank you God for being with me wherever I go. Please be with each and every reader today, and give them courage and strength to do what you have ordained for them today! I pray this in Jesus name, Amen.



In His Presence,



Sarah

Thursday, September 4, 2008

God's Rest and His Sword!

It has been a glorious morning for my family, as we faithfully walk with God today! God is showing me once again how his Word is true and something that can be relied upon in any circumstance. Today, God is taking my heart to Hebrews, Chapter 4, verses 1-13:

"1Therefore, since the promise of entering his rest still stands, let us be careful that none of you be found to have fallen short of it.

2For we also have had the gospel preached to us, just as they did; but the message they heard was of no value to them, because those who heard did not combine it with faith.[a]

3Now we who have believed enter that rest, just as God has said, "So I declared on oath in my anger, 'They shall never enter my rest.' "[b] And yet his work has been finished since the creation of the world.

4For somewhere he has spoken about the seventh day in these words: "And on the seventh day God rested from all his work."[c]

5And again in the passage above he says, "They shall never enter my rest."

6It still remains that some will enter that rest, and those who formerly had the gospel preached to them did not go in, because of their disobedience.

7Therefore God again set a certain day, calling it Today, when a long time later he spoke through David, as was said before: "Today, if you hear his voice, do not harden your hearts."[d]

8For if Joshua had given them rest, God would not have spoken later about another day.

9There remains, then, a Sabbath-rest for the people of God;

10for anyone who enters God's rest also rests from his own work, just as God did from his.

11Let us, therefore, make every effort to enter that rest, so that no one will fall by following their example of disobedience.

12For the word of God is living and active. Sharper than any double-edged sword, it penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow; it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart.

13Nothing in all creation is hidden from God's sight. Everything is uncovered and laid bare before the eyes of him to whom we must give account."

God showed me this morning through his Holy Word that when we come to accept His perfect sacrifice of Jesus Christ on the cross after hearing the gospel message, we are able to enter an eternal rest that starts that very first day that we believed. This is something that the Word speaks of, but is almost indescribable to an unbeliever. Spending time in God's Word and in prayer allows my spirit to be refreshed. It is like having 10 hours of sleep at night, but better, because it seems to penetrate to the deepest parts of me. This is amazing to me because I spent most of my life being extremely fatigued. It seemed I could hardly do a normal day's activities without getting tired. Doctors explained this as being borderline anemic, and having a chronic condition called endometriosis. Neither of which have been medically confirmed to have ceased to exist. God just gives me energy daily through reading and studying his Word, praying and ministering to others with his scriptures. Instead of becoming more tired after a long day of doing these things, I feel energized and restored! This passage revealed to me that this is because we have given up our own dead works which can amount to nothing. When we believe in Christ and enter His rest, we are doing his work, not our own. He gives us the strength to do whatever he has asked us to do (Phillipians 4:13). It is when we get off track and begin to do our own dead works again that we begin to feel tired, drained and "burned out." Life in the Spirit should never be burnt out...He allows us to go so far, and then he begins to chasten us through circumstances and guide us back to his rest and his joyful, satisfying work once again. I praise God for his goodness and his gentleness, even when the circumstances do not seem gentle.

It is still much more gentle than what we could be facing, an eternity in hell separated from His presence. You see, that is what I believe the worst part of hell is. Having experienced God's presence almost daily, and the feeling of his peace, love and warmth wash over me...I cannot imagine an eternity without Him. That would be hell, and it would be worse than the fire, or the weeping or the gnashing of teeth (Matthew 13:42). The hell I have come to know that God is speaking of is these things, plus the added torture of knowing for all eternity that all you had to do was accept Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior, and enter his eternal rest. Instead, you will have chosen by your own decision to remain outside of this rest in complete and utter unrest for all eternity. This is what you deserve, you messed up and God gives you a second chance by allowing his own Son to die on the cross (a brutal death) for punishment of your sins, and you had the gall to reject his sacrifice. Who do you think you are? I say that with love, because I once did not understand either, and was on my way to hell. I am now on my way to a better place of eternal rest with my wonderful, beautiful Savior Jesus, and every day on this earth (even when there are tribulations) just gets better and better. I have no more worries about what will happen to me, and no more fear of death. God has given me the peace the surpasses all understanding (Phillipans 4:7), and I am never letting go of it.

I heard today that I had "gone off the deep end" and I praised God for the amazing compliment he just gave me through someone else! I have gone off the deep end. Thank God! I never would have been able to jump off the deep end without the daily mercy and grace of my Lord Jesus! It is scary to take a leap of faith, but it is more than worth the effort! I tell you that from personal experience, and the Word of God backs me up in saying that! I pray today that you would be blessed by the passion that God has put inside of me to share this amazing treasure of eternal life, and eternal rest with others! I pray that God would open your heart and your mind to understand his everlasting mercy and grace, and that his love would penetrate into your heart, showing you how much he loves you, and revealing sin. His Word does judge thoughts and attitudes of the heart, and that is why the Truth can hurt before it heals you! Praise God for each and every one of you that he created. May God's Spirit rest upon you today, in the name of Jesus. Amen.

In His Eternal Rest!

Sarah

Wednesday, September 3, 2008

Sisters, Lift Me Up!

Today was my first day back, rejoining the Protestant Women of the Chapel on Andersen Air Force Base. These are a wonderful group of women who love the Lord, and love to study his Word. They are wonderful for Christian fellowship, and it is a place to get fed God's Word and to hear other women who are walking with my Lord recount what he is doing in their lives. One of the great things about belonging to God's family is that, even though you might leave one part of the family for awhile to be with another, God's Spirit welcomes you back when you return. It is His Spirit within the body of Christ that gives us unity. This is why we can move, join another church, and feel connected almost at once! This was my experience today. I saw new faces and old faces, but all of them were shining brightly with the joy of the Lord!

One scripture that comes to mind often when joining my sisters is:

Proverbs 27:17 (NIV)

"As iron sharpens iron, so one man sharpens another."

Sometimes, fellowship with our brothers and sisters can be difficult. It is not always as easy as it was for me today. Sometimes, we enter the room with many worries, complaints, doubts and hurts inside of us that only our Lord can see! Some are struggling with pain in hurting marriages, adultery, lying, stealing, addictions. We, the body of Christ, can still be susceptible to these trials and tribulations. We can drift into sinful practices and feel as though we are all alone. We may even feel as though we are the only person in the room who is struggling with these "sinful" issues. Many of us feel the need to bottle up our pain, and our struggles and simply work them out between ourselves and the Lord in prayer. While this is necessary and important, the Lord has given us giftings for use in the body of Christ to lift up one another. Some have the gift of mercy, others have exhortation, and others have prophecy, giving, serving, administration, teaching or pastoring (1 Corinthians 12). There are many gifts and talents that God has placed within the body to help us to grow up together into Christ, as is said in Ephesians 4:15 (NIV:

"Instead, speaking truth in love, we will in all things grow up into him who is the Head, that is, Christ."

We are meant to build up one another and grow up into Christ! However, a major hindrance to doing this is that we often do not share our problems with one another so we can receive the gifts of the others members of the body!

Romans 15:1-3 (NKJV)

"We then who are strong ought to bear with the scruples of the weak, and not to please ourselves. Let each of us please his neighbor for his good, leading to edification. For even Christ did not please himself; but as it is written 'The reproaches of those who reproached You fell on Me."

We need to bear one another's burdens for the edification of the body of Christ! When we see a sister falling down, sinning, or just struggling to be strong in the Lord...it is the time to reach out to her and lift up her arms, and help her to have victory in the Lord! The same goes for the men of the body of Christ, but today this message is directed to my Christian sisters! Let's make a point to help one another to be lifted up, and bring God glory through the unification of the body today in the name of Jesus! All honor and glory to our Father God who is in heaven!

Today, I pray that as other members of the body come to you with a burden, you would be flexible with your time and your thinking to encourage him/her, bear the burdens of others, and to unify and edify the body of Christ, so that God may have glory! Do this with a grateful heart. I pray the Lord gives you the strength to be obedient to his commands, and the wisdom to know how to approach each situation in a Godly manner! I thank God for all the times he has shown me to let my sisters bear my burdens, and for the healing and victory that came through doing so! I pray for peace and joy to overwhelm your lives today, and that he would open your hearts to the hearing of his Word. I pray all these things, giving honor and glory to God, in the name of Jesus! Amen.

Overwhelmed by his Grace,

Sarah

Monday, September 1, 2008

Labor Day!

Today, in Guam, is Labor Day! I was interested in the history of this holiday, so I researched Labor Day on www.history.com. The information I found was that in the late 1800s, people were working 12 hour days, 7 days a week. Children were working for low wages, and child labor laws were not enforced. This is exactly what my God, the Creator of this world, wanted to guard us against. The chapter of Genesis 1 details how God created the world in six days. But the passage that is pertinent to Labor Day is

Genesis 2:1-3 (NASB)

"Thus the heavens and the earth were completed, and all their hosts. By the seventh day, God completed his work which he had done, and he rested on the seventh day from all his work which he had done. Then God blessed the seventh day and sanctified it, because in it He rested from all His work which God had created and made."

In the past year, I have learned the importance of keeping the Sabbath holy, and resting on that day. You see, God understands that we have six days worth of work to do. He understands what it means to have a full schedule. I can't even begin to imagine what God's schedule is like, with taking care of every minute detail of every single creature's life every day. But he gave us a way to get rest, in fact, he commanded us to not work on the Sabbath and keep it holy. It is a day for rest and refreshment, both spiritually and physically. The world has duplicated this idea of a day of rest in Labor Day, although only once a year. God is much more generous and knows that we need more rest than one day a year. Many people believe that keeping the Sabbath is legalistic, and that because we are redeemed in God's grace, we no longer have need for the commandments. It is sad that many Christians do not know that the law is life-giving, if it is obeyed by the power of the Holy Spirit. They are missing the blessing of rest that God has provided for us.

Mark 2:27 (NIV) says:

"Then he said to them, 'The Sabbath was made for man, not man for the Sabbath.' So the Son of Man is Lord even of the Sabbath."


When Jeff and I first acknowledged that God wanted us to keep the Sabbath holy, we wondered how we would ever have enough time to get everything done during six days of the week. We both have very busy schedules, and we always have household chores to do! But we decided to give it a try. On Sunday (the day we believe to be the Sabbath), we do not work. We enjoy our family, we rest, and we go to church. We have not yet mastered getting everything done by Saturday, but we have learned to just let things go for one day a week. I can say that I feel I get sick less often and I have more energy for my family, work and God the other six days of the week.

God really knew what he was doing when he gave us a day of rest! The only thing keeping you from your blessing is deciding to accept it!


Today, I thank God that he knows our limitations and our potential. He knows that we work very hard for six days a week, and our physical bodies, and our spirits need rest and refreshment. I thank God that he has opened the eyes of my family to realize our need for his holy day, and that he is giving us the strength to rearrange our priorities and live the abundant life that He promised us! I pray today that God would open your hearts and eyes to this message of how he wants to bless you with rest! Please take the time on Labor Day to thank God for creating this world for us, and for giving us our very own "Labor Day" every week! Praise God for his kindness and his mercy. May He bless you today with the hearing of his Word!

Matthew 11:28 (NKJV)

"Come to me, all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest."


In His Rest,

Sarah

Sunday, August 31, 2008

God Can Heal Your Marriage Today!

This morning, as I sit at home on a Sunday with my family, my heart has drifted toward thinking about how many marriages are ending in divorce. How easy it is to just give up, and move on with "your" life while devastating the lives of others, including the spouse that you once madly loved, and the children left in the wake of disaster. I can speak very personally and with great emotion about this topic. I have been on that edge of divorce when everything looks as though it could never be right again...we were "out of love" with one another, and fighting every day. We did not even want to spend time alone together, and my thoughts were filled with anger, bitterness and thoughts of how to leave. He was also trying to find a way out. It was miserable at times, to say the least. I began to pray with all my heart, and many, many tears, that God alone would draw us back together. I prayed that he would rekindle love in my marriage, and that he would turn our hearts back to one another, as we followed Him. I prayed, and prayed, and prayed. I cried, and cried, and cried....and tried so hard not to leave in the meantime every time we had a fight and it just wasn't turning around. But God taught me to be persistent and I had a voice inside of me telling me that somehow, it was going to be better someday. I held on with everything I had, and let God keep me in my marriage when I felt I could not stay any longer. That is when the real bomb dropped on my marriage. I found out there were problems UNDER the surface that were causing much of the distance between us. Out of respect for the intimacy my husband and I have now built, I will not go into details. But there was a current working against us that I could not even see. It took the work of the Holy Spirit in my heart to convince me that something more was going on, and for me to confront my husband about it. When I confronted him, and we talked, tears started to flow as we told each other how we really felt about what was going. There were confessions made, and healing poured into our hearts by God Himself. We forgave each other.

I would love to say it was perfect that day, and every day after, but that is not the case. I continued to boldly pray that God would not only save my marriage, but that he would create a marriage that was fulfilling, loving, and absolutely amazing. God had to work in both our hearts to begin to make that happen. There were many times when I felt I was the only one who was praying, but I don't believe that is probably true. I know that others were praying for our marriage...intercessors, close friends, pastors, and who knows who else God enlisted to help us! After months of solid prayer, the tides began to really change. The Lord had to deal with my heart first because I had been hurt so much in my life, and I did not understand or accept being loved by anyone unconditionally. It took an older, visiting mother of one of our elders who spoke a "word of knowledge" (information about my life she could not have known) that broke me down to tears and revealed the hurt in my heart. God healed the hurt, and we moved forward. Then God had to heal the pain of all the problems that had existed in our marriage. There was a lack of trust, warmth toward my husband, and a condescending judgmental nature about me. The Lord had to work out all these things before he could heal my marriage and give us a fresh start. But I thank the Lord that he works tirelessly when we pray. As I prayed harder, the Lord began to work in bringing my husband's heart back to me. He rejoined us in intimate ways, and we began to want to spend time together. We began talking, laughing, and accepting one another for who we both are. Our marriage is still not perfect, it is a work in progress, but we have peace, love, acceptance and joy in our marriage. We enjoy our children together, and spending time together. We are working on our level of communication and our knowledge of one another, but we are on a positive track.

You may wonder why I chose to tell you the history of my marriage today. This morning I ran across a new movie that is coming out September 26th called "Fireproof." I have not seen this movie yet, but I have watched the trailer, and it addresses lack of understanding "love" within a marriage, and is about a couple who is on the verge of divorce. They are given a book called The Love Dare (which is available to buy online), which is 40 days to learning about God's definition of love in marriage. This movie's theme hit me on a personal level, and I feel as though I should strongly encourage any of you to see it in the theaters. I would love to see it here, and I will be praying that it comes. Many movies never make it to Guam because of the small audience and long distance. There are a couple of websites to check out if you feel led to support this movie, or to find more information about it.

http://www.fireproofthemovie.com/

http://www.fireproofmymarriage.com/

The lead actor in the movie is Kirk Cameron from Growing Pains and Left Behind. This movie comes from the same makers of Facing the Giants and Flywheel. This is their next movie.



God has really put a burden in my heart for marriages, and the high rates of divorce here in Guam. You see, Guam is a place that people from all over the US come to get a divorce because you only have to stay here a short amount of time, and it is inexpensive. People travel to Guam just to get divorced! That is just heart-breaking. I see the impact of divorce on this military community, with many husbands divorcing their military wives on island, and many wives leaving and never coming back to the island. A friend of mine and I were talking the other day about how "out of control" the divorces have become for the base. I KNOW that God can heal marriages because he healed mine. There are just too many reasons why people are not seeking God for his help and healing in marriage.

-They do not know Jesus Christ as their personal Lord and Savior.
-They do not have a local body of Christ to enlist for prayer support and pastoral counseling.
-They are Christians, but do not believe God can heal their marriage, so they do not pray.
-They give themselves excuses or "grounds" for leaving the marriage, but the Bible does not support their grounds.
-They believe it is easier to give up and start over than to fight to have an amazing marriage.

One great piece of wisdom came from my own brother. He said, "In order to stay married, you have to decide that divorce is not an option anymore." He then told me about his own marriage stuggles, and gave me encouragement to go on being married. That really woke me up! He was right. We all need to take the biblical stance that divorce is not an option anymore, and fight for our marriages with prayer, faith, and perserverance.

May God bless your marriage with peace, joy, intimacy and faith today in the name of Jesus. I pray for each of you that your marriage would be based on solid foundation of God's Word, and that you would allow him to be the strength that holds your marriage together in times of trouble.

Psalm 46:1 (NIV)

"God is our refuge and strength, an ever-present help in trouble."

In Christ's Everlasting Love,

Sarah