Doing A New Work

God is doing a new work in me.  For the past few years, I have felt the Lord speaking to my heart about how broken people are, and how alone they feel.  I have spent hours, days, months and years in prayer over others' issues in life, crying out to God for a divine intervention.  I have asked for the impossible to become possible, and miracles to happen.  I have seen God answer every time.

Lately, I started feeling as though it was all just not enough, the ministry God had given me needed to expand. I began to pray the prayer of Jabez in the Bible and ask God to bless me, increase my territory, keep His hand upon me so that I won't do evil and hurt anyone.  I began to ask God to show me what I was destined to do in this life. 

It is so funny how your calling can be staring you in the face and you can't even see it!  Here I am, praying day and night for people (sometimes until 3:00 or even 4:00 in the morning) and not realizing that it is truly my passion to pray for others.  I have heard people in the world say that you should try to make your passion a career because you will be more successful.  I believe God has called me to pray for others, having great faith to believe for hopeless situations to have hope, and the impossible to become possible. I have seen God answer daily and this has built up my faith even more!  I wanted to make my passion into my career.

Thus, a ministry was born.  Two days ago, my husband and I founded Esther's Call Prayer Ministry using a free website and a 99 cent IPhone I got from AT&T.  We don't have much extra money, but we have a lot of heart and I am already doing the work of this ministry every day.  We might as well make it official and really got on with it!  I am also putting a college degree in Communication to work, hoping that some churches and women's groups will ask me to teach/preach/pray at their events.  I believe God has already spoken to me that this will happen.  I just need to keep having faith.  This is my dream, my passion, and my calling rolled into one glorious ministry. 

My main goal is just to show people through prayer the love of God through Jesus Christ, and the power He has given us in the resurrection from the dead to overcome every obstacle, challenge, and circumstance in life.  I want to show others what I have already discovered, having been freed from addictions, healed from incurable diseases, and rescued from financial ruin.  God can overcome, and HE WILL OVERCOME!  He has already defeated Satan, death and hell on the cross, and He is wanting to help you.  Please visit our new website:

www.estherscallprayerministry.org

Leave a message in the Guest Book telling me what you think!  If you need prayer, please call 918-424-7161.  You can also text this number, or email me at Pray4Me@estherscallprayerministry.org.  You can find the ministry on Facebook by searching Esther's Call Prayer Ministry. 

I pray you all will check out the site, drop me a note, and call when you need prayer!

Be blessed!

Sarah

Finding Hope in the Trials of Life

Do you ever get really tired? So tired that all you can think about is sleep? I have always been a little prone to weariness which is also defined in the Bible as a spirit of fainting. Fainting, falling down, giving up... The past few years have brought many challenges to our lives. I have faced health problems, financial problems, marital problems, children becoming ill, and I have learned that life brings a new challenge around every corner. Jesus never promised us that life will be perfect before or after becoming one of God's children. Many seem to get a false hope that becoming a Christian means that life's problems just fade away. There will be a day when we leave this earthly life and our human flesh and we are finally fully restored and made whole while living forever in the presence of our Lord Jesus. Until that day, what do we have to look forward to in this life, on this earth? One thing I have come to know is that, while problems exist in life, we have been given a few great gifts from God to help us through. First we have been sent the gift of the Holy Spirit to counsel us with God's wisdom and give us comfort. God also tells us that as we keep our eyes on Him, He will keep us in perfect peace. A peace that surpasses all understanding that keeps us from descending back into the pit from which He rescued us. How do we keep our eyes on Jesus when the whole world is crashing around us? We read the Bible, the holy words spoken by God's Spirit to man so that we could have a guide for living. Reading the Bible reminds us of WHO God is, WHAT He has done for us, and HOW much He loves us. Second, but not less wonderful is God's LOVE for us. This great love that makes up the whole of who God is at the core of His being comes to us in a variety of ways, both big and small. It can be that we experience God's I've when we get a great deal at the grocery store, or a friend drops by when we need a moment of comfort, a prayer at church prayed for us, or recovering from an illness. It can also be more flashy and spectacular as in a person who is healed from terminal cancer or my son being restored from a lack of brain development. However it comes to us, we can feel a tangible expression of God's immense love for each of us. Another great gift He gives is is HOPE. Most of us have experienced a hopeless situation at one time or another. Sometimes, a dark cloud descends on your life and it seems as though life has hit rock-bottom and things can never get better. I have been there. More than once! God gives us hope through the sharing of testimonies about His goodness, mercy and grace. We must be careful to always share the stories of how God has loved us and helped us. You never know how your story might encourage another human being to keep living, pressing forward an having hope for a better future. We have that ultimate hope in Jesus of a day when there will be no more suffering, pain or tears. When only peace and love, mercy and grace will remain. We will live in heaven and will be free from the toils and trials of this life, forever basking in the presence of our God who is LOVE. I know the past few months and years have taken a toll on me. But these three things remain: faith, hope and love. The greatest of these is love because GOD is LOVE. Three things will last forever—faith, hope, and love—and the greatest of these is love. (1 Corinthians 13:13 NLT) I heard a loud shout from the throne, saying, “Look, God’s home is now among his people! He will live with them, and they will be his people. God himself will be with them. He will wipe every tear from their eyes, and there will be no more death or sorrow or crying or pain. All these things are gone forever.” And the one sitting on the throne said, “Look, I am making everything new!” And then he said to me, “Write this down, for what I tell you is trustworthy and true.” (Revelation 21:3-5 NLT) After all, what gives us hope and joy, and what will be our proud reward and crown as we stand before our Lord Jesus when he returns? It is you! (1 Thessalonians 2:19 NLT) God blesses those who mourn, for they will be comforted. (Matthew 5:4 NLT) Then you will experience God’s peace, which exceeds anything we can understand. His peace will guard your hearts and minds as you live in Christ Jesus. (Philippians 4:7 NLT) Be blessed and don't give up hope in Jesus! His beloved, Sarah

Jesus in the ER

I haven't blogged in a few days, but that does not mean God has not been moving in an awesome way!  The past few days have been full of excitement.  God has been answering so many prayers of mine all at once, and I feel as though His blessings are overtaking me.  He is truly amazing.

A few things that been happening...first, we received the money to pay our car sales tax/registration after three long months.  The first two months were not our fault, as there was a hangup with the paperwork for the sale of our car, but we still would have to pay the penalty fees.  The last month, we simply didn't have $1200.00 laying around for that purpose. I decided last month to just let go of my worry over this issue.  It has been plaguing me and causing me stress since the day we bought this car. What could have made matters worse is that we were rear-ended in an intersection on March 1st, and we didn't even have current license plates. I could just see another ticket, more fines, and a court date in my near future.

None of that happened. 

I let go, and let God handle all my worries.  Well....this is what He did.

1.) He brought me $7095.00 today to cover my car registration and taxes, and a whole lot more. 
2.) He gave me grace with the policeman at the car accident and he didn't give me a ticket for being late on my car registration.
3.) I went to pay the taxes today and I wrote the lady a check.  She said, OOPS, I messed up on the amount. You are gonna have to write me another check.  She says, "the total is $99.00 cheaper than I told you."
4.) I wrote a check with the late fees deducted.  AMEN.

But that's not all, God has been on the MOVE....

Let's see... I had to take my son to the emergency room because he was having trouble breathing two nights ago. I've been needing to set up his surgery date to have his tonsils removed to help with the sleep apnea he is facing (at 2 years old!)  But anyway, we went to the ER and they gave him some medications and a breathing treatment. I had not slept that whole night (we went at 4 a.m.) before going as I worried about my baby. I had been praying over him for healing and God's protection.  Finally, I decided to get him some help.

After getting the medications and gathering our things to leave, an old man walked by our room.  He stopped and shuffled into our room and said, "What is your little boy's name?"  I told him my son's name and he immediately reaches down and touches his forehead and says, "I bid to thee God's Word, you are HEALED in Jesus' name!"  The second he started praying, I became aware of the presence of God in the room, but it wasn't just the chill bumps all over my body as usual, it was like a SHOCKWAVE.  It hit me in the chest and the power was unbelievable.  I felt knocked back and yet completely overcome with peace and joy.  He only said those words, but I left that room praising God, full of JOY....and my baby was suddenly feeling much better! 

My baby lifted his arms to have me carry him.  As I did this, he loudly said, "AMEN!"  I said, "Well, Amen!  Amen!"  Then we walked to the car, but as we did, my son -who barely started talking - starts shouting "JESUS, JESUS, JESUS, JESUS...."  He was full of excitement and looking over my shoulder.  We got to the car and I said, "Yes, Jesus." 

My son looked over my left shoulder and said, "JESUS....RIGHT THERE."

He was making eye contact and smiling.  And I suddenly had the feeling that a man was standing right behind my shoulder and I knew it was Jesus and my son was seeing him clearly.

We are so blessed to walk through this life with Jesus.  He is always with us. He never leaves us or abandons us.  He was with me when I thought I was alone in the ER.  He is ALWAYS with us.

That is my testimony for today.

God bless you all.  If you don't know Jesus as your personal Savior....you should.  Life is never the same, and you are never alone again.

His Beloved,

Sarah

A Lesson in Perseverance: Don't Give Up!

Sometimes, I feel as though doing a tedious task can just take FOREVER.  Sometimes, I have a goal in mind that I am trying to achieve, and there seems to be a million roadblocks in my path.  Stones tumbling before me, causing me to believe the path I was following is not open for passage anymore.  What do I do when this happens?  What does anyone do?

There a couple of different choices when one faces this situation.  The first is to turn back from where you came.  The second is to step to the left or the right, and take a different path.  The third, is to persevere and tell that boulder (mountain) to move out of your way.  This is the steadfastness that results in perseverance.  Some may call it stubbornness. It is often mistaken for pure foolishness.  However, at times, it is the wisest choice.  It is the choice that will lead to victory and when I have arrived at the destination, I will receive a reward. 

God talks a lot about perseverance in His Word.  Perseverance = Not Giving Up!  Even in the midst of trial and adversity, one can push forward and believe for greater things ahead.  My family has been tested many times in the area of perseverance.  We were tested when we heard our middle son was "special needs" and his brain wasn't developing right.  We believed he would be completely healed, and he is.  We were told that my husband might not ever return to military life.  We were encouraged by many to just turn aside and seek another path.  Maybe it was not God's will for us.  My husband is currently back in the military and doing fine.  At the last minute, when we almost gave up, God opened a door and here we are!  I was told last year that my heart had two conditions that would prevent me from ever resuming an active physical lifestyle that included many sports and activities that I love.  Recently, the doctors declared me completely healed and normal and I was given a full clearance to do anything I want. 

Don't get me wrong, there are times when it is wise to turn to the left or right because the path you have taken is not God's way for you.  If you are involved in activities that are harming you and clearly go against God's Word in your life, you should turn to the left or right and seek peace with God through the forgiveness provided by Jesus' blood shed on the cross for you.  But....if God has spoken something to you and confirmed it through His Word, the church, prayer and circumstances....you should hold onto that thing God has said.  Commit your way to the Lord, and He will bring IT to pass.  What is IT?  Whatever God has spoken to you.  The Word says to delight ourselves in Him, and He will give us the desires of our heart. It says this right before it says to "commit your way to the Lord and He will bring it to pass."  These two thoughts go directly together in the Bible. 

I know some things that Lord has spoken to, and about, my family that have not come to pass yet.  I am believing God today that these things will come to pass.  God just wants us to persevere, not give up on these things or Him, and commit our way to the Lord.  I have a renewed desire to believe God and tell the mountains standing before us to GET UP AND BE CAST INTO THE SEA! Mountains, get out of my way, 'cuz I am coming through! 

Lord, may you grant me even more perseverance as I face life's challenges.  Give me a spirit that will never give up, no matter the mountains that rise up in front of me.  Give me faith to believe that all things are possible through You and nothing is too hard.  Give me a heart to pray and a desire to constantly seek Your face, in Jesus' name I pray. Amen.

Let me drink deeply of the Living Water today:

Psalm 37:4-6

New King James Version (NKJV)

⁴ Delight yourself also in the Lord,
And He shall give you the desires of your heart.

⁵ Commit your way to the Lord,
Trust also in Him,
And He shall bring it to pass.
⁶ He shall bring forth your righteousness as the light,
And your justice as the noonday.

Romans 5:1-4

New King James Version (NKJV)

Faith Triumphs in Trouble

5 Therefore, having been justified by faith, we have^[a] peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, ² through whom also we have access by faith into this grace in which we stand, and rejoice in hope of the glory of God. ³ And not only that, but we also glory in tribulations, knowing that tribulation produces perseverance; ⁴ and perseverance, character; and character, hope.

Deuteronomy 5:32

New King James Version (NKJV)

³² “Therefore you shall be careful to do as the Lord your God has commanded you; you shall not turn aside to the right hand or to the left.

Mark 11:23

New King James Version (NKJV)

²³ For assuredly, I say to you, whoever says to this mountain, ‘Be removed and be cast into the sea,’ and does not doubt in his heart, but believes that those things he says will be done, he will have whatever he says.

Matthew 17:20

New King James Version (NKJV)

²⁰ So Jesus said to them, “Because of your unbelief;^[a] for assuredly, I say to you, if you have faith as a mustard seed, you will say to this mountain, ‘Move from here to there,’ and it will move; and nothing will be impossible for you.

Keeping My Eyes on Jesus

I am so weak. My great weakness is revealed in the many things I aspire to do each day that never get done. I wake up each morning with a million things on my mind that had to be done. Get the kids to school, fed and with all their homework. Clean the house that is never really clean. Dishes, laundry, unexpected requests from others for help, my own work, pray, read the Word. See how those two things get shoved to end of the list of priorities. How easily that happens when you are a wife and mother of three. The days when I don't seek the Lord first always seem to be out of whack. Often, I hear His still small voice saying to me "Seen first the kingdom and His righteousness and all the rest will be added unto you (Matthew 6:33)." Oh, if I could just get that part right... I was wallowing this morning in self-pity. I cried most of last night and today, feeling overhelmed by all the responsibilities I have and the prospect of impending failure when I don't keep up. I decided at some point that I was just going to turn my eyes back to Jesus and just praise Him despite how I was feeling. I turned on Christian music and made a point to sing it loud in my kitchen, even if I didn't feel like it. One thing I do know - God is always worthy of praise! He is still good despite my small troubles which are light and momentary afflictions. In the past couple days while I was crying and feeling sorry for myself, I had a couple of powerful revelations. First, if all of life was easy and painless, I would have very little need for God because I would be satisfied with my own existence, but then I would never turn to Him and enjoy His presence in my life. As much as I hate to say, I spend the most time with God when the sky is falling on me. I try to seek Him with the same fervency when things are going great, but the truth is that I generally don't. Then, my eyes get off Jesus and when trouble comes again, I feel all alone again. The Word of God says that He will keep in perfect peace the one whose eyes are focused on him. When I am lacking peace, I should already know that my eyes are on all the troubles I have, all that I am failing to do, my inadequacy. But when I am looking at Jesus through prayer and His Word, I begin to remember how He sees em...without spot or blemish, blameless because He sees the blood of Jesus as the sacrifice and sufficient price for everything I have not done or succeeded in doing. Instead of seeing my failures, my Father in heaven sees me hidden in Christ. He sees me as one day I will be when the Author and FINISHER of my faith has completed His good work in me. So the next time I feel the waves of sadness, failure and hopelessness crashing over me, I will again turn my eyes to Jesus and He will always be there to restore peace to me again because He is Living Water to me. He is the only reason I can go on. Thank you Lord for reminding me that You are the giver of peace. You are the friend that sticks closer than a bother. All I need to do is keep my eyes on You, and You will take care of the rest. (NKJV) Isaiah 26:3 You will keep him in perfect peace, Whose mind is stayed on You, Because he trusts in You. (NKJV) 2 Corinthians 4:17 For our light affliction, which is but for a moment, is working for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory (NKJV) Matthew 6:33 "But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you. (NKJV) Hebrews 12:2 looking unto Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith, who for the joy that was set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. His beloved, Sarah

A Season for Everything

I woke up this morning to a beautiful day. I looked outside and the flowers are blooming, the birds are singing, and there is a semi-warm breeze in the air. It just feels like spring to me. As I was thanking for another beautiful day here on earth, I began to think about all the things that spring represents as a season of the year. We also have seasons in our Christian walk. There are dark winters where we feel blocked in and desperate, mysterious times of fall when things are changing (transition, moving), and bright shining summers that are full of blessing and joy. However, spring is the time of renewal. Babies are being born, flowers are blooming, and everything becomes NEW again. I love spring because the sun is not too bright to burn my skin, but it is not cold and dreary either. Spring brings hope of something new and better still yet to come! Spring is a time of expectation and a sigh of relief after enduring the harsh winter. I have been through each of the seasons in my Christian walk, more than once... Right now, I am in a season of spring renewal to match the physical world around me. There seems to be a tug-of-war in the earth that happens when winter is moving into spring. Some days are cool (or cold) and downright dreary, while other days are bright and the sun is shining on our faces. It can be a difficult season because we can see the light ahead of better days coming, but we still feel stuck in the past. That's exactly how I feel right now about my life in Christ. The past has been dark and depressing, cold and harsh. The future I anticipate is brighter than anything I have ever known before. I know God is doing new things, taking us into new places, and our future is bright...but those dark days of winter still want to keep me feeling lost, lonely and depressed. It takes faith and trust in God to step out into the Light, not knowing where the path may lead... I realize that part of this spring season is about renewal, transformation and building up my character to look more like Jesus. I keep seeing my old ways, my old nature wanting to spring back up in me and cause trouble. It truly is a struggle. I have been inundated with foolishness in my past and I am always asking God for more wisdom, so I don't make decisions that will hurt anyone (including myself). I have been praying the prayer of Jabez lately over my life, not because it is a popular fad in Christianity, but because the words ring true about my heart's desire at this time in my life.

 1 Chronicles 4:10 New King James Version (NKJV)
  10 And Jabez called on the God of Israel saying, “Oh, that You would bless me indeed, and enlarge my territory, that Your hand would be with me, and that You would keep me from evil, that I may not cause pain!” So God granted him what he requested.

Oh, that God would grant me the words of this prayer.  To bless me, to enlarge my territory (influence), but even more so that His hand would be with me and keep me FROM EVIL, that I MAY NOT cause pain!

Even though I am a follower of Jesus Christ, and I love God and seek to follow His will in my life...I often make mistakes and find myself broken before Him.  I am weak without Him.  I still make mistakes daily and I want Him to forgive me for my great foolishness.  I desire for Him to keep me from evil mostly so I will not hurt others.  It is one thing to hurt myself, and we often care less about ourselves than we do others, but I desperately do not want my foolish mistakes to hurt those I love (or anyone).

I am thankful that God's love for me is not dependent on me being perfect.  His salvation, grace and mercy in my life do not depend on what I have done, but rather the finished work of what Jesus has done for me.  He has taken my punishment, the rightful lashings that I deserve for all the times I have hurt people around me.  His blood shed on the cross for my redemption is real in my life. He has taken from me the shame of my foolishness.  Trying to stand on my own good works to be "good enough" will never suffice.  Only through His love and forgiveness have I been able to truly experience LIFE.  His grace really is enough for me.  And...it always will be.

Thank you Lord for all you have done for me.  Thank you Father for sending Your only Son to die for me and take my shame, my punishment, and the life (or lack thereof) that I deserved and nailing it to the cross.  I can't explain how you were able to save me from all that I was, but like the season of spring...You made all things new again.  I am so glad that I could have a second, third, fourth, fifth, sixth and so on, chance to be free from the guilt and weight of sin.  Thank you for making everything new and for letting me start fresh with your mercy each and every day.

My Living Water for today:

Lamentations 3:22-23

New King James Version (NKJV)

²² Through the Lord’s mercies we are not consumed,
Because His compassions fail not.
²³ They are new every morning;
Great is Your faithfulness.

2 Corinthians 5:17

New King James Version (NKJV)

¹⁷ Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new. 

Isaiah 43:19

New King James Version (NKJV)

¹⁹ Behold, I will do a new thing,
Now it shall spring forth;
Shall you not know it?
I will even make a road in the wilderness
And rivers in the desert.

Ecclesiastes 3:1-8

New King James Version (NKJV)

Everything Has Its Time

3 To everything there is a season,
A time for every purpose under heaven:

² A time to be born,
    And a time to die;
A time to plant,
    And a time to pluck what is planted;
³ A time to kill,
    And a time to heal;
A time to break down,
    And a time to build up;
⁴ A time to weep,
    And a time to laugh;
A time to mourn,
    And a time to dance;
⁵ A time to cast away stones,
    And a time to gather stones;
A time to embrace,
    And a time to refrain from embracing;
⁶ A time to gain,
    And a time to lose;
A time to keep,
    And a time to throw away;
⁷ A time to tear,
    And a time to sew;
A time to keep silence,
    And a time to speak;
⁸ A time to love,
    And a time to hate;
A time of war,
    And a time of peace.

 His beloved,

Sarah

Married...By the Grace of God.

Lately, I have been thinking about the future more than usual.  I have been wondering where we will be in five or ten years.  Today is my 6-year anniversary of  being married to my husband.  It has been a wild and crazy ride for the past six years.  I feel like we have been married 50 years already...we have seen illness, tragedy, financial hardship, emotional instability, faced the impossible at times, and somehow we have always made it through...

I was talking with a man last night about how a marriage falls apart.  His wife separated from him earlier this year because she said she needs to "find herself."  When the brief conversation was over, I began thinking about that statement.  Perhaps, that is what I am still trying to do, even inside of my marriage....to find myself.  As I thought about it more and more, I realized that I found myself the day I met Jesus.  Before that day, I had no idea who I was.  I was trying to find myself in partying, drugs, alcohol and an endless stream of broken relationships.  I was looking for something, pleasure, fun, enjoyment, purpose, and desperately trying to fulfill the need to be loved by someone.  I remember how I felt after I first began to follow Jesus.  I felt full, satisfied and because He immediately took away my desire for those other things...I began to find my identity in Him alone. 

Some have said to me that I have lost my mind, gone off the deep end, or wonder why I never talk about anything but Jesus.  They say I am not able to relate to people if I just talk about Jesus all the time. I couldn't disagree more.  If I talk about all the things I used to, I would just be encouraging them to find themselves in things that can never satisfy.  I have found something that has changed me forever.  I have found MYSELF in Him.  I used to say that I always felt there was a different (better) person inside of me than what I was showing the world.  When I came to Jesus at the well and drank of His Living Water, He took away all those layers of myself that I never liked.  The real me started to emerge from a cloud of darkness, and I felt as though I was finally truly the me that I wanted to be.  Now, I am not hiding behind clothes, parties, material items, drugs or alcohol. I am not constantly trying to get the world to like me, because I finally like myself.

I think that one reason my marriage has lasted is that I am happy to be me.  My husband and I have problems at times, we have struggled through deep valleys of darkness and despair.  We have been told heartbreaking news that seemed as though it would overtake us.  However, somehow, by the grace of God we always emerged from the smoke.  Victorious.  As long as we find our identity in Jesus and we allow Him to be the center of our world, He will always make us stronger in loving each other.  Jeff and I have said many times that without God in our lives, we never would have made it this far.  Marriage is HARD.  If anyone tells you different, they are lying.  Six years is a long time.  We have both grown and changed our priorities.  We have different dreams than we used to have.  We like different things, and even what we had in common has changed over time.  We have had to stretch and grow together.  I have threatened to leave many more times than he has.  I guess I am the one who is weak and wants to quit.  When I feel as though I can't go on, I return to the well and ask for strength again to move on.  Jesus is always there and gives me peace and strength.  I would not be married today if Jesus had not always been there for me. 

Today, Jeff and I were driving in the car and looking at a picture that our son took to school of Guam.  Jeff asked me, "Are you sitting down?  Do you want to go to Guam with me?"  (He was re-enacting a very momentus phone call he made to me at work in 2005).  We were not yet engaged or married.  He was asking me if I was willing to go on the adventure of a lifetime with him.  We got engaged shortly after I said YES.  We decided to move 8,000 miles away from our homeland together.  I was scared to leave the familiar but I wanted to be with him.  I loved him and love is stronger than death.  We ended up finding out shortly after that we were expecting a child together.  Many have assumed that we got engaged for the wrong reasons, either because he was leaving or because I was pregnant.  We got married because we loved each other.  Yes, I found out he was leaving and decided to go with him before we got engaged.  I found out I was pregnant two weeks AFTER we got engaged.  But it all works out.  God works all things together for good.  Our pregnancy outside of marriage has turned out to be one of the greatest blessings that life could offer, our beautiful son Krischan!  Does God want us to start families that way?  No.  Does He turn things around to make it all wonderful and good?  Yes. 

God is always planning and preparing our way in life.  He has a good plan for our lives and although we can't see the finished product, we just have to keep returning to Him for strength and He will give us peace.  I am married today, after six long years, by the grace of God.  His unmerited favor in my life, and a constant desire from me and Jeff to believe that God still works miracles, each and every day.

I love you Jeff.  Thank you for resembling Jesus in my life, and never giving up on me or abandoning me.  Thank you for forgiving me of my many faults and sins toward you.  I thank God that we made it this far, and I am looking to Him for many more years together.  Without Him, we can do nothing, but with Him - ALL THINGS ARE POSSIBLE.

I look forward to walking into the future with you.  Thank you for sharing your dreams for the future with me this morning.  I was encouraged and excited to find out that we have the same dream God has planted in our hearts.  Simply amazing.

Some LIVING WATER for today:

Jeremiah 29:11

New King James Version (NKJV)

¹¹ For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, says the Lord, thoughts of peace and not of evil, to give you a future and a hope. 

Deuteronomy 31:8

New King James Version (NKJV)

⁸ And the Lord, He is the One who goes before you. He will be with you, He will not leave you nor forsake you; do not fear nor be dismayed.”
 
1 Corinthians 13:1-7

New King James Version (NKJV)

The Greatest Gift

13 Though I speak with the tongues of men and of angels, but have not love, I have become sounding brass or a clanging cymbal. ² And though I have the gift of prophecy, and understand all mysteries and all knowledge, and though I have all faith, so that I could remove mountains, but have not love, I am nothing. ³ And though I bestow all my goods to feed the poor, and though I give my body to be burned,^[a] but have not love, it profits me nothing.

⁴ Love suffers long and is kind; love does not envy; love does not parade itself, is not puffed up; ⁵ does not behave rudely, does not seek its own, is not provoked, thinks no evil; ⁶ does not rejoice in iniquity, but rejoices in the truth; ⁷ bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things.

 Thank you Jesus for making it all possible through your amazing grace and love in our lives.  May your love flow more freely through us for many years to come.

Your beloved,

Sarah