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Life-changing Moments
Life Changing Moments
We really have no idea what is actually laden deeply in the recesses of our souls until a life-changing moment places a demand on the deposit lying dormant within us. And for me, well, motherhood certainly was my moment!
I have no words to adequately describe or express effectively what being a mother has been for me. What I can say is that it completely changed the whole course of my life! You see, I had my own personal vision of what my world would be like when I grew up. I discovered very early in life that I had a unique gift to write songs. I wrote my first song when only ten. Oh, how I loved music and was passionate about my dream of becoming a “superstar” singing the hit songs I would pen. So, I quit college and went off to Hollywood to pursue my dream. But little did I know that I was not ready to go to where my “dream” was about to take me. And after many trials, disappointments, storms, heartaches and pain, I embraced another dream: MOTHERHOOD!
I gave birth to three precious children: two daughters and one son. When they came on the scene, they totally rocked my world! And I discovered I’d been given something far greater and more rewarding than any hit record I could ever pen! And I cannot explain the gamut of emotions I experienced when I held my babies in my arms and gazed into their beautiful, magnetic, all-consuming eyes. I felt like I was being bathed in pools of pure, unconditional love. These precious jewels had changed my life forever! And as the years passed, seeing their greatness, I admit at times, I felt “unworthy” to be entrusted with such extraordinarily gifted gems. Why was I chosen? I saw other mothers (in my opinion) who surely would do a much better job than I could ever do. But that was my opinion and not the opinion of The One Who had chosen me to be a steward over their lives. And so, I learned to have faith in the faith that God personally had in me.
Has it been easy? A resounding “No!” I’ve had inconceivable losses but have learned a life-giving principle: Trusting God is the expedient ingredient! My trust in Him was the ingredient that kept me from losing my mind when I lost my oldest daughter and my only son. How does a mother wrap her mind around losing 2 of her 3 children? I can honestly say that trusting in God brought me through. I was able to come out on the other side of my storms clothed in a peace that surpasses all human understanding. And my “baby” daughter, who has gone through much too much to be so young, has come out too and is excelling in her new role as a first-time Mom. Yes, she made me a grandmother to my darling grandson! I am so proud of her. She could have easily given up, but she did not. I am so thankful and proudly dedicate to her these words of Ann Frank:
“Everyone has inside them a piece of good news. The good news is you don’t know how great you can be! How much you can love! What you can accomplish! And what your potential is!”
– written by Rev. Ora Stearns Smith
If Christ Be Not Risen
IF CHRIST BE NOT RISEN …
12 But if it is preached that Christ has been raised from the dead, how can some of you say that there is no resurrection of the dead?
13 If there is no resurrection of the dead, then not even Christ has been raised.
14 And if Christ has not been raised, our preaching is useless and so is your faith.
15 More than that, we are then found to be false witnesses about God, for we have testified about God that he raised Christ from the dead. But he did not raise him if in fact the dead are not raised.
16 For if the dead are not raised, then Christ has not been raised either.
17 And if Christ has not been raised, your faith is futile; you are still in your sins.
18 Then those also who have fallen asleep in Christ are lost.
19 If only for this life we have hope in Christ, we are of all people most to be pitied.
20 But Christ has indeed been raised from the dead, the firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep.
21 For since death came through a man, the resurrection of the dead comes also through a man.
22 For as in Adam all die, so in Christ all will be made alive.
23 But each in turn: Christ, the firstfruits; then, when he comes, those who belong to him.
24 Then the end will come, when he hands over the kingdom to God the Father after he has destroyed all dominion, authority and power.
25 For he must reign until he has put all his enemies under his feet.
26 The last enemy to be destroyed is death.
27 For he “has put everything under his feet.” Now when it says that “everything” has been put under him, it is clear that this does not include God himself, who put everything under Christ.
28 When he has done this, then the Son himself will be made subject to him who put everything under him, so that God may be all in all.
29 Now if there is no resurrection, what will those do who are baptized for the dead? If the dead are not raised at all, why are people baptized for them?
30 And as for us, why do we endanger ourselves every hour?
31 I face death every day—yes, just as surely as I boast about you in Christ Jesus our Lord.
32 If I fought wild beasts in Ephesus with no more than human hopes, what have I gained? If the dead are not raised,
“Let us eat and drink,
for tomorrow we die.”
33 Do not be misled: “Bad company corrupts good character.”
34 Come back to your senses as you ought, and stop sinning;
I Corinthians 15
Forgiveness
The Power of
FORGIVENESS
It was at a church service in Munich that I saw him, the former S.S. man who had stood guard at the shower room door in the processing center at Ravensbruck. He was the first of our actual jailers that I had seen since that time. And suddenly it was all there – the room full of mocking men, the heaps of clothing, Betsie’s pain-blanched face.
He came up to me as the church was emptying, beaming and bowing. “How grateful I am for your message, Fraulein,” he said. “To think that, as you say, He has washed my sins away!”
His hand was thrust out to shake mine. And I, who had preached so often to the people in Bloemendaal the need to forgive, kept my hand at my side.
Even as the angry, vengeful thoughts boiled through me, I saw the sin of them. Jesus Christ had died for this man; was I going to ask for more? Lord Jesus, I prayed, forgive me and help me to forgive him.
I tried to smile; I struggled to raise my hand. I could not. I felt nothing, not the slightest spark of warmth or charity. And so again I breathed a silent prayer. Jesus I cannot forgive him. Give me Your forgiveness.
As I took his hand, the most incredible thing happened. From my shoulder along my arm and through my hand, a current seemed to pass from me to him, while in my heart sprang a love for this stranger that almost overwhelmed me.
And so I discovered that it is not on our forgiveness any more than our goodness that the world’s hinges … but on His. When He tells you to love our enemies, He gives, along with the command, the love itself.
The Hiding Place
Corrie Ten Boom
Happy Father’s Day My Darling Husband
HAPPY FATHER’S DAY … My Darling Husband!
You are truly an Amazingly Amazing Man of God! You are my Best Friend, my Confidant, my Teacher, my Pastor, my Apostle, my Melody, my Harmony, my Orchestra and my Conductor. You are indeed my personal Song of Praise.
Priceless Gift of God, You have completely changed my life and my world for the better! I still say the same thing I penned about Beautiful You many years ago, which still stands true today:
I salute you, my king.
You are the sweetest fountain, the richest soil,
and the best wine my Father saved for last.
Yes, I salute you, my divine love.
For through the storms and the testing,
YOU proved this one thing:
You are the Greatest Blessing
in my life!
I Love You!
I Am Unique Because
I was going through old folders a few days ago and ran across this incredible writing by a beautiful and gifted teenager named Summer Sky. I was so deeply blessed by this precious daughter of God and I just had to share her experience with you. May you be touched by her life-changing story.
I’m Unique Because…
I am unique because of a complex and pleasant blend of biological singularities and distinctive life experiences. In other words, I owe my unique nature to two things: how I have been created and what I have encountered in my lifetime.
Biologically, I am like no one on earth. Consider fingerprints. The tiny, curving valleys that score my fingertips cannot be compared to anyone else; together they form such a unique and identifying signature that, were I to leave them in an incriminating location, my identity could be sifted through those of all other inhabitants on the planet and be discovered in moments. In the same way, my appearance is completely unique to me: no one in creation possesses the same curve of the jaw, the same slight underbite, the same petite nose, almond eyes and tightly curled hair as I do. I am distinctive because I have been formed from an exclusive pattern by a remarkably creative God, and it is this same God Who continues to form me by causing me to meet various circumstances that will slowly and deliberately sculpt me into the person He wants me to be, and though I am not that person yet, I am continually changing as a result of the unique experiences that I have faced.
In this regard, I have been blessed beyond all conception. I have a wonderful family that buffers me from many experiences that unfortunate others must endure. My two brothers invoke the perfect balance of fondness and exasperation in me to cause me to appreciate them and beg forgiveness of them many times a day, and my parents model friendship and perseverance without reservation. It is because of these people that the biggest and most unique event of my life didn’t tear me apart, but built me up instead. In September 2001, we went on a family vacation to New York City. As luck (or design) would have it, we were extremely close to the World Trade Center Towers at the time of their fall.
Three blocks from the cascading towers and surrounded by the swirling sounds of crashing metal and wailing voices, I discovered the most unique aspect of my own self: my relationship with my Creator. From that time on, it has been a bond marked by unhindered, blatant trust and dependence. Like my fingerprints, my connection with Him is utterly singular: no one on earth has the exact same link with Him, and I am genuinely thankful for that fact. It is because of Him that I am as unique as I am.
– Summer Star
