When Life Takes Your Breath Away
27 Jan 2012 Leave a Comment
in Encouragement & Hope Tags: breath of life, hope, life is hard, love letter, trials
As I’ve been reading through Genesis over the past couple of weeks, I’ve noticed the reoccurring theme of God’s breath.
One of the most personal mentions of His breath is in Genesis 2:7 when God uses His breath to speak the earth into existence.
“Then the LORD God formed a man from the dust of the ground and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and the man became a living being.”
God literally breathed life into dirt, and the dirt came alive as a man. He breathed life into the first man and continues to breathe life into you and I each day. He is our breath. So what happens when life knocks that breath out of us? How do we cope when life takes our breath away?
If you are like me, you’ve experienced times like this, times when life takes your breath away.
Times when you hear the dreaded news from your doctor.
Times when the unimaginable has just happened in your family.
Times when your world has just come crashing down around you and you don’t know how or where to start rebuilding.
Times when…..(you fill in the blank).
Most of us can say that we have personally had moments when life has taken our breath away. So what happens then?
Thankfully, man isn’t the only thing that is God-breathed. Look at these verses in II Timothy 3.
16 All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, 17 so that the servant of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work.
God breathed life into man AND into Scripture! He gave us something tangible to cling to when we have no strength left. He gave us His Word. Although we don’t see God with our eyes day in and day out, and we can’t sit down face-to-face with Him over a cup of coffee, we can tangibly cling to Him by holding fast to His Word. When life takes your breath away, find it again in God’s Word.
My pastor growing up used to refer to the Bible as God’s love letter to us. Think about that. Think about a note you have gotten from a friend that encourages your spirit. I have a special spot in my filing for notes like these. There are days that I need to be encouraged by these notes. God’s Word is much like these little notes…ONLY BETTER!!!
He wrote this love letter to us to encourage us. But not just to encourage us, but to teach us and to train us. His Word equips us for life. His Word sustains us. His Word will endure when everything else in life fades away.
His Word is LIFE!
How do I know this to be true? John 1 tells us that Jesus is the Word, and Jesus is our life!
I encourage you today to spend some time in His Word. Read it, get to know it. Join a group that studies it and let God breathe life into your lifeless heart again through His Word.
:: :: :: :: :: Reflection Questions :: :: :: :: ::
Do you have a verse that you cling to when life takes your breath away? What is it? Can you share this verse with others to encourage them?
How has God proven faithful in His Word?
Do you feel overwhelmed by life? Are you willing to take steps to overcome that feeling?
Where and when can you spend time in His Word?
What will you read when you sit down with Him?
What Scripture have you memorized that you call on in times of trouble?
What questions do you have about reading the Bible? (I’d love to address some of these, just leave a comment and I’ll answer them in the coming weeks.)
When Will She Come?
20 Jan 2012 7 Comments
in Mommyhood, Family Life Tags: new baby, baby girl
You can win GRACE when Gracie arrives!
With Gracie’s arrival just around the corner, I thought it would be fun to guess her weight and her arrival time. I’ll give away one of Carl’s GRACE CDs the person who most closely guesses the date and time of Gracie’s arrival, and one to the person who most closely guesses her weight.
I want to give everybody an equal playing field.
So here are the facts:
I am due on Valentine’s Day, but I have started dilating.
I will be 37 weeks on Monday.
Janie Lou was born at 37 1/2 weeks and weighed 6.2 pounds.
So when do you think Gracie will arrive? And how much will she weigh?
Leave a comment with a date and a time and a weight, and check back often to find out if you have won!
I will post the details about her arrival and the winners within a couple days of her being born.
Thank you for all of your prayers for this little Punkin.
Don’t miss your chance to win, leave a comment VERY soon! {smile}
God is Good
13 Jan 2012 7 Comments
in Family Life, Mommyhood Tags: baby girl, kidneys, ultrasound
Hey, Friends!
I just wanted to say “thank you” for all of your prayers. I had my ultrasound yesterday, and the kidneys are still enlarged in the moderate range. But we got lots of good news.
1. The fluid around Gracie is great which means that her kidneys are functioning well despite the hydronephrosis.
2. Although she is in the moderate range for hydronephrosis, she is on the lower end of moderate…very close to being mild.
3. She flipped over! She is head down which reduces the chance of having a C-section. I’m definitely not opposed to a C-section, but having just been cut open 5 weeks ago for the appendectomy, does not get me excited about having my abdomen cut open again.
We are very excited about the news, and we are continuing to pray for complete healing. God is good.
This morning I was reading a little bit of Don Piper’s story in his book “90 Minutes in Heaven” and I was encouraged once more that God not only hears our prayers, but He is still in the business of healing His children.
Thank you for joining us on this journey. Thank you to those of you who have shared your stories with us. You are in our prayers.
God bless!
Faith
Prayers for Hergycub 2.0
10 Jan 2012 20 Comments
in Family Life, prayer Tags: aching heart, baby girl, enlarged kidney, facing adversity, grace, having a girl, hydronephrosis, prayer service, throne of god, tough on my heart, trials, Trust
Today is a day that I just want to be honest about what is on my heart. So thank you for giving me that opportunity.
Those of you who regularly follow this blog know that an early ultrasound detected that, just like Janie Lou, Hergycub 2.0 also has kidney issues. Since that time, we also accidentally found out that we are having a girl. At the risk of spoiling the surprise when she is born, I want to go ahead and share her name with you, Gracie Jewel.
I am sharing her name with you for one reason alone, so that you can approach the throne of God on her behalf.
The first ultrasound that detected the hydronephrosis (enlarged kidney) showed that the enlargement was mild. However, a recent ultrasound has revealed that the enlargement has increased and the hydronephrosis in both kidneys has been upgraded from mild to moderate. Honestly, the days since that diagnosis have been difficult.
Last night Carl and I attended a prayer service at our church and were prayed over by a wise man. As he prayed for Gracie’s kidneys, he said something that I’ve known almost my whole life, and yet somehow hadn’t thought of in this situation. He said, “God, you are a dad, and you have a dad’s heart.” I honestly don’t remember anything else that he said. That simple phrase breathed hope back into my aching heart. My sobs quieted, and I was again able to believe that God will heal our child.
Honestly, sometimes it’s hard to believe. Yes, I pray asking God to heal our child. I prayed a year ago for God to heal Janie Lou. And His way of healing her was through surgery. This has been the most difficult part for me. Surgery last year was a huge deal, but because Janie Lou never acted sick, had one good kidney, and recovered in a matter of days, it wasn’t as tough on my heart as this situation is.
Knowing that we could go down that road again only with two bad kidneys is very scary for this mama. Most days I am fine, but in the quiet moments when I can stand before God honestly, I am scared. I am scared of the worst-case scenario. I feel bad bringing a sick child into the world. My hearts desires to be comforted, but my head reminds me of the reality of the situation.
My heart believes that God is more than able to heal Gracie’s kidneys, but my head says, “Yes, He is able, but He may choose not to.”
This is a harsh reality, and I am sharing all of this with you for a couple of reasons.
1. I want you to know that I am a real person with doubts and fears.
2. I want you to know that God’s plan is for us to be holy, not happy.
This morning I read Genesis 22. This is the story of God asking Abraham to sacrifice his one and only son on the altar. Abraham had waited 100 years for this son, and now God was asking him to sacrifice his child. Whether you’ve read the story a million times, or never even heard of it, YOU MUST READ IT! Abraham trusts God to the point of binding up his child and laying him on the altar. After this, he raises his knife in the air and is about to sacrifice his son when an angel of the Lord stops him. The angel of the Lord says, “Do not stretch out your hand against the lad, and do nothing to him; for now I know that you fear God, since you have not withheld your son, your only son, from Me.” (v 12) Immediately, Abraham saw a ram caught in a near by bush and he ends up sacrificing the ram instead of his only son. Verse 14 says Abraham named that place “The Lord Will Provide.”
God was testing Abraham. And Abraham proved faithful. God provided another sacrifice for the altar. But when God sent His own Son, Jesus to earth to be sacrificed, God didn’t back out at the last second. He allowed his only son, the son whom He loved, to be sacrificed on a cross so that you and I could have a relationship with Him. God, as a dad, knows what it is like to see His child suffer.
God’s ultimate desire is not for me to have a healthy baby and live a happy life. God’s desire is for me to be in relationship with Him, and that requires I be holy. God often uses trials to make us look more like Him. The idea that if you follow Jesus your life will be easy breezy is a lie. Read the Bible, story after story reveals to us, that life here on earth is difficult. So why follow Jesus if He doesn’t remove all the bumps along the road?
I follow Jesus because in Him we have a hope that will last far beyond this life. Yes, this life may be difficult, in fact for most of us, this life WILL be difficult. But clinging to Jesus gives us a hope that we will one day spend eternity with Him in glory. A place where there are no tears. A place where cancer doesn’t exist and no one knows the meaning of hydronephrosis.
I believe God is able to heal Gracie, and this mama’s heart is begging you to join us in prayer for God to heal her. But I trust God and His plan. (Or at the very least I want to trust God and His plan, and most days I do.) Last night, I told God that I was laying Gracie at His feet. She is His child more than mine. I pray that His Daddy heart has compassion on her and heals her kidneys. But I also pray that He uses her life to glorify Himself. I know this is a risky prayer because He knows how best her life can bring Him glory, and it might not be the easiest route for us, but I know in the end, any hardship we endure as a result of this test will be worth it.
I long to look like Jesus, and this process is definitely refining me and my faith.
I have another ultrasound on Thursday. Will you join us in praying for Gracie? Will join us in praying for a miracle? Every time I lay on that table and they pour that warm gel on my belly I get teary-eyed with hope that the kidneys have shrunk and are healthy. So far that hasn’t been the case, but I walk in faith knowing He is Jehovah Rapha, the God who heals.
I know each of you has a story and a need for prayer also. I would love to pray for you as I pray for my own family. If you would like, you can share your story by leaving a comment here on the blog, or if you feel more comfortable, you can share it with me via email at faith@faithklein.com.
Can I pray for us right now?
Dear God,
Thank you for being here with us in this moment. Thank you for being Jehovah Rapha, the God who heals. You know each of our situations and our needs. You know how each of needs healing physically, spiritually and emotionally. I pray that you will heal us completely. We know you are able. I pray that in the process of healing us, You will make us look more like You. I want to be holy and to bring you glory. I pray this for my friends, as well. Please heal us as you best see fit, in Your perfect timing, according to Your will.
Lord we love you and trust you. Help us to trust even when it is difficult.
Thank you, Lord,
Amen.
Do You Make Your Words Count?
06 Jan 2012 Leave a Comment
in Purpose, Uncategorized Tags: freedom of speech, heat of the moment, psalm, seven times
I read these words this morning, and they made the wheels in my mind begin to turn.
Psalm 12:4,6
Who have said, “With our tongue we will prevail;
Our lips are our own who is lord over us?”
…
The words of the LORD are pure words;
As silver tried in a furnace on the earth, refined seven times.
Look at the contrast of these verses. The first verse describes men and how we can try to use our words to get what we want. We use our words to get ahead. It also addresses our thought that we are the owner of our lips.
“Our lips are our own who is lord over us?”
This particular sentence convicted me. I often use my words to express my thoughts. With my husband I can use my words to verbally vomit on him all that is in my head, even before I have it figured out. This can be hurtful to him, as I usually say things I don’t really mean, but might temporarily feel in the heat of the moment. This usually happens in my house after 10 pm. I’m tired and I usually have something I want to express, but I’ve let the guard of mouth take the night off and so my words are unfiltered. When I let my tongue be in command, my words are usually not edifying or constructive. Instead, they are more likely to be destructive and can cut to the core.
I often think it is my right as a human being to think and say what I want. Even our constitution gives us freedom of speech. But the Bible is clear that we should take every thought captive to the obedience of Christ. It is also clear that even when we are angry we shouldn’t sin. The Bible doesn’t say we can’t be angry or have an opinion, but it does say we should not use that as an excuse to sin. This applies to our thoughts, actions, AND words. How many news stories have you seen recently about a teen being bullied and the devestating consequences of our words. We must keep a tight reign on our tongues. We can not let them run free. This applies to spoken words and written words. What you post on facebook matters. What you say behind someone’s back matters.
In Genesis 9 God says,
“Whoever sheds man’s blood,
By a man his bood shall be she
For in the image of God He made man.”
God places a high price on people’s lives. Why? Simply, He made us in His image. He does not want us to harm the ones He made in His image. You were created in the image of God, and so was the person who hurt you. Do you speak to others as though they were created in the Image of God? Are the words that come out of your mouth similar to the words God speaks?
Look at the things God did with His words just in the first chapter of the Bible!
God spoke and there was light.
God spoke and separated the waters into the waters below and the waters above.
God spoke and the water on the earth was gathered into one place and dry land appeared.
God spoke and vegetation grew!
God spoke and created the stars, the moon, the sun and all of the lights in the heavens!
God spoke and waters were filled with living creatures and birds filled the air.
God spoke and living creatures roamed the earth!
God used His words to bring LIFE into the world. What about you? How do you use your word?
:: :: :: :: :: ::
Going Deeper: How do use your words?
Do you believe that your tongue is your own and you have the right to use it how you please?
Do your words edify others, or do you use them to inflict pain or guilt on others?
Do you speak to all people as if you are speaking to the Image of God?
What is one way you can use your words today to glorify the Lord and edify someone else?
What other verses on the words/tongue do you use to help you control your tongue?
