"Therefore He is also able to save to the uttermost those who come to God through Him, since He always lives to make interecession for them." Heb.7:25
March 31, 2018
Happy Easter!
"Therefore He is also able to save to the uttermost those who come to God through Him, since He always lives to make interecession for them." Heb.7:25
March 28, 2018
Wednesdays in the Word
2 Kings 5 tells us that a man named Naaman was the commander of the Syrian army. It says that he was a great and honorable man and that God used him to bring a victory for Syria. He was a "mighty man of valor, but a leper." (I've heard that the word 'but' is a verbal eraser) So, Naaman's great abilities all paled in comparison to the fact that he had leprosy.
The nation of Israel sent lepers to live outside of society, but I guess that wasn't the case in Syria. He lived with his wife and a captured slave girl from Israel. Major kudos to this girl! She was captured on a raid and taken to a foreign land and would never again see her family, and who spoke up and shared her faith anyway! That's so gutsy and God glorifying. Imagine getting outside of your own pain and grief enough to do that! She's my hero!
She said "If only my master were with the prophet who is in Samaria! For he would heal him of his leprosy."
What took place next was like a round of the telephone game. Those two simple sentences were repeated to the king of Syria, who then wrote them to the king of Israel but what came out was totally different. The letter said "heal my servant Naaman of leprosy."
He freaked out and thought the king of Syria was trying to pick a fight with him and he was like "Am I God?" LOL
That makes me smile every time!
Elisha hears about all of this and intervenes. (and probably averts war)
Elisha graciously sent word to Naaman about what he needed to do to be healed by God.
And the kicker here is, the means to the end did not meet with the approval of this desperate man. In all actuality, he must have forgotten he was desperate!
The method wasn't showy enough. He wanted someone to come wave his hand and call out to God and he sure didn't like the looks of the river he was sent to wash in. He was sure that a better one existed.
How often are we not OK with God's methods or timetable for restoring us? Whether it be physically, emotionally, or spiritually. Ouch!
Can we accept the quiet, often slow way that He does it?
Naaman's servant said "If he said do something hard you would've. Why not do it even when it is easy?"
He eventually did and his skin was restored to that of a child! And he declared that he knew that there was no God in all the earth except in Israel. I love that!
And then he realizes he has a problem on his hands because part of his job description was to help the king of Samaria get down on the ground to bow before his god in a temple. He bravely asked to be pardoned for that in the future and Elisha tells him to "Go in peace" which was kind of like saying God gets it, and don't worry about it. How sweet was that?
And who knows, maybe in the future he had a chance to tell the king about the God who gave him that child like skin that he was leaning against!
~Becky
The nation of Israel sent lepers to live outside of society, but I guess that wasn't the case in Syria. He lived with his wife and a captured slave girl from Israel. Major kudos to this girl! She was captured on a raid and taken to a foreign land and would never again see her family, and who spoke up and shared her faith anyway! That's so gutsy and God glorifying. Imagine getting outside of your own pain and grief enough to do that! She's my hero!
She said "If only my master were with the prophet who is in Samaria! For he would heal him of his leprosy."
What took place next was like a round of the telephone game. Those two simple sentences were repeated to the king of Syria, who then wrote them to the king of Israel but what came out was totally different. The letter said "heal my servant Naaman of leprosy."
He freaked out and thought the king of Syria was trying to pick a fight with him and he was like "Am I God?" LOL
That makes me smile every time!
Elisha hears about all of this and intervenes. (and probably averts war)
Elisha graciously sent word to Naaman about what he needed to do to be healed by God.
And the kicker here is, the means to the end did not meet with the approval of this desperate man. In all actuality, he must have forgotten he was desperate!
The method wasn't showy enough. He wanted someone to come wave his hand and call out to God and he sure didn't like the looks of the river he was sent to wash in. He was sure that a better one existed.
How often are we not OK with God's methods or timetable for restoring us? Whether it be physically, emotionally, or spiritually. Ouch!
Can we accept the quiet, often slow way that He does it?
Naaman's servant said "If he said do something hard you would've. Why not do it even when it is easy?"
He eventually did and his skin was restored to that of a child! And he declared that he knew that there was no God in all the earth except in Israel. I love that!
And then he realizes he has a problem on his hands because part of his job description was to help the king of Samaria get down on the ground to bow before his god in a temple. He bravely asked to be pardoned for that in the future and Elisha tells him to "Go in peace" which was kind of like saying God gets it, and don't worry about it. How sweet was that?
And who knows, maybe in the future he had a chance to tell the king about the God who gave him that child like skin that he was leaning against!
~Becky
March 26, 2018
A happy holiday
Every year before Easter, our church throws the largest egg hunt around with 15,000+ eggs filled with candy. Over 850 families joined us on Saturday for the fun and we had the chance to invite them to join us for church on Easter Sunday and present a drama of the gospel right out in front of the local movie theater that partners with us every year. How awesome is that?!
-There's nothing quite like hundreds of little kids running straight at you, while you are standing in a field! It reminds Joy of one of the battle scenes in The Lord of the Rings! LOL
Joy and Andrew were suppose to be in a wedding in CA in December but the wedding was postponed and hasn't been rescheduled yet. We are wondering if they will just elope on top of a mountain at some point. ; )
We just found out that we have to use our plane tickets soon or they will expire. (big fans of SW airlines after this!) So, California Fam, we will see you for a quick visit in June! Yay!!!
And hopefully we will see you again in December when Zac graduates from ASU! (hint, hint! Drive to AZ!)
Joy and I realized the other day that Easter is NOT a sad holiday for us!!! How great is that?!
A non-sad holiday! When you have lost a loved one, it seems like all your holidays have a painful twist to them and the approach brings a bit of dread. -Literally, even the Fourth of July is painful for our family! LOL So, hooray for a break for at Easter!
Friday night, we have a Good Friday worship service that I love! It is such a powerful time to remember the price Jesus paid for us! So, I'm looking forward to that, and of course, celebrating His resurrection on Sunday! Also, looking forward to (most) of our family all being in one place at the same time, to eat together that night! Which is no small miracle to pull off these days. ❤
~Becky
-There's nothing quite like hundreds of little kids running straight at you, while you are standing in a field! It reminds Joy of one of the battle scenes in The Lord of the Rings! LOL
Joy and Andrew were suppose to be in a wedding in CA in December but the wedding was postponed and hasn't been rescheduled yet. We are wondering if they will just elope on top of a mountain at some point. ; )
We just found out that we have to use our plane tickets soon or they will expire. (big fans of SW airlines after this!) So, California Fam, we will see you for a quick visit in June! Yay!!!
And hopefully we will see you again in December when Zac graduates from ASU! (hint, hint! Drive to AZ!)
Joy and I realized the other day that Easter is NOT a sad holiday for us!!! How great is that?!
A non-sad holiday! When you have lost a loved one, it seems like all your holidays have a painful twist to them and the approach brings a bit of dread. -Literally, even the Fourth of July is painful for our family! LOL So, hooray for a break for at Easter!
Friday night, we have a Good Friday worship service that I love! It is such a powerful time to remember the price Jesus paid for us! So, I'm looking forward to that, and of course, celebrating His resurrection on Sunday! Also, looking forward to (most) of our family all being in one place at the same time, to eat together that night! Which is no small miracle to pull off these days. ❤
~Becky
March 21, 2018
Wednesdays in the Word
Jesus said "The harvest truly is plentiful, but the laborers are few. Therefore, pray to the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into His harvest." Matt. 9:38
What hit me recently when read this verse, is that sometimes we laborers act like the harvest is ours!
Or we have way too many opinions about HOW the harvest comes in! And what it looks like when it does! Or we pray that it come to us.
Basically, the harvest is His and He said it is huge! And what it looks like is weary, scattered people.
"When He saw the multitudes He was moved with compassion for them, because they were weary and scattered, like sheep having no shepherd."
Instead of focusing on praying those sheep in, we are to be praying that more of us want to go to them! Its what He did.
He's the One who leaves the 99 to go after the 1.
In fact, He left Heaven for the harvest.
He died for the harvest.
And He's preparing a place for the harvest!
Let's pray for more laborers to send!
~Becky
What hit me recently when read this verse, is that sometimes we laborers act like the harvest is ours!
Or we have way too many opinions about HOW the harvest comes in! And what it looks like when it does! Or we pray that it come to us.
Basically, the harvest is His and He said it is huge! And what it looks like is weary, scattered people.
"When He saw the multitudes He was moved with compassion for them, because they were weary and scattered, like sheep having no shepherd."
Instead of focusing on praying those sheep in, we are to be praying that more of us want to go to them! Its what He did.
He's the One who leaves the 99 to go after the 1.
In fact, He left Heaven for the harvest.
He died for the harvest.
And He's preparing a place for the harvest!
Let's pray for more laborers to send!
~Becky
March 16, 2018
The grieving
Grief is a beast.
And there are so many layers to the healing process.
I'm sure I can't ever put into words how awful it is to loose a spouse, so I won't try.
For a long time, I felt like I was a person walking around with a gaping wound and all that raw pain was just gushing out for all to see.
I wasn't one to try to keep from feeling the pain. I went all in. - I think I cried everyday for 15 months. I read somewhere that suppressing it would really screw me up -LOL so I didn't try that.
It took about a year and half for my gaping wound to finally feel like it grew a scab. (gross analogy but it's all I've got)
And now, at almost two and half years, I think I just feel scared.
And speaking of scars, I love these lyrics:
"Every pain and scar -a canvas of your grace..." (Hillsong)
"Thank you for the scars I bear, they declare You are my healer..." (Elevation)
My daughter is fond of a song that says "Let this chaos count" (Yes, please!)
And this verse (which I rearranged a little) is one of my favorites right now:
"...after you have suffered a little while...the God of all grace...will Himself restore you and make you strong, firm and steadfast." 1 Pet. 5:10
I really feel like He is doing all of that for my family.
He is restoring us. He is renewing our faith and healing our emotions.
And I take comfort in the fact that we will be made strong, firm and steadfast.
He is good and He is faithful!
In the last couple of years, He's either moved mountains for me or scaled them with me! ❤
Isn't He kind?
Does grief ever end?
As cliche as it sounds... time does heal. Thank God!
~Becky
And there are so many layers to the healing process.
I'm sure I can't ever put into words how awful it is to loose a spouse, so I won't try.
For a long time, I felt like I was a person walking around with a gaping wound and all that raw pain was just gushing out for all to see.
I wasn't one to try to keep from feeling the pain. I went all in. - I think I cried everyday for 15 months. I read somewhere that suppressing it would really screw me up -LOL so I didn't try that.
It took about a year and half for my gaping wound to finally feel like it grew a scab. (gross analogy but it's all I've got)
And now, at almost two and half years, I think I just feel scared.
And speaking of scars, I love these lyrics:
"Every pain and scar -a canvas of your grace..." (Hillsong)
"Thank you for the scars I bear, they declare You are my healer..." (Elevation)
My daughter is fond of a song that says "Let this chaos count" (Yes, please!)
And this verse (which I rearranged a little) is one of my favorites right now:
"...after you have suffered a little while...the God of all grace...will Himself restore you and make you strong, firm and steadfast." 1 Pet. 5:10
I really feel like He is doing all of that for my family.
He is restoring us. He is renewing our faith and healing our emotions.
And I take comfort in the fact that we will be made strong, firm and steadfast.
He is good and He is faithful!
In the last couple of years, He's either moved mountains for me or scaled them with me! ❤
Isn't He kind?
Does grief ever end?
As cliche as it sounds... time does heal. Thank God!
~Becky
March 14, 2018
Wednesdays in the Word
"In the multitude of my anxieties within me,
Your comforts delight my soul." ~Psalm 94:19
Instead of letting areas of anxiety run havoc with our minds, let's remember what He has done for us and be comforted! I made a list of the top ten ways I've seen His comfort recently and it blessed me!
What has He done to comfort you lately?
What we focus on grows. Focus on how intrinsically involved He is your well being and be 'delighted!'
~Becky
Your comforts delight my soul." ~Psalm 94:19
Instead of letting areas of anxiety run havoc with our minds, let's remember what He has done for us and be comforted! I made a list of the top ten ways I've seen His comfort recently and it blessed me!
What has He done to comfort you lately?
What we focus on grows. Focus on how intrinsically involved He is your well being and be 'delighted!'
~Becky
March 11, 2018
This and that from the week
I feel like mentioning that we actually did not have a wedding to go to this weekend. LOL
But if we keep going to so many, I may have to actually learn the electric slide -even though I have no rhythm!
The other day at work, I leaned over my desk to pour the last bit of tea from my cup into a planter, (bad idea) and totally forgot that I had a lit candle on my desk!
And yes, the very worst thing that could happen, did!
My hair caught on fire!
Everyone else had already left for the day, so lucky for me they didn't see me screaming and slapping my hair. Oh my stars! Does anything smell worse than burning hair?
I'm thanking the Lord for layers because it isn't noticeable at all. And I'm hereby grounding myself from all candles for the foreseeable future.
If you want something done in the heavenlies, get Joy to pray for you. Seriously!
I'm blessed to get to watch God do amazing things in answer to her prayers for the people in her life!
This week she prayed and decided to ask for a raise at work. And she was given MORE than she asked for! How amazing is that? They told her that she is now the highest paid employee, who isn't in management. Yay! #godsfavor
This week I applied to be a volunteer Cuddler at the women's hospital. That's a real thing!
You get to spend 3 hours at a time cuddling babies, who were born with addictions. Isn't that heartbreaking? I hope I get to be apart of the program. I'd love to spend some time cuddling and praying over newborns!
I'll leave you with this great quote from a book I am reading right now called Own Your Life:
"Stewarding your life wisely can bring great confidence, excellence of character and peace of mind
-And lead you to create a legacy, a story worth telling.
But it begins with a determination on your part to make a wise plan,
to forge resonable goals, to listen ot the prompting of the Holy Spirit
and to trust God to lead you on a path of spiritual renewal and strength.
Each day you are writing the story that your life will tell throughout eternity." ~Sally Clarkson
May we write well!
~Becky
But if we keep going to so many, I may have to actually learn the electric slide -even though I have no rhythm!
The other day at work, I leaned over my desk to pour the last bit of tea from my cup into a planter, (bad idea) and totally forgot that I had a lit candle on my desk!
And yes, the very worst thing that could happen, did!
My hair caught on fire!
Everyone else had already left for the day, so lucky for me they didn't see me screaming and slapping my hair. Oh my stars! Does anything smell worse than burning hair?
I'm thanking the Lord for layers because it isn't noticeable at all. And I'm hereby grounding myself from all candles for the foreseeable future.
If you want something done in the heavenlies, get Joy to pray for you. Seriously!
I'm blessed to get to watch God do amazing things in answer to her prayers for the people in her life!
This week she prayed and decided to ask for a raise at work. And she was given MORE than she asked for! How amazing is that? They told her that she is now the highest paid employee, who isn't in management. Yay! #godsfavor
This week I applied to be a volunteer Cuddler at the women's hospital. That's a real thing!
You get to spend 3 hours at a time cuddling babies, who were born with addictions. Isn't that heartbreaking? I hope I get to be apart of the program. I'd love to spend some time cuddling and praying over newborns!
I'll leave you with this great quote from a book I am reading right now called Own Your Life:
"Stewarding your life wisely can bring great confidence, excellence of character and peace of mind
-And lead you to create a legacy, a story worth telling.
But it begins with a determination on your part to make a wise plan,
to forge resonable goals, to listen ot the prompting of the Holy Spirit
and to trust God to lead you on a path of spiritual renewal and strength.
Each day you are writing the story that your life will tell throughout eternity." ~Sally Clarkson
May we write well!
~Becky
March 7, 2018
Wednesdays in the Word
Bowing before someone is an act of submission and reverence. It is an act of worship.
" Exalt the Lord our God and worship (=bow down) at His footstool -He is holy." Ps. 99:5
"Oh come, let us worship and bow down, let us kneel before the Lord, our Maker." Ps. 95:6
"For this reason, I bow my knees before the Father..." Eph. 3:14
"At your holy temple I will bow in reverence to You." Ps. 5:7
"...the heavenly host bows down before You." Neh. 9:9
"At the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father." Phil 2:10
So, I'm challenging myself to bow now.
~Becky
" Exalt the Lord our God and worship (=bow down) at His footstool -He is holy." Ps. 99:5
"Oh come, let us worship and bow down, let us kneel before the Lord, our Maker." Ps. 95:6
"For this reason, I bow my knees before the Father..." Eph. 3:14
"At your holy temple I will bow in reverence to You." Ps. 5:7
"...the heavenly host bows down before You." Neh. 9:9
"At the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father." Phil 2:10
So, I'm challenging myself to bow now.
~Becky
March 4, 2018
Another beautiful wedding
It is wedding season in our community of friends and Andrew was honored to stand beside another friend who he got married this weekend.
Such a precious moment when he saw his lovely bride approaching
The groom is a very talented musician and he surprised his bride with a song he wrote for their first dance! Andrew played guitar and another friend sang it, while they had their first dance. So sweet!
What a beautiful ceremony!
The groom is a very talented musician and he surprised his bride with a song he wrote for their first dance! Andrew played guitar and another friend sang it, while they had their first dance. So sweet!
Sometimes it hits me, how blessed we are to do life with so many wonderful young adults, who love the Lord and are living for Him. Some of these 'kids' have been coming to hang out at our house since they were in middle school and are now getting married to each other.
And I found out over Christmas, how fun it is to have these married young adults, who live in other states now, and have real jobs, (LOL) come back to visit and once again sit at our table and jump on trampoline just like no time at all has passed. Friends who become family are the best!
Proud of this handsome guy who is so special to so many!
~Becky
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