The Hand of God: Part III

Good evening!

Here it is... Part III! If you haven’t read my experiences in Part I and II, then go ahead and read them! :) This past year God has carried me through many different struggles and reminded me daily of His faithfulness! My last two posts were stories of how I just happened to be in Joplin during the May, 22nd tornado and how He protected me from what could have been a very serious car accident. When you have near death or catastrophic things happen in your life, it shakes you and causes you to be reminded of what's really holding you together in the first place. That is just what happened to me!



After the tornado, I was in shock. I didn’t know why it happened and I didn’t know why people had died and I had lived. One thing I did know was that God was still in control and that He was still good because He never changes. I couldn’t understand the randomness of it happening while I was visiting Joplin, but I did know God’s hand was on my life. It still takes my breath away that He had even been preparing my heart for something life-shaking to happen earlier that day.


On my flight home on January 3rd, I had been journaling about feeling torn between my home in NH and my home in Joplin, here is how I concluded my frustrations,

“I am still very thankful for His hand in my life. I’d be utterly lost without Him. I’m willing to admit that I don’t completely understand, but I still completely trust His sovereignty even when my feelings are messing with my head.”

This was just hours before my car incident where for lack of a better term, “My life flashed before my eyes.” There He was again, preparing my heart for trials.


Why have I shared these stories with you ladies? So I could victimize myself and get my 15 minutes of fame? Nope! I’ve taken the time to write out these experiences because I believe that God is glorified through them! We have all gone through inexplainable situations/seasons in our life that we don’t understand but amidst our confusing and faith-shaking times, there is hope! The Psalmist says in Psalm 73:26,



My flesh and my heart may fail,

but God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever.

When we feel weary in our hearts and bodies, we can be reminded that the Creator of the universe is our strength and all that we need! We can be reminded that, “God’s hand is on you and if He took His hand off of you for even a minute, you’d cease to exist." (excerpt from @JoshKouri at Mobilise) God’s hand is one of strength and might and there isn’t a second that goes by, when He isn’t involved in our lives.


He IS faithful. Rest in the truth of that this weekend and this lifetime! Wow oh, wow! He is good!


Going green,


Abby :)

The Hand of God: Part II

January 3rd, 2012:

I had spent the entire day traveling and was heading back to Missouri after spending two wonderful weeks with my family. During my plane ride, I had been journaling and questioning God about His purposes for my life... I was wrought with curiosity why He was allowing me to feel so torn between NH and MO. I was having an emotional flight to say the least!


Upon arriving in Kansas City, my friend was kind enough to pick me up at the airport and drive me back to Joplin. It was early evening and we had three hours on the quiet Missouri highways to catch up. Our ride was going smoothly and I’d even thought about remarking about just how smoothly it was going, when all of a sudden something happened. We had just gotten in the left lane and were trying to pass the semi truck next to us. All of a sudden, the car behind the semi, which was next to us, tried to cut in front of our car. There was no possible way it could fit, so my friend did what anyone would do and veered the car towards the median and eventually spun back on the road. All I remember was seeing the lights of another semi and thinking in my head, “This is really going to hurt.” (Yes I know, what a brilliant and helpful thing to be running through my head at the time). Before I knew it, the car had come to an abrupt halt off the right side of the highway. Both of us were fine. She'll tell you that she doesn't even remember what she did to keep us from hitting the other semi...it was nothing short of a miracle.


I’ve never had an experience like that in my life. There have been times where I thought I might get badly injured but never a time where I thought I could die. We could have been smashed by a semi and the car should have rolled. It is nothing but the grace of God that both of us escaped uninjured.


Now that you've heard my two stories... I want to assure you that I didn't post them just so I could talk about myself. There is a point to all of this. :)

Tune in tomorrow for Part III...


Going green,


Abby

The Hand of God: Part I

Last weekend I was at a Newfrontiers USA conference called, “Mobilise” and it was amazing. There are so many reasons why this weekend was great... Not only did I get to see friends from all over the country but I also got to worship and seek God with them. There is one thing that someone prayed at Mobilise that I've been mulling over all week, “God’s hand is on you and if He took His hand off of you for even a minute, you’d cease to exist.” Talk about a reality check! This sentence affected me greatly and brought to mind two experiences from my past year...


May, 22nd, 2011: At the time, I was still living in NH but visiting Joplin for a friend’s wedding. That morning I went to church and was reunited with many of my best friends. It was a happy day, indeed! During worship at church, I felt clearly that God wanted to tell the church that He is good through all circumstances and we can trust Him no matter what we’re going through. At this point in the day, I was thinking, “Yeah, that's great God... I’m so happy right now and I'm feeling totally blessed.” Little did I know...


Fast forward 6 hours later... I was driving back to where I was staying with a friend and the weather was starting to look so eerie and calm. The sky looked like I’d never seen it look before and suddenly, all the radio stations had weather alerts playing. I’d heard tornado alerts before but like a lot of people living in the Midwest, I’d never taken their warnings too seriously. As we neared our destination, the radio announcers got increasingly serious and before I knew it; they started talking about how the tornado had hit the ground. At this point, I was still relatively calm and continued driving towards our destination. The radio stations announced that signs of the tornado would be rain and hail. Sure enough, it started to rain and hail began to shower from the sky just as the tornado sirens started blaring. I began to freak out and for a lack of a better term I “Put the pedal to the metal!” Thankfully, we reached the house and ran down to the basement. We sat down there with our friends and some neighbors and laughed, trying to pass the time...we were completely oblivious to whatever was happening outside until we turned on the radio and heard a man describe the incredible devastation.


Later on, I learned that it was a F-5 tornado and over 100 people had died. Here I was taking my vacation time for the year and out of nowhere a tornado destroys one of my most beloved towns. It was one of the most life-changing days I've ever experienced and left me totally speechless.


So, here I leave you with my first story...


Stay tuned for Part II and III...


Going green,

Abby

I will possess your heart...

Who here likes Death Cab for Cutie? (me!)

This song is one that I've heard 100 times, but I hadn't ever thought anything about it (it's not even my favorite on the album) until a dear friend mentioned how it had spoken to her this past summer.

You gotta spend some time, love. You gotta spend some time with me.
I know that you'll find, love, I will possess your heart.

After being drawn in by the amazing instrumental intro, she felt like Jesus was speaking to her. "Spend some time with me and I'll possess your heart. How do you expect me to do that if you're not spending time with me?" She told me this several months ago, but I just listened to the song again, today. I felt like it it was revolutionary for me, this time. I hope she reads this post! [Sidenote, sisters: We encourage one another! If you think something might be profitable, let it out; for a long time, I kept things to myself!] There is no one I want to possess my heart more than Jesus. I want to continually give Him my heart, granting Him total access. I must spend time with Him for this to happen. It's simple, really. Why do I make it so hard, sometimes?

I encourage you, if this speaks to you on some level, not to worry, feel guilt, or try to make a late-New-Year's resolution. Just be quiet and ask what God has for you. Ask for focus and be quiet long enough to hear His response. Our Lord longs to possess our hearts, but He is a genteman; He doesn't take it by force. Let's encourage eachother. Encourage a friend to be open with God. And please feel free to ask me to encourage you. : )

Going green,
-Andrea

Hold on to your boot straps!

Oy! How did it get to be Thursday of my posting week? Time got away from me.

Please excuse the silence while I attempt to write something to wow your socks off!

I'm just kidding. I'll ask God what I should say and let Him wow your socks off. ; )

Love you ladies!

Going green,
-Andrea

On Adventure with Him

Something that God has been whispering to my heart lately is a line from Chronicles of Narnia that Aslan says to Lucy: “Things never happen the same way twice, dear one.” Sometimes this can be a dissapointing and a painful thing to hear, but it is always said with such gentleness and tenderness. When I find myself wishing for things to be how they used to be, or remembering magical moments and longing for them to happen again, I hear God gently reminding me of this. But I’ve come to realize that it is ok for things to never be the same; that it’s ok for God to constantly to be spurring me on to growth. We are on adventure with Him, and change is a part of that adventure.

A few months ago I had a conversation with my dear sister, Lynn Fleshman. We had been talking about the book The Hobbit, and how much our walk with God reflects Bilbo’s adventures. So many times during that book, Bilbo comments that he wishes for the comfort and stability of his Hobbit hole, instead of the unfamiliarity of the adventure he is on. Oh how this is so much like my heart sometimes! I long for God to take me grand places, and to have daring adventures… but the moment I encounter uncertainty I cower back, and say: “Lord, why did I ever leave home?! I just want my Hobbit hole again!” But praise Him that He never lets me return back to that comfortable place, even though I beg Him! There is always more for our hearts to learn on the journey, then there is when we are safe in our home.


Isaiah 8:12 says: “Do not call conspiracy everything this people calls a conspiracy; do not fear what they fear, and do not dread it.”


Society tells us, that singleness as a woman is something to fear and dread. But God tells us that it is a part of the adventure He has planned for us! Sometimes the adventure takes us to the left, sometimes to the right; sometimes we stay in one season for a few months, and sometimes for years… but every turn and every stop is a part of the journey that God calls our hearts on. We are on adventure with him, and there is nothing to fear where He leads us!

Going green,

Miss.

Songs in the Night

Throughout my life God has taught me lots of things through dreams. He has encouraged me, delighted me, warned me, and challenged me through different dreams that He has given. I’ve always longed for God to use dreams to speak to me--like He did with so many of my Old Testament heroes, and every time I dream I feel that prayer being answered.

Amy Carmichael writes:
“He gives to His beloved in sleep,
For when the spirit drifts from fields of time,
And wanders free in worlds remote, sublime,
It meets Him there…”


This is a story from my dream life with my Heavenly Husbandman (like Amy likes to call Him). Earlier this week I had a particularly beautiful dream. I would like to share it with you.

I dreamed I was on a beach staring at a beautiful ocean in front of me. The sun was shining brilliant colors, and the water reflected it. I waded into the waves as they lapped against the shore, until I was far enough out to dive under the water. Once under the water I opened my eyes; the salt had no stinging effect, and I could see crystal clear. There dancing upon the ocean floor were many beautiful and brilliant fairies—each were their own color, and glistened delightfully in the water and the reflections of the flickering sunlight. They flitted and danced around the ocean floor. Although this was beautiful and amazing, the most glorious part of the dream was what I heard. As I stared at the fairies under the water, I began to hear a beautifully haunting melody being sung. The waves were singing to me. It was unlike anything I have ever heard—the most beautiful, longing, and eternal sounding song. It was a song of Homecoming, a song of Heaven, a song of eternity.

I haven’t been able to get those images of the dream or the sound of that song out of my head all week, and even now my description lacks. As I reflected on it tonight, I thought about these two verses:

“The LORD your God is with you, he is mighty to save. He will take great delight in you, he will quiet you with his love, he will rejoice over you with singing." – Zephaniah 3:17


“...God my Maker, who gives songs in the night.” –Job 35:10


Oh sisters, our Heavenly Husbandman is the Author of Beauty, and gives to us songs in the night. He speaks His tenderness over us, and gives us beautiful things that reflect Himself. He sings to us. These beauties woo our hearts to long for something deeper. He is wooing us to come away with Him, and preparing us for our Homecoming. These are our songs of Home, and I want to keep listening.

Going green,

Miss.