“The LORD is close to the brokenhearted and saves those who are crushed in spirit.” Psalm 34:18 (NIV) Even in the darkest and most trying hour of our lives, God is near. Not long ago, tragedy struck Pastor Walters’ … Continue reading
Have you ever experienced something difficult? Ever wondered why? We all do at some time or another. I was thinking about some of these thoughts yesterday as I reflected on one of the toughest times in my life personally. Here is the link to the blog about it. See what you think…
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How cool things seemed in 1970! As a rebellious teenager who had trouble complying with her strict parents, curfews were frequently broken. There was a new boyfriend who entered the picture my senior year who introduced me to alcohol. It escalated my rebellion, as my “little white lies” and “fibs” seemed to become more frequent to avoid my parents’ detection of my drinking and dating this forbidden older guy. But, they were just a “little lies”. I thought they wouldn’t hurt anyone.
I continued to believe things like, “He loves me, and he wants to marry me.” Within months, I went off to college, but soon realized that I was pregnant. No more fun and games. Panic and crisis immediately hit, and I couldn’t tell anyone. All the little white lies that seemed so trivial became much bigger and major lies. My boyfriend’s mother suggested abortion. I stood in a hot shower at the end of the dorm hall with even hotter tears pouring down my cheeks. I couldn’t bear the thought of this child inside me losing his life. It couldn’t happen. But, what will I do? Continue reading
God often uses some of the most insignificant events in our lives, as His children, to reveal His greater plan for us. 
He is definitely in the“Event Planning Business.” Many times, an ordinary day… a nominal job…a commonplace skill…or a normal routine can be forged by God’s hand into an extraordinary instrument for His special event (occasion.) Sometimes it appears to be a negative situation requiring some type of action. In I Samuel chapter nine, God used the occasion of lost donkeys to initiate Saul’s journey to Ramah. He also used the occasion of a sacrificial offering to expedite Samuel’s return to his hometown of Ramah. The two men collided by God’s plan, and Saul who came in search of lost donkeys, walked away as the anointed king of Israel.
Other times God uses tragic, even devastating events in our lives, as His children, to reveal His greater plan for us. How often do we find ourselves in the midst of something negative—wondering, confused, perplexed, distraught, when it seems so wrong for us. Only to find that God was using this occasion to get us to seek Him for direction…and that particular occasion then led to a totally different occasion…One where His plan and purpose was carried out.
When our oldest son, Daniel, died in an auto accident several years ago, we were hurled into a tsunami of emotions, perplexing questions, and gut-wrenching decisions. Continue reading
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