Author: shbcadmin

  For those of you who are survivors of any kind of abuse, the enemy will fill your minds with all kinds of negative emotions…guilt, shame, regret, anger, and unforgiveness. It’s important that you ask Jesus to go deep inside your heart and heal the hurt, stop the pain and start you on a new path full of life. Never just stuff it down and hope it goes away. Don’t let what happened back THEN determine your tomorrows! There is always hope in Christ. He is truly Jehovah Ropha…the God who heals.

It was the time of year to prepare for “Thanksgiving”; one of my favorite holidays. 2005 the 3 year anniversary after my stroke, anxiousness and weeping episodes crept in. Facing the fact that I cannot adequately keep up with the housework; hired a lady to clean twice per month. Facing the fact, unable to carry out the prep-work and partial cooking duties for family gatherings which I always loved to do for my family…to put the extra effort with little touches to make it festive. For the sake of my husband; succumbed to having my Thanksgiving meal put into very capable hands to prepare and cook! A “first” time for me! Menu ordered: turkey, dressing, gravy, mashed potatoes and fresh homemade cranberry salad. Family brought in dishes and desserts to help as always. Thinking I could manage a boxed hot roll mix (didn’t order them) to find out the only steps manageable (with one functional hand/arm) were mixing and kneading the dough; didn’t think about pinching the dough off! I tried…pinch…pulled…it stretched the length of my arm; (busted)…rather rescued by husband’s appearance. A mild reminder that he had instructed me to have them catered as well. More tears of discouragement…

  God allowed Jonah to change lives before Jonah had even changed his mind; before he decided to do what his Creator asked. The men who threw Jonah overboard not only offered sacrifices to a God they had just “met,” they made vows to Him. This was common practice back in the day to pray and make vows, “usually involving thank offerings.” (NIV Study Bible) So, as a recap, we’ve got a storm that changes everyone’s course, (sound familiar?) and a God that not only changes hearts and circumstances, but makes an unbelievable point in the process: Lo, I am with you always. (Matthew 28:20) Even when your mind is a mess. Even when you can’t bear the thought of doing what is asked. Even when you’re so exhausted from running that you can sleep through the biggest storm in your lifetime. See, that storm didn’t compare to the turmoil wrenching Jonah’s gut. The inner storm that whirled exhausted him, making it impossible to stay awake.  That’s the only way he could’ve snoozed through anything at that point. It certainly wasn’t because he was at peace. Sure, he may have told himself he was making the right choice. (Have you been…

Before the foundation of the earth, God “saw” who we would be at the end of our lives. He prepared the path we would walk on, filled us with everything we would need to succeed and at the exact moment in time, He placed us in history. No matter what you’ve done wrong, no matter how often you’ve failed, God always sees you where you WILL be, not where you ARE. Thank Him for that! We are a work in process. Just wait until you see how He changes your life. He alone can bring good out of our “bad”.

We don’t know how our story will end, but nowhere will it say we gave up! Hold that thought! Some days are so hard, some seasons seem endless but we serve a God who will give us joy, peace and victory every day as we learn to lean on Him. We don’t know what tomorrow will bring but we sure know WHO holds it in His hand!

  It was the time of year to prepare for “Thanksgiving”; one of my favorite holidays. 2005 the 3 year anniversary after my stroke, anxiousness and weeping episodes crept in. Facing the fact that I cannot adequately keep up with the housework; hired a lady to clean twice per month. Facing the fact, unable to carry out the prep-work and partial cooking duties for family gatherings which I always loved to do for my family…to put the extra effort with little touches to make it festive. For the sake of my husband; succumbed to having my Thanksgiving meal put into very capable hands to prepare and cook! A “first” time for me! Menu ordered: turkey, dressing, gravy, mashed potatoes and fresh homemade cranberry salad. Family brought in dishes and desserts to help as always. Thinking I could manage a boxed hot roll mix (didn’t order them) to find out the only steps manageable (with one functional hand/arm) were mixing and kneading the dough; didn’t think about pinching the dough off! I tried…pinch…pulled…it stretched the length of my arm; (busted)…rather rescued by husband’s appearance. A mild reminder that he had instructed me to have them catered as well. More tears of…