Category Archives: faith

Do You Believe?

Last Thursday I had the honor of going to see a screening of Do You Believe? with my good friend Angi. Angi and I have walked through some stuff, and we’re still here to talk about it!

Maybe you’ve heard of the powerful film that hit theaters last year called God’s Not Dead? Yeah, I thought so! Ever since Pure Flix released that blockbuster, they’ve been asked what’s next. This is it.

Click here to watch the Official Trailer

Here’s what the creators have to say about it. “A dozen different souls—all moving in different directions, all longing for something more. As their lives unexpectedly intersect, they each are about to discover there is power in the Cross of Christ … even if they don’t believe it. Yet.

When a local pastor is shaken to the core by the visible faith of an old street-corner preacher, he is reminded that true belief always requires action. His response ignites a faith-fueled journey that powerfully impacts everyone it touches in ways that only God could orchestrate.”

Malachi carries the cross through the streets, facing thugs and preaching Jesus’ love. He’s a lot like Peter. Aren’t we all called to do this? Only those who take up the cross and follow Him will be transformed!

With an all star cast of Sean Astin, Mira Sorvino, Alexa PenaVega, Ted McGinley, Cybill Shepherd, Lee Majors, Andrea Logan White, Delroy Lindo, Madison Pettis, Brian Bosworth, Liam Matthews, and Tracy Lindsey Melchior, the creators take you on a journey and show you how God weaves His story throughout lives. Another attendee spoke of His tapestry. Can’t you see it?

You really get to know the characters, and to be honest, I didn’t care for two of them. They were blatantly anti Christian, and I just couldn’t relate. Remember the mean professor in God’s Not Dead? Exactly like him.

The story deals with the struggle of living out our faith, especially to people like that, because they need Him the most. It touches on our human nature to just do what is comfortable, when God calls us outside of our comfort zone. There were moments I was pleading with the actors, surprises, action, and tears. Thankfully Angi had tissues in her bag! I was unprepared…

When the credits rolled, we were introduced to Liam Matthews who played Bobby in the movie. He came down in front of the theater and answered questions. It was the first time he had seen the film in its entirety, and he enjoyed seeing our reactions. This movie will have you gripping the armrest of your seat.

I highly recommend you take everyone you know to see this movie on March 20th when it opens. Make it bigger than Fifty Shades!

Strange little side note abut that movie-As we were waiting to be seated, I noticed three theaters of the 14 were showing that movie. When were walking into our theater, the flashing lights above us said it would be seating for Fifty in 150 minutes. Angi and I looked at each other, and she voiced to me she hoped no one saw us walking in there. Yeah!

Before we all filed out of the movie, we had the opportunity to stand and pray for the Do You Believe? movie, and for the people that would fill the theater after us. There is power in prayer!

I will leave you with a question from the movie that I’m still asking myself. If you were accused of being a Christian, would there be enough evidence to convict you?

March 20th–GO SEE IT.

It’s part of the journey

Do you ever feel like you’re on a roller coaster ride and the attendant decides to take an extended lunch break? So you’re riding along and having fun, the ride slows down and you enter the chute where you will exit the ride, but the ride doesn’t stop. It goes right on through the chute and back up you go.

Maybe it will be fun to go again, you think.

You come to a slow and enter the chute again, expecting to stop this time, and continue right on through and back up again.

That’s what I feel like right now. I just want to get off of the roller coaster and take a breather.

I mentioned a few days ago that God was moving Big time, and it was wonderful! But ya know what happens when God moves? Satan gets worried that he’s losing the battle and he starts getting ugly. He fights dirty too. Pulls out all the nasty stuff and uses it to pull us back to his ways.

So, there’s a battle going on. It’s ugly. It’s not fun. It makes me cry.

It makes me lean closer to God.

It makes me call my prayer warriors.

It draws me nearer to Christ.

For some, it makes them question.

I know the victor. I will stand firm in His promises, and know that this is working for His good. He has a plan and I’m trying not to step in the way, all the while I’m trying to lead by example.

It’s not easy because I’m human and I fall short every day. The beauty of that is forgiveness and grace.

If only we choose to accept it.

So I will continue to ride this coaster until the journey is done. Each hill gets us closer.

This Is My Story

My pastor has encouraged us to write our story and share it, in 250 words or less. That’s not a lot of words! I was trying to keep it short and concise and ended up with 272. One paragraph was taken out completely and I ended up with 250, exactly. This is what I sent him.

I grew up spending the weekends with my grandparents, and attending church with my maternal grandparents. I didn’t know why I did it, I just did. I found out a few years ago that my dad was frequenting bars and my mom didn’t know if he would come home, or in what shape he would arrive if he did.

I was baptized at the age of 9, and fell away from God when I was in college. College is also where I met my husband.

We graduated, got jobs and were married. Almost two years later we expanded our family, and two years after that we grew again. Looking at things from a mothers eyes changed my perspective, and I knew I wanted our kids to grow up with Jesus.

It was around this time that my dad was in horrible pain from herniated discs in his back and on disability. He felt useless and picked up the gun to take his own life. Something made him cry out, Jesus help me, and at that moment my dad felt His presence so deeply that he was a changed man. He is now an Elder in his church.

My family began attending church and in 2003 my husband was baptized. He has struggled with depression and anxiety, and I know that God has carried me through those trials. Some days it felt like faith was all I had.

God is currently working miracles in my husbands heart and it makes me so happy.

Post Blissdom Spin

I’m still fighting post Blissdom exhaustion and haven’t had the time to wrap my head around all the wonderful things I heard and learned.

I’m still praying about the changes I’m going to make to this blog. I have to make the change to self hosting and that requires a domain name change. Last time I opened up the bible and landed on Proverbs 24:5-6. Simple, right? I’m open to suggestions if you have any!

I’m also trying to write my story, my testimony, and it’s changing so radically right now that my head is spinning. I sit back in awe and amazement at how quickly God is moving and changing hearts right now! Seriously, if you don’t know Jesus, I want to help you get to know Him. He heals all wounds.

What’s going on with you right now? Can I pray for you at all?

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Dolphin Tale

This giveaway is now closed.

Today I’m giving you the chance to win the movie Dolphin Tale, from Warner Brothers Home Entertainment Group. It will be released to the public tomorrow, but you could win the Blu-ray combo pack, DVD and Digital Download valued at $35.99 right here.

“Swimming free, a young dolphin is caught in a crab trap, severely damaging her tail. She is rescued and transported to the Clearwater Marine Hospital, where she is named Winter. But her fight for survival has just begun.

Losing her tail may cost Winter her life. It will take the expertise of a dedicated marine biologist, the ingenuity of a brilliant prosthetics doctor, and the unwavering devotion of a young boy to bring about a groundbreaking miracle- a miracle that might not only save Winter but could also help thousands of people around the world.

The real Winter, who plays herself in “Dolphin Tale,” today serves as a symbol of courage and hope to millions of people-especially those facing their own physical challenges-who have been touched by her remarkable story of recovery and rehabilitation.”

This is an amazing true story of a dolphin and brave boy who makes it his mission to save her. It includes a fabulous cast of Harry Connick Jr., Ashley Judd, Morgan Freeman, Nathan Gamble, Kris Kristofferson, and many more! Every New Year’s Eve we snuggle in and watch movies as a family, and this movie is on our list. I can’t wait to watch it, and share it with you. Just leave me a comment to be entered to win. Tell me what you think of the movie, if you haven’t seen it yet, or what you’re having for Christmas dinner. It doesn’t really matter what you say, just say something. I will draw a winner this Friday at noon and let you know.

In this world

“I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world.”

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I’m struggling with a few things right now, and I asked for prayer earlier. After that I went into the bathroom and prayed. I know I need to trust and seek, so I thought I would post a few pictures of how God shows me his love every single day.

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Only He could create something so beautiful!

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I snapped this next one as I was sitting outside praying while I waited on the dogs. I see a heart. What about you?

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I am reminded that His mercies are new every morning when I see the sunrise. Every morning!

Thank you for the prayers! I felt them, and I know what I need to do to lift myself from this funk. In the end, God is victorious. I know that. The stuff of this world that is bringing me down doesn’t matter. It’s just satan rearing his head. What he doesn’t understand is this, he has no power over me unless I let him. I’m on the winning team.

What do you do to get out of a funk?

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Go with the Flow

I have a really bad tendency to try and control things. I want to be in control so that I know things will be done correctly, or at least the way I want them done. In reality, I know I’m not in control of anything. NOTHING. So you can see where this can cause some stress for me.

I’ve been going through Discipleship Training through my church, and my eyes are opening to some of the things I try to control. God is speaking to me about obedience in alot of areas right now, and one of them is my faith. Apparently when I take a situation out of God’s hands and place it in mine, that shows a huge lack of faith on my part. He is in control, and always will be. I could never compare.

Worry comes and goes with me, I never really dwell on it, but I do give in at times. God wants me to just go with the flow and trust Him. If I really trust Him, I don’t need a backup plan. So no need to worry. Even if I don’t have answwers to some tough questions.

There’s a strange peace in that. Trusting Him who made me, and everything else.

This morning was a little stressful for me. My daughter needed to be at school early but she didn’t tell me until the last minute, when she wanted to leave. It required juggling my sons and extra traffic, and tension between us. It could have been eliminated if she had just told me about it last night, and I could have responded differently by not becoming aggravated about the traffic.

Life is going to be stressful, especially if I try to control it. I’m not in control. Truthfully, I don’t want to be in control. I just want the peace that comes from knowing Jesus is in control and trusting in Him daily. Living in faith.

Therefore, brothers, in all our distress and persecution we were

encouraged about you because of your faith. 1Thes 3:7

Be Still-Part 2

Last month I hinted around at something that I wanted and it didn’t happen. The opportunity presented itself again, and I didn’t know what to do. I wrestled with God, and I had questions. Was I doing the right thing, or using my free will to do the wrong thing? I finally decided that God would close the door again if it wasn’t supposed to be. The IT, was a job at a school. There were lots of pros and cons on the list, and I was just uncertain. When it didn’t happen the first time around, I will be totally honest, my heart was broken. I was upset and confused, but I came to the place that I understood, it wasn’t meant to be. God closed that door for a reason, and I might not ever know the reason, but I will go on. So, when the postings came up again, there was inner turmoil. Turmoil because of what happened the last time, and a few other reasons too. But, like I said previously, I prayed about it and went out on a limb.

I had inner turmoil, and that’s when I knew I needed to be still. I wanted to interfere, but I didn’t. That was hard for me, an admitted control freak, but I stayed strong.

Our schools are way, WAY over budget. They proposed a referendum, a property tax increase for 7 years to help ease the budgetary problems. Most people in our community are feeling the down turn of the economy, reigning in spending, and leary of increased taxes. The referendum did not pass, therefore, the teaching assistant position that I interviewed for back in August and didn’t get, will be cut. The person who did get the job, a teacher who didn’t get a teaching position, but a teachers assistant, will be losing her job. It’s hitting home. God closed the door, and now He’s revealing why. He always knows.

“For I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord, plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.”

I’m glad that I was able to listen and be still. I didn’t take control and mess things up. It would have been a hassle, an inconvenience that we just don’t need right now. So, it was hard, but He saved me from the really hard. Thank you Jesus for loving me and my flaws. You forgive me when I’m controlling and mess things up. Please continue to grow and change me.

Be still

I’m not a patient person. It’s not a virtue that abounds in me, but I do try to work on it. Mostly.

A couple of months ago I wanted something. I thought it was going to happen. The excitement was there, and then the nerves. I said “if it’s meant to be it will be, if not, God will close the door.” But I believed that He wasn’t going to close the door. Then He did. Closed it with a bang, and I was hurt. There were tears and questions, but I got over it and did believe again that it wasn’t supposed to happen for me. I moved on and was enjoying where I was.

Last week it came back up in the forefront of my life. The opportunity is there again, but this time I was leary. There were nerves that didn’t exist before. Should I want this when I’m happy? Am I supposed to do this?

I prayed about it, and enlisted prayer partners to ask Jesus to just give me an answer. A flashing neon sign if you will. After a few days of silence, I began to wonder if this was His answer. No answer means don’t go for it. Then I started thinking about free will. Is it me using free will if I went for it when I wasn’t supposed to? Because then He could just shut the door again, so it really wouldn’t be that bad. All of these thoughts were running through my head, and I started to over analyze all of them.

Talking with some people that I really respect helped me sort out my feelings, so I went for it. Now I’m waiting. Not so patiently. Actually, this morning I was going to talk to someone and see if I could find anything out, but as I was thinking about it, His voice whispered in my ear to Be Still. So I listened, and I was still. So, this is me, blogging it out, as patiently as I can.

I don’t want to give more information yet, but I promise I will either way when I find out. It’s a story where it makes me uncomfortable, but God might be choosing to stretch me and use me. We’ll see.

The Knots Prayer

Dear God,
Please untie the knots that are in my mind, my heart and my life.
Remove the have nots, the can nots and the do nots
that I have in my mind.
Erase the will nots,
may nots,
might nots that may find a home in my heart.
Release me from the could nots
would nots and should nots that obstruct my life.
And most of all, Dear God,
I ask that you would remove from my mind,
my heart and my life all of the “am nots”
that I have allowed to hold me back,
especially the thought that I am not good enough.
Amen
This was sent to me in an email, and I had to share it.