Bridge Crosser

I have been bad about reading the Bible lately so I saw it staring at me in our living room and grabbed it.

It flipped open to this Psalm today and it’s a good one!

Psalm 37

Do not fret because of evil men

     or be envious of those who do wrong;

for like the grass they will soon wither

     like green plants they will soon die away.

Trust in the Lord and do good:

     dwell in the land and enjoy safe pasture.

Delight yourself in the Lord

     and he will give you the desires of your heart

Commit your way to the Lord;

     trust in him and he will do this.

May God give you the courage to trust him enough to do the “good” he is asking you to do! I can tell you the good God asked me to do but what I am finding out is this, it is different for everyone. It is still scary, not easy, and usually against what “feels” normal or even right but it is different. You and God have to figure this out. The Bible says we work out our own Salvation with fear and trembling.

For Esther it was planning two dinners parties

For Gideon it was giving 300 men a chance of a lifetime

For David it was killing Goliath

For Rahab it was hiding some very courageous spies

For Hosea it was marrying a prostitute

For Moses it was standing before Pharoah delivering him some very bad news

To do the good God is asking you to do takes crazy trust. We sing about it all the time, talk about it all the time, write songs about it, but now you have the opportunity to act on it and get a front row seat! You get to watch God do what he does best, rescue!!! You get to see him do this with your very own eyes! You are so lucky!!!!

…trust him and he will do this!

Love you!

We live in a world that is rampant with marriage problems

Divorce has really become an epidemic

We all know people who are struggling this very second in their marriage

Because of this

Saying the right thing

When someone is confiding in you is

Close to impossible

It is close to impossible

Because

You know if you were in their shoes

Your not sure that you could keep those same shoes on

This makes it difficult to know what to say

So today I’m going to leave you with

What NOT to say…

What question NOT to ask…

“How long are you going to put up with that?”

This story in the Bible came to my mind as I wrote this post.

Mark 9:14-24

When they came to the other disciples, they saw a large crowd around them and the teachers of the law arguing with them. As soon as all the people saw Jesus, they were overwhelmed with wonder and ran to greet him.

“What are you arguing with them about?” he asked,

A man in the crowd answered, “Teacher, I brought you my son, who is possessed by a spirit that has robbed him of speech. Whenever it seizes him, it throws him to the ground. He foams at the mouth, gnashes his teeth and becomes rigid. I asked your disciples to drive out the spirit, but they could not.”

“O unbelieving generation,” Jesus replied, “how long shall I stay with you? How long shall I put up with you? Bring the boy to me.”

So they brought him. When the spirit saw Jesus, it immediately threw the boy into a convulsion. He fell to the ground and rolled around, foaming at the mouth.

Jesus asked the boy’s father, “How long has he been like this?”

“From childhood,” he answered. It has often thrown him into fire or water to kill him. But if you can do anything, take pity on us and help us.”

“If you can?” said Jesus.“Everything is possible for him who believes.”

Immediately the boy’s father exclaimed, “I do believe; help me overcome my unbelief!”

Can’t you just hear Jesus say, If you can? Seriously! Have you not listened to anything I’ve said?  Have you not seen what I can do?  Loaves and Fishes maybe, I was born of a virgin, I heal people, I deliver people, and I am the only person you know that can make something out of nothing! What part of everything are you not getting?

This question:

“How long are you going to put up with that?”

Exposes unbelief

When I was in the middle of believing for the impossible many people without knowing what they were saying would ask that very question. I know I have asked those kinds of unbelieving questions myself especially before God showed me what believing and persevering for the impossible looked like. Believing for the impossible gets real ugly but Jesus does his best work when things get ugly ugly ugly!

Be careful how you encourage those who are smack dab in the middle of ugly!

This is another women that is in the middle of a battlefield for her marriage and much like the previous post her family is also on the front lines! She is absolutely walking out the verse in 1 Corinthians that says, Love bears all things. When you read this devotional think of it like Daniel writing a devotional when he was in the pit with the Lions or David sitting down to write a devotional just before he threw his first stone at Goliath. We know now that God had the last word in their situations but  it didn’t always look that way. I look forward to hearing the testimony of this family! It’s going to be a good one!!!

A Heart That Can Handle a Throne

Part I

When you think of Esther, do you imagine how great her life was? Kind of like a Cinderella story of “rags to riches” where she was chosen from thousands of women to live in the lap of luxury? Think again.

Hadassah, her Jewish name, means myrtle tree. It was a symbol of victory.

What a humiliating name to have if you find yourself in a situation the exact opposite of victorious.

She was living in devastation:

Orphaned. Didn’t know her mom. Never met her dad.

A very young teenager.

Deported and living a foreign country.

A 3^rd generation exile–she had never seen her homeland.

Hated and by the people surrounding her because of her race.

Limited in her expression of worship because they had no temple.

Not to mention she was a woman.

She had already experienced so much loss and heartache at such an early age. And yet it was the very empire that caused her life’s deepest sorrows that later became her launching pad to victory.  Think about that. What has been the source of your life’s deepest sorrows?

If you’re reading this blog, you may have some of the same sorrows as me: a broken marriage, rejection, abandonment, despair, helplessness, just to name a few. If you are in the same fight that I’m in, for a loving and healthy marriage, then read on.  God will use the hardships in our marriages—even the most impossible situations—to bring our lives to a place of overwhelming victory! Genesis 50:20 says, “You intended to harm me, but God intended it all for good.” I love that God never harms, and that He can take things that were meant to destroy us and instead turn them into something that actually benefits us. But how do we cling to his promise of victory while walking through a season of darkness. Esther had a few insights.

On the night when she was called, she had one shot to make an impression on the king. If he didn’t remember her name the next day, she would never see him again and would live out the rest of her days in the harem. When it was her turn, she listened to Hegai, the Eunich in charge. He knew the king, his preferences, his moods, and the way he thought, better than anyone else. He gave her all the tools she needed to succeed. He told her what to wear. He told her what perfume to put on. He instructed her on how to approach the king. Even as beautiful as she was, without Hegai, Esther would not have succeeded.

The other day I was praying for my husband in the area of finances. I don’t know how to approach my husband without making him angry. No matter how I say things, it always ends up in a fight. As I was praying, the Holy Spirit dropped a precious truth into my heart. He said, “I AM your Hegai.” The Holy Spirit knows my husband better than I do. He knows your spouse better than you do! He will coach you through each conversation. He knows your spouse’s moods, thoughts, and even how he needs to be approached at a particular point in time. He has a vast array of “tools” just like Hegai did, and he will pick out the tools for you to use at the right time. Sometimes the tool may be keeping quiet. Sometimes it’s praise. Sometimes prayer. Sometimes kindness. Sometimes a truthful word spoken in gentleness. Don’t worry!!! You don’t have to have your spouse figured out—your Hegai already does! John 16:13 says, “But when he, the Spirit of truth, comes, he will guide you into all the truth.” Let’s lean in and listen to the Holy Spirit. Our marriages depend on it!

I pray this post encourages you today!

From time to time I will be posting things from other wives that are on the front lines fighting for their marriage. It is more common than what you might think. I wrote my friend asking if it was okay for me to post this amazing verse she found.

 Colossians 1:17

He is before all things, and in him all things hold together.

I don’t ever remember reading that verse when Darin and I were going through it but if I had I would have been dancing all over the place! Oh what a wonderful verse! It takes amazing Faith to really believe this verse in the context of a troubled marriage but I am telling you, you can believe it! I pray this verse gives you courage to do what God is asking you to do. Whatever it is.

My friend has written Scriptures on her mirror. Her husband was gone for a time but has since come home so she changed the verses she had written. She needed reassuring that God brought him home to stay despite the lies the enemy was whispering in her head. These are two other verses she has written on her mirror.

This is the prayer:

Thank you Father for breathing life onto our relationship, giving us a new love and passion for each other and restoring our marriage and family.  Thank you for putting in us hearts of forgiveness and grace for each other and granting us the healing we need to love You, each other and all of our children like You love Christ and Christ loves You and the Church. Amen.

Then she signed off:

Still in it, to win it!

Hi to all my dear friends that check in on my blog.

The last month has been crazy with sickness around our household. We are finally getting back to normal.

Several  days ago I got on the keyboard to pray for those of you who are living minute by minute. That is really how it is at times. You know you have to take one day at a time but in order to do that, you literally have to take one minute at a time.

This is what came to my heart and mind as I sang.

Be still and know that I am God

Be still and know that I am God

Be still and know that I am God

Be still and know

Psalm 46

God is our refuge and strength

an ever-present help in trouble

Therefore we will not fear, thought the earth

give way

and the mountains fall into the heart of the sea,

though its waters roar and foam

and the mountains quake with their surging

There is a river whose streams make glad the city of God

the holy place where the Most High dwells:

God is within her, she will not fall:

God will help her at break of day.

Nations are in uproar, kingdoms fall;

he lifts his voice, the earth melts.

The Lord Almighty is with us;

the God of Jacob is our fortress.

Come and see the works of the Lord, 

the desolation he has brought on the earth

He makes wars cease to the ends of the earth;

he breaks the bow and shatters the spear,

he burns the shields with fire.

Be still and know that I am God;

I will be exalted among the nations,

I will be exalted in the earth.

The Lord Almighty is with us;

the God of Jacob is our fortress.

The Sims family is believing God’s very best for you and your family as you choose to persevere.  We are praying God gives you courage as you obey Him and do exactly what he is telling you to do. Nothing more and nothing less. While you are driving around today, tonight or at home getting things done put that simple phrase to song. Sing it back to the Him. “I will be still and know that you are God”.

A practical way of being still:

You must be very careful and mindful of who you confide in. This is critical! Think of it like this…I will tell you if you need to know.

The 21st of every month holds special significance for me because the first verse of Proverbs 21 is:

The heart of the king

is in the hands of the Lord

and he turns it like a watercourse

where ever he pleases.

Oh how I love that verse! I prayed that very verse over Darin so many times and even more than that I would have chats with myself about that verse. I would have chats with myself when fear would come and try to strangle my Faith!

We are diligently praying for you all as you continue to stand on God’s Word!

This is my explanation of all the resources I have on my sidebar.

Rejoice Ministries Daily Devotions

Great great resource for those fighting for your marriage. I wish I would have known about them when I began my fight. You will see that MANY are standing and believing for a miracle. Brave people!!! They will inspire you!

Love and Respect

Another great resource for marriage. You should go buy the book today. Do not buy it for your spouse buy it for yourself. Don’t even ask them to read it or lay it on the table for them to get the hint. You read it and you begin changing! Just a year and a half ago I saw it for sale in our church bookstore and I thought to myself I’m going to buy this for Darin. We are doing well now it should be fine. As I was paying for it I heard the Holy Spirit say you put that book down. Let Darin buy it for himself. I ignored the Holy Spirits voice and bought it anyway and walked away feeling not so good about what I just did. A few minutes later I ran into a friend in the hallway and she saw what book I was holding and she said “I want that Book” so I said, “here you go!” I gave it away before Darin saw I had it. She offered to pay for it but I said no I should not have bought it you can have it…my gift.

You would think by now I would have learned not to be the Holy Spirit for Darin but I am still learning. My encouragement to you is this. Never ever buy a marriage book for your spouse to read. No matter how good the book is, if you buy it for your spouse, it will then get in God’s way!  God does not need you or I to set up a scenario for Him to fix things.

You Version

This is a Bible app you can download for FREE!!!! It’s awesome!!! Go do it now if you can!!!! It is wonderful!!! When I think of it Macy pulls up the verse of the day on our way to school and she reads it to me. Go download it!!!

Dave Ramsey

If you have read my blog for any length of time you know communicating about finances was a HUGE HUGE problem for Darin and I. I would get so angry Oh my it was bad! Dave Ramsey helped us get on the same page. He is for the spender and the saver and brings you both toward the middle. You think it is going to  stifle you but it will free you up. This is another thing I would start doing today! I’m not going to say its easy but its worth it!!!! This is the order of importance I give it in my life.

1 Knowing Jesus

2 Marrying Darin

3 Macy and Sky

4 Being committed to a local church

5 Dave Ramsey

Go do it today! The Bible says that the love of money is the root of all kinds of evil. It is a very good idea to know how to handle something that has that kind of power in our world today.

Waking the Dead

This is a very good book our counselor in Michigan encouraged us to read. Very good especially if your marriage is dead! Again don’t ask your spouse to read it. Our counselor actually gave it to Darin to read but I read it, he didn’t.

Healing Life’s Hurts

This is the type of counseling that God used to bring enormous healing in our lives! ENORMOUS!!! Another great book to read and if you ever have the opportunity to talk and pray with someone who has been trained in this type of counseling I would encourage you to do so. Make sure they come recommended and are qualified. Darin and I personally believe everyone can benefit from this, no matter who you are.

Deception of Disease

This is my best friend Christa’s book. It is a story of how she took her two oldest daughters back from Autism. It is a story of faith that will inspire you no matter what you are facing. You never know why you click with certain people. Christa and I had gone to Bible College together and were not close friends then but later on we became best friends. Little did we know that we would fight an impossible situation at the same time. She would fight for her daughters as I was fighting for my husband. Same faith different story! Go buy her book today! It will inspire you!

Hiding Place

This is another story about Faith and Suffering. As a little girl my Dad would read to us as a family and this is one of the books he read. My dad would always cry as he read these amazing stories or fall asleep if he was tired. Little did I know that it was this book that was read to me when I was about 10 years old that would run through my mind when I was fighting for my marriage. My dad did not know at the time that at 10 he was teaching me how to embrace suffering and fight the good fight of faith.

Faith Like Potatoes

This is another awesome book that inspires me. It is a movie too. A little slow but AWESOME! A close friend of mine Lynette told me about this movie that she loved. She herself has had her own fight of Faith in the midst of tremendous suffering and it encouraged her in the middle of her storm.

I am still working on writing the Adoption Story and The Stadium. I apologize that I haven’t written those yet. Now that Macy is back in school I have a more time. I want to thank you for taking the time to stop by and read my blog! It means so much to me. I am not joking!

So that is what is up with the sidebar,