Hi Everyone,
I have added more items to my new bookstore and I look forward to hearing from you on how you like the store and products. I am and will be updating as necessary to accommodate your needs in a bookstore. The items I have chosen are books that have either helped me along my walk with Jesus, or items that have been ones that are bestsellers during my time at the Christian bookstore in Calgary.
There are items from Billy Graham, Dr. Kevin Leman, Max Lucado, Dr. Charles Stanley, John and Lisa Bevere, Joyce Meyers, Bill and Pam Farrell and others. The items so far are listed as Bibles, Christian Living, Marriage, and Family. I will add other categories such as gifts, music and clothing. I will also add Business books, and money management resources in the days to come. I hope that you will take a peek and maybe even start your Christmas shopping early. Have a great day and God bless. The website address is http://astore.amazon.com/tanyasrant-20
Tuesday, August 9, 2011
Wednesday, August 3, 2011
Ahh the craziness of it all!
Hello there,
It has been very busy around here lately, and a bit of a comedy of errors too. I am at this very moment in time, sitting with my leg elevated and it has a lovely ice pack on it. Last week, at youth, my husband, being the creative youth pastor, decided to try a new game that he found off a youth ministry website. The game is called FUTBALL, which basically a cross between Canadian and soccer. It is played like soccer but using a Canadian Football League (CFL) sized football. We were excited and looking forward to having a fun filled night of running around with 5 teens. After the teens got there, we all decided to play at a large field behind two of the teens house. Three against three was the structure with Will, (my husband), as the coach /referee. About 15 minutes into the game, I found myself as the goalie and the ball was coming my way. Well, the other opposing player was pretty close and so I tried to stop the ball and BANG!!! All of a sudden my left leg was hurting, BAD!! I hobbled to the ground onto the sidelines and it I was out of the game. I was kept company by another teen and watched them all play. I got a pretty big & painful bruised bone and calf muscle now and I've been hobbling around with crutches ever since. I am getting better every day and its been frustrating and humbling. I hate not being able to do anything for myself or anyone else for that matter. I love being an independent woman who loves to serve my family (most days) and it's pretty hard to follow doctor's orders. With my being out of commission, he has to do more than what he had scheduled,but he has not complained one bit. And I am so thankful for him.
As I mentioned before, life has been very busy and its only going to be busier for us in the next while. My incredible busy husband has now become a Certified life coach. Our dream is to help others reach their fullest God given potential and glorify God in their lives. I am going to be helping him with that part of our business. It's pretty exciting. Hopefully, we will be able to make a difference in people's lives and glorify God. We have a website and its called
www.blessedlifecoach.ca if you want to check that out. This has been a dream of his for a while and for years now, people have been coming to him looking for advice, he may as well get paid for it, right? He also has the financial practice, and has plans for more.
I have also decided to pursue a dream of my own and start an online bookstore. It will be attached to this blog somehow soon. I am calling it, NEW JERUSALEM and its coming along. I have to add more items and figure out how its going to work. I am not a computer genius by any means, so it may not be a fancy bookstore at first.
You may ask, why all of these businesses? Well, we have decided that we are tired of living in poverty and we want to pursue our dreams of being able to give back to God's kingdom. We need a vehicle and eventually own a home again and we cannot do that if we do not have the funds available. Having a business of your own is the key to being financially successful from what I have learned, so we are going to give it our best shot.
One of our favorite books is entitled , "Rich Dad, Poor Dad", which is a book about what he learned as a boy growing up in Hawaii having his real dad, who was highly educated and had a good job but was poor; and his best friend's dad who taught Robert Kyosaki his secret to being wealthy. Robert and his wife were unemployed and homeless living out of their car and they became multi millionaires and this book explains how they did it. Its a great read and we recommend it. It really changed my paradigm regarding money.
I also started planning for this upcoming school year. Although it is my third year of home educating our daughter, I have never really planned the year out in previous years. I had a preplanned curriculum my first year and last year I followed a couple of workbooks and used the local library mostly. With everything changing so much last year, we wanted to keep things simple. This year though, it will be different. We have finally come up with a schedule and plan on sticking with it. I am late in the game I know, but this year I will step it up a notch. It's going to be a 4 day school week, since I work on Fridays. I am using materials I already have except for seat work materials. So, this way I am not having to spend a ton of money on curriculum. I am going to be following along on what Ontario Education recommends for grade 3, so its all good. I am adding extras, like Bible and world religions. Madison is showing interest in that topic, along with history and science and geography. I have excellent materials for all of these subjects, with experiments and the whole kit and kaboodle. It should be fun! We are going to be busy little beavers thats for sure. We have decided to join a local home school group that is a co-op so we can have some educational social times too. Madison has said that she wants to join Girl Guides and we are thinking it would be good to join the local 4H club. She will be more well rounded than ever I believe.
Thanks for reading and I hope I made sense to you. It's now 2:45 am and I need to get to bed.. yawn!!!
Good night and God bless.
It has been very busy around here lately, and a bit of a comedy of errors too. I am at this very moment in time, sitting with my leg elevated and it has a lovely ice pack on it. Last week, at youth, my husband, being the creative youth pastor, decided to try a new game that he found off a youth ministry website. The game is called FUTBALL, which basically a cross between Canadian and soccer. It is played like soccer but using a Canadian Football League (CFL) sized football. We were excited and looking forward to having a fun filled night of running around with 5 teens. After the teens got there, we all decided to play at a large field behind two of the teens house. Three against three was the structure with Will, (my husband), as the coach /referee. About 15 minutes into the game, I found myself as the goalie and the ball was coming my way. Well, the other opposing player was pretty close and so I tried to stop the ball and BANG!!! All of a sudden my left leg was hurting, BAD!! I hobbled to the ground onto the sidelines and it I was out of the game. I was kept company by another teen and watched them all play. I got a pretty big & painful bruised bone and calf muscle now and I've been hobbling around with crutches ever since. I am getting better every day and its been frustrating and humbling. I hate not being able to do anything for myself or anyone else for that matter. I love being an independent woman who loves to serve my family (most days) and it's pretty hard to follow doctor's orders. With my being out of commission, he has to do more than what he had scheduled,but he has not complained one bit. And I am so thankful for him.
As I mentioned before, life has been very busy and its only going to be busier for us in the next while. My incredible busy husband has now become a Certified life coach. Our dream is to help others reach their fullest God given potential and glorify God in their lives. I am going to be helping him with that part of our business. It's pretty exciting. Hopefully, we will be able to make a difference in people's lives and glorify God. We have a website and its called
www.blessedlifecoach.ca if you want to check that out. This has been a dream of his for a while and for years now, people have been coming to him looking for advice, he may as well get paid for it, right? He also has the financial practice, and has plans for more.
I have also decided to pursue a dream of my own and start an online bookstore. It will be attached to this blog somehow soon. I am calling it, NEW JERUSALEM and its coming along. I have to add more items and figure out how its going to work. I am not a computer genius by any means, so it may not be a fancy bookstore at first.
You may ask, why all of these businesses? Well, we have decided that we are tired of living in poverty and we want to pursue our dreams of being able to give back to God's kingdom. We need a vehicle and eventually own a home again and we cannot do that if we do not have the funds available. Having a business of your own is the key to being financially successful from what I have learned, so we are going to give it our best shot.
One of our favorite books is entitled , "Rich Dad, Poor Dad", which is a book about what he learned as a boy growing up in Hawaii having his real dad, who was highly educated and had a good job but was poor; and his best friend's dad who taught Robert Kyosaki his secret to being wealthy. Robert and his wife were unemployed and homeless living out of their car and they became multi millionaires and this book explains how they did it. Its a great read and we recommend it. It really changed my paradigm regarding money.
I also started planning for this upcoming school year. Although it is my third year of home educating our daughter, I have never really planned the year out in previous years. I had a preplanned curriculum my first year and last year I followed a couple of workbooks and used the local library mostly. With everything changing so much last year, we wanted to keep things simple. This year though, it will be different. We have finally come up with a schedule and plan on sticking with it. I am late in the game I know, but this year I will step it up a notch. It's going to be a 4 day school week, since I work on Fridays. I am using materials I already have except for seat work materials. So, this way I am not having to spend a ton of money on curriculum. I am going to be following along on what Ontario Education recommends for grade 3, so its all good. I am adding extras, like Bible and world religions. Madison is showing interest in that topic, along with history and science and geography. I have excellent materials for all of these subjects, with experiments and the whole kit and kaboodle. It should be fun! We are going to be busy little beavers thats for sure. We have decided to join a local home school group that is a co-op so we can have some educational social times too. Madison has said that she wants to join Girl Guides and we are thinking it would be good to join the local 4H club. She will be more well rounded than ever I believe.
Thanks for reading and I hope I made sense to you. It's now 2:45 am and I need to get to bed.. yawn!!!
Good night and God bless.
Saturday, May 28, 2011
Book reviews
Hello again my friends,
Today I would like to start a new chapter with all of you and start reviewing some of the wonderful books that I have had the privilege of reading lately. I was thinking it would be fun to maybe even start a book club with you! If you are an avid reader like I am, I believe it would be loads of fun to read and discuss each selection. What do you think?
I am currently reading a book called "The Damascus Way" by Davis Bunn and Janette Oke. Its the 3rd in the series called Acts of Faith. The first one is called "The Centurion's Wife" by the same authors, and the second one is called "The Hidden Flame". I highly recommend them to you, if you enjoy Christian Historical Fiction. The settings in each book is based upon the early Church and they have romance in them, and I love how story brings you a deeper understanding of how the believers may have felt. They suffered persecution, and struggled with their faith at times but never gave up. The sense of community they had together must have been amazing and I love how the authors bring that to life. Each of the books are highly readable and you don't need to know the Scriptures to understand them. I am on chapter 7 now and its been only a few days since I've gotten the book. I usually like to read them at night after Madison goes to bed. It seems to be the best time to do that for me. So, whenever you can, pick up a copy and join my adventures and let me know what you think of it, ok?
Happy reading!
God bless and take care.
Acts of Faith Complete Series: The Centurion's Wife, The Hidden Flame, The Damascus Way
Today I would like to start a new chapter with all of you and start reviewing some of the wonderful books that I have had the privilege of reading lately. I was thinking it would be fun to maybe even start a book club with you! If you are an avid reader like I am, I believe it would be loads of fun to read and discuss each selection. What do you think?
I am currently reading a book called "The Damascus Way" by Davis Bunn and Janette Oke. Its the 3rd in the series called Acts of Faith. The first one is called "The Centurion's Wife" by the same authors, and the second one is called "The Hidden Flame". I highly recommend them to you, if you enjoy Christian Historical Fiction. The settings in each book is based upon the early Church and they have romance in them, and I love how story brings you a deeper understanding of how the believers may have felt. They suffered persecution, and struggled with their faith at times but never gave up. The sense of community they had together must have been amazing and I love how the authors bring that to life. Each of the books are highly readable and you don't need to know the Scriptures to understand them. I am on chapter 7 now and its been only a few days since I've gotten the book. I usually like to read them at night after Madison goes to bed. It seems to be the best time to do that for me. So, whenever you can, pick up a copy and join my adventures and let me know what you think of it, ok?
Happy reading!
God bless and take care.
Acts of Faith Complete Series: The Centurion's Wife, The Hidden Flame, The Damascus Way
Monday, May 16, 2011
Moving to the country, gonna eat alot of peaches.....
Well, folks I have some news for you. Seven months ago,my family and I packed our bags and our dog and cat and boarded a plane headed east. We are now living in the country, with my in laws on their 10 acre lot.
As with most cases, there are adjustments to be made. Firstly for us, its been very different living in the country as compared to the city. There are so many things to think about that we have never had to think about in the city.
For instance, we had a run in with a skunk and our dogs. They chased a skunk that was in the backyard and got themselves sprayed. EWWWW!! We had to wash them both with tomato juice and boy did the house STINK!!! My in laws have a cattle dog named Harley, (They're bikers, can you tell?) Our timid Teesha and Harley have gotten to be best friends now. There are 5 other cats here too, along with our cat. They have all had to do some adjusting too.
Then, of course is the chores that need to be done. We had to till the garden with a noisy old roto tiller and did some planting last fall. I don't garden At all. During the winter, Will went out and had to use the snowblower for a few hours. Yeah, that was different from the tiny yard in Calgary! Oh and then there was renting the log splitter to split the logs so we could have firewood. And I had to learn how to stack it properly. Then we had the power go out during a snow storm and learned that since they are on a well there is no water available to use during the outage.Yep, not in Calgary anymore!
But I think we can manage that stuff because it has been a learning experience. We have had to learn how to live with others and respecting other's space and schedules. We have to submit to them and that is humbling. I think it keeps us accountable to others. It has been stressful at times and makes us want to move out as soon as possible but we wouldn't trade them for anything. I especially love the relationship that Madison and her grandma have now. They have so much fun together.
We have also learned to not be so attached to stuff as we came with all we could carry onto the plane. We had a trailer in Calgary and we had made arrangements with a guy to rent to own the place. We would eventually come and collect our belongings which we were storing in the shed, in the summer. Well, that lasted about a month and then we pretty much lost everything we had. I felt like Lot's wife in the Bible as she turned to look at her stuff, she turned to salt. We were very discouraged and sad at the time. So, we are literally starting fresh here.
As with most cases, there are adjustments to be made. Firstly for us, its been very different living in the country as compared to the city. There are so many things to think about that we have never had to think about in the city.
For instance, we had a run in with a skunk and our dogs. They chased a skunk that was in the backyard and got themselves sprayed. EWWWW!! We had to wash them both with tomato juice and boy did the house STINK!!! My in laws have a cattle dog named Harley, (They're bikers, can you tell?) Our timid Teesha and Harley have gotten to be best friends now. There are 5 other cats here too, along with our cat. They have all had to do some adjusting too.
Then, of course is the chores that need to be done. We had to till the garden with a noisy old roto tiller and did some planting last fall. I don't garden At all. During the winter, Will went out and had to use the snowblower for a few hours. Yeah, that was different from the tiny yard in Calgary! Oh and then there was renting the log splitter to split the logs so we could have firewood. And I had to learn how to stack it properly. Then we had the power go out during a snow storm and learned that since they are on a well there is no water available to use during the outage.Yep, not in Calgary anymore!
But I think we can manage that stuff because it has been a learning experience. We have had to learn how to live with others and respecting other's space and schedules. We have to submit to them and that is humbling. I think it keeps us accountable to others. It has been stressful at times and makes us want to move out as soon as possible but we wouldn't trade them for anything. I especially love the relationship that Madison and her grandma have now. They have so much fun together.
We have also learned to not be so attached to stuff as we came with all we could carry onto the plane. We had a trailer in Calgary and we had made arrangements with a guy to rent to own the place. We would eventually come and collect our belongings which we were storing in the shed, in the summer. Well, that lasted about a month and then we pretty much lost everything we had. I felt like Lot's wife in the Bible as she turned to look at her stuff, she turned to salt. We were very discouraged and sad at the time. So, we are literally starting fresh here.
Monday, September 27, 2010
What a year!
Hello my friends, Its been a long time, almost a year since my last posting. There has been so much going on in our home this past year and its been an amazing one. So much has been happening that all I can say is PRAISE YOU LORD!!! You have been there in such an awesome way for us as a family and all I want to do is proclaim Your goodness to all who will hear. It has been a hard year, in a number of ways. I found out that I was pregnant with our second child in March but lost it through a miscarriage in my 12th week, on April 18th. We were very sad since we were very excited and looking forward to another blessing to our family. My husband called our baby "junior" since we all wanted a boy so much. I am over it for the most part but there are moments when I miss being pregnant.
It was also a rough year for us in our marriage but through some counseling, things are all good now. Our pastors counseled us and on August 8th, we renewed our vows and it was awesome. It was pretty scary since it looked like we weren't going to make it. But God intervened. He held us and told us what to do and when we obeyed Him our marriage was restored fully. I thank Him everyday for that.
It was also hard being a homeschool mom. I simply don't know what I am doing, and somehow we made it through our 1st year. We went through the curriculum that we purchased and its a good one to use to start out with. I went along with the teacher's guides for the first few months, but I found their lessons to be kind of silly. So, I figured I could do a better job and we just winged it mostly. Thankfully, it was just grade 1 stuff, so I managed pretty well. Now if only I could stay organized and stick to a schedule!!!
But we have some exciting news! We have decided to move closer to our family, in Ontario Canada. We are moving in a few days and its been kind of stressful but we know that this is where we are supposed to be. We are going to be living on an acreage in the country, instead of a big city, which is wonderful. We want to live on an acreage but being basically city slickers that would be a disaster to do that right away, at least for me it would be. So, we are blessed to have my husband's parents accept us into their home and stay with them for a little while and train us on how to do that successfully. So, we are busy trying to get the house packed and ready to go. We had a few yard sales and sold some stuff so its all good, and our furniture is staying.
Since we are leaving, it is obviously very hard to leave our wonderful church family and friends behind. But Jesus has gone before us and things are happening there that its just confirming His leading. We had our last Sunday at church today here and it was hard and there were lots of tears shed. My husband actually preached today and they prayed over us after he was done. But God showed up in a huge way before all of that. The pastor said that it was to be a healing service which was awesome. And this is kind of unusual for our church, unfortunately. Most of the congregation came to the front and either stood to get annointed with oil or prayed for us. Our friend brought his brother who has a cocaine addiction came for the first time and we all prayed for him to be delivered from it. God is so Good!!!
Just remember folks that no matter what may be happening in your life right now, remember that Jesus loves you as you are and there is nothing He will not do for you in your time of need. I pray that you will look to the bigger picture and not to your circumstances you are in now. Get into God's word, spend time with Him. His peace will fill you and you will be amazed at the changes that you may see.
Love your sister in Christ Jesus,
Tanya
It was also a rough year for us in our marriage but through some counseling, things are all good now. Our pastors counseled us and on August 8th, we renewed our vows and it was awesome. It was pretty scary since it looked like we weren't going to make it. But God intervened. He held us and told us what to do and when we obeyed Him our marriage was restored fully. I thank Him everyday for that.
It was also hard being a homeschool mom. I simply don't know what I am doing, and somehow we made it through our 1st year. We went through the curriculum that we purchased and its a good one to use to start out with. I went along with the teacher's guides for the first few months, but I found their lessons to be kind of silly. So, I figured I could do a better job and we just winged it mostly. Thankfully, it was just grade 1 stuff, so I managed pretty well. Now if only I could stay organized and stick to a schedule!!!
But we have some exciting news! We have decided to move closer to our family, in Ontario Canada. We are moving in a few days and its been kind of stressful but we know that this is where we are supposed to be. We are going to be living on an acreage in the country, instead of a big city, which is wonderful. We want to live on an acreage but being basically city slickers that would be a disaster to do that right away, at least for me it would be. So, we are blessed to have my husband's parents accept us into their home and stay with them for a little while and train us on how to do that successfully. So, we are busy trying to get the house packed and ready to go. We had a few yard sales and sold some stuff so its all good, and our furniture is staying.
Since we are leaving, it is obviously very hard to leave our wonderful church family and friends behind. But Jesus has gone before us and things are happening there that its just confirming His leading. We had our last Sunday at church today here and it was hard and there were lots of tears shed. My husband actually preached today and they prayed over us after he was done. But God showed up in a huge way before all of that. The pastor said that it was to be a healing service which was awesome. And this is kind of unusual for our church, unfortunately. Most of the congregation came to the front and either stood to get annointed with oil or prayed for us. Our friend brought his brother who has a cocaine addiction came for the first time and we all prayed for him to be delivered from it. God is so Good!!!
Just remember folks that no matter what may be happening in your life right now, remember that Jesus loves you as you are and there is nothing He will not do for you in your time of need. I pray that you will look to the bigger picture and not to your circumstances you are in now. Get into God's word, spend time with Him. His peace will fill you and you will be amazed at the changes that you may see.
Love your sister in Christ Jesus,
Tanya
Wednesday, October 21, 2009
Psalm 91
Hello there.
Today I would like to talk about the happenings that have been going on in this house lately. It's been a really tough week. It's been really cold here, with record cold temperatures in our area. We have been fighting head colds and other illnesses and other financial issues that have really had us questioning what in the world is going on. We are in the full throttle of schooling at home now and its not easy getting motivated most days. Most of it is because of me and being the procrastinator I am. I am my own worst enemy most days. Even though we are not moving as fast as we should be doing, its actually going really well. Madison's work is A+, as long as I am right there to guide her along the way. It gets really frustrating sometimes because I cannot step away and have her do the seat work that is required without her becoming distracted. But its good since she is learning and seems to enjoy it once she gets started.
We have had the usual financial issues that we have all at one point in our lives happen to us this past week. My husband who pays the bills forgot to pay our electricity bill last week and the company put us onto a load limiter. This hindered us greatly to the point where we could not have more than one or two things going at once without tripping the meter to turn off the power. We could not use our oven or stove or really heat the house for that matter. It was awful. I called out to God, "Okay, just how am I to feed my family now?" We were frustrated.
Thankfully, God understands our pain and His word comforts us when we need it the most. Last night I was reading a book that mentioned Psalm 91 in a chapter where we dont have peace in our minds. So I looked up the Psalm and it took my breath away.
Thankfully when we are at our lowest points He is there to hold us close in His arms. I pray that it speaks to you as well in your time of need. Here is what it says:
Psalm 91 (NLT)
(1)Those who live in the shelter of the Most High
will find rest in the shadow of the Almighty
(2)This I declare of the Lord:
He alone is my refuge; my place of safety
He is my God and I am trusting Him
(3)For He will rescue you from every trap
and protect you from the fatal plague.
(4)He will shield you with His wings
He will shelter you with His feathers.
His faithful promises are your armor and protection.
(5)Do not be afraid of the terrors of the night,
nor fear the dangers of the day, (6)nor dread the plague that stalks in darkness
nor the disaster that strikes at midday.
(7)Though a thousand fall at your side
though ten thousand are dying around you, these evils will not touch you
(8)But you will see it with your eyes; you will see how the wicked are punished.
(9)If you make the Lord your refuge, if you make the Most High your shelter
(10)No evil will conquer you; no plague will come near your dwelling
(11)For He orders His angels to protect you wherever you go
(12)They will hold you with their hands to keep you from striking your foot on a stone.
(13)You will trample down lions and poisonous snakes; you will crush fierce lions and serpents under your feet. (14)The Lord says," I will rescue those who love me.I will protect those who trust in My Name. (15)When they call on me I will answer;
I will be with them in trouble; I will rescue then and honor them. (16)I will satisfy them with a long life and give them My Salvation.
WOW!!! Isn't that amazing? This Psalm really spoke to me because our power went out in the middle of the day and He rescued us alright. Our new church family wrapped their arms around us and brought us hot meals every day until the power was fully restored. At our last service there was an offering taken and afterward the senior pastor and his wife came and gave us the money to pay the bill off. And tonight the children's pastor came with a meal and some new shoes for our daughter. Is God good or what right? We have felt so loved and cared for because God's family listened to the Holy Spirit and helped a family member in need. That is what the church of Christ is supposed to do. Listen and obey and bless others in need.
Tomorrow morning we have to take our 7 yr old daughter to the children's hospital to get her kidneys tested. She has only about 2/3 functionality and they are small and under developed so the specialist wants to see what is actually happening there.
He isnt concerned now so we are grateful for that. Our sweet little girl is very nervous and doesnt want to have to do this. One test is an IV test with some dye and the other is going to be inserting dye via her genitals. So, that being said, I am going to have confidence that God has us in the shelter of His wings and we can rest in Him and His promises.
Prayer:
Thank you Lord Jesus that we can rest in You and Your promises no matter what happens in our lives. I thank You for Your love and presence when we cannot see the big picture. Thank You for guiding our church families to being a blessing when we need them the most. Thank you for being there and never leaving us to go through things alone. Thank You for being understanding and for being such a comfort to us when we call on Your name. I ask that we will always run to You and listen to Your promptings when You speak to us. In Jesus name I pray, Amen.
Today I would like to talk about the happenings that have been going on in this house lately. It's been a really tough week. It's been really cold here, with record cold temperatures in our area. We have been fighting head colds and other illnesses and other financial issues that have really had us questioning what in the world is going on. We are in the full throttle of schooling at home now and its not easy getting motivated most days. Most of it is because of me and being the procrastinator I am. I am my own worst enemy most days. Even though we are not moving as fast as we should be doing, its actually going really well. Madison's work is A+, as long as I am right there to guide her along the way. It gets really frustrating sometimes because I cannot step away and have her do the seat work that is required without her becoming distracted. But its good since she is learning and seems to enjoy it once she gets started.
We have had the usual financial issues that we have all at one point in our lives happen to us this past week. My husband who pays the bills forgot to pay our electricity bill last week and the company put us onto a load limiter. This hindered us greatly to the point where we could not have more than one or two things going at once without tripping the meter to turn off the power. We could not use our oven or stove or really heat the house for that matter. It was awful. I called out to God, "Okay, just how am I to feed my family now?" We were frustrated.
Thankfully, God understands our pain and His word comforts us when we need it the most. Last night I was reading a book that mentioned Psalm 91 in a chapter where we dont have peace in our minds. So I looked up the Psalm and it took my breath away.
Thankfully when we are at our lowest points He is there to hold us close in His arms. I pray that it speaks to you as well in your time of need. Here is what it says:
Psalm 91 (NLT)
(1)Those who live in the shelter of the Most High
will find rest in the shadow of the Almighty
(2)This I declare of the Lord:
He alone is my refuge; my place of safety
He is my God and I am trusting Him
(3)For He will rescue you from every trap
and protect you from the fatal plague.
(4)He will shield you with His wings
He will shelter you with His feathers.
His faithful promises are your armor and protection.
(5)Do not be afraid of the terrors of the night,
nor fear the dangers of the day, (6)nor dread the plague that stalks in darkness
nor the disaster that strikes at midday.
(7)Though a thousand fall at your side
though ten thousand are dying around you, these evils will not touch you
(8)But you will see it with your eyes; you will see how the wicked are punished.
(9)If you make the Lord your refuge, if you make the Most High your shelter
(10)No evil will conquer you; no plague will come near your dwelling
(11)For He orders His angels to protect you wherever you go
(12)They will hold you with their hands to keep you from striking your foot on a stone.
(13)You will trample down lions and poisonous snakes; you will crush fierce lions and serpents under your feet. (14)The Lord says," I will rescue those who love me.I will protect those who trust in My Name. (15)When they call on me I will answer;
I will be with them in trouble; I will rescue then and honor them. (16)I will satisfy them with a long life and give them My Salvation.
WOW!!! Isn't that amazing? This Psalm really spoke to me because our power went out in the middle of the day and He rescued us alright. Our new church family wrapped their arms around us and brought us hot meals every day until the power was fully restored. At our last service there was an offering taken and afterward the senior pastor and his wife came and gave us the money to pay the bill off. And tonight the children's pastor came with a meal and some new shoes for our daughter. Is God good or what right? We have felt so loved and cared for because God's family listened to the Holy Spirit and helped a family member in need. That is what the church of Christ is supposed to do. Listen and obey and bless others in need.
Tomorrow morning we have to take our 7 yr old daughter to the children's hospital to get her kidneys tested. She has only about 2/3 functionality and they are small and under developed so the specialist wants to see what is actually happening there.
He isnt concerned now so we are grateful for that. Our sweet little girl is very nervous and doesnt want to have to do this. One test is an IV test with some dye and the other is going to be inserting dye via her genitals. So, that being said, I am going to have confidence that God has us in the shelter of His wings and we can rest in Him and His promises.
Prayer:
Thank you Lord Jesus that we can rest in You and Your promises no matter what happens in our lives. I thank You for Your love and presence when we cannot see the big picture. Thank You for guiding our church families to being a blessing when we need them the most. Thank you for being there and never leaving us to go through things alone. Thank You for being understanding and for being such a comfort to us when we call on Your name. I ask that we will always run to You and listen to Your promptings when You speak to us. In Jesus name I pray, Amen.
Tuesday, October 6, 2009
New beginnings
Hello all.
There have been lots of things happening here lately that I feel that I should share with you.
We have been led by God's Holy Spirit to attend another church. We attended there sometimes when we had car troubles or were running late. They have always been nice to us and welcomed us. We love the music and the Pastor always has an anointed message. They are a more Charismatic style and they are growing. Plus the church is about 2 or 3 minute walking distance from home! It sure is nice to have other couples there who are closer to our age and situation. They are sure into giving back to the community, which is refreshing to see. It has been definitely interesting being at the new church every week. I have joined the worship team, well I've been to a couple of practices and its a whole new level of worship for me. I am not used to singing with other instruments other than a piano. The caliber of musicians is phenomenal as one of the members has 5 degrees in music!!! WOW!!!! It should be awesome. What a learning experience I am in for! Even the pre-service prayer time is wonderful! They intercede for the community and are loud and pray specific, pinpoint prayers. Wow! I am not used that at all. Also, I was asked to help with the fellowship times. I was wanting to help so I thank GOD for these opportunities to serve.
I really am not sure what happened with our old church, but something is missing. Is that Something or is it SOMEONE?? Hmmm, I wonder. I do not want to slander the denomination, because they as a church has been really really good to us over the years. Therefore, I will not mention that particular denomination. When it's Spirit led then what can you do right? At our old church, they cut out most of the outreach including the food bank due to budgetary constraints. That is something that grieves the Holy Spirit don't you think? I hope and pray that this changes there soon. They are now showing signs of a dying church and I don't think I can grow at a dying church.
At our old church, there was a farewell time of fellowship this past Sunday night for a couple of friends who are leaving and heading to the east coast. Their names are Todd and Natalie. They are a fabulous couple who are anointed by God, that is for certain. They have started and have run a compassionate ministry that counsels people probono. It has touched countless lives. She has the gift of music and encouragement. She can sing like an angel and has mentored and supported me since I have known her. And he is so super smart and hilarious! They are both so down to earth and humble. My husband and him have become almost best friends. He also recently became ordained. We had the privilege of being there for the ordination service. We are going to miss them terribly. Even our daughter will miss Pastor Todd as he always makes kids feel special. He's got that knack. We released Todd and Natalie to do what God has called them to do. It was really moving. We hate to see them go, but we have to obey the Holy Spirit. And besides, we will have somewhere to visit when we go on our road trip next summer. Bonus! God has some amazing plans for their lives and I am sure it will be awesome. I have no idea what that is, but it will be wonderful.
Another pastoral couple, Mark and Kathy have recently accepted a request to pastor a church in a town a couple of hours south of here. They are a young family with three young children. Mark and Kathy started a congregation 4 years ago and it has grown with the help of the Holy Spirit. But it hasn't been perfect. People get in the way of the Spirit and things start to go down hill. But they are happy and there is another couple taking over the congregation who seemed excited to be there. Mark and Kathy have some obstacles in their way, like getting a new home and making sure that their current home is taken care of. But it will work out. So we released them as well into their new pastoral position. Our former senior pastor was proud of them and their accomplishments and grateful to have mentored them. He brought us all to tears. We surrounded these two wonderful couples of GOD and prayed for them and released them from ministry at the church. They will be missed by many.
Romans 8:28 " And we know that God causes everything to work together for the good of those who love God and are called according to His purpose for them."
There have been lots of things happening here lately that I feel that I should share with you.
We have been led by God's Holy Spirit to attend another church. We attended there sometimes when we had car troubles or were running late. They have always been nice to us and welcomed us. We love the music and the Pastor always has an anointed message. They are a more Charismatic style and they are growing. Plus the church is about 2 or 3 minute walking distance from home! It sure is nice to have other couples there who are closer to our age and situation. They are sure into giving back to the community, which is refreshing to see. It has been definitely interesting being at the new church every week. I have joined the worship team, well I've been to a couple of practices and its a whole new level of worship for me. I am not used to singing with other instruments other than a piano. The caliber of musicians is phenomenal as one of the members has 5 degrees in music!!! WOW!!!! It should be awesome. What a learning experience I am in for! Even the pre-service prayer time is wonderful! They intercede for the community and are loud and pray specific, pinpoint prayers. Wow! I am not used that at all. Also, I was asked to help with the fellowship times. I was wanting to help so I thank GOD for these opportunities to serve.
I really am not sure what happened with our old church, but something is missing. Is that Something or is it SOMEONE?? Hmmm, I wonder. I do not want to slander the denomination, because they as a church has been really really good to us over the years. Therefore, I will not mention that particular denomination. When it's Spirit led then what can you do right? At our old church, they cut out most of the outreach including the food bank due to budgetary constraints. That is something that grieves the Holy Spirit don't you think? I hope and pray that this changes there soon. They are now showing signs of a dying church and I don't think I can grow at a dying church.
At our old church, there was a farewell time of fellowship this past Sunday night for a couple of friends who are leaving and heading to the east coast. Their names are Todd and Natalie. They are a fabulous couple who are anointed by God, that is for certain. They have started and have run a compassionate ministry that counsels people probono. It has touched countless lives. She has the gift of music and encouragement. She can sing like an angel and has mentored and supported me since I have known her. And he is so super smart and hilarious! They are both so down to earth and humble. My husband and him have become almost best friends. He also recently became ordained. We had the privilege of being there for the ordination service. We are going to miss them terribly. Even our daughter will miss Pastor Todd as he always makes kids feel special. He's got that knack. We released Todd and Natalie to do what God has called them to do. It was really moving. We hate to see them go, but we have to obey the Holy Spirit. And besides, we will have somewhere to visit when we go on our road trip next summer. Bonus! God has some amazing plans for their lives and I am sure it will be awesome. I have no idea what that is, but it will be wonderful.
Another pastoral couple, Mark and Kathy have recently accepted a request to pastor a church in a town a couple of hours south of here. They are a young family with three young children. Mark and Kathy started a congregation 4 years ago and it has grown with the help of the Holy Spirit. But it hasn't been perfect. People get in the way of the Spirit and things start to go down hill. But they are happy and there is another couple taking over the congregation who seemed excited to be there. Mark and Kathy have some obstacles in their way, like getting a new home and making sure that their current home is taken care of. But it will work out. So we released them as well into their new pastoral position. Our former senior pastor was proud of them and their accomplishments and grateful to have mentored them. He brought us all to tears. We surrounded these two wonderful couples of GOD and prayed for them and released them from ministry at the church. They will be missed by many.
Romans 8:28 " And we know that God causes everything to work together for the good of those who love God and are called according to His purpose for them."
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