The Key To Having the Best 2014!
Hi everyone!
What a long time it has been since I have published anything. I have been working hard on publication with Crossway books, a division of Lifeway Christian Stores. The process is nearly finished and my book should be on shelves very soon. I will host a link on this blog when its available.
Since around November, the Holy Spirit has really been prompting me to share with others a message about love. I am not sure if any of you had similar experiences during the holidays, but it seemed as though everywhere I went I ran into numbers of people that seemed very heavy, sad, angry, depressed, and even ungrateful. One day I was at Pet Smart. The parking lot was empty. I arrived into the lot at the same time as another car. We were headed into the same space coming from different directions. I stopped, reversed, and pulled into the second one. The older man got out of his car, which by the way was a brand new Jaguar, and shook his head at me. I thought to myself here is a person that possibly has quite alot of money, but seems to be quick to anger. Even people that have every material need and pleasure met in their life struggle. And I also thought "man, if I had the wealth to own a car like that I don't think I would ever be angry over the small things"....and then I realized, that the reason we think this way, in our human nature, is because we are all too often looking to our circumstances to fulfill us rather than the Cross! Think about it...the only thing that never fails is love. The only thing that never changes is God's love for us that was manifested through the sacrifice of His only Son Jesus Christ. His Love Never Fails! If we focus our eyes on the love of Christ, then we have a peace and joy that is independent of circumstances whether they are good or bad. Let me explain.
For four years my husband and I have been praying fervently and trying hard to expand our family. Early November I finally got pregnant! It was really a HUGE surprise. But about 5 weeks into the pregnancy, I experienced bleeding and cramping. At the beginning of week 6 I started to miscarry. As I was sitting in the ER, realizing the reality of the loss that was completely beyond my control, the pain was so deep. I started crying out to the Lord to move me through this. I remember thinking "How am I going to get through this? How am I going to get over this?" And as I was praying, the Lord whispered to me to turn on my worship music and give thanks for all that I do have. I turned on the song by Kristian Stanfill called "Always"... and I did not stop worshipping and praying as the doctors came in and out to share the news that my pregnancy hormone was decreasing and my body was not ready for the pregnancy. The loss and emptiness a mom goes through in this circumstance are really indescribable. The pain is deep and it doesn't matter how long you carried the baby. The loss is tremendous no matter what. And I started to realize how much God really loves me and my family. You see, just days before my miscarriage I was supposed to go to Ohio to see my sister and watch her three kids while she went to Phoenix. But the closer the trip got, the more spiritually uneasy I was about going. All of the counsel in my life was advising it was not a good idea. I was supposed to leave on Saturday but after prayer with my husband he believed I needed to wait and leave on Monday or Tuesday because alot of rain was coming in. On Sunday, I started packing and the more I tried to prepare for the trip the uneasier I got. On Sunday night we prayed, "Lord, I know I made a commitment to my sister to do this but please is this is not your best for me and my family please release me from this trip". I went to sleep. I woke up Monday morning and started miscarrying. All I can think about is how He answered my prayer and that He loves me so much to protect me from experiencing this on the road and away from my family. I was in absolute awe and still am of How He Loves Us!!! As my heart swelled up in love while sitting in the hospital room, I expressed deep gratitude and praise to God for showing up in my life in such an amazing way. And I did not stop. Yes, I grieved and experienced pain and sadness. But a supernatural peace overcame my heart and my mind and I woke up the next day and finished out one of the most productive weeks that I have ever had as a wife, a mom, and a business owner. The power of His Love truly amazes me. I could have never really known how powerful without experiencing this kind of loss. And at the same time, believing 100% in His Plan for me and my family without wavering - because I know that His Love is Real, His Word is true, and His Love is alive in me. I had no idea that God would use my focus on His Love for me and my expression of this in my ability He provided to move me through this. But later that week I was picking up my son at school. I just could not wait to get James at 11:30 as my heart through this loss grew even more for the thankfulness of my son. One of his class teachers opened the door, and said, "Can I give you a hug?" And I said YES! And we hugged and she had tears in her eyes and she said, "I wish that someday I can have the FAITH that you do!" And I was blown away. Other people saw the love of Christ move me through this painful time and it increased their belief. I said to her, "Honey, you CAN! All you have to do is ask Him to Give You Faith!" And would you believe that all week one of and still is one of my theme songs is "Give Me Faith".
The best year of your life can happen if you start everything and finish everything with a heart full of love for God, a love for others, and focus on His Plan rather than your own and what you don't have.
The loss we experienced truly is a Romans 8:28 moment as it has really heightened my awareness of what others may be going through and how much all of us need to be loved. I think alot of people experience much greater losses and end up getting bitter rather than better. The difference maker is opening your heart, receiving the gift of God's love for you, and trusting in His Plan for your life. All we have in this challenging world, and poor economic climate, is LOVE. It is THE only thing that never Fails.
I am a living testament to multiple miracles inspired by the Hand and Love of God. He sees me. He is jealous for me. And His Love for us NEVER Fails. His Love ENDURES - you see, over Christmas a dear friend invited me to Christmas services at New Spring. I had already done 3 services at my own church but Jon and I really felt drawn to worship one more time. When we got there, the story of what Mary and Joseph REALLY went through the time of Jesus's birth was revealed. The first part was about Mary actually riding on a donkey for 2 weeks 8.5 months pregnant. Imagine how crazy her life was. An angel tells her she is going to get pregnant by the Hand of God with the Messiah. And in late pregnancy she has to get on a donkey and leave her hometown. She birthed Jesus in a sheep cave for goodness sake. And then the scene flips to a modern day couple with their message about their journey with pregnancy. They were 6 months pregnant with their first baby. Suddenly, mom got very very sick. They found out the placenta was poisoning her liver. She would surely die. And the baby may make it, but for sure she would not. She had to make a decision. She delivered shortly after and the sweet baby only lived a couple of days. The held her and lifted up thanks to the Lord for the months they had with her. They praised God for His Plan and for victory over the illness that was poisoning mommy. They believed, loved, trusted in God's Plan. Even when the circumstances do NOT make sense and they are painful. God moved them through this in a miraculous way. The power of His Love even gives us victory and peace in the most painful circumstances. Why do so many of us reject Him and His Love and His Plan? Why not receive the gift of His Love. Here is the couples story:
http://newspring.cc/blog/stories/jamie-elizabeth-salmon
Here are some scripture references to reinforce what His Word says about love:
Ephesians 5:1-2
Follow God’s example, therefore, as dearly loved children and walk in the way of love, just as Christ loved us and gave himself up for us as a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God.
John 14:34-35
A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another. By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another.”
1 Corinthians 13
What a long time it has been since I have published anything. I have been working hard on publication with Crossway books, a division of Lifeway Christian Stores. The process is nearly finished and my book should be on shelves very soon. I will host a link on this blog when its available.
Since around November, the Holy Spirit has really been prompting me to share with others a message about love. I am not sure if any of you had similar experiences during the holidays, but it seemed as though everywhere I went I ran into numbers of people that seemed very heavy, sad, angry, depressed, and even ungrateful. One day I was at Pet Smart. The parking lot was empty. I arrived into the lot at the same time as another car. We were headed into the same space coming from different directions. I stopped, reversed, and pulled into the second one. The older man got out of his car, which by the way was a brand new Jaguar, and shook his head at me. I thought to myself here is a person that possibly has quite alot of money, but seems to be quick to anger. Even people that have every material need and pleasure met in their life struggle. And I also thought "man, if I had the wealth to own a car like that I don't think I would ever be angry over the small things"....and then I realized, that the reason we think this way, in our human nature, is because we are all too often looking to our circumstances to fulfill us rather than the Cross! Think about it...the only thing that never fails is love. The only thing that never changes is God's love for us that was manifested through the sacrifice of His only Son Jesus Christ. His Love Never Fails! If we focus our eyes on the love of Christ, then we have a peace and joy that is independent of circumstances whether they are good or bad. Let me explain.
For four years my husband and I have been praying fervently and trying hard to expand our family. Early November I finally got pregnant! It was really a HUGE surprise. But about 5 weeks into the pregnancy, I experienced bleeding and cramping. At the beginning of week 6 I started to miscarry. As I was sitting in the ER, realizing the reality of the loss that was completely beyond my control, the pain was so deep. I started crying out to the Lord to move me through this. I remember thinking "How am I going to get through this? How am I going to get over this?" And as I was praying, the Lord whispered to me to turn on my worship music and give thanks for all that I do have. I turned on the song by Kristian Stanfill called "Always"... and I did not stop worshipping and praying as the doctors came in and out to share the news that my pregnancy hormone was decreasing and my body was not ready for the pregnancy. The loss and emptiness a mom goes through in this circumstance are really indescribable. The pain is deep and it doesn't matter how long you carried the baby. The loss is tremendous no matter what. And I started to realize how much God really loves me and my family. You see, just days before my miscarriage I was supposed to go to Ohio to see my sister and watch her three kids while she went to Phoenix. But the closer the trip got, the more spiritually uneasy I was about going. All of the counsel in my life was advising it was not a good idea. I was supposed to leave on Saturday but after prayer with my husband he believed I needed to wait and leave on Monday or Tuesday because alot of rain was coming in. On Sunday, I started packing and the more I tried to prepare for the trip the uneasier I got. On Sunday night we prayed, "Lord, I know I made a commitment to my sister to do this but please is this is not your best for me and my family please release me from this trip". I went to sleep. I woke up Monday morning and started miscarrying. All I can think about is how He answered my prayer and that He loves me so much to protect me from experiencing this on the road and away from my family. I was in absolute awe and still am of How He Loves Us!!! As my heart swelled up in love while sitting in the hospital room, I expressed deep gratitude and praise to God for showing up in my life in such an amazing way. And I did not stop. Yes, I grieved and experienced pain and sadness. But a supernatural peace overcame my heart and my mind and I woke up the next day and finished out one of the most productive weeks that I have ever had as a wife, a mom, and a business owner. The power of His Love truly amazes me. I could have never really known how powerful without experiencing this kind of loss. And at the same time, believing 100% in His Plan for me and my family without wavering - because I know that His Love is Real, His Word is true, and His Love is alive in me. I had no idea that God would use my focus on His Love for me and my expression of this in my ability He provided to move me through this. But later that week I was picking up my son at school. I just could not wait to get James at 11:30 as my heart through this loss grew even more for the thankfulness of my son. One of his class teachers opened the door, and said, "Can I give you a hug?" And I said YES! And we hugged and she had tears in her eyes and she said, "I wish that someday I can have the FAITH that you do!" And I was blown away. Other people saw the love of Christ move me through this painful time and it increased their belief. I said to her, "Honey, you CAN! All you have to do is ask Him to Give You Faith!" And would you believe that all week one of and still is one of my theme songs is "Give Me Faith".
The best year of your life can happen if you start everything and finish everything with a heart full of love for God, a love for others, and focus on His Plan rather than your own and what you don't have.
The loss we experienced truly is a Romans 8:28 moment as it has really heightened my awareness of what others may be going through and how much all of us need to be loved. I think alot of people experience much greater losses and end up getting bitter rather than better. The difference maker is opening your heart, receiving the gift of God's love for you, and trusting in His Plan for your life. All we have in this challenging world, and poor economic climate, is LOVE. It is THE only thing that never Fails.
I am a living testament to multiple miracles inspired by the Hand and Love of God. He sees me. He is jealous for me. And His Love for us NEVER Fails. His Love ENDURES - you see, over Christmas a dear friend invited me to Christmas services at New Spring. I had already done 3 services at my own church but Jon and I really felt drawn to worship one more time. When we got there, the story of what Mary and Joseph REALLY went through the time of Jesus's birth was revealed. The first part was about Mary actually riding on a donkey for 2 weeks 8.5 months pregnant. Imagine how crazy her life was. An angel tells her she is going to get pregnant by the Hand of God with the Messiah. And in late pregnancy she has to get on a donkey and leave her hometown. She birthed Jesus in a sheep cave for goodness sake. And then the scene flips to a modern day couple with their message about their journey with pregnancy. They were 6 months pregnant with their first baby. Suddenly, mom got very very sick. They found out the placenta was poisoning her liver. She would surely die. And the baby may make it, but for sure she would not. She had to make a decision. She delivered shortly after and the sweet baby only lived a couple of days. The held her and lifted up thanks to the Lord for the months they had with her. They praised God for His Plan and for victory over the illness that was poisoning mommy. They believed, loved, trusted in God's Plan. Even when the circumstances do NOT make sense and they are painful. God moved them through this in a miraculous way. The power of His Love even gives us victory and peace in the most painful circumstances. Why do so many of us reject Him and His Love and His Plan? Why not receive the gift of His Love. Here is the couples story:
http://newspring.cc/blog/stories/jamie-elizabeth-salmon
Here are some scripture references to reinforce what His Word says about love:
Ephesians 5:1-2
Follow God’s example, therefore, as dearly loved children and walk in the way of love, just as Christ loved us and gave himself up for us as a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God.
John 14:34-35
A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another. By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another.”
1 Corinthians 13
13 If I speak in the tongues[a] of men or of angels, but do not have love,
I am only a resounding gong or a clanging cymbal. 2 If
I have the gift of prophecy and can fathom all mysteries and all knowledge, and
if I have a faith that can move mountains, but do not have love, I am nothing.
3 If I give all I possess to the poor and give
over my body to hardship that I may boast,[b] but do not
have love, I gain nothing.
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