I will praise You in the storm

by Heather E.

"I was sure by now God You would have reached down and wiped our tears away, stepped in and saved the day."

How often have we thought this. Why isn't God rescuing me from this sorrow? Why is He silent?

"Once again, I say Amen and it's still raining"

I love this line! Even when we don't understand and nothing makes sense. With tears in our eyes and sorrow in our heart, we can say Thy will be done.

"As the thunder rolls, I barely hear You whisper through the rain, I'm with you. And as Yuor mercy falls. I'll raise my hands and praise the God who gives and takes away."

And in that surrender, God blesses us beyond all imagination--That is when He showers us with mercy and grace. And that is how Job could say after losing everything, " "The Lord gave and the Lord has taken away; Blessed be the name of the Lord." (Job 1:21b)

"I will praise You in this storm. I will lift my hands. For You are Who You are, no matter where I am."

God is good, faithful and He never changes. No matter what our circumstances are, His truth is always the same.

"Every tear I've cried, You hold in Your hand, You never left my side and though my heart is torn. I will praise You in this storm."

The world wonders how we are able to keep our faith. It's because He never leaves our side. How could any of us continue if we didn't know that God was going to see us through it?

"I remember when I stumbled in the wind, You heard my cry, You raised me up again. My strength is almost gone, how can I carry on? If I can't find You. "

How awesome is it that God picks us up again and again. I know I stumble so many times. God is always there to raise me up.

"As the thunder rolls. I barely hear You whisper through the rain. I'm with you."

Sometimes it's hard to hear God when it's raining. You have to listen closer but He's there. Never believe Satan's lie that Christ doesn't care. The Bible says He cares for the sparrows, so how infinitely more He cares for you, His own precious child.

pictures from google.

Lyrics from Casting Crowns

Content in the Valley

by Heather E.

When you're on top of a hill, it's very easy to see. The blue sky, the fresh air and sunlight are all visable. In a valley it's much harder. You know the sun must be there but sometimes you can't see the light. It's gets frustrating as you stumble along. It's very easy to get discontent. You want to see the sun and sky and breathe in the fresh air.
God wants us to be content in the valley. There are life lessons to be learned in the hard times. Things that you have to experience.
You can't be refined without fire.
God has promised to be there. Psalm 23:4 says, "Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death: for thou art with me; thy rod and they staff they comfort me."
So if you're in a valley embrace it. Let God work and refine you.
When you get to the top of the mountain, it will be all the more amazing for having gone through the valley.

This year marks 50 years of serving my Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. I am reminded that I should be looking back at the milestones of my spiritual journey, so I can remember how much God has loved me throughout my life.
As I reflect upon some of the milestones of my life toward eternity, may you find encouragement at the milestone that you are currently making. I want to take you with me down “memory lane” of my walk with my Lord. (I will try not to fill in the daily milestones; as that would be 50 times 365 days!)
At the young age of eleven, God’s Spirit spoke to my heart. I was somewhat like Samuel; not really understanding God’s call (1 Sam. 3). My parents never talked to me about God, although they were good moral people. My extended family of grandparents, aunt and uncles were examples of Christians, whom I admired. I wanted the love that they showed to me.
I remember Papa Walker rejoicing in the Lord continually. He constantly had a fast moving Pentecostal melody of praise on his lips, to our Lord, going up for all the family to hear. A memory I will never forget was his excitement on Sunday morning of being so happy about going to church to worship with God’s people.
I remember Sunday School as a child. My Aunt Joy, who was my Sunday School teacher, taught me that God’s Word was of utmost importance. I learned how to use a Bible concordance, which helped me to find answers to questions that teenagers ask. Than as God sent me a boyfriend, Leonard, one of the first gifts he gave me was a Thompson Chain Bible. Looking back, I know this was God’s grace pointing me to the importance of His Word!
After marriage and the birth of our first child, God gave us the desire to move south from Chicago, Illinois. It was in Tennessee that milestones with my Lord continued. With the birth of our daughter Grace (our second child), I desired a house of our own. God granted me that request, but it came with a big lesson, as God began to teach me how very unimportant material houses can be.
My husband yielded to God’s call on his heart for pasturing. He pastured small country churches and then moved on to his first full time pastorate. It was there again that God said, “Come closer”. As we drew nearer to our Lord, we learned many principles of God’s Word that we not practiced by the organization of which we were a part.
Our second daughter, Renae was born during this time. This was another learning lesson along the way, as we knew God would have to perform a miracle to put Leonard back in the pastorate, without his former associates. God performed the miracle and sent us to Pinckneyville, Illinois, where he served as pastor for ten years. At the end of this period, we again witnessed that God would be with us wherever we went. It was time to go to the place on earth that seemed most like home to us.
Today we look back at the milestones along the way; thanking God for every one of them. He has kept his promise of always being with us, our Counselor and Guide, as well as Savior and Redeemer.

—From Mrs. Carolyn Glover, 3-24-2008