Hopping all Over the Place

February 23, 2018February 23, 20183 Comments

I used to blog here and then I blogged there and now I’m back here again.

That sounds like a mixed-up-I-can’t-make-my-mind-up kind of statement, doesn’t it?

Take a break from reading this post for just a moment and look at the page you are reading from. You will now notice that there is a different name at the top of the blog.

Actually, you will notice a different everything on this blog.

If you’ve been following my blog for awhile then you may or may not have noticed that you’ve been on a blog-hopping journey for quite some time now.

January 1, 2012. That was the day that I started this blog and this is the place where it all began. You are now at ‘A Story by Me.’

Those of you who have been following since the beginning know that this blog’s whole purpose was because God told me to write it and at that time of my life, I was about a year into my journey with Jesus.

I may or may not have shared this part before – writing a blog is way out of my comfort zone…. and it is sometimes really hard for me to share my thoughts publically.

But I did.

Every time I would publish a post I would always think to myself, “could this be this last one?” But then a few days later something would happen and God would prompt me that I needed to write about it and share it.

All seemed to be going great and then one day I decided I needed a nicer blog site. So I left this blog, directing my domain name to a brand new self-hosted blog and then changed the blog name and also the whole look of the blog.

Shortly after moving to the new blog I pretty much lost interest in blogging.

Since I now had a self-hosted blog and I am not as technologically inclined as I thought I was, I spent a whole lot of time working to keep the blog up and running and never seemed to have time to write. And…when I did have time to write, I seemed to have some crazy block in my brain and I couldn’t think of anything at all to write about.

Can you see where I am going with this?

Moving the blog wasn’t part of God’s plan.

This is his blog, not my blog and I’ve known that since the beginning.

All He wanted me to do was write and share.

Period.

He didn’t tell me to move to a bigger and better platform and spend all of my time trying to figure out all of the technical aspects of self-hosting a blog.

He didn’t tell me that I needed to change the blog name to something that sounded more catchier than the name my blog already had.

He didn’t tell me to do a lot of things that I did.

I had one simple thing to do but now I had turned it into a whole lot of hard things to do.

Sometimes it’s still hard for me when it comes to this God thing. When I was a newer Christian it seemed to come easier for me than it does now. It used to be that God would tell me to do something and I would just do it. Recently he’s shown me that somewhere along the way, I have started trying to jump ahead of him. I am the one who makes things hard when they don’t have to be hard.

Somehow I had forgotten that it’s His job to lead and all I have to do is follow.

I recently took a little journey through some of my old posts and I realized now why this blog is even here at all. It’s for people like me. The ones aren’t perfect. the ones who may be hurting, the ones who may feel unloved or lonely. The ones who may feel forgotten and afraid. It’s for the people who just need Jesus in their lives. Those who already know him and most of all for those who don’t.

This blog is not about me, it’s about Him, JESUS and how he can take the most messed up broken people and put them back together again when they let him in.

Why do I need a beautiful blog site when I have a beautiful savior to share?

Isn’t Jesus all anyone really needs to see?

My Hope is You ~ Music Monday

March 27, 20175 Comments

“How are you today?”

How many times have you answered that question with “good” when you really wanted to reply with this – “I’m just terrible! I haven’t been feeling well lately and I have a whole lot of stuff going on in life that’s really hard to deal with!”

Sometimes as Christians I think we have this idea in our heads that just because we have Jesus we should be feeling happy all the time. I also think that when a prayer goes seemingly unanswered that makes things even harder.

Our God is supposed to answer every prayer…right?? But what happens when he doesn’t?

Unfortunately, we don’t get everything we ask for.

I do know that God hears every single one of my prayers, but the truth is he hasn’t answered every single one of my prayers in the way that I asked him to, and some I have been praying and waiting for a really long time, still with no answer.

I have quite a few prayers that I’m glad he didn’t answer my way because His way came out way better than mine. But then there are those other prayers like when my brother died or when my friend’s cancer got worse and she died too that I was not happy with his way. Those kinds of prayers do seem to happen a lot.

I know there are reasons as to why they died and others live or why one person suffers more than another. I’m not sure if I will ever get to know any of those reasons but I can tell you one thing I do know… I saw my friend cling to Jesus as she went through her last days and she seemed at peace and also through it all she was encouraging others and bringing them to Him!

Sometimes I’ve found that some of the biggest encouragers I know have some pretty bad ‘stuff’ going on in their lives but not all of them share that they are struggling with others.

Why are we like this when the truth is bad stuff just happens and we can’t be feeling good all the time!

I heard the following song on the radio recently and I loved it because the singer is talking about his job of standing on the stage night after night reminding broken people that it will be alright… when he himself isn’t doing very well.

This song encourages me because I have felt this way.

‘I know your able and I know you can, save through the fire with your mighty hand. But even if you don’t, My hopes is you alone’ (lyrics by Mercyme)

Haven’t we all felt this way at one time or another?

One thing to remember is this – no matter what you are going through Jesus is faithful and he will walk through it with you. He will even carry you if needed. ALWAYS.

My hope is Jesus alone.

Great are You Lord – Music Monday

September 12, 20168 Comments

As I cross through the valley of the shadows you never leave me to cross alone.

You are by my side with each step,

holding me steady,

helping me make my way through the shadow days.

You are a lamp burning bright,

my guiding light that I must always keep in sight.

You are my strength,

my comfort,

the breath in my lungs.

The only way I can ever make it through is when I walk with you.

You are my refuge,

Great are You Lord.

The Lord is my shepherd;
I shall not want.
²He makes me to lie down in green pastures;
He leads me beside the still waters.
³He restores my soul;
He leads me in the paths of righteousness
For His name’s sake.

⁴Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death,
I will fear no evil;
For You are with me;
Your rod and Your staff, they comfort me.

⁵You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies;
You anoint my head with oil;
My cup runs over.
⁶Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me
All the days of my life;
And I will dwell in the house of the Lord Forever. Psalm 23

I Believe I Can Fly

July 29, 20165 Comments

The cute little guys in the picture above have been living under the front awning at our church for about a week now.

I’ve been watching their mom sitting on her eggs for several weeks and just last Friday as I was leaving the church I noticed that they had hatched and were peeking their little heads out of the nest. Today they were all standing on the edge as if considering taking a step off and flying.

I couldn’t help but imagine what must have been going through their little minds as they were thinking about flying for the first time. Were they are afraid to jump or do they just take off with no fear?

After watching them for a while I have come to the conclusion that they must thoroughly assess the situation before actually making the big leap because I never saw any of them actually step off the edge and fly.

I imagined them running it by each other, saying things like, ‘Wow we sure are really high up… do you think its really true that we can fly?….you go first…no you go ahead…”

The cool thing is that whether they believe they can fly or not, God already had flying planned for their lives before they were even born. And once they make the decision to take that first step off that ledge flying is for sure going to happen.

It’s the same for us too.

Before we were born God already had a plan for each one of our lives

We can choose to stay perched where we feel safe or we can bravely take the first step off the edge and fly into what he has planned for our lives.

What does God have planned for your life?

Will you fly?

“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.” Jeremiah 29:11

Passing through the Storm only to Find Another Cloud

July 27, 20167 Comments

I’m not usually a quitter but by the end of the day yesterday that’s exactly where I was…ready to quit!

I woke up yesterday morning to the sound of my alarm at 6 am. I was exhausted from a long night of tossing and turning and my heart had been racing all night.

I have been having an irregular heartbeat on and off for a couple of weeks now and during these episodes my heart beats erratically and I get light headed. Sometimes feel like I’m going to pass out. I really haven’t been feeling very well at all lately and the racing was really starting to frighten me a whole lot. Last week I had lab testing done by my doctor and now I was going to see her for my lab results and so she could check me out some more.

Other than the crazy heartbeat it was a pretty routine morning of me getting ready to leave the house but then suddenly as I was walking down the hall my knee just seemed to come out from under me sending me face first into the floor.

Ten minutes later I sat on my couch with ice bags on my face and both knees assessing the damage… I had a bloody nose, a small cut inside my top lip, a very swollen top lip and nose, a massive headache and both knees hurting and beginning to swell. Thankfully though I had no major injuries.

A couple of hours later I made it my doctor’s appointment where I received the news that my heart isn’t getting enough oxygen to my body and that I am diabetic and my blood pressure is high.

I left the doctor’s office as the owner of a new diet, a prescription for high blood pressure medicine, and an order to turn in for my very own heart monitor 😥

So like I said in the beginning of this post… I am not usually a quitter but by the end of the day yesterday that’s exactly where I was.

Ready to quit…

I felt like I needed a break from the day, or maybe it was the world. Either way all I wanted to do was crawl in my bed, close my eyes, and hide under the covers forever. I seem to be having an overabundance of hard stuff anymore. I usually try my best to keep my head up and look to the good stuff, but today it was hard to see through the tears. I don’t mean to sound like I am complaining… seriously there is a whole lot that is good in my life…But…I do have to say though that in the middle of all that good stuff there also seems to be one hard thing right after another. When one thing stops it seems like something else always starts up. I’ve had one illness right after another for almost 5 years now. People around me are sick too and a whole lot of stuff is always happening in my family. If this is just a season it’s been way too long of a season and I’m ready to get on with a new one. I can’t begin to count how many times I’ve passed through the storm and came out on the other side only to see the sun quickly being covered by another cloud.

Last night I think I may have finally hit my breaking point, crawled under the covers put my headphones on and lay there listening to Pandora hoping to fall asleep.

I heard two songs, both had words that just seemed picked out perfectly for me.
Praise you in This Storm and Eye of the Storm

Coincidence?

I think not.

After hearing those songs I felt at peace and went right to sleep. I finally got some rest last night and I woke up today in a way better mood.

Life isn’t always easy; the truth is sometimes it’s just plain hard.

I still have the same problems this morning when I woke up that I went to sleep with.

But I am so glad I got up and faced the day today, because today things seemed to not be as bad as they felt when I went to sleep last night.

I felt at peace and now I can see all that is good again.

Actually today was a really good day.

Oh and by the way since the fall yesterday I have not had any irregular heartbeats. When the doctor was checking me out yesterday and I told her that since I had fallen it hadn’t happened anymore she said that it is actually possible that the adrenaline rush shocked my heart back into a regular rhythm… Sounds crazy but its been over 24 hours and so far so good! Thank you God!

Before you leave today check out this song by Ryan Stevenson – Eye of the Storm

A Hand Reaching Out

June 4, 20166 Comments

I was sitting on a beach enjoying the sunshine when suddenly the clouds that had been puffy white suddenly turned an odd shade of brown and started going together into a long roll. I stopped what I was doing and stood up watching, mesmerized as they rolled quickly across the sky coming to a stop over the water.

The clouds kept getting bigger and bigger and they started dipping down close to the water. The people around me started to panic and someone said, “oh my God it’s a tornado!” and then everyone started running.

Everyone was screaming and running but I couldn’t move because my feet were suddenly frozen to the ground. Everyone around me was panicking but I wasn’t scared at all. It was like I had this feeling of peace and a knowing that I was safe and I just stood there watching the clouds.

Chaos was everywhere and then in an instant it was if the world around me just stopped. All the people were all standing frozen in place now and there was no wind or rain to go along with the darkness. The ocean waves had stopped leaving the surface of the water still and dark black like a giant pool of ink. It felt as if the air went silent too. It was so quiet I imagine this is what deafness must feel like.

I should have been scared but I wasn’t scared at all. It was like the hush I felt around me was also inside of me filling me to the depths of my entire soul with a perfect feeling of peace.

Suddenly out of the deafness there came a loud clap of thunder and the clouds began parting with rays of the most magnificent beams of bright light I’d ever seen shining through them and then a giant hand came out of the opening in the sky. The hand came down just above the water and opened turning palm upward. It began moving closer to us with beautiful colored light shining all around it.

Someone shouted, “it’s the hand of God!” By then I was already crying and feeling in awe of his presence because I knew those words were true…Yes! This was the hand of God! So many feelings were going through me now, feelings of joy and love and an unexplainable feeling of peace like I have never known. The hand moved around as if offering itself to all who wanted to grasp it but nobody moved. After a while it went back up into the clouds and the sky immediately went back to normal.

I was wrecked, falling to my knees to pray thinking those around me would join in…but it didn’t happen. Instead, the people just went back to their business as if nothing out of the ordinary had happened. It was as if nobody even cared what they had just been a part of.

I turned to a woman standing next to me and said, “wow the hand of…” but she cut me off and said, “the hand of God, ya right, who cares!” and then she rolled her eyes!

God’s hand had been there, right in front of us, offering for each one of us to just reach out and take what he had to offer. It couldn’t possibly be true that nobody cared! They were all right there so close to being in in the palm of his hand, how they could pass that up it just made no sense!!! I started crying….

And then I woke up.

It had only been a dream!

Even though it was only a dream my heart was still pounding and I felt sick to my stomach and my face was wet with tears because I had been crying in my sleep.

I know it was only a dream but it felt so real!

It’s been a day and a half and I still can’t shake it that dream. In the dream, it made me sad that God was right in front of us in such a spectacular display and nobody cared and nobody would take what he had to offer. This has me thinking about how there used to be a time in my life that God’s hand was right in front of my face and I didn’t see it. I also have to admit that there are still some days that go by and I miss him.

Years ago I didn’t see him because I didn’t want to see Him. I used to think he wasn’t real and now it’s hard for me to believe that I could have ever felt that way. How could I have gotten up in the morning to see a sunrise and never wonder how something so magnificent could have gotten there? How could I have had 3 children and never once questioned how something so perfect as a newborn baby could have formed without help from something more than just magically happening? I could go on but I know you know what I mean… flowers, animals, air, water, LIFE. It’s all because of Him.

God is real and God is always here in each and every second of every day. We may not see him as a big giant hand reaching out of the sky like in my dream but He is all around us in each and every single thing in each and every single day.

I don’t want to miss him, and I don’t want anyone to miss what he has to offer!

Open my eyes Lord.

Open our eyes, let us see your hand reaching out to us!

I know to someone who doesn’t believe in Him this may sound strange. I know because I have been there. I used to live my life without God in it. I also remember a time in my life that I felt that I was too bad and that there was no way he could ever want or love me. But that wasn’t true and even though I totally gave up on him and also on myself, he still never gave up on me. He has shown me time and time again that he wants me, and now that he is in my life He has been right here holding my hand for every single step I take. If you are reading this and in need of a hand to help lift you up, all you have to do is want Him in your life. Just tell him you want him and then grab on to his hand. He sent Jesus to save us and all we have to do is ask him in and he will come.

It’s truly that simple.

If He is what you want and you don’t know what to say, you can say this prayer – Dear Jesus, I know you are the son of God, I know you came for me, I know you died for me. I ask you to come into my life right now. I ask you to forgive me for my sin because I want to make a fresh start. I want to live the rest of my life with you and for you. Amen

If you said that prayer for the first time or maybe you are just deciding to come back from a separation of some sort, know that now he has you in the palm of his hand. If you are there you will never be alone.

“Can a mother forget the baby at her breast
    and have no compassion on the child she has borne?
Though she may forget,
    I will not forget you!
See, I have engraved you on the palms of my hands;
    your walls are ever before me. Isaiah 49:15-26

Have a great weekend!

Music Monday – The Voice of Truth

February 29, 20164 Comments

Good Morning and happy Music Monday to you!

Before I share today’s song I want to share with you a little bit about why I picked this song.

Since this past August, we have something that has been going on in my family that I haven’t been able to write about on the blog because of privacy for those who are involved. Today I am sharing just this small bit of info because this is something that our family could really use a whole lot of prayers for and I am hoping that maybe you could add us to your prayers.

This afternoon there will be something happening to do with this that has the possibility of drastically changing lives. At this point, I am not even sure if any outcome that could happen today will be a good outcome or not. I know what we are wanting to happen, but even if that does happen things will still be hard for all of those who are involved.

This has really been weighing on me a lot lately and yesterday during church I had a really hard time keeping myself together. I haven’t told many people at church about this either. I’m really not real good at telling people my problems and I would rather just keep things to myself. My pastor even came up to me and my husband before the service and asked how we were doing. That was my chance to say something but instead of spilling it I told him we were good and we talked about our recent vacation. I know this may sound strange, but from the moment I walked into the church building, somehow I felt comfort in just being there with my church family. And whether they knew what was going on or not I still feel as if they are there for me and my family and at the moment he asked how we were I really do think I really was doing good.

It was when the music started that everything began pouring in.

One of the songs that were played during the service is the one I am sharing with you today. The song is called “Voice of Truth” by Casting Crowns.

As I was sitting there listening, the words of the song just kinda moved in and suddenly I felt like I was living them.

Oh what I would do to have
The kind of faith it takes to climb out of this boat I’m in
Onto the crashing waves

To step out of my comfort zone
To the realm of the unknown where Jesus is
And He’s holding out his hand

But the waves are calling out my name and they laugh at me
Reminding me of all the times I’ve tried before and failed
The waves they keep on telling me
Time and time again, “Boy, you’ll never win!”
“You’ll never win”

But the voice of truth tells me a different story
And the voice of truth says, “Do not be afraid!”
And the voice of truth says, “This is for My glory”
Out of all the voices calling out to me
I will choose to listen and believe the voice of truth (Words by Casting Crowns)

Lately, it does seem as if waves are crashing at me from all different directions and not only in the stuff that I just mentioned, but it seems like no matter what I try to do lately there is always something that will come up and get in the way. It feels like I am being pulled in a million directions anymore and I can’t seem to focus very well on much of anything.

Here is the music video –

This song reminded me I can’t allow the lies of the enemy to get in the way of God’s voice.

He is always here and the choice is ours to make, we can choose to believe the lies or we can choose to stand firm in the promises of God and listen to only His voice.

As the song played I began to sing along, knowing that I have chosen to stand firm in the knowledge that God has everything under control. Everything really is in his hands and that is where I am going to leave it.

The voice of truth says do not be afraid.

And the voice of truth says, “This is for My glory”

Out of all the voices calling out to me,

I will choose to listen and believe the voice of truth.

Do you have a song that moves you? If so, write a blog post about it and share it in the link up below.

Have a great week and thank you for your prayers,

[inlinkz_linkup id=611980 mode=1]

Something To Hold On To On the Ugliest Of Ugly Days

November 14, 20158 Comments

Though most days are really really good, sometimes life can be really really hard. I am not usually one who likes to tell people my problems. But I am going to go ahead and say this has been a really hard week for me. The week started out with an allergy to malaria prevention medicine causing large itchy whelps all over my body and my face to swell. That finally went away and now seems to have settled into my joints and is really causing a lot of pain and swelling in my joints making it excruciating and very hard to walk or to even to just lay in bed. At the moment as I type this my fingers feel swollen and are stiff like rusty hinges.

As I lied around feeling sorry for myself I typed the above and now as I type I have just learned of the attacks on Paris. Suddenly I feel saddened and just sickened about life in general. Here I was feeling sorry for myself and at the exact same time people who were just moments before enjoying life, out to have a good time are suddenly thrown in the middle of the worst day of their lives and for some today is even the end of their life. Somehow my hard week now almost seems just way too easy.

And that easy feels also somehow like exhaustion… and exhaustion seems to now have became the emotion of the day… Exhausted in life’s struggles, exhausted in what is going on in the lives of people I love, and exhausted in what is going on in the world around me and I even feel exhausted about what is going on in the lives of those I don’t know.

I feel exhausted that no matter how hard I try to make sense of things, sometimes life is just not ever going to make total sense. It really exhausts me that no matter how pretty we try to make life, or that even though life really is pretty at times, life still can get really ugly at times too.

pause… deep breath…

Today life got really ugly. For some today may be the ugliest of uglies and I felt like I couldn’t do a damn thing about it.

I tried praying but somehow my prayers just felt lame, like they just weren’t ever going to be big enough to help in something so horrific.

Throughout my Christian walk there have been a small handful of times that I have felt just totally exhausted in life and today was one of those days.

Tonight as I tried to get comfortable in not only my own physical pain but also in the thoughts rolling around inside my head the next thing I knew ‘the song’ was playing on the radio. I haven’t heard it in a really long long time and as it usually is when I hear this song I haven’t felt exhausted like this in a really long long time…

I find it interesting that at each of those times that I have felt totally exhausted there is this song that always ‘just happens’ to play out of nowhere on the radio whenever I feel the way I feel today.

“That’s What Faith Can Do” my reminder song was playing on the radio almost as if on cue.

Once again God was reminding me that no matter what happens in life we can never give up. No matter how bad life gets He is still good. He is always here in the middle of it all. He is here in the struggle, in the midst of the chaos, and in the ugliest of uglies. He is the hope and the strength we all need to hold on to always and especially when life exhausts us.

I know that I can never begin to know the feelings of those who are caught in the middle of the horrific tragedy that took place in Paris today and I hope to not offend or hurt anyone by this post. I hesitated at posting it because I really do not want to play off of this horrific act of violence. It really makes no sense to me the craziness that seems to be going on around the world lately and I am truly very saddened by it. My prayers go out to all those lives that were lost and to their families and to all who are involved. or affected in any way. May God place his arms around Paris and also around this broken world and bring peace and comfort.. Lord this world needs you! I pray that people will turn to you instead of turning away from you and I pray that your light will shine out bright in the midst of this darkness. You are the strength we cling to! You Lord are our hope.

Music Monday – ‘Oceans’ ~ Walking on Water in the Presence of My Savior

September 28, 20158 Comments

Good Monday Morning!

I can’t believe its already another Monday morning! It seems as if time sure does seem to be flying soooooo fast anymore! As you know every Monday I try to post a song that moved me during the past week. ‘Try‘ was the magic word in that past sentence because I have totally missed posting the last 2 Music Mondays. I think I may have a very good reason as to why I have missed the last 2 Music Mondays, tell me if you agree 🙂 The first Music Monday I missed because I was in El Salvador and then this past Monday I think my head and heart may have still been in El Salvador.

Since returning home I have had a really hard time getting back into my life here. I can’t really explain it but it’s almost as if some of the things that used to seem important to me now seem somehow a little silly. There were so many things that just touched my heart while I was there in a way that I feel as if I never will forget them, and truthfully I hope I never do forget what I experienced during my trip. Though I don’t want to forget, the problem right now is that many of those things are still whirling in my mind and the processing of those thoughts has been a hard thing for me to do. It just seems like I am getting nowhere fast in the processing. Its not anything bad, its just a lot is on my mind and I feel as if my brain might be on some sort of overload.

I came home from El Salvador wanting to tell everyone right away all about my trip, but yet it’s all so hard to explain. I have journals that are full of notes I’ve written and I have also started about 4 blog posts. I thought by now I would have posted all sorts of stories on my blog but so far I have only posted one story (Unexpected Loan Payback – Day 1 Casa de Pan). Everything is still a jumbled of thoughts in my mind at the moment and it feels as if my thoughts seem almost as if they are too personal to share; but yet I also know that I did not experience all if this to keep quiet about it either. I am pretty sure that at some point with God’s help I will be able pull my thoughts together.

For right now I will share this small tidbit of information from the last day of the trip.

Our last day in El Salvador our van pulled up to a Compassion project and we were met once again by children who were lined up waiting to greet us. They were playing instruments and blowing whistles. By the way…I feel I must mention that who ever had the idea that hundreds of children should all blow whistles all at once inside of a large echoing room must have never heard the sound of hundreds of children blowing whistles all at once inside of an echoing room 😀 I think my ears are still ringing and that is one experience from this trip I will NEVER forget 😀 Even though it was quite painful (just kidding… well maybe not) they were so cute and having so much fun! They were once again another one of those blessings that just seemed to be happening one right after another all week long.

We eventually made our way to the front of the church and as we stood there looking back at the faces of those happy children the song ‘Oceans (Where Feet May Fail)’ by Hillsong United was playing.

“Spirit lead me where my trust is without borders

Let me walk upon the waters

Wherever You would call me

Take me deeper than my feet could ever wander

And my faith will be made stronger

In the presence of my Savior”

I had heard the song before but had never heard it in the way as I was hearing it right then. It was the last day of the trip and by then I had already seen God moving in such a big way throughout the whole trip and it was at that moment I realized that God had led me here to this place, and He was right there, right now and I was standing in His presence.

Spirit lead me where my trust is without borders...

He had led me to this place

Let me walk upon the waters…

I had walked upon the waters to get here

Wherever You would call me…

He had called me to be right here, right now

Take me deeper than my feet could ever wander…

I was deeper than I could ever imagine and knew at that moment If He took me even deeper I would go

And my faith will be made stronger, In the presence of my Savior…

Ya…. ❤ At that moment I stood right there in the middle of the presence of my Savior

I will call upon your name, keep my eyes above the waves, my soul will rest in your embrace, I am yours and you are mine.

Since I have been home it seems like every time I turn on the radio this song is playing and then this morning in church we sang it. Once again I was taken back to standing in that church in El Salvador but this time I realized that though the song reminded me of where I stood a week and a half ago, today I was standing in my own church, and once again He had taken me deeper than I could ever wander and my faith really has been made stronger. As I stood there in the presence of my Savior I called upon his name, He keeps my eyes above the waves, while my soul rests in His embrace, because I truly know I am His and He is mine ❤

Thank you Jesus.

What song moved you this past week?

May God’s peace be with you as you walk with Him into this week,

This is Luis Antonio Ventura Rodriguez.

Luis’ birthday is February 7, 2008. He is 7 years old. Luis lives with his mother. His duties at home include helping in the kitchen, running errands and cleaning. There are 2 children in the family. His mother is employed as a farmer.
As part of Compassion’s ministry, Luis participates in church activities and Bible class. He is also in kindergarten where his performance is average. Soccer, playing with cars and running are his favorite activities.

You may not be able to change the whole world but you can most definitely make a difference in this one child’s life and I can promise you that sponsoring him it will also make a difference in your own life. What have you got to lose?? For about the same price as a cup of coffee each day you can make a difference in Luis’ life, Please consider what that means.
If you would like to know more, you can leave me a message and I will send you more information.

Playing on Faith

August 25, 201511 Comments

At first glance this picture looks like a drawing of children playing on a playground.

Artist – Ericka Yamileth Amaya Portillo

A closer look reveals that the children in the picture are playing on the word FE.

The Spanish word Jugar in English means to play

And the word Fe is Faith

This picture was drawn by Ericka a little girl I sponsor through Compassion International. Ericka lives in El Salvador and she is 9 years old. Ericka doesn’t have much as far as material things go, because she and her family live in extreme poverty.

Even though Ericka lives in poverty her picture says to me that she is doing quite well.

The children in this picture are sitting on top of faith, swinging from faith and even hanging upside down from faith.

Dangling upside down from a high place for me would take a whole lot of faith to not be afraid that I would fall. This picture says to me the children in this picture have faith enough to dangle upside down and to stand on top of the highest places.

The children in this picture have huge faith.

I know that Ericka knows the love of Jesus and her picture tells me that she knows what true faith is.

I also find it quite awesome that that Ericka would chose to draw a picture of herself and her friends at play on top of a big giant FE.

FE … FAITH…this picture says it all.

For we live by faith, not by sight. ~ 2 Corinthians 5:7

Did you know that for less than the price of a cup of coffee each day you can help to give a child the gift of hope?

Thank you for reading and today when you leave my blog please consider leaving by way of clicking the picture of the child above. That link will take you to Compassion International’s website where you can get more information about helping a child so he too can know what it means to jugar in fe.

Have a wonderful day,