"If we've ever needed You..."

The people of Newtown have not left my mind.

So many tears have been shed for them.

I don't have much to say other than, I can't imagine the hurt, anger and pain that these families are feeling.

My heart is broken for them.

 

Pastor Gregg Matte talked about the shooting in Newtown today in his sermon.

One of his points really stood out to me...

"God is not to be blamed, He is needed." So many people need the love of God. He gives it freely and to anyone, but there are so many people who don't seek it or may not even know about His love.

 

He went onto talk about the pain that these families are feeling.

He talked about how there will be candlelight vigils, fundraisers and other things to support this town.

He said that although these are great things, they will not erase the pain.

Man cannot heal, only God can.

This is true because man is not always good...clearly.

These parents and family members can only heal from God's love and presence.

Of course, love from others is helpful, but only God can truly comfort them.

I'm sure it will be a long, healing process.

I'm sure there will be many nights of tears.

I'm sure there will be many bouts of anger.

So what can we do?

 

We can pray that these people will feel God's comfort, presence and love.

 

I found this video of a father who lost his daughter in the shooting. It's an amazing speech that speaks of love and forgiveness despite such a tragic time.

 

 

Cherish the times with your loved ones, pray for those who are suffering, and spread the wonderful news of Jesus Christ to others.

There are so many hurting people in this world that need some good news...news that can change lives. News that can make a depressed person, happy. News that can make a hurting person, healed.

Our world needs God and we're the messengers for the job.

 

The title of this blog comes from Casting Crown's song, "If we ever needed you"

Check it out!

 

This week we'll be reading Galations chapters 1-3 all the way to the end of Colossians.

 

 

Day 2- In Him we find...

Thanks for stopping by for day 2 of "In Him we find..."! Through my journey through the Bible in a year, I've learned so much and I'm only 2 months in! Yep, that's God for ya. One of the reoccurring themes has been healing.

 

Throughout my life and especially the past year, I have experienced so much healing. Physical healing, mental healing, spiritual healing...you name it. Our God is the ultimate Healer. When we hand over our cuts, bruises, and pain to God, He is sure to bandage us up. It may not be the way we want Him to bandage us up, but He will one way or the other. He is capable of taking all the hurt that we feel away. He doesn't want us to be bound by pain whether it be physical, mental or spiritual. He wants to free us from it especially from our sin. He can heal us from the inside out.

We just need to come to Him.

 

In Him we find healing.

 

What has God healed you from?

Check out one of my favorite songs by Kari Jobe!

 

Today's scripture is Luke 14-16 if you are joining me in the year long Bible reading plan!

 

 

 

Are you a fan of...?

So there was this guy. Not just an ordinary guy, but a special guy. He turned water into wine. He healed a leper. He demanded evil spirits out of people. He walked on water. He made a blind man see. He fed 5,000 people with 5 loaves of bread and 2 fish. He calmed a storm with a spoken command. Obviously, he was not your average Joe. He is Jesus Christ.

The past couple of weeks I've been on my journey of reading the Bible in a year. So far I've journeyed through the book of Matthew and 9 chapters into the book of Mark. While reading these books, I  read about amazing, miraculous events. Also, I continually read that Jesus was almost always surrounded by people...not just people, but crowds. It made me think...hmm, Jesus was like the rockstar of the day! Some of the people knew that He would save them from sin and death, while others were skeptical. Can you imagine living back then? Being able to literally walk in Jesus' footsteps? Touch his cloak?Ahh, it would be awesome! I'm sure to some people, he was the cool guy, to others he was the weird guy and to the rest, they just didn't know about this man called, Jesus.

So as I read, I kept picturing Jesus as the number one rockstar of the land. I don't know if that is wrong, but that's just what my mind pictured. Everyone was talking about him and trying to figure out where he was going next. So just imagine your favorite band or singer. You know every single lyric and birthdate and maybe even sibling's names. Who knows! Main thing...you love this band or singer. You would drive 8 hours to go to their concert. You have every single album. You have a shirt signed by them that is framed in your room. You know the schedule of their concert tour. You are their number one fan.

I believe Jesus had different groups of people who gathered around him. Skeptics. Fans. Followers. They all had different motives.The skeptics gathered to figure out this guy who did all these miraculous things. The fans gathered to cheer, to be a part of this new hype because everyone was doing it, and maybe they wanted to get a little healing out of it too. Then, there were the followers. These people were the ones who knew that there was something special about this guy. Even if people looked down at them for following this man, Jesus, that wouldn't stop them. They followed wherever he went. They listened to his teachings, but not only did they listen, they took his advice. They did what He told them to do. They trusted His word. They supported Him. They loved Him. They were one step farther than a fan, they were a follower.

Let me ask you this...which group are you a part of? Are you in the group that is curious about this guy, JC? If you are, I would recommend you digging a little deeper to find out more about Him. You may be surprised what you find. It may be difficult to understand, but it's definitely not something to pass up. Are you in the fan group? The ones that cheer and want all the benefits of being a fan, but not take His advice? If you are, think about how it's working for ya.  Maybe taking His advice could be a life changing decision. There's nothing wrong with being a fan, but you could be more. Are you in the follower group? If you are, awesome! Keep following him, even if people look at you differently and try to get you to join the skeptic group. You are on the right track. Following the only man that can heal people with just a touch, walk on water, and most importantly, be crucified and raised from dead for you, is the best person you could follow.

So I challenge you to check your motives. 

Why are you following Jesus?  

We should be more than a fan, we should be a follower.

Think about it.

Today's scripture reading for read-your-bible-in-a-year plan is Mark 8-9.

A Work in Progress...A New Creation

From my faithful readers from the beginning, you might can tell that this does not look like my "While on the Deck" blog. Well,if you don't know, I like change so I decided to redesign my blog. I even decided to change my blog's name! I chose "From Chrysalis to Butterfly" to symbolize my life, especially my recent journey with Lyme Disease treatment. In the beginning, I was down in the dumps. Depressed. I went from to denial to anger...why me, God?! After I got over that roadblock, I gave it to God and said, "Your will be done....I trust you...no matter what I go through, You are good and always will be....despite the pain I feel, I still love you." Trust me, that was not an easy thing to say. It took months to get to that point, but wow, when I reached that point my perspective changed. The pessimistic film over my eyes began to fade away and the optimistic flim took its place. I begin to see how God has used my disease to make me a better person in His eyes. He intricately planned out every detail. Through each situation I've faced and each person I've met, I have learned something new about myself or about God and His promises. All of this has led me to change my blog (plus, it has forced me to stay in bed and rest, so that's good ;) name to "From Chrysalis to Butterfly". In the beginning, I was wrapped up in myself and pessimis and through the journey I've changed and grown. Now, I'm definitely not a butterfly just yet My wings still need to grow I've still got a lot of work to do, but it is so encouraging to see how God has turned bad into good, by growing me into who He has called me to be. So my subtitle for my blog is "Transformation through Healing- trials, epiphanies & faith". Lately, I feel like I have "transformed" because I have started trying new things, like sewing, embrodiery, painting, DIY projects, reading new books, and more. Plus, my faith has grown! If I would'nt have gotten diagnosed and started treatment, I might never have tried these things and grown in my faith. The best part of this is that through this time of growth, God is healing me. He is healing me in so many ways, physically, mentally, spiritually, and I know that He is preparing me for things to come. When I was redesigning my blog, I was trying to think of a verse that I could use to go with my theme and the verse that poppped into my mind was 2 Corinthians 5:17. I loveee this verse! In fact, when I was a small group leader I made the girls memorize this verse (girls, if you are reading, you better remember the verse!). So I decided to put the verse on my background as a reminder to all of you (and me). A reminder that God can make you new. "Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come!" He makes us new when we put our faith and trust in Him. If you're facing a trial, trust in Him and let him transform you into a new creation. If you're not facing trial, remember that you are a new creation. Your mistakes, regrets, doubts are wiped away when you put your faith in Him. He makes you new. What an awesome truth! On top of that, Romans 8:28 says, "And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose." "In all things", God will work for the good no matter what. The good in my Lyme Disease journey is that He has opened my eyes to new things, taught (still teaching) me patience and trust, led me to wonderful people, and I probably could keep listing. God is transforming and healing me through this journey. Anyway, the main idea of this post is to remind you that you are a new creation or you can be! It may sound like a "New Year Resolution" type of entry, but the great news is that we don't need a new year to change our ways. We can be a new creation now! God can make us new, anytime, any place, as long as we put our trust in Him and believe the promises He has given us. So here is my question for you...are you a new creation? Can you feel God transforming you? If not, you can. Just let Him know that you trust in Him and want to give your life as an offering. Trust me, no matter what situation you are in, God can make it better!