The Butterfly Story

A man found a cocoon of a butterfly. One day a small opening appeared. He sat and watched the butterfly for several hours as it struggled to force its body through that little hole. Then it seemed to stop making any progress. It appeared as if it had gotten as far as it had and it could go no further.
Then the man decided to help the butterfly, so he took a pair of scissors and snipped off the remaining bit of the cocoon. The butterfly then emerged easily. But it had a swollen body and small, shriveled wings. The man continued to watch the butterfly because he expected that, at any moment, the wings would enlarge and expand to be able to support the body, which would contract in time.
Neither happened! In fact, the butterfly spent the rest of its life crawling around with a swollen body and shriveled wings. It never was able to fly.

What the man in his kindness and haste did not understand was that the restricting cocoon and the struggle required for the butterfly to get through the tiny opening were God's way of forcing fluid from the body of the butterfly into its wings so that it would be ready for flight once it achieved its freedom from the cocoon.

Sometimes struggles are exactly what we need in our life. If God allowed us to go through our life without any obstacles, it would cripple us. We would not be as strong as what we could have been. And we could never fly.

Keep Looking Up

It is understood that the beauty of a rainbow
does not negate the ravages of any storm.

When a rainbow appears,
it does not mean that the storm never happened
or that we are not still dealing with its aftermath.

It means that something beautiful
and full of light has appeared in the midst
of the darkness and clouds.

Storm clouds may still hover,
but the rainbow provides a counterbalance
of color, energy and hope.

Black Friday Picture Day with Erin

I had a great Thanksgiving with Steve's family in Michigan.  He has a huge family, so it's always a blast.  Of course, the guys and a few of the ladies went out and shot clay pigeons while I kept an eye on our nieces inside.  I'm not big on shooting guns, but Steve enjoys it.  We had to rush home in the afternoon, so we could get home in time to go to bed early. 

On Black Friday, I had to be at work at 4am until 2pm and Steve had to work at 6am.  He is supposed to get off at 7, so he should be home soon.  We shall see if he gets off on time.  After work, I drove up Sears to see Steve and bought some presents for my Elfster exchange buddy.  I think she is really going to like them.  Now, Steve needs to decide what he wants to get her husband, so we can go shopping.  Then I went upstairs to the Photo Studio to see my sister.  She was bored and didn't have any appointments, so she took my picture.  I really like how they turned out.  I got a free 8 X 10 collage, no purchase necessary!  It was a win-win for both of us.  I got great fun pictures and my sister got a photo sit.

Bible Study - Thanksgiving Edition

Hi ladies!
My favorite holiday is Thanksgiving.  Thanksgiving is about family and being thankful for what you have.  It's so easy when things aren't going our way to focus what we don't have.  It's nice to have a time set aside every year to focus on what blessings we do have.
I would love to switch up for the format for this weeks' check-in. 

What if we just listed are favorite bible verses or song lyrics that have a thanksgiving theme or that have spoke to you this year.  You can add as many as you want.  There is no limit.   If verses are repeated, I think that's probably ok.
This has been a really tough year for many of us.  I know, for us, 2012 will go down as the hardest year of our life so far.


Psalm 145:7: "They will celebrate your abundant goodness and joyfully sing of your righteousness." 

Psalm 31:19: "How great is your goodness, which you have stored up for those who fear you, which you bestow in the sight of men on those who take refuge in you."

Bible Study - Grieving God's Way: Friday Check-in

Study: Grieving God's Way

Day 12: "Almost every dieter hits wall.  Days, even weeks, go by without any noticeable loss of wieght.  It's enough to make you want to sink your teeth into the nearest candy bar.  Those of us in grief hit the same kind of wall.  We reach a point where we seem to be stuck in depression and it looks like things are never going to improve.  Whether we call this a wall or plateau, it's God's way.

The grief plateau or dieter's wall serves a useful purpose - this slowing down allows the body to adjust to the many physical and emotional changes taking place.  Whether a person shoots up a foot, loses ten pounds, or is traumatized by loss, the brain must make adjustments to accommodate the changes.

Emotions are as taxing to the body as physical exertion. Grief changes how a person breathes, behaves, and even thinks - and this is reflected in speech, movement, and outlook.  The brain can't possibly process this all at once, so we shut down.  We become more reclusive to prevent outside stimili from interfering with the work of the brain. It feels like we are buried in a hole, but in reality we are in God's protective care."

Faith comes to us in the quiet moments and healing takes time.  You may think you are making no progress and are stuck in grief, but God is preparing our body and soul for the next stage of healing.

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VOTD: Job 37:14 - "Hear this, O Job; stop and consider the wondrous works of God."

Feel free to respond.

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Question of the Day:

1) When was the last time you stopped and saw something or somewhere that can only be described as "wondrous work of God?

Bible Study - Grieving God's Way: Wednesday Check-in

Ever since I wrote a message on Facebook looking for study ideas for the Bible study that I help lead, I have had a few friends ask if they could be involved.  We start a new study every week on Wednesday, with a check-in on Wednesday, Friday, then Monday. I'll post the check-ins here, so people outside of our forum can participate if they want to.

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Hi ladies,
I got this free book in the mail yesterday called, "Grieving God's Way - The Path to lasting Hope and Healing."  I thought this week, I would share some of it and we could "read" it together.  I pulled out some things to share from what I have read so far.

Study: Grieving God's Way

VOTD: Romans 8:26 - "In the same way, the Spirit helps us in our weakness."
Feel free to respond

When a loved one dies, the body reacts with shock.  The circulation slows; we feel cold and disoriented.  Breathing is shallow. After the numbness wears, bones ache and muscles are sore.  Food holds no interest, and though we may fall exhausted into bed each night, we often can't sleep, or we sleep too much.  This is how the body grieves. Grieving God's way requires us to trust that God will lead us through the darkness, heal our pain, take away our weariness, and fill our hearts with hope, peace, and new purpose.

Day 2: "Take a deep breath. If you are grieving a loved one, chances are you haven't taken a breath for quite some time.  The physical and emotional stress of grief can do an enormous amount of harm to the mind and body. We become so caught up in our pain we literally forget to breathe." In both Greek and Hebrew, the word for breath also means spirit.

Studies have shown that deep, slow breathing can strengthen the heart, tone muscles, increase energy, etc.  Shallow breathing, the kind that is prevalent during grief , fills only the upper parts of the body with air.  The headaches, back pain, indigestion, and depression that plague us during the darkest days of grief might simply be our bodies crying out for oxygen.

Question of the Day:

1) How does grief affect you physically and emotionally?

Divine Appointments

My former pastor called Divine Appointments those times when God brings people together in surprising ways to meet a need.  Have you ever met someone and they said or did the exact right thing that you needed at that moment?  You knew that God had to be in it.  Time and time again God leads Christians and sometimes non-Christians together to cross another person's path and great things happen.  My last year has been filled with Divine Appointments.

I have always loved the month of November because it's a month to give thanks.  This year I find myself thanking God for my loving husband, my amazing friends, and an online group of ladies that I have never met in person.  This Spring I stepped out of my comfort zone and joined an online group.  I'm usually a pretty private person, so getting my story out there was hard.  I have found nothing but love and support from this group and I hope that I have given love and support back.

Today, I logged in to the group and what I found did not surprise me.  This year has been hard. 2012 will be a year that we will always remember.  We have not been very open about why today is significant in our lives, but of the few people that do know no one remembered, but this group did.

Here are just a few of the messages that I got today.

• "This am as I was driving the little girl I nanny for to school I saw a sign that said Wycliffe (I think it was the subdivision) and it made me think of you. On the way back to their house after dropping her off I had the sense that I was supposed to pray for you. So while driving I started to pray for you!"
   
  
• Extra ((((HUGS)))) for you today.
   
•  I have been thinking and praying for you extra this week, especially today. I hope that the day is kind to you. I am sending you so many (((hugs)).
  
• More here, honey! Big, huge, squishy HUGS!
  
• Extra hugs to you today dear! I hope the day is kind to you.
  
• Even more bigger hugs your way!  *hugs Bethelgal extra tight*

I believe in Divine Appointments.  I believe these wonderful ladies were brought into my life at the exact time that I needed them.  This is not a group that you volunteer to join, but it's a group that is a god-send and we were all brought together at the perfect time. 

Our Date Night

I can't believe this year is almost over.  It's been quite a year of ups and downs.  Today, we are remembering what could have been if things turned out differently earlier this year.  Last night, we needed a date night, since Steve works tonight.  He said that we could go anywhere that I wanted to.  I wanted to try Cheddars.  We hadn't been there yet and I had heard pretty good reviews of it.

The biscuits that came with the salad were absolutely delicious.  Steve got the Braised Beef with mashed potatoes.  The mashed potatoes were heavenly.  The beef was good too.  I wanted to get the Chicken Pot Pie, but they were all out so I got a sandwich...very tasty.

Our food came out really fast, but our server was a little slow with our drinks.  They were pretty busy though.  She was really friendly.

After dinner, we went to the dollar theater to see Hope Springs.  It's a movie about a couple that has been married for 32 years and they go on a week long marriage enrichment trip.  It was actually pretty funny.  It's not a movie to bring kids too.  It's rated PG 13 for a reason, but it's tastefully done.  Marriage was portrayed in a positive light as something worth fighting for and not something you just throw away.  I liked that since so many movies nowadays try and portray marriage as something negative that should be avoided.  It was an honest movie with some humor thrown in.

Book Review: Going Deep By Gordon MacDonald

Going Deep: Becoming A Person of Influence
By Gordon MacDonald

I ordered Going Deep: Becoming A Person of Influence back in January and admittedly it has taken me this long to read it, not because it was a bad book but because it's been a very stressful year.  It was very much a book written for pastors and church leaders.  Too many churches are content with reaching people where they and then letting them stay there.  My pastor has says, "God loves you where you are, but He loves you too much to leave you there."  This book is the story of a pastor that wanted to take his church deeper.  He had a passion for seeing lives changed and had a vision to train up leaders to do that.  What do you think churches in America would look like if they are started living like they really believe what they are teaching?

* Disclosure of Material Connection: I received this book free from the publisher through the BookSneeze®.com book review bloggers program. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own.

Heat Things Up

84 percent of Americans owned on average more than one Bible and we have access to many different English translations.  When we open up our Bibles, we can read the words on the pages in a language we understand.

For a few million people around the world, when they open their Bible (if they even have access to on) they have to read it in someone else's language. Wycliffe believe that every person deserves to have the opportunity to open up the Bible and understand fully what God is saying them in their heart language.  That's why we are going.

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Our September 2012 Newsletter

Our December 2012 Newsletter

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The Anchor Holds

Ray Boltz - The Anchor Holds

I have journeyed
Through the long, dark night
Out on the open sea
By faith alone
Sight unknown
And yet His eyes were watching me 

CHORUS:
The anchor holds
Though the ship is battered
The anchor holds
Though the sails are torn

I have fallen on my knees
As I faced the raging seas
The anchor holds
In spite of the storm

Ive had visions
Ive had dreams
Ive even held them in my hand
But I never knew
They would slip right through
Like they were only grains of sand 

CHORUS
I have been young
But I am older now
And there has been beauty
That these eyes have seen
But it was in the night
Through the storms of my life
Oh, that's where God proved
His love to me
CHORUS (repeat) 

The Maid of the Mist

I took a video while we were on the boat.  It was absolutely amazing. I had to stop shooting the second video when the water raining down us got too hard for my phone.  Enjoy the view.



The first video is a better, but the second has a really clear picture of the rainbow.

God's Glorious Creation - All Lit Up

They light up the Falls at 7pm from the Canadian side every night.

That is alot of water pouring over the falls.  All the mist is where we were earlier today.  The water going over the Falls is only 50% of the water that was in the river because half of the water is stopped and redirected to be used in the New York power plant.  How cool is that? Niagara Falls generates enough power to power New York City, the surrounding area, and all of Ontario, Canada.

Breathtaking Beauty

I took this picture from the Maid of the Mist.  It's a beautiful day.  I have always loved rainbows, but this year they hold a whole new meaning.  They were all over and very visible while "driving" into the falls. We got really wet, but it was so worth it.  We even saw a double rainbow.

Our Retreat: Niagara Falls

Steve and I are taking a few days away.  It's been a very stress filled year, so this should be a rejuvenating trip.  Steve has never been to Niagara Falls and he found a Groupon online to get a great deal on a hotel here, so here we are.  We arrived last night after an 8-9 hour drive.  It was a fairly easy drive. We are staying at the Four Points Sheridan here in Niagara Falls, NY.  At first glance, it looks really fancy and the $8 bowl of oatmeal for breakfast proves that.  I bet it's really good bowl of oatmeal though.  I don't think we will be splurging for it though.

The picture is our view from our room.  It's a very peaceful view of the Niagara River.

When my world is shaking, Heaven stands

Your Hands by JJ Heller





I have unanswered prayers
I have trouble I wish wasn't there
And I have asked a thousand ways
That you would take my pain away
You would take my pain away

I am trying to understand
How to walk this weary land
Make straight the paths that crooked lie
Oh Lord, before these feet of mine
Oh Lord, before these feet of mine

When my world is shaking, heaven stands
When my heart is breaking
I never leave your hands

When you walked upon the earth
You healed the broken, lost and hurt
I know you hate to see me cry
One day you will set all things right
Yeah, one day you will set all things right

When my world is shaking, heaven stands
When my heart is breaking
I never leave your hands

Your hands that shaped the world
Are holding me
They hold me still
Your hands that shaped the world
Are holding me
They hold me still

When my world is shaking, heaven stands
When my heart is breaking
I never leave you
When my world is shaking, heaven stands
When my heart is breaking
I never leave
I never leave your hands
[ Lyrics from: http://www.lyricsmode.com/lyrics/j/jj_heller/your_hands.html ]

My Life's Soundtrack

 

What songs are included on the soundtrack of your life?

1. Someone Like You by Jamie Slocum
   
   

   This is my ministry song.  As Steve and I make the journey to serve God full time with Wycliffe Bible Translators, this song comes to mind.  God can use someone like us to bring His word to the people that still need it.

2. Hurt and Healer by Mercy Me
   
   

   I am so thankful that God has brought us through this last year.  This song has been a big blessing this year.

3. Wait for Me by Rebecca St. James
   
   

   I am thankful that I have a husband that loved me, before he even knew me, enough to "wait for me."

4. Tomorrow from Annie
   
   

   I grew up watching this movie.  No matter what happens the sun will come up tomorrow.

5. I Will Be Here by Steven Curtis Chapman
   
   

   This song is for my amazing husband.

Let Your Light Shine

Let your light shine out
make it big and bright
Let your light shine out
deep into the night.
Let Your Light Shine

Let your light shine out
for the whole world to see,
like a flower as pretty as can be.

Yes, let your light shine out
making it spread about
to every creature & everyone
making it a happier place under the sun.

Written by Sue Chevalier on August 3,1996

October: A Month for Women and Hope

Pregnancy and Infant Loss Awareness Month
On October 25, 1988, President Ronald Reagan proclaimed that October would be Pregnancy and Infant Loss Awareness Month.

• Approximately 1 in 4 pregnancies worldwide will end in miscarriage.  
• Approximately 75% of all miscarriages occur in the first trimester.
• An estimated 19% of the adult population has experienced the death of a child (this includes miscarriages through adult-aged children).
  
  "When a child loses his parent, they are called an orphan. When a spouse loses her or his partner, they are called a widow or widower. When parents lose their child, there isn’t a word to describe them." - Ronald Reagan

Domestic Violence Awareness Month
This year, YWCA Week Without Violence is October 14-20, 2012.

• One in every four women will experience domestic violence in her lifetime.
•  85% of domestic violence victims are women.
• Historically, females have been most often victimized by someone they knew.
• Boys who witness domestic violence are twice as likely to abuse their own partners and children when they become adults.
• 30% to 60% of perpetrators of intimate partner violence also abuse children in the household.

 Breast Cancer Awareness Month

Bible Study: Psalm 139

Verse 1: You have searched me, Lord, and you know me.

Verses 7-10:  
7 Where can I go from your Spirit?
    Where can I flee from your presence?
⁸ If I go up to the heavens, you are there;
    if I make my bed in the depths, you are there.
⁹ If I rise on the wings of the dawn,
    if I settle on the far side of the sea,
¹⁰ even there your hand will guide me,
    your right hand will hold me fast.

God, I need you to search me and know me.  I know that there is nowhere that I can go to flee from your presence.  You are always near me, even when I feel so alone. 
Nothing and no one can escape your concern.

Verses 13-16:
13 For you created my inmost being;
    you knit me together in my mother’s womb.
¹⁴ I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made;
    your works are wonderful,
    I know that full well.
¹⁵ My frame was not hidden from you
    when I was made in the secret place,
    when I was woven together in the depths of the earth.
¹⁶ Your eyes saw my unformed body;
    all the days ordained for me were written in your book
    before one of them came to be.

God, I know you created all life and you love each and every child,
even the children that leave us way too soon.
You knit me together in our mother's womb.  
You made me special and you called me wonderful.
You have never forsaken me.
You saw everyday of my life and wrote my name in your book of life.

Verses 13-16:
23 Search me, God, and know my heart;
    test me and know my anxious thoughts.
²⁴ See if there is any offensive way in me,
    and lead me in the way everlasting.

"So do not fear, for I am with you; do not be dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you and help you; I will uphold you with my righteous right hand." Isaiah 41:10