Blessings in Haiti

There are times in life when I feel alone, confused, anxious.  Then there are others when I feel the Hand of God all over my life.  Last week was no exception.

God is teaching me the true meaning of Philippians 4:12-13 and 1 Peter 4:10:
¹² I know what it is to be in need, and I know what it is to have plenty. I have learned the secret of being content in any and every situation, whether well fed or hungry, whether living in plenty or in want. ¹³ I can do all this through him who gives me strength.  
¹⁰ Each of you should use whatever gift you have received to serve others, as faithful stewards of God’s grace in its various forms.

The following are excerpts from my journal last week.  I am so blessed by what God has shown me, by what He has shared with me and by what He has done through me.  He is an amazing Father and I am eternally blessed!  Enjoy!

Saturday 6/22/13
We are here!  The airport has so many people!  Sak pase!  (What's up?)  Nap Boule! (Just Burnin' in lieu of chillin) There was a band waiting as we entered playing a lively tune.  The excitement of our team is palpable!  I know that God will do a great work this week!
Arrived at Mon Chez Moi Guest House in Port au Prince in one piece.  The traffic is a wee bit different from what we are accustomed.  Cars, trucks, motorcycles everywhere!  And passing seems to be the norm regardless of volume.   Apparently, the rule is that you honk to pass or you honk when coming around a curve to let people on the other side know you are coming.   God, we know you will protect us this week, and we thank You, in advance.  
Yeah Air Conditioning!!!  Being near the equator puts a new meaning on "sweating bullets".  
Let me tell you about our dragon (aka salamander) living in our room.  One of the girls went to move the curtains and out flew out new roommate!  Matt (our knight) came in to try to rescue us all :)  but alas, the dragon was forever lost.  Hopefully, the dragon won't resurface during our stay.
Met "Lela", our food preparer.  A beautiful lady with a sweet laugh.  And a great cook!  I am forever blessed to be able to hug on her precious neck!  Thank you Father!
Met with Jedlain, our Local community coordinator.  Reminding us to open and search our hearts using the beautiful example of Psalm 139:23-24.  Our devotion reminds us that God is the melody and we are the harmony.
Father, we thank you for the moon, a reminder that Your Spirit is with us everywhere we go.  Please search my heart God and remove my anxious thoughts.  Allow me to see and love as You see and Love. Oh and be my First Fiddle!!

Sunday 6/23/13
The rooster crows and God's beauty rises with the sun.  Our scripture for the day is Proverbs 22:2 Rich and poor have this in common: The Lord is the Maker of them all.  The way we believe shapes the way we pray, have an open heart and be obedient.  Be intentional with seeking God and spending time with Him.
On our way to Cercady!  4 Hours north of Port au Prince through the mountains.  Such beautiful landscape!  Sandstone built into the mountains.  Unfortunately, deforestation is creating quite a problem with erosion.
Experienced a little nausea, but not bad.  I think that Austin experienced much worse, but luckily nobody had to stop.  Thank you Lord!
Wow!  Watched a group of 16+ people carrying a tin roof, (Yes a roof) down the road.  What community!!!
Goats are everywhere!  Dogs (have ears like a coyote), horses, roosters, chickens, pigs, donkeys, but goats mostly.  (Not too many cats, hmmmm)
We stopped for pictures on the side of the mountain and 2 kids popped up out of nowhere!  Just to say "Alo", I guess.
Traveling through Hench, we passed a horse laboring.  Must have had an injured leg, breaks my heart to see, but they just keep moving, one foot in front of the other.
We stopped at a hotel to go to the bathroom and I met beautiful Lila.  Beautiful eyes and a warm smile. Very gracious.
The Haitians are Beautiful people!  Such clear skin, bright eyes and beautiful teeth!  God has certainly blessed these people with beauty!
Arrived at the guest house in Broho.  Beautiful place on a secluded piece of property.  Wow, these cacti!  Are these planted purposefully?
At the guest house, the kids played a game of volleyball, I took a nap.  A wonderful nap it was!  No A/C in the guest house, but the house is beautifully designed with a nice cross breeze.  
First day in the community.  Met with The Leadership Council, they told us that we are family and we are "Home" in their "Home".  Very gracious people.  They explained that God is their provider for everything.  How does this change our view?  Philippians 4:12 tells us that Paul learned the secret to being content in any and every situation, I believe that these beautiful people understand what Paul taught.  Think I feel the inklings of a song coming on . . . Esther's beautiful singing is giving me inspiration :)

Monday 6/24/13 - DAY ONE - Relying on God
Moses was nervous about the mission He was called to.  But God reminded Moses that He was His provider in Exodus 4:10-15.  And just as God reminded Moses, He too reminds us that we may have translators, but that doesn't mean that we don't have a voice.  Father, we trust You to provide the means to communicate with these beautiful people.
Met Barnabus today, beautiful story of healing and redemption!  Barnabus wanted to be a lawyer, but God called him to be a pastor.  After a motorcycle accident, he finally surrendered to God's will.  Through every moment, every challenge, God shined His Light on his life giving Barnabus the confidence and the strength to move forward in His Will.  God you are so good!!!
Psalm 55:23 - Surrender everything to the Lord
Wow, the beauty of this mountain community!  Everything is so clean!  The properties are well tended. There is cactus which borders each individual property (used to keep water out and animals in).  The houses made of adobe, sticks and mud, with tin roofs.
Met with the community, learned that students walk to school.  Approximately 1.5 hour walk to school everyday.  Their school day is from 7-1.  Some schools give food, some do not.  Some children go without during the school day.  Their summer is 3 months from July - September.
The men of the community either work in other places leaving their wives at home, coming home at the end of a week.  Or they tend the farms.
Medical care is difficult to find.  There is no clinic in Cercady.  They have to go far away.  Difficult to take a pregnant woman to hospital as there is no truck to carry them there.  In the instance that a person needs a hospital, their family will place them on a chair, and will walk many miles to the nearest hospital carrying them on the mountain dirt roads, through rivers, down slippery slopes.
Cercady relies on God for all of their needs.  They have asked for prayer for a Clinic, for clean water and for a local school.  Please also pray for strength in positive change.
Students have to leave the community to go to university.  Some come back to help the community after they graduate.
The children enjoy soccer.  The teams they cheer for are primarily Brazil and Germany.
Men typically do not marry until they are 30, women when they are 25; although many have children beginning at 12-13 years old.
Most community members are farmers.  They make money by cutting rocks into gravel and by cutting down trees to make charcoal.  This is a big challenge as the mountains used to be covered with trees.  Now, due to deforestation, there are holes and erosion in the mountains.  There is no way to make a nursery bed to grow trees.  Please pray for training for these people to be able to replant trees.  Deforestation causes 1- erosion, 2- loss of good land for crops, 3- makes the land weaker, 4- streams dry up.
Cercady has only been open to external world for about 20 years.  The road used to be very narrow, only allowing for travel via donkey.  They couldn't even travel to the market.  In the last 20 years, the community has worked together to widen and maintain the mountain roads for external travel in and out of community.
Wow, the rain makes the roads quite dangerous!  Not sure if we will be able to go back and forth all week.
Dinner included Soup Jo Mou (Pumpkin Soup)- YUMMY!!! - When the French enslaved the Haitians, they would not allow them to eat pumpkin soup.  So when The Haitians received their independence, they celebrated by eating pumpkin soup.  Now on January 1st every year, they celebrate with pumpkin soup.
So sad, we killed a pig today.  Please forgive us Father . . .   

Thank You Jesus for keeping us all safe through the mud and bringing us back safely.  Thank You for allowing us to really connect and bring joy to those in Cercady.  I pray tomorrow that we will continue to bring Your Love to these beautiful people.  Keep us strong, keep us well.  We Love You!

Tuesday 6/25/13 - DAY TWO - We are broken
We are broken people.  Humble hearts, willing to ask for help.  God can build us up into what He wants us to be.  In our brokenness, God shows His power and glory.  What do I need to lay down so God can work in me?
Met Woulene (20) and her baby Jamelika.  Such wisdom in her young eyes and her baby is so beautiful!
Willnote is a worship leader- beautiful voice!  He leads in a Church near Broho.  A large male choir and they allow the Youth to lead worship one day a month.  I would love to go to a Church service here!
LoZanie Papilite is Woulene's cousin.  Shy, reserved young lady.  We shared addresses to keep in touch in future.
SonSong is a 17 year old living with his grandmother.  He is responsible for providing for his family.  His mom works in Capacion and his dad in the Dominican Republic.  Such strong serious eyes for one so young.  Father, please bless this young man and allow him to be the man You have called him to be, bless His family, bless His life.
It is amazing how much this community loves!  They truly understand the meaning of I Corinthians 13!  The girls love to hold hands, to be held and to sit on our laps.  Little Tfaun has held my hand all day :)
Okay, so we tried to teach the girls jump rope, and guess what?  They are better than we are!!!
And yes, they are better soccer players, although I do think that Makayla gave them a strong run for their money!  
The communication is becoming easier, we are learning to use hand motions.  Thank you Father for answered prayer!!
One of our primary objectives, next to building relationships, is to share leadership principles with the council.  Working in Nehemiah, the leaders on our team are helping the leadership council to be able to self sufficiently meet the goals they are set for themselves as a community.  The clinic is their first priority.
This week, we are learning to listen first then serve.  It is not for them to be dependent on us, but instead to be dependent on The Lord.
Tonight we made a list of things that we in the US value, a list of the things which Haitians value and a list of things which God values.  Wow, need to reset our priorities and mark some things off my list.
Remember who we really worship and where our priorities should lie based on God's values.  We are called to find our identity in Christ, not in the World.  I need to line myself up with God's culture.
Father, please help me to be first to listen and last to speak.

Wednesday 6/26/13 - DAY THREE - Identity
What does it mean to be a Christian?  John 6:26-40 - Jesus said, "The work of God is this:  to believe in the one He has sent." ... "It is my Father who gives you the true bread from heaven.  For the bread of God is the bread that comes down from Heaven and gives life to the world." ... "I am the bread of life.  Whoever comes to Me will never go hungry, and whoever believes in Me will never be thirsty." ... "For My Father's will is that everyone who looks to the Son and believes in Him shall have eternal life and I will raise them up at the last day."  Keep my identity in Jesus, The Son, The Bread of Life. :)
This week, we have been providing Vacation Bible School to the children.  Bible Stories including "Noah and The Ark", "Moses parting The Red Sea", "David and Goliath".  We colored with them.  We sang songs, including "Papa Abraham" which everyone loved!  We danced with them, even teaching them The Macarena :).  Played Duck Duck Goose, played Little Sally Walker and The Hokey Pokey.  Oh and had a 3-legged race.  Everyone had a great time serving these wee ones!
Today, we met Sabetsa Isalak.  A young girl from the community who just yesterday was playing, came to the Church this morning with a charred hand.  3rd degree burn, looked like a charred piece of blackened chicken.  A plate of hot rice was accidentally dropped on her hand.  It looks so bad.  Possible infection.  She is so quiet, holding her hand in front of her body.  A Quiet strength.  This little girl can teach me so much.  God, please heal her.  The words of "God's Hand" infiltrate my entire being . . . "We seek Your Hand, Your sure strong Hand, Please hold us, Breathe out Your life like grains of sand, we breathe in Your might as You shape Your Hand,  In You our being lives, Your will keeps us strong, Your Perfect Hand helps us carry on....." Father, You are the God of miracles, please bring healing to this sweet girl.
Debrief was powerful tonight.  So many stories of redemption being shared this week!  Thank You Father, for Your grace in our lives.  For delivering us from anxiety, fear, from family heartache, from loss.  We are learning how to completely trust You!  To give our challenges, our trouble and our joy back to You!  We Love You!!


Thursday 6/27/13 - DAY FOUR - God's Glory
Today we got to meet with the women, learn about their day and hopefully give some encouragement on what God says about being a Godly woman.  We prepared scripture, but God in His infinite wisdom shared completely different scripture when He steered us to listen to their struggles first.  Every girl rose to the occasion!  So proud of these young women, they each know just where to find God's encouraging Word!  Father, thank You for allowing me to see You work through them!
A day in the life of a woman in Cercady:  They must work very hard so their children can go to school.  On Monday, they travel miles to go to market.  Transportation primarily by foot, donkey, horse, but sometimes via motorcycle .  Everywhere they go, they carry their goods on their head, some balance very well!!  Sometimes they have to walk in the rain or dark.
Typical chores include:  Sweeping, cooking (over open fire), laundry in the local stream by hand, removing the weeds from the garden, farming in the garden (tilling of the garden is performed using bulls), making charcoal so they can pay for children to go to school.  The children walk miles every day to obtain water from the local stream.  Some as young as 4 years old.  
Today we had a 115 degree Heat Index.  HOT HOT HOT!!!  And these strong women deal with this daily!
Learned some new words!  Zanme - Friend, Patage - Share, Veet - Fast, Shat - Dog, Pita - Later.
Met so many women today, both young and old!  Father, thank You for allowing me to learn of their quiet strength!  I pray Father that You will heal their hurts, given them strength to move forward and bless their steadfast Faith.  Out of the 14 women we spoke to, 6 of them had lost children and 2 of them had lost husbands.  One woman had lost 7 children.  Their life is very difficult, but they trust in God for all of their needs.
Got to see Sabetsa again.  She looks great!  The doctor was able to scrape off the dead skin (painful) and there is NO INFECTION!  GOD IS SOOOO GOOD!!!  She has to return several times for observation, but it looks like she will have a complete recovery.  Thank You Father!!  Got to sit with her for a bit, she drew me some pictures :)  Not quite sure what all of them are, but they are beautiful nonetheless.
As mentioned earlier, the task of the leaders this week was to share the leadership qualities of Nehemiah with the group.  This team of leaders is inspired to make change in their community!  It is so awesome to see their obedience and perseverance!  The final task was to build a wall as a team.  Now understand, our team did not do anything for this group, only share the Word and give encouragement. The team of men and women took a roll of construction paper, cut it into brick sides pieces and built a wall.  As you would a real wall.  The diligence and need for excellence is an inspiration to me.  Father, I pray that You will provide them with the desires of their heart.  That You will give them wisdom and continued perseverance to bring these projects to fruition.  We thank You for what You have provided in their community to date and we thank You for what You will do in future.
Today we had a mini-market brought to us.  Different women selling their goods.  Many the same type of merchandise.  But I loved seeing the different homemade goods provided.  What a talented group of people!  Each "booth" owner (they weren't booths but were blankets with their wares lined up on them) was very persistent.  "Mrs", they would say or "Madame come look".  But they were very respectful if I had to say "Pita" or even "No more money" when the money ran out.  I wish I could have purchased from everyone.
Today is our last day in the community.  The leadership council was very gracious.  As the 1st day, they returned to us as family.  And they said that although we will divide we will see one another again, if not in this life, then side by side in Heaven.  Oh God, I Love You so much!!  That You chose to bring us together here even for a short time with a promise to meet again!  You are so good!
Debrief was awesome!  To hear the stories of each of these students brings so much joy to my heart.  God is a Loving and merciful God and when I hear the stories of others, it serves to remind me that the Lord is creating a great quilt weaved together with Love for His People.  Thank You Father that You never give up on us, even though we are sinful, even though we are broken.  Thank You for Loving us and granting us grace!  Thank You for sharing the butterflies with us, they remind us of Your everlasting beauty.

Friday 6/28/13 - LAST DAY - Joyful Reminders
The morning starts with the rooster crow at 6:15.  Droplets of rain fall from the night before.  A reminder of the beautiful downpour on a tin roof.  A donkey's bray in the distance.  You can hear voices through the trees.  Neighbors from afar.  Many different kinds of birds.  Some I recognize, others I do not.  Think I hear a macaw maybe?  I will miss this place.  Tfaun's sweet and shy face and warm hand.  Her efforts to make "kissy face" and her need to stay close.  I will miss seeing the other girls on our team develop their own relationships with these beautiful people.  God You are good like that.  You have placed a hole in our heart that only You can fill; and You choose to connect each of us together through this opening in our hearts.  What a blessing.  Then there is serious SonSong.  He will be a great leader some day.  Of that, I have no doubt.  So serious, looks like the world is on his shoulders.  I pray that You Father will develop him with wisdom and guidance and allow him to become the person You have for him.  Grant him a beautiful wife, one who will love him and stay true to him for life.  One who will give him beautiful children.  Oh and cannot forget LoZanie.  A sweet girl that I hope to get to know through correspondence.  I pray that God will bless her and her family and will help her to become the girl / woman that He has called her to be.  Father, I thank You for our translators!  For their tender heart for their people and for their sense of humor.  It is wonderful to see them interact which this community and with us.  Father You have blessed them with a beautiful talent.  Please bless them all with loving and steadfast families.  Finally, Sabetsa.  I will never forget her beautiful face.  Such quiet strength, unlike anything I had ever seen.  A true testament to this beautiful community!  Her smiles lit up the room, I am in love!
We were blessed with a surprise visit from a local men's choir.  These guys could definitely belt it out!  The kids all loved it!
Father, I thank You for this opportunity, for these wonderful people.  For their quiet strength, their love for others, and for their sense of family.  Please God, help them to recognize that their struggles build their strength which honors You.  Allow them to be the family that You have called them to be.
Thank You for the organization of our leaders and coordinators, they served to make this trip very smooth and fun for all.  Thank You for the weather allowing us to continue going every day.  You truly allowed us to have complete reliance on You when returning to the community.  Thank You for our devotions, our debriefs, for the time of Volleball, the great meals provided (especially the homemade donuts!).  Thank You for the students:  For Esther's song and sweet nature, For Makayla's joy with and love for the children, For Nathan's courage, For Cameron's humor, For Brenda's Love for the children, For Grace's beautiful smile, For Paige's diligence and Love for the children, For Sam's beautiful smile and quick action for Sabetsa's hand, For Alex's ability to lead when called and loving heart, For Cody's ability to have great fun with the kids, For Alex's strength and playful attitude, For Felicia's beautiful heart in wanting to get to know Your Children, For Emily's steadfast diligence and Love for these children, For Lauren's Love of these beautiful women, For Courtney's personality and ability to bring joy.  And thank You for Kerry, her great love for these people and consistent diligence to share with us this love and Your love for them, thank you for the amazing sense of humor in Matt, Kevin and Danny and Austin's quiet strength leading us throughout the week.  You know each heart and have blessed each one, I pray that Your blessings will continue for each and that we will always remember and never forget!  

Saturday 6/29/13 - Going Home!
This week has been so wonderful.  As Derik promised, we went to serve, but God served us by teaching us the meaning of a Philippians 4:12-13 Faith, a Psalm 55:23 Surrender to God and a I Corinthians 13 Love.  Complete reliance in Him.  Learning not to judge.  Recognizing that it's not me, but instead His Glory and His Light which attracts and serves others.  God uses my challenges to impact who I am.  And that my story is His story.

A wonderful week!  Proverbs 27:19 shares that “As water reflects the face, so one's life reflects the heart”.  I have been humbled by how God works in His people, how His Light shines in their hearts and through their quiet strength.  May we always remember and never forget what He has shared with us this week.  And may our life reflect His Love in our hearts always and forever.

Bloom Where you are Planted

Good Friday morning all!  It is a beautiful Spring day after a hard rain.  I Love how clean and bright everything is on the morning after a Spring rain.  The beauty of Spring, to me, is a representation of renewal.

Renewal - the act or process making like new, restoring to freshness, vigor or perfection.

And isn't it just like our Heavenly Father to grant us renewal?  Restoration?

Colossians 1:9-10 says it like this:
For this reason, since the day we heard about you, we have not stopped praying for you.  We continually ask God to fill you with the knowledge of His Will through all the wisdom and understanding that the Spirit gives, so that you may live a life worthy of the Lord and please Him in every way; bearing fruit in every good work, growing in the knowledge of God.

So, every year the Earth goes through renewal, scraping away the old and growing up the new to do what?  To bring beauty and life to this amazing Living Earth we have the opportunity in which to live.

So, we too have the opportunity to be renewed in Christ.  We find ourselves renewed when we accept the Amazing Grace given to us at Salvation, but what about after that?  How do we find renewal after this beautiful transformation?

In Colossians, Paul and Timothy were writing to God's holy people in Colossae.  They were sharing how, since they heard of the Colossians acceptance of God's grace, they were continually praying for them.  Asking for God's Wisdom through The Holy Spirit and that they may have a life bearing fruit all the while growing in the knowledge of God.

In consistent renewal, just as the Earth scrapes away the old, we also have to scrape away the old life which separated us from God.  In prayer, we have the opportunity to relinquish that old life, let it go, peel away that layer and lay it at The Foot of the Cross.  This reveals the new and fresh layer underneath.   And isn't it awesome to be a part of The Body of Christ?  It is such an honor to be able to pray for others who we may know know formally, but through Christ we are made brothers and sisters.  So, we have the opportunity not only to pray for our own renewal but also the renewal of others, which is pleasing to our Father.

The next process of renewal requires nutrition.  From the earth's standpoint, sunlight, nutrients and water are primary providers of nutrition to allow for growth.  It's easy to pull the weeds away to reveal new growth, but to sustain growth there has to be commitment to consistent nutrition.  In our lives, The Holy Spirit is committed to provide wisdom and understanding through Prayer, through deliverance of The Word.  In these things, just as we find great joy in watching a flower bloom, our Father also takes great joy in watching us grow in our Faith, our knowledge of Him, and in the relationship He so desires to have with each of us.

And finally, the earth doesn't only receive, there is giving involved to continue the life cycle provided.  Flowers produce pollen which allow for bees, hummingbirds and other pollinators to collect and transfer to allow for fertilization to occur for the life of future flowers to be created.  Plants go a step further and provide food for animals and humans to consume.  Trees go even further, reducing erosion, moderating our climate, providing habitats for animals and plants, providing shade, shelter, wood for construction, fuel for cooking and heating, and finally removing carbon dioxide from our atmosphere.  Without the tasks provided by the life giving blessings of our Earth, life would be difficult if not impossible to continue.  All is dependent on the renewal of the other to continue living.

Just as in The renewal of Earth, we as Christians also serve to please our Father when we bear fruit in the good works He has set for us to perform.  Our knowledge of His Grace and what He has blessed us to do, propel us to continue the Work started by Jesus so many years ago.  When we choose to pray for one another, grow in our knowledge of His Grace and choose to serve we find renewal not only in the big things in life, but also in the small things.  And as we all know, pollen may be a small speck, but combined creates a great collaboration of nutrition for future generations of flowers and plants alike.  Our lives are no different, the collaboration of the small things which we do to serve one another and to serve our Great King also creates a harmony of life not only for ourselves but for future generations to also know the Saving Grace which Jesus blessed us on the Cross.

There is no task too small or too large to make great impact in The Kingdom of God.  He plants us all where we are so that we can bloom where we are planted.  From a smile to a stranger having a bad day, buying lunch for the person in the line behind you in the drive through, performing the tasks you are given with diligence and joy, serving the elderly, Pastoring a congregation or serving as a missionary, God has planted you where you are for a reason, that you may live a life worthy of the Lord and please Him in every way.

I pray that The Holy Spirit will grant us all with the wisdom to bear fruit in every good work, serving to please The Lord and grow in our knowledge of Him.

Thank You Father for Your Grace, thank You for planting us so that we can bloom and bear fruit for Your Glory.
Your Loving Daughter,
Eve

Ocean of Grace

He is jealous for me, Loves like a hurricane, I am a tree.
We are his portion and he is our prize, drawn to redemption by the grace in his eyes
If grace is an ocean we're all sinking . . .

I remember the first time I heard the song "How He Loves" by John Mark McMillan.  I was in Church at 12Stone, the lights were dimmed, every seat was taken, Hands all over the room were lifted up and the Words "If Grace is an ocean we're all sinking" was shared. . . . Voices all over the room were cheering over this statement.

This was very early in my recommitment to the Lord and I remember thinking, "Why is everyone happy that we're sinking?" It was quite a quandary for me at the time.

It's an amazing thing how the Brain works.  Our Understanding of the things which we hear, study and even speak.  These simple words 7 years ago meant one thing to me, today they mean so much more.

I'm going through a songwriting course now and I'm learning about rhythm and spotlighting words.  How important it is to place words and their relatives so that the audience feels the emotion you are trying to relate.  So when I first heard this song, I heard "sinking", today I hear "Grace", "Ocean", "All".

So, what changed?  How could (8) words change in their meaning over the course of 7 years?

My understanding of Grace.

Let's start with the definition of Grace -
Grace is defined as:  Mercy, Unmerited Favor, Clemency, Pardon

Ephesians 2:1 shares that "As for you, you were dead in your transgressions and sins."  What does this mean?  "DEAD" when we feel alive?  When our Father created us, He did so in that we could have a relationship with Him.  When we chose to turn away from Him in the Garden, we opened the door for sin in our lives which separated us from Him and from the relationship He wanted with us.  God cannot look on sin, so in our sin we did not have a chance for Eternity with Him, therefore when we delve in sin, we are dead.

In walks Grace!

Ephesians 2:4-10 goes on to share that In God's great love for us, God who is RICH in MERCY, made us ALIVE with Christ EVEN when we were dead in transgressions- it is by GRACE we have been saved.  And God raised us up with Christ and seated us with Him in the Heavenly Realms in Christ Jesus in order that in the coming ages He might show the incomparable riches of His GRACE, expressed in His Kindness to us in Christ Jesus.  For it is by GRACE you have been saved, through Faith - and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God- not by works, so that no one can boast.  For we are God's handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.

This weekend, we will celebrate the Death of our Great Savior, Jesus.  I know, sounds a little weird to celebrate someone's death, but in this case, HIS DEATH brings US LIFE.  His Death and resurrection became the turning point for our opportunity to have a relationship with our Father.  His Kindness to us in sending His Son to die for our sins was a GIFT.  The greatest gift we could ever receive, ETERNITY with our CREATOR, our FATHER, our GOD!

So, now when I sing the lyric "If Grace is an ocean we're all sinking", I, too can cheer.  Instead of flailing at the top trying to swim my way to shore, I can sink in the great ocean of My Father's Grace with the Understanding that He Loves me more than anyone ever could and there is nothing that I have to do to earn it.  My name was on His Heart at The Cross.

Father, thank you so very much for Your Great Love for Your people!  Your continued pursuit of our hearts and Your continued Love for us is humbling and amazing.  I am so thankful that You choose to walk with us and that all we have to do is turn our eyes to You, accept Your gift of Grace and have Faith of Your Great Love.  I pray Father that as we all turn to You and to Your Son this Easter weekend, that we all will remember the Great Sacrifice at The Cross and give You the thanks and the Glory.

Your Loving Daughter,
Eve

Letter from a Cancer Survivor

In some estimates, around 150 people are diagnosed with cancer every hour in the United States.  Death sentence?  Not always.  Frightening truth?  Yes.  But we are all dying . . . right?

1994, 2003, 2007 - Years which will forever be etched in my mind . . .

In '94, I was the mother of a 3 and an almost 1 year old.  How could this happen?  Only 22 years old, I had my whole life ahead of me, I am diagnosed with a rare disease in my Pituitary.  My husband overseas, my family 3000 miles away, fear was blindingly alive.

In '03, I was the mother of a 12 and a 9 year old.  Only 31 years old, I am diagnosed with a yet 2nd very rare disease called Paraganglioma.  I could not imagine my boys growing up without their mother, so I made a deal with God, if He would save me until the boys had graduated High School I would promise to devote my life to Him and He could do with me what He wanted after their graduation.  My husband was furious with me.  And once again, I was allowing fear to choose my emotion.

In '07, I was the mother of a 16 and a 14 year old.  Only 36 years old, a 2nd and 3rd Paraganglioma would be found.  Days before my surgery a small group visited us to pray with us.  Had never seen them before, and never again, but God knew. . .  The night before surgery, I wrote letters to everyone close to me, I still have them.  Fearfully, I knew this could possibly be my final act.

Cancer is real and thankfully while my story is still being written, there are many others who's stories are complete.

So today, I write a letter to those whose stories are still being written.  A letter of life, a letter of death, a letter of Faith.

Life- So what is life to you?  Is it waking up in the morning and watching the sun rise?  Is it watching children run around the park laughing and playing?  Is it riding The Mind Bender at increasing speed?  Is it jumping out of an airplane at amazing heights?  Is it watching the tide gently roll in after a long day?  Is it witnessing the beauty of a newborn babe as it is placed in the arms of his mother?

Life can be so many things to so many people, but the beauty of it is that it is YOURS.  A blessing given to you, every breath, every movement, every heartbeat, every laugh, every cry.

Death- So what about death?  Is it scary?  Is it final?  Is it worrisome?  Is it a crossover to an eternal life of peace and joy with The Heavenly Father who created you?

Death is such a dark word, but is it really dark or is it a testament to the life that came before and a journey to the Heavenly Beauty yet to come?

Faith- So what about Faith?  Is it real?  Is it alive?  Is it a myth?  Is it Hope?

The dictionary describes Faith with several definitions:
1- confidence or trust in a person or thing;
2- belief not based on proof;
3- belief in God or in the doctrines or teachings of religion.

The Bible describes Faith as this:
Hebrews 11:1 -   Now faith is confidence in what we hope for and assurance about what we do not see.

In today's world, it's so easy to get inundated by distractions which can create a fearful reaction and forget the Promises we have been given:

Matthew 17:20 - If you have Faith as small as a mustard seed, you can say to this mountain, "Move from here to there" and it will move.  Nothing will be impossible for you.
Ephesians 2:8 - For by grace you have been saved through Faith.  And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works so that no one may boast.
Galatians 2:16 - Yet we know that a person is not justified by works of the law but through faith in Jesus Christ, so we also have believed in Christ Jesus, in order to be justified by Faith in Christ and not by works of the law, because by works of the law no one will be justified.
John 3:16 - For God so loved the world, that He gave His only Son, that whoever BELIEVES in Him should not perish but have eternal life.

Does this mean I will never feel pain?  No.  Does it mean that I will never again suffer?  No  Does it mean that my cancer is cured?  Well Yes and No.

Cancer is partially defined as any disease characterized by growths tending to be malignant, invasive, recurring.  It is also defined as an evil influence that spreads dangerously.  So while my physical disease is multiplying tumors, my spiritual disease was Fear.  The opposite of Faith.

I was afraid of everything from the time I was a tyke.  My mom told stories of how I was afraid the smoke detector would "create" the fire.  I know, pretty funny, but this was my life.  Looking back, I was so afraid of death, but unfortunately I was also afraid of life.  I could dream up the problem before it ever occurred.  I could see the train coming.

And that is how Fear works, it is a cancer which spreads quickly, influencing every thought, every movement, every decision; keeping me from the life He designed for me. (Jeremiah 29:11)

However, Faith, on the other hand, allows you to:
1- Give the Fear up to The Father. - PEACE
2- Live a life of freedom.  Freedom from worry, uncertainty, freedom to enjoy the beauty blessed me in my life. - BREATHE
3- Develop a relationship with The One who breathed life into me.  He knit me in my mothers womb (Psalm 139:13) - BEAUTIFUL
4- Allow me to FEEL LOVE and ACCEPTANCE for who I am, who I was created as,
(Psalm 139:14) and not worry about what others think about me or serve to mold me into their idea of who I should be. - LOVE
5- Live the life He designed for me, with purpose, with love, with strength, with peace. COURAGE

And while cancer may win and take my body one day, my Heavenly Father has blessed me with a Gift, a Promise, An Inheritance which guarantees that I will be seated with Christ in the heavenly realms in order that in the coming ages He might show the incomparable riches of His Grace; expressed in His kindness to us in Christ Jesus. (Ephesians 2:6-7)

I have nothing to be afraid of, the arms of my Father will comfort me all the day long, the wisdom of The Holy Spirit will guide me all my life long and the Love of Jesus has delivered the promise which allows me to be with Him in Heaven when this earthly body is spent.

Father, I am so thankful that You CHOOSE to grant us Freedom from Fear, Share with us Your Bountiful Grace, bring us Comfort and teach us Love.  I pray that Your Precious Word will be knitted on the hearts of many others and that they too will know that Fear has no place in the hearts of those You call to be Children of God.

Your Loving Daughter,
Eve

A Mother's Strength

Well this week marks a year when our lives were forever changed.  I remember the day like it was yesterday, the disbelief, the pain, the sorrow, the anger and finally the acceptance of a decision which I could never understand.

What followed were months of overwhelming sadness, but at the same time great joy.  I experienced God's comfort in ways I had never seen before.  Yes I have been blessed in many ways over the years, but for the first time, I felt it, in the moment.  Like a warm blanket being placed on me, I truly understood the fullness of God's comfort and peace during a storm.

Through it all, I have become closer to my Heavenly Father, but I also have developed a great Love and Respect for Mary, Mother of Jesus.  Such a beautiful woman, she emulates the peace, courage and strength under duress which I have sought over the last year.

I will forever be marked by Her words in Luke 1:38 "I am the Lord's Servant," Mary answered.  "May your word to me be fulfilled."  What great Faith for one so young.  And in Luke 1:45 Elizabeth shares "Blessed is she who has believed that the Lord would fulfill his promises to her!"

What amazing precepts for the Beautiful Life to come!  A mother who accepts the great responsibility being placed on her and who "believes" in God's "Promises".  So much we can learn from this great woman.

We fast forward to John 19:25 - 27, Mary stands at the foot of The Cross.  Before having seen "Passion of The Christ", I could only imagine the great emotion which Mary felt for Her Son, Her King.  And Jesus says to her and the disciple whom He Loved "Woman, here is your son", and to the disciple, "Here is your mother."  Was there pain in this statement?  Was there joy?  Was there peace?  I don't know, but can't you feel the blanket wrapped around her in that moment?  The comfort which was blessed through the pain she must have felt in having to watch her Son, her Savior die in front of her eyes?

As always, our Father Loves us so very much.  He walks with us through trials and celebrates with us through happiness.

The song below is a blessing given to me through some very difficult days.

Father, thank You for choosing to pour into us, for Your continued comfort, strength and peace.   Thank you for the great examples set by Jesus and Mary here on earth.  I am forever humbled and thankful for Your Continued Blessings and Love.
Eve

A Mothers Heart

V1

On a day like today

You watched your son 

Dragged away

His response to our sin

Crying out with a mothers heart 

CH

Mother Mary 

Tell me how to breathe

Reading of your 

quiet strength

When all I do is grieve

Breaking a Mothers Heart

V2

Fast forward to today

I watch my son

Led away

His response for his sin

Lost in a mothers heart

CH

Mother Mary

Help me learn to breathe

Teach me of your 

quiet strength

your love through tears of grief

Sharing a Mother's heart

BR

Living in anxious fear

Opposite from Faith it's clear

I need to trust I know that now

Faith once was lost now is found

CH

Mother Mary

Trusting helps me breathe

Your son blessed me with

quiet strength

Trading grief for belief

Mending my mother's heart

Eve Harrell ©

2013

Run To You

Millions of people were touched yesterday by the Commercial for The beautiful Clydesdales during the 2013 Super Bowl.

A short story of a man raising a colt to adulthood, having to set it free so it can find it's way in the world, coming to a finale where they see each other and the colt comes running to his caretaker in a heartfelt moment.  If you are like me, there was a tear or two shed :)

This commercial gave me a beautiful reminder of the ending in The Prodigal Son in Luke 15.

A son decides to leave his family to make his way in the world.  He chooses to live a life of parties and self-indulgence which finds it's eventual end when the economy takes a nosedive.  The son tries to make his own way for a while, eventually realizing that a pigsty was to be his only place of refuge.  The son realizes that his home with his Father even as a hired hand was much better than a life eating pig food.  So, he humbly makes his way home, considering all of the apologies which must be said for the life he has led.

His Father, out for His daily watch, sees His son on the horizon and immediately goes running to him, filled with compassion.  The son and The Father meet and The Father is so happy to see him that all He can do is hug and kiss him.

Did you catch that?  "Immediately" goes running to him.  There was no consideration of the things His son had done, the money the son had squandered, the moments He spent worrying about him.

And isn't that just like our Heavenly Father?  He creates us, sends us out into the world and when we "choose" to come back to Him, He comes running with Open Arms.  No questions, no considerations, no judgement, only Love.

Luke 15:24 .... 'For this son of mine was dead and is alive again; he was lost and is found.'

We ALL have the opportunity to run to Him.  And He will welcome us with Open Arms.  We who once were lost, now are FOUND.

Thank You Father that we are Your Creation.  Thank You that we can turn to You and You welcome us with Open Arms.  Thank You for the peace which comes from turning to You.

Love
Eve

Through the Eyes of a Butterfly

In this new year, I am encouraged by the butterfly.  The butterfly is very different from you and I in it's physical metamorphosis; however, when you look at the development of a butterfly, it is not much different from our Spiritual metamorphosis.

A butterfly begins as a helpless egg laid on a plant, for feeding, by it's mother.  Very similar to the blessing our Heavenly Father bestows when we accept Salvation, God steers us to a place for us to find The Word.  Jesus tells us in Matthew 13:23: ²³ But the seed falling on good soil refers to someone who hears the word and understands it. This is the one who produces a crop, yielding a hundred, sixty or thirty times what was sown.”

The second stage is The Feeding Stage aka The caterpillar.  This is a very important stage for the Butterfly as this is the time spent eating.  Just as the caterpillar needs food to grow; we, as new Christians, take this time to grow in The Word: Prayer, Bible Study, learning to trust and obey our Father.  As Jesus tells us in Matthew 4: “It is written: ‘Man shall not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes from the mouth of God."

The third stage is The Transition Stage aka Pupa.  This stage may appear like nothing is happening, but there are special cells present inside which are growing rapidly.  Just as with The Butterfly, a new Christian finding sustenance in Our Heavenly Father has The Holy Spirit working inside, teaching us to develop fruit as Galatians 5:22-23 teaches:   But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness,²³ gentleness and self-control.  Against such things there is no law.

The final stage is the Beautiful Butterfly.  God's perfect plan allows the Butterfly to grow in stages.  To "Morph" into this beautiful creature meant to provide joy to others and to provide for the next generation.  In Isaiah 55:10-12, God gives us His Will for His Word in our lives: 10 As the rain and the snow come down from heaven, and do not return to it    without watering the earth and making it bud and flourish, so that it yields seed for the sower and bread for the eater,

¹¹ so is my word that goes out from my mouth:    It will not return to me      empty, but will accomplish what I desire and achieve the purpose for which I sent it.   You will go out in joy  and be led forth in peace; the mountains and hills 12 will burst into song before you, and all the trees of the field will clap their hands.

Just as the butterfly has found it's purpose, we also find our purpose through Christ.  God shares His Perfect Word with us, expecting for it to be returned to Him.  We also "morph" into the beautiful person which Our Father created us to become.  Realizing that His desires becomes our desires.  Finding peace in a world full of distraction.  Finding joy in the beauty which He shares with us each day.

Thank you Father for Your great Purpose and Plan.  I pray that we all will see through the eyes of a butterfly to obediently follow the purpose You have set before us.

Your Loving Daughter,
Eve