Miracles Do Happen!

So, for the past four years I have had carple tunel in my left wrist. The pain has left me with limited range of motion and has made it difficult to do simple things such as clap, grip things, or even turn on a light switch. This said, here's what happened:

On Thursday, June 10, 2010, I was walking home from work when I ran into my friend, Christian. He was going to visit my neighbors so we decided to walk together. I was taking off my wrist brace and he asked me about it, so I told him about the carple tunel. When we reached my house he took my hand and prayed. He prayed to God for complete healing and full restoration.

Guess what. As Christian was praying I could feel the heat and pain leaving, it felt like it was melting away from my wrist. Christian let go of my hand and I was able to roll my wrist around, without pain. I had full range of motion. I clapped, it didn't hurt. I squeezed his hand, it didn't hurt. Today, two days later, I cleaned quite a bit at work, and still my wrist didn't get sore. And not only did God heal my wrist, He gave it strength.

For four years I have not been able to do any of the things mentioned above without feeling pain. Four years. God has healed me. I am undeserving of His grace and love and yet God has chosen to bless me and give me back my wrist.

Glory to God, praise to Jesus!

Without These Times

My soul is heavy,
My heart breaking.
In the pain I feel I pray,
The path I am on,
The one You have chosen,
Lord, so full of hurt and strife,
Times of grief and sorrow.
Without these, Lord, how am I to know,
The grace which You have shown,
The love You so freely give.
Lord, in the trials that come,
I praise Your name.
For my imperfections and mistakes,
I thank You.
For the pain I feel,
The grief I may know,
You are blessed.
For without these times,
Your love and kindness cannot be known.

Rebuilding

While cleaning the other day I came across a little booklet that I have had for the past three and a half years. It is a booklet to one month of a year long bible study called "Our Journey", the March edition to be precise. It was my mothers, she had taken to giving me the booklets when she was done with them so I would have a regular bible study to do while I lived in Fresno. The others I have gotten rid of, but this one I could not.

The signifigance of this booklet comes from one day in it, the fourteenth, which was a Tuesday in the year of 2006. That day I had received a phone call with some terrible news. With that phone call I felt part of my world shatter, my heart break, and a darkness settle over me.

My mom was visiting and had her bible study with her. When I arrived home from school, several hours early, she had just read that day's study, and oddly enough, it was relevant to what had just happened.

This particular day talks about rebuilding. When trials come into our lives and our world is shattered, it talks about picking up the pieces and rebuilding our lives. This was an essential key part to helping me cope, so that I may be there for the people closer to the situation than I was.

I just read that day again. I will admit, I cannot read it without crying. There is still an emptiness that I feel whenever I remember that day, but when I read the verses from that day, the feelings of emptiness are eased. One is part of my life verse, Habakkuk 3:17-19. The other is from 1 Peter, and that is the verse I share now.

1 Peter 1:6-7
In this you rejoice, though now for a little while, if necessary, you have been grieved by various trials, so that the tested genuineness of your faith---more precious than gold that perishes though it is tested by fire---may be found to result in praise and glory and honor at the revelation of Jesus Christ.

Unworthy

Unworthy I Stand

My love for You, O Lord,

Is an unending sea.

With depths so great,

The bottom cannot be seen.

Unworthy of Your love, I stand,

Fully enveloped in Your arms.

Despite my pride,

My vanity, my judging nature,

You take me in.

In lack of faith You show Yourself,

In fear You are calming.

Though I stand a sinner,

Unworthy of Your grace,

Unworthy of Your love,

You give it freely.

Thank You will never be enough,

My appreciation could never be fully shown.

Always unworthy will I stand,

Enveloped in Your arms of love.

The Lord is amazing. We are all sinners, all unworthy of His grace and His love, yet He chooses to give it. We deserve an eternity in hell, yet the Lord loves us so much He has given us a way to heaven. Never will we be worthy of His grace, yet it rains down on us. Blessed be His name. Blessed be the Lord our God.

Faith in Christ

Two Roads

Two roads were lain in front of me,
And I must choose which one I will take.
One is dark and filled with stones and thorns,
But is also filled with love and purity.
The other is smooth and filled with light and fun,
But is laden with sin and hatred.
Two roads were lain in front of me,
And I must choose which one I will take.

Two roads. Looking at it the choices are simple. Do I take the rocky path or the smooth path? Maybe we should know some stuff about the paths before we choose. The way this was written was to explain the rocky path is the path of Chrisianity. It may be hard, you may run into some tough stuff, such as persecution, imprisonment, death, but at the end of the path is love, warmth. At the end of the path is Christ.

The smooth path would be the more tmepting path. You can see down it, the road is smooth, there is fun, drugs, alcohol, other enjoyments. But that path is the path of sin. The path of destruction. No matter how much "fun" you have, it will only lead to ruin and an eternity of pain and despair.

The challenge is, which path will you choose? Will you be willing to take the rocky path? Are you willing to stand with Christ? Or will you choose the easy path, the path of sin?

I have chosen my path, which one will you choose?

When God Says No

I've been reading "Grace for the Moment" by Max Lucado. I was looking ahead, looking at some of the titles and this one caught my eye. It is from November 22nd.

When God Says No
"Whoever comes to me will never be hungry, and whoever believes in me will never be thirsty."
-John 6:35

"There are times when the on e thing you want is the one thing you never get. . . .
You pray and wait.
No answer.
You pray and wait.
May I ask a very important question? What if God says no?
What if the request is delayed or even denied? When God says no to you, how will you respond? If God says, "I've given you my grace, and that is enough," will you be content?
Content. That's the word. A state of heart in which you would be at peace if God gave you nothing more than he already has."

I had gone to school for court reporting starting in January 2006. It was something I enjoyed very much, it was the highlight of living in Fresno for me, I loved my classes and my teachers. Then the Lord brought me back to Hume. I was not happy about this, I admit it, but every time I tried to do something else, the Lord told me "No." I had to change my attitude toward God and my circumstances. Finally I found a contentment I had not felt up here before.

For the past couple of years I have tried, and failed, to go back to school. Every time I take steps toward that goal, the Lord, once again, says "No." I will admit that I have been quite unhappy about this answer, for I love to study and learn. Then I read this message from "Grace for the Moment" and it made me think. I cannot expect God to do as I wish, that is limiting God. I cannot say no to what He has, even if He can say no to me. I know that whatever I may have planned for myself, God's plan is greater. All I have to do is be patient and listen to Him, let Him guide me.

Just a thought.

Love Is

Love is letting go of someone when you don't want to.

Love is watching the person you love loving someone else.

Love is more than a feeling, it is an emotion, it is your being.

Love is simple and complex.

Love is the most amazing thing you will ever feel.

Love is also the hardest thing you will ever feel.