#faith | ponytail and boots

The lamb born in a stable

Posted on December 25, 2015 by tigerhart

I love Christmas time. I always have. Growing up in a liturgical church, we had such an array of festival and pageantry that Christmas was a time I always looked forward to; not only because of receiving gifts, but the nativity. I loved the nativity scene. My parents owned a jewelry store back in the day; Hart’s Jewelers. They worked late in December and we would always drive home in the darkness or fog after a full nights work. On the way home there was a star off in the distance with cascading streams of light. You could see it 5 miles away, at least that’s how I remember it. Under the star was a full-size life ( not living) nativity scene. It was truly amazing. Every night on the way my brother and I would beg my parents to drive by the “star”. They did, probably once a week, although I could have gone every night. I can remember every detail in my memory and it simply was the Christmas story for me. Jesus, in the manger, his parents over Him, the shepherds and wise men near by. Camels and sheep, lots of sheep. It was lit up and straw was all around. It was magical.

I always believed in Jesus, I didn’t doubt His existence or the virgin birth or the Angels appearing in the heavens singing “Gloria in excelsis Deo “. But I just didn’t realize what was really happening. God, leaving His throne, His kingdom, His worshippers to put on human flesh. To feel human, fully human; joy, pain, love, grief, anger, and abandoned. He became everything that we are; born, a life full of family drama ( remember no one believed Mary was a virgin, except Joseph ,Elizabeth, and Zechariah.) His brothers and sisters thought He was crazy and his earthly father died before His ministry began. He knew He was God, but He never used His powers beyond what we ourselves as believers with faith could use also. He didn’t come handsome so that people would look at Him and say”now there is a king!” He knew deep moments of loneliness that would not be satisfied the way it was in the heavenlies. And above all, He came knowing the mission, to die for all humans, to die in each and everyone’s place for their sins, great and small, filthy dirty icky sin. Every human that has been conceived He paid in full their debt for sin and filled an account full of all they will ever need. That account sits full awaiting the activation that occurs when you believe. Even those who rejected Him to their final breath have an account in their name that only awaits their belief. What belief? The need for being rescued.

This salvation that Christ came to redeem is all about the story of us. Our need to be rescued from bondage, a place we can’t get out of ourselves; a problem arises that impedes God’s purpose for life and blessing*. What God wants is for us to cry out to Him For help, to recognize we need help. The problem that arises, however, is that we think we can handle problems thrown our way; that we can work it out, create a plan to solve it. Our American culture is simply full to the brim of American self reliance and hard work. We built this country and we can make it better, we can bring it back, we just need a new leader, a new plan, or more money, but we can handle this, we don’t ask for help, that would be too dependent.

The crux of the salvation story is right at the beginning, God waiting to hear from us, to cry out. He gave us example after example of a people He called out to live so that we would see the pattern. The Israelites cried out and God heard them, the primal scream for redemption*. This is what we need to hear this season. Not what leader will get us, but what a God, The God, is waiting for. He seeks us out and asks “where are you?”

This Christmas season, don’t just remember the baby, the incarnate Word of God in human flesh, but remember why He came. That we might recognize our feeble attempt to save ourselves from a difficult life or circumstances. Those very issues are there to cause of to realize we can’t do it without this Almighty God. He is there, waiting in the garden, in the stable, on the cross, and in the empty tomb. Embrace your lack of control, embrace life’s curve ball that hits you in the eye, God wants you to need Him. Then sit back and watch the mighty rescue of your God. See his wonders and receive His grace. Without suffering or pain we would never know we need to be rescued.

Merry Christmas and may 2016 be the year you allow God to save and rescue you in everything, great to small. Then He receives the Glory and we get to share our story of rescue.

Sounds of Silence-thoughts in a broken mind

Posted on April 16, 2015 by tigerhart

Hello darkness, my old friend,
I’ve come to talk with you again,
Because a vision softly creeping,
Left its seeds while I was sleeping,
And the vision that was planted in my brain
Still remains
Within the sound of silence

This song seemed appropriate to listen to as I left the behavioral health facility after another visit to see my son. The noise in my son’s mind must be unbearable. His drugs are dosed way too high. But then again when one gets thrown into a stabilization facility and they don’t know you and you are not yourself they simply start guessing. The problem is the human condition is fluid. Not everyone is static. One drug may work in miniscule amounts or not at all. My son was off all meds and we were all told nothing was wrong 9 months ago. We took him off everything according to this doctor, I wrote about it in a previous blog. We chose to believe him. It was nearly impossible to think this Psychiatrist was right, but we did as he prescribed and took him off all meds. For 9 months my son was as right as rain, as normal as he could be considering all he has been through. I will still choose hope and belief. What else am I left with? At a meeting I tried to attend I was told the sooner I get over my denial and accept his illness, the sooner I can heal and move on. Call me stubborn , but I am content to live in denial and pursue hope and healing. I just can’t give it all up, I am not ready, I may never be ready. This battle is ongoing and we had some rest and relaxation for 9 months, but the enemy is back. I know I am supposed to be all scientific, but I just refuse. I have a body, a mind, a soul and a spirit. My soul is where my will and my emotions live and my mind plays a part with that soul and also with my body. But my spirit? Yep ,it has a part to play also. It is where faith lives. All humans have faith-they simply put their faith into different values and ideas. Some have faith in Jesus, who claimed to the be the son of God and was crucified for His statement of Godhood. I am one of those who believe He really was son of God and really was crucified and then on the third day He was resurrected and defeated death for my sins, my inability to live a perfect life. Some have faith that there is no God, or faith in themselves, or faith in the universe or a doctors diagnosis.

Mental health is too complex to leave to one aspect of the entire human condition. He needs His spirit to be filled and protected, he needs his mind to calm down and stop racing and shut down ( drugs can really help here), his soul needs nourishment to know and realize he is loved and safe and his body needs sleep, good nutrition , exercise and in his case NO ILLICIT DRUGS. It is like he is allergic to them. They open something up inside him and out comes strange ideas, movements and paranoia. What is interesting is that his symptoms are like so many others. I mean literally. Same script, same words, same attacks, same voices……how can that be? I can understand diabetics having the same symptoms because their organs pretty much work the same in everyone’s body in the same way, or in their case they don’t work. But mental health? How can symptoms cross cultural, racial, socioeconomic barriers? Even religious barriers? The more I read accounts the more I see my son in other’s books. Same signs, symptoms, voices, gestures, etc. So I know the brain is doing something chemically, from some cause ( drugs seem to be a trigger) and almost all people lack insight that something is wrong. Their brain literally tells them the wrong signal. It seems intentional, like an enemy force put the play into action in their brains, that the enemy was able to get inside and send signals to fire in the brain for them to say the same things, act the same way, use vulgar language, become super strong, see the same figures…..How can this be? It has to be spiritual.

I do believe in a spirit world, because I believe the bible. It talks a lot about messengers or as we call them angels. Most Americans believe in angels, but not fallen angels. I do, and not just because of the bible but because I have seen their work. Like a portal opens and they have permission to come in and prey on a person in their weakest area. They would know, they are assigned to each person. God , in the psalms says each person has guardian angels ( messengers from God) so that is at least two messengers. If I were the enemy I would send at least one to frustrate the plans of God. And since they have been around longer than all of us they would know all our weaknesses, hear our self talk in the silence when we are alone, and they would know all the generations prior to us; what they did, what their weakness were or their ‘bents’. They could easily have a way in and I believe unforgiveness, rejection, drug addiction, occultic practices can be portals for them to come in. I am sure I have lost a lot of you by now. Everyone would like it to be a scientific curable problem, but it isn’t. And the truth is it is growing and the system is broken and most end up in a vicious cycle of hospital, release, counsel, rejection of meds, back to ER, then to hosp for stabilization and all over again. And it costs billions over the course of time. The hard part is that the person who is afflicted doesn’t even know , their minds have become captive to something else; and their families are stigmatized, embarrassed, judged and set aside. No one like to deal with a problem that doesn’t seem fixable and appears self inflicted. (IT IS NOT)

Sounds of Silence…..those words haunt me, because they do not describe silence. They describe darkness being a friend to talk to , visions creeping in while sleeping and seeds being planted in his mind. But it is familiar and he considers it a friend, someone he is acquainted with. Think of a child with an invisable friend, or a monster under the bed….what if they had insight into the spiritual and we did not protect them with the word of God and told those foul spirits to leave in Jesus name. What if they were trying to tell us something and we didn’t listen because we didn’t believe. We need to Close all portals of unforgiveness , bitterness and rejection and shame, (any many others), which often lead to destructive behaviors people use to cover it all up,hide it, run from it

And in the naked light I saw
Ten thousand people, maybe more.
People talking without speaking,
People hearing without listening,
People writing songs that voices never share
And no one dared
Disturb the sound of silence.

I don’t have the answers, this is simply a writing of thoughts along the way of my journey into this dark world I have been thrown into and my wondering about what is going on. I want to fight this on all sides, I want to help those in every area. A war cannot be won on one front, it must be flanked and surrounded until the enemy surrenders. In this case I will fight, pray, study both the word of God and the word of doctors. I will search medicines, nutrition and deliverance as well I believe we saw a miracle for 9 months, I know it and I will not let my faith be shaken…..This son of my will be of sound mind and not possessing a spirit of fear. Here me enemy of the light, your days are numbered, in the name of Jesus Christ you will leave and your plans thwarted not only for my son but for a multitude. Amen, which means SO BE IT

What if we are wrong?

Posted on March 3, 2015 by tigerhart

I have to admit I am somewhat of an end times junkie. This all started years ago when my children were little and I wanted to add to the holiday fun for the family. I listened to Focus on the Family and they had recommended a book that I can’t remember the name of, but it had great ideas to add to each holiday to make it Christ relevant and fun. This was exactly what I was looking for. In this book was a section on a “christian passover” After reading about it and diving in full force ( those who know me understand I have two speeds, fast and full-blown) I hosted my family and in brother and sister-in-law and 6 small toddlers and babies to a 4 hour nightmare of full on kosher “Christian Passover” meal and Seder. Let’s just say it was a disaster, but it whet my appetite for bible study and I dove in head first and I haven’t had my nose out of those books ever since. I teach a lot about the 7 feasts of the Lord and the end time significance that they imply. After seeing Christ fulfill the first three feasts to the day and the Holy Spirit fulfill the fourth to the day I was hooked. I knew the Lord was teaching us something important if we only had eyes to see and ears to hear.

This short article is not about all the study on the feasts, that is reserved for another time, it is not about the wedding feast and wedding preparation either, again for another article; this is about missing what God is doing. Kind of like missing the trees for the forest, or is it missing the forest for the trees? I never remember, but either works fine for me.

You see we tend to have preconceived notions about how and when Christ will return. There are those who simply quote “no man knows the day or hour except the Father” so they ignore it all and put their head in the sand, not realizing the play on words Jesus was using. Then there are those who have charts and 7 years and 3 and 1/2 years and peace treaties they try to tie it up with a bow and take all christians out of the picture up to a grand wedding supper with the Lamb of God all the while the bride is still on earth….but you see there is one body, ONE BODY. Ephesians 4 sums in up nicely. We ( non jews, Hebrews ,GENTILES) were once far away and separated and excluded, utterly estranged and outlawed from the rights of Israel as a nation–strangers with NO share in the sacred compacts of the Messianic promise. We had no hope, being in the world but without God. But now, Christ Jesus has brought us near by His blood, He is our peace our bond and unity. He has made us both Jew and Gentile ONE BODY and abolished the dividing wall between us. By abolishing HIs own crucified flesh the enmity caused by the Law with its decrees and ordinances, which He annulled; that He from the TWO might create in Himself ONE new man–one new quality of humanity out of the TWO, so making peace.

When I read these words in Ephesians I am more convinced than ever that we, the gentiles are grafted into the olive tree ( Israel) and we now follow them, and their God is now ours and we are one with them. Ruth displayed this perfectly when she left her land and became a Jewess and followed what Naomi told her to do. But that is not what I read or hear about. All I ever read about now is how the body is secretly removed, without the dead in Christ rising first, and then God deals with Israel as a separate entity. I think we are looking at this all wrong. We are looking in the wrong places and trying to make the end of time fit our model of what we want and what we think we should get. The Pharisees and Sadducees did the same thing. They fit the coming of the Messiah to conveniently fit the mold of Christ coming in the power of the throne of David and ruling over all the world and putting and end to their enemies, presently Rome. The problem was they were looking at what they saw in themselves according to the word of God and not what it said about all the people. they forgot God told Abraham they would be a light to the gentiles. God already planned to make them one body Re-Read Ephesians 2 again, slowly and in as many versions as you like. Christ unites us into one body–one body marries the lamb, one body is the bride, one body to love and enjoy Him forever. We become the people of God through Christ, just as they become fulfilled through all the law and prophets when they believe and trust the Christ Jesus is their messiah. No one comes to the Father without the Son. We both are joined in His death and His resurrection.

So when I see the fall feasts i Look for Christ and the implications of the great deception the God is sending; and the falling away of the love of the body and a lawless man arising; I am on the lookout. Satan doesn’t know when either, so he must always have a man of flesh prepared in every era of time, ready to fulfill the scriptures. Don’t look for your ticket out of here, look to those who are around you and need to know. What do they need to know? That you believe, that you believe in this Christ, enough to stake your life on it, and the lives of your children and families. Tell them what He has done for you. Ruth did, she followed Naomi and did what she was called to do and Naomi’s God became hers, She , the moabite, cast out of the family of israel for 10 generations because of her people could not be in the congregation of the Lord now became the 10th generation, the one to break the curse and then to become the great grandmother of David. Tell them so they will not be deceived, or ambivalent or a scoffer, Or do you think that Christian persecution will not happen here?

I don’t have the answers, I am just a fellow disciple on the road following Christ like you, but I choose to look to HIm and wonder–not at a set plan that men have said must happen before Christ returns based on tradition and man centered ideas. , The Jews during the time of Jesus missed it and Jesus wept over them. This tribulation will be even worse, if possible the Word of God says, so increase your diet of scriptures, take them to heart. teach them, learn them, and then mentor others. We all have a piece to play in this puzzle–being a part of the body, one body, one Israel, is the most amazing thing I could have read tonight. Iam reconciled to His plan through a people He chose from the beginning knowing His Son would bring peace to this world, but only through a magnificent death and resurrection. I for one am praying for those under extreme persecution from ISIS and pray that godly teachers will hear from God and tell us to be ready,to not be deceived and arm ourselves with the full armor of God, for we are in battle…the battle for souls… God Bless and get your nose in that bible as soon as your eyelids open.

Christ returns on a white horse and every one will know who HE is..

one month

Posted on October 23, 2014 by tigerhart

Time is something that we really can’t measure. Oh sure we try, there are minutes, hours, days, weeks, months and years. We even break it down to milliseconds and then try to grasp the infinite, but at it’s core we can’t really tell time. We just live daily and look forward and back and try to plan and re-group and move ahead.

I have a one month time appointment. You see one month ago I walked into a new meeting with my son, and a new doctor, ( assigned to us) to help manage some medication for an unknown and mystical ailment he has been dealing with. Of course if you have never had the chance to navigate the unchartered waters of the mental health world you would not understand that there is no answer, no cure or consistency when dealing with issues of the mind and often there is no “diagnosis” either. We just know we have to go once a month for a check up and do all we can to avoid another hospital stay. We went expecting to try something new, something that would help and not hinder in this field of “lets try this” or “lets mix this”, or “here is a new one”, but this time we had a total unexpected event. The new MD, Psychiatrist, simply looked across his desk and told my son nothing was wrong. He declared he was fine and didn’t need to come back at all. After I physically shut my jaw that had hit the floor and stopped the lump in my throat from breaking free, I asked what exactly what did he mean? I told him that he was required by the law to come for the next year, once a month, and that, we would in fact be coming back. He stuck to his guns and said nothing was wrong and to stop all medications, within 4 days or so. That sent alarms running through my brain, I knew you couldn’t just stop meds without weaning down from them, luckily I had done just that the previous 10 days as I thought his meds were, in fact, making him worse. But this? Stop everything and move on as if this was just a blip on the screen of his life? My son looked at me and said ” I told you nothing was wrong with me” so he stopped all meds that day. It was all I could do not to come unglued and panic as I thought he would be back in the hospital and having to endure so much more pain and anguish; I remained stoic and nodded.

So, one month is upon us tomorrow. All is stable, no real issues with withdrawal and absolutely no symptoms manifesting as they had in the past two years. So, of course I was determined to find another doctor and get someone who could help my son; I mean there is no way this “assigned” “cheap” psychiatrist could be right, and then I took a breath. I mean, we had been praying about this, interceding on his behalf, believing for a miracle and when I heard the words that he was fine I simply dismissed them. I set my mind against this doctor and waited to be proved right, after all my son has had two years of darkness and unworldly behavior, he couldn’t just be “fine” now could he? We had been dealing with things that one only sees in the movies and now “there is nothing wrong with him?”; I have seen too much wrong to believe

So I made a conscious decision to believe. After all, I ask my gals in bible study to trust and believe and here I was an unbeliever in the face of praying and asking God to heal my son. I felt a bit weird confessing to the group that I was going to believe the doctor and go along with diagnosis that he was fine. That he had endured a hard couple of years and was labeled by the first doctor and then all the other doctors followed suite. I knew enough that he had been under spiritual attack and my husband and I had even felt the real presence of evil in our home. But none the less, I chose to believe. I chose to believe in the power of prayer. I chose to believe that he is healed and even if he is not, I will still choose that the God of the universe will protect and keep him and for hope, but I DO BELIEVE. It sounds unlikely I know, I have talked to many people who would think I was in denial, they would try and talk me out of believing due to past behaviors, but I am choosing to brush them aside, I BELIEVE,

When was the last time you asked God for an answer to prayer and when you got one you simply denied it? I thought it would look different, that it would be harder and not so clear! So this doctor says my son in is fine, Okay, I believe and give thanks to God. Even with all that I declare, I am still struggling to not type an addendum; to say” please don’t judge me as a fool if I am wrong” and don’t mock me wanting to believe But in the end I know I follow the God of the universe, and He says I can go to him and ask for wisdom and to ask without wavering; so today and tomorrow and the next day I will choose to believe my son is better, he is really better, so I will say again I CHOOSE TO BELIEVE, do you?

Following the Path

Posted on October 15, 2014 by tigerhart

Nite and me at the Yellowhammer ride. Our first first place ride together.

Sometimes we go through life looking for signs. We search in the bible, we pray, we ask others and we even do silly things like ask God to sky write it in the clouds, or open a door that seems impossible to open; we want a sign, an answer that we are indeed on the right path. Recently I was called to ride ( I would say blessed or fortunate, but I am starting to believe God calls us to every situation even the ordinary or mundane), my new horse Nite in a 25 mile race and then Promise in a 50 mile race the next day. So many obstacles were in the way just to get there I felt I may never arrive. But arrive we did and got to work setting up camp, vetting in and preparing our game plan for the next few days. Torrential rains poured through out the morning the race was delayed for a couple of hours. We started strong and Nite and I raced to a first place finish, it was a delightful joy to cross that line and have a horse full of energy and elation at my first time to win first place.

But the Lord had a plan for me the next day, the Day of Atonement for the ancient Jewish Nation, The Day of the Lord for future thoughts and discourse, but I digress. I took off in the lead for the first loop; as I came in guns blazing, I had a great sound vet check and waited the 50 minutes to head back out. Promise, without a horse ahead and one behind him, slowed to an average 7.5 mph, not lightening speed, but decent for a wet single track through the woods. I was on the green and white loop, which consisted of white ribbons with green polka dots, not exactly shinning beacons of color or obvious in the dense forest of autumns shifting colors. The person who had marked this particular trail, unknown to them had set the course for a wonderful and Godly message not only for me, but for the ladies in my bible studies I would be teaching. These ribbons were placed just far enough apart that as you trotted or cantered along you began to wonder if you had missed a turn, even though there wasn’t an obvious turn anywhere in sight. Then moment would come that I had to consider if I did indeed miss an obscure turn and should I turn around, and then BAM, a ribbon would appear. I would thank the Lord, continue my pace and sing and pray during this most High Holy Day unto the Lord, yes a joyful noise for sure, crazy and made up songs, but joyful according to His word. Soon this pattern of ribbons just beyond what I could handle would appear in the nick of time reminding me that indeed I was on the right path. Soon a very determined rider caught up with me and judging by the look in her eyes and the fact she didn’t stop to water her horse in the majestic creek I was in, gave me pause to consider that she was serious about winning. I came out of the creek and started up the trail and she immediately passed me and took off with lightening speed. Well, Promise would have none of that and he kicked it into high gear and we galloped the next 10 slick and sloppy miles along single track with great speed. Ribbons were still sparse and I was still aware that I was riding by faith and just when I began to doubt the ribbon would appear bolstering my faith and confidence. She had missed two ribbons due to her speed and I hollered “hey”, turn here and soon she relaxed and we began to talk and enjoy the ride. At vet check after a fast 20 miles we checked out well, but my faithful friend did not want to eat or drink. I began the task of forcing him to eat grass and drink from a plunging tube and water bottle. I knew without eating or drinking on his own we wouldn’t pass the final vet inspection regardless of how well he trotted out. Off again in first we took off for the final loop. She passed us again and now it was 12 miles of full gallop. This was not what I had planned. My mentor’s ever-present voice bid me , “don’t get caught up in someone else’s race” kept a steady cadence in my heart. Soon two more fast women came upon us and the four of us went flying through the Talladega national forest. This was the white loop and I realized I was not watching ribbons anymore, we were going too fast, I was simply following them. I was no longer trusting the Lord ( ribbons) to follow the way set before me, but I was caught up with others as they went about their intense pace to finish the race. My horse was keeping up well but I knew this was not best for him. I couldn’t stop him well as I had shifted to a hackamore ( a bit-less bridle I can usually use on the last loop). I had to stop and get off their game plan. Promise wouldn’t drink at the water stops with their horses, he only wanted to be in the lead. That was the final straw, I had to make a change, get back to what I was called to do with the horse I was on and what I had come to do; and that was finish with 50 more miles under my belt. I got off in a creek, filled my water bottle forced him to drink two of them, forced green grass into his mouth and waited. I knew I wasn’t going to race them off and would be fourth no matter what, but if my horse didn’t pass I would be out and this day would result in a pull full of tears and regret. After I remounted, Promise knew they were up ahead and his pace quickened. I watched for the white ribbons and once again they came in the nick of time as I began to doubt I was on the right path yet again. I am a slow learner when it comes to faith. At the next creek I got off again and went through the force water and grass routine, he began to eat and drink on his own and knew I had done what I needed to do for him and that we would finish. My faith welled up inside me and I trusted the Lord for the rest. We finished 4th and had an impressive 50 mile race time. The girl who won, was showered with flowers and ribbons, but she carried with her a broken finger, bruised ribs and a mild concussion. In their speed the three riders were vying for position when the first place rider hit a tree and was catapulted 20 feet injuring herself. She is a tough cookie, remounted told her friends who had stopped to check on her she was fine, jumped on and out ran them to the finish line. I was so glad not to be near that accident, and overjoyed to be fourth.

But I was so much more excited about the Lord teaching me about the journey and the ribbons and my faith. Having that lesson and knowing I would be able to share this was the real prize. I knew several people who were at a crossroads of sorts in life, going along a path and wondering if they were on the right path. I could assure them that soon a ribbon would appear and confirm they were also on the right path. The word says that we plan our course, but it is the Lord that determines our steps. Proverbs’ 16:9. I learned that as we journey there are markers, and these markers are just beyond where you can see them. They are around the corner of Faith and trust. Many people simply think they have missed them and turn around, sometimes they get lost doing this, other times they lose out as others pass them by, some even doubt there is a ribbon up head and they lose faith. But…there is a ribbon ahead, you just must trust the Lord. Believing in Jesus is about leaning your entire personality onto Him, trusting Him with everything and believing. It is our obedience to believe. We get confused and think we should be “doing” things to obey the Lord, not so, we are to BELIEVE! The actions come later in our belief. TO BELIEVE, TO KNOW AND BELIEVE increases our faith, it allows us to pray with out doubt, being double minded. It allows us to trust God. Doubt would always creep in minutes before I would see the ribbon and then I would be so thankful and glad I would rejoice, but within a few miles I would wonder all over again if I had missed it, but then there it was.

Now we obviously don’t get real ribbons in life, but we do get His word, spoken in the right season, we get friends who encourage us and assure us of our faith, they tell us that “they know we are loved and that God has chosen us”, we hear a song on the radio, a scripture from a radio show or TV show and sometimes just nature declares His glory and we hear that still quiet voice and we know we are on the right path. When I was racing too fast and following others I forgot the ribbons for my race- another valuble lesson. I have followed many, got caught up in their journey, jealous and confused about what they had and what I didn’t . But my directions were right there, I just didn’t see them because I was too close to another wanting to follow them and not my own path. You see, even on the same trail, with the same ribbons, we have a different plan. God can handle all of that and we don’t have to fret about it at all. When I thought I would not vet in, that I had pushed it too far, ruined it…..I declared NO! I knew that I knew I would finish, I refused to let doubt get in; I reminded myself I don’t believe in fate or “bad luck”, but faith in God and what He was teaching me. I didn’t think of what could happen, but only saying in advance thank you for the finish, because I trusted the Lord to bring me ALL the way through. He did. I was so encouraged I shared with both my bible study groups and told them that their ribbons were out there. But to watch for that ribbon, to believe it was right around the next bend, the next corner, the next tree, that is faith, and that is where you get to be a part of a miracle that God has in store for you. Is Your marriage falling apart and you want to quit? There is a ribbon ahead, wait for it while moving a head on that path, Is your diagnosis is bleak, wait for that confirmation ribbon that comes right when you need it, and not a moment to soon. As our faith grows I believe our ribbons are spaced out even farther to stretch us and make us grow more in the Lord, trusting and riding by faith and not by sight. We want a “sign”, Jesus said there would be no sign except that of Jonah, ( three days and nights in the fish) to represent His resurrection. The people wanted skywriting, a casting of lots, a prophet to lay hands on them, a medium to tell them the future…..all things He said to stay away from and yet we seek those I want to encourage you that I have been on that path, I have doubted, even stopped and wondered should I turn back, investigate a trail that looked like another way….I am hear to tell you. Keep on keeping on, your ribbon is right up there, God can see it, He is just waiting for you to get there so He can reveal HIs glory to you and reassure you that He loves you and that He is right there with you. On days I couldn’t, another rider would come along side me to reassure me, on days when you can’t, He sends me to ride with you and confirm the ribbons. What a great and mighty God to show us truths in our everyday life, our hobbies, our jobs, our families. He has set the paths up, go to the ride meeting and get your map and find out what direction to start….church and His word, it’s all there. we are in this together. so blast the magnificent seven music and get ready to ride the path of His word and have the ride of your life
Your sister in Christ
Amy