Poem: Forever My God

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Beautiful is not the right word It’s so much more One could use the word glory This only captures a tiny glimpse of the reality of your presence The dictionary does not contain a word worthy to describe your majesty I sit here with nothing to give back A broken body A sinful heart Praise is all I can offer In suffering, there is a reality of death You cannot be ignored Without You, I cannot get through my day I think about you all the time The pain brings me to You I cry out to You, my Father Not understanding why, but trusting there will be a when When I am healed Whether on this side of heaven or not, surely I will be healed Trusting in your timing as compassion for others is growing Patience is not a quality that … [Read more...]

Dear Fear: A Letter To My Fears When Living with Chronic Illness

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Have you ever considered writing a letter to your fears? Dear Fear. . .  it can help you understand what is really important and what you will let go of and give to God so your fears no longer control you. By Melissa Svensen Dear Fear, We have known one another for a while now. You tell me lies all the time, yet I keep letting you back in my life. You overwhelm me with what ifs. What if you don’t ever get well. . . What if God does not want to heal you. . . What if you never accomplish your dreams. . . What if you never get to eat food that tastes good again. . . What if you have to live in chronic pain for the rest of your life. . . What if you can’t stick to the diet you need to follow to get well. . . What if your kids … [Read more...]

Devotion: God is the Best Heart Monitor

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"For you created my inmost being; you knit me together in my mother's womb. I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; your works are wonderful, I know that full well. 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. Your eyes saw my unformed body; all the days ordained for me were written in your book before one of them came to be." (Psalm 139:13-16) Once again, God has me nestled in a place where I am forced to rely on Him. I can't escape the fact that for the next 30 days, someone is watching little heartbeat spikes that are transmitted electronically and examined for problems. My confession? I'm scared. You see, I've always been afraid of the … [Read more...]

Has Anyone Ever Mistaken You for “Jesus?”

This is a story floating around on the internet that blessed us & we wanted to pass it on. Now that the holidays have passed it is easy to go back to thinking of our self & our own problems instead of keeping that attitude of reaching out to others that is often displayed in November & December. This story is a nice reminder. . . A few years ago a group of salesmen went to a regional sales convention in Chicago. They had assured their wives that they would be home in plenty of time for Friday night's dinner. In their rush, with tickets & brief-cases, one of these salesmen inadvertently kicked over a table which held a display of baskets of apples. Apples flew everywhere. Without stopping or looking back, they all managed to reach the … [Read more...]