God’s Timing and Ways are Perfect – Update Baby Blanket Project!! January 19, 2012

So, how many of you remember this (http://sistertosister.wordpress.com/2010/11/01/i-challenge-you/) challenge we put out more than a year ago? Our baby blanket challenge!

Now, perhaps we didn’t QUITE meet our goal, but I am very happy to announce that all together we were able to donate 11 beautiful handmade baby blankets to the local Crisis Pregnancy Center near where I live! It was such a blessing to work together with everyone who worked hard on these blankets!

For some reason forgetful me was entrusted with bringing the blankets to the center, and as you can tell, time got WAY ahead of me! But, God’s ways our not our ways, and His timing is perfect! I was able to drop them off today and was told that this was the perfect timing and they were really needing them at this time and in this cold weather! Praise the Lord! I could never have planned that myself!!

The director sent a beautiful thank you note that I want to share with you all! Thanks again for everyone who helped out with this! <3 You all are blessings!

And a BIG thank you to Debbie, the director of the center, for all the hard work you and everyone else is doing in the Name of Jesus! You are such a blessing to those around you!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Dear Amy and Friends,

“Man’s dignity rests in God who assigns an inestimable worth to every person. Man’s origin is not an accident, but a profoundly intelligent act by One who has eternal value; by One who stamps His image on each person. God creates men and moves heaven and earth to redeem them when they fall. Our origin is in creation and our destiny is for redemption. Between these two points every human heartbeat has value.” R.C. Sproul

Thank you for your loving support and your very generous gift of the beautiful baby blankets. Your gift comes at such a critical time and will be very appreciated by the moms and babies we serve. I wish I could send you the smiles the blankets will bring. Having a hand made gift is such a powerful message of love. Please know that your gift will help to further the work of the Crisis Pregnancy Center in helping reach women in crisis pregnancy and helping them to choose life for their unborn babies.

Soon we will be welcoming our 1,450th baby and we are so very grateful for your partnership.

Warmly in Christ,

Deborah Laws
Executive Director

Everywhere I look, I see Your Face… July 28, 2011

We often sing the song “Every Move I Make” with the preschool kids in the mornings, and each time we get to the part “Everywhere I look I see Your face.” I look into the faces of those blessed children around me and realize how true it is – each time I look into one of their faces I see Jesus. Everywhere I look I see His precious face – in the Mama’s faces when they give you huge smiles and love you, in the kids when they yell “Auntie! Auntie” and give you big kisses and hugs, in my roomies when we we’re all loopy from smelling to much paint thinner, or when they share beautiful lessons God has been teaching them. Everywhere I look I see HIS face.

Where is your home? June 9, 2011

“Whom have I in heaven but You?
And there is none upon earth that I desire besides You.”
Psalm 73:25

“By faith Abraham obbeyed when he was called to go out to the place which he would reveive as an inheritance. And he went out, not knowing where he was going. By faith he dwelt in the land of promise as in a foreign country, dwelling in tents with Isaac and Jacob, the heirs with him of the same promise: for he waited for the city which has foundations, whose builder and maker is God.”
Hebrews 11:8-10

Where is your home? There is a saying which says “Home is where the heart is.” And I have to agree. My home is where my heart is. When someone says home there are two things that come to mind – Heaven (God says this world is not our home, but HIS kingdom is! :OD), and the home where I have lived for as long I can remember with my little and big family all around. Today I have been thinking about homes though, and so here are my thoughts!

Since we know this world is not actually our home, then how can we claim just one place to be “home”? My home is wherever God puts me, because wherever He puts me is where my heart is (or will be, sometimes God has to do more work on me before I can throw my heart into it! ). So, my heart is in Heaven where my God is waiting for me, and where I will praise Him for all eternity! It is where my family is – My heart is with my family – and always will be! They are such important people to me, and I love them lots and always will. But my home is also here, in Uganda, where I know God has placed me at this moment – I am at home because my heart is here now. My home is wherever he puts me in the future – whether it is in the U.S., here in Uganda, in China, Mexico, with head hunters, sweet old ladies, or crying babies. Whether it is a dirt hut, a cardboard box, or a pretty white house in New England. My heart will be there – in fact it already is right now, even though I don’t know where that is. My family will not only be my biological family, but also my brother’s and sister’s in Christ all around the world. My nieces and nephews, sons and daughters will not only be my biological ones, but also the little street children and orphans who are dirty and hungry – I will love them like I do my bio family!

God – You are leading me to my real home, help me to love all my earthly homes as well, no matter where I am! Help me to love YOUR children!

So if you ask me where my home is, I may tell you something different, depending on where I am at the moment, but really I have many homes, which are all leading to my true Home someday!

Quote I wanted to share… :-) June 8, 2011

“But God doesn’t call us to be comfortable. He calls us to trust Him so completely that we are unafraid to put ourselves in situations where we will be in trouble if He doesn’t come through”
…
-Francis Chan

Who you gonna trust? June 4, 2011

I’m in Africa right now (I know! *Freak out moment!!* ), and yes, that freak out moment is in good and bad ways. It’s only my 2nd day, and I am realizing that you gotta trust God in the ups and the downs! Now I’m sure most of us think we know this, but when your heart is pounding in your chest about things which are scary, it’s hard to remember that HE has the whole world in His Hands!

 

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

 

And so my dear sisters, in not fearing – 1 Cor. 16:13-14 “Watch, stand fast in the faith, be brave, be strong. Let all that you do be done with love.”

Many Apologies and “What did you read this morning?” May 18, 2011

First off, I would like to begin with my deepest apologies for not posting in forever! April was really crazy for me with school, as was the beginning of May, and then I was on vacation, but I have returned now – at least for a short time! I know, I know! No excuses should be given! I have just been lazy in this area of my life, and I am very sorry!!! I shall try to do better!!
Be rest assured though, I did not forget about you all! Although it sometimes felt like my life was spinning out of control, I kept trying to think of what I could post here…
However, if I were to be very honest with myself and you, I would have to admit it wasn’t just school and busyness which kept me from posting here, although that was a big part of it. The other big part was that I have been on a bit of a… Standstill I guess you could call it, in my spiritual growth. With all the craziness I got lax with my Bible reading and alone time with God – one quick chapter a day when I am falling asleep is not enough. I also have been feeling the lack of being around Christians who really push me to keeping faithful. No, I have not been doubting God, or falling away from the faith – Jesus is my Savior, and always will be, but it has been a down time for me in growth areas. I am very thankful that He has given me a certain Christian friend at school (an old friend of mine), and allowed us to have lots of time together this past semester for studying, library time, and weekly Panera lunch trips, and she has really helped me when I have needed to sort things out about what I believe about stuff. And also for our own dear Author HannahBeth, who always points me to the Lord. But I have not been strict with myself, and things in my life have suffered because of that.
This all sort of leads up to what I wanted to share with you this week. Just this week I had the pleasure to go visit HannahBeth at the ministry where she serves, and got to help out there for a couple days – it was an amazing experience – being around such Godly Christian ladies, who really encouraged me and pointed me to the Lord, and getting to have some good long heart-to-heart talks with HannahBeth! One thing especially stuck out to me however, which happened yesterday. Monday night HannahBeth and I stayed up to the wee hours of the morning just talking and sharing our hearts – which was amazing, and the next morning we sort of dragged ourselves out of bed, and got started with the busy day right off. Around lunchtime I headed to the main ministry house and went down to see if Linda, the lady in charge of watching the kids needed any help getting ready for them. (On a side note – this lady is so amazing – so sweet, and loves Jesus and the kids so much! So inspiring! I was so blessed to be able to work along side her two days in a row on my short visit!). While I was down helping a sweet African lady who also was going to be helping with the kids came down and was full of smiles and “God bless you!” And “Jesus loves you!” and was just so full of joy, and sharing about what she had learned that morning in her Bible reading. And then it happened – turning to me she asked me with a face full of anticipation – “What did you read this morning?”
What could I do with such a Godly woman but to just be honest and tell the truth? Blushing to the roots of my hair I admitted reluctantly that I had not read anything that morning (and was hoping really hard she wouldn’t ask what I had read the day before, because if I was honest I would have to say – nothing then either. I’m ashamed even to write that!). She proceeded to ask me when I was planning on reading my Bible, and I told her I normally do at night. Then she gave me a beautiful lecture about how important it is to spend time with the Lord in the morning – at the start of the day, to get help and encouragement to help us through the day. And also how important it is to be able to share that with others.
Ok, I was very ashamed of myself, but at the same time I was able to honestly thank her for the encouragement in that area of my life. Sadly I am rarely put into that situation, and I realized how helpful it is – we as Christians need to be asking each other if we are keeping up with our Bible reading, and what we are learning! It is very important, and going away I felt inspired and challenged! (And made sure to read my Bible this morning, even though it was 3:30am when I had to get up for the plane ride home!). Later HannahBeth and I had a really good talk about how good it is to be pushed like that, how we felt ashamed of ourselves, and how we felt inspired and how beautiful it was that she asked that of us – just the seemingly simple question of “What did you read this morning?” Of course this morning I had to text HannahBeth between flights and ask her what she read this morning, and share what I had read!

Anyways, my challenge for you is to SHARE! And ASK! This lady didn’t have to wait to be asked what she had read – she was bubbling over just WAITING to share it with someone, and ready to be encouraged by what someone else had learned! Let us be more like that. Next time you see a Christian friend say – “God bless you! This is what I read and learned in the Bible this morning! What did you read and learn??” You might just make a huge impact on someones life, like she did for me! And don’t be afraid to push each other to be faithful! As Christians in a dark world we NEED that!
Proverbs 27:17 says -
“As iron sharpens iron,
So a man sharpens the countenance of his friend.”

This is so true! Be faithful sisters! And encourage and sharpen each other! We all need it!

Jesus – the… TV character???? April 2, 2011

(Note – the views and opinions in this post are this authors only, and do not necessarily express the ideas of all the authors on this blog.).

In regards to the movie “The Passion of the Christ” there are many different opinions whether it is right or wrong, etc.
I know many good Christian people who believe both ways, and this post is not a review of the movie, nor is it going to go over the good and bad points of the movie. I personally have never (and will never) watch it, for various reasons, but this post is, instead, about a conversation I over heard in the store today, which went something like this -

Person to friend – “Dude! You have never seen “The Passion of the Christ”?? It’s awesome! They beat the **** out of Jesus! They beat Him good, man!”

Needless to say I almost went over and punched the dude out. But as I walked away I began to think, regardless of whether the movie itself is right or wrong, or whether the Bible says we should or should have “images” of Jesus, the thing that was in my mind was – is it right that our Lord and Savior should be reduced to a mere TV character? Perhaps when Christians see it, they see what their Lord did for them, but many people view it as just another movie. They can go buy popcorn and sit for hours watching “Jesus” being beaten, and then come out and say, “They beat Him good! It was awesome!” (And not in the way a Christian might mean the word “awesome”.). Again people can sit and ridicule our Lord as the scene is reenacted before our eyes. And the difference is that Jesus, while reduced to “just a movie character” is NOT just a movie character, and people KNOW that – that kid who was talking was speaking in contempt of what my Lord did for the world. He wasn’t saying “Wow, it was amazing what Jesus said!” No, it was a triumphant “We beat Him good.”
Awesome that they beat Jesus? No. Awesome that Jesus did that to save us from our sins? Yes. Awesome that they nailed Him to the cross? No. Awesome that Jesus allowed them to put Him through some of the worst torture ever known to man? Yes.

Whether or not you agree with movies like this, please be careful not to EVER reduce Jesus to “just a movie character”. He is NOT that – He is our great Lord and King! He is our Savior. The greatest story ever from history may have been put into a movie, but a movie could NEVER capture the glory of the Lord, and the awesomeness of what He did for us. So be careful.

Great God Who Saves March 18, 2011

My Mom has had this album for a little while now, but I only discovered it this year. I had heard a couple other songs by Laura Story, and loved them, so one day I decided to go dig out Mom’s CD, and as soon as I started playing it I fell in love with it!

Her songs are all so uplifting, beautiful, and focused on the Lord! When I hear them it lifts my soul to Him! They help me refocus on my God and King on the bad and the good days! They remind me of His amazing love and grace for me!

In a way, I rank her close to Twila Paris’s music, (which I also love) – they both have beautiful, pure sounding voices, and always seem to have a song for everything I am going through at the moment! And it is sooo much nicer to listen to music which is beautiful and honoring the Lord while I am driving to school or other places, instead of just the radio.

In short, I would HIGHLY recommend checking this CD out – I love ALL the songs (which is pretty rare for me. I mean, I love some more than others, but I like them all!!). (And if you aren’t sure whether you will like them or not, youtube has most of them that you can listen too! So you can look up a list of the songs, and check them out there before buying the album! ).

I hope it will bless and encourage you as much as it has me!

God bless!!

P.S. – This is one of my favorites of all of them! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p6Xp5AqyoBc&feature=player_embedded

I am weak, but He is strong! March 13, 2011

Isaiah 40:28-31
“Have you not known?
Have you not heard?
The everlasting God, the LORD,
The Creator of the ends of the earth,
Neither faints nor is weary.
His understanding is unsearchable.
He gives power to the weak,
And to those who have no might He increases strength.
Even the youths shall faint and be weary,
And the young men shall utterly fall,
But those who wait on the LORD
Shall renew their strength;
They shall mount up with wings like eagles,
They shall run and not be weary,
They shall walk and not faint.”

These verses blessed me so much this morning when the pastor read them at church! Lately I have been feeling very weary – weary of school, weary of homework, weary of studying, weary of people, weary of life, etc. So this was SUCH a beautiful reminder to me! God is NEVER weary! And if we wait on Him, He will renew our strength, and we will be able to RUN and no be weary!

So dear sisters, when you are feeling weary and faint – when you are weak – He is strong! Rest in Him! Wait on Him and He shall renew your strength!

Fear February 24, 2011

I’ve been thinking about fear lately – I must admit, I am someone who struggles with being fearful, and growing up it was a big thing I had to fight against, but lately God has been teaching me that HE is the One who protects me, and I am in HIS hands – What is there to fear? No matter WHAT happens to me, I am in God’s hands, and He is giving me the grace to get through it.

Here are some verses God brought to my attention this evening – I pray they will bless you as they did me –

Romans 8:15 -
“For you did not receive the spirit of bondage again to fear, but you received the Spirit of adoption by whom we cry out, ‘Abba, Father.’”

Wow! God has set us free from the bondage of fear – instead of the fearful spirit, we have the Spirit which makes us want to shout out – “FATHER!!!!” God is our amazing Savior, Father, and King! He has given us a Spirit by which there IS NO FEAR!!! Wow – amazing! :OD

2 Timothy 1:7
“For God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power and of love and of a sound mind.”

That spirit of fear IS NOT FROM GOD! Instead He gives us HIS power, HIS love, and a “sound mind” – one that is stayed on HIM!

 

“For He Himself has said, ‘I will never leave you nor forsake you.’
So we may boldly say:
‘The LORD is my helper;
I will not fear.
What can man do to me?’” ~ Hebrews 13:5b-6

God HIMSELF has told us that He will “never leave you nor forsake you”!! WOW! Check out that promise girls!!!!! AMAZING OR WHAT????!!!! And because we KNOW He will NEVER leave us or forsake us, get what we get to say BOLDLY! – “The Lord is my helper: I WILL NOT FEAR. (Why? Because HE is our helper, and will never leave us or forsake us!)  What can man do to me?”

Man – man can kill your body, but man CANNOT TOUCH YOUR SOUL – so what CAN man truly do to us??? Nothing. Nothing because we have no fear – God is with us forever and ever amen!

Embrace these promises dear girls! As women we have a lot of fear in us, but God tells us over and over that He wants to take that fear away – trust in Him! And He will never disappoint!