Forever For His Glory

Let me begin by saying this: that if God had let me live in the muddy mire for all of my life, and then sent me to hell for my sins, God would have been perfectly righteous and just to do so. I do not deserve anything. But God and the way He loves. It all began with a phone call last Monday afternoon. “Do you want to go to the International House of Prayer on Thursday?” The International House of Prayer (IHOP) is located in Kansas City, Missouri, and they facilitate 24/7 praise and prayer, which they have been doing for 14 years. My friend and her mom were going up to Kansas City because my friend was going to be in Youth With A Mission’s Intimacy 2 Impact Discipleship Training School for 3 months, which happens to be about a mile down the road from IHOP. The call was a direct answer to my mom’s prayer that she had prayed the day before the call - that she could see how IHOP facilitates prayer so that she could organize a 48 hour prayer where we live. I didn...

A week and a half ago, I received an anonymous letter in the mail with instructions that it was not to be opened until October 19th - my brother's wedding day. Needless to say, my curiosity was at it's peak. Who is it from?! I've always loved the idea of anonymous letters, and I couldn't wait to see what was inside! The morning of the wedding dawned bright and beautiful, and I hastened to open the card. Inside, I discovered something I was not expecting: a love letter. Literally, my heart skipped a beat. Have you ever opened a letter, not knowing who it was from, and read, "Dearest ____, I have loved you with an everlasting love"? My heart went a piter-patter, and rightly so. Because the card was from God. The entire card was verses expressing God's love, concern, and how He cares for me. It was signed "Abba". Love letters have always been something that have intrigued me, but I've never thought of receiving an actual...

“What are you thankful for this Thanksgiving?” “Family.” “Jesus.” “Friends.” “Home.” Last Wednesday was the last Bible study before Thanksgiving. When we first started teaching the class 3+ years ago, it was like pulling teeth to get the kids to pay attention and not be disruptive. After several months, I was ready to quit after several weeks where the boys were being especially rude and disruptive (it seemed like they were doing it out of spite for us). We didn’t, of course, though it was very tempting. The lady that had taught the class before us used to go home every week crying, and I could definitely understand why. After those weeks of “trials”, the kids started getting better (slowly) and we started building relationships with them. The surprising thing was that the boys that were originally the “trouble-makers”, became the best students. After they found out that we loved them and cared about their life, they started paying attention, asking questions, and genuinely wanting to ...

Some friends taught us this song recently, and I love the lyrics! It's also really fun to sing. Take a listen..... You've Been Mercy All the Way     by John G. Elliott Chorus  Mercy mercy Goodness and kindness Love and forgiveness Mercy mercy It's been mercy all the way It's been mercy all the way Verse 1 Lord I thank You For Your faithful mercy All my footsteps Have been guarded by grace From this moment on My heart will praise You Lord I love You Lord I love You Verse 2 You have loved me With a great compassion You have spared me From the pain I deserve Here's my heart Oh may it bring You pleasure Lord I love You Lord I love You

This was written November 20th, 2008. And we know that all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are the called according to His purpose. Romans 8:28           Our family was probably considered poor in CA; we did not have fancy cars, and the one we had was always dirty. We only bought new clothes if they were on sale, but we were never in want. We always had food to eat, clothes to wear, running water, and everything a family needed. We had a wonderful home school group, called Amazing Grace Academy, and we seemed to be busy with one event or another every weeknight. I was as happy as any 9 year old could be, and then, we moved.           When we moved to Texas four and one half years ago I was everything but thankful. I did not understand how moving to Texas was God’s plan, nor how He could do that to us. I was, though I did not really realize it then, mad at God....