FORTY YEARS AGO

After 40 yrs. this is the first photo next to the marque

Forty years ago this year, we first stepped into our gem of the valley, Grace Community Church. My husband and I began our many spiritual adventures, the beginning of many friendships and joyful times.
It was our first exposure to intense expository teaching.  The rustle of pages of everyone in unison rushing to get to a passage and furiously writing notes to keep up with our then much younger Pastor John.  Those times were exciting for us.  Well most of them anyway.
The three services were held in the gym and were very crowded.  Coming in late often meant your seat may just be up in the choir loft after the choir sang.  On occasion others sat on the floor.  In contrast now we can sit almost anywhere out in the patio and listen from there.
Meanwhile on the other side of campus we eagerly watched the new worship center being built.  The seminary building may have just been a dream then and the Book Store was the Book Shack because it was located in the middle of the parking lot in a Shack.
I love my church.  It is a place of safety and comfort for me.  A place of encouragement.
As hard as it is to keep up with things now, our pastor also seems to have slowed down and it is so wonderful to be able to take notes a little slower.
The music is very uplifting and very worshipful and I'm so thankful that others have the talent to soothe my non musical ears. 
We still live in exciting times as was demonstrated this week in Santa Clarita.  I know I can count on my church family to rally around me in my times of need too because they have in times past.
Yes, I am so grateful for my church and the love that surrounds me.

WHEN GOD DOESN'T FIX IT

  “When God Doesn’t Fix It”

 I just finished reading this very moving book.  What a treasure trove of encouragement!  While I have heard many of the truths through out my life journey, trials keep popping in and out, and some are here to remain with each unexpected hurdle, in a race, I do not want to run in, but there is nothing I can do about it.

No matter what season in life we find ourselves, Laura reminds us that joy does not come from our circumstances but from our God.  And since God is with us during our trials, it is possible to have joy even in our trials. 

This is a time to be thankful for the opportunities we have to serve and without the things we have experienced we would not be serving in those areas.

I highly recommend reading this book if nothing else for the encouragement it brings.  It also gives insights into the WHY's .  There is nothing in scriptures that tells us we are entitled to an answer.

It will challenge you to trust God in new ways.

 

 In Laura's own words why she wrote this book.

If you had told me ten years ago that my husband’s illness would end up being our greatest platform for ministry I would have run screaming in the other direction. Let’s be honest. No one asks for a platform of pain or a stage of suffering. Martin’s brain tumor and resulting disabilities have been a challenge for us, both physically and spiritually. They have stretched us beyond what we thought possible and even caused us to question the very faith we had held tightly for many years.
I have often wondered why God chose me to walk through this trial so publicly, and many days literally on a stage. My faith is small. Most days I wake up feeling too weak for the task laid before me. But it is in those moments that my heart is reminded of the truth God whispered to Paul in the jail cell—a setting he hadn’t asked for either. In 2 Corinthians 12:9, He says to Paul, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” Is it possible that God would allow situations into the lives of those who are most weak in order to showcase His perfect redemptive power?
This is why I wrote When God Doesn’t Fix It.
It’s for anyone whose prayer was not answered in the way they expected, or maybe not in the time frame they might have preferred. It is for anyone who has walked a hard road that’s caused them to question their beliefs. For those who have found themselves at the holy crossroads of trying to decide whether to turn from God or trust Him with greater abandon. In many ways it’s a story of faithlessness (pun intended) that God has redeemed by His faithfulness. But most of all, it’s another way of surrendering my life and story to God, to see His power displayed in ways that I could only dream might be possible. To Him be the glory in all things.http://laurastorymusic.com/why-i-wrote-when-god-doesnt-fix-it/

We pray for blessings
We pray for peace
Comfort for family, protection while we sleep
We pray for healing, for prosperity
We pray for Your mighty hand to ease our suffering
All the while, You hear each spoken need
Yet love is way too much to give us lesser things
‘Cause what if your blessings come through raindrops
What if Your healing comes through tears
What if a thousand sleepless nights are what it takes to know You’re near
What if trials of this life are Your mercies in disguise
We pray for wisdom
Your voice to hear
We cry in anger when we cannot feel You near
We doubt your goodness, we doubt your love
As if every promise from Your Word is not enough
All the while, You hear each desperate plea
As long as we have faith to believe
When friends betray us
When darkness seems to win
We know that pain reminds this heart
That this is not our home
What if my greatest disappointments
Or the aching of this life
Is the revealing of a greater thirst this world can’t satisfy
What if trials of this life
The rain, the storms, the hardest nights
Are your mercies in disguise

New Spring (ASCAP) / Gleaning Publishing (ASCAP) (adm by Music Services)