Our scheduled speaker called us a few days before this Carelink meeting to tell us that she had a minor family emergency and would not be able to share with us. Trish volunteered to share a testimony from her life (when no one else volunteered :-) and I told her I could fill in with something as well. So we improvised and I hope you all didn't mind, too much!
I really don't want to share Trish's story here - rather respect her privacy, but I do want to say that in my small group we had one lady who said she could relate with the "bumps in the road" her husband was facing. Then just a couple days later, another mom in my small group said that Trish's sharing couldn't have come at a better time, because she and her husband had a talk about similar issues and she would have been surprised and caught off-guard had she not heard Trish share.
So, thank you Trish! I think God ALWAYS uses our stories to bring encouragement & insight!
Lesson: God's our foundation. We can rely on many people but ultimately we always need to turn to God." Book she's reading: "Jesus + Nothing = Everything".
I shared a few verses and reason behind sharing them with the idea that we all have testimonies. And I don't mean just the big, dramatic, coming-to-Jesus stories. Those are great! But we also have everyday stories. Little ways God ministers to us. Reveals Himself to us. Life circumstances that show his plan and purposes in our lives. I just wanted to encourage everyone to start looking for those stories. To be willing to share those stories with others. To record those stories so you won't forget!
Proverbs 19:21 "Many are the plans in a person's heart, but it is the Lord's purpose that prevails."
Do you have any times in your life (looking back of course) where you're so glad things didn't turn out as you were planning? Or the very opposite. You knew what you were to do and God guided you to and through that?
1 Peter 3:14-16 "But in your hearts revere Christ as Lord. Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have. But do this with gentleness and respect."
I try to jot down things that happen in our family's life. Especially the details when big events are unfolding. Every few years I find myself reading through some of those stories and I'm always so amazed by how God weaves the details together. So humbled by His goodness, provision, guidance. These are starting points...talking points to share with others. To explain WHY I believe in God the Father, Jesus Christ and the Holy Spirit.
Two other verses I shared:
Ephesians 3:20 "Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us..."
Psalm 1 "Blessed is the one who does not walk in step with the wicked or stand in the way that sinners take or sit in the company of mockers, but whose delight is in the law of the Lord, and who meditates on this law day and night. That person is like a tree planted by streams of water, which yields its fruit in season and whose leaf does not wither - whatever they do prospers."
~Tiffany
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