Healing:

I’m a firm believer that God’s truth has the answers to all of our questions, and sometimes the answer is that we simply won’t know all the answers until we’re with Jesus in Heaven.

The questions that surround healing are many.

Why aren’t all healed?  What must one do to be healed?  How can a God who loves me, not heal me?

I recently read “Bible Doctrines, A Pentecostal Perspective”.  The passag below is from Chapter 12: Divine Healing/ Why Are Not All Healed?

“There are mysteries that transcend our understanding in this realm.  Some answers we must leave with God.  But we do know that it is God’s nature to heal; we know that healing has been provided for in the atonement of Christ.  We know that Christ committed to the church not only the ministry of reconciliation but of healing.  

Faith is the key that unlocks the door to divine blessing.  When we have done our part, we must leave the rest to God.  As someone has wisely said, “Where there is a greater atmosphere of faith, there will be more healings.”  Even the Lord Jesus did not perform many miracles in an atmosphere of unbelief (Matt 13:58).  The provision is available.  Positive preaching and teaching encourage faith.  The Church must be alive in faith to experience the supernatural today.  

We humbly admit that we do not have all the answers to why some people are not healed.  But we know and have experienced the biblical truth that God does heal today.”

As believers who seek healing for ourselves, and for our brothers and sisters in Christ, I think it’s essential to remember a few things:

• We have a responsibility to press in and bring about a greater atmosphere of faith.  (I see that happening in our church family)!

• We have a responsibility to bring positive preaching and teaching to encourage faith.  (I also see that happening in our church family)!

• Sometimes, healing does not come, and the simple fact is that WE DON’T KNOW WHY, but in it all we can TRUST THAT GOD IS GOOD, and even though the enemy steals, kills, and destroys, our GOD “works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose.” (Romans 8:28)

• If healing does not come, it does not mean that the believer has failed in faith, or that God has failed in responding to faith.  I would suggest that it is in our suffering, and in our greatest trials and times of defeat that our Faith soars to new heights.  It is then that we realize how Great our God is!  As believers, are we not “convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.” (Romans 8:38-39)

• In the process of seeking healing there are things we can never give up on . . . 
• Never give up on seeking the gift of faith
• Never give up on fasting, praying, and believing in the God of the Miraculous
• Never give up on speaking LIFE.  

On the flip side, there are things we need to give up on . . . .

• Give up trying to answer why some people are not healed.  That’s between them and God.
• Give up casting judgement to those who are not receiving their healing. That’s between them and God.
• Give up focusing on what prayers God doesn’t seem to be answering, and start realizing the prayers that God IS ANSWERING!

  

Seeking healing is Seeking Jesus, and the result of that is always GOOD!  It brings us closer to Him, and it inspires those around us to seek Him too.

Your Marriage Is No Mistake

In my role as wife to a Pastor, I encounter many women who share their struggles with me regarding their marriage.  My husband also meets with countless couples who are facing challenges with their marriage.

My husband and I have been married 12 years now, and in those 12 years, we too have faced challenges.  Years 3 & 4 were especially hard.  I thank God that He walked me through those challenging years, that He gave my husband patience and grace to love me throught it, and that ultimately - I didn't believe the lie that my marriage was a mistake.

In almost all of the couples that we counsel, there is one apparent factor that creates the marital issues:  Wife and/or Husband have forgotten what marriage is about -

Your marriage is NOT about you,

Marriage is about LOVE (duh), SUBMISSION (uh-oh...scary word) and SERVING.

Your marriage should be about Love & Submission (Ephesians 5:22-33).  When you have a healthy and confident view of who you are in Christ, and that in Christ we are created to serve our spouse - then marriage works.

The act of marriage (submission and love) requires daily discipline, sacrifice, and humility.  But the rewards are great!

Don't buy into the lie that your marriage is a mistake.  Life will not be easier when you're divorced -  you will not be happier when you don't have to deal with the stress of marriage.

Here is the truth -  you and your spouse can have a healthy marriage.  Working on your marriage is not easy, but working on it TOGETHER is easier than dealing with the pain of divorce APART.

There are few things more rewarding than fulfilling a commitment -  the commitment you made to each other on your wedding day is a treasure that you have to protect.  If the commitment has been damaged, then work on getting it restored - but don't throw it away.

Your marriage is not a mistake - don't make a mistake by ending it.

Season of Choice

I'm in a Season - a season of living minimally.

Chris and I chose the season we're in.  

We willingly decided to go without 

(fancy dinners, nicer cars, spacious living, traveling, frivolous trips to Target...

the list could go on)

We're going without so that I could be fully wrapped up with what we already have

3 beautiful girls!

I LOVE the fact that I have chosen to be a stay at home.

I LOVE it even more that we were able to have that choice.

But, as is true in every season - there are PRO's & Con's, Up's & Down's

There are days when I walk in Target and every thing in me wants to buy that cute throw pillow I've had my eye on...

There are other days when I'm so overwhelmed with the blessings that fill my home that purchasing anything else seems like a waste of money!

The greatest reward about the Season I'm in is that it was and is MY CHOICE

There is such great freedom in living according to my choice that was prompted by my conviction.

Intenional Thinking

The meaning behind the title "Ten Minutes to Think" comes from a simple goal of mine -  to stop the hustle and bustle of my day and spend 10 minutes thinking.  Sounds easy right?  But, as a mom of three, I barely get 1 minute in the bathroom by myself.  10 minutes of thinking does not come strolling down my lane too often.  

I'm making decisions all day long, but decisions don't always require thinking.  In fact, some of the worst decisions of my life didn't involve any thinking - just doing.  

When I stop and think about what I'm doing, when I take 10 minutes to think about my day - I'm more apt to be intentional about what I accomplish.  

And accomplishing is rewarding!  

Being intentional is not always easy, and I want to clarify that being intentional is not the same as being controlling.  The word intention implies being purposeful with room to breath.  The word controlling implies being pushy with constraints.  

Intentional thinking gives you a purpose to pursue, but doesn't limit your path to getting there.  

Intentional thinking motivates you towards action.

The challenge is to take the time to think with intention, instead of just doing with impulse. 

Set an intention, pursure the purpose, and find yourself arrived at accomplishment.  

Change it up...

It's funny how change affects different people in different ways. 

I LOVE when the Minnesota season of winter changes to Spring/Summer.

I loathe when it changes from Summer to Fall. 

Others I know, look forward to Fall as a welcome relief to the summer sun. 

They get excited about things like Pumpkin Spice Lattes and chili cooking on the oven. 

This type of excitement is foreign to me. 

I love change, or so I think I do!?  Talk to me about changing the wall color, or the placement of furniture and I could talk all day. 

There have been days that I've spent changing the whole layout of a room...only to move it all back by the end of the day!!  

However, I realized today (when I took ten minutes to think), that I don't all together love change- when the dynamics of a relationship change, I don't like it. When the rules of the game change, I don't like it. When the course of my life has changed without me planning it, I haven't liked it...

BUT I've needed it. And God planned it. 

Change taking place on my terms is preferable, but change taking place in God's timing is perfect. Even when the process is not.