Sharing Testimony...

 "And my God will supply every need of yours according to his riches in glory in Christ Jesus." Philippians 4:19

Can I share a testimony with you? 

All of us need to look back periodically and see how God is moving in our lives. 

My encouragement today is...

“Don’t leave it there! Make sure you share the testimony (your testimony is more than your salvation story) God is giving you with others.”

Got praise? Share your testimony.

Struggling? Share your testimony.

Blessings? Share your testimony.

"Then you shall answer them that the waters of the Jordan were cut off before the ark of the covenant of the LORD; when it crossed over the Jordan, the waters of the Jordan were cut off. And these stones shall be for a memorial to the children of Israel forever." Joshua 4:7  

Let’s pause here for a quick moment. Do you know the definition of blessing?

A blessing is anything that brings you closer to God.

Go back and read that definition, “anything that brings you closer to God”. 

This means, whether we think of it as a bad thing or a good thing, if it is bringing you closer to God than it qualifies as a blessing.

Okay! Now, that we have that clarified back to the testimony.

 Many of you readers and friends of this blog know that my Sweetie and I made a move last October (You can read more about that in past postings click here). After this move, God gave me a seasonal part-time job at a local Christian bookstore. This position continued on after the season and I became eligible to opt-in to their insurance program.

My Sweetie!!!

Do you realize how much of a praise it is for a part-time employee to have insurance available to them?

Well, the price was right and I opted in. Duh? It was a no-brainer… considering I have been uninsured for years. It is hard for a small business owner, which I am, to get affordable insurance. Little did I know what was on the horizon, but my loving Father did.

Long story short, the insurance became effective. Not long after, I started experiencing some health issues. Doctor visits and tests determined surgery would be needed. After all those years with no insurance…isn’t God's timing amazing. 

Don’t start the Hallelujahs just yet, I haven’t told you the truly amazing part.

My part-time job ended unexpectedly. Where did this leave my upcoming surgery? The doctor went forward with scheduling the surgery. We had no idea what was happening with the insurance from the part-time job. The company said my insurance would end on my last day of work in March. We knew that COBRA would be made available, but had no idea if we could even afford the payments.

Enter Jehovah-Jireh, my provider. 

We just got the COBRA enrollment information and the payment is about $10.00 more than I was paying while working.

Yes, you read that correctly it is only $10.00 more for me to keep the insurance for my surgery.

Are you shouting Hallelujah? We sure were.

"Hallelujah"
A sculpture by Ken Smith

 We understand the insurance is limited and we will most likely pay for part of my surgery. 

However, even having the insurance means the surgery should cost less. Why? 

Because when you have insurance, the doctor’s, hospitals, etc give discounted rates for their services.

Plus, I have a Savior who will take care of me no matter what.

Are you sharing your testimony with others? 

Share with others today, you an even do it in the comment section if you want.

Whatever it takes...

“For there is nothing hidden that will not be disclosed, and nothing concealed that will not be known or brought out into the open. Therefore consider carefully how you listen." Luke 8:17 & 18a

God will use anything it takes to get our attention. He will even use a fear if necessary. This is a lesson that I learned last year. God had been trying to get my attention for a period of time. Yet, once again in true fashion I was His stubborn child. 

While reading through this blog it is imperative for the reader, to know that I believe firmly that God is good and always right. He is sovereign. It is also important to know speaking and/or typing these words can be easier than actually walking in their Truth. 

God will let us go so far and then He will have His Way! Beth Moore once said, "We can bend our knee willingly or God will break our leg." Wonder, how many countless times a leg must be broke before one gains the knowledge of this lesson. 

I used to say, “Been to the wood shed too many times in my life therefore, obedient I will be…” For the younger generation, this was an adage to describe being whipped, paddled, spanked…insert your idea of discipline.

Have you ever said something and truly meant it when you first said it? However, without even realizing it the meaning of the saying lost its translation. This is exactly what happened to me. Over time, the “Been to the wood shed” statement’s significance lost its emphasis. Scary part is this happens so slowly it is usually not noticed. Think of the song, “Slow Fade” by Casting Crowns:

“People never crumble in a day”

God had been speaking to me about various issues and things in my life that required attention. Instead of being obedient, I argued my reasoning of why the issues and things were essential and crucial. After all, had He not called me to serve!

The slow fade had begun. It is easy to see this in hindsight.

Yes, I know it is not a shovel but it is a great representation of the concept.....

My loving Father permitted this for a time. On the other hand, the slow fade continued. A pit was being dug. Chilling part, I was the one doing the digging. 

In spite of the fact of who is doing the digging; Abba Daddy loves us so greatly, He will do whatever is necessary to get our attention. Even reveal a tremendous fear, which is exactly what He did in my life.

To put it bluntly, the fear definitely got my attention. Once God got my attention obedience followed.

Be aware…this is the wrong approach to obedience.

Life is so much sweeter when we give God IMMEDIATE obedience. No arguments, excuses or delays.  Once again, easier said than done particularly when in the middle of a slow fade.

The ultimate lesson:

We have to to comprehend; there is a great price for being an obstinate child who needs their leg broken before being obedient. The price? The other people hurt.

It is simple:

Disobedience doesn’t only hurt the disobedient one…it hurts anyone in their field of influence, friends, family, etc...

Have you been disobedient? Have you noticed you are holding the shovel and the pit is deeper? Drop the shovel …Cry out to Abba Daddy…He will hear you.




Title: Whatever It Takes
By: Dawn Whitmore

Hurry Up and Wait...Focus for this Week

My journey this week has been "hurry up & wait." As the Father is revealing pieces to me, it is apparent that He wants me to be willing for Him to do it in His timing not mine. I jokingly told my Sweetie this week; "Apparently one of us has not learned our lesson in patience yet!" 

This is how our week has played out. Doc has test done, we wait a couple days for results. Go visit doctor. New information is revealed…this in turn is immediately followed by the instructions of more tests. Then we must "wait patiently" again for the test results. What does this have to do with my walk with God? Everything at this moment for God is teaching me that my one word for 2012, "focus" has multiple facets. This week’s facet has been where exactly is your focus?

I have told people numerous times, while in ministry for the last 13 years, that Jesus needs to be their focus. While this is a true statement…He is to be our main focus; we can even mess this up royally if not careful.

Have you ever found yourself in a conversation, except while focusing on the person you lost total track of what they were saying? This happens to me a lot…I believe that as we walk with Jesus, this happens to a lot of us. We concentrate so hard on being totally focused on Him, that we completely miss the lesson being taught.

It is becoming evident to me insights will only happen if I am focusing on both the words being spoken and the Speaker. There have been countless times that I have been in a study or even taught one in which the content has not sunk in. It is embarrassing to admit such a thing but it is the truth. Not sure exactly when it happened, but evidently I have been focusing on the Speaker and not listening to the words He is speaking. Hence, the question becomes, “How do we avoid this?” Any suggestions? I am still learning and don’t have the answer…yet.

New Year....New Goals....

Everyone makes New Year's resolutions and most promptly break them on the 2nd of January if not sooner.

I have some goals for the whole year. Here they are for accountability:

First, I want to fall more in love with Jesus in 2009 so that when I look back on 2008, I say "How could that have even been considered love?"

Second is to be available to the clients God has given the business and to see them worship and lead others into worship throughout 2009 and beyond.

Third is to be ready to go when God says to go. To speak when He says speak. To be obedient to Him in all things.

They seem like simplistic goals but it is where my heart is....I want to be all about Jesus in everything I say and do and if that is simplistic than so be it.

Praise God!!!!

Yeah, Yeah I know I haven't blogged in forever and now two in one day.

I wanted to share a praise with you all. On Thursday, I met with a young teenager from our church. She wanted me to teach her how to study the bible. While I was praying before this meeting, God told me first thing to do was ask her to share her testimony. God explained teaching her the Bible would do no good to her if she didn't belong to Him.

This is a fairly good girl and she comes to church so being the stubborn gal I am I questioned God's directive but told Him yes. Upon getting together with this young person, I told her exactly what God had told me. Then asked her if she knew what a testimony was....she said you mean my salvation experience. After a few brief minutes of sharing a testimony can be so much more than sharing my own salvation experience with her...this sweet young lady told me she didn't think she was saved.

After talking for quite sometime and answering many questions, I assured her that it was not my job to beat her over the head into submission of saying a prayer. This young lady had said the "salvation prayer" numerously after watching a tv preacher but never felt any different or saw any difference in her life. So, when all her questions were answered and we had discussed a few other things I asked her if she had any more questions or anything else she wanted to discuss. She said she wanted to pray to accept Jesus as her Savior.

This young person shared her experience in a bible study class on Monday. After a sharing time, a young adult woman in the class (who everyone would have assumed was saved) shared she did not know Jesus as her Saviour.

Why share all this? Because first we want to PRAISE GOD!!! Second, because we are doing a great misservice to our God. We are assuming that if someone goes to church regularly and is a basic good person they must be saved. We shouldn't assume someone from a Muslim country is lost anymore than we should assume someone from America is saved.