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hope

When Your World is Rocked

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“Therefore the Lord Himself will give you a sign: Behold, a virgin will be with child and bear a son, and she will call His name Immanuel.”
Isaiah 7:14 NASB

What do you do when your world is rocked? You know, when something happens and everything, at least for the moment, changes and forces you to rearrange your life. Over the past few years, unforeseen incidents such as cancer, injuries from a car wreck, a retinal tear, and even brain surgery have shaken my husband and me to the very core of our being and sent us to our knees. . . often.

With Christmas quickly approaching, I find myself pondering the immense life changing experience of the young virgin Mary. She was engaged to marry Joseph; I expect her excitement in becoming a wife was like that of most women.

However, an unexpected visit and a ringing announcement from the angel Gabriel would forever alter Mary’s life. Chosen by God Himself, she was to be the mother of His son, Jesus Christ. The conception would be a miracle performed by the Holy Spirit. Wow! Talk about rocking her world!

I can only imagine the anticipation, uncertainty, and ridicule she must have experienced during the ensuing months. This young girl had to grow up in a hurry. She not only experienced the joy of pregnancy, but most likely the shameful gossip and unkindness displayed by those unaware of God’s purpose for her life. But, according to what we see in the Scriptures, she hung in there, never giving up or losing her faith.

Yes, Mary’s precious Child would be the very One to bring hope, help, and healing in her time of need and chaos, as well as ours. When our world turns upside down, rest assured Jesus is the Rock on which we can stand.  [Digging deeper – Ps. 18:2, 62:2; Matt.1:18-25; Luke 1:30-31, 2:7, 19, 33-35]

Because of Him,

Beverly <><

GOD IS ON THE MOVE!

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“These things I have spoken to you, so that in Me you may have peace. In the world you have tribulation, but take courage; I have overcome the world.”
John 16:33 NASB

hot-159386_640Every time I turn on the TV, or hear another news report about terrorism attacks, shootings, or yet another threat, I have a tendency is to wring my hands in desperation, and wonder what in the world is going on. If I’m not careful, I’ll lie awake in the middle of the night trying to solve the world’s problems!

Though heart-wrenching reports of violence and division threaten to steal our peace, I like to remember—God is not asleep, He is not silent – He is not apathetic to our cries for help. He is on the move!  Jesus said,

“These things I have spoken to you, so that in Me you may have peace. In the world you have tribulation, but take courage; I have overcome the world.” John 16:33 NASB

Every day we have a choice. We can wring our hands, or we can choose to remember what our God has already done! In Jeremiah 33:3 (NASB) he promises:

“Call to Me and I will answer you, and I will tell you great and mighty things, which you do not know.”

Great and mighty things which we do not know? Yep. I get that. Last year at this time I had no idea of all the great and mighty things we’d see Him do on the mission field this year. I had no idea of all the ways we would see His hand at work this year. But we do. And His Word assures us that even though evil seems to grow each day, He will continue to move in mighty ways. In the end, He wins, and if we know and accept Him, so do we.

Remember, Greater is He who is in us than he who is in the world. God will do what we cannot. The humbling fact is—He chooses to work through us. We are His hands and feet in a world without hope, a world without Him.

GOD IS ON THE MOVE, but our time is short. Look to the One who created you, and let Him show you how He wants to use you to be His hands and feet to help a hurting world! He will you know!

Blessings,

Your Traveling Partner,

Brenda

Christmas Favorites

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Faith, Hope, and Love (A word from Honduras)

Thank you Vicky, for this dose of encouragement.

Blessings,

Brenda

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“And now these three remain: faith, hope and love. But the greatest of these is love.” 

 I Corinthians 13:13

Christmas Favorites Day_1_Photo_1_Bible-300x226Jesus Christ’s gift of love is the BEST gift anyone can receive…

One fine spring day in 2008, as I was washing dishes & watching my children play outside, God spoke so clearly to me that it literally brought me to my knees. He was clear that I was to talk with my husband…He wanted our family to GO share the good news of Jesus Christ. After hours of crying & giving God reasons why it was impossible for us to do this, I finally told God I would talk with my husband. All the while thinking it would be ok, knowing my husband would simple look at me & say, “You’re crazy woman!”. To my utter amazement, when I shared God’s message with my husband, he stated, “What took you so long?!” This began our FAITH journey walking with the Lord.

So, we moved to Honduras Aug 1, 2009! We are not perfect “Christians” only willing vessels. We moved here, HOPING to make a difference in the lives of the lost. We make mistakes and pray that God will help us to learn from them. One lesson we have gleaned from our experience as missionaries is from I Cor. 13:13. He gave us FAITH to follow through with His command, HOPE to persevere and now He is showing us His LOVE in action. We never thought we could be what God is shaping us to be.

We have opened our home to over 20 young people over the last 3 years and are in the process of adopting one of these. Their stories are heart wrenching, ranging from being physically abused; rescued from human trafficking; close to death due to starvation; sold at age 10 & pregnant by age 11; escaping gang life or simple living on the street due to having no one to care for them. Their lives amaze us and their HOPE to have someone LOVE them is what has carried them through. Their lives keep us filled with FAITH that God has a bigger plan!

This Christmas season we feel honored to be a part of His plan to watch these young people grow closer to God and learn to have FAITH, HOPE & LOVE in the True King. We pray that your lives are filled with I Corinthians 13:13!

Vicky Crowder

Honduras