Terribly Interesting

We buried our sweet cat in the back yard today. Each of us thanked God for how he loved us through some rough times this year. Watching your kids grieve is truly difficult. It's an ache multiplied. As I sit here and think back over the year, I realize how hard it's been and equally how lovely. God has grown us all. The thing is that when you get wounded or things don't go how you would like them to, you are afraid to trust and dream. I keep hearing this phrase in my head. You have permission to hope. By definition, you have authority, authorization, sanction, approval, blessing to hope. There's beauty in all of this. Through grief and hurt, God will come and meet with us. You can plan for good things in the year ahead with out fear. You can trust Jesus with the secret things you yearn for. Mark tonight a sacred new beginning. Start asking what you would like to do and give in the year ahead. May you find balance in your work, play, prayer, and rest. Enjoy tho...

I have sort of abandoned my post here. I think the last few years of children and homeschool have taken a toll on my brain. I also spent my year redoing most of our house because I love my husband and his dream has been to have a family reunion here. More than that, I have been dealing with some hurts. I completely opened up my heart to several people for friendship and came face to face with deep hurt. Another pastor cut me to the core and I watched as pain spread through a group of people. Oh, Jesus, not again. We constantly throw open our doors to love people only to have a huge hunk of our ministry budget stolen. So many personal things are gone. During all of this, we notice that we have an area of termites in our dining room floor. Several pest guys later and they all say they have never seen anything like this. It's a coastal termite. It must have been brought in via infected wood or furniture. They may have to tent our house and fill it with toxic chemicals to the tune...

This book was much different than what I expected. I believe in miracles and healing and many things that nature because I trust who God says he is and I have seen too much to deny it. That being said, any Reformed book reviewer would chew this up and spit it out. It's full of the miraculous that the  cessasionist  would refute. I believe in the miraculous. As I traveled through this book, I saw it as much more of a biography of this man's prayer life than anything else. I think it should be seen as such. God is different with each one of us. I don't really see a need to name personality traits anointings, but to each his own. I don't see a need for things like prayer cloths or other tools, but I also can't say God would refuse to partake in the symbolism. I think it's just important that we remember where our hope and our healing come from. Christ alone. That being said, I have to say I was thoroughly impressed with how our author preached the gospel rel...