Excited about all that God has in store

Well I am back and excited about today and all that it has in store for us! As I mentioned in our profile, we are part of a newly planted church and this morning will be our second pre-service. I can't wait to take Anna (my wonderful mother-in-law)...I just know she is going to love it! We are excited about serving today and we pray that we can touch others lives...even simply just by our smiles and physical presence. I (Tina) say that to say in a round about way...please continue to pray for our physical strength.

Speaking of strength...these next words have been a source of strength to us...

We feel led to share words of wisdom that have been spoken to us through friends...I hope that we are able to convey the heart of the message as well and as clear as the Holy Spirit has spoken it to our spirits through our beloved friends...

These scriptures come from 2 Corinthians 1: 8-11 and then 2 Corinthians 1:3-6 (New Living Translation)...You'll have to work with me here...since the order of the scriptures are reversed, but there is a purpose to it. I was first given the first verses (8-11) by a friend and then later that morning it was impressed upon my heart to read from the beginning of the 2 Corinthians chapter...and this is what was left imprinted in me...

If you see anything added to the scripture (in red) I added it to help me personalize to our situation at this moment. When my friend shared these scriptures with me and I thought of where we were at in this moment of our life...I was without words and couldn't really believe that these exact words existed in the bible. Only for the fact...that it seemed like God had just written them for us in that exact moment. So please allow us to share with you... I'll quote the scripture and my red comments and then speak my heart on what I felt the Holy Spirit was speaking to me.

..."8 I think you ought to know, dear brothers and sisters, about the trouble we went through in the province of Asia. We were crushed and completely overwhelmed, and we thought we would never live through it. 9 In fact, we expected to die. But as a result, we learned not to rely on ourselves (Aaron and me), but on God who can raise the dead. 10 And He did deliver us from mortal danger (my surgery). And we (Aaron and me) are confident that He will continue to deliver us. 11 He will rescue us (Aaron and me) because you (family, friends, and those reading our blog) are helping by praying for us. As a result, many will give thanks to God because so many people's prayers (those who are praying for us) for our safety have been answered. "

Here is my heart and how I soaked in all of these words in my own way...(as I shared with Aaron and some friends and now you...). And to be totally frank with you...these words grieved both of our hearts...we shed tears (just being real), but in the end we had total peace because God had already spoken to us that "I am healed." Now what that process looks like...only God knows.

When I read the words "we were crushed and completely overwhelmed...and we expected to die and thought we would never live through it...I had to pause a moment and soak that in. God was telling me, that this is exactly how I will feel in the time to come. I thought to myself...wow Lord...that is how I will feel...that left me with tears and literally feeling overwhelmed, BUT then I continued to read (after I put myself together...LOL) and it says "but we learned to not rely on ourselves but on GOD" and he delivered us from mortal danger. In my mind, mortals meaning (the neurosurgeons and their team at St. Luke's) and danger meaning (my actual surgery). (Surgery can be dangerous you know...LOL...but we know that I am in the hands of the GREAT PHYSICIAN). As I continued to read, God brought back to mind the words he spoke over us "you are healed"... and that gave me a supernatural peace in my spirit as I read the rest of the verses. As I read, "we are confident that He will continue to deliver us and rescue us because YOU are praying for us" and the rest of the verse "many will give thanks to God because so many people's prayers for our safety have been answered"... the words that resonated in my spirit were humbling... We are healed and we will be safe in times of danger BECAUSE of YOU who are praying for us. We want to thank you and we are honored to have all of you praying for us...know that God hears your prayers and will give them back to you in abundance.

The next scriptures...

"3 All praise to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. He is the source of every mercy and the God who comforts us. 4 He comforts us in all our troubles so that we can comfort others. When others are troubled, we will be able to give them the same comfort God has given us. 5 You can be sure that the more we suffer for Christ, the more God will shower us with His comfort through Christ. 6 So when we are weighed down with troubles, it is for your benefit and salvation! For when God comforts us, it is so that we, in turn, can be an encouragement to you. Then you can patiently endure the same things we suffer. "

These words spoke to my heart in a way like never before....so I ask if you have any prayer requests we would be humbled and honored if you would share them with us so we can pray for you!

WE LOVE YOU... it is definitely time for a mental rest break...so until next time.