by Sharon O | Sep 28, 2010 | Uncategorized
Sharon and I were followers of the same blog when she came over to visit mine. She is such a blessing, with a beautiful heart full of love and encouragement.
Last week, I asked folks if they know their own story, the one that God had written for them. Sharon responded by sending me a part of her story.
It is my pleasure to share my friend Sharon with you today.
This is from Mary Kathryn Tyson’s blog posted yesterday.
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a simple prayer
Before I became a Christian, my view of God was full of skepticism and unbelief. He was like a Santa who gave things to people when they asked. He was very far away and not an all-knowing GOD.
Jesus was a man in a story book.
I was not raised in a Christian home, yet I do remember walking to a small church as a little girl to Sunday school. As I listened to the stories of the Bible on flannel graph boards, God and Jesus were unreachable to me. They were characters in a hard-backed book. I couldn’t touch them or feel them. They were songs sung to the music of an un-tuned piano. Jesus loves the little children… only I was not one of them.
The way God reached out to me is a wonderful and powerful reminder that He does indeed listen to the prayers, of those who do not know Him.
He listens to the heart cries and He is moved with compassion.
In my freshman year of high school, I began to search for the meaning of life. We had moved again to a new rental home and another new school, probably my 20th by now. It was at the bus stop while waiting for the bus where I would engage in conversation with a girl standing there with me. She was an honor student who lived with her parents in a normal stable family. I was very different. I would wear the Diana Ross highly-ratted hairstyle, fake eyelashes (yes, I did say that) and white eye shadow. It was the late 60′s and the look was between Diana Ross and Cher.
Every day this girl would ask me questions. Pursuing me. Forcing me to ‘think’ about God and church and life. Every day I argued with her. It was constant. My life experience had been much different than hers. My concept of ‘love’ was not something she could understand. We were two friends speaking different languages. She talked often and gave me lots of questions.
As our friendship grew, I began to listen to her. I decided to test her ‘GOD’.
My sister Mary had been gone for many months on the street, living life as a drug addict and runaway. I missed her greatly and wanted desperately to see her. We didn’t know if she dead or alive and it was a heart ache I couldn’t take care of on my own. I remembered this girl told me ‘GOD hears all prayers’. I didn’t believe it but what could I lose by trying?
One night as I was going to bed, not knowing how to pray or what to pray or how it all all works for Him to hear you, I prayed a simple prayer. A bold one. A searching from the heart prayer. I said, “God I would believe, I think I can believe you, if you can find my sister. The girl tells me you know everything, you see everything. So you should know how to find her. I want her home. If you are God. If you know everything then you can bring her home tonight. When I wake up in the morning I want her sleeping in her own bed. If you can do that, then I will believe”. I went to bed and fell into a deep sleep. Unusual for me at that stage of life.
You can imagine my surprise when I woke up the next morning, and saw her across the room sleeping in her own bed. The police had found her in the middle of the night and contacted our mother. She had been beaten badly but she was home, sleeping in her bed, in our room. It was an unbelievable moment and a miraculous reunion of sisters. A cry from a young person’s heart to a God who hears. We were always hopeful she was alive, but never knowing it was crushing to my heart. Mary didn’t stay at home very long. She left soon after the first night, but my prayer was answered.
Now I had to deal with ‘the girl at the bus stop’. I made the phone call telling her what happened. She told me about God, church and her youth group. The girl at the bus stop is now my sister-in-law. We married brothers.
I believe God knew the only way I would trust, was for Him to show me an answer to a simple prayer. From a simple heart. HE can do the unimaginable. I trust Him. The journey continues.
The years after God came into my life were not easy. But because of the strength HE gave I was able to trust Him through the process. He was hope when I felt hopeless. He was my peace when it wasn’t peaceful. He was love on a Cross saying to me, “I care deeply for you”. His ways are mysterious and wonderful and I am always in awe of His love. I have never regretted that first life-changing prayer.
I hope this finds you encouraged. Our God is a God who hears the simple prayers of faith. It doesn’t have to be fancy or elaborate. It just has to be from the heart.
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My name is Sharon. I am 55 years old and have been married almost 37 years now. God has blessed me with two wonderful children and now six delightful grandchildren. Life has been a journey of ups and downs but with God, all things are possible if we trust Him.
by Sharon O | Sep 27, 2010 | Uncategorized
Today I am guest posting at beauty for ashes site.
Mary Kathryn Tyson asked her readers to share their testimony story so I did.
She asked me if she could post it on her website blog.
http://marykathryntyson.wordpress.com/2010/09/27/a-simple-prayer/http://marykathryntyson.wordpress.com/2010/09/27/a-simple-prayer/
by Sharon O | Sep 25, 2010 | Uncategorized
Our Pastor asked us the other day,
“If Jesus looked at the church today what would he see?
People broken and fractured weighted down with heavy hearts and wounded souls.”
He said,”Do you realize Jesus death was birthed out of a concern for humanity?”
Broken people are fragmented and they are disjointed. They are not peaceful. They are not calm.
They are broken.
God sent his son so we ‘the broken’ can become whole.
We teach our little ones to sing, “Jesus Loves the little children all the children of the world.”
But do we bring it down to us… Jesus loved us.
Us means you and me. You and I.
Or do you remember the song, “Jesus loves me this I know, for the Bible tells me so.”
Do we believe it really?
It would break his heart to see a broken lifeless church after all he died for us.
He died a terrible death so we.. so we… you and I can become whole and healed and full of life.
He died so we could have hope.
He died so we could have a chance to be saved and believe in him.
Jesus knew the cost. He knew the routine he had seen other ‘Crucifixions’ but it would be HIS that would save the world.
Remember.
In the garden he had asked a chosen few to watch with him and wait.
What did they do… they fell asleep.
When he found them he said, “could you not watch with me a little while and pray?”
He knew the heaviness of his own heart.
I am often reminded of the tomb and remember so well the scene where Mary is crying and weeping. Her Lord is gone. The tomb was empty. She was empty. She was broken.
She was full of sorrow deep agonizing sorrow.
Remember what happened?
He said “Mary”~
Mary… the one whom he loved and who loved Him.
Mary… He knew her name. He was personal. He was powerful.
He was relational.
She knew his voice she knew it was him saying… Mary.
Something to ask yourself.
If Jesus were to say your name would you know without a doubt it was him?
Only when we are in tune to his voice and his love will we know it is him.
I pray we will be like Mary…
and know his voice so well we will hear him in the midst of our tears and cling to him and not want to let go when he says our name.
by Sharon O | Sep 22, 2010 | Uncategorized
What is the difference between believing the Lord and following the Lord?
It is a real question.
Many people who saw Jesus believed Him~
not that many actually followed.
They saw and experienced his miracles and they saw and experienced his power.
They could remind themselves every time they saw him how he turned the water into wine or how he fed the many with little or how he healed the dead and helped the cripple to walk. The blind could see and the closed hearts could hear.
The teachings he taught and the people he met all had a visible reminder of ‘Jesus’ and who he was.
Even after all that not everyone who saw him believed and not every one who believed in him followed.
So why do you think the ones who heard Jesus say “Come follow me” left everything to follow him?
It is a question for us all to think about.
They did not hesitate. They dropped everything they knew and left it all for a man who was walking by from a shore line saying to them…”come follow me.” Did they even know who he was or did it not matter? Was it just because he ‘believed’ in them and they really wanted that for their heart?
Today if Jesus said to you…
“Drop every plan and every agenda of your own and follow me. Leave your life behind and come… walk with me and you will find peace.”
Do you think it is believable?
The rough and tough fishermen were called out of the water because Jesus believed in the potential they had within them. Our Pastor said, “When we follow Jesus we can’t be like him on our own it is from HIS potential for us that creates our likeness of him.” Jesus taught the fishermen and followers so he could transfer himself to them. So they could do what he did.
Did they dare? Did they believe they could? He told them they could.
Are we teachable and open to follow after when the Lord says to us ‘come I want you to walk with me today.’
We can’t just believe we need to put our belief into action.
The question our pastor asked, “Are you willing to risk all that you have in order to be all that God wants you to be?”
It is a very real question.
Do we want to be all that he wants us to be?
by Sharon O | Sep 21, 2010 | Uncategorized
There are two questions to ask ourselves…
(as we continue the nurturing a tranquil soul topic)
Where are we now on our spiritual journey?
Where would we like to be on our spiritual journey in six months to a year?
Journey:
dictionary.com says it is a passage or progress from one stage to another.
So the questions are asking: where do we hope to be as we move forward
spiritually from the stage we are in today to a new stage tomorrow.
Hope is a huge word. We hope for many things. What do you hope for?
The last ten pounds off~ the last chapter written so you can send in your writing~ finishing the race you have trained for and not yet accomplished~ getting the job you know you are qualified for?
It takes action to move forward.
It is stepping out as we take baby steps towards our goal.
If someone is an athlete it means they have to exercise even when one doesn’t want to.
If one is a writer it is a forcing of oneself to find quiet reflective time even when it feels like there is no time left in the day.
It is pressing oneself harder and challenging oneself deeper to reach the goal that we have set before us.
Spiritual journeys are not any different.
It is forcing ourselves to read and study and meditate even when we don’t feel like it or we don’t understand or we are just too tired.
Are we blocked by our lack of bible knowledge or our lack of discipline or our own anxieties?
What will it take to get us back on the journey?
Spiritual growth is crucial to our development as Christians.
If we don’t grow we become stagnant and that produces other issues that are not healthy for us.
Are there barriers keeping us walled and closed off?
Are there forgiveness issues that needs to be addressed?
Do we have relationship issues that are broken and leaving us ‘open and empty?’
Taking action to move forward towards spiritual growth is the first thing we can do to become strong and firm in our faith. Each step we take is a step closer to our goal.
It is as essential as breathing or eating.
Are you further this year than you were last year or are you feeling stagnant?
Lots of questions to think about.
I pray that as we begin to nurture a tranquil soul we will find a sense of peace and order as we move into a new direction of deeper spiritual growth.
Let us journey together in encouragement and affirmations for each other.
We can do a good job no matter what small steps we take towards our goal.
For any movement is better than none especially if we don’t have to do it alone.
