There Are No Coincidences and more...

This statement has proven incredibly powerful over the past month. I truly hope this message brings hope to others because it has given me more hope than I have felt in quite some time.

My husband promised to join me for Easter service. In a previous article, The Smallest Seeds, I shared how he attended Christmas Eve service with me and what a blessed experience that was. Unfortunately, he hadn’t attended again until Easter – but again, it’s in His time, not ours.

I want to share the powerful message my pastor gave that morning. He spoke about conversations and how the most important conversations we will ever have are the ones we have with our Father in heaven. I know this well, but he also shared something that struck me deeply. He said there was a reason every single person was sitting in that room – whether they were people of faith, someone attending because it was Easter, or even someone who felt they were simply there because they were asked to come.

There was a reason we were there because God wants to hear from us directly.

Throughout the message, my pastor kept emphasizing the word, “you.” As he spoke, I couldn’t help but feel like those words were being spoken directly to my husband.

Now, I know my husband well, and I knew I didn’t want to push things too much afterward. It was already a big step for him simply to attend church, so I felt in my heart to leave the conversation alone and allow him space to process. If he wanted to share, he would.

A few hours later, he randomly said how easy it was to listen to my pastor speak and how relatable he was. Then he said something that stopped me in my tracks.

“And you know what? I may try that praying thing on my own.”

Once again – but God.

As thrilled as I was, I kept my composure and simply agreed that it would be good for him to just “try it.” I know my husband well enough to know that launching into excitement or a long discussion would likely have pushed him away. So I quietly thanked God in my heart.

But again – but God.

Two nights later, I even got him to watch the movie The Case for Christ with me. I was a little apprehensive about suggesting it, but I took a leap of faith and asked if he would watch it together.

The movie tells the story of journalist Lee Strobel and his journey to faith. As a committed atheist and investigative reporter, Strobel sets out to disprove Christianity after his wife becomes a believer. His search leads him through historical and medical evidence surrounding the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus. What begins as an attempt to disprove faith ultimately leads him to become a believer himself – and eventually a pastor.

The story begins with what appears to be a coincidence. Strobel’s young daughter begins choking in a restaurant, and a nurse who happened to be there saves her life. Strobel’s wife soon believes it was God’s providence that the nurse was there that day, while Strobel believes it was simply coincidence.

But the nurse explains that she had originally planned to go somewhere else and changed her plans at the last minute. She believed firmly that there are no coincidences—that she was meant to be there.

Watching this story unfold was powerful. I honestly believe that anyone who approaches the story with an open mind – even someone skeptical – could walk away with a different perspective. The historical and medical evidence presented in Strobel’s investigation is compelling.

Now, I cannot say that my husband had the same life-changing moment that Lee Strobel experienced. Perhaps it is not his time…yet.

But what I can say is this: he truly enjoyed the movie. Afterward, we had conversations about it. He even compared me to Lee’s wife and pointed out similarities in how I came to faith. His curiosity and willingness to talk about it gave me a renewed sense of hope.

Maybe his journey has already begun.

What I do know is that I will continue to pray the same prayer that Lee’s wife prayed for him, from Ezekiel 36:26:

“I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit in you;

I will remove from you your heart of stone and give you a heart of flesh.”

So my friends, there are no coincidences.

It was no coincidence that my husband attended church that day and heard a message that spoke so clearly to the importance of speaking directly with God. It was no coincidence that his heart was open enough to watch The Case for Christ with me – something that would never have happened before.

This is the work of our Most High.

And while we may sometimes grow impatient, wanting things to happen on our timeline, we must remember that it is always His time, not ours.

The seeds continue to be planted. And even when the growth is slow, growth is still happening.

Stay faithful. Continue praying for your spouses. God is always working behind the scenes.

The post There Are No Coincidences appeared first on Spiritually Unequal Marriage.

Ian here!

Before I come to this month’s post, I wanted to thank all you prayers who have been bringing me before the Lord on this healing adventure as I’ve dubbed it. I cherish everyone and knowing the chemo continues to be working and my neuropathy is manageable now, I now your prayers are being answered. Thank you. I’ve still got a long way to with a stem cell transplant at some point in this adventure and I will continue to covet every prayer you pray! Big love.

“For me, reason is the natural organ of truth, but imagination is the organ of meaning.” – C.S. Lewis.

Increasingly using my imagination in my spiritual walk has led to an increasing intimacy with God. It is said that it was after Lewis began to use his imagination that he finally discovered God as a relational being and surrendered his many years of resistance to give his life to God.

We use our imaginations all the time every day. Some of it or even a lot of it can be used for not so positive purposes. For example, our fantasy life. This is something that I must continually surrender to the Lord as it can be a distraction focusing on my self-ruling mind. Letting go of our self-rule is one of the great challenges of our spiritual walk and it is a daily surrender. Stepping into a positive use of my imagination is one way I turn my eyes to the Lord and let go of my self-rule.

How I use my Imagination

• About 10 years ago I came across Imaginative Meditations. I love listening to a soothing voice invite me to put myself into a Biblical story and use my senses to imaginatively interact with Jesus.
• In times of solitude and silence I will typically invite Jesus to come into my room in my imagination. We will sit together and simply be still. Sometimes Jesus will say things to me, sometimes he doesn’t. But simply being in his presence allows me to let go of some my distractions in my thought life. When a distraction pops its head up, I might simply say, “Jesus” or “Come Holy Spirit” that knocks it down and switches me back to Jesus.
• Recently, I’ve been meeting Jesus on a boat on a beautiful lake. I imagine I’m on Lake Jasper or similar in Canada. Look it up if you’re not familiar with it. Funnily, I’m not really a water-guy. But I hop in the boat and we sit, we fish (he’s a very good fisherman!) and sometimes we even head to shore and Jesus shows me how to build a fire, how to de-scale any fish we’ve caught, cook it over the fire and then enjoy a meal together. Once again, it’s not about talking so much but simply being together.
• Some of the drugs I’m taking make getting to sleep a challenge, so I use a nighttime mediation from the Dwell app to help me fall asleep. Viv and Trevor alternate each night and use a short verse to help us move on from our day and focus on God’s goodness, his peace, his constant caring for us, or similar to help us relax and then music takes us into sleep. I did mention that I love listening to a soothing voice, didn’t I? I picture Jesus speaking these words over me and even sitting in my bedroom quietly praying over me the night’s verse.

Over to you. What imaginative practices do you use to help you step into the Lord’s presence? Do you have concerns using your imagination to ‘see’ the Lord?

We’d love to hear your thoughts in the comments.

Big love, dear SUMites.

The post The Power of the Imagination appeared first on Spiritually Unequal Marriage.

Ann here!

This month the team is going to be writing about how we grow our faith, sharing experiences of things we have had. So, it’s my turn.

One of the things I do deliberately to keep my faith alive is keep an ongoing record of every single thing I sense God do for me.

Practically, it looks like this:

At the end of every month, I spend about 3 hours looking back over the month, re-reading my journal, and recording in a Word document what God did. I literally number the lines 1 to 30 or 31, and fill things in day by day. If there was anything I felt God say to me on a particular day, I write it down. I also write down any events that seem noteworthy.

I then sit with that list and chat to God about it. I say, ‘What are the themes here?’

It is a very enjoyable thing to do, and as soon as the end of the month rolls round I almost can’t wait to make this list! In fact, I did it today: With it being the end of May (at the time of writing) I looked back on May with God. It’s like I rub my hands together in glee and say to God, “Ok, let’s chat about what happened this month!”

Because I do this, I am paying attention to God’s voice in my life. And I think he responds to that. He knows I’m going to listen and take it seriously.

So what happened in May?

So many things! But perhaps my favorite was this:

I think an angel came up to me on the street and gave me a word from the Lord!! And, my friends, that is only the second time in my life that I’ve ever thought ‘Was that an angel?’

So how cool was that? See, there are always new and exciting adventures to be had with God. And it got me thinking about angels. That’s the point of these experiences, they get us thinking.

By the way, don’t you love stories about angels? Many of us have had some experience or other where we’ve thought, ‘hang on, was that an angel?’

My friends, I will tell the angel story next time I write. But for now… Let’s chat in the comments:

How do you keep your own faith alive? Do you have a particular strategy or routine where you remind yourself of God’s acts in your life?

Loads of love

Ann

The post The Constant Month of Adventure appeared first on Spiritually Unequal Marriage.

As we step into summer months in the northern hemisphere, I hope you find yourself seated poolside or on a beach or even in a comfy chair and have time to read a book. I have several great suggestions, if you need some. GRIN (click here).

In the month of June, the writers here at SUM are going to share our experiences to encourage and grow your faith. Our “Church without Walls’ has always been about practical faith. So, let’s hear about how faith and the interactions with God work out in real life.

I sure hope you were able to watch Barb’s video on Monday because THAT IS THE REAL DEAL.

Last week, on a particular day, I can’t remember which, I was busy running around working through my normal routine. I was rushing from one project to the next to keep up with my schedule. I had sat and read my Bible and scribbled a couple of lines of prayer in my journal that morning. Then I sprinted off for a walk in order to be back and ready for a morning prayer session.

The walks around here in May are beautiful. But I rushed through it and as I returned and charged up the steps into my backyard to enter the house, I stepped into the backyard and turned toward the back door. Suddenly I hear, ding, dong, ding.

The large wind chimes that are affixed to the oak tree which overhangs our patio, chimed, three-short-chimes. I stopped in my tracks.

Why?

Because I heard this in the three chimes, “I LOVE YOU.” Ding, dong, ding.

I swung around immediately and threw my arms straight up in the air. I looked around. No wind. Nothing. Nada. The smaller wind chime next to our larger chime didn’t move. Three little chimes.

This interruption to my busy day was the Lord reminding me He is with me and to slow down and notice Him. I was overwhelmed by His love in the moment. I worshiped Him standing there with my arms in the air, looking at a now, very still, wind chime.

That moment was the most important moment of my entire day. My friend, God is speaking. Are you listening? Let Him love you in your busy, your messy, your tired. He’s good like that.

How is God loving you this week? See you in the comments. Blessings and I say to you, ding, dong, ding. Love you. Lynn

The post God in a Wind Chime??? What? appeared first on Spiritually Unequal Marriage.

Hello and welcome to What I Know For Sure with Barb Twigg

I wasn’t lost, just on the wrong path

 

The post What I Know For Sure appeared first on Spiritually Unequal Marriage.