A blessed Sunday to you! Welcome to Stampin' Sisters in Christ, where our challenges are inspired by scripture. We pray you will be blessed by your fellowship with us, as we are blessed by yours!
We welcome a new sponsor this week, Pink Cat Studio!! One of you lucky ladies will win 5 free digis by playing in this week's challenge!
Please be sure to stop by the Pink Cat Studio and show them some Stampin' Sisters in Christ love!
Grace Nywening is our challenge hostess this week!!
Scripture: "John 16:33 "These things I have spoken to you, that in me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation, but be of good cheer, I have overcome the world."
A young woman was talking with her dear friend one day. This friend had been going through some difficult times and was feeling down and alone. She expressed the feeling that she didn't really think anyone in their town cared about her or her family at all. Later that week, a tornado ripped through their town, the first in this mountain town in over 50 years! It leveled buildings, trees and left a number dead or injured. One of the areas hit particularly hard was where this friend lived. They lost over 75 trees, both of their vehicles, a garage, and some damage was done to their home, but thankfully they were protected. The next day, people started showing up with chain saws, heavy equipment, water, food, supplies.... there were over 30 people working on this family's lot alone! They continued doing so for weeks!!! She finally realized how many people cared!!! Her attitude was completely changed after the storm!
The next Sunday in church, the special music, which had been planned and practiced long before the tornado struck, was this song - Blessings, by Laura Story.
In case you cannot open the link or hear the song,here are the lyrics.
We pray for blessings
We pray for peace
Comfort for family, protection while we sleep
We pray for healing, for prosperity
We pray for Your mighty hand to ease our suffering
All the while, You hear each spoken need
Yet love us way too much to give us lesser things
Cause what if Your blessings come through raindrops
What if Your healing comes through tears
What if a thousand sleepless nights
Are what it takes to know You’re near
What if trials of this life are Your mercies in disguise
We pray for wisdom
Your voice to hear
And we cry in anger when we cannot feel You near
We doubt Your goodness, we doubt Your love
As if every promise from Your Word is not enough
All the while, You hear each desperate plea
And long that we'd have faith to believe
Cause what if Your blessings come through raindrops
What if Your healing comes through tears
What if a thousand sleepless nights
Are what it takes to know You’re near
And what if trials of this life are Your mercies in disguise
When friends betray us
When darkness seems to win
We know the pain reminds this heart
That this is not, this is not our home
It's not our home
Cause what if Your blessings come through raindrops
What if Your healing comes through tears
And what if a thousand sleepless nights
Are what it takes to know You’re near
What if my greatest disappointments
Or the aching(s) of this life
Is the revealing of a greater thirst this world can’t satisfy
And what if trials of this life
The rain, the storms, the hardest nights
Are Your mercies in disguise
A few weeks after the tornado, my husband and I sat in the church where these two young women attend on a Sunday evening, where people of the church had gathered to sing praises and give testimony of God's grace and mercy! It was all I could do to not be weeping as one after another told their story.... yet each one, in spite of having lost much of this world's "things" had such joy and thanksgiving for all God had done for them! It seems that some of their blessings truly did come through the rain and wind and storm, literally! Sometimes, we don't realize how much we have to be thankful for until something happens to threaten what's dear to us... and suddenly our earthly cares become so unimportant to us in comparison to eternity!
Recently, here on the east coast of the U.S., in ONE week, we felt the tremors of a 5.9 earthquake and the powerful forces of a huge hurricane that slowly made it's way up the coast, leaving a path of floods and destruction.The people of Texas have been enduring the worst drought and fires imaginable.
The news every night is full of sensational stories of pain and suffering all over the world! Wars, famine, hatred, murders, earthquakes and disease abound! It's all around us and I am sure that in our own lives, not one of us is without burdens! Perhaps we have sat at the bedside of a suffering loved one, watched a parent slowly disappear into a world we cannot seem to reach, prayed through sleepless nights over broken relationships, buried that loved one we thought we could never live without, lost that baby we thought God wanted us to raise, and cried for help in the midst of our darkest hour. We've had our moments when our faith has been tried, and we've even had times when we had some doubts. We've asked Him "WHY? Why are you letting me go through this?"
I shared this song today because I know so many of us are suffering through some dark hours right now! The words touched my heart and I hope they will yours as well. As Christians, we tend to think our lives should be trouble free and just the way we "want" them to be. When they're not, we pray that God removes the painful things. I know for myself, that some of my darkest hours have ended up being my greatest blessings: times of growth and a refocusing on what's really important; times of realizing how gracious and merciful God has been to me! I don't think I would ever fully have appreciated the gift of this life had I not almost lost mine at the hand of a hit and run driver. I'm pretty sure I would not have learned to truly forgive unconditionally if I had not had that experience. I also don't think I would have had the compassion for people who are suffering had I not been left with chronic pain myself. My pain has given me many opportunities to encourage others in a way I never would have otherwise! Sometimes some of us need to stay broken for a while so that God can do the work in us that needs to be done. Perhaps instead of praying for removal of the pain, we should be praying for His will and glory to be seen in it all, for growth in our relationship with Him, and for the joy that comes from really being surrendered to and loving our Savior and knowing that His plan for us is always the best plan! Remember this.... He loves us enough to give us what we need, not necessarily what we "want"! When we are in the deep waters, we may not see the blessings He has for us... but He has a plan for each of us, and it's for our good!
Let me simply leave you with a couple Scriptures:
Ps. 30:5b "...Weeping may last for a night, but joy comes in the morning."
John 16:33 "These things I have spoken to you, that in me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation, but be of good cheer, I have overcome the world."
Rom. 8:35, 37-39 "Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword?
37 Yet in all these things we are more than conquerors through Him who loved us. 38 For I am persuaded that neither death nor life, nor angels nor principalities nor powers, nor things present nor things to come, 39 nor height nor depth, nor any other created thing, shall be able to separate us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord."
I hope He pours out His Blessings on you today!
Take a look at what the Design Sisters created to inspire you this week!
Chris Olsen: Twinkles Glow with Stamps
Grace Nywening: Th-INK-ing of You
Kris Breach: Ink Something
Linda Lucas: Lovely Linda's Craft Central
Miesje Flach – Craft Room with a View
Peggysue Turner - Roses by my Window
We can't wait to see all of YOUR creations! You may enter as many times as you'd like! ** Please link us to your actual card/project post(s), not just to your blog or gallery, by 11:59 pm PDT (GMT -8) on Saturday, October 1st. The prize winner will be randomly drawn and announced on Tuesday, Oct. 4th. Plus, three of you will be awarded the Stampin' Sisters in Christ Shining Star blinkie!
**If you are entering more than one card for this challenge, please leave a link for each card/project.
Have a blessed day!
6 comments:
Last week's SSIC post and challenge were such a blessing to me. I couldn't wait to stop by today and see what you had for the new week's challenge, and how ironic - it's about "BLESSINGS". Your blog has become a blessing to me. Thanks for allowing me, and all of us, to participate in such an inspiring challenge each week.
Blessings,
Karen
I loved how the post was written and what it is over. You are a great writer and speak so much truth in your words. The post also reminded me NOT to wait for a disaster but to help out with little things to that people might need. And to watch people and listen to know when someone is in need on a day to day basis.
Thanks again.
I recently found this blog, and today I was blessed with the time to read all of the post and listen to the video because I am having a sick day from work (am much better than the weekend). I watched 2 versions of it and then one that had Laura telling the story behind the song. Her husband had a brain tumor that he still has disabilities from, and that experience taught her so much. I am going through an unwanted divorce, which is hard, of course, and hard to understand, knowing how God hates divorce. But He is using it as a blessing in my life. Please pray for me, that I will faithfully look to Him through this.
Thank you and God bless,
Bonnie S
What an amazing word. Really spoke to me and I can't thank you enough because I truly look forward to your posts every Sunday -they are always such a blessing. Fabulous creations by the DT! xx
Very good post :) I really loved it so much and feel so blessed:)
Grace what a blessing your post was to me and I am sure everyone who read it. Thanks for sharing from your heart.
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