Jesus Calling - Day 11 - January 11, 2015

I learned this same lesson long ago when talking with a dear friend, Pastor Joe.   When we pray, we talk with God and lay out our concerns.  Then we need to have faith that He has answered.  Instead of continuing to ask the same thing, continue to “thank Him for the answers that are on the way.”  This has made a tremendous difference in my life.   When I put into practice thanking Him, I am trusting Him and having complete faith in the timing of His answer.  “Thankful prayers will keep your focus on His Presence and His promises.”  

A good example of this is how we run our ministry with Raining Hope.  We truly trust the Lord will provide what we need for the children.  Even when we are low on funds, we trust that the Lord will take care of the children.  There have been times when we have no idea where the money will come from.   We are committed to not telling any “feel guilty” stories.  We have had our share of difficulties!  We have had times that there has been no food.  Yet, we always trust that the Lord will provide.   I have lived through those difficult moments with a sense of overwhelming peace because of the lesson I learned long ago from my dear friend. 

The lesson of, “Let go, and recognize that I am God” has become what has made the biggest impact in my life the last 3 months.  As I have truly LET GO, the UGANDAN DREAM has just exploded!  We have many stories that can only been explained by the miraculous!  “Trusting Him by relinquishing control into His hands” is truly life changing.  Sarah Young expresses that it is a “gift that He plants in our heart.” You know how excited we can get over receiving a special gift?  That is how I have felt these past few months as I have LET GO!  I feel like I have opened up a gift that keeps on giving!!!!    

One of my favorite verses that I rest in...

“He says, “Be still, and know that I am God;  I will be exalted among the nations,
I will be exalted in the earth.”  Psalm 46:10 

Let Go.  Be Still.  Listen.  Obey. 

Trust Him Today! 

mama eydie!

Jesus Calling - Day 10 - January 10, 2015

`

Over the past 7 years I have spent more time in “practicing trusting Him during quiet days, when nothing much seems to be happening.”  I do this by spending more time in His Word and building my relationship with Him.  If it were not for this truth, I would not have weathered through some of the storms I have encountered with very much grace.  

An example of this is when my friend, Carol moved to Maryland last year.  We first moved her mother to Maryland in mid October 2013.  When we returned, we began the process of preparing to move Carol in December 2013.  The 7 weeks that I lived with Carol took a lot of effort and teamwork for all families involved.  It would have been much more difficult if I had not spent the previous 6 years first deepening my relationship with Jesus.  There is a peace that overwhelms you when you put your faith and trust in Him.  He truly blessed us and helped us accomplish a very complicated and emotional task.  I am forever thankful that I had the opportunity to come alongside my dear friend.  I am even more thankful for the lessons I learned during this time of sacrifice and service.   Knowing that Carol was being obedient to what the Lord was calling her and her family to do, gave me such peace.  It strengthened our friendship during the reality that she was moving to the East Coast.  If it were not for the coins that we put in our treasuries, we would have come up empty!  Thank goodness that our trust balance is still pretty full, even after we seemed to use a lot of it to make it through!  When you invest into His Treasury...it is a never ending supply, no matter how much you withdraw!   

“But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where moths and vermin do not destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal.  For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.”  Matthew 6:20-21

Love you! 

Mama Eydie! 

Jesus Calling - Day 9 - January 9, 2015

Luke 1:37 is one of my favorites, “For nothing is impossible with God.”  I have clung to this verse when I have been told that what I am doing is an impossible task.  I have leaned into this verse when the opposition seems to be too much.  I have depended on this promise when all hope seems to be lost.   Another verse that pairs together with this promise is Philippians 4:13, “For I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.”   “What shall we say about such wonderful things as these?  If God is for us, who can ever be against us?”  Romans 8:31  

What God starts, He finishes.  I live with the peace of trusting in His Word and in His timing not mine.  The Ugandan Dream is a perfect example.  “One of the main ways I assert My sovereignty is in the timing of events.”  I have been in Uganda now for 8 years. We have had many victories and many discouragements.  This has been one of the most challenging years for me.  Yet, when I let go of all control, it gave room for God to do it His way!    I can’t even explain all that has happened in the last couple of months.  Things have just exploded in ways that can only be explained by the miraculous!!!  His ways are always better!  We still are working hard towards reaching our goals...but we are enjoying the peace that passes all understanding as we, “Slow down, and enjoy the journey in His Presence.”  I truly am living this out now and I am loving it! 

We have heard the quote by Ralph Waldo Emerson, “Life is a journey, not a destination.”  As Sarah Young points out, ENJOY the journey in HIS PRESENCE!  What a truth to cling to!  

Love you! 

Mama Eydie

Jesus Calling - Day 8 - January 8, 2015

  

I love the phrase, “The weaker you are, the more gently I approach you.  Let your weakness be a door to My Presence.”  How welcoming and reassuring.  Sometimes in our society today we can press people harder when they are weak.  As I was writing this, I was in a hotel room and I heard a group outside. As I looked out the window, there seemed to be a military group, running in formation and yelling words as part of some sort of drill.  We have all watched (or experienced) TV shows where a drill sergeant tries to “help” a cadet through a drill by yelling at them more.  That happens in life as well.  I have experienced times in my life when I am at my lowest, the support I need is not there.  

Yet, the words of this devotion today are so comforting.  “The weaker I am, the more gently He approaches me.”  Hallelujah!  What a kind Savior we serve.  “Hope is a golden cord connecting me to heaven.  The more I cling to the cord, the more He bears the weight of my burdens.”  What a picture of hope.  I picture the game of tug-a-war.  Sometimes I feel like I am tugging the rope all by myself.  But we are meant to live in relationship with others.  We do better when we have a team all tugging the rope together.  The chances of us winning depend on the strength of the team.  We have also seen times in tug-a-war when one side has that “one” strong individual that just comes along, pulls and wins the game for your team!  We have that “One.”  We have Jesus on our side.  Amen!

STANDING and PULLING together! 

Mama Eydie! 

Jesus Calling - Day 7 - January 7, 2015

Today’s message seems to overflow from yesterday’s pages.  Giving God thanks and praise at all times seems to be the common theme that He wants us to learn. 

Last Christmas (2013) as the year was coming to and end, I met one of the clerks in a store that I frequent.  When I asked her about her holidays, her response gave way to deeper feelings of sadness.  She mentioned that the end of 2013 was difficult.  I tried to give her some sense of hope and said I would pray that 2014 was a better year.  The next time I saw her and asked if she was doing better,  she seemed surprised that I remembered her.  Her comment was that things were still difficult, but that she was trying to not be bitter because that is no way to live. In the midst of the difficulty, she said she is trying to stay focused on positive things.  In seeing her resolve to not be bitter, I saw a glimpse of hope in her eyes. 

Haven’t we all found ourselves in this situation before?  There are times that our praises have to be more “disciplined & measured” because we just don’t feel like it.  Easy to praise and thank God when it is in response to “radiant beauty or rich blessings.”   This past year has been a difficult one with Raining Hope.  There were times people told me that I couldn’t do it.  There were times that I felt all alone.  We had moments that money was coming in so slowly that the kids did go without food.  Yet we continued to believe, “when adversity strikes and you thank Him anyway, watch your trust in His sovereignty become a showpiece of the invisible realms.”  In the midst of it all, I watch the Raining Hope children live out the joy of the Lord shouting, “We are going to be strong and courageous!”  It did cause us to live in the “intimacy of His Presence.”  

“I pray that God the source of hope, will fill you completely with joy and peace because you trust in him.  Then you will overflow with confident hope through the power of the Holy Spirit.”  Romans 15:13

That is where I want to live this year! 

Thanking God today for you! 

mama eydie 

Jesus Calling - Day 6 - January 6, 2015

“Time is a trainer, teaching you to wait upon Me, to trust Me in the dark.  The more extreme your circumstances, the more likely you are to see My Power and Glory at work in the situation.”  Amen! 

As I get older, I am thankful for all of the lessons that I have learned through the years.  It is true, the older you are the wiser you become.  I hope to think so.  Some of those lessons have been very difficult.  Sometimes the dark times are overwhelming.  But one of the most profound lessons I learned from Pastor Cliff Howery was “To praise God in ALL circumstances.”  Sometimes that was a very hard lesson to follow through with.  But I did discover that when I praised Him during times that I wanted to just give up, my focused turned to the God who loves me and “whose plans are to prosper me and not to harm me, plans for a hope and a future.” (Jeremiah 29:11).  1 Corinthians 10:13 also comes to mind, “No temptation has overtaken you except what is common to mankind. And God is faithful; he will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear. But when you are tempted, he will also provide a way out so that you can endure it.”  

Time has also trained me to learn the lesson that “He is able to do far beyond all that I ask or imagine.”  With “The Ugandan Dream” I truly have had “positive expectations knowing there is no limit to what He can accomplish.”  The past couple of months I have learned valuable lessons about letting go of expectations and control.  It has taken a long time for me to understand this basic truth.  What is happening right now with our raising the money to buy the house for the children in Ugandan is far beyond all we could have asked for!   

What would happen if we didn’t listen to a personal trainer who was trying to get us into shape?  We wouldn’t achieve the goals that we have set for ourselves. Time truly is a trainer...and we have the best Personal Trainer anyone could ever ask for!  We just need to follow His instructions!

“Never be afraid to trust an unknown future to an all-knowing God.”  Corrie Ten Boom.  

Let’s continue to trust Him at all times! 

Love you, 

mama eydie

Jesus Calling - Day 5 - January 5, 2015

I love the first line in the devotion today, “You can achieve the victorious life through living in deep dependence on Me.”  That is what it is all about.  It ends by repeating this truth, “Enjoy the blessedness of a victorious life, through deepening your dependence on Me.”  It reminds me of Psalm 37:4-5  “Take delight in the Lord, and he will give you the desires of your heart.  Commit your way to the Lord; trust in him and he will do this.” 

Take delight in Him. It is all about daily deepening your relationship with Him.  This goes hand in hand with yesterday’s devotion about trust.  No matter what the circumstances are, we need to trust Him and rely on Him alone.  

I am thankful for those dark times of failure and disappointment because it drew me closer to my Savior.  I had no where or no one else to turn to but God.  That is what He wants is for us to depend on Him alone.  “It is a faith walk, taken one step at a time, leaning on Him as much as we need.”  

This year, with the launch of “The Ugandan Dream,” this phrase has become alive... “I may infuse within you a dream that seems far beyond your reach.  You know that in yourself you cannot achieve such a goal.  Thus begins your journey of profound reliance on Me.”  The dream of raising $120,000 to buy a house for the children seemed out of reach.  But He has done the miraculous.  We are currently at $91,699 after only 2 months of the launch!  All the credit goes to God.  Once I let go of trying to figure things out myself and do things on my own, He must have said, “finally!”  I let go and He took over.  Victory truly comes when we live in deep dependance on Him alone! 

Love walking this journey with you! 

mama eydie