Reflections on 2013

aforgrave / Foter.com / CC BY-NC-SA

 

It’s hard for me to believe that this is my final blog post for 2013. Honestly, I’m still a bit surprised that I’m blogging at all!

I’d like to take a moment to thank all of you for reading my blog this year and for taking this journey with me!

It’s not always easy for a rather private person like me to share about what the Lord has been showing me, but it’s been a delight to hear how these posts have touched you. It encourages me to continue sharing these thoughts. It reminds me that they’re not just for me to store away in my memory and journals!

When I felt the Lord ask me to lay down my journalism career years ago, I had a feeling that one day He would ask me to “pick up the pen” again but to write for His glory. I wrote for a Christian publication after I got saved, but that was still journalism. That was still writing about others.

I guess what God wants me to write about in this season is what He’s showing me.

By faith, I started writing “inspirational pieces” in 2012. I wasn’t even thinking about blogging. I just had to get these pieces out, so I started to share them with a special group of women on a weekly basis. I would e-mail them a piece, and they would graciously read them and give me encouraging feedback. God finally gave me the courage to start blogging just this January. I kept saying that, “I’ll keep writing as long as God keeps giving me something to say.”  God has been Faithful!

I’m reminded of the widow that the Prophet Elisha met in 2 Kings 4:1-7. Her late husband’s creditor was coming to take her two sons away as his slaves. She was at the end of herself and had little to give. Elisha wanted to help her, so he asked her what she had in her house.

“Your servant has nothing there at all,” she said, “except a small jar of olive oil.”  (vs 2)

That was enough for the man of God to spring into action.

“Elisha said, “Go around and ask all your neighbors for empty jars. Don’t ask for just a few. Then go inside and shut the door behind you and your sons. Pour oil into all the jars, and as each is filled, put it to one side.”

She left him and shut the door behind her and her sons. They brought the jars to her and she kept pouring. When all the jars were full, she said to her son, “Bring me another one.”

But he replied, “There is not a jar left.” Then the oil stopped flowing.

She went and told the man of God, and he said, “Go, sell the oil and pay your debts. You and your sons can live on what is left.” (vs 3-7)

I love how God took the little that she had and multiplied it! I will say it again, God is Faithful!

I wasn’t sure what I would write about each week, but like clockwork as I finished one blog post the ideas for future posts would spring up. I never lacked a topic to write about.  Yes, the more we pour out and share, the more God fills us.

And so I pray you have been encouraged by reading my posts (or my little drops of oil) throughout the year. Your feedback has helped to encourage me along the way!

Now please allow me to thank just a few of the women who have been praying for and cheering me on with my blog, Facebook page, YouTube Channel and Pinterest Boards!  I apologize if I’ve left anyone off the list. Next time, perhaps, I’ll focus on some of the men as well because I know you guys are praying for me, too!

  • Thank you to my Mom who faithfully listens as I read her each of the posts after they’ve been published, and to my sister who gives me great feedback on my posts and videos! And thank you to my niece (and nephew!!!) who have inspired me to write a few posts!
  • Thank you to Celine, Julie, and Lisy for being so supportive of all my “crazy” ok “God-sized” endeavors.
  • Thank you to the circle of women who were reading my “pieces” before I had a blog: Priscilla O., Lisa O., and Lauren G.
  • Thank you to Dianna, Jamary, and Rachel who kindly encourage me to “keep writing!” Thank you to Christine who reminded me, “YOU need to write.” And thank you to Priscilla P., Ceu, Lisa S. and others for all the prayers you’ve lifted up for me!

The list could go on and on, but I’ll save that for another day.

Only the Lord knows what I’ll write about and do next year. To God be the Glory!

Did this encourage you?  Feel free to leave a comment or hit “Like” below. To get my free e-booklet MiraculousLovely Abroad: Lessons and Snapshots From the Mission Fields and to get these posts e-mailed straight to your inbox, click here. To find MiraculousLovely on YouTubeclick here. To find MiraculousLovely on Pinterestclick here or on Facebook, click here.

THE HOLY BIBLE, NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION®, NIV® Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.™ Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.

 

Christmas Greetings!

I visited Rockefeller Center last week to shoot this short video just for you! I really do pray that you will have the best Christmas yet!

I’ll be taking a break next week, so please feel free to catch up on some of the older posts you may have missed. To visit MiraculousLovely on Facebook, click here and on YouTubeclick here. To find MiraculousLovely on Pinterestclick here.

I’m also praying about what’s in store for 2014, so if you have any thoughts of what you’d like to see on this blog, etc… please feel free to leave a comment below, e-mail me at NYBlessings@gmail.com, or leave a comment on my Facebook page. I’d love to hear from you.

Blessings to you and yours!

“The virgin will conceive and give birth to a son, and they will call him Immanuel” (which means “God with us”). (Matthew 1:23)

Did this encourage you?  Feel free to leave a comment or hit “Like” below. To get my free e-booklet MiraculousLovely Abroad: Lessons and Snapshots From the Mission Fields and to get these posts e-mailed straight to your inbox, click here.

THE HOLY BIBLE, NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION®, NIV® Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.™ Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.

What are You Asking for?

SalFalko / Foter.com / CC BY-NC

 

One recent Christmas, my Dad wasn’t sure what to get me so he surprised me by asking me, “What store would you like to go to so I can buy you your gift?”

Wow, my Dad has always been big on gift-giving but this was very unexpected! It caught me so off guard, that I went blank. After a few moments, something came to mind. Thankfully, it wasn’t out of his price range so my Dad happily said yes and we made arrangements to go to the store the very next day.

I won’t tell you what I requested because that’s not as important as the fact that my Dad asked me what I wanted and he enjoyed giving it to me. Had I asked for something really small, that’s what I would have gotten. But I dared to ask him for something a little bigger and he happily obliged. I know it brought him joy to be able get me something that I needed.

I couldn’t help but be reminded that in an even greater way, that is how our Heavenly Father is with us!

Through prayer, we get to ask our Abba Father for our heart’s desires.  As long as we are asking according to His will, He enjoys giving us those desires in His timing. He loves it when we go to Him with our needs, no matter how big or how small. But when we ask Him, He wants us to want Him more than anything or anyone, and He wants us to ask Him with faith that He hears us and that He will answer us.

So what are you asking God for? Do you trust Him enough to ask Him for big things? Do you ask Him believing that He can do the seemingly impossible?

I’m not talking about material things here. I’m talking about the priceless gifts like peace in your storm, physical or emotional healing, restoration in your relationships, the salvation of loved ones, some other breakthrough or even all of the above!

God still does miracles! Believe!

I love how the Christmas story is filled with the miraculous! (Matthew 1 – 2 and Luke 1-2)

There is:

  • Jesus, the Son of God, being born of a virgin!
  • An angel appearing to Joseph in a dream and telling him that the child Mary is having was conceived from the Holy Spirit and that they are to call him Jesus because He will save His people from their sins!
  • An angel announcing to Zechariah that he and Elizabeth would have a son, despite their old age, and that they are to call him John.
  • An angel that appears to the shepherds and announces the birth of the Savior/Messiah. The shepherds even get to witness a heavenly choir rejoicing.
  • The Magi who find Jesus just by having the courage to follow a star!

Not to mention all the prophesies that Jesus fulfilled on His birthday and everything He would go on to do while walking on earth!

The list goes on and on.

Now tell me, what is too difficult for God? What would loving God withhold from His children? He gave us the gift of Jesus, His one and only Son, and the gift of eternal life.

“For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.” (John 3:16)

Let’s stop for a moment and let that really sink in. It’s really too great to ever fully comprehend the depth of God’s love for us. Yes, love came down on Christmas!

No matter what you’re facing, keep drawing closer to God my friends! God loves you more than you can imagine, and Nothing is impossible for Him!

If you’re just starting out your walk with Jesus, please click here to learn more.

Did this encourage you?  Feel free to leave a comment or hit “Like” below. To get my free e-booklet MiraculousLovely Abroad: Lessons and Snapshots From the Mission Fields and to get these posts e-mailed straight to your inbox, click here. To find MiraculousLovely on YouTubeclick here. To find MiraculousLovely on Pinterestclick here.

THE HOLY BIBLE, NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION®, NIV® Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.™ Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.

 

It Ain’t Over!

elevator-358249_1280

The other day after lunch, I was heading back to my office. As I approached the elevator bank, I was happy to see that two out of the eight elevators in that particular section of the lobby were open. However, they were two of the furthest from me so as I got closer to them they both shut at the same time. Bummer.

But no biggie. I guess I could have hurried up and tried to rush into one of the elevators, but I remained calm knowing that another one would quickly come.

I waited a moment to give the elevators time to leave the lobby, and then I pressed the button. To my surprise, the same two elevators instantly opened.

I just had to chuckle. Yes folks, I found a spiritual lesson during this elevator incident.

I thought the Lord wanted to show me not to worry because when one door closes (or in this case two at the same time) another one opens. Or maybe He wanted to show me that there’s always “another elevator to catch if you miss the first and second ones”. But not so!

I saw those two doors shutting as missed opportunities so to speak. By having them both open again, it was like the Lord wanted to show me, “It ain’t over unless I say it’s over!”

Isn’t that like the Lord always keeping us on our toes?

Are you facing some seemingly closed doors? Does it feel like you have missed your opportunity? Do you worry that you’ll never make it from point A to point B?

Could I encourage you to ask the Lord if He closed the door or if it’s just a test, obstacle, delay, etc… that you need to persevere through?

Lately, the Lord has been reminding me that He is the Resurrection and the Life!

I’m reminded of when the prophet Ezekiel has a vision of a valley of dry bones. What does God ask him to do?  He commands Ezekiel to… “Prophesy to these bones and say to them, ‘Dry bones, hear the word of the Lord!  This is what the Sovereign Lord says to these bones: I will make breath enter you, and you will come to life. I will attach tendons to you and make flesh come upon you and cover you with skin; I will put breath in you, and you will come to life. Then you will know that I am the Lord.’” (Ezekiel 37:4-6)

Ezekiel prophesied and God breathed on the bones and they miraculously came to life! While those bones represented how God was going to restore Judah and Jerusalem, we can still learn from that story and speak to our valley of dry bones.

Why not prophesy over your “dead” situations? Ask God to breathe life into those areas.

Remember that:

  • God opens doors that no man can shut. (Revelation 3:8)
  • He’s an expert at making a way where there seems to be no way including by parting seas. (Isaiah 43:16)
  • He provides water in the wilderness and makes streams in the wasteland. (Isaiah 43:20)
  • He makes crooked places straight or will level mountains for us. (Isaiah 45:2)

If God clearly has closed a door, then ask Him to give you the strength to move on. BUT if He says, “It ain’t over,” then as Christians let’s Trust Jesus to step in, intervene, and make things right in ways that only He can do. To God be the Glory!

Did this encourage you?  Feel free to leave a comment or hit “Like” below. To get my free e-booklet MiraculousLovely Abroad: Lessons and Snapshots From the Mission Fields and to get these posts e-mailed straight to your inbox, click here. To find MiraculousLovely on YouTubeclick here. To find MiraculousLovely on Pinterest, click here.

THE HOLY BIBLE, NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION®, NIV® Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.™ Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.