Wednesday, September 24, 2008

Women's Fall Fellowship


Last night we had our church’s Women’s Fall Fellowship. Our theme verse was Lamentations 3:23(b) …great is Thy faithfulness. Our desire was to focus on the faithfulness of Our Almighty God. In these times of great turmoil, unrest and uncertainty it is much needed to refocus and regroup and realize that God is still on the throne. We read out of Psalm 33 and where uplifted by the Word of God.

Some points to ponder from Psalm 33:

v. 4 – For the Word of the LORD is right; and all His works are done in truth.

v. 5 – He loveth righteousness and judgment: the earth is full of the goodness of the LORD.

v. 6 – By the Word of the LORD were the heavens made; and all the host of them by the breath of His mouth.

v. 7 – He gathereth the waters of the sea together as an heap: He layeth up the depth in storehouses.

vv. 18-19 – Behold, the eye of the LORD is upon them that fear Him, upon them that hope in His mercy; To deliver their soul from death, and to keep them alive in famine.

vv. 20-22 – Our soul waiteth for the LORD: He is our help and our shield. For our heart shall rejoice in Him, because we have trusted in His holy name. Let thy mercy, O LORD, be upon us, according as we hope in Thee.

We focused upon God’s Word being right and true. God’s Word stands the test of time. Heaven and earth will pass away, but God’s Word will stand and will accomplish that which He sent it out for. The LORD showed us how “He gathers the waters of the sea together as a heap” – How big is our God? Is He bigger than our problems, whatever they may be? Our Hope needs to be upon the LORD creator of heaven and earth.

Worship was sweet. God met us all in a special way. God is doing a mighty work in all our women – Praise Jesus!

Psalm 106:1-2 – Praise ye the LORD. O give thanks unto the LORD; for He is good: for His mercy endureth forever. Who can utter the mighty acts of the LORD? Who can show forth all His praise?

We had a time of sharing, giving testimony to God’s faithfulness.

We all had such a wonderful time that we simply didn’t want to leave. Reminded me of Psalm 133:1, Behold, how good and how pleasant it is for brethren to dwell together in unity!

Blessed Time!!!

Monday, September 15, 2008

Hearing My Child's Voice

Things around here have not been the same. So much has happened and so much hasn’t happened. Sometimes I think, “Okay - I should write about that.” Or “Hey, that would be good.” But there is no desire or energy. Now, is God still working? Is God still answering prayer? Is God still on the throne, high and lifted up? ABSOLUTELY!!!

It was so incredibly hard to not hear from Angie. To not know what was happening. I could see her face full of tears and could feel her embrace of when we said goodbye. I wanted to know something. When I received her letter I almost passed out. In fact, I was cooking when my hubby brought in the letter. He said, “Look at what you got.” I wanted to drop everything and sit and read my babies thoughts. But I couldn’t. So what I did I grabbed the envelopes and sat them right next to me while I finished cooking. I kept glancing at her writing, at her name. Then I couldn’t help it anymore – I opened the envelope and attempted to cook and read (very dangerous!) O, what thrill to read about all that was happening with her and how the LORD was already working in her. I couldn’t wait to write back so that she could write me again. But her voice, I desired to hear her voice.

I knew she was okay. I knew that all was going well. But her voice, I longed to hear her voice. I longed to hear the voice of My Child.

I tried to wait patiently, but I finally decided to try and call. The phone was forever busy, and then her schedule didn’t allow it. Much disappointment…more waiting. I kept praying and asking My Heavenly Father to allow me to hear her voice just for a second. More waiting.

Yesterday I decided, today is the day I will speak with my baby-girl. And so I kept calling – the phone was busy. I began to think that maybe I didn’t have the right number or that the number was not even a good number – I kept insisting. It rang…who will answer…will she be available…is this even the right number…Someone picked up the phone and I asked for Angie, “They are at dinner, can I take a message. They should be back in 30 minutes.” Okay, so it is a right number and someone is out there.

You see the way things work at Mt. Zion is that the students are not allowed any cell phones, internet, etc. Their mode of communication is mail (or snail mail as we know it in this high tech age). They are allowed to use a house phone, one phone per house. You are only allowed to use it for 30 minutes at a time, per day. And you can only call one person for those 30 minutes. There is a log that you put your name on it to reserve a spot. Now there is the main phone which you can call at any time in case of emergencies – and let me tell you, I was about to call this number and simply ask, “How is Angie doing?” Yeah, desperate times call for desperate measures. But God was working on my heart too, and so I waited.

After the 30 minutes I tried again. O my, it rang! “Angela Ramirez, please.” A voice said, “Hold on.” Could it be will I get to hear my baby’s voice? Then there it was, “HELLO.” – All time stood still. It took everything I had to not cry. I was hearing Angie’s voice!!!

She wanted me to tell her about stuff, but I just wanted her to talk to me. We didn’t have much time, but this was more than enough. She sounded good, mature, secure. She sounds like she is exactly were God wants her.

We said our good-byes and I sat there thanking My Heavenly Father for allowing me to hear my baby’s voice. O, what joy it brought to my heart.

But then, later in the day, the phone rang…yes, you guessed it, it was Angie again. Someone had given her their time slot to use to call someone. So I got to talk to Angie for 30 uninterrupted minutes. Wow! Exceedingly more than I ask or pray for, indeed.