When standing for marriage restoration, understanding and implementing God’s instructions in 1 Corinthians 7:15 to let our spouses go when they want to depart is probably one of the greatest challenges we all face. Yet, that is what God instructs and expects us to do and He knows that the ONLY way we can do that and live in peace as He also expects us to do, is to put all of our faith, hope and confidence in Jesus Christ and the power and promise of His Word. And since we’ve had quite a bit of conversation about that in the FAM Fellowship lately, along with a recent post about Lazarus and the lessons we can learn from his story, I want to share a previous Seeds Of Faith post about that, Believing Jesus is the ONLY Way to Let Go; which I hope and pray will remind us all of just how important our faith is to the Lord. Without that, the odds are that we will never truly be able to let our spouses go and live in the peace of God that really does pass all human comprehension and understanding (Philippians 4:5-7); much less walk in the forgiveness, grace, mercy, and unconditional love and respect which are all so essential for true and lasting marriage restoration. Yet, one of the single most consistent things we hear from returning spouses is what a difference it made in their hearts and circumstances when their spouses finally let them go and began to demonstrate unconditional love and respect.

There is no way to adequately express or explain the awesome SUPERNATURAL power released into our lives and circumstances when we truly have unshakable faith in our Lord; yet there is no doubt that it is the most essential principle of marriage restoration–both before and after our marriages are restored. And as I shared in the above post, there is no way to read John 11 and the story of Lazarus’ miraculous restoration to life without seeing how vitally important faith is to Jesus and how much it troubles his heart when we don’t believe Him. And the pages of the private FAM Fellowship website are filled with testimonies of the miraculous ways God has worked and continues to work in the restoration of marriages once men and women have learned and finally understood the SUPERNATURAL power of faith and praise. What a blessing it is when we get that and can walk it out in our day to day lives; because that’s when we will be blessed and encouraged beyond anything we could ever ask or imagine as we see the mighty hand of God move to miraculously restore our marriages and families!

After reading Stephanie’s post, God Can and Will Turn a Prodigal’s Heart, and crying the whole way through, I felt the need to write this post. Not only did Stephanie seem to be describing exactly how things were in my marriage–both before and after SNO (spouse name omitted) left, but I could also relate to how much SNO really did change when I just let him go. And the changes that took place in his heart when I began showing him unconditional love, grace and respect were nothing short of God’s miraculous work of restoration!

But God’s work of restoration was done in both my heart and SNO’s and never in a million years could I have imagined that I would have changed so radically and so quickly, that my own heart would turn from stone to flesh. After all, I thought I was dealing with “my husband’s sin problem” and I was being a saint…so perfectly sweet and innocent, and just waiting for him to come back to his senses. Of course, God dealt with my pride rather quickly and before I knew it, I was showing my husband, a man who tried everything to prove to himself and the NCP that he was never coming home, true love, respect, honor, grace and compassion. But because change is a process, I would still struggle every now and then, and would fail to rely on God. Yes, I still believed there was something–some magical sentence I could utter that would make him come home. I actually remember SNO text messaging me one night and telling me how bad his life had become and how bad things with the NCP were. I took things into my own hands and responded with”I am praying for you, and I know one day God will bring you back to me.” Well, he immediately wrote back in anger and said that because of that text message, he no longer felt comfortable and even called me saying how out of line that was. He stated that this was his choice and just when he thought I got it, I blew it.

But that same sentence could come out of my mouth today, and SNO would not even bat an eyelash, because he has made it very clear that this is where he wants to be. The problem was that at that time, despite all he was going through, that’s where he wanted to be. He wanted to be with the NCP and he was willing to endure all of the troubles because to him, that was better than what awaited him at home. And telling him I knew God would bring him back to me, was condescending. First, it was a reminder to him that God didn’t approve of what he was doing, and as Stephanie pointed out, prodigals are already aware of that and are running from God. Secondly, it was saying that no matter how hard he tried to make things work in his new situation, it was still all just a terrible mistake and that he would come crawling home. At least that’ was the message HE got from it.

Through the course of my stand, I have gone from amazingly clingy and desperate to calm and peaceful. And the days when I was clingy and desperate were the coldest and hardest days, especially since my husband would respond by intentionally saying things to me that brought me to endless tears. When I refused to let him go, he tried to make me do it by being cruel and cold. But once I let him go and gave everything to God, I finally experienced peace, and the peace that surpasses all understanding, as described in Philippians 4:5-7, surrounded me. And my husband responded by establishing a new friendship with me because he was so drawn to me, and the peace I had was something he wanted too.

Interestingly enough, that same peace started to make the NCP feel insecure, and all of the freedom she once promised SNO vanished. So SNO would often intentionally try his hardest to be cruel to me when in front of the NCP, but I would respond in love. He would yell about the shoes the kids were wearing being too big, and I would just listen to him and thank him for noticing and looking out for them. He was always late picking up the kids and when dropping them off, but I just let it all go. And he seldom returned them with the clothes; clothes I had really struggled to pay for! But I didn’t pick a fight, as I knew he was testing me. Not only was that an act for the NCP, but it was his way of testing me to “prove” that I really hadn’t changed.

Of course, the NCP felt much more secure in her relationship with him when I was bitter and angry. But once I started changing and was humble and respectful NO MATTER the circumstance, she became the clingy one showing signs of desperation. And, yes, the NCP’s clingy tendencies and desperation began to chase SNO away and she ended up chasing him back to where he belongs! And he looked forward to talking to me and stopping by the house, if only for fifteen minutes at a time. We would joke around and our conversations were light and fun. We didn’t go into stressful topics and I made sure to have a gentle and quiet spirit and keep my mouth shut about my desires for him to return home. We just learned how to enjoy each others company again and for a season, we saw each other frequently, talked on the phone, text messaged each other constantly and even chatted on Instant Messenger. And being cruel to me in front of the NCP became much more difficult, because he was falling in love with me all over again. Of course, that made the NCP even more insecure and things behind closed doors for the two of them became increasingly heated and stressful.

Fortunately, the NCP and I don’t have to talk on the phone about things involving the kids now, as we once did. SNO used to toss the phone to her and yell ”I’m not dealing with her anymore.” and leave it to her to finish the conversation about whatever matter we were discussing; such as doctor’s appointments and schedules. He no longer puts on a show the way he once did for the NCP, and I no longer feel tested to see if the changes in me are real. Instead, things are very cordial and open between us. The NCP has become as bitter as wormwood and all her unstable ways have chased my husband’s heart back home. Although he is not home yet and still there, both he and I agree and acknowledge that things will get better and that he is coming home.

The process of change was challenging at first, but I knew I was doing it God’s way when my new attitude practically became my first reaction! And it was a great feeling when I finally “got it” and knew that I had grasped yet another important principal of marriage restoration. Not only did it make room for God to move, but it brought me closer to the Lord!

The more natural unconditional love, respect, honor, and a quiet spirit become to us, the more like Christ we become. As Colossians 3:7-10 says, You used to walk in these ways, in the life you once lived. But now you must rid yourselves of all such things as these: anger, rage, malice, slander, and filthy language from your lips. Do not lie to each other, since you have taken off your old self with its practices and have put on the new self, which is being renewed in knowledge in the image of its Creator.

I have personally witnessed the profound effects my own actions and attitude have had in my circumstances. And there’s no doubt that having a humble and quiet spirit, although difficult at first, was essential in recapturing my husband’s heart and captivating him all over again!

(Note from Linda: This is another powerful message from Lorraine because when we learn to “see” with our spiritual eyes instead of being led and deceived by only what we can see in the natural, we will indeed be blessed an encouraged as we walk in the victory Jesus came to give us!)

*****
“And he answered, Fear not: for they that be with us are more than they that be with them.
And Elisha prayed, and said, LORD, I pray thee, open his eyes, that he may see. And the LORD opened the eyes of the young man; and he saw: and, behold, the mountain was full of horses and chariots of fire round about Elisha.” 2 Kings 6:16-17

When Elisha and his servant woke up this particular morning, they discovered that the Syrian army was surrounding the city- horses, chariots, warriors. This brought fear to the heart of Elisha’s servant. Elisha remained calm and at peace and simply prayed that the Lord would open the eyes of his servant to see past the physical
realm- past what he saw with the natural eye- and give him eyes to see in the spiritual realm. The Lord did and the servant saw that the mountain was full of horses and chariots of fire- the angelic host.
I would say that most of us are like Elisha’s servant instead of Elisha. When trouble comes, when a crisis threatens, when problems arise, when the enemy is coming against us, we only “see” what we see with our physical eyes. We tend to see only the problem. We tend to see it from only one perspective- our prospective. We tend to see it in the natural realm only. Elisha remained calm and at peace because he saw past what he was seeing with his natural eyes. He saw what was invisible, yet was more real and more powerful than what he was looking upon with his two eyes.
When the enemy surrounds us, when we are under attack, when the problems seem endless, when the situation is getting worse, we need to pray that our “eyes” would be open-our spiritual eyes. If you look at things with only the physical eye it will discourage you, depress you, steal your peace, rob your joy, make you fearful and cause you to give up. What we see is not always “reality” as was the case with Elisha and his servant. The reality was that a greater army than the army of Syria was there, and it was there to protect them. The reality is that though they thought they were
out numbered and alone, there was more for them than there was against them.
How do we see past what we see with the natural eye? We look at the situation through the eyes of faith- faith in God’s word, in His promises, and in light of who He is.

Have a great day. Don’t just look at your situation through your natural senses, look at it through the eyes of faith- faith and trust in your mighty God and His promises.

*****
Coffee Break is a morning devotional written by Lorraine Ezell, and available online and sent by email free of charge for the asking from About the Master’s Business Ministry, Inc.
So please feel free to call Lorraine at (601) 833-5278 or E-mail her at mastersbusiness@bellsouth.net
And you can visit her on the web at MastersBusiness.org.

We greatly appreciate and thank Lorraine for her permission to share and reprint her Coffee Break devotionals here to bless and encourage our visitors!

(Note from Linda: We are all so blessed to have the powerful testimonies of those who have been led astray by Satan and then delivered by the mercy, grace, love and power of our dear Lord and Savior–it’s the most encouraging evidence that God does bring wayward spouses back home! And we are once again blessed that Stephanie has been led to share her experience as a prodigal and the insight gained through her experience and being restored to the Lord, which she posted on the private FAM Fellowship website last night. So I hope and pray that this strong testimony of God’s faithfulness to work in the heart, mind and spirit of our spouses when they are caught up in adultery will bless and encourage everyone who needs it today. As Proverbs 21:30 declares, There is no wisdom, no insight and no plan that can succeed against the Lord! So please take the time to read and meditate on the following scripture references because we have to put our hope in the power and promise of God’s Word as we stand in faith and obedience for the deliverance of our adulterous spouses and the restoration of our marriages and families. And when we do, we will without a doubt be blessed and encouraged beyond belief!)

*****
Thank you all so much for your responses to my earlier post. I was truly blessed and humbled, as I always struggle to share as a prodigal; yet I’ve been strongly led to write something again. My husband and I just spent two wonderful nights together because his sister was staying at his parents’ house; yet he went back there tonight. We really had such a great time, and I have to admit that I began to cry and have a pity party when he left, but I thanked God anyway. Suddenly, my tears stopped and I felt the need to share again. So I prayed that God would lead me as I write, and here it is.

When I was in what I call my “prodigal moments,” there was a period of time when I was in the thick of sin and God was tapping me on the shoulder, but I ignored him. And there were times that the guilt of my actions overwhelmed and consumed me so much that I could not enjoy the time with the NCP. I was restless, discontented, unhappy, and unable to sleep. Why? God does not give adulterers any peace. I guarantee you right now that your prodigal spouse is not peaceful because there is no true peace in sin (Isaiah 48:22). The devil comes along and whispers in the prodigal’s ear and says “look, this other person is right for you…look how they make you feel…it will be okay once you are divorced…everything will be okay…besides, your spouse should have someone who really loves them and you don’t, so set them free.” We believe we must let you, our spouse, go, because it is the right thing to do; we are in it too deep, there is no other way, you are aware of our sin, there is no saving face, and there is no going back. We get trapped in a vicious cycle of self contempt and fleshly pleasure. And we tell you the reason we are leaving is NOT the NCP. But I’m here to tell you…of course it is! We tell you we would have left anyway…then why didn’t we? That is exactly why Satan put this person in our path. He knew that would be just the ticket to get us to act…to commit adultery, to separate and to divorce. Satan not only convinces the prodigal, but uses the NCP as well. So he has two deceived people under his control and manipulation. And the prodigal does what FEELS right; not what IS right.

Again, let me reiterate—there is NO PEACE for the prodigal. Prodigals live in an illusionary world that they believe in. We believe that we are really happy, but that’s not so, and our hearts even tell us that. But we just dismiss it. We chalk it up to not being happy in our marriage…it couldn’t possibly be our adulterous relationship. And we believe we have a future with the other person. But once again, that’s not so because our God would not allow it. He would not prosper a relationship that goes against his Word; not now and not ever! We believe we could never be a good spouse to you because we’ve hurt you so deeply and we “love” the NCP. Again, that’s not so; we love the feeling we get with the NCP and we hate the guilt we feel with you, our spouse. Deep down, we love you, but all we can see now is the negative you, and not the you we fell in love with. And we point out your faults so we can justify our sin to ourselves. So be careful not to display that negativity to us, because it will send us packing. Disarm us with your good, loving side. The more you show us the Christ like love and peace within you, the more restless, uneasy, uncomfortable and far from peaceful we become. Why? (Because you are successfully fighting the enemy with the tools God has given you in his Word (Ephesians 6:12-18) and we can’t stand against that, so we lash back out at you. Remember that Satan is talking to us even louder when you are winning. So stand firm and keep loving us and victory will be yours (Deuteronomy 20:4). It is when you give up, and give in that you waste time and restoration takes longer.

Perhaps I’m rambling; but this is my point—there is no peace for the prodigal!!! And it’s really important to understand that “feelings” do not matter!!! Feelings come and go. Today, your prodigal spouse is distant; tomorrow pleasant; the next day angry; and the next happy–as if life couldn’t be better. God does not want us to operate on feelings. God is not interested in how you feel, but who you are; your character, your relationship with him, and your salvation. And He is not interested in what makes you comfortable. He is asking you…“Do you believe in my Word?” Do you believe in my promises? Do you believe me when I say I hate divorce? (Malachi 2:16) Do you believe that I joined you and your spouse together and what I have joined, let man not separate? (Matthew 19:6) Do you believe that I can do the impossible? (Mark 10:27) Do you believe in me? Do you have faith in my Sovereignty, my power, and my truth? (Deuteronomy 3:24) Do you believe I can bring you through this?”

So when you are hurting, remember…”It’s not about my feelings, but the promise ahead – Psalm 147:3.” When you are angry, remember…”It’s not about my feelings, but the promise ahead – Psalm 135:14.” When you are tearful, remember…It’s not about my feelings, but the promise ahead – Psalm 126:5.” When you are fearful, remember…”it’s not about my feelings, but the promise ahead – Isaiah 41:10.” And when you are disappointed or discouraged, remember…”It’s not about my feelings, but the promise ahead – Psalm 34:18.”

Please, please repeat this to yourself over and over until it sinks in, which I too had to do tonight in my own moment of despair. Stop believing the lies out of your spouse’s mouth. Believe the words out of God’s mouth. Prodigals don’t know which way is up. But you on the other hand, have God and the Holy Spirit, and all of his angels on your left, and on your right, in front of you, behind you, and everywhere you go. You have the power that comes through your prayers, through your fellowship and obedience to God, and through reading his Word daily. YOU HAVE POWER!! GODS FAVOR RESTS WITH YOU! YOU ARE GOD’S CHILD!! YOU ARE JOINT HEIRS WITH JESUS CHRIST! YOU ARE THE OVERCOMER! YOU HAVE THE POWER TO TREAD ON SERPENTS AND DEMOLISH STRONGHOLDS!!! AND THE PRODIGAL IN SIN IS POWERLESS OVER YOU AND YOUR GOD!!!

Start acting and believing like it is so. God commands you to act on your faith. So wipe your tears just like I had to tonight, and get up and act like a child of the most high God!!!! DO something constructive and pray and claim Jeremiah 24:7 for your spouse, because God will be faithful to do this for your prodigal spouse the same way He did it for me! It says I will give them a heart to know me, that I am the LORD. They will be my people, and I will be their God, for they will return to me with all their heart.

With Much Love!!!
Stephanie

I wonder how many of us recognize our stand for the restoration of our marriage as a means of breaking the cycle and generational curse of divorce in our families. That means that we are not just standing for our own marriages; that we are also paving the road for future generations and creating a legacy for them to follow.

My mother’s parents were divorced by the time she reached kindergarten, and my grandmother grew up with both of her parents, but it was a second marriage and her siblings resented her because they never accepted her father in their home. So neither my husband nor I have families that stayed together. In fact, his mother divorced his father while she was pregnant with him and my parents were never married and split up soon after my first birthday.

Even though growing up in families with single parents was “normal” to both me and SNO (spouse name omitted), once we had kids of our own, we both felt strongly that we never wanted our kids to go through what we went through. We never wanted a broken home, but we didn’t know how to prevent it. And we didn’t understand the measures we needed to take to protect our family; nor did we know how to go about our daily lives without chipping away at our marriage.

So among the multitude of things God has taught me through my stand, one thing that really stands out is my new desire to be the best wife and mother I can be. I am sure I always wanted that in the past but it certainly wasn’t something I thought I had to work to accomplish. But fighting this good fight has radically changed me into a totally new woman. So in this time of waiting, God has worked in me in ways that will well equip me for the road and challenges ahead. And during this time of standing, God is establishing His strong foundation (Deuteronomy 28:9 and 1 Samuel 2:35) and putting everything in perfect order so that my husband and I will have the appreciation, wisdom, knowledge and understanding needed to stay together for a lifetime, which is something that will bless and benefit our children beyond what we can imagine (2 Samuel 7:12).

The good news is that our fight is the good fight, and this battle we face will have a huge impact in the legacy we leave behind for future generations. The best news is that it is a fixed fight, and we are already victorious (Romans 8:31 and Romans 8:37); we just have to stay the course.

God is not concerned with our past, because He sees the big picture and knows what is yet to come and He will use everything in our past for our good and His glory (Romans 8:28 and Ephesians 1:4-14)! So even though my parents didn’t provide me with a model of what a strong and healthy marriage looks like, that doesn’t mean God can’t make things right. And by making things right, He is setting the course for our future generations; our very own children!

We don’t have to say a word; we just have to keep fighting the good fight. And we can’t give up, no matter what; we must stay the course and have faith that what God has promised, God will bring about (Numbers 23:19, Isaiah 46:10-11 and Isaiah 55:10-11). So we have to resist being guided by our natural eye, and we have to stop seeing our circumstances as obstacles. We have to cling tight to the very Word of God as if it were our life line, because it is (Psalm 119:105 and Matthew 4:4)! And there comes a time when we just have to say “Whatever it takes, I am on board!”

As we stand for the restoration of our marriages and families, we have way too much at risk to ever give up. So it’s important to remember all of the positive changes this time in our lives has brought about and not lose sight of how much growth we have already experienced in the process. And as we wait for the Lord to redirect the hearts of our spouses, it is very reassuring to consider how our own minds, attitudes and hearts have been overtaken and transformed by the awesome power of God and how our relationship with Him has grown increasingly strong. So we have to persevere on those days when we feel it’s too late and we want to give up, because giving up would be like throwing in the towel when we have already been declared the winner! And we can’t forfeit and hand the enemy something that belongs to God, because it is for His glory that He will come through and rebuild our marriages on the solid rock (Isaiah 55:9-13)!

Thankfully, God has provided a definite plan to halt the devastation of divorce, and if you come from a broken family as I did, I’m sure you would agree that being able to break the generational curse of divorce is an invaluable legacy for our future generations. We are part of God’s army fighting for His Kingdom, so let’s keep fighting the good fight and never lose sight of how important our stands are in God’s eyes, because HE sees the BIG picture and everything to come!

I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith. 2 Timothy 4:7

(Note from Linda: Stephanie shared this powerful message on the private site last night and I have no doubt that it will be a blessing to everyone standing for marriage restoration, especially when another person is involved. And it is an even more powerful message from Stephanie because the day before, she had been given a “bad report” and chose to stand on the power and promise of God’s Word instead of receiving that news and was then blessed with a wonderful praise instead of what would surely not have turned out well if she had acted on what she heard! Her experience and insight is a perfect illustration of the biblical principles of standing for marriage restoration and confirms just why God teaches us to do what His Word says (Luke 6:46-49); He made us and He knows how we tick! And this powerful testimony should be more than enough encouragement for all of us to renew our commitment to DO things God’s way so we can be assured of getting HIS results, especially since we know that HE hates divorce and marital separation (Malachi 2)! So take the word of this testimony to heart and be blessed and encouraged as you use it to defeat and hurl down the devil the next time he comes calling to steal, kill and destroy your marriage (an earthly representation of our relationship with Christ Ephesians 5:29-32 and 1 Corinthians 11:7), the word of YOUR testimony (that overcomes him – Revelation 12:10-11) and your righteousness, peace and joy (what the kingdom of heaven is all about – Romans 14:17)!)

*****
Hello Everyone,

I was deep in thought today and I want to share some of my experience as a prodigal. At first, I was a little embarrassed to share it, but I realize that was the enemy’s condemnation and that I need to use my testimony as God has commanded, which I hope blesses you and will help overcome and hurl down the devil as you stand for the restoration of your marriage and family (Revelation 12:10-11).

I was very unhappy in my marriage and I didn’t believe I loved my husband anymore; we were always either arguing or giving each other the silent treatment. We lived like strangers in our routine of go to work, come home, take care of the children and repeat it all over again. And I never consulted God on anything; I was too angry and my heart was made of the hardest stone imaginable.

I met someone who “understood me”…someone who sang my praises, complimented me, etc. So I leapt in and did the wrong thing; knowing what I was doing was wrong, and knowing I was sinning against God.

There is a voice within every prodigal that tells them what they are doing is wrong. Every prodigal is shown the way out, but chooses to turn their back on what is “right.” Why? Because we are LOST…we are HURTING…and we are SAD. Yet, we show you, our spouses, that we are happy and that we could not have it better any other way; life is good, we are feeling good and having the time of our lives. Everything we ever wanted is now within this other person and you are now the enemy; you want to rob us of our joy, you don’t understand us, you don’t love us; because if you did, we wouldn’t have gone astray. Prodigals think CRAZY things. We hear the ENEMY’S voice louder than God’s; we have put God’s voice on mute and the enemy tells us that we will be happy if we are divorced from you…then we could be free, happy and fulfilled. It’s all a LIE, but we don’t know that. We even think our children will be “just fine”–another lie. We buy into the “it’s better for me to be happy…then I will be a better father/mother” trap—just another Lie.

We come home to you, our spouses, and you throw stones at us. You tell us what we are doing is wrong. You tell us we need God. You cry, you raise your voice, you act desperate, you act mean, etc. And the prodigal’s instinct…RUN!!! RUN as fast as we can!! Get away from this person!! We think YOU have lost it; not us. And your clinginess, desperation and tears make us sick to our stomachs; not because we don’t care about you–because we do–we love you, but it is hidden so deep inside that we can’t see or feel it. It makes us feel horrible because we KNOW what we are doing is wrong; you don’t need to tell us. We are running from God, and when you act like that, we run from you too.

My husband prayed for me and was the one standing for our marriage during that time. He didn’t know how to do it and often times he was so negative and emotional that I wanted nothing to do with him. Please listen to me–if my husband had been treating me nice, praising me, encouraging me, showing me respect and unconditional love, I would have been blown away. If he had been peaceful, okay with me leaving if that’s what I chose to do, and confident, I wouldn’t have known what to do with the situation. But I would have been drawn to that peace and it would have woken me up.

Believe it or not, I still have to remind myself of these things when I get all worked up and emotional. One would think that I above all, should know this. However, when we are in the midst of the storm, filled with love for our spouse and the desire for restoration, we have a tendency to want to do something, say something…anything to bring them back or keep them from leaving. BUT DON’T DO IT!! There is nothing you can say or do, and everything you say or do in your will, will FAIL. RELINQUISH your spouse to God. Put it all at His feet and walk away. AND DO NOT PICK IT BACK UP!!

You have to get to a point where you are okay either way…with restoration or without it because you are content with GOD and his love. When your relationship and love for God far surpasses that of your wife/husband, you have arrived. And when you are at peace with the thought of them leaving, your blessing of restoration is on its way. Let your prodigal GO!!! God will bring them home.

He brought me home to a man I SWORE I didn’t love, didn’t want to be with, and didn’t want to be in the same room with if it could be avoided. I thought I was in control and I would do as I pleased. Who was going to stop me? God was, but I didn’t know that!!

God indeed stopped me and now I am the one praying to God for my husband’s heart and I am the one who wants restoration. God brought me to my knees when there was nothing and no one else that could help me. Wow!! Just look at what God can do–He can do it, you guys!!! He can and He will!!! Just do your part…LOVE, LOVE, LOVE…respect, support, praise and help. When you are hurt, love them (they hurt too). When you are angry, love them (for they are angry too). God will show us amazing and wonderful things when we follow what he says. He commands us to love even our enemies (Matthew 5:43-48). And sometimes we feel that our spouse is the enemy, so we have to love them; they need our love because they have been taken captive by the enemy. PRAY THEM OUT!!! PRAY, PRAY, PRAY and be unrelenting!! DO NOT GIVE IN AND DO NOT BE MOVED by what they say or do. IT IS JUST TEMPORARY! GOD has them, so remember that they are NOT in control. Use this time to complete the work that needs to be done in yourself and let God work on your spouse. Restoration won’t work if you’re not ready.

I am writing this with Love, because I don’t want you guys to make the same mistakes. Remember that God wants our marriages restored and our families healed more than we do; we just need to get out of the way and let Him work.

With much love and gratitude to you all,
Stephanie

Knowing that we want to stand for the restoration of our marriages and families is one thing, but knowing HOW to do it is another thing entirely. And the ONLY way to stand for marriage restoration and be assured of getting God’s results (full and complete restoration) is by DOING what His Word teaches and there is no other way. Yet, some really struggle to understand that, which is so unnecessary and so destructive, and it might well be the very thing that hinders what we so want. But there is a LOT we can do about that; we can learn to DO what the Word of God instructs us to do. And if we don’t, we have no one but ourselves to blame for the unhappy state of our minds and the delays in seeing our prayers answered and our marriages restored.

There are a lot of verses that get quoted here frequently, but are we PRACTICING their wisdom and BELIEVING them? Do we REALLY, REALLY even know WHO God is? Because if the answers to those questions are no, then we can’t live and walk in the victory Jesus came to give us and we aren’t going to experience the abundant life He died to make possible for us because there is no other way.

We all love Psalm 37:4-6 and the awesome promise it holds, but do we DELIGHT in the Lord; are we committed to doing things HIS way; do we REALLY trust Him? IF the answer to any of that is no, then we have no reason to expect God to give us the desires of our hearts or to make our righteousness shine like the dawn and the justice of our cause like the noon day sun! As it is written, Delight yourself 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: He will make your righteousness shine like the dawn, the justice of your cause like the noonday sun. So why is it that we expect God to do HIS part when we are unwilling to do OUR part? Well, I’m here to tell you, and there are pages and pages on the FAMM websites that prove that it just doesn’t work that way. We have to KNOW that Jesus is NOT a liar and when He said that we have to DO what He says if we want to withstand the storms of life and everything that comes against us and our marriages, that is EXACTLY what He means and there is no other way! And He was also not lying when He warned that if we DON’T DO what His Word teaches, our houses (marriages and families) will be destroyed. Sadly, our failure to do that is why all of us are here; because we did NOT DO WHAT THE LORD TEACHES US TO DO. As Jesus taught in Luke 6:46-49, with my emphasis added…“Why do you call me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ and do not do what I say? I will show you what he is like who comes to me and hears my words and puts them into practice. He is like a man building a house, who dug down deep and laid the foundation on rock. When a flood came, the torrent struck that house but could not shake it, because it was well built. But the one who hears my words and does not put them into practice is like a man who built a house on the ground without a foundation. The moment the torrent struck that house, it collapsed and its destruction was complete.” Why most of us are totally blinded to the very obvious, simple and powerful truth of this passage is beyond natural explanation and understanding, because I too had read and heard it preached for years before I read it again one day and FINALLY understood what it REALLY says! This passage is NOT about Jesus being our rock; it is about being obedient and DOING what He teaches us to do! It is about the difference in our lives when we DO what He teaches us to do and when we don’t. And as hard as it might be for us to get past the years of false doctrines we have had drummed into us over and over again for years, it is absolute proof that no amount of God’s grace and mercy make up for our failure to DO WHAT HIS WORD TELLS US TO DO! And no amount of faith and prayer will give us the desires of our hearts when we continue to live in disobedience to God’s Word and not DO what it very and unambiguously tells us to do! And it’s very important to note something else I just noticed for the first time when reading it again just now…Jesus said that this applies to us when we come to Him! So there is no point in turning to Jesus in our time of need if we aren’t going TO DO WHAT HIS WORD TEACHES! Yes, God’s grace and mercy are bestowed on us; but ONLY WHEN WE REPENT AND TURN FROM OUR evil thoughts and WICKED WAYS OF DISOBEDIENCE AND FAILURE TO LIVE BY FAITH…AND THEN TURN TO DOING THINGS GOD’S WAY. And we have God’s assurance of that in Isaiah 55.

And when God promises to give us all that we need and even want IF we seek FIRST HIS RIGHTEOUSNESS AND HIS KINGDOM; that doesn’t mean anything BUT that! We can’t think of everything else first and consider ANYTHING else before God…how HE feels…what HE wants…what HE thinks…what HE says…what HE does and how what WE do will affect HIS glory and the furtherance of HIS kingdom and then expect God to give us the things we need; much less the things we want. (Matthew 6:31-33 says what it says and means what it means and that means that there is no other way to be certain of God’s provision other than seeking Him and His ways FIRST!

So the next time we’re tempted to doubt and/or question God’s faithfulness, especially when it seems that He is doing absolutely nothing on our behalf, we would be wise to question and examine our obedience instead! As Numbers 23: 19 declares, God is not a man, that he should lie, nor a son of man, that he should change his mind. Does he speak and then not act? Does he promise and not fulfill? Of course, the answer to that is NO, which we have God’s Word on in Isaiah 46:10-11 and Isaiah 55:10-11, as well as numerous other verses that declare that God is not a liar.

Also, based on recent conversations and so much of what we’ve seen on the private site and in so many sermons and messages lately, one of the biggest hindrances to marriage restoration and receiving all that the Lord wants to bless us with is obviously unforgiveness. We just have to get this about God–even if nothing else; He does not forgive us when we don’t forgive others, and reading The Parable of the Unmerciful Servant leaves absolutely NO doubt about that. And He doesn’t want to hear our prayers when we haven’t forgiven others, as Mark 11:25 makes very clear. So He is not going to bless us with the desires of our hearts and meet our needs when we harbor unforgiveness, bitterness and resentment toward our spouses and/or NCPs, which often manifests in words and thoughts of self-righteousness and being judgmental about THEIR sins with TOTAL disregard of God’s VERY EXPLICIT instructions in passages like 2 Corinthians 10:6,John 8:7, Luke 6:37-42 and Luke 18:9-14. And our spouses are certainly not going to feel loved unconditionally by us when we are filled with unforgiveness, resentment and bitterness because of their past behavior and even what they might well be doing right now; the only way they will know that we love them is when our love COVERS OVER A MULTITUDE OF SINS (1 Peter 4:8), COVERS OVER ALL WRONGS (Proverbs 10:12 and COVERS OVER AN OFFENSE (Proverbs 17:9! And they will know that we love them when we learn to EXPECT, HOPE and BELIEVE the BEST of them; because as it is written of love in 1 Corinthians 13:7…It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres. And if this is what God, WHO IS LOVE, tells us love is and love does, and we say that we love our spouses and DO NOT DO WHAT the above VERSES TEACH LOVE IS and does, we do not love our mates; or at least we fail miserably when it comes to demonstrating love. As Proverbs 19:22 tells us, every one of us desires UNFAILING LOVE! That is exactly how we want to be loved and it is exactly why we are often offended and hurt by our spouses—-because they failed to love us that way. So we expect them to do what we ourselves will not do and have not done, but Jesus taught us that we are to love others AS we love OURSELVES, which we cannot do if we don’t first love HIM with ALL of our hearts, minds, soul and strength (Mark 12:33)! AND THERE IS NO OTHER WAY! And when we learn to DO things GOD’S way and trust Him with ALL of our hearts, and refuse to lean on our own understanding as we acknowledge Him in ALL of our ways, we will indeed be blessed and encouraged beyond belief as HE makes our paths straight (Proberbs 3:5-6)and we see the power and promise of His Word manifested in our lives and in the full and complete restoration of our marriages and families!!! And the FAM Fellowship members have indeed been blessed to witness that as two husbands have SUDDENLY returned home out of the blue and totally unexpectedly in the past week!!! PRAISE GOD!!! He is not a liar and He will do exactly what His Word promises when we do what His Word teaches us to do!

I intended to share the following Small Straws message from Marsha Burns the day she wrote it (when I initially wrote much of this post), and I still want to share her encouragement because it was something the Lord spoke into my heart and spirit when I read it and it’s still just as true today, so I hope and pray that it will encourage those who read it.

*****
Spirit of Prophecy Bulletin
Small Straws In A Soft Wind by Marsha Burns — January 8, 2009:
This is a time of expectancy, but also a time of waiting for the completion of what has been promised. Do not become discouraged in your time of waiting nor turn back when you do not see the fulfillment of your expectations. You will no doubt have to make some adjustments in how you thought things would turn out, but you must also keep the faith that I have begun a good work in you, and I will bring it to completion; keeping in mind that My thoughts are higher than your thoughts, and My ways are higher than your ways. If you could see from My vantage point, you would not worry, says the Lord.
Habakkuk 2:3 For the vision is yet for an appointed time; but at the end it will speak, and it will not lie. Though it tarries, wait for it; because it will surely
come, it will not tarry.
*****
You can read Marsha’s Small Straws messages online and sign up to receive them by email on The Spirit of Prophecy website.

(Note from Linda: Karla has a beautiful and powerful Restored Marriage Testimony, so we all appreciate her perspective and insight, and are truly blessed when she shares it with the FAM members. And the following post was no exception! So be blessed and encouraged and never forget that with God ALL THINGS are indeed possible and that God is running this race of marriage restoration right along with you and He has ALREADY declared and promised your victory!)

*****
I have run quite a few marathons, and it is probably one of my greatest personal achievements. But it is not easy to run 26.2 miles, and it is not all that fun. And it definitely requires a lot of strength – both physical and mental, as well as endurance. However, it is worth every ounce of pain. It is worth all of the sweat, all the tears, all the time put into preparing, and all of the injuries and the hurts endured along the way. There is nothing in the world like finishing that race, reaching the goal, and crossing that finish line. And as crazy as it might sound; I have discovered that standing for marriage restoration is a lot like running a marathon.

When we decide to run a marathon, nothing can stop us. And when God puts it on our hearts to stand for our marriage, nothing can stop us. When we tell people that we are going to run a marathon, most tell us that we are nuts, that it is not worth it, and that we will never finish. And when we tell people that we are going to stand for our marriage, most will tell us that we are nuts, that it is not worth it, and that we will never be able to do it by ourselves…our spouse has “free will.” They tell us that we aren’t strong enough and we can’t overcome and endure, and they will be wrong.

When we truly decide to stand for our marriage, nothing can stop us. We are excited and hopeful. We are determined and we can see that proverbial finish line called restoration. And then the race begins. The first few miles whiz by; we are energized, and we have a great attitude as we run. We are truly grateful for every mile we pass, because we know that each mile is a victory in itself.

At about mile eight, we are really cruising along. We are praising God with each mile marker we pass. There are lots of people to cheer us on, water to quench our thirst, and medical staff standing by in case we get hurt. We are applying everything we have learned, and we remember everything we have been taught. We are prepared for the bumps in the road to come and we are ready!

Somewhere around mile eighteen, we start thinking about the finish line. We tell ourselves that nothing matters except crossing that finish line. We pass miles nineteen and twenty without even acknowledging them. We become very thirsty and need a drink, but we don’t stop because we just want to get to the finish; all that matters is the finish. Shortly after that, we realize that we are starting to hurt and have some pain. And we don’t like that because we don’t want to stop and deal with the wound because it will keep us from getting to the finish line. So we pass the emergency medical staff and press on. And before we know it, we are bleeding, but we tell ourselves we are fine. We rationalize that we know what we are doing, we know exactly how this is going to go, and we have all the answers and tools needed to finish the last few miles. We decide that despite all we have learned, that our way is better, and we don’t need anyone’s help.

Then we hit mile twenty-one, and we hit what marathoners call “the wall.” Some runners hit it sooner and some hit it later. When we hit the wall, the pain becomes excruciating, and with every step forward, we feel like we have been pushed two steps back. We start to grumble because we cannot see any drink stations or medical staff ahead, and the head games begin; we start telling ourselves that we will never make it. We hear voices telling us that the finish line is too far away, that we should just quit the race, and that we have run enough. We even start telling ourselves that getting to the finish line is impossible. But then, all of a sudden, we hear another voice; the sweetest voice we have ever heard. It says “With man this is impossible, but with God, all things are possible.” We feel a rush of adrenalin and we can literally feel the strength coming back into us. We head over to the drink station and medical staff, which were right in front of us the whole time; we just couldn’t see them yet and needed to have faith and go a little bit more.

After we have been filled with nutrients and have rested for just a bit, we get back on the course, and we remember that we must apply what we have learned and BELIEVE that we are going to cross that finish line. And because we have believed and persevered, we realize that miles twenty-three, twenty-four, and twenty-five have flown by and then we see mile marker twenty-six! And we know that mile marker twenty-six means we are so close; we are almost there! We just about can’t believe that we have made it, but we believe, and we rejoice. We know that the finish line is close even though we cannot see it because the last part of the course has lots of twists and turns. And we realize that in order to finish, we must go by faith and not by sight. So we run as hard as we can, with all the strength we have, and then we hear the cheering. We pick our heads up just in time and we see the finish line. We put our hands up in victory and praise God as we cross that divine marker! It is accomplished!

After we cross the finish line, we feel a rush of emotions; there is joy…there is relief…there is exhaustion. We cry, but we are smiling; our thoughts are all over the place, but we look up and thank God. And someone approaches us with a medal in hand. We are shaking from the race, but we bow our head and the metal is place around our neck and our victory is declared!

Fellow standers, standing for the restoration of your marriage is the race of your life, and the finish line is just ahead of you, but you must believe that it is. You have what it takes to run the race; you have all the tools you need to endure the pain, and you have someone running right beside you every step of the way, making your victory possible. That someone is God. And there is no one better to cross the finish line with. Just call out to Him (Jeremiah 33:3), and He will be there right beside you. As Jesus said in Matthew 19:26, …”With man this is impossible, but with God all things are possible.” And when we stand no matter what, and cross the finish line, we will truly be blessed! Then, as Paul declared in 2 Timothy 4:7, we can say I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith.

Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us, to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, for ever and ever! Amen. (Ephesians 3:20-21)

Love and Blessings,
Karla

(Note from Linda: Melissa’s powerful testimony reveals the key to REALLY getting to know God, and that’s the ONLY way we can stand for our marriages with the faith, confidence and peace that makes this such a wonderful and God glorifying journey! And there’s no doubt that when we understand that digging into God’s Word is the key to all we want and hope for, we will definitely be blessed and encouraged beyond belief!)

*****
Before standing for the restoration of my marriage, I struggled with really knowing who God is. I was raised Christian, owned a Bible, and knew many Bible stories; yet I didn’t know God enough to have a real relationship with Him. I pretty much put God in a box and thought anything that brought me closer to Him was of my own doing. I fell into that misguided idea of “free will” and falsely believed that God would not have anything to do with me until I Chose Him and His ways.

So after my first son was born, I began trying to repair my dysfunctional Christian walk. And as I began my pursuit of righteousness (without really looking to Jesus), I became more satisfied with myself and I felt like I was becoming an overall good person and that I was probably pleasing to the Lord. However, that kind of thinking was mainly based on my own self-righteous pride and actually caused me to look down on my own husband. His walk was “weaker” than mine, and he didn’t seem to understand scripture the way I thought I had so perfectly mastered among other things.

I did not see the plank in my own eye, and made it quite clear that the speck of sawdust in my husband’s eye was very much visible to me. Yet Mathew 7:3-4 says “Why do you look at the speck of sawdust in your brother’s eye and pay no attention to the plank in your own eye? How can you say to your brother, ‘Let me take the speck out of your eye,’ when all the time there is a plank in your own eye?

Regrettably, I would often blame my husband for every trouble we faced; linking it back to something He had previously done that was less than Holy. And since I believed we had to search for God to get closer to Him, I never really trusted the Lord with my husband and would take things into my own hands and try to force SNO (spouse name omitted) to choose God.

As I continued my walk with the Lord, I began to view my husband as an obstacle to my blessings and happy life. I thought I had given my marriage my all, and that because of SNO’s “free will,” I was being punished with a lifeless marriage full of bitterness, arguments and problems. I would pray for my marriage, but I never really gave it to God before our separation; I was too afraid to do that! God was too frightening to me, and I was afraid and almost certain that if I gave Him my marriage, I wouldn’t like what He would do with it.

As a matter of fact, the God of the Old Testament scared me so much that I dreaded reading it. I preferred the New testament, as I thought it revealed a totally new picture of who God is. To me, God only showed His love, mercy and grace in the New Testament. The Old Testament God seemed full of fury, anger, and unforgiveness to me. Yet, if I had read the Old Testament, I would have discovered how seriously mistaken I was. Passages of Scriptures found in Isaiah, Jeremiah, Psalm and practically every other Book in the Old Testament would have completely debunked my misguided view. For instance, Jeremiah 29:11 says For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the LORD, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.

Well, for anyone who doesn’t know it yet, let me assure you that God is the one responsible for calling us to Him. As Ephesians 1:4-6 reveals, For he chose us in him before the creation of the world to be holy and blameless in his sight. In love he predestined us to be adopted as his sons through Jesus Christ, in accordance with his pleasure and will — to the praise of his glorious grace, which he has freely given us in the One he loves.

And God gets our attention – no matter what it takes. Yes, our God is a loving God, full of grace, mercy, forgiveness and second, third, forth and fifth chances! No matter how bad we make things, He can still make our crooked paths straight when we just trust and obey! Proverbs 3:5-6 says Trust in the LORD with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make your paths straight. So no matter how much I messed up my marriage and my walk with God, He can and will straighten it all out when I give it ALL to Him!

But it was not until my husband walked away that I really started to know God. Actually, that’s when I clung to my Bible for dear life; it was like my life raft during the storm. At first, I tried reading the New Testament as I had always done. But no matter what happened, it was the Old Testament that kept popping up. It was as if God would open my Bible and highlight scriptures for me to read FROM THE OLD TESTAMENT. All of the passages I read were about forgiveness, restoration, God’s Divine intervention, His protection and His love! And all of the Scriptures I read at that time seemed to very particularly pertain to me at that exact time and moment. For the first time, His Word became The Living Word to me! And I finally began learning about his absolute power, and I started trusting Him with everything. It was through a related series of answered prayers, dreams, events and scriptures in a period of approximately forty-eight hours that the Lord ultimately led me to stand for my marriage! As a matter of fact, I remember flipping through my Bible mindlessly while talking to SNO over the phone. It was actually just a nervous habit; if a pen and paper were in front of me, I would have been doodling instead. But when I hung up, I heard God say “LOOK!” And as I looked down, I was in the Book of Hosea, and my study Bible had a big box at the top and in big bold letters, it read “Being faithful to an unfaithful spouse”

Well, God called me to stand, and only He could show me how to do it! So I immediately dug into His Word – both the Old and New testaments! I learned so much, so fast and couldn’t get enough. His promises to me were in abundance, and He kept every one of them. And He changed me completely through the piercing of His Word. Just as Hebrews 4:12 says…For the word of God is living and active. Sharper than any double-edged sword, it penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow; it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart.

My relationship with God is now the most amazing relationship I have and it is more than I could ever ask or imagine. He has become my first love and all other idols have been put back in their proper order. And I know that my marriage had to crumble for a season to bring about everything that needed to come to pass for the sake of my marriage, and for the relationship I now have with God. I know that what the enemy meant for harm, God meant for good! As Genesis 50:20 reveals, You intended to harm me, but God intended it for good to accomplish what is now being done, the saving of many lives.

The process of standing for our marriages serves many great purposes. And we are blessed to be on such a journey. Yes, it hurts, but the pain is nowhere near the amount of joy we can experience if we truly saturate ourselves in God and watch Him direct our steps. There is so much He has to show us about Himself and our lives. And as we continue to walk with Him, we form a friendship that becomes so strong that it changes us entirely.

So I encourage everyone to count every day as a blessing. Look at this as a learning experience and really get to know God. This journey will serve as what will very likely be one of the most miraculous times in our lives. If we are not trusting God for everything we face, than we still don’t understand His absolute power and don’t know Him on the level He wants us to. If we just let go, He WILL be faithful to do as His Word says and He will complete the work He has started. That is the nature of God. He is not too harsh with us, as He has sent His Son to wash us clean in His eyes. He is not here to make our lives harder, but rather here to take our heavy burdens and make them light. God got our attention and He will do the same with our spouses so we need to let Him work on the other side of the mountain without our meddling hands. Instead, we should view every day as a precious moment in our season, and as an opportunity to intimately discover who God really is!

“For as the rain cometh down, and the snow from heaven, and returneth not thither, but watereth the earth, and maketh it bring forth and bud, that it may give seed to the sower, and bread to the eater:” Isaiah 55:10

The Lord gives seed to the sower and bread to the eater. As I think about this I see a process- from seed to bread. First there is a seed that is planted, next the seed develops into a plant, the plant grows and matures then it’s harvested, the harvested wheat is processed and pressed into flour, the flour is kneaded into dough, the dough is baked and becomes bread to eat.

The seed is the beginning of the process and the bread is the end of it. The message I want to encourage you with this morning is that the Lord who was at the beginning-giving seed to the sower- and who was at the end- giving bread to the eater- was in the middle of the process as well. He is the beginning and the end. He is the first and the last. He is the Alpha and Omega. He is the Author and Finisher. But He is the middle and the in-between also. He doesn’t just start it then leave you until it’s finished. He doesn’t just show up at the end.

The Lord was at the beginning of Israel’s deliverance from Egypt. He was at the end when they reached the promised land. But He was in the middle as well. He was with them the whole time they were in the wilderness (the in-between). He was there each time they went around the mountain. He was there the whole forty years. He never left them nor forsook them. Let that give you comfort and joy this morning. He is with you “during” whatever you are going through. Whatever process you are in, whatever trial you are facing, whatever the circumstance, He was there when it started, He will be there at the end, but He is also right in the middle of it with you.

Have a great day. He is the beginning and the end and the middle too!

*****
Coffee Break is a morning devotional written by Lorraine Ezell, and available online and sent by email free of charge for the asking from About the Master’s Business Ministry, Inc.
So please feel free to call Lorraine at (601) 833-5278 or E-mail her at mastersbusiness@bellsouth.net
And you can visit her on the web at MastersBusiness.org.

We greatly appreciate and thank Lorraine for her permission to share and reprint her Coffee Break devotionals here to bless and encourage our visitors!

Regular visitors to the site know that we seem to have recurring themes in the ministry as we stand for marriage restoration, and there’s no doubt that the current theme is “Fear OR Faith” and/or “Focusing on the Problem OR the Promise!” And since this is ALWAYS one of the most important choices we make as we stand, and one of the few things we actually have full control of in our current situations, it’s vitally important that we choose faith and to stand on the power and promise of God’s Word in faith and obedience for the full and complete restoration of our marriages. We must realize that faith and fear cancel each other out because they are mutually exclusive and can NOT co-exist! If we are fearful, we are not walking in faith and when we have faith in Almighty God, there is ABSOLUTELY NOTHING to fear! Yet, one of the most significant things I’ve observed lately is that the ONLY possible reason we live in fear and not in faith is because we DO NOT REALLY KNOW WHO GOD IS!!! And that is because we are not seriously and contemplatively reading and studying His Word. It’s just not possible to REALLY read to understand the Word of God and not know just WHO HE IS, how much He loves us, how faithful He is and just how awesomely powerful He is…AND THAT WE CAN IN FACT RELY ON EVERY WORD HE SAYS TO COME TO PASS EXACTLY AS HIS WORD PROMISES!!! So I want to share links to some previous Seeds Of Faith posts on this topic, which were shared in When the Power of our Problem vs. the Power of God’s Promise, along with some posts from the private site in the past twenty-four hours. And I pray that by the power of the Holy Spirit dwelling in all of us, we will ALWAYS choose faith over fear and to keep our focus on the power and promises of God instead of the problems, because that is the only way to truly be blessed and encouraged and experience all that Jesus came to give us! So let’s learn to TRULY trust God and LET Him do what ONLY HE CAN DO!!!

I just want to say thank you all for your posts and praise reports. God’s love and power is so very evident in each of them! And I wanted to share some praise and an analogy that God has blessed me with these past weeks, which came to me as I was reading and responding to some of your praise reports and thinking about how to share mine.

God reminded me of the saying “You can’t see the forest for the trees.” And I thought of that as God revealed to me how we can miss so many of His blessings and miracles if we are so busy focusing on the situation or how we want things to go. Based on posts from several months ago, it might have appeared that I was unappreciative of all the contact I had with SNO (spouse name omitted). It wasn’t that I was unappreciative; I was just focusing more on my situation and trials (the trees) and not on God’s blessings (the forest).

And that’s more than just not “letting go;” it’s the enemy trying to set us up for defeat by blinding us by putting the trees in front of us even after we let go. He lies to us and tells us that the tree is bigger and more important than the forest because he wants us to “pick-up or take back” our situation and will use any means he has to plant trees; including our friends and family.

But God has other plans. If we submit and seek God, He will give us the ability to see His forests (our blessings). Psalm 146:8 says The LORD gives sight to the blind, the LORD lifts up those who are bowed down, the LORD loves the righteous. And Isaiah 42:16 says I will lead the blind by ways they have not known, along unfamiliar paths I will guide them; I will turn the darkness into light before them and make the rough places smooth. These are the things I will do; I will not forsake them. THAT’S WHAT GOD SAYS—and we can ALWAYS count on that because HIS Word NEVER returns without accomplishing what HE desires and the purpose for which He sent it (Isaiah 55:10-11)!

As I looked back at the past few weeks and thought about this, I realized that when I take my eyes off the trees and use the sight that God has given me, I am filled with joy, praise and thanksgiving. And I have been blessed to see or talk to my wife several times since Christmas.

While our situation has not changed on the outside, and ALL of the trees are still there, God has shown me His forest. And His forest is love. When I look at the forest; I see that my wife does love me. Unfortunately, that love has been lost, and buried under years of hurt and disappointment. Nevertheless, my faith remains in God’s will and His plan for my life and our marriage.

Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights, who does not change like shifting shadows. (James 1:17) So I want to praise the Lord and share the forest of gifts and blessings that God has blessed me with these past weeks:
An IM about Charlie Brown being on TV
The hugs and kisses when she leaves
-The little slips of her heart (out of the heart the mouth speaks) when she says things like “I don’t understand why they have an issue when we live in the same house” in regards to…
Being at peace enough at the house to nap in the chair
-The family dinner we enjoyed last week
-The occasional terms of endearment like Hun, sweetheart, sweetie
-Her staying at the house when I travel
-The chance to talk with her on the phone while I am traveling
-The chance to rub her back
-The ability to laugh and joke together
-Her bringing us bagels for breakfast…
-Her IM to tell me sweet dreams
-Her second glances back as she leaves the house
-Catching her looking at me, when she doesn’t think I can see it
And the list goes on and on with all kinds of other blessings. For God has given us a Forest of mass proportions.

1 Corinthians 2: 14 says The man without the Spirit does not accept the things that come from the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness to him, and he can not understand them, because they are spiritually discerned. And I used to think that this verse only applied to trying to tell others about God; about how without the Spirit man could not understand the ways of God. Well, when we walk in our human flesh and not in the Spirit, we are being foolish and blind and do not appreciate or understand the forests of blessings that God gives us. God gives us the choice to trust in Him and see the glory of His work. And He gives us a forest of blessings every day, and all we have to do is see beyond the trees. So I pray that we all see, understand, appreciate, receive and ACCEPT the forest that God gives us every day and rejoice!

You make me glad by your deeds, O Lord; I sing for joy at the works of your hands. (Psalm 92:4)

We’re either Focusing on God or on Obstacles by Dan
Earlier posts have used the following story Charles Stanley used in his message for today but it is such a powerful message I wanted to make sure everyone had a chance to hear it. And I emphasized some of it that really spoke to me. One thing that pops into my mind that Linda shares is that fear and faith cancel each other out. We have nothing to fear in Christ; fear comes from the enemy and hinders faith. As Charles says below, “God has called us to do something, the only hindrance is between our temples.” Keep the Word in your head and it will move to your heart where the enemy cannot touch it. Blessings.
*****
InTouch by Charles Stanley – January 14, 2009
Focusing on God or Obstacles?

Numbers 13:25-14:10

The Lord gave the Israelites a commission to go in and possess the land of Canaan. The people needed a separate place in which to thrive as a God-centered nation. And He chose an exceptionally good country for their development.

So at the Lord’s direction, Moses sent 12 men to spy out the land. What a surprise when ten of them returned with frightening negative stories. All that these spies could see were the obstacles to taking ownership.

However, Caleb was certain that they’d “surely overcome” (Num. 13:30), because he was focused on God’s promises rather than the obvious difficulties. He based his confidence on God’s words to Abraham: “To your descendants I will give this land” (Gen. 12:7).

The people didn’t share Caleb’s faith–tales of giants and fortified cities scared them. Ordinarily, those would have been obstacles worth fearing. But the Israelites served a God who had proven that He could overcome anything: He’d parted the Red Sea to facilitate their escape from Pharaoh. And He fed them for two years in the desert.

Focusing on obstacles distorts our vision. Problems seem to loom so large that we can’t see to take the next step in faith. In reality, if God has called us to do something, the only hindrance is between our temples! He has already planned a way around, over, or through any barriers that might lie on the path to fulfilling His purpose.And when we, like the Israelites, give in to fear and refuse to move forward, we miss out on the great reward found in doing God’s will.

(Note from Linda: One of the FAM members shared the following Coffee Break devotional from Lorraine (Monday’s devotional) on the private site last night, which she had only just read. Well, I hadn’t read it yet either, and I agree with her that it’s a great message for everyone standing for marriage restoration, so I want to share here as well! When we realize and TRULY believe that NOTHING IS IMPOSSIBLE FOR GOD, we will indeed be blessed and encouraged beyond belief! Just as Proverbs 21:30 tells us…There is no wisdom, no insight and no plan that can succeed against the Lord!))

*****
“The sea saw it, and fled: Jordan was driven back.” Psalm 114:3

In context this scripture is referring to the time when the Lord delivered His people from Egypt and was taking them to the land that He had promised to give to the descendants of Abraham. During this transition from one location to another we have the accounts of two miraculous, supernatural events that dealt with bodies of water- the partings of the Red Sea and the Jordan River.

God had made a promise to Abraham centuries earlier and the fulfillment of that promise was in the process, but there were a couple of things in the natural realm that stood in the way- these two bodies of water. I want to encourage you this morning that when God is in the process of fulfilling His promise, when the physical manifestation is being revealed, there is nothing that can stand in His way to stop it. There is not a sea too wide, a river too deep, a mountain too high, a storm too violent to hinder God. All He has to do is speak to it, wave His hand over it, breathe on it and it no longer stands in the way.

This morning maybe you have come to the “sea” and you don’t see a way to cross it. Don’t worry about it. God can cross it! God can remove it out of the way, God can cause it to flee and become dry ground, God can give you a boat and the grace to paddle across it, He can give you the strength to jump in the water and swim. The point is, it may be an impossible obstacle to you, but it is not an obstacle or impossible to God.

Have a great day. Nothing can stand in the way of God’s plan going forward– nothing in the natural or spiritual realms.

*****
Coffee Break is a morning devotional written by Lorraine Ezell, and available online and sent by email free of charge for the asking from About the Master’s Business Ministry, Inc.
So please feel free to call Lorraine at (601) 833-5278 or E-mail her at mastersbusiness@bellsouth.net
And you can visit her on the web at MastersBusiness.org.

We greatly appreciate and thank Lorraine for her permission to share and reprint her Coffee Break devotionals here to bless and encourage our visitors!

(Note from Linda: Dan recently shared the following post on the private website and since it is such a powerful and important message for everyone standing for marriage restoration, I appreciate his permission to share it here as well. No matter what anyone else has to say about marriage, as Christians, the only thing we need to know is what Jesus said about it, and Matthew 19:3-6 makes it undeniably clear that Jesus considers marriage a life long covenant because it says Some Pharisees came to him to test him. They asked, “Is it lawful for a man to divorce his wife for any and every reason?” “Haven’t you read,” he replied, “that at the beginning the Creator ‘made them male and female,’ and said, ‘For this reason a man will leave his father and mother and be united to his wife, and the two will become one flesh’? So they are no longer two, but one. Therefore what God has joined together, let man not separate.” Once we understand that marriage is a HOLY Covenant in the eyes of God and that the responsibility of upholding His covenants is His; which He assures us that He will do in Malachi 2:10-16 and 1 Peter 3:7, then all we have to do is learn how to stand on the power and promise of His Word in faith and obedience; and God will do the rest! So be blessed and encouraged…GOD CAN AND WILL UPHOLD THE COVENANT OF YOUR MARRIAGE!!!)

*****
Last week, I shared from the 39th day of The Love Dare concerning love never fails.
The 40th day is Love is a covenant. And it is the most powerful piece of writing I have read on the covenant of marriage. I know many of you have read the book or are reading it, but I want to share the message with those who don’t have access to it.

The authors base their beliefs in what the scriptures teach about covenants with God. And they remind us that the Bible contains several major covenants as part of the history of God’s people. They point out that God made a covenant with Noah, promising never to destroy all flesh with a worldwide flood (Genesis 9:12-17). He made a covenant with Abraham, promising that an entire nation of descendants would come from his family line (Genesis 17:1-8). He made a covenant with Moses, declaring that the people of Israel would be God’s permanent possession (Exodus 19:3-6). He made a covenant with David, promising that a ruler would sit on his throne forever (2 Samuel 7:7-16). And ultimately, He made a “new covenant” by the blood of Christ, establishing an unending and unchanging legacy of forgiven sins and eternal life for those who believe in Him (Hebrews 9:15). And they end with the powerful statement, “Never once has God broken any of these covenants.“

One of the points they make is that God was the one who initiated covenants with His people. And the marriage covenant, a covenant between a man and woman to establish a love that is unconditional and lasts a lifetime is the strongest covenant. We don’t keep the marriage covenant on our own strength; He alone fulfills the demands of His promises regardless of what His promise may be.

They go on to define the difference between a contract and a covenant, and link it to what God’s Word states. A contract is usually a written agreement based on distrust that outlines the conditions and consequences if the agreement is broken. It is self-serving and comes with limited liability. It establishes a time frame for certain deliverables to be met and accomplished. And it can be broken with mutual consent. Where as a covenant is a verbal commitment based on trust, assuring someone that your promise is unconditional and good for life. It is spoken before God out of love for one another. It is for the benefit of others and comes with unlimited responsibility. It has no expiration date. And it is “til death do us part” and intended to be unbreakable.

The most powerful message for me personally was in this next paragraph. Most of the sermons or messages about marriage and divorce end with a qualifier, adding justification the world has established for divorce, but the authors stick to the Word. They state, “If your spouse is not in a place of receiving your love right now, the act of covenant keeping can grow more daunting with each passing day. But marriage is not a contract with escape clauses and exception wordings. Marriage is a covenant intended to cut off all avenues of retreat or withdrawal. There is nothing in all the world that should sever what God has joined together. Love is too holy a treasure to trade in for another, and too powerful a bond to be broken without dire consequences. He alone is able to forgive the receivers of His covenant when they fail to uphold their part of the agreement. We can exercise our role as covenant keeper, no matter what may arise to challenge our faithfulness to it, because the Spirit of God is within us by virtue of our faith in Jesus Christ and the grace bestowed upon us in salvation.“

As we ponder what has been written, may we always remember that love never fails, we can’t do it on our own and God NEVER breaks a covenant. Blessings.

(Note from Linda: Cassie posted the following message on the private website today and it’s so powerful that it brought me to tears; this is what it is ALL about! So I greatly appreciate her permission to share it here, because I’m sure many visitors to the site can relate to it as well. One reason it brought me to tears is that I wouldn’t publish two posts from Cassie in the past week because they were so filled with negativity and a lot of leaning to her own understanding about her situation and toward her husband. So it is nothing short of miraculous to see how the Lord has worked in her heart, mind and spirit! She actually called me last night and was VERY upset and emotional, so I asked her to listen to the messages from Joyce Meyer before we talked and to call me back after she listened to them; and this was the next thing I heard from her! What a great and mighty God we serve! His faithfulness is never ending and His love endures forever! And when we come to this place in our walk and relationship with the Lord, we truly are so blessed and encouraged beyond anything we could ever believe or expect! So may the light of God’s love penetrate every heart and shine brightly in every life for the world to see! AMEN!)

*****
Hello FAMM family:

Today, I finally gained clarity. After experiencing about a week and a half of ups and downs, I certainly can see through the work of the Holy Spirit that I have suffered from the “Fear Factor.” I never realized how much I am discounting my own blessings, delaying the power of God and dissolving my relationship with God…ALL because of FEAR; fear that entices the negative thought patterns, which lead to “death.”

Thanks to the teaching I listened to last night from Joyce Myer regarding the brain and me, I better understand the damage that is caused by negative thinking (thanks, Linda, for sending me in the right direction to understand that). So today, I decided to log onto the website again just to see what else was available, and two messages on “FEAR” were waiting for me to hear (The Dynamics of Fear – Pt 1 and The Dynamics of Fear – Pt 2). And as I began to listen, I felt like God sent an angel my way through the Windows Media Player! LOL.

I truly saw myself and how I have not been walking in ways pleasing to the Lord by counter-acting my Trust in Him through fear. As much as I thought I had “let go” of my situation, I had not; because I walked away in “FEAR” (False Evidence Appearing Real). All I can say right now is “OUCH!” My tendency to analytical thinking is obviously leaning to my own understanding BIG TIME. Yet, that’s just so easy to slip into!

God in His graciousness also revealed to me that I understand some, but clearly not all of the Love of God. As in the teaching, I got an understanding and have received it partially; but there is no fear in Love and God is Love. So, what I really need now is to understand how to get in the place where I have FULLY accepted the Love of GOD. Love drives out ALL fear (1 John 4:18)!!!

What might not be easy to understand is how AWFULLY hard this is to admit; that being a Christian and saved by grace; I never realized I have not fully grasped God’s love.
The bible says in Romans 8:31-39 What, then, shall we say in response to this? If God is for us, who can be against us? He who did not spare his own Son, but gave him up for us all—how will he not also, along with him, graciously give us all things? Who will bring any charge against those whom God has chosen? It is God who justifies. Who is he that condemns? Christ Jesus, who died—more than that, who was raised to life—is at the right hand of God and is also interceding for us. Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall trouble or hardship or persecution or famine or nakedness or danger or sword? As it is written: “For your sake we face death all day long; we are considered as sheep to be slaughtered.” No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.

I am in tears because through this period of time, I have grieved the Holy Spirit so much. He clearly says that he is with me and that because he loves me so much, nothing can come against me. How dare I discount that God gave his son for ME so that I could have not just some, BUT ALL things. Because of Jesus, I am not guilty! He loves me so much that he talks to God on my behalf; asking him not to give me the punishment I truly deserve.

Even through the hardship of separation for a mere season, because of the Love of GOD, I am MORE THAN A CONQUEROR!!! WE ARE MORE THAN CONQUERORS!!! NOTHING…not one thing on this whole earth…even my separation from my husband and this situation does not separate me or take away the Love that GOD has for me or US.

According to dictionary.com, to conquer is to overcome or surmount by physical, mental, or moral force; to be victorious; win. When I saw to surmount by “mental” force, I was blown away. This means that we will be victorious or winners in our minds, in the natural realm and in our conduct but only through Christ Jesus and to be successful in gaining it all, I/we must receive His Love in the fullest.

Above all this, I can see that even when I focus on my situation or circumstances, it takes away from who I can be helping. Not only that, I can see that when I allow the negative thoughts or condemnation to kick in, I take away from time from my kids because my emotions are affected which manifests in how I am dealing with them. I believe I convinced myself that letting go for me was “Oh, I don’t call him at all” or “I am flexible and cooperative when he wants to see or talk to the kids.” But those were just excuses made to cover up the fact that I had not truly understood God’s love for me and that he wants nothing but the best for me. God created me, so he knows exactly what to do in order to develop me and mature me to receive “the best that is yet to come.”

God also spoke Ecclesiastes 7:8 to me…the end of a matter is better than its beginning and PATIENCE is better than PRIDE. therefore, HIS timing is HIS timing and I must remain PATIENT so that I can see the salvation of the Lord. Just as David said, he has never seen the righteous forsaken (Psalm 37:25Psalm 37 gave me a whole new sense of liberty today! PRAISE GOD!

Standing for my marriage is a situation I just can not understand right now and I might not get all the answers even when it has reached the conclusion because my finite mind can not really grasp the infinite works of God. His ways are higher than my ways and His thoughts are higher than my thoughts (Isaiah 55:8-9). And as Ecclesiastes 11:5 says, as you do not know the path of the wind, or how the body is formed in a mother’s womb, so you cannot understand the work of God, the Maker of all things.

So FAMM family, continue to pray for me as I pray for you all and the restoration of each and every marriage here. TO GOD BE THE GLORY–HE IS THE MIGHTY ONE IN CONTROL!!!

As Ecclesiastes 12:13-14 declares…Now all has been heard; here is the conclusion of the matter: Fear God and keep his commandments, for this is the whole duty of man. For God will bring every deed into judgment, including every hidden thing, whether it is good or evil.

Stand still and see the salvation of the Lord, the battle is not ours but it belongs to our God. Be richly blessed.

Cassie

I was so excited when I heard Charles Stanley’s TV broadcast message this past Sunday because he actually put into words what I have become so ABSOLUTELY and TOTALLY convinced of in the past year or so; that the SUPERNATURAL power of faith and our corresponding thoughts and words really do have the PHYSICAL power to impact and radically change our lives and circumstances! It’s just not possible to seriously study God’s Word and not realize that our thoughts and words have physical power that so far exceeds anything we could possibly understand or explain…it’s just what happens when GOD’S SUPERNATURAL interacts with our natural. It was such a wonderful and powerful message and amazing and total confirmation of so many things often discussed in the ministry; and even more so recently based on all of the miraculous ways we’ve seen God working in our midst. I really wanted to get a post with a link to the message up on Sunday, but things have been pretty busy so I didn’t have a chance to, and I was feeling pretty bad about that because I was so excited about the message and I didn’t realize that it was possible to get a direct link to it that would work beyond this week. But in the process of preparing this post, I discovered that I actually can access a direct link to Dr. Stanley’s messages each week, so I’m hoping and praying that the following is a permanent link to How to Stay Young and Fruitful All Your Life And here’s the Sermon Outline This is a VERY POWERFUL and important message for all Christians, and even more so for everyone waiting for the miracle of marriage restoration. So PLEASE listen to it, STUDY it and PUT IT INTO PRACTICE!!!

Yet, as the case ALWAYS is with God; HE had a VERY GOOD reason for delaying this post far beyond anything I ever thought or imagined! I received a call from one of the FAM Fellowship members this afternoon, Teresa, and she was very excited about how God has been working in her life for the past few days. And as she started sharing it with me (her post from the private site about that is included below), I was in such awe of the Lord that I just about couldn’t contain myself! God has once again perfectly arranged so many things to confirm what might well be one of the most significant messages for everyone standing for marriage restoration…the REAL power of faith, our thoughts and our words, which started with Dr. Stanley’s message! And I very seriously doubt that it’s possible for anyone to watch Joyce Meyer’s TV broadcasts from yesterday and today without being radically transformed by understanding what I’ve already been blessed to know in my spirit through studying God’s Word and all that I’ve been blessed to witness in the lives of so many men and women standing for the restoration of their marriages…and what there is now scientific evidence to PROVE!!!

So I pray that everyone who listens to Dr. Stanley’s message and to Your Brain and You – Pt 1 and Your Brain and You – Pt 2, will through the power of the Holy Spirit receive full and complete understanding of all they convey! When we TRULY, TRULY understand the significance of the PHYSICAL power of our faith, thoughts and words, we will without a doubt be radically blessed and encouraged beyond belief as we begin to see GOD’S SUPERNATURAL interact with and manifest in our natural!!!

*****
When our Minds are like New Wineskins! By Teresa in Arizona
Hello FAMM Family!!! I first want to start off by saying that the recent posts and SOFs have been incredible. The way God is moving and revealing Himself to us is beyond amazing. To think that the God of the universe would take the time to act on our behalf actually leaves me speechless. And that’s why I have been having difficulty writing this post. I just spoke with Linda and was sharing what God has been saying to me and she insisted that I get on here and share it; so here I am still struggling with where to begin! LOL!

As some of you might have read in my last post right after Christmas, I mentioned that our trip to California was good but with some difficult moments. Well, those moments were actually beyond difficult. As I shared with Linda, I really lost it at times with regard to taking thoughts captive. I actually felt as though I was just too tired and weary and hurt to go on and I let my thoughts run wild. I was in horrible torment and could clearly hear God saying to me “Don’t go down this road.” But I let my flesh take over and gave in to my weakness.

We got home late Monday night and the kids left on Wednesday to spend New Year’s and the rest of the weekend with SNO (spouse name omitted). So I found myself left alone for the longest time since my husband left and I was missing my kids desperately. Well I soon realized that I was not alone (duh) and God began to speak to me. I had been crying and also repenting of the horrible thoughts I had allowed to control my mind the previous week. I was begging Him to fill me with peace and to help me control my mind. And I was trying to stay focused on Him as best I could. So I decided to immerse myself in the word, in Christian TV and radio.

Well, over the course of the next three days, EVERY message I heard was about renewing our minds, taking thoughts captive to the obedience of Christ and even several times about how that affects us physically. I heard over and over how we need to speak God’s promises over relationships, finances and all circumstances…we can no longer say or think that things cannot change because if we do, things will NOT change!

So after hearing all of that on radio and TV, I went to visit a church I sometimes go to when I don’t have the kids. The pastor began to tell the congregation that God had shown him several “prophetic things” about 2009 and that he has been preparing for this particular Sunday for the last two months. But about mid-way through the week, the Lord told him “NO. I want you to share some practical things this Sunday to better prepare the church to accept what I have told you.” So the pastor began the sermon by having us open up to Matthew 9:17, which says “Nor do they put new wine into old wineskins, or else the wineskins break, the wine is spilled, and the wineskins are ruined. But they put new wine into new wineskins, and BOTH are preserved.” Now, I have read that before and never really got it, but here’s how the Pastor presented it. We must take our thoughts captive, renew and transform our minds, and begin thinking and speaking God’s word and promises if we want to see change. And that sure sounded familiar; right in line with everything I had heard all weekend! He said that God had shown him that before He can pour out the blessings He has for His people, we have to have new minds or like the old wineskins, they will empty and not be preserved. Oh man, this is good stuff!!! And some more interesting things about this is that the word for “NEW” in reference to New wineskins is the Greek word “vewtepos neoteros,” which is translated as follows: new, i.e. (of persons) youthful or, (of things) fresh; fig. REGENERATE;-new young. Apparently in the Jewish custom, they did not throw out the old wineskins; they renewed them by submerging them in water until they were again flexible and like new. God wants to regenerate us so He can pour new wine so to speak, into us and keep us “preserved.” He went on to explain that the enemy does not want our cars, houses and stuff; he wants our mind and that is why the battle is so strong there. He knows the power, through the Holy Spirit, that we have when we put on the mind of Christ; when we put on the Helmet of Salvation, and it scares him. He knows that if he can take our minds, it will affect every area of our life and we will be powerless for the Kingdom of God. Can you imagine that we can have Satan running scared if only we could grasp what we have in Christ! We must stay in God’s word to always know that God wants to fill us with a peace that no human can possibly explain. How else will we show the world that we do serve the one true God?

Also, I would highly recommend watching Dr. Caroline Leaf who was on Joyce Meyer’s program last night, 1/5/09, as she talks about the actual physical effects on our brains, mind, heart and body when we do not take thoughts captive to the obedience of Christ. It is truly amazing how God’s instructions are not just for the spiritual side of us, but also for the physical and emotional too; all of our parts as whole people. And as our creator that only makes sense. So please log onto Joyce’s website to see this powerful teaching. You can also see her on James Robison’s website as well.

I know this is a long post but I wanted to share a few more things. First, when I was watching TV this weekend, a pastor and his wife were praying for the viewing audience. He spoke to one person watching that was hurting and not having happiness right now and he prayed that God would fill that person with joy. After they had prayed, the wife pointed to the TV camera and said that while her husband was praying for “that one”…the Lord spoke to her and said tell that one “I am working on your behalf, stand firm and trust God.” Well, don’t you know…I took that word and thanked God so much. Those words meant so much to me because as most of you know, in the physical, I see no movement. So it really gave me a dose of Joy and peace that I cannot describe. God also spoke to me through a client this week and that was really amazing because I had asked God several months ago to speak to me through someone that would be the most unlikely source. I did not want to hear it from a pastor or a friend standing in faith with me; I wanted to hear something out of nowhere. Well, believe me; He delivered!!!

And I actually received an email from SNO today acknowledging that I have been right about our son having ADHD all this time. He said he has been reading the book the doctor recommended (which he finally bought this past weekend!) and that it has answered so many questions for him about the problems and struggles he himself has had through his life too. He told me that he now totally supports my decision to have our son evaluated and put on medication and then he thanked me. I recently told a friend how much I would love to hear that validation from him and thought I never would. But God intended otherwise, and again, I cannot express what I feel. I cannot comprehend why a God so Powerful and Holy would be so mindful of me…BUT HE IS!!! He is mindful of all of us and it blows me away. So to sum up, I will just say to God be the Glory, Honor and all Praise forever and ever!