A Testimony of Grace

Though I haven't posted in a while, I've been planning this blog post for a while. The other day, I had a lovely photo shoot with my dear friend, Christine, capturing her testimony which she recently shared with me. The photos are meant to tell a story. Below is the string of pictures telling her testimony of God's grace in her life. 

After the pictures, I will add her written testimony. I pray this will be a strong and moving reminder of the love of Christ and "the immeasurable riches of his grace".

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"My name is Christine and I want to share with you how God took a chain in my life and turned it into a way I can give him glory. I grew up in a Christian home and accepted Christ at a young age. When a friend asked me about why I was so different, I found myself without an answer. I examined my life to find the answer, and discovered that it was the joy that God had given me that made me different. This is when I made the choice to follow him on my own.Over the years I stumbled over sharing my faith because I could

not identify a key moment that turned my life around. Where was God working in my life? During the spring of eighth grade, my wrist started to hurt. I thought nothing of it until I started having trouble doing school

work and normal tasks. After trips to doctors, the pediatrician, a nerve specialist and a blood test, x­rays, and physical therapy, there was still no verdict on what was happening. This is when I started to get tired and upset at God. I often questioned, “Why are you letting this happen? And I have done everything I was supposed to do." I felt as if I was just talking to my wall and getting no response. In my isolation, I found myself becoming weighted down by this chain. The pain invaded my thoughts, influenced my actions, and led me further from God. That summer, I was told to enjoy myself, and then the doctors would take the next step. I went to a summer camp and did everything I wanted to do, but with mild pain. It has become tradition at this camp to have a youth worship night the last night before everyone goes home. On this particular evening, I found myself in the most pain I had been in. I was trying to worship God, but the pain created a barrier between me and God. One by one, people prayed over me, and then this counselor approached

me. I had never met her before, but she asked how she could pray for me. I told her about my pain and the wall it was building in my relationship with God. We prayed and she left. The very next day I found myself without pain. In fact, so much time passed that my doctor called me to see when I was coming back.

I was so thankful for God's healing. But of course, being human, I needed another reminder of how God works. That fall, I went to the chiropractor because I had never been to one and I was having mild back pain, later finding out it was a major misalignment. As it got worse, I again fell into the trap of saying "Why God? I thought I had already gone through this". As I prayed and prayed, I felt closer to God, but I drifted as the pain grew worse and worse, making me even not enjoy dancing, which I love.

One night I was reading my Bible and came across this verse: 2 Corinthians 12:8-­10. This is where Paul is taking about a pain in his life. "Three times I pleaded with the Lord to take it away from me. 9 But he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ’s power may rest on me.10 That is why, for Christ’s sake, I delight in weaknesses, in insults, in hardships, in persecutions, in difficulties. For when I am weak, then I am strong." I had allowed my physical pain to cultivate doubt in my mind about the power of God. God wants to show his strength through our weakness. What does this mean? I was helplessly bound in the chain of pain and distrust. Through my weakness, God stepped in and showed his power and the beautiful and total

transformation he brings. The freedom that God offers is not without struggle. I will always have pain in my life. But, his freedom is satisfying and fulfilling. Each chain in our lives is a reminder of our need for God and

our need to be aware of how he is working in our lives. My chain showed me the importance of surrendering my health and life to God. I wanted to have control of my freedom but that just left me stuck in chains. The first step I made was to open my hands to God who is waiting patiently for you to turn to him. Now, I

am enjoying the freedom that Christ offers and the new identity of 'Free.'"

Birthday Hike

This is a few weeks late, but these are captures and candids from a hike in Clifton. For Jojo's birthday on February 9th, we ate crepes and then went on a hike up hills and over creeks to find a geocache! It was so fun and enjoyable to spend quality time with dear friends.

Enjoy!

 

Conceptual Photography

 

Lately, in my advanced photography class, we have been studying conceptual photography. This week, for our assignment, we had to submit three pictures depicting a verse from the Bible.

 

This creative means of finding inspiration was very helpful and effective, especially since biblical language is typically vividand descriptive.

 

For the picture below, the verses in Romans 3:10-12 and James 3:9-10 are the inspiration passage from the Bible. They say, "None is righteous, no, not one; no one understands; no one seeks for God. All have turned aside; together they have become worthless; no one does good, not even one" and "With the tongue we praise our Lord and Father, and with it we curse human beings, who have been made in God's likeness. Out of the same mouth come praising and cursing."

 

I hope this piece is powerful and inspirational for you too!

AnaMichele

Insights

I am a bickering, slandering, gossiping, hate filled, lusting, liar and cheat.
Every time I choose to sin, the devil tells me to "just do it, it's not that bad", but as soon as I commit the crime, he's right there to spew hateful accusations and tell me to be ashamed of my sin. I crumble beneath the weight of my wrongdoings and see what a small, insignificant, disobedient, sinner I am. I bite on the old lure and lie of my worthlessness. This wretch I have become, I am convinced, cannot be saved.

But when the Healer comes, He cups up my face, lifts me up and brushes me off. "Stand tall, my dear", He says and smiles. I cannot comprehend why, in all His righteousness and perfection, He can even bare to set eyes on me! I want to hide from Him, and be as far from His sight as possible. But He doesn't let me go and will not let me run. Tears of joy stream down His face as He looks into my eyes and I do not know why.

And then He utters the most beautiful words and breathes out such love; "You are my most beloved and immaculate bride, an image so gorgeous and lovely to behold that I weep to see you."

He cannot be speaking of me, surely He knows all that I've done? But I see a flash of an image of Love's Perfect Sacrifice upon a cross and I know this image is what He sees. My God has made me a new creation, I have declared Jesus King of my Heart and Soul and even when I believe I have strayed and sinned and fallen to my doom, my Father reminds me that His love cannot be undone, He has clothed me in His robes of righteousness, and nothing can separate me from His love.

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This post was inspired by a sermon from Rev. Steve Blayer, Pastor of Hillside Church in Millersburg, PA.

Also inspired by the following verses:
-Love covers a multitude of sins. 1 Peter 4:8
-And I am convinced that nothing can ever separate us from God's love. Neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither our fears for today nor our worries about tomorrow--not even the powers of hell can separate us from God's love. Romans 8:38

Faithfulness

~I shiver outside my light pink Mexican dorm building in the crisp, biting cold of spring. It is only the sunless, early hours of the day, before the sun rises and breathes warmth on all who depend on the strength of her golden rays to thaw their bones. Sweet silence and the Father's fire warm me even in moments before dawn, and I gulp down the words I treasure more than gold as I prepare for the long, laborious day ahead. Some of my dorm mates stroll out and try to draw me into conversation, but the Lord nudges me and reminds me to stay focused and on task and continue to fill up now, so I may pour out later. ~

~I wake in the high, misty mountains of Guatemala, long before any hints of light grace the houses on this hillside, overlooking the worn, dusty, smoggy city. Sitting on the cement sidewalk, I listen to the whispering wind and hear the howling hounds next door greeting their masters who rise early to begin their grueling work day. I shrug off the thick smog of sleep and struggle to keep my eyes open to read The Word. Hurriedly, I scrounge down some hot coffee and jump onto the bus as we travel to remote mountain villages. I finally have my moments alone with my Beloved and am now awake enough to soak in the vivid and strengthening reminders from the Leader of my mission. "I have made you are a river that's overflowing and I am your source." ~

~"Can you repeat that just one more time, una vez mas?" Angel rolls his eyes and walks away, giving up on trying to make me understand his question. Suddenly, Alan runs up to me and pulls on my hair trying to reach  my sunglasses. "No, no porfavor, Alan, estos no son tuyas." He spits at me and runs away without a second thought. I wipe the spit off my mouth and walk towards Manuel...after a few minutess of conversing with this small 5 year old boy, I am at a loss for a response, as he has plainly told me of his broken home and sad family history in an innocent and matter of fact manner. He doesn't know that his family isn't how it ought to be; doesn't know that shattered and torn isn't normal.......
Now it's my first day home; I'm helping in Sunday school and the entire time I can't shake feelings of resentment towards these happy, careless children. Finally, I break down in tears when I see their parents pick them up after the service ended; these little girls and boys don't even know that others just like them live abandoned and alone, far away, without parents to come and embrace them lovingly and bring them home. They've been pawned off and discarded like old pairs of shoes and given to another to take care of. I can't take it all in. These two worlds are colliding.~

~Michelle stands in a tattered dress, many sizes too big, outside the circle of small sitting children who are excited but still confused about this new game we are about to begin. "Dice, 'Pato Pato Gonzo'", "Say Duck Duck Goose" I instruct her. In a matter of minutes all the confused little faces are full of grins and giggles and we play games in the field (with cows no further than a yard or two away) and enjoy this special time we have together. We present Gospel skits and our personal testimonies, and afterwards pray with our audience. As we say tearful goodbyes to our new found friends, we depart down the steep, dusty path, seeking out our van parked a while away. A drunken man precedes me and when I catch up with the rest of my group, they ask me to interpret his unintelligible, urgent sounding pleas. I understand that his son has been taken away recently (this father cannot remember in his haze of drunkenness) from this village. He knows that his son was in dire need of medical help for a heart condition. This helpless, hopeless man knows our mission and what we had been doing in the field up the path - he asks us to pray for him and his son as tears stream down his face; we gladly accept his request and pray for him until we must continue down the path before the sun sets and darkness hides our way. "Burn in my soul, Lord, a passion for your name." ~

~Sitting on the floor, in the middle aisle of an old school bus, bouncing and shaking as it rolls along the uneven, bumpy way, I am surrounded by my friends praying silently and aloud with hands laid on me. They're praying for healing over my body. And I have the wonderful privilege in these short moments to bask in the glory of the Lord and soak in his presence. Goosebumps cover every inch of my skin and my arms shake, but I have not a care, for Jesus is mine and I am his and He whispers reminders of his promises, truth, and faithfulness in my ear and I am full and overflowing. "So pull me a little closer, take me a little deeper. I wanna know your heart, I wanna know your heart. Cause' Your love is so much sweeter than anything I've tasted I wanna know your heart, I wanna know your heart." ~

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These are but snapshots of some life changing experiences I have had while on missions trips. It has been a privilege both times I have participated in missions and God has blessed me and met me in incredible ways each time. I now notice a pattern though; I burn with a desire to see His name lifted higher as I see first hand the thirst of the nations for His light. I also see my own desperation and dependency on Him when I am on the battle field. I come back, shocked at the contrast between these worlds, and I challenge myself to live with the same vigor and passion in my home country just as I did in Guatemala and Mexico. This resolve lasts a while...but slowly weakens and fades. I again doubt God's faithfulness and truth, and again fall prey to the insecurity and greed which constantly lures me in my everyday life.

But yesterday, even though I have been home from my last missions trip for 4 months, the pattern was interrupted as something inside me broke. I heard these words as I listened to worship music; "Jesus, Friend above all friends, laid down Your life that I might live. Faithful Shepherd of my soul Savior, You have made me whole, It's who You are, oh. Holy Spirit, Comforter your eyes are filled with laughter. You are wisdom, You are Life. My every need, You supply. It's who You are."





And the Comforter, Shepherd, Friend, plucked those familiar chords within me so that I remembered the melody I had sung to Him in those moments when my eyes were completely and wholly fixed on Him. 

I don't know how He brought me back, so far back along the steps we'd walked closely together; closer then than we are now. He reminded me of His tender embrace and nearness when I had a Mission and focused on that calling every day. He reminded me of times when; I sought him in the mornings and rose to meet with Him and was rewarded for my faithfulness; He revealed to me the joy and renewal in the eyes of children whose lives were tattered and broken; His sovereignty ruled over my every interaction and He used me to share Hope with every hopeless person; He poured His wisdom and adoration upon me and filled my soul with His spirit.
In these times, no trial could shake me, no doubt could take me away from the depths of His love.

And I believe this is what He wanted me to know; "I am faithful and only I remain. I am who I am. The same yesterday, today and tomorrow. Alpha and Omega." 

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As much as people repeat these truths, and as hard as it is to remember the importance of them, just remember this; even when you stray in your relationship with Jesus from having precious, sweet moments of serenity, to barely remembering your purpose and mission for each day, your life has already been ordained and prepared by the Master and Creator who knows your frame and every detail of your life and being.
We may change and we may forget, but when we return to the cross, Jesus looks lovingly down and reminds us of His unending, unfailing, everlasting love that will always be there.
He waits for us as the father waits for the prodigal son, and will run to embrace us when we finally return. 

A Prayer for the Saints

May the devil speak no fear into my soul,
or quiet my shouts of praise,
or extinguish the flame which Heaven's true calling has ignited within.
May passion and steadfastness abound,
And may my pace in the race to meet the savior be quickened.
May my path be unhindered by any obstacle,
but may the strings of Grace pull me back into my place
upon the solid rock; the straight and narrow path.