God led me to get Help...

My Personal Experience with Therapy By Rhonda Marie Stalb Life presents many challenges which can lead to stress and sometimes even a crisis. I have had some stress in my life which has led to more than one crisis. The first experience I had with therapy was when I was having marital problems with my first husband. That marriage ended in divorce due to abuse against my children and me, which caused me to stay in therapy for a few months in order to work out the details of prosecuting my former husband, to work through the trauma, and to gain moral support as a single parent. This also helped me to become very resourceful in my community as I put safety plans in place for the family. The counselor worked very well with my children and I. We were able to gain stability as a family again, set goals for the future and make decisions that ultimately brought peace instead of chaos. The second experience I had with therapy was in the last year. It wasn’t due to a crisis really. It was more from some anxiety due to something new and exciting that happened in my life. I was reacquainted with an old friend from my home church in Hawaii and he told me he was interested in more than a friendship with me. I was scared of this and it caused me some anxiety because of my past and I immediately wanted to run away from this. My friend is a good man and he is my best friend actually. In therapy, I was able to work through my anxiety and realize that it is okay to reciprocate my best friend’s feelings. Ultimately, I ended up marrying my best friend and now we are happy newlyweds navigating everyday life as a team.

A Revelation

In my quiet time with the Lord this morning. He revealed something very profound to me. I started the Love Dare this morning because I am in a new Marriage and I want to be the wife God has called me to be. Below is the process to my revelation from my LORD. Love= Patience + Kindness Slow to anger. Proverbs 14:29 "Whoever is patient has great understanding, but one who is quick-tempered displays folly." Proverbs 15:18 "A hot-tempered person stirs up conflict, but the one who is patient calms a quarrel." "Patience is where Love Meets Wisdom. Patience gives you the ability to hold on during tough times in your relationship rather than bailing out when under pressure." My propensity to run will not help my Marriage, My prayer: Father God please help me fight the urge to run away. Send yourself to the door and guard it LORD. LORD Jesus keep me here. Help me to be a patience wife. One who is long suffering and kind. One that forgives and encourages. Help me fight the urge to scold my husband. Help me respect his role as my husband and the head of this home. LORD you know that I have been "independent" for so long and it is totally out of my comfort zone to submit. You don't ask us to be comfortable when we are called by you to do something. I am called to be Doug's wife. We were created for each other. Help me to humble myself before you LORD and submit to you LORD Jesus and to Doug. I Love you LORD and I need you to be first in my life and in my Marriage. I Thessalonians 5:15 "Make sure that nobody pays back wrong for wrong, but always strive to do what is good for each other and for everyone else." Patience= True LOVE LORD give me your strength. I need your strength to do what it takes to be the wife you have called me to be. Philippians 4:13 "I can do all this through Christ who gives me strength."

Pruning Process

Today's lesson was very convicting and it led me to spend the day in much needed prayer and time with my Jesus. He is taking me through a pruning process which is causing me to trust that He knows best even more... I am seriously ready to give everything up for Him... Even when it hurts He is there...I have also had some anxiety today that I had to wrestle through with the LORD today. My heart has had walls that He has had to break down. I have gone through so much hurt and turmoil over the last 4 years that it has caused me to be anxious in new situations and to shy away from people.. even people who are good for me to have in my life..people that lead me to Christ and Hold me accountable. God has spoken to me through many people lately. I have to trust God through this pruning process and allow the pain of it to grow my faith in Jesus... A friend shared the lyrics to this song called Blessings by Laura Story which is very appropriate for such a time as this.. We pray for blessings, we pray for peace. Comfort for family, protection while we sleep. We pray for healing, prosperity. We pray for Your mighty hand to ease our suffering. All the while, You hear each spoken need. Your love is too way too much to give us lesser things. Cause what if your blessings come through raindrops? What if your healing comes through tears? What if a thousand sleepless nights are what it takes to know You're near? What if trials of this night, are Your mercies in disguise? We pray for wisdom, Your voice to hear. We cry in anger when we cannot feel You near. We doubt Your goodness, we doubt Your love. As if every promise from Your word is not enough. All, the while, You hear each desperate plea. And long that we'd have faith to believe. Cause what if your blessings come through raindrops? What if your healing comes through tears? What if a thousand sleepless nights are what it takes to know You're near? What if trials of this night, are Your mercies in disguise? When friends betray us, when darkness seems to win; We know that pain reminds this heart, that this is not, this is not our home. It's not our home. Cause what if your blessings come through raindrops? What if your healing comes through tears? What if a thousand sleepless nights are what it takes to know You're near? What if my greatest disappointments, or the aching of this life; Is a revealing of greater thirst that a world can't satisfy? And what if trials of this life, the rain, the storms, the hardest nights; Are Your mercies in disguise? By Laura Story

Stay CLOSE TO JESUS!!!.

John 20:19-29 Jesus Appears to His Disciples 19 On the evening of that first day of the week, when the disciples were together, with the doors locked for fear of the Jewish leaders, Jesus came and stood among them and said, “Peace be with you!” 20 After he said this, he showed them his hands and side. The disciples were overjoyed when they saw the Lord. 21 Again Jesus said, “Peace be with you! As the Father has sent me, I am sending you.” 22 And with that he breathed on them and said, “Receive the Holy Spirit. 23 If you forgive anyone’s sins, their sins are forgiven; if you do not forgive them, they are not forgiven.” Jesus Appears to Thomas 24 Now Thomas (also known as Didymus[a]), one of the Twelve, was not with the disciples when Jesus came. 25 So the other disciples told him, “We have seen the Lord!” But he said to them, “Unless I see the nail marks in his hands and put my finger where the nails were, and put my hand into his side, I will not believe.” 26 A week later his disciples were in the house again, and Thomas was with them. Though the doors were locked, Jesus came and stood among them and said, “Peace be with you!” 27 Then he said to Thomas, “Put your finger here; see my hands. Reach out your hand and put it into my side. Stop doubting and believe.” 28 Thomas said to him, “My Lord and my God!” 29 Then Jesus told him, “Because you have seen me, you have believed; blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed.” When we are not close to Jesus 1. We start drifting spiritually 2. It robs us of strength in a crisis 3 It hinders our spiritual growth. 4. It causes us to doubt our spiritual standing 5. it causes us to become critical and cynical In Old Testament days the Holy Spirit was with us... NOW HE IS IN US!!!! Jesus gave us the Holy Spirit before He left to show us that He Means what He says!!!! So we are not alone!!! He is living in us!! When we fail to cultivate our relationship with God and do not let the Holy Spirit in we become 1. Disillusioned 2.discouraged 3. Doubt the power of GOD 4. defiant so what to do... 1. Confess the Problem 2. Claim God's Promises 3. Confirm your Purpose 4. Continue to Praise God no matter what the circumstance.. Good or Bad 5. Stay committed to prayer.... Great Message tonight by Dr Harold Fanning...( Uncle of our Pastor Paul Hunter) and felt led to share it . Bless you!!

Psalm 91

Psalm 91 1 Whoever dwells in the shelter of the Most High will rest in the shadow of the Almighty. 2 I will say of the LORD, “He is my refuge and my fortress, my God, in whom I trust.” 3 Surely he will save you from the fowler’s snare and from the deadly pestilence. 4 He will cover you with his feathers, and under his wings you will find refuge; his faithfulness will be your shield and rampart. 5 You will not fear the terror of night, nor the arrow that flies by day, 6 nor the pestilence that stalks in the darkness, nor the plague that destroys at midday. 7 A thousand may fall at your side, ten thousand at your right hand, but it will not come near you. 8 You will only observe with your eyes and see the punishment of the wicked. 9 If you say, “The LORD is my refuge,” and you make the Most High your dwelling, 10 no harm will overtake you, no disaster will come near your tent. 11 For he will command his angels concerning you to guard you in all your ways; 12 they will lift you up in their hands, so that you will not strike your foot against a stone. 13 You will tread on the lion and the cobra; you will trample the great lion and the serpent. 14 “Because he[b] loves me,” says the LORD, “I will rescue him; I will protect him, for he acknowledges my name. 15 He will call on me, and I will answer him; I will be with him in trouble, I will deliver him and honor him. 16 With long life I will satisfy him and show him my salvation.”

A New Relationship with a Safe person..

A New Relationship…. By Rhonda Jackson With fear and trepidation and a major step in Faith, I am in a new relationship…my first marriage failed miserably… I was very young when I got married the first time. I did not really date the guy I married and I also did not really even love him because I had no idea what love and commitment really was then…I graduated from high school, got pregnant and then got married and that marriage ended on a sad note. That was my whole first dating experience. But as God says in His Word in Romans 8:28 “we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose.” Now that I am older and wiser and I am strong in my faith in Jesus Christ and He has shown me what love and commitment truly is, I became a lot choosier when I started the process of choosing a mate. I even developed a five item criteria for the man I would potentially have a relationship with and he had to meet at least 80 percent of the criteria or above for me to even consider him as a potential mate. I also tried the whole Eharmony…Match.com.. Chrisitan Mingle.com thing and found that it was just not for me. I talked with a few people on there and made a few connections but nothing of substance came out of it so I took that as God telling me to be still, remain faithful, and wait on Him and continue praying for His provision and wisdom for the one He has for me. So I put it away for a while and just continued to serve the Lord. Well, low and behold, and it did not even occur to me at the time, that I already met “the one”… and I met him in the last place I would have expected. I met my guy at my home church over two years ago in Waikoloa, Hawaii… We served in the same classroom together for vacation bible school and became good friends and kept in touch some. My friend, prayer partner and mentor at Waikoloa Baptist Church put us together because she claimed it was a “God thing”. She and many other mature and Godly church members from my home church obviously saw what we did not see. Another friend said that she prayed that I would meet someone at church. I tease my friend by saying that she did not specify which church I would meet this person at. It took my guy a while to tell me that he was even interested in me because I left Hawaii. However, God worked another one of His mighty miracles and has been working on both of our hearts for the last two years. My man is a Godly, safe, loving, intelligent, vibrant man who will challenge me, love my children and be a good father to them, help me grow in my faith, be committed in the face of conflict and I know with evidence that he will love me as Jesus Christ loves His church. This can be marked as one of God’s miracles. Recommended Reading Now That You Are Engaged by H. Norman Wright

In the face of Job loss, temptation and uncertain times...

Yes I am scared... so what I am going to do? I am going to diligently move forward in faith and work to look for employment in addition to Jackson Way CDC and serve my Almighty God and remain faithful at Jackson Way CDC. Who knows a door may open wider there? I have been asked to work more there in the coming weeks....The scary thing is that I lost my health insurance and there is medication I can't go without so I must trust my Savior and not allow the fear or anxiety to steal my Joy which is My LORD and His Strength alone! I have also been struggling with temptation but I won't let that destroy me either.. I am in a relationship with a Godly man and we are both committed to having Jesus be the heartbeat of our relationship and we have a choice to honor God and not allow our feelings to rule or overwhelm us into sin. It is hard for both of us because it has been a long time for both of us, however we are committed to saving ourselves for Marriage. I know confessing this out loud with my mouth will defeat any of the enemy's schemes to have us stumble. In Jesus name I will not allow the enemy to destroy an innocent and pure relationship... something I have waited on the LORD for, for a very long time. I Love you Jesus and I live to honor you and I am sorry for the times that I have not honored you with my choices.. I humbly ask for your forgiveness and grace and for you to search my heart and help me change any wrong attitude or thought I may have. Please filled that hole in me so I do not fill it with anything else... I want you to fill it and you alone!!! I pray that you present opportunities for me to give and serve and I will do it in obedience to you My Sweet Savior Jesus.. Today's Bible Passages .Psalm 42 For the director of music. A maskil[c] of the Sons of Korah. 1 As the deer pants for streams of water, so my soul pants for you, my God. 2 My soul thirsts for God, for the living God. When can I go and meet with God? 3 My tears have been my food day and night, while people say to me all day long, “Where is your God?” 4 These things I remember as I pour out my soul: how I used to go to the house of God under the protection of the Mighty One[d] with shouts of joy and praise among the festive throng. 5 Why, my soul, are you downcast? Why so disturbed within me? Put your hope in God, for I will yet praise him, my Savior and my God. 6 My soul is downcast within me; therefore I will remember you from the land of the Jordan, the heights of Hermon—from Mount Mizar. 7 Deep calls to deep in the roar of your waterfalls; all your waves and breakers have swept over me. 8 By day the LORD directs his love, at night his song is with me— a prayer to the God of my life. 9 I say to God my Rock, “Why have you forgotten me? Why must I go about mourning, oppressed by the enemy?” 10 My bones suffer mortal agony as my foes taunt me, saying to me all day long, “Where is your God?” 11 Why, my soul, are you downcast? Why so disturbed within me? Put your hope in God, for I will yet praise him, my Savior and my God. John 13:31-38 Jesus Predicts Peter’s Denial 31 When he was gone, Jesus said, “Now the Son of Man is glorified and God is glorified in him. 32 If God is glorified in him,[a] God will glorify the Son in himself, and will glorify him at once. 33 “My children, I will be with you only a little longer. You will look for me, and just as I told the Jews, so I tell you now: Where I am going, you cannot come. 34 “A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another. 35 By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another.” 36 Simon Peter asked him, “Lord, where are you going?” Jesus replied, “Where I am going, you cannot follow now, but you will follow later.” 37 Peter asked, “Lord, why can’t I follow you now? I will lay down my life for you.” 38 Then Jesus answered, “Will you really lay down your life for me? Very truly I tell you, before the rooster crows, you will disown me three times! John 14 Jesus Comforts His Disciples 1 “Do not let your hearts be troubled. You believe in God[a]; believe also in me. 2 My Father’s house has many rooms; if that were not so, would I have told you that I am going there to prepare a place for you? 3 And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back and take you to be with me that you also may be where I am. 4 You know the way to the place where I am going.” Jesus the Way to the Father 5 Thomas said to him, “Lord, we don’t know where you are going, so how can we know the way?” 6 Jesus answered, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me. 7 If you really know me, you will know[b] my Father as well. From now on, you do know him and have seen him.” 8 Philip said, “Lord, show us the Father and that will be enough for us.” 9 Jesus answered: “Don’t you know me, Philip, even after I have been among you such a long time? Anyone who has seen me has seen the Father. How can you say, ‘Show us the Father’? 10 Don’t you believe that I am in the Father, and that the Father is in me? The words I say to you I do not speak on my own authority. Rather, it is the Father, living in me, who is doing his work. 11 Believe me when I say that I am in the Father and the Father is in me; or at least believe on the evidence of the works themselves. 12 Very truly I tell you, whoever believes in me will do the works I have been doing, and they will do even greater things than these, because I am going to the Father. 13 And I will do whatever you ask in my name, so that the Father may be glorified in the Son. 14 You may ask me for anything in my name, and I will do it. Jesus Promises the Holy Spirit 15 “If you love me, keep my commands. 16 And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another advocate to help you and be with you forever— 17 the Spirit of truth. The world cannot accept him, because it neither sees him nor knows him. But you know him, for he lives with you and will be[c] in you. 18 I will not leave you as orphans; I will come to you. 19 Before long, the world will not see me anymore, but you will see me. Because I live, you also will live. 20 On that day you will realize that I am in my Father, and you are in me, and I am in you. 21 Whoever has my commands and keeps them is the one who loves me. The one who loves me will be loved by my Father, and I too will love them and show myself to them.” 22 Then Judas (not Judas Iscariot) said, “But, Lord, why do you intend to show yourself to us and not to the world?” 23 Jesus replied, “Anyone who loves me will obey my teaching. My Father will love them, and we will come to them and make our home with them. 24 Anyone who does not love me will not obey my teaching. These words you hear are not my own; they belong to the Father who sent me. 25 “All this I have spoken while still with you. 26 But the Advocate, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, will teach you all things and will remind you of everything I have said to you. 27 Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid. 28 “You heard me say, ‘I am going away and I am coming back to you.’ If you loved me, you would be glad that I am going to the Father, for the Father is greater than I. 29 I have told you now before it happens, so that when it does happen you will believe. 30 I will not say much more to you, for the prince of this world is coming. He has no hold over me, 31 but he comes so that the world may learn that I love the Father and do exactly what my Father has commanded me. “Come now; let us leave. Yes I am struggling.. but I am getting ready for a Miracle from my Jesus, for when we struggle.. He is preparing something far better than we can ever imagine ourselves!!! IN Jesus Precious Name... Amen....