Faith

Gloves, masks and Jesus

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Last week I pulled out the box of old medical supplies that we had from years of Wesley’s leukemia treatment. I was looking through the box to see if we had any masks left. I didn’t find any mask, but I did experience a flood of emotions.

While I am thankful we had the provision of the medical supplies in that box, I really don’t want anyone to have a need for a box like that. So many memories of HARD times rushed through my heart and my mind. I had to LEAN into the arms of God and cling to how faithfully he walked with us over the years.

I put all the supplies back in the box and slid the box back into its spot in the hall closet. I took a deep breath to try to clear away the lingering pain and turned to go to the kitchen. My husband soon came in and I shared with him how caught off guard I had been by the experience of going through the medical supply box. I’m glad he was home to help me process.

Last week was Holy Week that led up to Easter Sunday. Each day last week I joined in on Holy Week messages online. God began to stir in my heart an analogy from one of the items in that medical box.

Sterile gloves and dressing change kit.

 

As I have made our essential trips to the grocery store and pharmacy (one each week) I have seen an increased amount of people wearing gloves and masks. I totally get why they are wearing them. The gloves and masks give them a sense that they are doing something to protect themselves from becoming contaminated with the coronavirus. We all want to protect ourselves and our loved ones from this evil.

Watching people with their gloves and masks has been an interesting experience. I have seen so many people, with good intentions, make some crazy mistakes that actually put themselves at greater risk, rather than decreased risk. It has been hard to watch!

During the years of Wesley’s treatment I received lots of training on how to use gloves and mask, the importance of cleaning, hand washing and using hand sanitizer. I had to be trained on how to use these things so that they actually worked to help protect him.

Once you put gloves on they become “contaminated” the second you touch anything. I’ve watched people shopping, touching all kinds of things, and then pull out their phone without taking off the contaminated gloves. UGH… now the phone is contaminated. I’ve watched people adjust their face mask with their contaminated gloves. UGH… just put any germs right on their face and mask! I’ve seen people pull out their wallets, their debit cards, their keys with their contaminated gloves. I’ve seen them open their car doors and load in their grocery bags…. all while wearing the same gloves they wore all over in the store. UGH!! UGH!!

Wearing gloves and masks can be a way to protect ourselves from the virus…. but ONLY if we are using these personal protective things correctly. For example…. DON’T touch your phone, wallet, keys or anything else without removing the contaminated gloves! Otherwise you just transfer germs to those things! Most certainly, do NOT touch your face or the mask!!

OK… where am I going with this? How does any of this relate to Easter, to our Savior?

Note: Pictures are old. Wesley has not had a central line now in just over a year! Thank you Jesus.

For a total of over three years Wesley had a double lumen central line in his chest used to administer chemo, many other meds, blood transfusions, platelet transfusions and for drawing labs. This central line was EXTREMELY valuable and necessary, but came with a HUGE risk of contamination and infection. He had a line coming out of his chest that was connected to one of the main heart blood vessels. If infection got into his body through the central line it would go right to his blood stream. YIKES!

Diagram of a central line

Each week the sterile dressing that covered the central line entrance had to be changed. 3 years = minimum of 156 dressing changes. (It was really more than this because he had a central line in longer than exactly 3 years.)

The responsibility of changing that dressing rested firmly on my shoulders unless he was admitted in the hospital. (Side note: He would only allow certain nurses to change his dressing… trust issues… so if one of those nurses wasn’t on duty he would ask me to do the dressing change. Therefore, I did a fair amount of dressing changes even when he was admitted. This was the ONE area he exercised incredible stubbornness …. and …. We all totally understood. He wanted to feel secure that his central line would be kept as safe as possible. Even the nurses understood because it is normal for patients to feel very protective of the central line.)

In order to change his dressing I had to be trained. Changing the dressing must be done using sterile technique. I had to be trained, and had to pass a test, at each of the three medical facilities where Wesley received treatment (Indy, Philly and Seattle). Sterile procedure is INTENSE! Have you ever learned how to put on sterile gloves?? Wowzer!

Each week as I would change his dressing I would pray that God would help me. I felt the weight of the responsibility. It was heavy. I knew that if I contaminated his skin or any part of the dressing material I would put him at HIGH risk of infection. Infection was DANGEROUS and could cause death. Yeah… the weight I felt on my shoulders was heavy. Dressing changes were only done with lots of prayers!

Wesley with his central line.

There were times during dressing changes I would contaminate one of my gloves. There were times I wasn’t for sure, but was afraid I was contaminated. What did I have to do at that point? Start completely over. Once I was contaminated there was no undoing that. I had to get rid of the contaminated gloves, dressing, etc. and start completely fresh.

This is where the connection to Easter comes in. God used the sterile dressing changes to show me about sin and my need for a savior.

Pulling out that box of medical supplies brought back so many memories …. but God used seeing the sterile dressing change packages to teach me about Him.

You see…. in order to be in the presence of God (in heaven) we have to be completely “sterile”, free of sin. We can not have one speck of contamination on us. However, living in this world there is NO way we can get through life without becoming contaminated by sin. We are inherently sinful and surrounded by sin. We all sin. We are all contaminated. Our “sterile” gloves stand no chance!

Once contaminated there is nothing we can do to un-contaminate ourselves without being completely cleansed. However, we do not have the power to wash away our sins like we do have the power to wash a virus off our hands. Sin won’t come off with water and soap! There is nothing we can do to get rid of the contamination of sin. Nothing!

The ONLY way we can become clean and uncontaminated is by the blood of Christ. Jesus became the sacrifice that makes us white as snow!! Jesus came to save us from our sin to bring us into relationship with our Heavenly Father!

That is what Easter is all about. That is why we need a savior.

Without Christ cleansing me I am covered in the filth of my sin. Washed in his grace I am covered in His righteousness. I am free of contamination. I am “sterile”. I am given forgiveness and welcomed by the Father as His child!

Thanks be to God who sent His one and only son to save us from the contamination of sin! To bring us into a relationship with him!

I pray that each time as we put on gloves and masks we will remember that Jesus is the only way we can be cleansed from the contamination of our sins. That we will thank Jesus for his grace! We are washed in the blood of the lamb!

Have you downloaded your free copy of the E-book Bible study: GOD is BIGGER, Feed Faith & Starve Fear??  This Bible study is based on the tools God taught me while we were in the trenches of battling leukemia.  These methods of feeding faith and starving fear apply to any kind of hard stress we can face in this life.

“Peek into my personal life”: Covid-19 version/wk 2

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I’m not going to lie…. This week of “sheltering in place” social distancing has felt much harder. Welcome to a peek into my real life!

I’m a “social introvert” who enjoys alone time (to a certain point) but also really enjoys people. I can’t be alone in feeling lonely this week. Have you felt more lonely this week?

This is the second weekly post series giving you a glimpse into my personal life and how I am feeding faith and starving fear.

Sunday I was in a funk. I had to be extremely intentional about not letting my thoughts and negative feelings be in charge. I was really missing “normal” life. Online church messages are great, but I miss BEING at church WITH the people! I miss our small group. I miss my friends.

So, what did I do on Sunday afternoon to intentionally feed my faith so that I didn’t fall into darkness? The first thing I did was go for a walk. Getting my body moving and out in nature helped me start the climb out of my funk. “Praise walks” have always been a solid go -to method for me. I can pop in my ear buds and turn on praise music and focus on the goodness and power of God. The combination of fresh air, moving my body ,and praising has always helped me. It didn’t fail Sunday, either!

After my walk I decided I just needed to keep feeding on the word of God. I listened to another online church service. In fact, it was so good I listened to it TWICE! I really enjoyed how Pastor Bein combined his message and worship. It was powerful. It helped me step completely out of my “funk” and get my heart securely back in the right place. (side note: Pastor Bein is blind.  It amazes me how he plays the piano and gives his messages without the use of music sheets or message notes.  What a memory! He sure uses his life for good!)

One positive about not being able to GO to church is that churches are posting their services online. I have been able to “visit” multiple churches as well as “attend” our own church.

So, this week how did I use the five ways to feed faith as outlined in the GOD is BIGGER Bible study? The week started off a little rough (Sunday) but got better as I was intentional about feeding my faith. The week ended on a good note Friday evening (more on that below).

Weekly Journal Sheet: Feed Faith & Starve Fear

This week I sent out an email to those that have requested the GOD is BIGGER Bible study a link to the new FREE  Feed Faith & Starve Fear weekly journaling sheet I created.  Journaling the ways I am intentionally feeding my faith is really helping me stay focused.  Go get your own copy of the journaling sheet!

Here is a peek into my personal life: Covid-19 shelter in place style!

I have to be intentional about using each of the categories of feeding faith and starving fear as found in the GOD is BIGGER Bible study.  (Have you gotten your FREE copy, yet?)

Praise:

Praise helps us keep our focus on the power of God rather than the weakness of our selves or the hard of our circumstances.

I didn’t have the music on as much this week as I normally do. Maybe that is one of the reasons THIS week has felt harder. Note to self: keep the music going!! Be intentional!!

Friday evening was so wonderful!! As a family we “went out” on the town!  We gathered (safely with

Family outing “social distancing” style. Hospital park and pray.

social distancing) in our cars at the local hospital to pray. The event was called “Park and Pray” and was hosted by a local church and broadcast on a local radio station.  The turn out was INCREDIBLE at both of our city hospitals.  My biggest prayer through this whole coronavirus has been that God uses it to draw people to HIM.

The event was such an encouragement to me both spiritually and emotionally.  And… if felt good to get out of the house to “do” something.  My sister and niece met us there and was able to park next to us.  While we have to practice social distancing our hearts long for being with one another.  This event gave use a sense of community.  GOD is BIGGER than coronavirus!

If you look really close you can see the reflection of the hospital in my sunglasses.

Prayer:

Talking to God is as simple as carrying on a conversation with him in our heads. We think 24/7 so we can train ourselves to pray rather than let our thoughts go to deep dark places. When we catch our thoughts heading in the wrong direction we can put the brakes on by switching to prayer.

This week we had some really nice spring weather. I spent as much time as I could outside soaking it in. I hung almost all of our laundry outside. I washed extra stuff this week to take advantage of the clothesline. All the blankets and quilts got washed along with the normal laundry. While I was out hanging laundry I prayed and felt especially close to God.

It is so wonderful that something as simple as hanging clothes on the clothes line can be so lifegiving.

My alarms are set! Calls to prayer.

I have also continued to have my alarm set for “calls to prayer” at 7am, noon and 5pm. Our daughter is at Air Force BMT (Basic Training) and I told her that she could count on knowing she was being prayed for at those times. I also pray for our nation and for our president during those specific calls to prayer.

This week a friend of mine and I started a virtual Bible Study. Proverbs 31 ministry is hosting the study based on the book “Dangerous Prayers”** by Craig Groeschel. First week in and I think it is GREAT!! I’ll admit, praying dangerous prayers can feel intimidating! But, oh the growth we can experience when we get out of our comfort zones.

 

 

Dangerous Prayers!

The Word of God

The Word God is our sword. It is the only weapon in the armor of God. When the devil was tempting Jesus in the desert Jesus always replied with “It is written”. I needed to do a lot of “It is written” this week. Zechariah 4:6 “’Not by might nor by power, but by my Spirit,’ says the LORD Almighty.”

We can’t face hard on our own strength. It is only by the power of the Lord in me that I can be victorious!

I have been writing to our daughter every day. We FINALLY got an address for her on Tuesday afternoon (she has been gone 3 weeks). I had been writing to her everyday (journal style)

My daughter is an Air Force Warrior. I am her prayer warrior!

just waiting to get her address. Now, starting Wednesday, I have mailed portions of the journal letter to her every day. Before she left for BMT I purchased a set of scripture cards** with the plan to send her a card with each letter. As I have pulled out one of these beautiful scripture cards** to send to her I have prayed the verses.  Praying scripture is so powerful.

Praying and focusing on these verses has been very helpful. Her basic training has been far from “normal” as the Air Force makes changes due to Covid-19. I continually remind myself that God’s timing is always perfect. HE planned on her being there at this time and HE has her covered!

Since this is the Easter Holy Week I have been able to “attend” daily messages from a local church. I have enjoyed these messages very much and they have been so helpful in preparing my heart for celebrating Easter.

Renew my mind

Our thoughts and our feelings like to take us to all kinds of crazy places. Allowing my mind to wander will often lead my down dark paths.

This week it took being INTENTIONAL to keep my thoughts in control. I’m lonely, missing people, missing so much “normal”…. BUT… Big But…. There is still SO MUCH to be thankful for! SO much!!!

So, I keep reminding myself: “Heather, focus on the truth of the GOOD going on!” Yes, I do literally talk to myself. I tell myself what to do! Ha!

What GOOD things do I have to focus on?  Here are just a few.  I know that you have lots of GOOD you can choose to think about, too.

  1. HEALTH! We are healthy. Our son is cancer free! He is at HIGH risk during this covid-19 and he is not sick! The other high risk people in our life (age) are also healthy.
  2. Provision of needs. We have safe food and shelter. We have been able to get all of Wes’ medicines. He has ONE extremely crucial medicine and we have it!
  3. Spring weather! Flowers! Laundry out on the clothesline.
  4. Technology: ability to text and call friends and family. Zoom for school. Online church services.
  5. Freedom of religion. We can openly talk about Jesus, read our Bibles and gather on zoom.
  6. Post office is still providing services!  We can now send letters to Robyn at Air Force BMT.

Speak Life:

My words have the power to build up or tear down. This week my flesh wanted to complain and grumble. My tongue wanted to be sharp with my family. UGH. I had to fight this and CHOOSE to keep quiet and choose to speak kindly and encouraging words. My family is tired of this situation, too. Distance learning for school is not ideal…. Even though I think our teachers are doing a very good job! It is a hard situation for them and for students. My youngest son, Nate, also really misses his girlfriend.

So, we had to CHOOSE that we would not allow grumbling to be a part of our family and our words. We had to CHOOSE to be mindful of our words.

On Thursday evening, just before sunset, a big thunderstorm came though. It was WINDY and it rained

God’s promise! A visual love letter to us.

hard. After the storm passed there was a HUGE rainbow!!! It was gorgeous! God sent us another “love letter” to us proclaiming his promise of faithfulness. It was just what we needed.

I received a very sweet text from my friend, Susie. She spoke life to me! She let me know that she and two other ladies are doing the God is BIGGER Bible study and they are meeting each week via Zoom to discuss it. She reported that they are really enjoying it. Made my day. 🙂 I believe that God wrote this study last fall for such a time as THIS!

Now…. some other things in my life this week… a few ramblings:

I have continued feeding my sourdough starter. I really have no idea what I’m doing but am hoping to make my first sourdough product this weekend. I’m going to try pizza dough first before I tackle bread. Kate, at  Venison For Dinner , has inspired me and she has a lot of great recipes and tutorials. I really enjoy following her on IG. She is the “dream version” of my “homesteady” self.

I keep enjoying the spring flowers. I have picked several bouquets. The tulips will be in bloom next followed by the lilacs.

Pumpkin spice granola

I have kept myself occupied feeding teen boys.  I have made two batches of Healthy Oatmeal Bars and a big batch of pumpkin granola. I also keep us stocked in homemade yogurt and cook dinner every night. Breakfast you are on your own and lunches are left overs (I intentionally make extra at supper) or salad.

The grass is SO green. My husband has mowed once and I’m sure he will be mowing again soon. Chris is still working. New construction is considered “Essential Infrastructure” in our state. I’m glad he is still able to work and by the time he is working on a house (he is a self employed ceramic tile/natural stone contractor) there are not many other people working in the house and definitely not working close to him.

I had company paperwork to do this week as well as the paperwork as we switch over to Medi-share for our medical coverage. Our oldest son is now 22 and is on disability Medicare (due to leukemia history and issues/complications caused from cancer treatment). As we are self employed our health insurance coverage is 100% self paid and it is SOOOO expensive. Now that our daughter is in the Military and Wesley has his own coverage we have the ability to explore other options. Looking forward to easing up our budget. About ⅓ of our annual income has gone to medical insurance premiums the past many years.

We have lived frugally our entire marriage. My husband is a successful contractor, but our life has had enough medical bumps to keep us “humble”. This week I have enjoyed the new series over at Frugalwoods. Hop over for some inspiration on money management during this coronavirus. I can always learn more and do more in the frugal living category.

Speaking of frugal living…. I really believe so much peace about finances is tied to contentment. I have to find joy in what we do have before I could ever be happy with more. Living a simple, content life is a major goal of mine. True joy is not found in possessions or experiences. True joy is peace in the middle of a storm, and joy in the simple things of life.

We caught 2 mice this week in the house.  EEEEK.  Mice is the part of country life in a 100 year old farm house that I don’t so much enjoy.  We don’t get mice all the time, but keep a few traps set where we know we are likely to catch them if they get in the house.  For some strange reason we caught 2 this week after catching none for weeks.  Over the years of living here we have tried lots of different traps. I’m glad we have found traps that work well ** and that I have teenage sons that are in charge of setting and emptying the traps! Perks of being a boy mom.

Well…. This post is already really long, so I had better sign off.

Please know I am praying for you all!!

GOD is BIGGER than any hard we can face in this life!!!  IF you haven’t downloaded your FREE copy of the GOD is BIGGER Bible study, do it today!

A picture I saw online (I do not know the source) that I am finding very comforting!

 

**These links are affiliate links.  If you make a purchase through this link it will not cost you any more but I will earn a small referral commission.

BONUS! God is BIGGER Bible Study Weekly Jounal Page

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Weekly Journal sheet for feeding faith and starving fear

Weekly Journal Sheet: Feed Faith & Starve Fear

God is Bigger Weekly Journal PDF  (download link)

If you are doing the “God is BIGGER: Feed Faith & Starve Fear” Bible study then I have a new free bonus journal sheet for you.

Last week I started using a plain old notebook to keep a journal of the ways I am currently feeding my faith to starve fear.  It really helped me stay intentional and focused.  I also used this journal to write the “peak into my life” post.

My plain old, not so pretty, weekly journal.

We are all living in a very hard time with the Covid-19 and we have multiple fears that are trying to grow in our hearts.  Being intentional to feed faith in our BIG God starves fear!  GOD is BIGGER than the coronavirus.

As I have used my plain old, not so pretty, notebook journal this week I began to think that maybe a weekly journal sheet would be helpful to you, too!  So, I hopped on Canva and created a pretty weekly journal sheet for us all to use!  I can get rid of my not so attractive notebook sheet and have a pretty journal sheet, too.

I found that using this journal helped me stay focused on TRUTH!!  I could look back at it and see all the things God used to help me stay intentional on feeding my heart and mind with HIS truth.  What we feed will grow.  Feeding my heart and mind with God’s truth grows my faith.  GOD is BIGGER than any hard we can face in this life.

Download your PDF copy of the weekly Journal sheet below.

Weekly Journal Sheet: Feed Faith & Starve Fear

God is Bigger Weekly Journal PDF

A peak into my “quarantine” life. Feeding Faith & Starving Fear. Wk 1

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The reality of this current Covid-19 life is that we are all in the grips of fear.

*post contains affiliate links

We all have fear of disease, death, financial loss, job loss, etc. Life has changed in every possible way. Kids are home from school, all activities cancelled, stores have experienced shortages and lets not even get started about “distance learning” (that is painful for most parents and kids alike)

Spring!! Flowers make me so happy!

So, I thought that maybe you would like a glimpse into my personal life….. we all share similar fears and concerns. How am I feeding my faith to starve fear??  To learn more about me I recently wrote this post.

The Bible Study: God is BIGGER, Feed Faith, Starve Fear, is based on the 5 ways God taught me to feed faith in his power. He taught me these strategies over the nearly 7 years our son battled leukemia. I learned these in the trenches, with disease and death always staring us in the face. These same strategies work no matter what kind of HARD circumstance we are going through.

I’m going to share with you the things I am currently doing in each of these 5 ways to feed my faith to starve fear in the midst of this Covid-19 life we are all living.

Bible study bonus pages

Bible Study Cover. Click to get your own FREE copy!

1) Praise and Worship.

Praise gets our eyes off our circumstances and on our Savior! Battles are raged and victories are won as we stand in praise of our God. GOD is BIGGER than anything we face. We feed our faith by praising our BIG God. Praise keeps us centered with the proper perspective… GOD is GOD and we are not!

So, how have I been intentional about praising God? I have a Bluetooth speaker that is easily connected to my phone and I have Bluetooth earphones. On my phone I have the Klove radio app, the Moody Radio app, Faith Radio app, Pandora, Apple Music and the Tunein Radio app. I use Pandora the most, but have used all of those apps this week. I really like Pandora because I can search for specific songs.

Specific songs that I have listened to a lot this week: “Waymaker” and “The Blessing”.

I make sure to turn on the music as I do housework. Praise helps keep my mind from wandering and centers my heart on truth!

The joy I find in hanging clothes on the clothes line is almost crazy!

We have had a few BEAUTIFUL spring days this week. I made sure that I went outside each day. I have been able to open the windows in the house. We live in the country and we have lots of birds. Our youngest son is a “birder”. He keeps our bird feeders full and over the years we have been intentional about planting trees and bushes and flowers that the birds like. We keep our eyes open for the return of the different species of birds. God’s creation worships him! Listening to the birds sing has been its own praise song.

As I type this I am sitting at the kitchen table in our 1911 Indiana farmhouse. I can look out the windows and see the clothes on the clothesline fluttering in the spring breeze. I can hear the song of several different types of birds. I can see my youngest son (Nate, age 15) shooting hoops out by the barn. The sun is shining. It is a gorgeous spring day and I choose to praise our God who created all this beauty!

We were blessed with a GORGEOUS sunset this week.  It felt like a love letter from God.  Even though the world

Love letter from God.

feels out of control right now, God is faithful.  He reminds us every morning as the sun comes up and every evening as the sunsets that HE is faithful!  His love for us never ends.  His grace and mercy are new everyday.  I took this picture of the sunset.  My view standing outside my back door.  I used the “Bible Lens” app to add the verse to my picture.  It is a fun app.  I like to add verses and text them to friends.  I have also printed them off.

2) Prayer

We have 3 sons and 1 daughter. Our daughter joined the Air Force and left for BMT (Basic Military Training) on March 17th just as the COVID-19 was really ramping up in the US. I told her when she left that I would be setting the alarm on my phone for 7am, noon and 5pm. These daily alarms are my “calls to prayer” for her. Now, I also include praying for our president and our nation.  Side note: I am one PROUD mama to have a daughter serving in the Air Force!!

My alarms are set! Calls to prayer.

I pray during other times of the day, too. However, these alarms help me to pause from my activities and to center myself before the Lord. I generally start out by saying the Lord’s Prayer and then follow with prayers for our daughter, Robyn, and other requests.

Because Robyn left for BMT right as our nation began to “shelter in place” her BMT experience has been a bit different so far. One difference is that she has been allowed to call home a few times. We do not have an address for her (at this time they are not allowing us to send them mail) so they are allowing them at least weekly phone calls. It has been so wonderful to be able to hear her voice. Equally wonderful is that we have been able to pray together over the phone! She can also share with me specific prayer requests.

Our Robyn as we dropped her off for Air Force!

We all think nonstop, and our thoughts can take us deep into fear really fast. Turning those thoughts into conversations with God is powerful. We are transforming our bids by turning to God. Instead of letting our thoughts lead us into dark territory we turn to God and seek His light.

3) The Word of God

To feed our faith and starve fear we MUST be in the Word of God. We must know the Word. We must feed our spirits with the truth of God’s Word. We must fill our hearts with His truth otherwise we are filling our hearts with our human emotions.

The news on tv and the internet feeds fear in my heart. I choose to keep the news off most of the day. I have a couple of news sources I will check each day but otherwise I stay off and away. A little news goes a long way in kicking up the fear factor. While I don’t want to put my head in the sand and act like nothing is going on outside the four walls of my house, I also must be careful about what I allow into my heart and mind.

The Word of God, the sword of the spirit, is what we use to fight away fear. It is the only weapon in the armor of God. We speak the Word of God over our circumstances. We tell ourselves what to think and what to believe based on the Word of God, not our feelings. God’s word declares over and over again that God is BIGGER than any circumstance we can face!!

My current reads!

In addition to reading the Bible, I recently finished re-reading the book “Praying the Bible” by Donald Whitney, and am currently doing the lent devotional, “Uncovering the Love of Jesus”, by Asheritah Ciuciu. Both are excellent!! I highly recommend them both. These books help me to feed my faith and to help me learn the word of God.

I am a huge fan of audiobooks and podcasts. I really like them because I can listen and DO tasks around the house or while I’m driving (pre- “shelter at home”). This week I listened to a special dramatized series about Judas Iscariot created by Unlocking the Bible. WOW. Just WOW! I had to text it to some of my friends. It is so worth the time to listen to it!

4) Renewing my mind

What we think about ends up being what we say. What we say we believe! It is easy for one thought to follow another and suddenly our minds have taken us to all kinds of fear and wrong places. We can “worse case” scenario things in the blink of an eye. Panic and anxiety are often the result.

We have the POWER to choose our thoughts! It takes determination, awareness and perseverance, but we can control what our mind thinks. Feeding faith in God requires us telling ourselves what to think in accordance to the Word of God. Therefore it is so important for us to know the word of God.

I pray and ask the Holy Spirit to help me be aware of how I am thinking and to help me see when my thoughts are NOT truth and are taking me to bad places of fear and anxiety. I have to put the brakes on my thoughts and literally TELL myself what to think about. I tell myself the TRUTH that is based on God’s word, rather than the lies of fear that my brain wants to naturally go with.

I help myself direct my thoughts by giving my brain the truth to think about. I have to be intentional. Again, I really like audiobooks and podcasts for this reason. Since we can’t GO to church right now we can listen to lots of church services online. This past Sunday I “attended” 5 online church services. Throughout the week I have been able to “attend” a few more! There are blessings to be found and this is one of them.

These messages have helped give myself things to intentionally think about. The messages help me so much!

Last weekend the new movie about Jeremy Camp and his first wife, Mellissa, was released to rent online. WOW!! We watched it as a family. If you haven’t had a chance to watch it, please do! You will be encouraged by this story of faith. I will admit we were pretty emotional throughout the movie and even talked a lot about it the next day. There were several parallels between their story and our leukemia journey with our son, Wesley. The movie hit home in a way that was extremely personal to our own life, but I know it will also be encouraging to those who have not journeyed with cancer.

The “I still believe” movie was extra emotional for us because the Jeremy Camp album, Stay, that he wrote after his wife died, is the album Wesley listened to on repeat during his first bone marrow transplant. That album is all about the truth of God in spite of the hard we face in life. That album has had a huge influence on our life. Also, side note: Jeremy Camp is from our area. I have never met him. However, his Dad is a pastor and 19 years ago his Dad, Tom, baptized my husband and me! I’ll have to share more sometime about how that happened to be since we didn’t go to his church. Also, my sister was married by Tom 23 years ago. Her husband’s family knows them all, including Jeremy.

5) Speak Life

This one is so huge!! We are all stressed right now and the words we say to our people really matter. I have messed up this week. In my frustration of being WITH my family all the time I hurt my youngest son’s feelings by telling I’m “I just wish I could have a day alone!” UGH…. not helpful to speak those kinds of things!

I have also seen so many meme’s and Facebook posts of parents complaining about being home with their kids, about homeschooling, about the stress of dealing with children. I get it. We are stressed right now. However, our words have power and we can build up or tear down with our words.

So, I am praying that the Holy Spirit makes me very aware of my words and to help me be extremely intentional about speaking encouraging, life building words. Also, apologizing for any hurtful words… so important for me to repent to both God and my family!

Robyn before she left for Air Force BMT

Right now we are NOT allowed to mail letters to our daughter at basic training. So when she calls I have to fill her up with words of truth. Strong encouragement doses. Truth from God’s word. I pray over her and remind her that God is our daily bread, and that through Christ we can do all things! Build her up in the few minutes I get to speak with her.

Whew! If you are still reading you deserve a virtual high five!

Here are some other things happening in my life and ways we can use this “shelter in place” intentionally to feed our faith!

I have been choosing people to reach out to every day. A text, an email or a phone call can go a long way to be a mutual encouragement. This is another opportunity to speak life.

I’m using this time to learn some new things! I have my first sourdough starter going! This is something that has been on my “bucket list” for a long time. Now is the chance.

Bucket list: Starting Sourdough!

Since we have had some beautiful spring days I have been getting outside each day. Fresh air and “dirt therapy” (working in my flour beds) is so good for my soul! Even deep cleaning our screened in porch was wonderful.  I LOVE hanging clothes on the clothesline.

Country Girl Date Night!

Yesterday evening my husband and I went on a “date”.  You know you are a country girl when you so enjoy an outside date more than going to any restaurant.  What did we do?  We went for a two hour hike in the woods to scout for the upcoming Turkey hunting season.

I received the SWEETEST letter from my

Nate’s girlfriend, Corrie. I couldn’t have picked a better girlfriend for him if I could have been the one doing the choosing! He has good taste! Anyway, she sent me the most encouraging, life building letter and also sent my a key chain. She set a HUGE example to me about the power kindness can have. She is inspiring me!

Family dinners have always been so important to me, but with busy sports

Corrie’s gift to me. She speaks life.

schedules they were fewer and farther between. However, dinner every night around the kitchen table has been a wonderful thing the last few weeks. I’m glad I like to cook, but even if you don’t, frozen pizzas and sandwiches are extra special being enjoyed together! It is the relationship part of family dinner that is the most important thing.

I want you to all know that I am praying for you all. I do not believe it was by coincidence that God led me to write this Bible study and I believe he wrote it for YOU! We need to all feed our faith and starve fear. Our GOD is SO BIG and he is definitely BIGGER than Covid-19.

I would be more than happy to pray specifically for you…. so please comment below or send an email to heatherfoxcorbin (at) gmail.com. I will pray for you!!  Also, share how you are being intentional about FEEDING Faith to starve fear!  GOD is BIGGER!!!

 

Until next time….  Stand on the truth…. GOD is BIGGER than any hard we can face in this life!!

Again, If you haven’t gotten your own FREE copy of the Bible Study: God is BIGGER, Feed Faith, Starve Fear, go grab it now!

 

Books I am currently reading

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Reading GOOD books is one really fantastic way to Feed FAITH and starve fear.

What we feed our mind plays a HUGE role ….. what we feed grows! We must feed our faith with Biblical truth. The world offers a lot of things that will feed our fear, but we have to be intentional about feeding our faith! Right now, many of us are “sheltering at home” due to the Covid-19, and have a bit more time to devote to reading. I want to share with you 2 books I have recently been reading.

Picture: me in my kitchen with my books. 🙂

The first one is a lent devotional, “Uncovering the Love of Jesus”**, by Ahseritah Cuuciu. I’m still reading this one. I know that lent season is almost over, but it is so good that I think it could be done any time of the year. I did her advent devotional the last two Christmas seasons. I give both of her devotionals a 5/5 rating. One great thing about this study is that while it can be done alone she shares ways you can do it with your children, too.

The second book is one I recently re-read. Yes, it is that good. I don’t often re-read books, but this one I just HAD to. In fact, after reading it the first time I gave my copy away and so I had to re-buy the book to read it again! “Praying the Bible”**, by Donald S. Whitney, is a short easy read. Though it is short, it is packed with so much practical truth. Praying the Bible teaches how to incorporate praying scripture into our daily prayers so that our prayers aren’t the same boring prayers about the same old things with the same old words! Whitney teaches how we can use scripture to bring our prayer times to life with fresh energy and depth.

 

If you are looking for a book to help you grow in Christ or to improve your prayer life then these are books I highly recommend.

What books are you reading right now? I’m always open to suggestions!! Please comment and share with me a book I should check out!

Have you downloaded your FREE copy of my E-book Bible Study?  GOD is BIGGER, 5 week Bible Study to Feed Faith & Starve Fear.  Click here to get your free Copy!  Starve Fear!!  Feed your faith with this Bible Study!

 

Have a BLESSED day,

BE a blessing!

Heather Fox Corbin

**Above book links are affiliate links, It will not cost you any additional money when you purchase one of these books, but I will receive a small amount in referral fee.

FREE pdf Bible Study!

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Bible study bonus pagesGOD is BIGGER  5 Week Bible Study: Feed Faith and Starve Fear!

Life is HARD… always… but especially right now with Covd-19.  Nothing is normal right now.  NOTHING!

Last fall God lead me to write this Bible Study.  This study is based on the 5 ways God taught me to Feed Faith and Starve Fear during our 7 year leukemia journey with our oldest son, Wesley.  Now I see so clearly God’s timing.  The coronavirus caught us completely by surprise and has turned our world upside down, but it did not catch God by surprise.  HE wrote this book back in the fall…. for NOW!  For such a time as this.

If you would like a practical, easy to follow, Bible Study that will help you keep your eyes on Jesus during this unprecedented time, then please request a copy below.

I’m praying that as you do this study God moves in your heart in a fresh and powerful way!


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How to use this book:

  • This book is divided into 5 weeks: one week for each way to Feed Faith and Starve Fear.  At the end is a wrap up bonus week.
  • The weeks are divided into short daily Bible readings, prayer, reflection and action.
  • This book can be done alone or used in a Bible Study group.
  • The goal of this study is about transformation, developing new habits that Feed Faith and Starve Fear.  Our God is BIGGER than any hard we can face in this life.  He is completely faithful!

 

I have also created some great BONUS material to go along with this Bible Study.  Make sure to download your copies today.

 

BONUS pages! GOD is BIGGER!

~BONUS~ Content Available!

Bible study bonus pages


Feed your faith and starve your fear.  This bonus content goes along with the Bible study.  I created it as additional resources as you intentionally focus on feeding you faith.  Life is FULL of hard, but GOD is BIGGER!! 

Scroll down and siign up below to receive:

podcasts to feed faith bookmard download  prayer journal sheet GOD is BIGGER bible verse memory sheetsongs to help feed faith

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Listening to podcasts to feed your faith

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There is no doubt about it, I am so very thankful for podcasts!  Podcasts are my favorite way learn new things, feed my faith, and pass time.  I listen to podcasts several hours a week.  I listen during car time, mindless chore time, exercise time and downtime (meaning waiting for kids time).  I can listen and be productive at the same time.  Amy and Jordan Demos call this “alignment”- using time wisely to GROW!!  Listen to Amy and Jordan’s episode 1 to learn more about “alignment”.  (All of their podcast episodes are really good)

 

There are SEVERAL podcasts I enjoy, however, today I want to share a specific episode by Susie Larson (who is hands down one of my favorite podcasts to feed my faith and grow in my walk with Christ).

 

In this episode Susie shares ways that Songs and Bible verses can help us get out of a “funk”.  We all get in “funks” sometime and staying in a funk is not ideal!  I completely agree with Susie on the power of praise and songs to get our minds off our circumstances and on to the power of God.  Being intentional and choosing to praise changes our frame of mind!

I hope you enjoy this podcast episode.

Click here to listen.

Do you have a favorite podcast? If so, Will you please share in the comments so that I can check it out??

Excited for a friend!!!

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My blogging friend, Arabah Joy, has released a new book!!  I’m so excited for her!

Someday my book will be finished and published.  This journey we have been on with our son and leukemia has taught us so much about the power of prayer.  GOD is BIGGER than any hard we face in this life!!

I just purchased her book and can’t wait to dive in and use it!!  Prayer is such an incredibly powerful gift!!!  Had to share this new book with you all!!

Ready to grow in your prayer life???  Join with me going through this book!!

 

 

**Above link is an affiliate link,  It will not cost you any additional money when you purchase it, but I will receive a small amount in referral fee.

 

How the death of a loved one is inspiring me to LIVE

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Gripping the yellow rose tightly in my fingers, I  fixed my eyes forward, looking beyond my mother as she led us into the church.  Behind me bravely walked my four children and my husband. Following them were my sisters and their families, my three aunts and all my cousins with their families.  The melody of one of my Grandma’s favorite hymns floated from the organ and ushered us to the front of the church where each of us 12 grandchildren placed a yellow rose in the vase next to Grandma’s casket.  We all silently filled the pews, tears filling our eyes, our hearts tight with grief.

Outside the sun was shining, this fall day was beautiful and extra warm for mid-November.  It was the kind of day that normally beckoned me outside for one last adventure before the blanket of winter settled around my shoulders.  The kind of day when the sunshine and gentle warm breeze rustling the golden leaves stirred up life in my heart and inspired living.  What a gift the sunshine and warmth gave us to celebrate the life of our grandmother.  She lived in a way that brought sunshine and warmth wherever she went.

It is never easy to face the passing of a loved one, even when they have lived a full and long life.  The empty space their leaving creates in our lives is felt deeply.  As a Christ follower, we always try to focus on the joy of our loved one being with Jesus in our true home, but the earthly reality is that our hearts are filled with grief.  For our loved one in heaven it is joy, but for those of us left behind it is sorrow.

The tears spilled from my eyes and my heart squeezed tightly as the notes from the organ faded into silence and the reverend, also my uncle, stepped up to begin the service.  Yes, this celebrating life day, this gathering of family to say good-bye, would be a day that stirred up deep thoughts and contemplations.  Back and forth my heart would go, one moment full of joy for Grandma now living in our forever home, the following full of heartache knowing my days will no longer be brightened with her smile.

Over the years, I have bid farewell to several loved ones, each one leaving their legacy in my life.  I carry their fingerprint etched on my soul.  That is the way of life, each of us leaving our fingerprints on the hearts of those we touch.  Grandma’s fingerprint has stirred deep contemplations in my heart.

The days have come and gone, one by one, passing two months’ time since that warm November day.  I have thought a lot about life and death in these passing days.  Death is not something I fear, my heart is sealed in the grace of my savior, Jesus.  But the reality of death is real.  We each will live our days and we will each be ushered from this life into eternity.  None of us know the time or year, but we are each given a breadth of days to live on earth between the two chasms of eternity.

Saying good-bye to a loved one can be something that forces us to examine our own life more deeply.  This can be extremely good and valuable.  What kind of fingerprint am I leaving with my life, what legacy will fill the hearts of those I love?  When my time on earth comes to an end, what treasures of lasting value will my life have?

Big questions, intimidating ones!  Questions and thoughts that we often don’t take the time to contemplate.  Life is so busy, we rush from one day to the next just trying to keep our heads above water.  We live in survival mode more days than not.  We wake up tired and crash exhausted at the end of the day knowing that our to do list did not get done.  Is this living?  Is this creating the fingerprint and legacy I want my life to leave?

I am currently reading two books that are helping me process life and focus on living a life that creates the fingerprint and legacy I really want to leave.  I am reading Driven by Eternity (by John Bevere) and Living Forward (by Michael Hyatt. Intentionally living, not just surviving, is what I want.  Intentionally living with eternity as my perspective.  I am DOING the activities recommended in Living Forward and they are helping me create a clear picture of the life I want to live.  It has been a powerful experience that has been spurred on as I contemplate the lives of my loved ones that have passed on.

Saying good-bye to loved ones fills our hearts with loss, but can also be the push we need to evaluate our own lives more deeply.  The emotions of grief that we feel can facilitate growth and purpose in our own living.  Our own living of life can become more purposeful when we take the time to treasure the life of a loved one.  Grief is powerful, grief is hard, grief is long, but walking the journey of grief can become an opportunity to embrace our own intentional living!

Please share with me…. has the fingerprint from a loved one left on your heart challenged you to look at your own living in a different light?  Has the journey though grief ever nudged you to evaluate your own living?  Is intentional living a desire or focus for you right now?  Are you tired of just surviving and you want your legacy to be valuable??

I know… a lot of questions!!  But this life, this living, our time on earth is just so short!!  From the bottom of my heart I want to live well!  I want to leave fingerprints that are a blessing and a legacy that draws others to Christ.  I want to live intentionally and I want to do this with others desiring the same thing!  Would you like to join me diving deeper into intentional living??  Please leave a comment….  I want to create a community here that encourages living fully!

Also, join me on Facebook at Simple Faith and Family.  Let’s encourage each other to live intentionally, to process our life and to leave a lasting legacy!  TOGETHER!!!

These books are powerful tools helping me to evaluate my life!!  Have you read either of them??  If so, how have they helped you?


**Disclaimer: The book links in this post are Amazon are affiliate links.  If you purchase through my link it will not cost you any more, but will provide me with a small amount of commission.  I thank you in advance, as a stay at home mom any income I earn from my Amazon links is helpful financially to our family.**