****UPDATE: Hey Siestas! Our blog maintenance has been moved and will actually happen tomorrow, Friday, March 25 at 8:30AM. Thank you for your patience!
****QUICK HEADS UP: Thursday AM, March 24 (tomorrow) at 8:30, our LPM blog will be shut down for what we anticipate being only a couple of hours. (Hopefully at most.) We are remaining right here on WordPress and right here at exactly this same address but we are switching servers to better accommodate our high volume of activity and comments. SO, if you try to get on after 8:30 AM Thursday morning and can’t connect to the page, you’ll know why. Sometimes the transition can take even a day or two but they are not anticipating that length of time. One thing is for sure, we’ll be back the moment we’re up. Until then and after then, go right ahead with your rich comments to this post!
OK, Siestas! It’s time for a pop quiz! We haven’t had one in a while. This quiz is for those of you who read many of the comments from our previous post about the moment or season of your life when you had your biggest “HE IS REAL” revelation. (The post is named “For Real” just so you can be sure you’re reading the comments to the right one.) The question conveyed on the post was about the time when you moved from believing God exists (Hebrews 11:6) to knowing (2 Timothy 1:12).
Here are the instructions for the comments to this post for those who want to participate in our pop quiz: (No other comments besides these please on this one post. This is a test. Grin.)
Write 2 observations you find yourself making based on all the testimonies you read under the post called “For Real.” There is no right or wrong answer. No pass or fail. You’re just simply saying, after reading so many of those comments, these two things seem clear to me. I’m asking for 2 observations. Not 1. Not 3. But 2. (Can you hear the classroom teacher in me coming out to play?) Testimonies are powerful things. We’re meant to be effected by what we read. So, how were you effected?
NOW, here is the very important catch: YOU MAY NOT READ ANYBODY ELSE’S OBSERVATIONS BEFORE YOU WRITE YOURS. In other words, don’t look at the comments to this post until after you’ve written your own answers. These are meant to be your observations and no one else’s. Your reflections. Your take on those testimonies. Not another Siesta’s. You are all great thinkers. Think for yourself.
I absolutely love this community. Go at it, Girls! Students, come forth!
1. Each of us has a path. Our God planned path. Won’t have the same meaining, won’t result in the same Glory for God with any one else. So what I do on my path matters.
2. It’s not what you know. It’s when you know that the “who” – Jesus – you know is your Bridegroom, your Friend, your Rock, you Abba that the assurance becomes solid ground to walk forward on.
1. God appeared real for a lot of people in the midst of trials.
2. God works in our lives everyday. We can either acknowledge that it is God or fool ourselves into believing it was all about us.
1. That pain and seasons of darkness go before almost every story… “You will find Me when you seek me with all your heart.”
2. That to an atheist or non-believer, none of the testimonies alone would be evidence enough to convince them God is real without the Holy Spirit. Belief in God is a deep and personal walk for everyone who shared, and it has to begin with an open heart.
I’m amazed at how much generational faith I see so am praying for that in my own fractured family.
The stories of saints home goings compels me to get more of the good and keep less of the bad – in my heart and mind especially.
Now I’m peeking.
Hi Beth! Here are my two observations:
1. A few verses come to mind immediately:Proverbs 8:17 “I love those who love me, and those who SEEK me early and diligently shall FIND me.” John 14:21 “The person who has My commands and keeps them is the one who [really] loves Me; and whoever [really] loves Me will be loved by My Father, and I [too] will love him and will show (reveal, manifest) Myself to him. [I will let Myself be clearly seen by him and make MYSELF REAL TO HIM.]Jeremiah 29:13 “You will seek me and FIND ME when you seek me with ALL YOUR HEART.” ~Seems to me that God is more than willing to reveal Himself to us, but WE are the ones that are reluctant to SEEK Him!
2. By reading many of the testimonies and from personal experience, often times it isn’t until we come to the end of ourselves that we begin to seek Him. May we learn to seek Him AT ALL TIMES AND SEASONS in our lives 🙂
He makes himself known personally in 2 places:
1 – Our hearts
2 – Our physical world
He is so good! I am overwhelmed by how He intricately and personally speaks into and works in the lives of those that love and search for him.
1. Christ is So relentless after each and every heart! He finds a way to prove himself faithful through marriage and family struggles, illness and horrible accidents and even our own doubts and fears! He is so resourcful 🙂
2. Absolutely nothing in our lives is too big or too small for him to respond to. From providing a pair of pants to healing someone from a disease. He cares enough to hear our cries. How he loves us.
1. God is with us
2. God still speaks to us.
1. The proof of God’s existance is as individual to each of His children as their individual needs.
2. The deeper our faith walk, the more we notice He is right there, the whole time.
Jane, this moved me to tears. How simply and beautifully true. Thank you.
Without looking, scouts honor ( although I really want to)
here is what I observed God working in ordinary people’s lives through a personal relationship with Jesus and God’s Word speaking to their heart through trying times when God answered prayers, encouraged loved ones and blessed others.
I felt very thankful to God and very humbled by all the testimonies. I cried in my heart for those who suffered with children and I praised God for His love and His righteousness. My heart ached for those who went through sickness and death of loved ones.
__ Gee whiz, can we get a group hug here. It’s tearing me up inside… I never was good at taking test. I love all of you.
God bless you. in Christ
1. We are all great sinners.
2. God is indeed a great Savior.
Amen!
Observation 1: So many of the ones I read dealt with difficult times in our lives, often a sickness or something completely out of our control. How like God to show His steadfast love so stongly in a time where we cannot even try to defend ourselves?
Observation 2: We were meant to tell our stories! I could see how much joy it brought everyone to tell their story – let alone read everyone else’s. The hardships we endure and the nearness and comfort of God to God that it brings were meant not only for our benefit but also the benefit of our brothers and sisters.
I read dark times that led to The True Light shining into lives.
I read how The Word was used to confirm and encourage in personal ways.
After reading the posts, I found that:
1. God is present in times of trouble
2. Bad things happen, and we need Jesus
1)God truly loves me, his child.
2) I need to get closer to Him.
1. Life is hard.
2. God is always good, faithful, and trustworthy.
Two observations….
1. The first being how God is so good and while mighty and powerful, He is also tender and kind. And He is everywhere, right this very minute!
2. Reading through the testimonies I am strengthened in my clinging to the belief that God will get me through this season in my life. He will; not that He has to but I know He will.
Much love and thanks to all who have shared their stories,
michelle in VT
The two things that stuck out to me were:
1. People struggle.
2. God becomes real in and through difficult circumstances.
1. God works all things for good. All things. All things, ALL THINGS, even when we don’t see it.
2. He does also work in contingency, right? Even when we don’t listen, or we choose to be selfish, or we do something outside of Him, He grabs us, fixes us, and restores us. And the situation we may have messed up…
Beautiful stories, ladies! Love You all!
Observation #1 ~ He becomes overwhelming REAL to us during trials/suffering.
Observation #2 ~ We better sense His presence when we are desperately seeking Him.
1) We are in AWE of God
2) After acknowledging the *Realness* of God Our faith grew, and continues to grow
1. When we seek Him, we will find Him . . . but He might not look the way we thought He should.
2. His help is right on time, no matter what it looks or feels like to us.
Oh! 2 things I saw that resonnated with me:
1) Jesus literally saves lives. Many would truly be physically dead w/o Him, not just spiritually dead.
2) and as a follow up, He makes completely different people. Even unbelievers’ ability to recognized the impossible in a Sister’s life is a testimony to His Reality!
Love y’all!
rachel
1. Most of them start with pain, illness, trama, darkness. Honestly, it scares me to death to read most of them.
2. They end in the realization that the person must abandon self and surender to the will of Jesus.
When reading many of these posts, I am reminded how God STILL heals physical ailments if He chooses to. I know that in my head, but I want to believe it more too. The crazy thing is, I’ve seen it happen in my own life. These posts are great reminders.
I also love how powerful the word of God is. I can’t even explain how words on a page can have the amazing effect like the Bible. Incredible.
1. Take courage, friends, when tough times come. Following our faith doesn’t give us a free ride. We catch as much trouble as unbelievers—often more.
2. The difference, of course, is that we can turn to Yeshua/Jesus when things go wrong. Unbelievers might argue that we’re only turning to our imagination, but we “know” better! Because, we KNOW the One we turn to, the One Who makes all the difference! The One we have is Yeshua/Jesus … He’s ALL we have … and HE is enough!!! He is MORE than enough! Amen! In the dust of His feet, jean dean
This is fun 🙂
My observations:
1) The Lord often times reveals Himself to us in times of turmoil or crisis. (Siesta Mama, to be perfectly honest – this scares me and it often times makes me hesitant to dive in to my walk with Jesus wholeheartedly. And – just being real here – it makes me fear what’s to come in life when I ask for Him to reveal Himself to me. And I’m not sure what to do about it.)
2)Many of us deal with doubt and serious skepticism. It’s comforting to know I’m not the only one. Thanks, Beth, for treading into these waters.
Love and Blessings to you,
Kate 🙂
The first is how our God shows His presence to us in miraculous ways just when we need them.
Sounds silly, but I am in wonder of Him as he brings so many different siestas together to share our feelings and truths.
Joy, Peachtree City
#1 I felt their absolute sincerity.
#2 I felt their peace in leaning on our Lord’s sovereignty in some very sad situations.
Speaking of real! Did you see the “Heaven is for Real” segment on Fox news–and that PRECIOUS boy talking about seeing Jesus and sitting by the Holy Spirit–and God the Father, adopting his miscarried sister! (Oh, and he said that there are LOTS of animals there–so this must mean that our beloved dogs are going to be there too)! Here’s the link!:
http://video.foxnews.com/v/4600541/new-book-claims-heaven-is-for-real
Praise His name! I’m looking forward to heaven!!
I would say that little Todd knows that he knows that he knows that God is real! Great story!
I just watched it…AMAZING! Our God loves in a way that is simply AMAZING! thanks for sharing
1. God is near to the brokenhearted.
2. We can rely on His love (my scripture from last month, 1 John 4:16, has been proven true again and again in those comments!)
God uses others to minister to us and help us on our spiritual journeys all the time.
He speaks loud and clear…we have to listen.
1. Many knew when they experienced a miracle in their own life or the life of a family member or friend.
2. Others knew when they didn’t receive the miracle they prayed for, but they found our God faithful and they survived and are even thriving in the midst of tragedy.
1. God loves us so wholly, completely, fiercly, tenderly, infinitely, powerfully, and perfectly, and…
2. He will stop at nothing to show us or remind us of that.
These posts give testimony to the fact that God is a very personal God. No two testimonies are the same. God works in each of our lives very uniquely, according to who he created us to be and the very real and personal circumstances that He walks us through.
I also notice that it doesn’t take a major catastrophy for God to reveal himself to us. It can be a major situation or just a simple occurence for us to experience his “realness.”
1. No matter the problem, the lasting healing comes through God.
2. Don’t limit God by your expectations of what you want Him to do.
Surprising good can come from the most adverse situations.
I was sitting in a theater after a evangelistic movie and they gave an alter call, I thought, well, I have believed that and I don’t have to go forward, as I was literally propelled out of my seat and pulled down to the stage, where I confessed with my mouth what I had believed in my heart, that Jesus died for my sins. As I left that auditorium I kept looking down because I was sure I was walking in the air. That sin burden had rolled off me and I knew God was in me, my Hope of Glory. Years later when a friend died even though we had prayed faithfully and she wasn’t healed. I felt like maybe this wasn’t really REAL. After spending much time in prayer I was able to say like Peter, Where would I go Lord, if not to you, for you along have the words of life. Since then I have never doubted the fact of God and His presence in my life.
Biggest two observations:
1. I was humbled over and over at how difficult so many of y’all’s lives are. Real live, I-can-hardly-stand-it kind of pain. My heart wrenches and I’m ashamed at how quickly my little headaches can seem life threatening–right up until I get a fresh dose of what so many sisters are seriously struggling through. Bless you gals for sharing.
2. I’m so impressed with the tenacity with which these same darlings are following hard after our God. Please hear me clapping as I stand to me feet and applaud your examples of loving, obeying and seeking the God of the universe–smack dab in the middle of disastrous circumstances. How very much He must esteem each one of you. I’m honored to be counted a fellow siesta, my dear sisters in Christ.
We press on to take hold of that for which Jesus Christ has taken hold of us. My headache feels better already.
YES, Kathy. Great observations!! I agree.
Kathy,
You are a blessing! I feel the same way and now my headace feels better also. It touched my heart so much I plan to share some of this with our Sunday School class. Our lesson is on Stay the Course…Endure suffering with Joy.
Well said! I’m standing and clapping as well.
Ditto, Kathy! I stand in honor and clap with you! 🙂
1. God sometimes makes Himself physically know and sometimes emotionally known so that we will know He is for REAL.
2. All of us are different in how we need to see God is for REAL: some need facts and history, some need physical needs met or need to “feel” Him or His presence, some need to see changes in their lives or others, some need “signs” or wonders in their everyday life, some just need His Word to speak or jump out to them…we are all different in how we know that God is REAL. But He is for REAL!
1. God is faithful as proven through his people.
2. Evidence of God is shown profoundly in our weakness/failure/sin and He loves us unfathomably!
The two things I noticed were these:
1. We seem to find God the most in our trials or sufferings.
2. He is always faithful to comfort us and love on us!
1.God designed each one of us-knit us together in our mother’s womb, each of us is an individual to Him and He shows himself “real” uniquely to each of us so we can know Him.
2.When I come to the end of me, relying on myself or anyone else, fall on my face in surrender, fall into His Unfailing Love filled arms that is when I begin to know Him.
1. When one siesta’s world was crashing around her and she cried out, “Where are you?” Next thing she knows is that God showed himself to her in so many ways. When we are at our lowest the best thing we can do is look UP 🙂
2. The sweet siesta just wanting so much to love God and Jesus and questioning the way women are portrayed in the Bible. I can see where those questions and doubts can enter into your heart and mind. I hope she keeps searching and I hope God shows her in His word and in her life that he is very real and his love is very real for all of us, most importantly, God’s love and forgiveness are UNCONDITIONAL. No mattered how flawed we believe we are, in his eyes we are his creation and we are all pleasing to his eye.
1. there was much suffering spoken of. but it seemed most everyone felt the LORD’s presence in the mist of their trials.
2.it is insatiable reading. I could not quit. I had to see how else in our AWESOME GOD is working in peoples lives. I am so encouraged!!!
1. The first observation I took was that everybody could connect their testimony of how God is real to some thing in the Bible. A passage, a story, and moment. They know their Bible!
2. The other observation is that each one had an AHA! moment. Where they truly felt God made a difference in their life or in the life of some one they had been praying for or simply knew.
#1 = a humble heart
#2 = grace to cover me
1. I don’t remember anyone saying, ” And everything was perfect and God showed up.”
2. The Word. The Word. The Word. That kept coming up over and over. People saw God in the Word.
( Now, I cannot wait to read what everyone else has to say.)
1. Each person seems to be in a hard/difficult place
2. God meets us in our hard places and reveals Himself.
Praise and glorify Him and Him alone!!
1) It was an eye opener to read all the heartache that women have in our world today. But through the heartache is where God became real to ALL!!
2) I am SO blessed and I don’t have a reason as to why! After reading what others have/are going through my road has been blessed and there is nothing I have done to deserve it.
The first thing I observe is that we see God clearer when we are going through a trial or tribulation in our life.
I’m not sure about the second but maybe that God is always faithful and he always brings us out stronger on the other side.