****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!
It was hard not to look at any other comments, but here are my 2 observations:
1) God delights in us when we are real with Him.
2) He is FAITHFUL!
They were desperate, hopeless and hurting. They found God was real through hard times.
1. Most revelations were during times in the valley as opposed to mountaintop experiences.
2. Once someone learns that God is real they never forget it.
(1st time contributor . . too good to pass up!)
My 2 observations to the testimonies are:
1) the testimonies are either totally Scripture verses;
or
2) the person is still abiding in the Lord years after some extraordinary experience or revelation the Lord gave during a very emotional or difficult time.
1. God is intensely and intimately personal.
2. It is often through our darkest trials that God’s presence is most profoundly experienced.
after reading the REAL comments, 2 things are evident to me:
1. God is sovereign.
2. Our faith is built up through trials.
1. He is here with us.
2. Praise comes with the recognition of his presence.
okay so I have scrolled down rather quickly.
1. God is The cornerstone of our Faith
2 “He IS” Eternally present
God knows the deep longings of heart even before we put voice to them. And He will use anything and all things to draw us to Him!
1)At some point, even those who have grown up in “church”, experience a crisis point where they have to choose that God is real, and that their faith must be their own, not just their parents and church family. But only when they are truly seeking, not just taking it for granted.
2) God often uses great difficulty and trials as a means to make His personal connection seem the most real to His children.
#1. God IS Real…..the testimonies given were evidence enough, even though God gives us infinitely more. I have my own “For Real” testimonies, and after reading I realized even more how important it is to GIVE testimony. Testify to His Love!!
#2. This is a broken world, filled with much pain and sorrow, YET God is so at work creating beauty for ashes………His Grace……..Much hope!!
1. It doesn’t matter where we come from…we all needed to know God’s unconditional, overwhelming, furious love.
2. Jesus really does transform lives from the inside out. Nothing else could do it but the power of Jesus could.
My observations:
1) We are not exempt from the difficulties of life. Tradgedies, illnesses, heartaches, are all a part of our journey; our common experience.
2) If we are seeking Him through these difficulties, regardless of the outcome, God speaks to us and shows Himself to be REAL and faithful and we learn to relate to each other and share His love.
1) That God shows Himself in SO many DIFFERENT ways, but His Character remains the SAME: He is good, faithful, and he desires to bring great things out of each and every situation, FOR HIS GLORY ALONE.
2) His realness often became the clearest during harships and trials.. not when everything was rosy and peachy.
: )
Each person’s testimony usually includes a specific prayer and what is the beginning or building of a personal relationship with our God and Father.
WOW…
1. i needed to be reminded of His faithfulness.
2. i needed to be reminded He has all my needs under His capable care
My two observations:
This world is filled with great pains and deep sorrows.
This world is blessed with God’s healing touch and great joy…if we choose to see it.
1. Those who have experienced Him for real all seem to have had similar experiences – this affirms His realness (for me at least!) 2. A lot of us feel like we were in a PIT that He literally picked us up out of and put us on solid ground – we can see that break in life before Christ and after Christ.
1. I’m so encouraged that we Siestas ARE so convinced of the Truth.
2. We’re all very alike, we just handle our different issues differently from one another. (life and temptations are really common to man) But really we need to stop being stepford believers and be real with each other and help one another along the path more often. And not just with gossip or anecdotes but with pure Scripture alone. It’s our only real compass to true Truth.
Two things I noticed after the “For Real” posts were:
#1. God never leaves us to figure it out all on our own and alone. He is always present even when the storms that rage in our life seem to be never ending. Our rainbow will come in his time.
#2. I realized that God has been at work truly blessing my entire life so far beyond what I could see until reading the posts from everyone. I was completely humbled and brought to tears numerous times by reading through some of the deepest, darkest valleys that our sisters in Christ have been through in their lives. I realized that honestly the struggles I’m dealing with and have had in my past seem minor in comparison with some of the heart felt stories of truth and raw emotion that I read. My own selfishness and “poor pitiful me” moments that I have were pushed back from my mind, lifted like a heavy fog, and the blessings from my Lord and Savior were revealed so clearly to my heart.
This I now know….God is so good and I feel it beyond measure in my soul, heart, and mind. Thank you everyone that shared, it did more than you will ever know in this lady’s life, and that is For Real!
#1. God loves us more than I know.
#2. There are so many godly, deeply spiritually wise, women that it encourages my heart. Well, it does more than encourage; it shores up my faith at the very core of my being.
Again, I wish I could say it better.
Trying to talk out my #2 observation, perhaps it would be better to say that: seeing so many women who have been affected by a living, real God and as a result are godly, wise women, shores us my faith in a very real way.
mk,
You are so right on about our sharing with each other doing more than just giving encouragement! I have tears in my eyes just thinking about how much God wants us to open up and share with others…about the good, the bad, the in between AND how God was with us through it all. Satan, on the other hand, whispers to us that we shouldn’t share this or that because…[insert your own fear here].
Thank you for sharing in just the right words!
Tanya
1) God pursues us because He loves us SO much…He doesn’t give up on us.
2) He meets us right where we are and delivers us, provides for us, delights in us.
1. God is in control.
2. God is always faithful.
1. Many of the testimonies (mine included)were from those of us raised in church…most likely saved even who found themselves knowing about God but not KNOWING Him. Incredibly humbling.
2. Miracles miracles miracles miracles miracles. We have NO REASON WHATSOEVER to doubt that HE IS STILL a God who loves to show off and blow our minds. GREATER THINGS ARE YET TO COME!!!!!
1) God becomes real in our lives when we are in a crisis or at the end of ourselves with no where else to turn.
2) God uses testimonies to let us know we are not alone in these life experiences, and we relate to other people’s stories in a personal way that touches us deeply.
1. Every person is on a roller coaster. We ALL have seasons of ups and downs in the strength of our faith and intimacy with Jesus. (Sounds an awful lot like marriage to me. Hmmmmm. That whole marriage being a picture of us & Jesus thing suddenly seems to make more sense.)
2. God delights in our wrestling things out with Him. He’s not afraid to get messy. And sometimes He even holds an answer to prayer back just to give us a chance to get messy & personal about it with Him before He answers. He loves the intimacy we have with Him when we’re in the middle of that struggle & vocal with Him over it:)
9 days ’til Fresno! Wheeeeeeeeeeeeeee!!!
1. Silver’s dross is refined out through fire. Translation, there will be a test and it will bend our knee or break us to peaces.
2. His mercy is extraordinary and so very personal.
1) Low is frequently when you “know”.
2) I have much for which to be thankful.
1. We know He is real because He has changed us. Something we couldn’t have done without Him (maybe didn’t even know we needed to do until He showed us).
2. He has been faithfull over and over again. Even people who shared more than one way they knew He is real still didn’t share all of the reasons. Most of us could have written a book easier than a paragraph.
Lisa
If she had allowed to put 3 – evidence of Change! Hallelujah!
1. Reading testimonies of what God has done is like a refreshing cup of water in a dry and thirsty place…I drank it up. So very encouraging!
2. It is amazing to see how many times we see God during the trials and hard things of life. Over and over, I was reminded how it is often when we are desperate when we see His loving arms around us. Father, please do what it takes to keep us looking at you and listening to you.
Two things I noticed is:
1 God is alive in people’s lives even as He is making providing abundant life to them.
2. God is actively working in every day events; large and small.
1) He is SO PERSONAL … willing to reveal Himself to us in a billion different ways because we’re all so different. Only God could be that creative!!!
2) We need to TESTIFY. This post for example … builds up the body of Christ.
1) There is often a painful situation that leads to knowing He is real
2) Coming to know Him brought JOY (not always happiness but JOY)
Ooo good point!
I learned alot but here are 2..
1. that when people are seeking Him, they will find Him
2. He is so faithful to show Himself to those in desperate need of a revelation!
You’ve made me think! 🙂
1. We all, regardless of age, marital status, or location, are daughters of the most awesome God! He loves every one of us in the way we need to be loved at a certain time in our lives, but loves us all the same!
2. It’s obvious to me that Christians have hearts for other people! We can pray for everyone, whether we know them personally or they’re Siestas on our blog. A friend reminded me this morning to be sure to ‘share a heart thought’ with someone today!
I love this interaction – back and forth with each other and you Miss Beth!
Two things I notice about experiences with our real God:
1. God does things in our circumstances that show He is very aware of where we’re at in life AND what we’re thinking and feeling (many times responding about something personal that we haven’t shared with anyone)
2. His intervention is a blessing that has long lasting effects on the person involved and sometimes others as well
Needs are provided for and our faith is strengthened all at the same time. Nothing wasted –
Love to you all – Becky
1. Everyone experiences difficulties.
2. God does not leave us or forsake us!
My observations:
1. Everyone doubts. At some time,some point, in some way – we all have doubts.
2. God doesn’t seem to mind. What He does for us, in us or around us is NOT based on our doubts, fears or lack there of. He woo’s us….. over and over and continuously until we no longer doubt. It’s then that we KNOW.
I love that about God. 🙂
1. Most people come to the realization that God is real during times of adversity in their lives.
2. God is faithful; He does answer prayer; and after we have suffered a little while, we will be stronger for our faith in Him.
1) Most comments convey a season/time of hardship, trial, persecution, or near death experience when they felt God was the most real to them.
2) After feeling God being the most real to them, all those who commented(that I read anyway:)have had a stronger, growing, maturing life ever since!
Eva, Knoxville
1. Even though we have all had such varied responses, God is real to all of us
2. God is present and working in all of our lives, he is not dead.
Well the 2 things I observed were
1. That thru our trials God is with us
2. That thru the hard times and the valleys He is faithful
Carol
1. So many times confirmation that God exists and is working in our lives comes through or after the hardest crisis in our life.
2. God wants us to believe He exists so He is lovingly willing to show us.
After reading these testimonies two things seem clear:
1. God is right in the middle of the pain, yuck, hurt, chaos and ugliness of life on this planet to show His unfailing love, enduring faithfulness and unending mercy and amazing grace to us, His daughters.
2. Our experience with God is not limited to just us individually. Each of these testimonies had an impact and affected others in some way. Others are allowed in to see God answer prayer and use the power of His Word in the events where He is making Himself known. Amen, sisters..
OK
1)HE wants to be found! Seek HIM! (Jer.29:13)
2)HE LOVES US infiniately!
My two observations would be:
1. the ahh-ha lightbulb “HE IS REAL” moment for most came in a season of desperation when those ladies just let go…let go and let Him.
2. the “HE IS REAL” moment didn’t magically fix their lives/problem but certainly let them know they aren’t alone, but that He is there when we feel most alone.
…now off to read what everyone else said. 🙂
1. “Coincidences” have encouraged many people to take their faith to the next level — “coincidences” of God meeting an actual specific physical need, or of a particular verse really hitting you where needed.
2. The experience of God “speaking” to people in the daytime, but also at night has brought increased faith. He so wants to communicate His love to us that He will do so even when we are asleep!
Cool. #1. These testimonies cause me to fall even more in love with God. #2. On days that I am feeling overwhelmed, I will return to these testimonies to be edified.
Love.
1. God is enough.
2. This is horrible grammer but, our tough situations are not for nothing! There is purpose behind them!
(A LOT of them sure encouraged me this week!)
hugs,
steph.
God is enough… that says it all!
Okay….I’ve read several of the other post and now I think I may have misunderstood the question. Sorry…