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A 12th Month That Redeems a Year from LPV on Vimeo.
A 12th Month That Redeems a Year
126 Responses to “A 12th Month That Redeems a Year”
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Having gone through a broken friendship this year, separation from my family to pursue a teaching career in a foreign country,emotional distress and relapsed into self-pity to cope with the pain and stress, I am fed up and have resolved not to be battle-weary but praying and expecting with you, Ms Beth. No words can say how I am clinging on to God for what He can do, in and through a really broken vessel like me.
Thank you for your unwavering authenticity in offering a genuine and passionate service to the body of Christ. Us brothers are ministered too, by spiritual mothers like you!
Sam, from the UK
Thank you for this post!! I love your insight in the word. I am hoping to receive some awesome news tomorrow and I really feel like the prayers I said after this bible time helped!!
Create in me a clean heart, O God,
and put a new and right[a] spirit within me — Psalm 51:10 NRSV
THANKS so much for your special work and this special word! I did not know how this 12th month would be redeemed.
It has been a tough year for my family–3 men that I love: my husband and my son and my brother have gone through crisis in health. I was dreading the outcomes and yet believed God would carry us through. Within the last week we got news of a negative CT scan for the possibility of lymphoma; a negative blood test for the possibility of cancer; and a miraculous intervention yesterday that prevented another possible subarachnoid bleed in the head of my Dr brother. God is so amazing. I do know that if the outcomes would have been different His grace would have carried us; I also know there are those today facing sad diagnoses and uncertain outcomes. I do not deserve good news but praising God for the redemption He brings to us through it all! Thanks Beth!!
2 years ago I found out my husband was unfaithful. I tried to fix it. Couldn’t. So, in February of 2013 I filed for divorce after 28 years. I got a new job and moved away from Houston, where I’d lived all 48 years. Everything has been unsettled and in turmoil. December 13, I closed on my very own house!!!! It was a true miracle. I’ve not been settled for 2 years and with a stroke of a pen, I have a place to settle. My husband walked out and left me with $1.39 after a few bills were paid. I lost my house, lived where I could, survived. Broken-hearted but holding on to God, this horrible season has been redeemed. To some it’s just a house. To me, it’s a new beginning, a fresh start and a promise of God’s faithfulness. I am lavishly blessed.
I am crying tears of joy this morning, as I have realized God has redeemed this year for my family and me. He has saved two lives, a job, and answered one of the deepest and often prayed prayers of my heart. There is so much more to this story but for the sake of privacy I can’t share all the details. This year has been one of the hardest of my life. I have faced fears I thought would destroy me. Praise God that He never leaves or forsakes His children. Had it not been for the hand of God holding my family and I up and His divine intervention I would have buried a family member from suicide and another one from illness all at the same time. Both of my loved ones are still with us and this past week, He gave a job back I thought was lost for good. My family and I are living proof that God still does miracles. He is so worthy of PRAISE. I can’t thank Him enough for all that He has done for me. God REDEEMED this year for me, a year that I thought was on of death and destruction. I know God took something satan meant for evil but, God meant it for good. It is only by the power of the Most High that any of this could have worked out the way it has. Praise to the one true living God. I am so thankful that He is my Savior and my Redeemer.
I remember a conversation with a friend for whom 2013 was a tragic year. She said she’d be happy to say good bye to this year. At that point I had to agree. But since a transformative trip in late November to see my precious BFF who is a dear woman of God, the Lord began to turn things around for me. He has spoken to me by His Spirit and changed me through his word, made completely unexpected changes around me and seems to be opening doors to a whole new adventure in Him that no man can shut. I am seeing Him redeem this entire year here in the last four to five weeks of it. Yours was a word in due season, you heard the voice of the Spirit, Beth. Thank you for bringing to my attention the redemptive works of God happening all around me. You’re a blessing, dear sister, more than words can say. May your family see our Redeemer turn it ALL around.
The week of Thanksgiving my mom was diagnosed with a super rare and aggressively (spreads fast) blood cancer. She had a 4 cm (size of a lime) tumor. Every report we received from the doctors was bad and really scary. My dad and I were terrified that she was going to die. The doctors told us that it would be a long (5 year) and hard (a lot of chemo and radiation) treatment.
We were all praying and believing for her healing. This Word from God really ministered to and lifted my heavily doubtful heart. I prayed that God would bring about a turn around in momma’s life so that many may come to know and praise Him.
On December 20, 2013, Momma’s PET scan came back and showed that she is CANCER FREE!!! Praise God, He is faithful and healed my momma!! She doesn’t have to have any chemo or radiation. The doctors at MD Anderson in Houston, TX are baffled and shocked!
Thank you for being a willing servant of God. He used you to speak to my heart. I love you and am praying for you and your ministry.
My family has been going through years of relational issues after our home got robbed in June 2010. I believe this whole thing to be an attack from the enemy himself, who came to steal, kill, and destroy. Satan had completely torn us apart by using lack of forgiveness as his weapon…until December 2013.
A brief background…I am 28 years old and my family consists of an older sister (33 yrs. old) and a brother-in-law and my two parents. My mom, sister, and I are incredibly close. In many ways, I’m reminded of our relationship when Siesta Mama speaks of her relationship with her daughters.
My family–the five of us–haven’t spent Thanksgiving, Christmas, Easter, Mother’s Day, Father’s Day, birthdays, anniversaries…(nothing!) together in years since June 2010. At times the emotional heartaches have been physically painful.
At the beginning of this year, New Years Eve 2012 right before Passion 2013 to be exact, I wrote my family a letter pleading for them to forgive one another and reconcile, for life is too short. The letter produced no fruit…no results. Everyone went about his or her own ways and pretty much ignored me. That was disheartening.
In June of this year, my young, active, healthy, 32-year old brother-in-law unexpectedly had several mini-strokes, a blood clot in his brain, and had to undergo open-heart surgery to remove a tumor on the outside and inside of his heart.
The only thing I wanted for Christmas this year was for my entire family to be together. And THAT IS EXACTLY WHAT HAPPENED! God redeemed my family and all of our years of struggle and brought beauty from the ashes. The five of us spent Christmas together for the first time in years. We put our 21-year old Nativity Set up together, listened to Christmas music, had the fireplace going, and watched movies together. Jesus was the unseen but ever felt guest at our dining table on Christmas Day and all week long throughout the house. God blew breath into the dry bones of my family and brought us back to life…
Siesta Mama, thank you SO very much for obeying God’s prompting to research the “12th Month,” and for faithfully sharing it with your Siestas. It challenged me to pray more fervently than ever for my family and increased my faith A TON.
Oh, and thank you also for your tweet on December 17:
“The most expensive gifts can’t be wrapped. For big spenders:
1) Let somebody off the hook.
2) Forgive a long grudge & quit bringing it up.”
This stirred something deep in my dad who had been harbouring grudge for a looooooong time.
We finished off this week by celebrating my parents’ 22nd wedding anniversary yesterday (Dec. 27). My mom said this was the best Christmas and Anniversary weekend EVER. I am in 100% agreement. REDEMPTION!
I will confidently say that the enemy did NOT claim 2013 for me or my family. While we have been through much heartache (figuratively and literally), we will always remember 2013 to be “the year when the Lord redeemed our family”…
Great is His faithfulness.
All my love,
Poorna
Reston, Va.
P.S. If anyone made it through this “comment”, I’m soooo sorry it ended up being SO long!!!
I loved this video blog and watched it many times and prayed for my 12th month to redeem 2013…and it did. After trying for 15 months to get pregnant on December 22nd I finally saw a positive home pregnancy test! We are having a baby! 2013 was filled with tears and disappointments but in the 12th month our God redeemed the entire year. Do not lose hope. Keep praying and believing God for that miracle. He will come through in His time, the perfect time.
Beth, I loved this devotional. 2013 has ended with yet more bad news for me, but God! He is not done with it yet. This post on my blog is my response to my “not-so-fun” 2013. I thought you might enjoy it.
http://nicolequerido.com/2013/12/long-2013looking-forward-harvest/
Praying for a harvest in 2014 for both of us!
Beth, thanks for your obedience to bring the Word. I am just receiving this today dec 29th. Yes, I will def pray with you that this not be a defeated year. My father, a retired southern Baptist preacher from Hendersonville, Tn, took his own life in January 2013. It has been a difficult journey the entire year! For my sweet family. He suffered from bipolar depression and I know he is with The Lord as I write this – that is Victory. He is at the Kings table and is getting the allowance you spoke of. I am so thankful for that reminder in scripture. That makes my heart sing. It is a difficult road for us as survivors, to jump over the milestones, holidays and birthdays and I have found myself wishing the year away just to be done with all the “firsts”. Tears flood my eyes as I reflect upon all that was laid on your heart to say to us in this 15 mins. I am blessed by it. My mom sent me the link I haven’t spoken to her yet but, I know her heart was blessed as well. I look back and have lost a a great deal of the year, just being in a fog that a loss like this brings. However I do surrender it all to Christ and trust Him with all my broken heart and He is merciful to mend. Praise The Lord! My prayer is that my dads life/death bring strength to my life song and that the heartache and brokenness be replaced in my family. It also Brings me, eyes wide open, into the new year, aware that so many others have faced loss in many forms and death in 2013. I join in with you to raise my hands in victory not in defeat, to heaven knowing God stands as Victor no matter what our obstacles this side of Heaven . The Enemy stands on an finish line that is only an illusion of defeat and failures. I refuse to turn in my chip there! I press on desiring to relinquish my runners chip to The Lord and to have Him calculate the victory, it is His! I ran for Him. Thanks again, my friend.
Dear Beth,
First, I want you to know this is the first time I’ve ever left a comment on a blog of anyone’s. But, I just had to share my story with you and hopefully it will touch others as well.
I had a dear friend of mine post this particular blog post on Facebook and I sat one night with my bible and watched it, got down on my knees and prayed with you and then went on with life as usuall.
Background: My husband and I have been in a financial downfall for about six years now. He worked at the family business that started to slowly decline in business six years ago. Then, four years ago he had to go get a second job which did not cover our monthly bills, but he still had side jobs for the business for the short fall. This year has been the worst thus far. The family business is no longer. We had no idea what we should do. On the verge of loosing our house and everything else. Not knowing if this new year would mean moving or not. I look back at my journal entries and my prayers have been the same for most of these last six years and I started questioning what was it that we were missing. I begged The Lord for most of these years to please shows us we wanted to be obedient to his calling.
After listened to this blog post it stirred inside of me for about a week, then I had a major meltdown. I laid on the floor crying out to God and just told him take it all God I’m so tired of having this burden on me, please Father give us a change in this 12th month weather we like it or not because I can’t go another year like this. I was just so tired.
Background: My husband was up for his review in August which usually meant some sort of a raise. He went to his boss in October and expressed our personal issues to him (not easy for him to do) and ask if there was anyway he could a moved to a different position, more hours, anything. ( my husband is a very hard worker has never missed a day of work in his four years at his new job) His boss told him he would look into some things and get back with him. Thanksgiving came, still no news! His boss had told him he hadn’t forgotten about him he just has been busy. By the first of December I was even more confused. The Lord was being so silent yet with us every step. I didn’t understand WHY the wait in this situation, why was this continuing to be such a delay.
Finally on Christmas Eve he was told he would get his review! I thought to myself,” are you kidding me?? On Christmas Eve?? I encouraged my husband and said,” whatever happens The Lord already knows and it’s the best thing for us. I told him prior about the story of how our Gid does great things in the 12th month and this 12th month was no different.
Well, the review went well. He was put on a salary that is just enough to cover our month bills along with a movement in the company. I still haven’t grasp this! This is the first time in our (almost) 15 years of marriage that Our finances match on paper. The Lord has ALWAYS, ALWAYS provided for us, but if a financial guy looked at our finances he/she would have never known how we have managed for this long where we are at. But, we do!
I so wish I could write out all the changes we have had to made and all the ways that The Lord has blessed us over these last six years, but I know there is not enough room.
Thank you so much for your obedience in The Lord and sharing what he puts on your heart. I love to hear what he has to say through you. It has spoken so many truths into my life for several years. I’ve done several of your studies and always walk away feeling challenge and closer the The Lord. Here’s to having a new prayer in my journal starting in 2014. That we may be obedient with what The Lord has so graciously given us!
Dear Beth, A few days after you posted it, your encouraging “12th Month of the Year” video had my husband and I on our knees praying with you for a special intervention from God as our difficult(we’ve faced some of the same issues you have in your dear family) 2013 was coming to an end.
About four years ago, I started writing a paragraph each day listing the things I had to thank God for within the past 24 hours. On NYE I decided to page thru my journal/prayer notebook for 2013, and the LORD quickly drew my attention to all these blessings and gifts and things I had to be thankful for in EACH AND EVERY day of 2013 (even in the midst of the sad and heartbreaking and discouraging times)! I also realized that the greatest of these daily blessings was HIS abiding presence with us and in us through it all. We know JESUS better and trust HIM more deeply because of the past year!
As I recently read in the Bible study of yours I’m currently doing, “The best time to count your blessings can be when you are tempted to think you don’t have any,” For sure I am no longer tempted to think that way! And I’m entering this New Year with Psalm 105:4 in my heart: “Keep your eyes open for God! Watch for His works. Be alert for signs of His presence” as we continue to pray for God’s intervention in our family and circumstances.
Thank you so much for your timely and faith-filled message. I’m praying for your family too. xoxox
This video not only was inspiring and uplifting but came with the hope that God could work a miracle before the end of the year for our family. We went through a very challenging and difficult year on 2013. My husband was laid off from work in March and had been through the process of finding a job for 9 months by the time I watched the video. Needless to say, the title to this video caught my attention. Let me start by saying that I watched it on December 16th. So I found myself trying to trust and believe God – that He can do in couple of days what has not happened in 9 months. I prayed with Beth and then trying to convince myself that God can do it. I say trying to convince – because there was a part of me that questioned if God was really able to redeemed our year given the time frame. I had to take into account that Christmas was upon us so in reality there was less time for God to work on something. I am pleased to announce that not only God worked a miracle but withiin 24 hours of me watching the video my husband was contacted for an interview and a month later he was landed a great job with a company that he has been trying to get in for over 20 years. YES, God is trustworthy and REAL! God is AMAZING!