I have had an interesting journey the past two years. Not that I have dealt with a major illness of a family member, loss of a job or a traumatic event. I have learned I believe a valuable lesson in humility and faith in the Lord.
I started two years ago pursing a degree in nursing. I diligently have been studying updating my science pre reqs and continued to pray for the doors to open and me to begin my degree when I was ready. Well as many of you might already have guessed that was my first problem. When I was ready.
No matter how hard I studied, or how well I did on tests, the rejection letters continued to fill the mailbox, semester after semester. The first one was the hardest. Several good Christian friends of mine almost simultaneously filled my e-mail in box with ,"wow I can't wait to see what the Lord has in store for you". I can honestly say I didn't really get that. I knew what I wanted, I had a plan. Why was the Lord not listening to all my prayers?
Well throughout the course of waiting the Lord has really blessed me with the opportunity to learn some life altering lessons. It is so easy for me to get focused on my needs and my plan for this life. I was completely blind to what the Lord was wanting for me right now. This time off has given me the chance to grow spiritually, in faithfulness and really learn what it means to trust in the Lord. For the first time in my life I have begun to take the backseat and am more willing to let God take lead. I still have to remind myself every so often to let go and let God lead. I know he has plans for my life and the things he wants from me are far more than I could ever begin to imagine. "Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us, to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, for ever and ever." Ephesians 3:20
The old me would have seen this "time off" from school a waste, a failure on my part. But how can that possibly me when I have personally felt the love, assurance and comfort from a stronger relationship with the Lord. God bless.
Wednesday, March 18, 2009
Saturday, January 31, 2009
As a lot of you know Dean and I had a tornado that came through our property on May 30, 2008. We had quite a bit of damage, as did all of our neighbors. We have since gotten through this, with the help of family, friends, and our church family at Genesis, and for the better of it I might add. We both see the tornado as a blessing for serveral different reasons and I would like to share one of those reasons now.
In Dec. 2006 my Mom passed away and it was a very trying time for my family. I had a brother and a sister that for the most part was not speaking to me since her death. My brother, Donnie and I had been very close our whole lives. We had gone through 12 years of school together and alot of good and bad times as well. (That's another story in itself.)
I had been praying to God after my Mom passed away to please help me find a way to get my brother back in my life. I needed him so badly and I missed him terribly. Every time I would try and call him to talk or stop by his house he would almost act like I was a complete stranger to him and one he didn't like much at all. I continued to pray and cry about this but put it completely into God's hands and tried to go one with my every day living without my brother being in it.
Well I'm here to tell you that God does answer prayers but maybe not in a way that you had in mind. I am happy to say that one of the things that the tornado brought was my brother back into my life. The tornado happened around 10:00 that night and all the electrical and telephone lines and poles had been snapped in half all the way down our road. Needless to say there were so many trees and lines on the road that it took workers until 8:00 the next morning to get our road cleared so people could get to everyone. Thank God no one was hurt. (That's a miracle in itself.) The first person that walked into my yard that morning was my brother. He proceeded to tell me that he had been trying tince 2:30 that morning to get to us and couldn't get through. I stopped right then and thanked God for that tornado. For I believe that is what put my brother and I back on the right path with each other.
I am happy to tell you that things have been great between us since that horrible night. I will forever be grateful to God for answering my prayer. And I have learned that in His time all things are possible. Don't ever give up when times are tough. Turn to God and He will give you His love and guidance. He will never let you down.
Love In Christ,
Kathy Ferge
In Dec. 2006 my Mom passed away and it was a very trying time for my family. I had a brother and a sister that for the most part was not speaking to me since her death. My brother, Donnie and I had been very close our whole lives. We had gone through 12 years of school together and alot of good and bad times as well. (That's another story in itself.)
I had been praying to God after my Mom passed away to please help me find a way to get my brother back in my life. I needed him so badly and I missed him terribly. Every time I would try and call him to talk or stop by his house he would almost act like I was a complete stranger to him and one he didn't like much at all. I continued to pray and cry about this but put it completely into God's hands and tried to go one with my every day living without my brother being in it.
Well I'm here to tell you that God does answer prayers but maybe not in a way that you had in mind. I am happy to say that one of the things that the tornado brought was my brother back into my life. The tornado happened around 10:00 that night and all the electrical and telephone lines and poles had been snapped in half all the way down our road. Needless to say there were so many trees and lines on the road that it took workers until 8:00 the next morning to get our road cleared so people could get to everyone. Thank God no one was hurt. (That's a miracle in itself.) The first person that walked into my yard that morning was my brother. He proceeded to tell me that he had been trying tince 2:30 that morning to get to us and couldn't get through. I stopped right then and thanked God for that tornado. For I believe that is what put my brother and I back on the right path with each other.
I am happy to tell you that things have been great between us since that horrible night. I will forever be grateful to God for answering my prayer. And I have learned that in His time all things are possible. Don't ever give up when times are tough. Turn to God and He will give you His love and guidance. He will never let you down.
Love In Christ,
Kathy Ferge
Tuesday, January 13, 2009
Joan Jackson's Testimony
I loved hearing Ashley's testimony yesterday. It is exciting to see how God provides when we make ourselves available to serve.
My story is very different. I went to IU to have fun and try to get a degree without taking a foreign language. I accomplished both of these goals and also met "prince charming". He didn't ride up to the sorority house on a white charger, but I decided a red mustang was close enough. Tom and I were married and had a daughter, a son, a good job, and a cute house. I had gone to church all my life and believed in God and Jesus, but I was 29 years old before I heard that God cared about my individual life. I couldn't believe the contentment I felt letting him be in charge of my life instead of me. The changes were slow in the beginning, but the more I took God at his word, and confessed my selfish actions, words and thoughts, the more He changed me and my heart attitudes.
I was a "stay at home" mom. I took care of the house and garden and children. We were active in our church and para church groups. I led women's Bible Studies and did some speaking at retreats. When I met business associates of Tom's and they would ask me what I did, it sounded pretty boring I guess.
Our son, Mike's, senior year in high school I was in an accident and had damage to my 1st and 2nd vertebrae and shattered the bones in the right side of my face. That began a long recuperation and a life of chronic pain.
But.......God still had things to do in my life. I continued to serve in leadership roles in our church. God led me to begin a business as a General Contractor building custom homes. I've had the opportunity to fulfill a dream that my family didn't share with me, to see the Grand Canyon. In fact I hiked to the bottom with some girlfriends and spend the night at the Phantom Ranch and hiked back out the next day.
I've also had the opportunity to go to the Ukraine four times on mission trips and to have Ukrainian friends stay in my home when they are in the United States.
I wanted to share some of my story with you, to encourage you. I think that some of you may listen to Ashley's story and think, "It's too late for me to do anything. I'm locked into responsibilities and life. She's young and has so many choices."
When you let God have your life, it will be an adventure. He has things in store for you that you might not imagine in your wildest dreams. When you give your days and your life to Christ, He will make it count. He does have a purpose for you, that only you can fulfill. As long as we draw breath, we should say, "What's the next step, Lord?"
Sometimes I want to draw back and just coast, but that doesn't take much faith. He wants to take you places where, unless He shows up it will be certain failure. He wants to show you that His grace is sufficient to give you strength in every situation. He will enable you to do His will. He promises!
My story is very different. I went to IU to have fun and try to get a degree without taking a foreign language. I accomplished both of these goals and also met "prince charming". He didn't ride up to the sorority house on a white charger, but I decided a red mustang was close enough. Tom and I were married and had a daughter, a son, a good job, and a cute house. I had gone to church all my life and believed in God and Jesus, but I was 29 years old before I heard that God cared about my individual life. I couldn't believe the contentment I felt letting him be in charge of my life instead of me. The changes were slow in the beginning, but the more I took God at his word, and confessed my selfish actions, words and thoughts, the more He changed me and my heart attitudes.
I was a "stay at home" mom. I took care of the house and garden and children. We were active in our church and para church groups. I led women's Bible Studies and did some speaking at retreats. When I met business associates of Tom's and they would ask me what I did, it sounded pretty boring I guess.
Our son, Mike's, senior year in high school I was in an accident and had damage to my 1st and 2nd vertebrae and shattered the bones in the right side of my face. That began a long recuperation and a life of chronic pain.
But.......God still had things to do in my life. I continued to serve in leadership roles in our church. God led me to begin a business as a General Contractor building custom homes. I've had the opportunity to fulfill a dream that my family didn't share with me, to see the Grand Canyon. In fact I hiked to the bottom with some girlfriends and spend the night at the Phantom Ranch and hiked back out the next day.
I've also had the opportunity to go to the Ukraine four times on mission trips and to have Ukrainian friends stay in my home when they are in the United States.
I wanted to share some of my story with you, to encourage you. I think that some of you may listen to Ashley's story and think, "It's too late for me to do anything. I'm locked into responsibilities and life. She's young and has so many choices."
When you let God have your life, it will be an adventure. He has things in store for you that you might not imagine in your wildest dreams. When you give your days and your life to Christ, He will make it count. He does have a purpose for you, that only you can fulfill. As long as we draw breath, we should say, "What's the next step, Lord?"
Sometimes I want to draw back and just coast, but that doesn't take much faith. He wants to take you places where, unless He shows up it will be certain failure. He wants to show you that His grace is sufficient to give you strength in every situation. He will enable you to do His will. He promises!
Strength in Tragedy
It all started back in Nov. 2000. My husband was an workaholic and an alcoholic, and I was about leave him with our 2 children. He had a major stroke on the eve of Thanksgiving, and sayed in the hospital for 4weeks and 4days. I stayed with him, and over the weeks, he became a changed man, and I feel in love with him again. I told him from the start that GOD had given him this stroke, and we dont know why, but we would soon find out. On July 3-4, 2003, around midnight, our then 17 year old son came running in and calopsed on our bed, he had found his best friends grandparents brutally murdered, and for hours we watched until his best friend took his own life. We will never know the reason behind his friends awful story on why this happend. Our son turned to drugs and alcohol, and all we could do was pray, cry and be there for him. He ended up in jail, and on Nov. 2, 2004, I took our daughter Natasha with me to the jail to visit Jeramy, who would have known that, that would have been the last time he would see her alive. On Thursday, Nov. 4, 2004, our daughter was pronounced dead at 9:31pm. She had been involved in a terrible car accident. We thought our lives were over. On the way home from the hospital, I told my husband that GOD did not let my daughter suffer. And when GOD took me to Psalms 91:1-4, that confirmed it all. I still suffered from a broken heart, and I still do, but GOD made a change in my life. I was alone one day, and I had a handfull of pills sitting on the counter, I got on my hands and knees, and asked GOD to forgive me for what I was about to do, and HE picked me up and told me NO, that there was more for Him to show me and more for me to do. I kept asking GOD why my daughter had to go, and HE took me to Isaiha 57:1-4. He told me that HE had taken her because there were wose things that could have happened. She could have survived the accident and would have been on a ventalator, and we would have to make the decission to take her off, or, she could have been so depressed over the death of her boyfriend that was with her that night, that she could have taken her own life, or worse yet, she could have been raped, murdered and left for us to find her decomposed body months later. HE didnt want that to happen, so HE sent down HIS ANGELS to take her HOME. I found out what it was that HE wanted me to do, when my cousin lost their 3mth old son, and a friend of mine lost her 22 year old daughter, and family members lost thier loved ones. HE wanted me to talk to them about what he had done for me. My heart still aches every day for my daughter, but GOD has changed my son, brought him home, and gives me the comfort that I need when I get down and depressed. GOD is good, and He is in control. And one day, "I'LL FLY AWAY", AND HE AND NATASHA WILL BE WAITING FOR ME.
Wednesday, January 7, 2009
Changed... a little at a time.
Believe it or not...I used to be a VERY confrontational, negative and argumentative person. I always had to be right and would get "in your face" in a not so nice way if you didn't agree with me. I was "all about me" and never did anything nice for anyone if it was inconvenient.
My change started about 7 years ago when I became more active and got involved at Grace Community Church. I started teaching 2nd and 3rd graders and my heart started to change. As the years have gone by, my family tells me that I'm totally different. I don't confront people like I used to. I was the type to always complain at a restaurant. Not any more. I see people differently now and I know it's a God-thing. I started getting "thank you" cards in the mail from people. After awhile, I noticed I was getting quite a stack of them, without even trying. It was a way for me to measure how much my life has changed.
I'm not very good at words, but my heart has surely changed since I started giving more to God. It happened over time and naturally, without me even really thinking about it.
Not a very exciting story, but for me it's a HUGE life change.
Lisa E. Hudson
Desktop Technician
Westfield Washington Schools
My change started about 7 years ago when I became more active and got involved at Grace Community Church. I started teaching 2nd and 3rd graders and my heart started to change. As the years have gone by, my family tells me that I'm totally different. I don't confront people like I used to. I was the type to always complain at a restaurant. Not any more. I see people differently now and I know it's a God-thing. I started getting "thank you" cards in the mail from people. After awhile, I noticed I was getting quite a stack of them, without even trying. It was a way for me to measure how much my life has changed.
I'm not very good at words, but my heart has surely changed since I started giving more to God. It happened over time and naturally, without me even really thinking about it.
Not a very exciting story, but for me it's a HUGE life change.
Lisa E. Hudson
Desktop Technician
Westfield Washington Schools
Monday, January 5, 2009
God Heals
My story could take a lifetime to tell, but the truth is that God can make it splendidly short.
Life shows us that the people we love the most will disappoint us the most, potentially abandon us, turn their backs on us, maybe even turn on us and in the end break our hearts in a million pieces. God shows us through the most unlikely people and places, that He will never do any of the above. He will embrace you, love you, and heal your broken heart when people like Ben and Beth Ann Crouse, Benetta Wallen, Shelley Anthony, and Jeff Smith heed God's call and become His hands and feet in an ugly and hurtful world. The story of my life and what God has done in it boils down to the simple truth that while the world and even yourself can be led to believe that you were in the wrong place at precisely the wrong time, God can heal and grow your heart and show you that you were truly in just the right place, at just the right time.
May God continue to bless Genesis in the same way He has blessed and grown me through Genesis.
Tammy Thornbury
Assistant Principal
College Wood Elementary
Life shows us that the people we love the most will disappoint us the most, potentially abandon us, turn their backs on us, maybe even turn on us and in the end break our hearts in a million pieces. God shows us through the most unlikely people and places, that He will never do any of the above. He will embrace you, love you, and heal your broken heart when people like Ben and Beth Ann Crouse, Benetta Wallen, Shelley Anthony, and Jeff Smith heed God's call and become His hands and feet in an ugly and hurtful world. The story of my life and what God has done in it boils down to the simple truth that while the world and even yourself can be led to believe that you were in the wrong place at precisely the wrong time, God can heal and grow your heart and show you that you were truly in just the right place, at just the right time.
May God continue to bless Genesis in the same way He has blessed and grown me through Genesis.
Tammy Thornbury
Assistant Principal
College Wood Elementary
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