We are living in uncertain times. We can easily begin to focus on all that is wrong or unknown rather than keeping our eyes fixed on the One who is all knowing, all loving and most certainly, in control! Church, rather than looking at the world around us, let our gaze be on the Lord and what He is doing! This will be a page dedicated to just that!
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If you would like to share a testimony, click the button below.
Happy Birthday
Today, July 15,2021, I am sharing a testimony I wrote fifteen years ago. My son Luciano would be 19 years old today. My heart is feeling the weight of his absence and mourning the the loss of memories we will not make. But I do today, as then, stand firm in the knowledge that I will one day hold my sweet boy again and although His ways are not always my ways, His ways are always for my good.
I pray that sharing this again will encourage someone today.
On July 15th my son would be four years old. I would probably be planning for his birthday party, ordering the Superman or maybe Spiderman cake, and disagreeing with his father about how much is too much to spend for the occasion. Four years old, what a big boy.
My son would be four this year. My son went to be with God three months and ten days after we had been blessed with him…after a very difficult pregnancy and a ton of close calls…after the doctor said he may not even make it, and he surely wouldn’t breath on his own…after he had pulled through his first of many surgeries okay…and after he had proven them all wrong and I had held him in my arms. My son was here long enough to see that we gave our lives to the Lord and just long enough to see his father and I marry. Five days after the wedding, he went home. After all that, and so much more, he was gone.
I understand that God had a plan, and I can even see why He allowed such heartbreak in our lives. The lives Richard and I were leading were sinful and unholy, and until we were brought to our knees we saw no reason to look up. He took our sin and disobedience and turned it into a testimony. But as I sit in awe of God’s grace and mercy, I still feel the hurt of our loss.
We never celebrated a single birthday. This is the time of year that I wonder what he would look like now. I think of the memories we could have made. I wonder what his voice would have sounded like when he called for me, and what he would do to drive his big brother and sister crazy. Life would be so different if he were still here, and maybe we would hurt just a little less.
I mean things could have been done differently, right? We didn’t have to lose a child to really rely and trust in God. Or did we? When I look back at all the all the hurt and destruction our lives caused before we came to Christ, and how even then we didn’t stop, I realize that we couldn’t. Was this the only way? Of course we could have saved ourselves a lot of pain and the what-could-have-beens if we hadn’t taken the road we did, if we hadn’t conceived a child out of wedlock, if I had listened to my family when they said the way we were living was wrong. Some of our pain could have been avoided. I wonder how life might have been different if we hadn’t lived the way we did. I don’t know. We will never know.
What I do know is that life is different than what it used to be. I know that the Lord, in spite of our sin, turned things for good. We have a life now. Two years ago we were given another son, I am so thankful for the gift of being a mother and a wife, to have hopes and aspirations not just for myself but also for my children. Yes, I serve a Lord who takes, but oh, how He gives. I think of how hard it must have been for our God to give his only Son for me, and how real that pain must have been for Him too.
Giving our lives to the Lord was not like waving a magic wand that made everything all better. I still struggle. That’s part of living in this fallen world and the struggle with sin that we still face daily. I still hurt and cry. I still get angry and frustrated, and I mess up all the time. I sometimes wonder how God, the Maker of the universe, could love me. But I know He does, and I know this because He has shown me, He has told me. He held us through what has been the most difficult time in our lives. Does the pain get easier to bear over time? I guess it depends on when you ask me. But I have hope, something I never had before.
So, this July 15th, I will celebrate. I will celebrate the life I held ever so shortly. I will celebrate and give thanks because of what the Lord has done for us. And I will cry the tears of a mother missing her child. I will cry, but just for a moment, for “weeping may remain for a night, but rejoicing comes in the morning” (Ps. 30:5).
Testimony by: Andrea Hernandez
I pray that sharing this again will encourage someone today.
On July 15th my son would be four years old. I would probably be planning for his birthday party, ordering the Superman or maybe Spiderman cake, and disagreeing with his father about how much is too much to spend for the occasion. Four years old, what a big boy.
My son would be four this year. My son went to be with God three months and ten days after we had been blessed with him…after a very difficult pregnancy and a ton of close calls…after the doctor said he may not even make it, and he surely wouldn’t breath on his own…after he had pulled through his first of many surgeries okay…and after he had proven them all wrong and I had held him in my arms. My son was here long enough to see that we gave our lives to the Lord and just long enough to see his father and I marry. Five days after the wedding, he went home. After all that, and so much more, he was gone.
I understand that God had a plan, and I can even see why He allowed such heartbreak in our lives. The lives Richard and I were leading were sinful and unholy, and until we were brought to our knees we saw no reason to look up. He took our sin and disobedience and turned it into a testimony. But as I sit in awe of God’s grace and mercy, I still feel the hurt of our loss.
We never celebrated a single birthday. This is the time of year that I wonder what he would look like now. I think of the memories we could have made. I wonder what his voice would have sounded like when he called for me, and what he would do to drive his big brother and sister crazy. Life would be so different if he were still here, and maybe we would hurt just a little less.
I mean things could have been done differently, right? We didn’t have to lose a child to really rely and trust in God. Or did we? When I look back at all the all the hurt and destruction our lives caused before we came to Christ, and how even then we didn’t stop, I realize that we couldn’t. Was this the only way? Of course we could have saved ourselves a lot of pain and the what-could-have-beens if we hadn’t taken the road we did, if we hadn’t conceived a child out of wedlock, if I had listened to my family when they said the way we were living was wrong. Some of our pain could have been avoided. I wonder how life might have been different if we hadn’t lived the way we did. I don’t know. We will never know.
What I do know is that life is different than what it used to be. I know that the Lord, in spite of our sin, turned things for good. We have a life now. Two years ago we were given another son, I am so thankful for the gift of being a mother and a wife, to have hopes and aspirations not just for myself but also for my children. Yes, I serve a Lord who takes, but oh, how He gives. I think of how hard it must have been for our God to give his only Son for me, and how real that pain must have been for Him too.
Giving our lives to the Lord was not like waving a magic wand that made everything all better. I still struggle. That’s part of living in this fallen world and the struggle with sin that we still face daily. I still hurt and cry. I still get angry and frustrated, and I mess up all the time. I sometimes wonder how God, the Maker of the universe, could love me. But I know He does, and I know this because He has shown me, He has told me. He held us through what has been the most difficult time in our lives. Does the pain get easier to bear over time? I guess it depends on when you ask me. But I have hope, something I never had before.
So, this July 15th, I will celebrate. I will celebrate the life I held ever so shortly. I will celebrate and give thanks because of what the Lord has done for us. And I will cry the tears of a mother missing her child. I will cry, but just for a moment, for “weeping may remain for a night, but rejoicing comes in the morning” (Ps. 30:5).
Testimony by: Andrea Hernandez
Preparation for the Panic
A friend recently told me that God has been preparing us for this crisis - we don't even realize all the little ways He has done it. She challenged me to see that even something extra around the house was not an accident but His doing.
Well I just remembered this morning that someone dropped off a Christmas present at our house last year thinking we were friends of hers. It was all wrapped up with a bow and I couldn't tell who it was for or where it came from so I opened it. Since I had already opened it and it wasn't very expensive I just decided to use it and send the lady who mistakenly gave it to me a thank you note. Well guess what it was! Hand soap – and my favorite brand too! Talk about God's preparation - what a gift and gift wrapped even! Like God telling me - "I've got you covered"
So, I am issuing my friend’s challenge to you: How has God prepared you for such a time as this? If you don't see it, ask Him to show you!
Testimony by: Lurene Spear
Well I just remembered this morning that someone dropped off a Christmas present at our house last year thinking we were friends of hers. It was all wrapped up with a bow and I couldn't tell who it was for or where it came from so I opened it. Since I had already opened it and it wasn't very expensive I just decided to use it and send the lady who mistakenly gave it to me a thank you note. Well guess what it was! Hand soap – and my favorite brand too! Talk about God's preparation - what a gift and gift wrapped even! Like God telling me - "I've got you covered"
So, I am issuing my friend’s challenge to you: How has God prepared you for such a time as this? If you don't see it, ask Him to show you!
Testimony by: Lurene Spear
Trust God's Provision
This morning I kneeled and praised God, confessed my sins and asked God to empower me through the Holy Spirit to help me navigate these days of panic and stress in a way that Christ would shine to others and cause them to be drawn to Him. I asked for boldness and courage and I asked that the Lord would give me the opportunity to assist my Mom and that she would let me help her.
Then I asked the Holy Spirit what he wanted to say to me and I believe I heard Him say,
“Love Me with your whole heart”
I asked the Holy Spirit if there was a verse He might want me to read and I believe He gave me Philippians 4: 18-19. I wasn’t even sure if there was a chapter 4 in Philippians or verses 18-19 in that chapter! There is and this is what it says:
Philippians 4:18-19
“At the moment I have all I need—and more! I am generously supplied with the gifts you sent me with Epaphroditus. They are a sweet-smelling sacrifice that is acceptable and pleasing to God. And this same God who takes care of me will supply all your needs from his glorious riches, which have been given to us in Christ Jesus.”
Philippians 4:18-19 NLT
I then went on to read my ”Jesus Calling” devotional for the day which said, “ IT IS GOOD THAT YOU RECOGNIZE YOUR WEAKNESS. That keeps you looking to Me, your strength. Abundant life is not necessarily health and wealth; it is living in continual dependence on Me. Instead of trying to fit this day into a pre-conceived mold, relax and be on the lookout for what I am doing. This mindset will free you to enjoy Me and to find what I have planned for you to do. This is far better than trying to make things go according to your own plan.
Don’t take yourself so seriously. Lighten up and laugh with Me. You have Me on your side, so what are you worried about? I can equip you to do absolutely anything, as long as it is My will. The more difficult your day the more I yearn to help you. Anxiety wraps you up in yourself, trapping you in your own thoughts. When you look to Me and whisper My name, you break free and receive My help, focus on Me, and you will find peace in My presence.
Philippians 4:13 Proverbs 17:22
Later that morning I went to the grocery store to get a few things. There were several things we really needed and a few items I “wanted”. I decided I would resist the temptation to rush to the stores to try and find things that I had heard were being hoarded. I want to trust God to supply what we need so I prayed and asked Him to make available what we truly needed. I went to the store and saw many empty shelves everywhere. I got the last package of hamburger buns that I needed on the shelf, then the green beans I was almost out of. There were no crackers that Phillip likes but I wasn’t out of those yet. Then I “stumbled” across an item I had forgotten about but one I needed and it was the only one left! I said “praise the Lord” out loud🙌🏻
God knows what we need before we need it and He delights in supplying everything for us! I am grateful knowing He cares for us and His shelves are never empty!
Testimony by: Cindy Reed
Then I asked the Holy Spirit what he wanted to say to me and I believe I heard Him say,
“Love Me with your whole heart”
I asked the Holy Spirit if there was a verse He might want me to read and I believe He gave me Philippians 4: 18-19. I wasn’t even sure if there was a chapter 4 in Philippians or verses 18-19 in that chapter! There is and this is what it says:
Philippians 4:18-19
“At the moment I have all I need—and more! I am generously supplied with the gifts you sent me with Epaphroditus. They are a sweet-smelling sacrifice that is acceptable and pleasing to God. And this same God who takes care of me will supply all your needs from his glorious riches, which have been given to us in Christ Jesus.”
Philippians 4:18-19 NLT
I then went on to read my ”Jesus Calling” devotional for the day which said, “ IT IS GOOD THAT YOU RECOGNIZE YOUR WEAKNESS. That keeps you looking to Me, your strength. Abundant life is not necessarily health and wealth; it is living in continual dependence on Me. Instead of trying to fit this day into a pre-conceived mold, relax and be on the lookout for what I am doing. This mindset will free you to enjoy Me and to find what I have planned for you to do. This is far better than trying to make things go according to your own plan.
Don’t take yourself so seriously. Lighten up and laugh with Me. You have Me on your side, so what are you worried about? I can equip you to do absolutely anything, as long as it is My will. The more difficult your day the more I yearn to help you. Anxiety wraps you up in yourself, trapping you in your own thoughts. When you look to Me and whisper My name, you break free and receive My help, focus on Me, and you will find peace in My presence.
Philippians 4:13 Proverbs 17:22
Later that morning I went to the grocery store to get a few things. There were several things we really needed and a few items I “wanted”. I decided I would resist the temptation to rush to the stores to try and find things that I had heard were being hoarded. I want to trust God to supply what we need so I prayed and asked Him to make available what we truly needed. I went to the store and saw many empty shelves everywhere. I got the last package of hamburger buns that I needed on the shelf, then the green beans I was almost out of. There were no crackers that Phillip likes but I wasn’t out of those yet. Then I “stumbled” across an item I had forgotten about but one I needed and it was the only one left! I said “praise the Lord” out loud🙌🏻
God knows what we need before we need it and He delights in supplying everything for us! I am grateful knowing He cares for us and His shelves are never empty!
Testimony by: Cindy Reed