Word 39

Two are better than one because they have a more satisfying return for their labor; for if either of them falls, the one will lift up his companion.... Ecclesiastes 4:9-10 AMP I told our betrothal story at my husband's memorial service. It was our favorite story to tell in the presence of others, though we had many to come after this one. I'm sharing it here because it truly glorifies God, and it's already recorded! This is the story that led to 23 years of companionship, and culminated seven months ago.  My first hope for this post is that you who are desiring marriage will be encouraged. God is fully capable of bringing things to pass that you desire. And his plan is good for you.  My second hope is to challenge you. Sometimes we can miss God because we don't truly lift our eyes to see with understanding. What he is doing can look so different than how we pictured it coming to pass that we don't realize it IS literally coming to pass, especially if it looks diffe...

I picked up the phone. "Hello, Jenny. My name is Tobias Smith." He began telling me something, and then I woke up from my dream. It was a Friday morning. I began asking myself if I knew someone named Tobias Smith. I got on social media to see if he was a friend of a friend or an acquaintence somehow. I found a Tobias Smith who had connections between the two of us; however, we didn't know each other directly. I sent a friend request and left it at that.  I prayed about whether or not to reach out, as two people can be hearing from God and new details are discovered when they touch base. But in this case, I heard/saw Psalm 46 and realized this was the chapter where God says to "be still and know that I am God" (vs 10). I took this as confirmation that God wasn't asking me to take any action or say anything. The following Monday, I realized I did have more of a connection than I had realized, and I thought maybe Tobias was in my dream just by subconscious awar...

So the heavens and the earth were completed, and all their hosts (inhabitants). And by the seventh day God completed His work which He had done, and he rested (ceased) on the seventh day from all his work which He had done. So God blessed the seventh day and sanctified it [as His own, that is, set it apart as holy from other days], because in it He rested from all His work which He had created and done.  - Genesis 2:1-3 (Amplified) Today was a busy day. Busier than I would like. Today is also the 7-month marker of my husband's death. Writing this in September, I think back to last Thanksgiving when he was still with us, and he shared his last significant dream with me. I'm so glad we changed plans and went into a restaurant and sat down to eat instead of driving through somewhere like we'd planned. I'm not sure it wasn't the last place I sat with him to eat a meal outside of our home, just the two of us, before he passed. I remember a baby crying a lot, and I rememb...

Recently, I dreamed I was working on a task and nonchalantly called out across our house to my teenage daughter for something. But she didn't answer, and I just shrugged it off as I was busy, figuring she just didn't hear me. Not long after, I heard a faint, rhythmic metallic noise, and as it came more into my consciousness, I instinctively wondered if it might be my daughter trying to get someone's attention. I went to a certain part of the house and peeled back some wooden floorboards - which, of course, is "completely normal" - and she was there underneath, wrapped up in a rolled carpet  on top of a floor vent blowing heat , and she had a pacifier in her mouth. Note that I said she is a teenager. She had, as I imagined, been using her feet to bang on the floor vent to get someone's attention as to where she was and that she needed help. Dreams like this are hard to wake up from. It was the same with my sister's dream about me and my kids being in our...

Not long after my husband passed away, I was talking to my sister one day, and she told me she woke up startled because she had a dream that I and my kids were in one of our previous homes, and it was on fire.  She hurriedly came in the house warning us one by one. First she came to one of my kids and said, "You have to get out!" And that child told her, "The house isn't on fire." This happened when she came upon my second child as well.  Then, she came to me and said, "You've got to get out!" And I told her, like the kids did, "The house isn't on fire." Every time one of us told her there wasn't any fire, the fire would disappear as we spoke.  My heart smiled. How comforting is God. Isaiah the prophet delivered a love letter to Israel on God's behalf: "When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; and through the rivers, they will not overwhelm you. When you walk through fire, you will not be scorched, nor will t...

Having just celebrated a birthday and turning my attention to a new year, I want to deposit a message of hope here on this page. I believe that when God speaks, his message can serve both an individual and the corporate body of Christ simultaneously.  It also serves those who don't know him as he makes himself known. Hope is for all mankind! So I have a story to share, which is for me, you, and all of us. And what makes this even more special to me personally is that this story comes from the heart of God through my daughter. ❤️ I asked for her permission to share it to encourage others. She was excited about that, as long as she didn't have to write out the story! She sat with me and shared a dream she experienced, as I transcribed. I was deeply inspired as she recounted her night vision, and I am  honored to relay it to you. P ertinent to this story is knowing that my husband - and father of my two kiddos - passed away six months ago. So without further introduction, gi...

I think this is my third time starting this post. I held off for about a year, waiting to write a magical ending to " Deep Waters - Part 1 ." But the ending, like all extraordinary stories, was an unexpected plot twist, different from any closure I thought God might possibly bring. It's an ending rich in texture, complex in nature, and full of beauty and wisdom: My husband died. I got the call at work in the parking lot. I headed to him in rush hour traffic about 8:30 a.m., and by the time I got where he was, after having waved bye to him two hours before, he was gone. I mean, how do you write a story about God pulling you from deep waters when it ends this way? This is how... Two weeks before Craig passed, I began counseling with someone I had picked mainly because they were older. I wanted - scratch that... needed - someone with life experience under their belt. I was struggling with how to be in a 21-year marriage with someone with chronic illness. How was I to discove...