I’m so proud of my husband. Here is an article he wrote for www.lovenotlies.com that I feel will get into the hearts of many hurting… many who struggle to understand the Father’s love. Visit http://lovenotlies.com/2016/10/01/father-against-father to ready it now!
myunfoldingtruth
Shedding light on one woman's secret sins… Heartfelt. Inspirational. Funny. And serious.
It’s All His Fault
There is hope for your struggling marriage! To read our latest post on Lovenotlies.com, visit http://lovenotlies.com/2016/08/26/its-all-his-fault now!
Don’t Count Out The Holy Spirit
New blog posted on Lovenotlies.com about the power of the Holy Spirit operating in your life! Enjoy.
http://lovenotlies.com/…/…/01/dont-count-out-the-holy-spirit
Happy Independence Day!
Hi readers! I know it’s been a long time since I’ve posted anything. I wanted to share some good news with you! I have partnered with my friend Cindy Dronette to author a new blog that is all about God’s love and the freedom we can experience when we stop believing the lies of the enemy.
There is no time like the present to take all those negative and destructive thoughts captive. Bringing them into the obedience of Christ means that we begin to apply the truth in God’s word to everything we hear, and if it doesn’t line up… throw the junk out! This isn’t easy, especially when these are deep-seated strongholds that have defined who we are. But the truth of God, the one that tells us that we were made in His image, means that there is nothing about us that can be bad, ugly, wrong, rejected, hurt, not worthy, useless, etc. Each one of us has value and a purpose.
I may continue to write on this blog now and then. My story hasn’t ended here as I never did have that second child. At 45 years old, I am having to grieve. After grieving the loss of nearly 10 children, I find myself now grieving the loss of a dream… a deep desire of my heart. I am open to God’s plan for my life, and I know that God can still bring us a child. The important thing is that I stand strong in my faith, trusting that the Lord’s plan for my life is better than what I imagined my life would be. I’ve got lots to ponder here… so don’t be surprised if an article shows up now and then.
For now… I hope the new Love Not Lies blog inspires you. I pray that through our honest testimonies and the truth of God’s word, you will identify the lies you have bought into and find the strength to send those lies straight back to the dry place where they belong.
We felt Independence Day was the perfect day to launch this new freedom blog. Visit www.lovenotlies.com and follow me there!
Out of the Ashes We Rise
This is a devotional I wrote that was recently published on a friend’s devotional site. I thought it seemed fitting to publish it here as well. Enjoy and many blessings.
Whether it was my biological clock ticking or a Holy Spirit prompting, I had a sudden urge to be a mom after saying, “I do.” I thought I’d have no problem bearing children, but that was not the case for me.
The honeymoon period of our marriage turned into something out of a horror film – moments plagued with fear, blood and death. In the span of three years, I miscarried five children.
In the aftermath of the fourth miscarriage, a part of me died. The enemy trampled on my heart and marched through my thought life as I sank my teeth into several lies including:
- God is not for me.
- I can’t rely on God as Protector.
- I’m being punished for past sin.
- I’m not worthy.
A truly dead season
Some would say I was glutton for punishment as we pressed on, and after the fifth baby died, my doctor diagnosed a severe infection in my tubes. “I’m sorry, you’re sterile.” Those words shot through me like a giant bullet.
I was breathing, but every hope and vision for our marriage vanished. My heart managed to beat, but it was certainly shattered into pieces.
Death consumed me. My babies. My dreams. My future. My flesh was in rapid decay as fear, jealousy and hatred took root in my broken heart.
In my unhealthy grieving, I was a slave to sin and dead in my transgressions. I stewed in anger and bitterness while scowling at pregnant women. I truly believed God was against me.
My heart was charred. I had been burned beyond recognition, and yet, something inside of me knew I had to keep trying.
With spring comes new life
As Easter 2009 approached, I was captivated by the execution and resurrection of Jesus. Did He really do all of this for me? Why? What did this mean in my life?
One night while watching the Passion of Christ, I got an answer. As His story unfolded before my eyes I wept as a voice began to whisper, “Every bit of this was done for you.”
The lashes. The torture. The humiliation. Every bruise and drop of blood was for me. The sacrifice. The death. The resurrection. Jesus did it all for me!
As this revelation penetrated every cell in my body, something happened. My sin began to fade into the background as the Gospel of Jesus Christ brought new life into my dead limp body.
It was just as Chris Tomlin so beautifully sang,
“Into the darkness you shine
Out of the ashes we Rise
There’s no One like You
None like You.
I had an awakening, or better yet, a Lazarus experience. The truth of Jesus Christ brought me back to life.
In an instant, I was sold out completely. Now, because He died, I could live. Because He was raised, I could rise out of the fear and dread. His grace began to fuel me. Faith welled up in my spirit and no matter what the doctor’s said, I truly believed I would have a natural child.
Alive and kicking
Even though test after test continued to reveal bad news, the passion in my heart for a baby flourished. The more I focused on the truth of Jesus Christ, the more faith grew. It was early March, when the surgeon scheduled me for an exploratory surgery to determine for sure whether my tubes needed to be removed. But Jesus Christ, the great Physician, saw to it that I would never see the inside of the surgical suite.
The week of Easter Scott and I discovered that I had been completely healed and even more miraculous, I was pregnant. Nine months later, we were blessed with a beautiful daughter.
Resurrection is defined as a rising again, as from decay; the act of bringing back to vibrancy; revival.
My story didn’t ended after my daughter entered the world. Many things were birthed through this season – a deep love affair with my Lord and a desire to help others receive freedom.
Truly dying to self has been a process for me. Processing what it means to take up the cross and follow Him is a daily challenge that I humbly accept! For me, this started with the need to rid strongholds in my life. Then there was a prompting to share my story. Eventually a call came to see women healed and set free. I’ve seen hearts and lives restored as well as physical pain and infirmity be stopped.
I have no idea what is in store for my life. But one thing I know for sure, I will live it with vibrancy and with one thing in mind – revival.
Chris Gore, head of Bethel’s healing school said in a Think International interview that he believes that we are living in the greatest revival that’s ever been on the face of this earth. I believe he’s right.
It was through my greatest tragedy I was able to rise and see Jesus for the first time. I was plucked out of the decay and given a new lease on life. Now with Jesus by my side, I choose to live it vibrantly.
Questions:
Are you stagnant in your faith? What are some ways you can step out and fuel your faith?
What are some areas of your life that need to be revived?
What is your story? Do you believe that your testimony is a miracle that can and will demonstrate to others the Gospel of Jesus?
What would revival look like in your life?
Have you given up?
Women stand up and celebrate… you are all moms
It’s Mother’s Day, and I can’t help but think about the women out there who are struggling to conceive. I am heart broken over the miscarriages and still births so many have had to suffer through. My thoughts are on all the women who have hit menopause and watched their dreams of having children disappear. I am reminded of my single girlfriends, who are in their mid-40s and are starting to wonder if they will ever be a mom.
In thinking about all of these situations, God prompted me to ponder on what it means to be a mom. God said in Genesis 9:7 ESV “And you, be fruitful and multiply, teem on the earth and multiply in it.” So being a mom means being fertile. But I am going to put it out there that maybe God wanted to us be women who nurture and mother many. So being “fertile” might not have to merely be about giving birth. I’d like to suggest that God made women to be mothers to all God’s children.
In Genesis 9:1 God blessed Noah and his sons and said to them, “Be fruitful and multiply and fill the earth.” God said this to men… not to a woman. Noah and his family cared for and nurtured every living creature during the great flood, making sure the population on earth would not cease. So fast forward this to today and think about how this could apply to a woman who finds herself in a “waiting season” or to the woman who has past her child bearing years.
As I’ve thought about this all weekend, I’ve come to believe all of us are moms. Here are some examples of women in my life that I would qualify as a mom:
• I have a good friend who never had a child, but she deeply cares for and spends countless hours fostering and volunteering in dog rescue groups. She is an amazing mother to many animals who have been abused, abandoned and left for dead. She has saved the life of numerous animals. To me, she is mother!
• I know of a wonderful woman in my church is in her mid-40s and has never been blessed with a child. She is still standing in prayer for the desire of her heart to be fulfilled. But she is a mentor. She opens her heart giving her days to training up the next generation and helping women develop a solid relationship with God. She is a kind, patient, praying woman, and to me, she is a mother!
• I know of amazing journalism professor who never married. She had spent her life investing in the lives of all her students. She has taught them about the real world. She prepared them for a successful future, and she nurtured the dreams of countless students who wanted to be writers and journalists. She set the bar high and instilled in her class a desire to seek excellence and always celebrated our victories with us. To me, she is a mother!
Dictionary.com defines a mother used as a noun as one’s female parent. But as an adjective, mother is defined as being a mother; of, pertaining to, or characteristics of a mother: motherly love; bearing a relation like that of a mother, as in being the origin, source, or protector.
Proverbs 22:6 says to train up a child in the way he should go: and when he is old, he will not depart from it. But to me the one thing that is clear is that God never specifically said “your child”.
So if the dictionary acknowledges that someone who has never given birth can be a mom, and even more important, the Bible says to “train up a child,” but never specifically says your own biological child, it stands to reason that a women who cares for animals, children, friends, loved ones or neightbors, could indeed be deemed a mother!
So today, on this Mother’s Day, 2013, I’d like to suggest that we make this holiday about more than a woman’s fertility and celebrate all the mother’s out there that are leaving a legacy by raising up future generations. Happy Mother’s Day.
I’m late. I’m late. I’ve passed a very important date.
I’ll admit it… I love watching animated movies. I adore the tales of good versus evil. It’s exciting to see the maiden rise up into royalty when she finds her prince. I have identified with almost all of the great animated leading ladies, but lately I’ve had most in common with Disney’s 1951 animated version of Alice in Wonderland.
For most of last week I was like the White Rabbit, who is remembered mainly for the little ditty he sang at the beginning of the movie. Frantically, the rabbit said, “I’m late! I’m late! For a very important date.” I’m guessing there are several of you trying to conceive that can relate to my song, “I’m late. I’m late. I passed a very important date.”
As the days went by anticipation began to mount. I mustered myself into a state of expectancy waiting to see a pink line on a pregnancy test. One quick visit to baby center and I calculated the due date. I was all ready planning how I would surprise my husband. Finally after three long years of trying to have a second child, we were getting our prayers answered.
In this same time frame, it seemed like several friends were announcing they were again expecting… for one it would be their sixth child. It was a flood of good news, and I was elated because I was going to finally be able to be a part of that exclusive club. You know what I am talking about… that group of women who for the next nine or so months only speaks about baby things… conversations about growing pains, doctor’s visits, and whether to breastfeed or not. I let my guard down and began to day dream that finally it would be my time to feel complete and normal instead of hollow and alone in my infertility haze.
Sadly my day dream would suddenly turn into a nightmare with the first drop of blood. I began to realize that I am now like the Mad Hatter – who is having tea with his friends the March Hare and the Dormouse. Their constant tea party never ends because to them it is always 6 pm. I can identify with how they feel trapped… waiting for something to change. For them it is the time, for me it is to stop the 28-day cycle by finally being pregnant! Every month the reset button is pushed. I am back at day one and with that comes a rush of madness waiting on a dream to come to pass.
The day before I was supposed to go to the doctor for a blood test, I start bleeding. And with that shedding comes a tidal wave of emotions. I’m up one second and way down the next. It feels like madness to me. I don’t need a hat full of mercury to feel crazy. I feel as down as the Mad Hatter put it, “I can’t go no lower, I’m on the floor as it is.”
Was I pregnant? Or was I merely just late? Honestly, I don’t even care to know because I am swimming in a whole other area of deep pain. The torture of having to try again. The pain of waiting. The agony of defeat knowing that the answer to either question above is a complete tragedy for me.
By night’s end, I am sitting on my toilet riddled in tears when I begin to sense a prompting from the Holy Spirit: A reminder that faith in God includes having faith in His timing. A verse brought to my mind is Habakkuk 2:3: “For the vision points ahead to a time I have appointed; it testifies regarding the end, and it will not lie. Even if there is a delay, wait for it. It is coming and will come without delay.”
What I do know is that I have longing to have a second child. I believe it was a desire the Lord dropped into my heart since I spent the better part of 2012 trying to “let go” and couldn’t. So here I charge again into the next month, working to quickly heal any emotional scars to be ready to try again with a whole effort and not a half heart.
I summon my strength from God’s promises by putting myself in Sarah’s shoes, who waited a long time in agony to have a child. Genesis 18:14 says “Is anything too hard for the Lord? At the appointed time I will return to you, about this time next year, and Sarah shall have a son.” Sarah had her child, just as spoken.
So I will fight for my child by standing in faith just as I am instructed in Psalm 37:3-4 “Trust in the Lord, and do good; dwell in the land and befriend faithfulness. Delight yourself in the Lord, and he will give you the desires of your heart.”
HOPE
We desire to build upon our family. We started trying to conceive when my daughter was 5 months old. We knew it was in the hands of the Lord to bless us and within a few months, we found out we were pregnant. We miscarried, and four months after that, we lost another child. I thought surely God’s intention was to bring Averey a sibling, so I was surprised when several months went by and nothing.
I guess I’ve been wandering around in the wilderness because my daughter is now three years old, and I am still in a season of waiting. I have to be honest that this two years has not been easy at all for me or my spouse. I’ve had to press in hard to hear God’s promise. I’ve had to combat lots of attempts of the enemy to make me jealous and bitter. I’ve had to forgive my body for not working properly. I’ve had to honor my husband through the times he forgot what day it was in our cycle and seemed to not care whether or not we hit our ovulation window. But the biggest revelation I’ve had is how hard I’ve had to fight to keep HOPE alive.
The Bible says in Proverbs 23:18 NIV that there is surely a future hope for you, and your hope will not be cut off.
That’s great news! But the Bible also said that the enemy comes to steal, kill and destroy. I’ve learned that there is no greater way to break a woman’s spirit then to rob her of HOPE!
I’ve seen several times during my drought that I’ve had to seek out hope. I’ve watched as many of my friends got pregnant, prayed with me that I would conceive so we would be pregnant together and deliver their sons and daughters while I watch in silent sorrow. The very second I entertained the thought of feeling sorry for myself, the enemy gripped me. And even though I’ve had prophetic words and visions of another baby, I still would start to think thoughts like I guess I have to be okay with only having one child. I convinced myself it was just be easier to let go of my desire, and I began to let the enemy kill a part of my heart and convince me that God’s will was not for me to conceive again.
I’ve recently realized that dreams are not things you pick up one day like an item on your grocery list. There are not to be lightly held like a feather. No, the desires of our heart are to be treasured and tended too like prized roses in a beautful garden.
God planted the seeds of those desires. And I’ve realized my job to sow them. I am called to prune off all the dead weight which would be all negative thoughts in my head. That means I have to fight against my tendency to be jealous when I see a baby bump. I have to keep my mind and heart focused on the blessing of birth and not focused on the thoughts that I’ve somehow been deprived and am unworthy of a child.
To keep HOPE alive, I’ve had to learn how to shield myself from all the lies that are thrust upon me. I’ve heard over and over how I’m just too old to have a child. I’ve heard I should merely count my blessings and stop trying to jinx myself! (As if I am just not capable of having another healthy child at 42.)
So many times I’ve had statistics thrown at me that try to rob me of hope. Medicine says I have a less than 10% chance to conceive. But I’ve chosen to trust that God doesn’t read statistics, so I’ve trained myself to not claim these words spoken over me! Instead I glean hope from the Bible which shares stories of several women of advance age who had babies. If God can make Sarah pregnant around age 90, then I can conceive in my early 40s!
A prophetic word is a faith builder like no other! It’s fuel for HOPE! A couple of very wise, mature women have spoken into my life and said a second child would come. I choose to dwell on these words as if they have all ready happened! This makes my mind and heart thankful instead of fearful. Thanking God for what is to come shifts your eyes off the negative and onto a positive and that is great way to build up a wall of hope. When the months go by and I start a new cycle, I don’t have to be emotionally down and drained. I can be thankful and keep my eye on the promise.
To keep my eyes focused on the truth, I’ve learned to ask God for details about my child. I commune with Him about her. I let Him build up my HOPE which in turn fuels my faith! I can stand on the word of God because it is true, binding and unchanging. He is the unfailing God and when He saying a child is coming… He means it!
I might be running a marathon through the wilderness before I am blessed with another child. But while I am waiting, I will do my very best to protect my desire, persevere, keep my hope alive, fight against attacks of the enemy, and remain thankful for what is to come.
Romans 5:5 NIV “And hope does not disappoint us, because God has poured out his love into our hearts by the Holy Spirit, whom he has given us.”
Hate the sin; not the sinner.
One day I was lingering in my Facebook news feed and ran across an interesting post. It was from a newly pregnant woman who had been advised by her doctor to terminate her pregnancy due to serious health issues. She was posting on a “child loss” group page where scores of women who have lost a child due to still birth or miscarriage were finding hope and healing by sharing their stories.
This desperate plea tugged at my heart as I read how she felt guilty. She clearly wasn’t comfortable with making this decision. She didn’t know how to come to terms with having to end the life of the baby growing inside her. She was looking for an “answer”… a glimmer of hope. I think she was either looking for permission to do the impossible or was hoping that someone her the way to move on into the next stages of her pregnancy. I instantly prayed God would bring the supernatural down upon her knowing God could heal and protect both her and the baby.
What came next rocked me to my core. There were scads of comments – more than 80! And the majority of these comments were gut-wrenching attacks. I could visualize the lynch mob forming. I could just imagine the scores of women assembling with their weapons in tow… going to hunt this woman down and put a scarlet “A” on her. I began to weep as I thought about this young girl… wondering if she knew Jesus at all. I began to pray for her, and I felt like God wanted me to love her. After some time in silence… I typed up a prayer. After six miscarriages, God blessed me with a miracle, and I trust God could and would do the same for her.
When I closed down my computer, I wish I could say it was the end of this. But I was stewing. I couldn’t stop thinking about the condemning comments. I grew angry at all of the comments as I imagined how each one pierced this woman’s heart and must have hurt her. I got to thinking about how each and every one of us are sinners and how she did not deserved the pile of judgment that was heaped on her. There was not one comment left that came from God’s own hand. Every word that crucified her came as a result of another woman’s brokenness, and I got fuming mad! The source of my anger was this: knowing I had probably experienced more loss than any of them and my heart could feel compassion. Why couldn’t they?
But God… every so sweetly reminded me of the fact the women on this group’s page have all suffered a terrible loss. These women are in vast amounts of pain and are each venturing through their own grief journey. I’ve heard many times the expression “wounded people wound,” but this was the first time I saw demonstrated to be true. The more I got angry, the more God began to gently correct me as I heard Him say “love them all.”
“Love them all.” Those words were like an arrow that pierced straight to my heart. God continued to show me that I had crossed a line into dark place. I was judging the women who were judging the other woman. I was angry at their lack of compassion, and I was doing exactly the same thing to them! As soon as I processed this… I instantly repented.
I was reminded of Jack Hayford’s book called I’ll Hold You In Heaven. The last chapter is all about his journey to overcoming self-righteousness in regard to abortion. He writes “God wanted me to love people who had abortions, whether or not I agreed with their action. And He wanted me to do it without the usual verbal appendage, “Okay, I’ll love them, but I will hate their sin.”
There was no reason for me to be mad at those comments. The mere act of “hating their sin” is me breaking God’s command to not judge others. Luke 6:37 says “Do not judge, and you will not be judged. Do not condemn, and you will not be condemned. Forgive, and you will be forgiven.”
I realized once I asked for forgiveness that I should have never been anger. I should have prayed and commanded healing into those wounded women in the exact same way that I prayed for the one contiplating the abortion… with love and kindness. I should have trusted God to reconcile each women’s pain the way He has mine every time I have lost a child of my own. I was reminded of Psalms 103:8 which says “The LORD is merciful and gracious, slow to anger, and plenteous in mercy.”
I realize that is how God wants us to be. So a fitting end to this blog would be to repent. The title of my blog is wrong, and I am sorry. In seeing the error of my ways, I would like to re-title it “judge not the sin; nor the sinner.”
Kim Slater
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myunfoldingtruth 