My God Did

Bethany: Dear Reader,              Do you remember that week before Christmas? Mom would be shopping for secrets and lingering in her bedroom for hours on end with the familiar slight ripping sound of wrapping paper. Yeah, that week, where the things that she had set apart all year would finally have their moment. The word sanctification is one that is usually used in religious and church venues means “to be set apart”. To sanctify means to be made better, to be made different by being set apa rt.              The funny thing is, when we heal we have transformation and we have sanctification. They work hand in hand, to change our what-we-used-to-be’s into what we are nows. Like anything beautiful, this process requires work. It insists that we lay down our fear, our anger, and our shame, along with our pride, and our grief. We may write lists of all our hurts, our emotio...

Bethany: Dear Reader,             Butterflies happen to be my favorite. Why? So very many reasons. I love the fact that a butterfly is a delightful combination of a bug and a bird. And the 5 year old side of me is gleeful that something that flies with elegance and grace started out as something that crawled and slid around on its stomach.             Yes, in a bunch of different ways, butterflies remind me of myself. I spent way too much time and even more energy sliding around and being a gross an d fuzzy person. And then just like a butterfly for a season I was shut away, to be quiet to learn and to grow and to be quiet. And all the while, my King was changing me.              Transformation is something that God has woven into the very fabric of our planet. Seeds become plants, babies grow, and caterpill...

Bethany:              It was always nearly impossible for me to spell the word desert. Because it sounded way to much like dessert. And it didn't compute that the only difference between something all sugary and something all dry and barren... Was ONE LETTER. One tiny s changed the whole situation.               But the thing is that when God gives us a desert, he is bringing a dessert. He doesn't waste our Father and he gi ves us sweet things. He uses the dry and the icky and the gross to heal us in an unfathomable way.               Anyways  :)  have a lovely day ladies and be blessed.               And know that God's sweetest gift can be the desert we are in  :)   Carol:         ...

Dear Reader, Now this section is a warning! It’s basically . . .   me writing a letter . . . a PSA about dating after a traumatic experience.             First off, No worries, girl, I'm not going to say don't date. But as you know by now. Trauma CHANGES EVERYTHING. It affects us and how we are as women. And years later, you will be amazed by what ended up needing healed. But I digress, dating is always fun. The nervous twittering of the beginning, the huge surge that happens when you figure out that this person really does actually LIKE you. And the fireworks that take place when the next step comes into play. They ask that question and it feels like the world has stopped for just a second. (Or so I have been told, I don't quite know what happens with that question just yet)             Falling in love, just like trauma, changes us. But you have two things to thi...

No hiding today. Today we will walk around in freedom. Today we throw off the shackles we have so long worn. Today we shout loudly. We are bought back, sanctified and delivered children of the Most High God. We aren't afraid. We know that our Father, our Papa God, holds us close. Today the things of the past matter little. Because our Jesus has given us a glorious future with Him. Will there be troubles? YES. Will there be things that can cause us doubt? YES. But every time we come up against a mountain, we know what to say. We know that if we whisper "move," with faith and conviction, that mountain will fling itself into the sea. But more than anything? Today we are no longer slaves to fear. Today we are sons and daughters. And with words like that we have an inheritance. So, grasp tightly Kidlets. And be free. Carol:                 These letters written two years apart, show the power of Jesus to change...

Dear Reader, I hope you know what I mean when I say those moments, the beginnings, the beautiful snippets of Jesus, shine and deliciously shatter you When you look at what God has done and what He continues to do and you stand in awe. “For my thoughts are not your thoughts and your ways aren’t my ways” says the Lord. “As the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts.” The King of the universe looks at you and calls you Child. He SINGS over who and what you are, regardless of the stumbles and struggles. He LOVES without limits and GIVES without question. Those moments of glory when you can stand and nearly touch the fragments of leaking sun that wash over you? Those moments are my favorite. I look and see the bountiful amounts of awesome that he has done in the past year. Not just in my own life but in the lives of those around me. Chains have been broken--- prisoners have been set free. AMAZING GRACE has been inhaled ...

Carol:                 In the previous story, Agatha (Edith) told about seeing a miracle in Heather’s life when she was able to talk again after becoming mute. Now, Heather tells us what happened to cause her to lose her voice and then regain it through God’s grace. This is what inspired Agatha, and many others, to tell their stories. Heather              I grew up in a tiny community in Kansas, I went to church and I knew my neighbors. I was a good girl, a Christian. I was home-schooled, and sheltered. My parents had me go through purity training,    I wore a “true love waits” ring and I had never been kissed throughout all of high school.                The youth group boys loved me, and they chased me and I didn’t relent. In fact, I was pretty clueless. I considered myself to be p...

             Natalie:                                 It all started when I was 18 years old, I had just started college and I was scared, nervous and completely unaware of life. I had been raised incredibly conservative and very sheltered.  When an older and more mature man approached me I had no idea what to do and all I knew was that he was paying attention to me and that felt really good. He was confident and I was not. I was awkward and he was suave. He was everything I had ever wanted. And I just felt like a small and worthless girl. And he made me feel desirable and worthwhile. He made me feel pretty.                So when he became abusive, when he started asking me to lie to my parents, his opinions and ways of doing things got increasingly disturbing. I tried to leave, he...

Carol:    My husband feels things. He has suffered hearing these stories! As he has struggled with the Lord about it, he has received peace. This is some of what God has taught him. Rick:              When reading the true stories of women such as Heather and Natalie, it is very clear that Our God Did/Our God Does many wonderful things. However, at the same time it is also obvious: evil is alive and well on planet Earth.              The man called Adam in these stories wasn’t just a villain in a novel or the personification of evil, he is a real person who is a God-hater and Christ-rejecter. He targeted young Christian home-schooled girls because he felt that in doing so he was hurting God and destroying the faith of those who believe in Him.              By definition, nothing can hurt God, but these...