The other day I had something very special happen to me. The mother of one of my very first H2H clients stopped by our office. It was about 10 years ago that I worked with the family. She said that she was in the area and wanted to stop by to say "thank you" for the work that I had done with her daughter who was 5 at the time.
She showed me a picture of her beautiful 15 year old daughter, who is now in high school and doing wonderful. Seeing this beautiful young lady brought tears to my eyes. She certainly is not that same scared little girl that I knew so many years ago!
The mom said that she guessed that our (counselors) job is probably a thankless job, receiving very little appreciation for what we do. She wanted to be sure that I knew how very much she and her husband appreciate, even 10 years later, the support they received through H2H back then.
I shared this experience with another H2H counselor and her comment to me was that, most likely, not even we realize the impact that we have on the lives of our clients. What a joy, privilege and responsibility we have when we get involved in the lives of hurting people.
This highlights the importance and again, responsibility that a counselor has; it is not something to be taken lightly! Praise God for working in the lives of His hurting people through the counseling ministry at H2H! He deserves and will get the glory for it all.
Monday, September 13, 2010
Friday, September 10, 2010
Growing Deeper & Deeper in Love
Have you ever taken the time to consider your love relationship with God, comparing the love you have for Him today with the love you had with Him the first day that you entered into relationship with Him. My devotions today challenged me to do just that, to make the comparison.
As I thought back to the very beginning of my relationship with God, some 33 years ago, I remember feeling very emotional, giddy, excited, energetic, wanting to tell the world about this new relationship. It was very fresh and exciting, filled with wonder and awe, much like the early years of relationship with my husband. I had no idea that my love could/would be any deeper than it was in those early days.
As the years have passed, some of the feelings are the same, but some are very different. Today as I think about my relationship with God I am no longer "giddy" and not nearly so emotional; I am not what I would call "energetic" in my love any more. At first glance, this relationship appears to have lost its sparkle and vitality, and seems to be somewhat bland.
My love relationship with God today has some very different qualities about it that have developed over time. Today, my love has very deep, strong roots giving it stability and strength. I have a quiet assurance/confidence that our (God's and my) love will be able to weather any storm that life throws my way. I have a deep inner peace in this relationship that was not present in the early days. I have grown into this peace as I have experienced God's love and involvement in my life over the years and we have walked through many life storms.
My passion for God is lived out very differently than in those early days. At first glance, some might say that I have lost my passion for God but I believe that my love for God is deeper now than it ever has been. Just like my love for my husband is deeper today than it was on the day we were married. My prayer for every believer is that we all can honestly say that our love for God is deeper today than even on the day that we claimed Him as our own personal Lord and Savior. In this, time is our "friend"! God Bless!
As I thought back to the very beginning of my relationship with God, some 33 years ago, I remember feeling very emotional, giddy, excited, energetic, wanting to tell the world about this new relationship. It was very fresh and exciting, filled with wonder and awe, much like the early years of relationship with my husband. I had no idea that my love could/would be any deeper than it was in those early days.
As the years have passed, some of the feelings are the same, but some are very different. Today as I think about my relationship with God I am no longer "giddy" and not nearly so emotional; I am not what I would call "energetic" in my love any more. At first glance, this relationship appears to have lost its sparkle and vitality, and seems to be somewhat bland.
My love relationship with God today has some very different qualities about it that have developed over time. Today, my love has very deep, strong roots giving it stability and strength. I have a quiet assurance/confidence that our (God's and my) love will be able to weather any storm that life throws my way. I have a deep inner peace in this relationship that was not present in the early days. I have grown into this peace as I have experienced God's love and involvement in my life over the years and we have walked through many life storms.
My passion for God is lived out very differently than in those early days. At first glance, some might say that I have lost my passion for God but I believe that my love for God is deeper now than it ever has been. Just like my love for my husband is deeper today than it was on the day we were married. My prayer for every believer is that we all can honestly say that our love for God is deeper today than even on the day that we claimed Him as our own personal Lord and Savior. In this, time is our "friend"! God Bless!
Thursday, September 9, 2010
A Faith Adventure
H2H recently celebrated 10 years of ministry. What an amazing ride this has been watching God FAITHFULLY provide for His work at H2H! We had an anniversary celebration event, that historically has been a fundraising effort. This year, because of the anniversary, we decided to forgo the fundraising focus and focus on celebrating God and His work in and through H2H.
This decision was kind of a scary one because H2H's financial situation was very critical and was at an all-time low. But, we simply wanted to honor God and to trust Him to provide in other ways apart from this event. Just a few short days after this decision was made, God began blessing us with significant financial gifts.
I am keeping a journal right now and I want to share some of the recent entries to show you how I have been experiencing God moving in my heart and in H2H. Please sit back and enjoy the ride.
July 9th: "Often times it is a heavy burden I carry leading H2H. Today's scripture, 2 Kings 2:9 reminds me that H2H is God's work and He will/is providing for it! Even if I were not here, God would provide new leadership that would be better than me. I don't need to worry about H2H's future, God has it all taken care of and even now is preparing the next "generation" of leadership for H2H. I trust (confident assurance) that H2H will continue to grow stronger and stronger as the years pass by. NOT because of me, but because of God's divine plan!"
August 5th: "Today I acknowledge out loud that God is and will be faithful to His promises to me personally. I don't know in what form the fulfillment of His promises will come, I just know they will come. When all else fails, I choose to stand on what I KNOW to be true. . . .God will keep His promises. " (Little did I know that God would bless H2H ththis very day!)
This decision was kind of a scary one because H2H's financial situation was very critical and was at an all-time low. But, we simply wanted to honor God and to trust Him to provide in other ways apart from this event. Just a few short days after this decision was made, God began blessing us with significant financial gifts.
I am keeping a journal right now and I want to share some of the recent entries to show you how I have been experiencing God moving in my heart and in H2H. Please sit back and enjoy the ride.
July 9th: "Often times it is a heavy burden I carry leading H2H. Today's scripture, 2 Kings 2:9 reminds me that H2H is God's work and He will/is providing for it! Even if I were not here, God would provide new leadership that would be better than me. I don't need to worry about H2H's future, God has it all taken care of and even now is preparing the next "generation" of leadership for H2H. I trust (confident assurance) that H2H will continue to grow stronger and stronger as the years pass by. NOT because of me, but because of God's divine plan!"
August 5th: "Today I acknowledge out loud that God is and will be faithful to His promises to me personally. I don't know in what form the fulfillment of His promises will come, I just know they will come. When all else fails, I choose to stand on what I KNOW to be true. . . .God will keep His promises. " (Little did I know that God would bless H2H ththis very day!)
August 6th: "Yesterday God rained down blessings on H2H! Praise God! Thank You God! We received over $2,800 from a local church! It was so very unexpected. It is purely God moving and showing His faithfulness to me, His child, and to H2H, His ministry. I wish there were words to express how very loved by God I feel right now, but there aren't. I want to thank God for this wonderful blessing and to thank the church for being sensitive to God's leading! Thank You God!"
On August 28th, we had the anniversary celebration and it was a wonderful success! Approximately 100 people attended and we were very blessed that night!
September 9th: "H2H received a significant gift from an area church. I believe that this and several other gifts have come because of our recent 10 year anniversary celebration. Historically this event has been a fundraising effort but this year we were led to forgo the fundraising focus and simple praise the Lord for His goodness and blessing over the past 10 years. We received financial blessing during that event and the blessings still keep coming! This is so meaningful especially since H2H was struggling financially all summer. God's timing is perfect and I thank Him and Praise Him for it!"
I want to share these portions of my journal with you so that you can witness through me how God has been working in my heart and in and through H2H. My faith adventure is just that. . . an adventure full of fun, excitement, wonder, anxious times, drama and surprises all wrapped up in one big package. God is the most beautiful "ribbon and bow" decorating the package, holding it all together and making it ever so beautiful.
Over and over again, God just continues to demonstrate His love for me, for His ministry we call H2H, and for the people we serve through H2H. Praise God!
Friday, September 3, 2010
Slow, But Learning!
I was reminded by a client recently that learning, even very slow learning, is still learning! In my counseling ministry I always challenge growth and hope to see big growth quickly so that the person starts feeling better fast. But. . . .quickly is not always how God works His plans out.
I have been working with this person for approximately 6 months now and it feels like we talk about the same things over and over again at each session. Recently this person told me that they (and others) are beginning to see change in their life because they are continually remembering the things we have been talking about and the challenges to change attitudes and behaviors I have been giving them. They are making conscious efforts to make those changes. They are feeling encouraged by their own growth, even if it is very slow. Praise the Lord for this growth!
I also very recently had the opportunity to teach a God principle to one of my kids. They were very open to receive the teaching and indicated that they understood the principle. I long to see growth in my child in this area. It may not be manifested on the outside for a while, but I have confidence that the lesson will be resounding on the inside. I prefer to have growth taking place on the inside where the roots will grow deep, and patiently wait for the evidence of the growth on the outside.
Much like the parable of the sower in the Bible, this client and my child both have fertile soil where the roots are growing deep. I know in my heart that there will be a wonderful harvest in these two individuals in God's perfect time. I simply want them to take the time to experience life-long, deep, lasting growth and change, not simply a quick fix for a short time.
I pray that God will watch over them, protect them, and nurture them as they each grow into a solid faith-walk with Him!
I have been working with this person for approximately 6 months now and it feels like we talk about the same things over and over again at each session. Recently this person told me that they (and others) are beginning to see change in their life because they are continually remembering the things we have been talking about and the challenges to change attitudes and behaviors I have been giving them. They are making conscious efforts to make those changes. They are feeling encouraged by their own growth, even if it is very slow. Praise the Lord for this growth!
I also very recently had the opportunity to teach a God principle to one of my kids. They were very open to receive the teaching and indicated that they understood the principle. I long to see growth in my child in this area. It may not be manifested on the outside for a while, but I have confidence that the lesson will be resounding on the inside. I prefer to have growth taking place on the inside where the roots will grow deep, and patiently wait for the evidence of the growth on the outside.
Much like the parable of the sower in the Bible, this client and my child both have fertile soil where the roots are growing deep. I know in my heart that there will be a wonderful harvest in these two individuals in God's perfect time. I simply want them to take the time to experience life-long, deep, lasting growth and change, not simply a quick fix for a short time.
I pray that God will watch over them, protect them, and nurture them as they each grow into a solid faith-walk with Him!
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