Posted by: trbccoffeebreak | October 24, 2018

When The Storm Rages – God Is Our Refuge

“The LORD is my rock and my fortress and my deliverer, my God, my rock, in whom I take refuge, my shield, and the horn of my salvation, my stronghold.” Psalm 18:2 (ESV)

Like a large barricade, a gathering of trees plummeted in front of my sister, Faye’s house. Her home was in the eye of Hurricane Michael as it ravaged through Panama City. Text messages flooded our phones, as she sent family “I love yous” before cell service was extinguished. And when the 150 mile per hour winds ended and moved up through the north, the terrain left behind was unrecognizable. Rescue workers couldn’t even see my sister’s house because the trees had barricaded them in. Her husband and mother-in-law braving the storm with her.

Devastation everywhere, no power, military food, humid hot conditions – I think you get the picture. But nestled right in the midst of these hard places and challenges those in my sister’s home escaped safely. How could that be? Nothing short of a miracle – a sweet protection from our God. You see those trees covering up their home created a barricade to the front of the house protecting them from the raging winds. No windows were broken and the roof didn’t collapsed. They were held scared yet safely in the palm of His hands – isn’t that just like our God!

Don’t know dear one what storm you are facing or what devastation has swept over your life. Can’t say I’ve walked in your shoes, but I have worn out my own. And with each step, every movement I have found my God to be faithful and true. A mighty fortress and an indestructible shield. Despite pain, tears and fearful moments God has proven to be my rock. Just like the barricade shielding my sister from a raging hurricane, God provided a refuge – a safe place in the eye of my personal storms. And you know what if you put your faith, hope and trust in Him, God will be your rock, deliverer and shield.

Praising God today for lives spared and for trees tumbling around to form a barrier from raging winds. Beyond belief, miraculous deliverer – that’s the One you want to cling to every day of your life.

“Father, you take my breath away at the very thought of Your hands protecting those we love. Grateful for Your divine fortress shielding us in our storms.”

For His Glory

Janet Martin
TRBC Women’s Life

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Posted in Faith, Gratitude, Hope, Spiritual Living

Posted by: trbccoffeebreak | October 23, 2018

Following After Him

“I am the good shepherd…” John 10:11 (NLT)

On a trip of a lifetime to Israel while walking down a country dirt road outside of town, she stopped to observe three shepherds tending their sheep in a field. Curious she sat on the side of the dirt road watching as the shepherds exchanged pleasantries then stopped to converse for several minutes. While the men were talking, she noticed the sheep converged and intermingled into one big herd.

Wondering how the shepherds and the sheep would recognize what sheep goes with what shepherd, this lady, a believer in Jesus recalls John 10:27 “My sheep recognize my voice; I know them, and they follow me.” She thinks just maybe she will see this Bible verse lived out literally right in front of her eyes. Fascinated, she waits and after a few minutes of conversation the shepherds say their goodbyes. Then the shepherds call out in their distinct voices and in a mesmerizing sight the sheep start bleating separating into three herds and follow behind “their” shepherd.

You may have been abandoned by someone important in your life. Someone who turned their back on you and you have asked the question…why? The good Shepherd wants to be that person you can have a close, intimate relationship with. He wants to be the One to pick-up His little lamb that feels rejected and raise you as His own. Filling any emptiness and voids with love and nurturing. The trustworthy Shepherd whose voice will lead you down paths of righteousness will never lead you astray or make you wander. He cares and provides…protects and guards His sheep as only a good Shepherd would.

The Shepherd’s voice is unique in communicating with His sheep. When you hear His still, small voice whispering love languages of the heart, you can be confident in following after Him.

“Father, thank You that Your voice is unmistakable and trustworthy to follow leading us to green pastures.”

For His Glory

Kim Lacey Schock (www.KimLaceySchock.com)
TRBC Women’s Life

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Posted in Encouragement, Faith, Hope

Posted by: trbccoffeebreak | October 22, 2018

When No Moves In

“But I am like a green olive tree in the house of God. I trust in the steadfast love of God forever and ever.” Psalm 52:8 (ESV)

“There’s no need for me to tell you what I want because you wouldn’t give it to me anyway.”

Those words spilled from my sweet friend Jane’s lips and stung like darts piercing our hearts. She was in hospice care, and we her bestie group of three sat around her bed eagerly wanting to help. However, Jane couldn’t swallow food or liquids and that is exactly what she wanted. In fact she begged repeatedly for the one thing she couldn’t have, but we were powerless to honor her request.

Wonder if we ever find ourselves in a similar place where giving up on the asking is the only solution. Sometimes, we grow weary, exhausted and empty with our requests to God. We’ve rehearsed them tirelessly over and over again. We linger to hear just a simple whisper indicating things are about to change. We rephrase our requests. We even offer God solutions as if He really needed our help. We fast, pray and enlist a prayer team confident He will deliver what we desire. We bargain, plead and yes, even quote scripture to the One who breathed those words on the pages. All attempts to manipulate, maneuver, and align what we desire to happen. And when it doesn’t happen, we often simply shrug our shoulders and give up.

While fulfilling my friend’s request would have been detrimental, I still wish we could have given her just a drop of cool, refreshing water to soothe her lips. But doing so definitely would not have served her well. And the same is true in our lives when the “no” moves in. God is fully aware and totally capable of giving us anything. He is not limited or powerless, instead He is mighty, strong and all knowing; embedded in that “no” is a loving Father who desires the very best for us.

So sweet friend let’s not give up drawing near and sharing our hearts with God. Let’s not allow His “no” to silence our voice. Out of deep respect and awe, let’s surrender to His decision and continue sitting at His feet. A girl can’t go wrong when she fully trusts that God alone knows what is best.

“Father transform my desires to Your desires and teach me the joy of resting in Your “no.”

For His Glory

Janet Martin
TRBC Women’s Life

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Posted in Encouragement, Prayer, Spiritual Growth

Posted by: trbccoffeebreak | October 19, 2018

Caught Up In A Moment of Weakness

“For the law of the Spirit of life has set you free in Christ Jesus from the law of sin and death.” Romans 8:2 (ESV)

It happened so fast. Didn’t even see it coming. One step in the wrong direction and down I went. The seemingly wet spot on the pavement was actually dangerously icy. Caught off guard, I went down hard, and it really hurt. I tried getting up but the icy spot was bigger than me so I kept slipping. The intense pain in my knee that didn’t want to bend didn’t help either. Lucky for me, sweet hubby came to my rescue and pulled me back up. Dignity intact, I hobbled to the car – no broken bones just an ache that derailed me for a few days.

Ever stepped in the wrong direction? Didn’t seem so wrong in the moment – rationalizing and excusing. Just a simple indiscretion that happened so fast. Before we knew it what appeared innocent had become dangerous and costly. Caught off guard, we went down fast. Unexpected and unplanned, no one anticipates the pain and consequences of sinful choices. And unfortunately sin will always take us down quicker than we think.

Solution to stay out of that pit of sin – stay alert! If I had been more aware of my surroundings and the dangerous patch of ice in front of me, I could have avoided my accident. If we are aware of our temptations and our weaknesses, we can seek God’s help to avoid the devastation of sin. With His guidance, we can create an action plan that includes prayer, scripture memorization and accountability. Each component plays a strategic role in creating a defense mechanism that guarantees victory when we rely on His power.

“Father, You have given us everything that we need to resist sin – help us to turn to You in our moments of weakness.”

For His Glory

Janet Martin
TRBC Women’s Life

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Posted in Prayer, Spiritual Growth, Spiritual Living, Success, Wisdom

Posted by: trbccoffeebreak | October 18, 2018

When Wait Is The Answer

“Wait patiently for the Lord. Be brave and courageous. Yes, wait patiently for the Lord.” Psalm 27:14 (NLT)

Smart phones, fax machines and email make for living in a high-speed society. Handheld gadgets and gizmos allow for no waiting; and with this technology we’ve conformed to little or no patience.

Admittedly, patience was never my virtue. Going anywhere had to be pronto. Tasks were done presto. For years my Christmas shopping was complete and wrapped by July 31st. Wait was not in my vocabulary.
However, about seven years ago, I became a reformed “fastaholic” transforming from a jackrabbit to a sloth. Seriously, I can linger for hours never in a hurry. Tasks can lie in wait. Christmas shopping usually takes place around December 23rd. My arch nemesis patience has become “well with my soul.”

So what changed? Why the drastic reformation? Literally, God taught me patience! I would pray and then wait for God to answer. We have “right now” prayers when we need God’s intervention immediately. He is well aware of the severity and time sensitiveness to our prayers, which He answers accordingly. Then there’s the prayers God may answer in a day, week, month or year(s). Those are the prayers God used to teach me patience. God has a special way of making sure there is no way of escape by human efforts. Our rescue will come by His answer and in His timing…period. It’s during these waiting periods, I realized God’s lessons were strengthening my trust, belief and stretching my faith by building “faith muscle.”

We glean encouragement and inspiration from the Bible stories of Joseph, David, Anna, Hannah and Sarah etc. They experienced having no other choice but to wait on the Lord. Also, the events of friends and family; their testimonies of God’s faithfulness. Funny, as we wait on the Lord to answer, when the response comes it’s usually quick and ironically unexpected. It catches us off guard. What took years intentionally to answer comes sudden and instant. Changing the course of our lives in ways we could only dream of.

“Father, with patient hearts, we pray to be brave and courageous as we wait for replies to prayers that seem to linger knowing there is purpose in the expectancy. You’ve heard our cries and haven’t forgotten! Your responses may not be one minute early, but You’ll never be one minute late. Thank you, Your answers are perfect and always on time.”

For His Glory

Kim Lacey Schock (www.KimLaceySchock.com)
TRBC Women’s Life

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Posted in Faith, Spiritual Growth, Spiritual Living, Wisdom

Posted by: trbccoffeebreak | October 17, 2018

Flourishing In The Midst of Re-writes

“Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly, teaching and admonishing one another in all wisdom, singing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs with thankfulness in your hearts to God.” Colossians 3:16 (ESV)

Ask any published author and they will tell you they have developed “thick-skin.” That’s right. Tough skin so they can handle all those re-writes, critiques and changes that editors bring their way. Writing is personal and laborious, and we get attached to our words real quick. It’s hard to be objective and we easily get blinded to our own errors. The real polishing happens when another set of eyes reviews and edits the work. Painful process? Yes, but no one wants to publish a book full of mistakes, so writers develop “thick-skin” – a learned ability to thrive and flourish in the midst of re-writes.

Life is kind of the same way. We can isolate ourselves and determine no one knows what’s best for us. We can dig our heels in deep, plant ourselves firmly and refuse to entertain the thought we could be wrong. We can convince ourselves that everyone else is trying to rob us of best. Done that one way too many times.

We’re quirky people when it comes to listening and opening ourselves up to another opinion. Once we make a decision based on what we want to do it is often difficult for us to see another possibility or evaluate negative consequences. Isolation sets us up for “one view,” and the consequences that follow will rock our world. Stubborn never serves us well.

Best solution – learn to have “thick-skin” and a tender heart. Impossible? No way. Embrace godly counsel and input. Resist the urge to know it all. Guard against run away emotions. Welcome a teachable heart that is humble and moldable to God’s ways. And don’t get offended when the truth rises to the surface -welcome rewrites so we won’t get blinded to our own desires. Leave margin for God to speak into our lives without a prideful attitude overriding His wisdom. End result – we can avoid a life of mistakes and choose to thrive and flourish even with our “thick skin.”

“Father help us to remove our tendency to be prideful and our resistance to godly counsel. Teach us the benefits of having a teachable spirit and tender heart.”

For His Glory

Janet Martin
TRBC Women’s Life

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Posted in Attitude, Encouragement, Hope, Spiritual Growth

Posted by: trbccoffeebreak | October 16, 2018

Choosing To Hear Well

“Then Jesus said, “Whoever has ears to hear, let them hear.” Mark 4:9 (NIV)

Selective hearing is a condition that many people seem to suffer from. Through selective hearing, one can choose what he or she hears, thus responding to only the things to which he or she chooses to respond and act upon.

There are seven accounts in Scripture of times when the Lord Jesus finished a story by saying, “whoever has ears to hear, let them hear.” The Lord knew humankind tends to be selective in their hearing, especially when the topic in discussion is addressing something they don’t necessarily wish to hear. I know, I am guilty of this.

I remember times when I was a young girl and my mother would give me specific directions on things she expected from me and I, very nonchalantly, would ignore her directions because they would entail work on my part. After all, what young girl would choose to stay home cleaning, folding laundry or setting the table while her friends were outside playing? And what about the rest of the family? In my case, I had three siblings, so I thought that it would be very unfair for me to be working while my siblings could be out doing whatever it was that they were doing.

Because I would choose to be the boss of me, my own little conscience, and disregard the directions given by my mom, I would end the day with my backside throbbing from the whipping of a leather belt that I absolutely learned to hate.

I learned long ago that selective hearing, if used wisely, can be a good tool. However, a disregard for the authority giving the directions can end up costing a price we, sometimes, regret having to pay.

God speaks to us all the time. He speaks through His word, through other people, and in so many other ways. If we allow our ears to hear Him, we will be blessed abundantly and will not live with the regret of knowing we could have listened when we didn’t.

“Sweet Lord Jesus: Your voice reaches us in ways no one else can. Please help us to choose to hear and to obey.”

For His Glory

Luska Natali
TRBC Women’s Life

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Posted in Attitude, Spiritual Growth, Spiritual Living, Wisdom

Posted by: trbccoffeebreak | October 15, 2018

Confident of His Ability

“For He (God) remembered His holy promises given to His servant Abraham. He brought out His people with rejoicing, His chosen ones with shouts of joy.” Psalm 105:42 (NIV)

Ever find yourself searching for the one thing you need right now but can’t seem to remember where you put it? If you’re like me, you always put it in a certain place so you can find it only to become totally frustrated when you forget where that place is. We search diligently convinced we know exactly where we put this one thing we need. We become aggravated when our attempts to find send us on an endless scavenger hunt. And when we come up empty handed, we simply give up.

With all the techno advances we have it’s easy to see why my brain eases into forgetfulness. Need to call mom – my cell phone has all my contact numbers. Got a doctor’s appointment, my goggle calendar is synced to my phone and remembers my schedule. Quick trip to the grocery store and my list app reveals what I need. Easy to understand why my mind has a short memory stick when I’m not the one remembering.

Love these sweet words from the Psalmist totally confident of His God’s ability to remember. God doesn’t need Goggle or an app to trigger His memory bank. Etched in His mind are the Holy promises He makes to His people. He never forgets a single word, He never reneges on His promises and He is our forever covenant keeper.

Can’t say I know anyone else who does exactly what He says always. Don’t remember a time when someone fulfilled every promise. But I can see God’s echos of remembrance and faithfulness throughout scripture. Every rainbow shouts, “I remember you and I will not destroy all living creatures again.” Each story unfolding whispers, “I am the keeper of my covenant with my people forever.” Every miracle resonates with God’s goodness and loving kindness proclaiming, “You are my chosen ones; I will never leave you nor forsake you.”

Beautiful truths we can cling to. Honest words reverberating in our hearts. Trustworthy promises always kept. This is who our God is – our forever covenant keeper – we can believe in Him completely without reservation. A promise keeper who never forgets or backs out making good on His every word from generation to generation.

“Father, we can rest confidently trusting in You to always remember us. We will never be forgotten or forsaken. You are our faithful, true and Holy God whose love endures forever.”

For His Glory

Janet Martin
TRBC Women’s Life

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Posted in Encouragement, Faith, Hope, Wisdom

Posted by: trbccoffeebreak | October 12, 2018

God’s Forever Faithfulness

“Lord, You have been our refuge in every generation. Before the mountains were born, before You gave birth to the earth and the world, from eternity to eternity, You are God.” Psalm 90:1-2 (HCSB)

I remember those single mom years – seems like yesterday sometimes. Me and my little boy doing life together. Football practices, movie nights and trips to the lake. Fun times, crazy memories that echo in this momma’s soul. Definitely not all sugar coated – lots of tough years and struggles that challenged us deep. We shared too much chicken noodle soup and stretched every dollar at the grocery checkout line. Never forgot the co-worker who kept me clothed with her hand me downs; shopping for momma never hits the list. And in the midst of all these, God has been and continues to be my sweet place of refuge.

Really shouldn’t surprise me – God’s forever faithfulness. I can see it etched from generation to generation. My granny was a single mom raising my dad and his sister. Never went hungry; they survived it all. Greatest prayer warrior I’ve ever known this tiny little woman who never gave up, never gave in and persisted before the throne. Loved her Jesus much. Cancer took my other granny way before her time. She was a strong, wise business woman who fought her battle hard and long. Despite her pain and suffering, granny loved big and clung to her Jesus even in the hardest of places.

I can trace God’s faithfulness sprinkled throughout our family tree. God’s unchangeable, unshakeable and unmoveable character providing sweet refuge for His children. Tender graces that shaped and molded me formed out of generations of His faithfulness. Snapshots I will never forget. Memories forever framed in my mind. Sustainers that rise to the surface when hard days hit.

So what’s your God story? How has He been faithful to you and those you love? Steal away a few moments this Fall to collect those memories. Reminders that He is always there. Trace His fingertips across your life and savor His refuge from generation to generation. Share those stories with someone on the edge of giving up. Give those stories to those you love and cherish. Our God – the faithful One – from everlasting to everlasting.

“How I love the pages of our journey God – echos of Your faithful love to us.”

For His Glory

Janet Martin
TRBC Women’s Life

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Posted in Encouragement, Faith, Gratitude, Hope, Worship

Posted by: trbccoffeebreak | October 11, 2018

Running Far With Jesus

“But he himself went a day’s journey into the wilderness, and came and sat down under a juniper tree: and he requested for himself that he might die.” I Kings 19:4a (NKJV)

Interpreting individualized car tags can be fun and challenging. On the way to work one morning one read ‘I Run Far.’ Ok, inquiring minds want to know how far, where, why? Physical running can be enjoyable and therapeutic; however, for some people ‘running away’ seems to be the only option to flee life’s challenges.

We find this example in I Kings Chapters 18-19. Chapter 18 finds Elijah celebrating God magnificently proving Himself, but then inconsequentially Chapter 19 finds him running ‘far away.’ Why? Because Jezebel, a very wicked queen, had received word that God had tremendously used Elijah. Irritated she threatened his life. Fear and doubt gripped this mighty man of God so ferociously he felt his only option was to run – far away. Not only did he run away, he refused to eat, drink, or rest resulting in depression and inevitably praying to die!

How many times does God use us beyond our human ability and without warning we find ourselves like Elijah – fearfully doubting God. The truth is we can’t run from ourselves. Though Elijah’s faith was challenged, God met his physical needs and is ultimately found encouraging Elijah in a still small voice.

What are you running from today? A broken marriage, fear of the unknown, failure, etc.? Listen to God’s voice. Running away is not an option – ‘running far’ with Jesus is. He is your personal cheerleader!

“Dear Jesus, please teach my heart to run to You not away from You.”

For His Glory

Patsy Sanders
TRBC Women’s Life

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Posted in Encouragement, Faith, Freedom, Hope

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