Once before… But now…

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This week the HelloMornings study was from Ephesians 2:11-22, about The Reconciler of Mankind. And this is what God has been teaching me from these verses:
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Once before…
I lived apart from God.
I was an outsider.
I lived without God.
I lived without hope.

But now…
God made Christ Jesus to be our peace.
He came and preached the peace to us.
He is the reconciler.
He made Jesus the cornerstone.

I am saved and redeemed.
I am bought by the blood of Christ.
I am part of His family.
I am an insider in His kingdom.
I can go to God the Father through Christ in the Holy Spirit.

You are saved and redeemed.
You are bought by the blood of Christ.
You are part of His family.
You are an insider in His kingdom.
You can go to God to the Father through Christ in the Holy Spirit.

Today, I link up this post at HelloMorning blogs and you can find more encouraging posts from what God has taught them through reading of His word in the book of Ephesians.

And also I link up this post at Faith-Filled Friday at Missional Women blog:

Missional Women

An Interview with Angela Bickford, the Author of Beating Bed Rest

Bedrest is not my favorite thing to do when I had morning sick with both babies and even after the C-sections I “supposed” to be in bed rest for 3-4 weeks but I didn’t stay in bed for that long. I only could stayed in bed for a week!

When I was in bed, I didn’t feel rested. I was anxious and uncomfortable laying on my back all the time. The incision was hurt so bad when I laid on my side. I felt so useless that I couldn’t do anything. Lots of people helped and prayed for me. God gave me the strength to go through it all until I could stand up and moved around.

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A few weeks ago, Angela Bickford asked me and some other bloggers to review her new e-book, Beating Bedrest. I read the book and the first chapter, she said,

“You might be questioning why God would do this. Why he would make you feel like you might not make it … Honestly though… now isn’t the time to question Him.

Now is the time to hold on to your faith. Grab it and don’t let go. Pray fervently and have others do the same. Plaster your prayer requests all over Facebook. Don’t be shy about it either, you’d me amazed at the power of prayer.”

I couldn’t agree more with what Angela said. Prayer fervently! That is powerful and God is at work when we pray, He will give us everything we need to go through our hard times.

If you want to check about the detail and what what this book all about, you can go HERE.

Here’s a little interview with Angela about her background and why she wrote this book:

1) Tell us a little about yourself and your pregnancy

  • My husband and I married in 2007 and I have always wanted to be a mom. After 3 years of trying, we finally got pregnant – with triplets! Of course, this meant high-risk given it was three and because of my history of miscarriage. So, I pretty much did nothing from the beginning. The pregnancy was going very smoothly until about 21 weeks, when I started to have issues with my cervix not wanting to hold the babies in. Then, at 23 weeks, as it continued, I was put on hospital bed rest, where I stayed until they were born at 27 1/2 weeks. The bed rest was an enlightening time for me, since I’m quite the type-A personality, but I learned a lot and am now thankful that I had that time. Although we ended up losing one of the triplets, bed rest gave my other two more of a fighting chance and helped them survive.

2) Why did you decide to write this book?

  • When I was on bed rest, I searched for resources to keep me busy and also to help me understand what I had in store for what could have been 4 months. There was absolutely nothing other than one fiction book, which I read, and one very old history text type book that I knew I wouldn’t enjoy. I knew that I didn’t want other women to have to be alone in what they were going through, and I knew that a book would come out of my experience one day.

3) What was your favorite part to write?

  • Hmm… favorite part? Probably naming the chapters. I got to come up with some pretty funny names. It was so easy to write the first part – the part dealing with my experience, and I enjoyed adding in the quotes from other moms on bed rest. But what I really liked was how after putting together the resources section, I learned that there are now many other resources out there, which is awesome! Of course, my book is the best right? But, honestly, I think women on bed rest need a selection of materials to help them – it’s a tough job.

4) What was the hardest part about bed rest, for you personally?

  • Being away from my husband and pets. It got lonely. I could deal with the not getting showers and eating food that I didn’t like very much, but being lonely is really hard when you’re an outgoing person. Oh, and the lack of control. That was also highly difficult for me.

5) In your experience, what was the main difference between bed rest at home vs. in hospital?

  • Well, bed rest at home is easier in the sense that you can ‘cheat’. I don’t recommend it, but you can. If you’re home all day alone with no one to answer to and you really want something in the other room, who’s going to know? But, when you’re in the hospital, every one else is in control BUT you, and you don’t get much choice in the matter.

6) Any advice for significant others or family members of those on bed rest?

  • I think just being supportive in general. My husband came every evening after work and at least one person came during the day most of the time. That really helped. I have a chapter in the book about how to help your bed resting friend, and there are a lot of ideas in there as well. But, the bottom line, just be there and ask what they need from you, then do that.

7) I know you talk a lot on your blog about the loss of one of your triplets and how you’ve dealt with guilt about having to be on bed rest and ultimately going into preterm labor, can you talk to us a little bit about that?

  • Sure. I did feel guilty – and a lot of moms do. It’s perfectly normal, but it’s also not their fault. It took a long time to get to the point where I could forgive myself. If I had just not done this or that, then the babies would have stayed in, etc. Truth is, an incompetent cervix isn’t anyone’s fault. It just happens. Neither is pre-eclampsia or placenta previa or any other thing that causes a baby to come early. Most of the time, it’s nothing the mom did. But I think that it takes awhile to get to the point where you can forgive your body because it was supposed to be made to carry a baby, and it didn’t work right. To help myself overcome that guilt, I just reminded myself that I did all I could. I was a great bed rest patient, and I loved those babies more than anything and would have stayed in bed for the whole pregnancy if I had to. I told myself that even when I complained about being there, that didn’t mean I didn’t want to be there, it just meant I wasn’t having fun, and that’s normal! My advice for bed resting moms is to be kind to yourself – you’re going to have bad days, you’re going to deal with guilt. But, ultimately, you know you’d do anything for that little baby inside you, and you have – you stayed in bed for however long you had to!

8) How did your faith play into your bed rest experience?

  • Faith was a huge part of my bed rest time – really my whole pregnancy, the infertility before, and the NICU time afterwards. God never left my side and I learned how strong I truly am. I didn’t realize how much faith I had until I went through these experiences, and I am grateful that He continues to use them to help others and bring glory to His name.

The book is now available on Amazon for only $6.99! And if you buy from today until September 28th, you will get these 2 bonuses from Angela:

bed rest amazon specials copy

She is ONE Now!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, Doodle Bug!

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I remember exactly this time around I was at the hospital and having this cute little baby girl. My husband, Dave, was there right beside me in the surgery room, held my hand, and even allowed by my OB/GYN to witness the moment they pulled the baby out of my womb. He can tell you the story better than me. He thought it was the awesomest thing he ever seen in his life!

The first time I held her in my arms, she was so tiny and I couldn’t stop crying to see once again God made a miracle in our family. He made her beautifully and fearfully, He has written her life in His book. He has her future planned perfectly.

Today, we are celebrating her first birthday. YES, SHE IS ONE YEAR OLD NOW! Time flies when we have so much fun and time to spend together. Can’t thank God enough for His grace, mercy, love and blessings in her life. We have seen God has been working in her life since she was born and we are seeing now, and we will see God’s hands in her life in the future.

I am one blessed Mama! God has given me delightful and beautiful daughters and an amazing, loving husband. He made my life complete!

I never stop thanking God my Father and Jesus Christ, my Savior and Lord for them every single moment! 

 

The Lord’s Plan

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Up until now I still cannot figure out what’s the next step for us to take in this Partnership Development journey. I just know that this journey we have been taking since 16 months ago is not as easy as we thought.

Not knowing the certainty of our next steps really bugs me a lot. Then this verse came back to me since couple of days ago. God reminded me that his plan for me and my family. That He never ever forget, nor forsake, nor abandon us.

He is the one who gives us the desire to serve Him as missionaries and supporting Bible Translation works.

He is the one who leads us to where we are now.

He is the one who put this plan in our lives.

He is the one who will work it out.

For He is the one and the only one who can make it happen.

For His faithful love in our lives.

For He made us.

For He is GOD!

For once again, He speaks to me, “Why worry, my daughter? For I will work out My plans in your life, for I love you so, for I made you.”

In a 2 hours I will be go to a ladies’ retreat with my ladies friends from church at Scioto Hills Christian Camp, we will be rejuvenated, refreshed and reconnected with God. I pray for His new revelation of Himself to me and all the ladies.

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I link up this post at:

Missional Women

Prayer of Trust

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It has been about 3 weeks I have some things that trouble my heart and mind.

I scare.
I worry.
I feel uncomfortable.
I feel lost.

Instead of praying & be still in Him, I focused my eyes on those feelings that distract me from God & who He truly is.

I found this prayer post back in May from Roy Lessin. I even bookmarked it on my iPad screen. Today, I clicked on it and prayed to God. Pray of trust in Him and in His promises for me, my family and the mission work He has put in our lives.

Prayer of Trust
Lord, I trust in You. I believe in You. I hope in You. You are my confidence, my assurance. I lean upon You, for You are my Rock; I depend upon You, for You are my Provider; I delight in You, for You are the joy of my life. My heart rests in You; my faith responds to You, my soul rejoices in You.

You are the true God who cannot lie and will not fail. You are the Lord, the Almighty God, the Creator of all things. You are my Lord, My God, and my Creator.

You are my Keeper, and I am secure; You are my Father, and I am cared for; You are my Counselor and I am guided; You are my Shelter and I am safe.

I trust You in life—for the wisdom of Your ways, for the blessings of Your favor, for the sufficiency of Your grace, for the power of Your Spirit, and for the endurance that comes from Your strength.

Lord, I trust in You—my mind trusts in You, my will trusts in You, my soul trusts in You—from the depths of my being, I trust in You.

I trust You for all things.
I trust You with all things.
I trust You in all things.
I trust You through all things.
I trust You above all things.

Father, I entrust my future into Your hands, for You who are the Beginning and the End, know the end from the beginning; I entrust my hopes into Your hands, for You never lie; I entrust my labors into Your hands, for You are my exceeding great reward; I entrust my life into Your hands, for You are the only one who does all things well.

Scriptures: Psalms 5:11, 7:1, 9:10, 18:2, 20:7, 25:20, 34:22, 36:7, 37:40, 62:8, 91:2, 118:8, Proverbs 3:5-6 (source: Meet Me In The Meadow)

I am thankful that we have the God who is trustworthy and faithful.

We can trust Him.
We can trust in Him.

We will have peace when we put our trust in God. Because Jesus has overcome the world!

I have told you all this so that you may have peace in me. Here on earth you will have many trials and sorrows. But take heart, because I have overcome the world.” (John 16:33 NLT)

We will have peace to go through our every day life when we trust in Him and fix our hearts and minds in Christ and His words.

Don’t worry about anything; instead, pray about everything. Tell God what you need, and thank him for all he has done. Then you will experience God’s peace, which exceeds anything we can understand. His peace will guard your hearts and minds as you live in Christ Jesus. And now, dear brothers and sisters, one final thing. Fix your thoughts on what is true, and honorable, and right, and pure, and lovely, and admirable. Think about things that are excellent and worthy of praise. Keep putting into practice all you learned and received from me—everything you heard from me and saw me doing. Then the God of peace will be with you. (Philippians 4:6-9 NLT)

I pray for you today, may your put your trust in God & He strengthen your faith in Christ Jesus, our Savior. I pray He will bless you as you walk with Him. Amen.