Five Minute Friday – A Heavenward View

Dear one, this is my prayer for you in your affliction

While you undergo trials and tribulation

Faith will rise

Hope will not be extinguished

        But the Spirit will fan the flames

                From the embers, your hope in the Lord will burn hot

Trust in the Lord will increase

Unquenchable will be your desire for God’s Word

Praise and thanksgiving will flow from your lips

Peace of God will guard your heart and mind in Christ Jesus

Joy will fill your soul

You will pray without ceasing,

Confident that God hears your cries

He sees your affliction and He cares

Your face will reflect the glory of the Lord

        Time spent with Him

Remember…you are a son or daughter of the King of kings

        And Lord of lords

Your focus will be heavenward, not inward

Confident that your deliverance will come from the Lord

Certain that the Lord is walking with you in your trial

        He is well able to bring you through this tribulation

The Lord is in the fire with you

        Refining your faith as pure gold

May you not loose heart or hope or faith

        May your trust in the Lord never waver

It’s another Saturday morn and I wanted to participate in Lisa-Jo Baker’s Five Minute Friday writing challenge.  Head over to her website “Lisa Jo Baker Tales from a Gypsy Mama”.  Be sure to read some of the entries from other writers.  I can promise you that you will be blessed.

Joni & Ken – An Untold Love Story – Open & Transparent

After hearing Ken and Joni Eareckson Tada on several radio programs I was excited at the opportunity to read their new book Joni & Ken An Untold Love Story.

Many people may be familiar with Joni and her story on how she became a quadriplegic and know her through her writing or ministry, Joni & Friends.  But many people may be less familiar with her husband Ken Tada.  Through this book you will get to know the man who made a commitment, for better or for worse.

Rather than your typical biography Joni & Ken’s story seems to be told from a perspective of someone looking back on their lives with a spotlight on significant events and seasons of their life.  Joni and Ken are open and transparent.  They are godly people who love the Lord and each other, but don’t try to pretend that after they married, life was happily ever after.  Even good marriages can be trying, but add to that the everyday challenges of quadriplegia.  In their book, Joni and Ken shared about their struggles and the toll that it took on their marriage and a stretch in the doldrums, living separate lives together.

Dealing with quadriplegia would be hard enough, but then came excruciating pain without relief.  What would the diagnosis of breast cancer bring?  That much strain could bring even the best of marriages to the breaking point.  But God had another plan…instead this would be Joni & Ken’s finest hour.  God had been preparing Ken for this season when he would called to take care of the precious gift of his bride, Joni. 

I must confess I found Ken and Joni’s openness and transparency painful, sobering and at times depressing.  I was challenged because it caused me to reflect my own brokenness, but it was a much needed reminder of my absolute dependence upon God, each and every day. 

I recommend this book, especially for couples and individuals who may be going through a difficult season in their lives.  I think your commitment to your marriage and faith will be encouraged and strengthened.

I was provided with a complimentary copy of this book free from the publisher through Book Sneeze’ book review blogger program.  I was not required to give a favorable review. 

Happy Mother's Day!

Something I especially appreciate about participating in Five Minute Friday is reading the different blog post from other bloggers.  The word is the same, but each message is unique.

One post that I read touched me greatly.  To be blessed, whether you are a mother or not, head on over and read Gretchen's post "To the God Who Knows".

Five Minute Friday – In Christ I Find

In Christ, I find comfort

When I am afflicted

In Christ, I find strength

When I am weak and unable to go on

In Christ, I find peace

For my troubled soul, peace with God and with man

In Christ, I find wisdom

As I read God’s Word and obey

In Christ, I find justice

Assurance that one day there will be a reckoning

In Christ, I find abundant mercy

For on the cross He died take away my sin

In Christ, I find propitiation  

In His sacrificial death the Father’s wrath was satisfied

In Christ, I find grace

Abounding grace to live each day, for every situation

In Christ, I find forgiveness

For my own sins and the grace to forgive others

In Christ, I find direction

A Guiding Light for each step I take

Susan Wachtel

May 11, 2013

It’s another Saturday morn and I wanted to participate in Lisa-Jo Baker’s FiveMinute Friday writing challenge.  Head over to her website “Lisa Jo Baker Tales from a Gypsy Mama”.  Be sure to read some of the entries from other writers.  I can promise you that you will be blessed.