How Do I Trust God?

"How do I trust God?" was the question posed at a recent Hope Meeting.  A real and honest question from a grieving mommy who is just weeks away from the one year anniversary of her son's death.  My quick response pours out the instruction offered in Romans 10:9-10, which reads...

"If you declare with your mouth, 'Jesus is Lord,' and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.  For it is with your heart that you believe and are justified, and it is with your mouth that you profess your faith and are saved."

If you have a desire or prompting in your heart to trust God, then do not hesitate to surrender to Him.  Acknowledge your sin and need for a Savior and be saved by asking Him to come into your heart and to take over your life.  This is where trusting God begins...first for your salvation, then with all other areas of life.  

Mindy, a dear and precious fellow mommy, added to this conversation by sharing some of her own personal struggles with the "why" questions and the pain of her grief since her miscarriage late last summer.  I, personally, was so encouraged by her willingness to share.  She spoke the truth about her grief and she spoke the truth about her Savior.  She recognized that even when we trust God, we are not immune to heartache, but that He is there and willing to walk us through the valley.  

Yes...God's Word is power!  2 Timothy 3:16-17 says this of God's Word...

"All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, so that the servant of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work."

The testimony of a changed life is powerful too!  That's why I am excited to share Mindy's life story with you today.  May you be blessed by her story and realize that you too can trust God...

Blessings of Ministry...

"For from him and through him and for him are all things.To him be the glory forever! Amen."

Romans 11:36

In this season of ministry, there is much to be shared as I contemplate all that God is doing right in our very midst.  May His will always be at the center, may Jesus always be seated on the heart's throne of this ministry, and may He guide each and every decision made and endeavor undertaken.

Month after month, the Lord has drawn women in.  We come together, broken by our grief, yet longing for hope.  Some are grasping for it, while others are clinging to it.  Our shared experience bonds us - even those of us who never have a chance to meet - and we get it.  Love abounds and hope is revealed.  Hope in the Savior...our only hope.  

"Now I want you to know, brothers and sisters, that what has happened to me has actually served to advance the gospel."

Philippians 1:12

This is the testimony of my grief.  I believe it has happened to advance the gospel.  Still, the pain is real, grief runs deep, and wounds sometimes feel just as fresh as the days we found out.  Just as real as the grief, so is my Jesus.  More real than anything I have ever experienced in my life.  Over the past six years, I have seen and experienced things that only He could do.   

Who could offer a peace to a heart filled with turmoil?

Who could bring a sinful woman back to faith?

Who could orchestrate a divine meeting between two grieving mommies with a passion?

Who could piece together gifts and abilities and a desire to serve?

Who could draw women to this place; this haven of hope?

Who could keep them coming?

Who could give strength through humble surrender?

Who is the good news?

Who could open doors and guide with infinite wisdom?

Who could give the words?

Jesus.  Only Jesus, who is the Word that became flesh (John 1:14).  And He has done great things!

Here are just a few of the ministry highlights and prayer requests that I am excited to share with each of you as the Mommies with Hope ministry continues to evolve...

*  We are in the midst of becoming an official 501c3 non-profit organization!  *

*  We will be launching our first fundraiser in the coming weeks (please pray)!  *

*  We are looking forward to a brand new website, slated to go live this summer!  *

*  My book will release this summer and is now available for pre-sale through Amazon, Christianbook, and Kregel.com (description provided)!  *

Please be in prayer as God continues to do His work through Mommies with Hope.  Pray for me, that I may always walk in obedience, leaving the results up to Him!

Blessings to You,
Teske

6 Years of Blessing

She would be 6 today.  It's hard to believe, really.  Six years!  It just doesn't seem possible.  In honor of Chloe's birthday, I am spending some time reflecting on how her life has continued to impact this world and counting my blessings.  I want to share six of these blessings with you, my fellow mommies.  One to represent each year since she went to be with Jesus...

Perspective
From the moment we received her diagnosis when I was 20 weeks along, everything has changed.  Calamity took on a whole new meaning and tragedy is no longer a stranger.  Still, there is blessing.  The frustration of a trivial arguments are relieved quickly and the significance of relationships magnified. Precious life is recognized, treasured, remembered. I see things through the lens of eternity, no longer consumed by the worry of the day. Life is short, love is eternal, God has done great things for me!

"Now then, stand still and see this great thing the Lord is about to do before your eyes!"

1 Samuel 12:16

Cherished Memories
Tangible moments were few, memory-making moment sparse.  Still, they are memories forever cherished.  The smell of her skin, the black curls in her hair, and the tiny lips that opened and closed with sporadic gasps for breath - moments I will not soon forget.  The grasp of her fingers, the warmth of her body, the way her second toe extended over her big one...just like daddy.  Held for every moment of her life, just as the Savior holds us now.  Memories continue to be made - in the garden plantings that re-emerge each Spring, in the questions of our living children as they long to know their sister, or in the written words that flow and encourage.  I cherish these moments and I am thankful.

"Therefore, since we are receiving a kingdom that cannot be shaken, let us be thankful, and so worship God acceptably with reverence and awe, for our 'God is a consuming fire.'"

^{Hebrews 12:28-29}

Joy
Maybe the world can't quite understand, but I to be honest, I can't quite understand it myself.  The joy I've felt over these past six years is indescribable.  I know that it is a joy that can only come from one source; Jesus.  The grief does not bring joy in the least.  Yet, my God, who walks me through my grief, brings me joy like I've never known.  Joy has come in countless blessings...son and husband knowing Jesus, revelation in the Word, bittersweet remembrance.  Amidst the heartache, I claim joy.

"The LORD is my strength and my shield; my heart trusts in him, and he helps me. My heart leaps for joy, and with my song I praise him."

Psalm 28:7

Purpose
Where do I begin?  The blessing of His call is humbling, the faith to walk in obedience is freeing, and the fruit of sharing His truth is life-giving.  This ministry born out of death - this miracle in the midst of my mess - what a blessing.  Women gather here, longing for their babies, yet truly longing for their Creator.  Oh, that He would reveal Himself to me so that I may point these precious souls to Him?!  Simply astounding.  May every sentence spoken and every word written bring honor and glory to my King, Jesus, who's shown me purpose through this pain.

"Now I want you to know, brothers and sisters, that what has happened to me has actually served to advance the gospel."

Philippians 1:12

Hope
Before Chloe, I didn't really understand what hope meant.  Hope has changed for me - from a wish or desire - to an assurance of what's to come.  For this reframing, I am grateful.  Hope in eternity, a heavenly dwelling.  Hope in truth, the gospel...good news.  Loving people, praising God, and winning souls for Christ.  My fellow Mommies with Hope and those who long for hope.  Hope in the Word, and my Jesus who is the Word...not doctors, specialists, tests or mere mortal man.  Hope in Him, Redeemer of all things, when all hope seems lost.  For this understanding of hope, I am blessed. Hope overflowing.

"May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit."

Romans 15:13

Heaven

What is heaven, without hope? This verse I call to mind..."How lovely is your dwelling place, O Lord Almighty" (Psalm 84:1).  I have seen a glimpse of heaven through the assurance of His Word, by the testimony of His children, and through the change within my heart.  I know the power of His gospel, which so boldly beckoned me.  I saw my husband accept this sacred gift and my son come to know Jesus too.  Fellow Mommies in full surrender, trusting God with their babies and then their lives.  I have seen the glory as much as can be seen from this side and long for what awaits.  I know nothing can compare.  I can only imagine.  Just a glimpse, yet too astounding not to share.  Have you seen it too? Do you know this blessed assurance?  Have you surrendered in hope? I leave you with this...

"Whoever has the Son has life; whoever does not have the Son of God does not have life.  I write these things to you who believe in the name of the Son of God so that you may know that you have eternal life.  This is the confidence we have in approaching God: that if we ask anything according to his will, he hears us.

1 John 5:12-14

Do you have the Son?  

This is the greatest blessing of all...trust Him.