Peace Through the Storm

Wednesday, June 7th-This week has been a whirlwind of emotion so far. I'm choosing to blog about the following events so that I have a reference point in history to look back and see God's hand in it all regardless of the outcome or my inability to understand. Due to the sensitive nature of the content and to protect the parties involved, I have changed the name of the witness/victim referenced since this case is still ongoing. For those of you that may not know, "Jane" had to testify in the most uncomfortable of situations and speak of unthinkable acts in front of a jury and open court. Staring the defendant in the face and recounting a series of events that I'm not sure I would have had the strength to endure, she has developed a maturity that I've watched blossom through this process.

We were both subpoenaed to testify and it's been a lot of adrenaline, frustration and angst, but I have purposed to intercede for all involved, including the defendant. I am praying that God captures hearts that have strayed or have never had the privilege to know Him...His goodness, His vindication, His authority and His peace.

Yesterday was the first day of testimony followed by another long day today. Jane testified this morning and I am anxious to soon be able to discuss with her everything I cannot right now due to "the rule" being invoked. As a mother, knowing you cannot be in the court room for the most heart-wrenching day of her life leaves you feeling useless. Literally, the only thing I could do was pray and trust God that He would be there with her with ministering angels surrounding her. Cross examination was expected to be brutal in an attempt to invalidate her experience, devalue her character and dilute her story. I am standing firm on Isaiah 54:17 which says, "No weapon forged against you will prevail, and you will refute every tongue that accuses you. This is the heritage of the servants of the Lord, and this is their vindication from me."

Needless to say, when she walked out of the courtroom and I saw the sigh of relief and peace on her face, I knew God was answering prayers...not just my prayers, but the prayers of all friends and family interceding on our behalf. I cannot thank you enough! No matter the outcome, I reminded her that truth is still truth regardless of someone's ability (or inability) to perceive it.

Now we are sitting in the "Victim Assistance" suite, sequestered and drained, and I know that in a courtroom not too far away, the battle still rages on. However, I look over to find her sleeping on the couch. I couldn't help but remember Jesus sleeping in the hull of the boat amidst the storm. Talk about a peace that surpasses all understanding! (Phil 4:7)

And while my strategic piece in this puzzle has been shifted many times, my supernatural peace has remained steadfast. I hope to draw from the courage that has already been on display if or when I take the stand next, and I know that Prov 13:6 says, "Righteousness guards the person of integrity, but wickedness overthrows the sinner." I am believing for a ruling in the favor of justice, but I will choose to trust God in the process regardless. I know that he will provide the grace for whatever comes next, and I'm ok with that.

Once again, thank you for everyone that has supported us in prayer, in person, via text or social media. We have felt it and the enemy knows it.

Realistic Faith

LOVE this revelation! What if you could opt to choose an alternate reality despite your current circumstance? Well, faith gives us that option! Faith gives us the ability to look beyond our present situation to a reality that is to come...on earth. Put a pin in that. But taken a step further, it is ALREADY DONE in heaven according to Matt 6:10, so reality even in another realm is still reality, right? I'm getting ahead of myself. Let me explain what started all this craziness...

Jer 33:3 popped up on my Bible app yesterday which says, "Call to me and I will answer you and tell you great and hidden things that you have not known." The Lord tells Jeremiah this while he's sitting in prison! Present circumstance. Perceived reality. But God wanted to show him a different reality that was just as tangible and just as real, a reality that just hadn't made it to earth yet. Then the fact that He says, "I WILL" sounds like a promise and a guarantee instead of an "I could or I may." So, if I call, He WILL answer and tell/show me realities I can't see. 

My next question was, "What are we supposed to do with the hidden or 'unseen' things that God has shown us? Have FAITH. The Lord quickly reminded me of a scripture in Hebrews, but this time for whatever reason, I chose to read it in the Amplified version. Talk about eye opening!!! Never before have I read the definition of faith (and evidence) so clearly with regard to reality. Pay special attention to the text in brackets. It will rock your world.

“Now faith is the assurance (title deed, confirmation) of things hoped for (divinely guaranteed), and the evidence of things not seen [the conviction of their reality--faith comprehends as fact what cannot be experienced by the physical senses].”

HEBREWS 11:1 AMP

Woah. Mind blown. 

So is reality a product of circumstance or is circumstance a product of reality? Apparently, it doesn't actually matter because this seems to tell me that neither one has to dictate the other. 

Let me share a simple story from Monday. Kadi and I were driving back from Wylie at 4:45pm. According to GPS, it was going to take AT LEAST an hour to get home. I even made the comment that it would probably be an hour and a half since it was rush hour. After all, I drive home from work at this time every day. I would know. To me, that was a fact, a realistic expectation. To Kadi, that was negotiable, a reality that could be altered. She responds with "It doesn't have to take that long" and starts quoting Prov. 18:21 to me..."Death and life are in the power of the tongue." She was speaking LIFE to my assumed reality {insert shocked parent face here}. Case and point? We made it home in 45 minutes. She had faith in a reality she saw differently despite outside factors, other's experience or opinions. Oh to have childlike faith like that once again...

I've always thought of myself as a realist, but all this is totally messing with my head. I'm gonna need to break all this down into smaller pieces, vet it out and chew on it for a while.

You See, What Had Happened Was...

Ok, here's the deal. I have not consistently blogged over the last few years like I used to do. Why? Because life happened. I allowed life to cloud my thoughts, overwhelm my time, expose my insecurities and silence my voice. What I had to say seemed only important to me and there was a lot of hurt and pain that dulled my passion to write. I don't have many outlets, but I love to sing and blog. It seems obvious that those would be the areas under attack...too bad I didn't realize it until now.

We all go through seasons where there are more questions than answers and more tasks than time. Priorities begin to shift as we navigate unchartered waters, wade through the doubt and worship through the storm. This year has brought about more change than any of us were prepared for, but more favor, faith and freedom than we ever knew we needed. We asked for God's direction, and He's been moving faster than we can keep up.

At the beginning of the year, the Lord spoke a word to me for 2017: FEARLESS. As I began to pray about that more, He revealed that it was not his expectation OF me, but more His promise TO me. The future would soon reveal why and boy was I gonna need it. Meanwhile, the first week of January, I felt impressed to write a specific melody that was on my heart. That song has now become my anthem. The Lord knew that I was going to need to remember the what, why and hope of the reasons I wrote it. This year started out with a whirlwind of devastating blows, but healing came quickly...both physically and spiritually. It was shocking actually. We began to receive prophetic words from various friends and pastors, none of which knew what we were walking through at the time. The absolute best book I read during this time was called "Uninvited" by Lysa Terkeurst. Don't let the title fool you because it is about a host of topics which helped to fast track my forgiveness in certain areas, trust God with the natural and tap into the supernatural. It allowed me to let go and let God. Literally. Best. Book. Ever.

We are almost half way through 2017 and I could not be more excited about what's in store. And while we are not yet ready to let certain cats out of the bag, we know that He will end up with all the glory in the end. Hard work is paying off and dreams are coming true. I believe God has given us divine inspiration, wisdom and impartation for which we are SEEING results and I could not ask for anything more. God is good all the time, and all the time, God is...awesome. =P

P.S. While I'm giving updates, I may as well tell you that we adopted another teen in January of 2016. Her name is Tina. She graduates this year and will be attending UT Austin in the fall. She's had quite the journey as well. God's grace is sufficient!

{Oh, and HAPPY BIRTHDAY, JEREMY!}