Who Do You See When Seeing a Human?
Faith is believing we will see what God says to be true, no matter what we see beforehand. In years gone by, I would have claimed that my faith was strong. What I didn't know was really just how much I didn't know. The things that I had firmly placed my faith in, contained many falsehoods of things I had learned along the way and had become fully convinced were true.
Things I had grown to believe about God, myself, people I knew, and my own perceptions were skewed to such a degree, that at times I had no idea whether anything or anyone could be trusted. That remained true for the greater portions of the life I've experienced thus far, until someone came into my life and relentlessly questioned why I believed something and whether my belief was what God said to be true. I wriggled and squirmed, argued incessantly, pushed back, and even tried to proved God wrong. In the end, my denial began to grow into awareness. A slow progression of truth replacing the false beliefs I'd grown accustom to living with. This friend, had never tried to convince me of anything but continued to bring me to the edge of truth with questions that I needed to answer for myself. And in my search for answers, Truth faithfully showed up.
In the places that I was no where near trustworthy, she chose to trust and speak as if it were already true. In moments that I was not very loving, she spoke of the love God had placed inside of me. In the midst of destructive acting out, she spoke of my gentle and compassionate heart. In my selfishness, she welcomed my generosity and kindness. In my own certainty that I was insane, she spoke of my sound mind and repeatedly reminded me that I'd been given the mind of Christ. Continually reinforcing that because the Spirit of the Most High God lives within me, the fruit of love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control were already within me. She believed what God had to say about me, well before these things were very evident in my life. She saw only who God said I am, and because of this, I came to believe God was right about me.
Things I had grown to believe about God, myself, people I knew, and my own perceptions were skewed to such a degree, that at times I had no idea whether anything or anyone could be trusted. That remained true for the greater portions of the life I've experienced thus far, until someone came into my life and relentlessly questioned why I believed something and whether my belief was what God said to be true. I wriggled and squirmed, argued incessantly, pushed back, and even tried to proved God wrong. In the end, my denial began to grow into awareness. A slow progression of truth replacing the false beliefs I'd grown accustom to living with. This friend, had never tried to convince me of anything but continued to bring me to the edge of truth with questions that I needed to answer for myself. And in my search for answers, Truth faithfully showed up.
In the places that I was no where near trustworthy, she chose to trust and speak as if it were already true. In moments that I was not very loving, she spoke of the love God had placed inside of me. In the midst of destructive acting out, she spoke of my gentle and compassionate heart. In my selfishness, she welcomed my generosity and kindness. In my own certainty that I was insane, she spoke of my sound mind and repeatedly reminded me that I'd been given the mind of Christ. Continually reinforcing that because the Spirit of the Most High God lives within me, the fruit of love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control were already within me. She believed what God had to say about me, well before these things were very evident in my life. She saw only who God said I am, and because of this, I came to believe God was right about me.
My faithful and loyal friend, Bethany Looyenga, has continued to be a strong presence in my life. I have enjoyed being a part of the ministry she founded and leads, Agape Celebration, as well as shining out as a light to the nations through Rooted in Mercy. I've had an absolute blast participating in Agape's retreats, and it is a joy to my heart to see Rapha Art groups begin also.
Another branch of Agape Celebration's ministry is called Restoration Meals, my family was helped greatly during times of medical crisis so I know firsthand how valuable this is also. Over the past few years, I've been slowly exposed to healthier eating, and this year began doing The Daniel Plan with a group of people through Agape also. My desire to find a happier and healthier life for my family began a pursuit into a new direction too. I began to learn a lot about essential oils. At first this was almost all about finding a path of wellness for my kids, but my own experiences and research brought me to a place of seeing for myself.
Another branch of Agape Celebration's ministry is called Restoration Meals, my family was helped greatly during times of medical crisis so I know firsthand how valuable this is also. Over the past few years, I've been slowly exposed to healthier eating, and this year began doing The Daniel Plan with a group of people through Agape also. My desire to find a happier and healthier life for my family began a pursuit into a new direction too. I began to learn a lot about essential oils. At first this was almost all about finding a path of wellness for my kids, but my own experiences and research brought me to a place of seeing for myself.
Guess what? God was right yet again. Eating healthy and adding essential oils to my journey of wellness, brought a startling positive change.
I have become an essential oil independent distributor for a company called Young Living, after much research, visiting one of the farms and knowing that it was a company built on integrity and trust. My family began experiencing positive results and my desire to share this with people I cared about, grew rapidly. At first my thoughts were just about doing it enough to not be paying out of pocket for the oils my family enjoyed using, but it became evident as we began using some of the supplements and cleaning products, that this was definitely something to share with the world. There is so much more I could get in to about this journey but if you are anything like me, you'll have to question and experiment and research for yourself.
I have a great desire to give back to Agape Celebration all that I can, for the gift of love and dedication shown to God, by constantly filling my life with truth and always always bringing out what God can and will do in a human life who chooses to believe Him first.
If anyone taken a good look at what Young Living can do in your life and is ready to leap into a new life of wellness and abundance as God's word says is ours, lets get you on your way with the purchase of a starter kit. And we will stay in touch to help you along your journey, including adding you to privit groups of hundreds of people sharing their experince with using these chemical- free products
To sign up and help financially fund ministry through Agape Celebration Go to youngliving.com using the link below
I have become an essential oil independent distributor for a company called Young Living, after much research, visiting one of the farms and knowing that it was a company built on integrity and trust. My family began experiencing positive results and my desire to share this with people I cared about, grew rapidly. At first my thoughts were just about doing it enough to not be paying out of pocket for the oils my family enjoyed using, but it became evident as we began using some of the supplements and cleaning products, that this was definitely something to share with the world. There is so much more I could get in to about this journey but if you are anything like me, you'll have to question and experiment and research for yourself.
I have a great desire to give back to Agape Celebration all that I can, for the gift of love and dedication shown to God, by constantly filling my life with truth and always always bringing out what God can and will do in a human life who chooses to believe Him first.
If anyone taken a good look at what Young Living can do in your life and is ready to leap into a new life of wellness and abundance as God's word says is ours, lets get you on your way with the purchase of a starter kit. And we will stay in touch to help you along your journey, including adding you to privit groups of hundreds of people sharing their experince with using these chemical- free products
To sign up and help financially fund ministry through Agape Celebration Go to youngliving.com using the link below
https://www.youngliving.com/en_US
Then click on the top righthand side "Become a member"
Scroll down and Choose "I was referred by a member and have their ID numbers"
Enter My number as the Enroller 4006979
Enter Agape Celebration as the Sponsor 11501819
Proceed with choosing from the diffuser options with the Premium Starter Kit
Decide whether to join Essential Rewards after reading about it
Lastly proceed through checkout and shipping
Let us know if you've decided you'd like to join us, but need any assistance, or if you have any questions at all.
Scroll down and Choose "I was referred by a member and have their ID numbers"
Enter My number as the Enroller 4006979
Enter Agape Celebration as the Sponsor 11501819
Proceed with choosing from the diffuser options with the Premium Starter Kit
Decide whether to join Essential Rewards after reading about it
Lastly proceed through checkout and shipping
Let us know if you've decided you'd like to join us, but need any assistance, or if you have any questions at all.