ENCOURAGED

I was encouraged this morning to write.  This time it was my husband that told me I HAD TO WRITE ABOUT THE GIANTS.  We were reading Streams In The Desert, a daily devotional that has YEARS of readership (use and abuse) and within its pages we have found hope for what seems like endless seasons of trial.  It's pages are marked by my husband with years of tears, underlining and various colors and the dates of promises from God.  As painful as it is to have journeyed through, even typing those words reminds me of beauty that comes from ashes.

Within this reading, we are reminded and easily can reflect upon these words: "The land we explored devours those living in it.  All the people we saw there are of great size."  Numbers 13:32.  Joshua and Caleb saw God, not the giants as the Israeli spies did when they went to investigate the land.  They knew that when they overcame their opposition they would be stronger than if there had never been any "giants" to defeat.  Joshua and Caleb believed that keeping their eyes focused on God would bring them through the difficulties to the promised land.

Something I have learned and believe with every ounce of my being is the words I read on this day: "We encounter giants only when we are serving God and following Him.  It was when Israel was going forward that the giants appeared…."  In the most peacefully disturbing way this has brought increased expectation and hope for my weary soul many times over.

I asked a friend just yesterday if I should have increased or decreased hope that everything in our life is such a struggle…I honestly want to know?  She didn't want to answer me fearing "playing God" but this very morning God led us to this reading.  Streams goes on and talks about Paul and his severe and endless conflicts but concludes with reminding the reader than he ALWAYS "emerged victorious through the strength of Jesus Christ.  What comes next is one of my most personally understood series of verses in The Bible, 2 Corinthians 4:8-10.  "We are hard pressed on every side, but not crushed; perplexed, but not in despair; persecuted, but not abandoned; struck down, but not destroyed.  We always carry around in our body the death of Jesus, so that the life of Jesus may also be revealed in our body."

We may be surrounded by "enemies" but we will not be crushed.  The literal meaning is that we are crowded from all sides, but we are not defeated.  We may be blocked or twarted by the enemy, but evenso we will persevere as we trust God to light the way to our next step.  In one literal translation it is described as being "without a road, but not without a 'side road' of escape."  Next, we can additionally be pursued but not abandoned by The One who will NEVER leave us nor forsake us.  As we progress through these verses, the fourth image is even more difficult to deal with as the enemy has in fact overtaken us, struck us and knocked us down.  There is comfort even here, as we focus on the fact that the blow is not fatal:  we are able to rise again…and will if we choose to as we are not destroyed.  We may have been "overthrown," but we have not been "overcome."  In the final image of verse 10, the "life of Jesus" comes to our rescue and we live through that life until our own lifeswork is complete…our assignment, chosen by our Creator Himself.

"Difficult times and places are our schools of faith and character.  If we are ever to rise above mere human strength, and experience the power of the life of Christ in our mortal bodies, it will be through the process of conflict that could very well be called the 'labor pains' of the new life."

I know it was no coincidence that God led me to the answer to my question.  The One who loves me in every unlovable place and state I find myself within handed me the reassurance this day that EACH hurdle and EVERY battle is handed to me in love and with a purpose of producing incredible fruit from my small and insignificant life that without Him serves NO purpose, but with Him serves others and even myself in ways I have yet to know or realize.  I will walk in faith and trust that He orders my steps.

A man's steps are from the Lord; how then can man understand his way? Proverbs 20:24

THE MEN IN MY LIFE

HAPPY FATHER'S DAY TO MY DAD AND MY HUSBAND.  2 COMPLETELY DIFFERENT WAYS THEY HAVE LOVED THEIR CHILDREN, BUT I CAN HONESTLY SAY I AM SO GRATEFUL FOR BOTH OF THEM!!

I am glad my husband focuses on relationship above ALL ELSE, (especially as the mother of his children), but I will never discount what my own dad offered and gave to me, especially after being raised without a dad until the age of 12.  The addition of him into my life restored so much that was just not capable of being present under the circumstances of which I had been raised in the first decade of  life.

When my mom remarried, and I was adopted as his own shortly thereafter I quickly learned that he worked tirelessly (still does) and provided well for us with a very comfortable life that had no financial lack.  His job is extremely demanding and the expectations of others in their time of need (as a funeral director), presents a life that he cannot dictate the pace of.  He was raised by a father who, at the age of 8 was a water boy serving those building a main highway during the depression, which had created a standard as a very young boy for "what it takes" to make it in this world to an entirely different level than many of my friend's fathers. The investment of his time was into others and their emotional needs came before all else.  His other title was lieutenant colonel in the Army and he served a standard for our country as well as himself that set a precendent for everything he was called to.

My husband, on the other hand, grew up in a gregarious Italian family with an incredible focus upon others.  While Danny's dad too, grew up during the depression and had a tireless work ethic, he came home after a long day's work and was wisked into social scenes involving food, cards and family gatherings.  Imagine what it was like marrying me (an only child) with little interaction with family or others, and certainly no interest in serving at the level that his mom had served his dad or their extended family?

God CLEARLY had other plans by giving me 5 children (a number that would dart out of my mouth when asked how many kids I wanted one day) in which there was/is ample opportunity to serve as well as teach service for ultimate surrender to a life well lived where God is concerned.

The more experiences that life gives me, the more I realize that there is much humor to be found in the incredible circumstances of life if it is perceived that way.  That is a choice we will all have to make at one time or another as life ALWAYS throws us circumstances beyond our expectations.  There is also much to be learned during the process that enables a perspective to be gained that is unable to be taken away as well as irreplaceable value to be added for the benefit of the life that God has called each of us to live.

After a series of unique challenges, beginning with my husband's "bizarre and unexplainable" illness that began 12 years ago (but which led to an understanding of the diseases of the new millenium), a sudden and unexpected addition of twins to our family 8 years ago and then brutal allegations that led to significant financial loss but replaced by increased advancement of what ignites our soul (which is my husband's impact upon a world rapidly losing ground and often hope in the area of health), as well as 5 very special children who have learned at a very young age to trust God when life is not what you expected it to be, I have learned that remaining riveted to God's call upon our lives is the ONLY way to stay afloat with nothing but hope and faith and overcome the obstacles, no matter how awful they may seem at times.

I can look at my husband and see how much he values the return of the investment he has given to each of our children.  I can see his eyes light up when he catches glimpses of their appreciation of him.  I can feel his pain when they are not grateful for the sacrifices he has made through our difficult and unexplainable reality or when they have watched the course of his life shift to a new direction that satisfies his soul while the circumstances aren't yet connecting to the immediate needs of life.  I know his heart for pushing forward each day and I also know when it overwhelms his spirit at times and forces us to trudge through extremely uncertain circumstances with a few paramount goals that drive our days:  to make a difference in this world and shape our children's hearts by reminding them that we have a responsibilty as God's children to trust Him and Him alone and that family is forever and the value that we have for one another will only increase as the years go by.  We understand that circumstances change, but we also KNOW that God never does.  His word and His love of those who trust in His purpose and His provisions as that purpose is called forth are nothing short of incredible tests of faith.

Faith is what releases God's promise to work on our behalf.  If we are His, then He will see us through as long as we surrender to Him. He has a purpose for each of us.  He reminds us through the challenges, that the call that is placed upon our life is not for our enrichment, but His.  As we surrender and trust Him, He shapes our hearts to endure, He rewards us through our pain, and He releases even greater results than our efforts deserve.

This Father's Day I can look at 2 men in my life that, while easy to compare and contrast, have both been used by God to remind me that throughout the seasons of our lives, being aware of God's blessings often comes through reflection and not the current reality that is limited by time and space.

Today, I realize that the greatest gifts we ever receive ALWAYS come from the Hand of God.

GOD MOVES ME

God moves us because he loves us.  This can mean literally or spiritually…and usually both.  He calls us forward through our adversity.  The pain of this transition is often not able to be reconciled, even within our heart initially, but it is able to be identified as we progress.

It takes a tremendous amount of courage to press on and not lose hope and the only way this courage is understood is by doing just that.

That particular transitional phase that requires ridiculous surrender is a choice.  It is denying the thoughts of "how" can this be possible, to ones of "With man this is impossible but with God ALL things are possible."  Matthew 19:26

I have been in transition for a call upon my life (more than one actually) that has left me empty and full at the same time.  I have been emptied of predictability and filled with expectation.  While the outcome remains uncertain, there are certain pathways that are secure.  They are not to be known when the journey begins, but they are to be trusted as our faith is exercised.

We have only one command as believers and that is the words of Jesus who specifically said: "Follow Me."  He knew every snare that would cause us to stumble and/or fall (and being shifted off course is Satan's plan), but He also created the outcome of our steps that would lead us to greater faith and greater purpose.

Oftentimes, within that walk of faith to our own "Hall of Fame" we find the greatest uncertainties and the greatest rewards.  We must take hold of what leads us to His purpose while puttling blinders on and letting go of ourselves that we have known so as not to be distracted from the goal…HIS goal for our lives.

I now understand the quote that says: "Men fail because they quit too soon."  How easy that is to do.

What comes against us fiercely and ferociously atttacks us in every way to create fear and defeat, but God says that we should "not be afraid of those who can kill the body, but cannot kill the soul."  Matthew 10:28

When you live your life with His purpose, you are automatically FOCUSED on the call upon your life.  It ALWAYS involves focusing on others.  In the process of doing so, you are in HIS WILL and it enables your sacrifices to be edifying to your very soul.

Take the plunge of living beyond yourself and WATCH WHAT GOD DOES THROUGH YOU AND FOR YOU!

Olivia Pompa's Leadership Speech--Perseverance

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UXA0yS4hCoY

Journeying Toward Destination

What do we learn as we wait on God?

Speaking from personal experience, and more than I could have imagined as well as beyond what I could have imagined, I have learned that waiting requires a stoic patience that replaces our own agenda. The process of anticipation swells and retracts, much like waves against the shoreline. Within each swell is a sense of urgency and excitement that is often fueled by circumstances as well as a temporary denial that disappoints us at the core of our being.

As we trust our God to lead us, we realize that His leading requires a relinquishing of every mode of manipulation that we have previously used to advance our cause(s). Somewhere between the justice and the injustice of the process, we learn that in order to advance our mission (which is the ultimate furtherance of our hopes and dreams…at least those that are driven by the heart rather than the flesh), we had to begin where we started, endure the agony of the challenges within, and WAIT for God to direct (as well as redirect) the path toward our freedom that is found within the restrictions of our bondage. I just thought of something that Danny said to me a few weeks ago that I find myself repeating almost daily in my head:

…"We are like the Israelites and have not yet reached our promised land. That is why we feel the way we do." I appreciate so much my husband's perspective as it was mine that carried us through his sickness and the further challenges within our family while he rallied in a very different but equally necessary way to sustain us. But to finally hear his words match my heart is a gift that I recognize as a portion (gift) from God to supply what is needed as we toil toward our goal of advancing our mission and our family through the stages that we have for the greater purpose of legacy.

I know that purpose fulfills us as well as makes a difference in the world we are called to live within (whether it is a home, neighborhood, community, stage or platform of teaching or leadership or beyond), and therefore requires the emptiness of ourselves so that we can be filled by those things that remain: faith, hope and love. But the greatest of these is love. ~1Corinthians 13:13

As God heals my hurts and my sorrows, I am exposed…mostly to myself. It is a vulnerable place to admit the reality of, but it is necessary for my healing as well as for who I become...as I am first called to support my husband and nuture my children before I can share the pain which has led me to where God leads. I wait for that time but I no longer wait with restraint of my emotions or a dissatisfaction of my circumstances, but I wait with surrender and I follow what He reveals, which is usually something "hidden" within my heart and has been shut off to not only myself but to others as a way of protecting myself. I have learned that God will leave me right where I am or allow circumstances to wane unless I admit where I am struggling and accept my responsibility within it as He leads the process of change.

I often hear myself telling my kids that they are to be an example to the younger ones (particularly Simon, who in our home is a force that creates much opportunity…and he knows it. Just last evening he was spinning in circles for over 10 minutes and saying that the force of God was with him and giving him the ability to do what he does…whatever it may be at the time). And while Simon may be their challenge for growth as well as a model for faith in our home, raising 5 children and difficulties beyond our control have certainly been mine. Every time I tell them how the result (Simon being less problematic in their world) could be achieved, I realize that I am also needing to heed the advice I give: that love is the greatest virtue to exercise in life for EVERY objective and while faith and hope I have mastered by proportion, learning how to love has been what God has revealed to me to be where my greatest wounds lie…and He has given me plenty of opportunities to approach my challenges with His direction (which is from a spiritual perspective), rather than from one that protects myself from becoming vulnerable to those that do not care whether or not they hurt me and often have and do intentionally. While no one wants to receive pain, I have learned it is the catalyst that God allows to further our purpose.

The natural inclination to protect myself exists from wounds in my childhood that are wrapped in pain and isolation and peppered with rejection. A few of my own children (while they do not yet understand it), have this within them as well due to circumstances beyond their control. As they get older it becomes easier to identify as well as discuss but nonetheless it is still something THEY have to deal with and because God loves them so much, He already has given them through their own "healed" lives even more opportunities to let Him do so. He has also given me to them to use as an example. I would even suggest that we all have this place that we detach ourselves from and place on a shelf because the process to release it is not pleasant. In some people it is much more easily understood due to the circumstances in their lives and it is more evident to understand why it exists. And as I have learned, God uses the broken to heal others, and He doesn't allow those that He uses to be left in stagnation, but He requires us all to also be healed so that we can truly serve a hurting world…which is only done successfully through our love...and therefore the process is a painful one for every one, but what exists on the other side is restoration and a legacy worth more than we can quantify.

So while we all recognize that this journey we call life stretches our patience, reveals our ugliness and redeems our futures, let us also realize that we serve a God who is the Master of redemption and the Manipulator of circumstances that while "... we also rejoice in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance; perseverance, character; and character, hope. and hope does not disappoint us…." ~Romans 5:3-6

Hold on tightly to your hope…it will not disappoint you…that is not my promise, but HIS!



“The strength of patience hangs on our capacity to believe that God is up to something good for us in all our delays and detours.”
~ Piper

A NEW YEAR REVOLUTION

We must embrace pain and burn it as fuel for our journey.
~Kenji Miyazawa

I have this burning desire within me to encourage others through difficulites. There are a "chosen" few in my life that I can't seem to shake the role of SUPREME ENCOURAGER...it began with my husband through his sickness and has passed through each of my kids and especially my twins who lost their parents when they were just 7 years old; and even today is flowing through their friends who are painfully enduring their own losses and painful grapplings with God as a result.

2011 represented a "refueling" for me. I have been steadfast and building upon my faith; expectantly waiting for God...I periodically experience sensations that feel as if I have "little butterflies in my soul" is the only way I know to explain it. While it may be easy to ignore, it only happens when I am overtaken by an immediate concern or just happen to ponder the question of "when" will God begin to show me manifestations of what I have been clinging to all along and that is my purpose for His service beyond just the 4 walls of my home. In these exact spaces in time my mind leaps forward and the blip of a "what if" moment creeps in and connects my heart to God's purpose for my life all at the same time. What initally begins as a concern transforms into an excitement of fulfillment of my desires. I believe this quote to be true: "Throw your heart over the fence and the rest will follow." ~Norman Vincent Peale

I know that God has me. I'm one of billions that He can handle ;) Jeremiah 29:11 says: For I know the plans I have for you," declares the LORD, "plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future." When I keep that in focus, fear is released and the pain is able to be embraced and I truly do use it for the fuel that moves me toward my destiny.

He wants that kind of trust from each of us who call upon His name. He prefers ALL mankind would call upon Him, but He does not push...however He often does pull and we have a choice as to how we respond...with His power or with our own. His power brings us peace and contentment and satisfaction while our own is often accompanied by an internalization of the pain that can deeply wound us rather than liberate us.

As 2011 has been birth pains to 2012, realize that resolutions are worthless as they depend upon each of our own efforts while revolutions depend upon our rallying alongside what is already occurring...in this case what He is already doing. His power has ZERO LIMITATIONS and His ability to create something out of nothing does not occur without pressure. There can be no diamonds without it. I would rather be a superb meteor, every atom of me in magnificent glow, than a sleepy and permanent planet. The proper function of a man is to live, not to exist. ~Jack London

Embrace your pain, shed your fears, trust your God and pray for mercy as He orchestrates your challenges and allows them to be used as fuel for your mission. If you are ready to truly live according to the power of God within your dreams then realize that "Life has no limitations, except the ones you make." ~Les Brown

Welcome 2012! I have been waiting for you and walking toward you all my life!

As you wait on God to vindicate, remember this: Truth and Time will kiss each other.



“Thus says the LORD, Who makes a way through the sea and a path through the mighty waters, “Do not call to mind the former things, Or ponder things of the past. Behold, I will do something new, Now it will spring forth; Will you not be aware of it? I will even make a roadway in the wilderness, rivers in the desert.” Isaiah 43:16, 18-19

God ALWAYS Exceeds Our Expectations

Olivia Pompa
I have been living with my new family for almost 8 years and I love them as if I was born here. I am extremely thankful for my new parents, Merily and Daniel ♥ All things work to the greater good (No matter what it is) <33 They are giving more than I could ever ask for and I want to thank them for that too (: I LOOVE YOU GUUYS♥ ALSO, Yesterdaay was my real mommmyss birthday, I wanted to wish her a Happy Birthhdaay! <33 Happy Birthday Moommmyy (: Miss you! <3333


What a post from Olivia's Facebook..How INCREDIBLY solid this incredible God-given child of mine is in her "interpretation" of Romans 8:28: And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love Him, who have been called according to
His purpose.


Now to Him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to His power that is at work within us. Ephesians 3:20

Our prayer has always been for our family to be unified. Through the most challenging of times...even more so than the commitment to them through their initial loss and our initial gain has been our recent challenges. God truly has exceeded our expectations! We praise Him!!