Tuesday SHINE.....

Today's Reading: 2 Samuel 15

Happy Tuesday, SHINE girls! 

Before we get started, I want to say a BIG HAPPY BIRTHDAY to my awesome Sister, Angela!!! I could do an entire blog about Angela. She inspires me and encourages me daily. I've always looked up to and admired my Sister, and always will! If you see her today, give her a big birthday hug!! I love you, Angela!!

Okay, if you are new to the blog, Tuesday's are SHINE Girl Spotlight Day!

Each week, we have a SHINE girl that tells a bit of her story and her faith journey. She then picks the SHINE Girl Spotlight for the next week!

Fun, huh? 

Girls, do not forget to go to the Weekday Give-away Post and comment! A really great prize will be given away this week in the drawing! You do NOT want to miss out!

Now, girls, grab your coffee and your tissues for this one. Sabrina tells her precious story for all of us to be encouraged and inspired.

Be blessed!

Ashleigh's introduction of this week's SHINE girl spotlight:

This week it is my privilege to introduce a precious follower of Jesus to you, Sabrina. She is a sweet sister of the faith with a caring and giving heart. Sabrina and I met about a year and a half ago at church. She has a beautiful family and has allowed God to use the ups and downs of life to shape her into the woman of God she is today.  

Sabrina's Story:

I'm not a professional writer by no means. This is something that the Lord put on my heart the other day while cleaning (He seems to always bring things to my attention when I'm cleaning)! I'm usually a person who keeps to myself, an area He is working on in me lately. He kept telling me I need to share this. My view on sharing is telling a close friend...again didn't I say it was a area he was working on? Right! Hence the fact that I am now sharing on Shine girls spot light for many to see. Wow. Oh isn't it funny how God works?!!

 

As a child I looked to my Daddy as a hero. There was nothing he couldn't do, nothing he couldn't fix, nothing he couldn't over come. He could do no wrong in my eyes. I had a "child like Faith" in him. Even as I grew older and realized that he was in fact "less than perfect" I still had the same opinion and child like Faith in him. Which I know annoyed my Mom! She saw and lived first hand his faults, but I looked past them. How is that???....(I'm sure she wondered).

 

So, why should my Faith in my Heavenly Father be any different? There is NOTHING my Heavenly Father can't do, NOTHING He can't fix, and NOTHING He can't over come. The stories in the Bible prove that time and time again. Why is it then that He's not always the first person I cry out to or turn to in any circumstance? After all He actually is perfect in every way.

 

I longed to please my Daddy and make him proud in every aspect of my life. I'll never forget the look of disappointment on his face when I failed to fulfill a request of his. It was heartbreaking. So heartbreaking that I cried. Devastated that I disobeyed him. I was ready to do whatever it took to gain his trust back.

 

Shouldn't I have that same longing to please my Heavenly Father? Yet, it is all too frequent that I disappoint him. It should be the kind of heartbreak that brings me to my knees in prayer of repentance with tears.

 

My Daddy was forgiving because he loved me. I'm sure he looked at himself from time to time and knew he was in no position to judge. He was my teacher in this class called life. Much like him my Heavenly Father forgives me because He loves me. He is the ultimate judge of sin. I should look to Him as my teacher in life for He is perfect and I should long to be more like Christ.

 

I put all my hopes, dreams, & faith into my Daddy as any "Daddy's little girl" would, but people and things of this world don't last. Eventually our bodies fail us and things break. Instead we need to cast all our cares and put our faith into our Heavenly Father who will never fail us.

 

I was shaken to my core when I learned that my Daddy had been diagnosed with lung cancer and there was no surgery or cure that could help. WAIT....WHAT??? See, this is that same hero of mine I spoke of earlier...the one that could do anything, fix anything, & OVER COME ANYTHING!!!! Just shy of 2 yrs after diagnoses he passed away at home with my mom, me & my husband by his side. While my 7 month old son at the time slept in the other room.

 

Numb...just going through the motions. I tried telling myself "You knew this was coming". Or "You know he is in a better place". Then a voice deep inside speaks up "But wasn't that place here with me?"...How selfish of me. I started to focus on everything I could in my life to distract me from the constant reminder of the emptiness I felt without him here. Oh, I told myself that my Faith & trust in God holds me together & keeps me going. I thought that was true until I realized I was just going through the motions with God too. Going to church, praying, Bible study, reading etc. But it wasn't until just over a year since my Daddy had been gone that I got that burning...longing for God. Almost like He was tired of being on the back burner and was making Himself know deep inside of me. Words & sentences out of Christian books that I was reading started to jump off the page & slap me in the face. As if waking me up from my lukewarm walk with God.

 

A good friend of mine suggested that I read a certain book. Having seen this book around I never paid much mind to it, but she kept insisting and since I trust her as such a dear friend I tried it out. What a uplifting read! I've believed in Christ for years, been saved & Baptized, but this book brought life back to the hope & desire of my heart. "Heaven is for real" is a great book. Along with "A woman after God's own heart" which I'm also currently reading. Both will make you reevaluate your Faith & relationship with God. You may think it is strong, but is it strong enough? Whether it is a book, a person or a good ole verse from the Bible that God's sends your way as a sign...take it as a wake up call from God. Turn up the heat of the burning fire inside you that longs for Christ.

 

I was blessed that God gave me such a wonderful Father here on Earth who I was able to enjoy for 27 yrs. I pray that I can be the role model to my children as he always was to me, but more than that I pray that my children will see Christ through me.

 

Another note before I close that God has been laying on my heart lately...Obedience. He calls us to be obedient. Make sure we are being obedient when he calls us to something. We need to be obedient in our prayer time. Make time for him it is important! He shouldn't get our left overs. As women He has called us to be women of the home. Wives, mothers...this is our assignment from God. Let's make sure we are being obedient in fulfilling these roles to meet His standards. This means being obedient to our husbands who is just a step down from God on the list of our priorities. WOW!! Us being obedient is pleasing to God. Even the smallest obedience of kicking a bad habit is smiled upon.

 

I am so thankful for what my Savior has done for you and for me. Let's shine for Him in everything that we do shall we!!! Thank you for taking the time to read what has been on my heart and I pray that it helped you today in some way.

 

Jeremiah and Sabrina

Harrison, our son

 

Daddy and Me on my wedding day