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  • The widow’s oil

    The widow’s oil

    This is my first time reading through the Bible on my own. I thought I would take you guys with me on the rest of my journey. Come and be with me as I study. Let us discover things about God’s word for the first time together. I have made it all the way to 2 Kings! This is the farthest I have ever made it on my own. I am so excited and happy! Rejoice, for there is nothing that God can not do!

          Let us pray before we continue on to 2 Kings 4. Dear Lord, thank you for this day that you have made for us. Thank you for my readers and subscribers. I pray that you bless us with your love and understanding as we study your word. Use me to reach those who are also needing encouragement to study your word. I pray also that you bless my readers and even those who have not read my passage with guidance. May those who need you, find you. Protect those that need protecting. In your name we pray. Amen.

    Let us dive into 2 Kings 4. I really loved this chapter. I never knew about the similarities between Jesus and Elisha! God really shows how powerful he truly is in this passage. Elisha, the man of God, uses his power to help a widow. He also aids a Shunammite woman and feeds people during a famine! Does all of this sound familiar? I had no idea! First, let us talk about Elisha helping the widow keeps her son from slavery.

    The chapter begins when Elisha met a woman whose husband had just died. She was left to handle their debt all on her own. The creditor would arrive the next day to collect her sons. He planned to settle their debt by selling her sons into slavery.

         As a mother, this part made my heart sink. Just like the widow I would do anything to keep my children with me. When someone who is close to us dies suddenly, it can be hard to face all the debt they left behind. It’s a daunting task.

    She must have been so desperate when she went to go speak with Elisha. Some of us have been there. So desperate that we have to sell off a piece of property or pawn off a wedding ring to pay bills. But the debt collector was coming for her sons! They are a part of her. No matter how big they get they are her babies. Let’s look at what Elisha said to her when she told him this news.

    Elisha began by asking the widow what do you have in your house? I think we know where this is going. What he means is, what else do you have to give? Her only possession was a jar of oil. She did not answer with anything else. So I wonder if she had already sold what she could.

        So, he told the widow to go and collect vessels to borrow from her neighbors (her community!). Not just more jars, but vessels. There is no telling how small or large the vessels were that she borrowed. So she borrowed the vessels, and stayed inside pouring out the oil until there was no more left. The next day, she went to the Man of God and he told her to go sell the oil. Sell the oil to pay off your debt, you and your sons will live off the rest.

        Did you catch that? The widow was capable of paying off their debt, save her sons, and still have some oil left over! Amen! That is amazing! Can imagine what she could have done with what was left over? Comment below about how you feel about this blessing. What has God done for you recently, that you feel like sharing?

    God takes care of us and never leaves us empty handed. The widow must have a really good community too. I have no idea how many vessels she filled. I do not know the size either. But all I can imagine everyone passing out any tubberware that they can spare. It is crucial to find your community. It is even more important to lean on one another during times of distress. Next, I want to jump to the famine in Gilgal. We should take a look at the community there. We will see how Elisha uses God’s power to bless them. Shalom.

  • My testimony part 3

    My testimony part 3

    Welcome back readers! I am so glad you guys have come back. I am so excited to spend time writing my testimony for you guys. Let us take a moment to pray before we start. I pray that you guys are safe where ever you are and that you may spread God’s goodness, and grace. Now, let us dive in.

    My grandma, my aunt, and uncle would go on to share custody of my sister and myself. Life seemed to be just that. It started to feel like living. I had parents that loved me. I had enough food to eat, clothes to wear, and I had more family. I was meeting family that I never knew existed! My aunt and uncle lived behind us. Cousins would come over and it would be like kindergartners in the sandbox. Life was good.

    Then, my mom(my aunt) got sick. She was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer. Nonetheless, she seemed to still be so strong. She never showed us how sick she really was. Looking back, Dad helped her so much during that time. I just did not realize. She did it though, my mom beat her cancer, going into remission.

    Or, at least we thought that was the case. I remember that Memorial Day so clearly sometimes. We were having such a good time playing in the pool. Mom was having a hard time breathing, and my grandma suggested that she go see her doctor the next day. My mom would go on to the doctor then be taken to the hospital. She never got to come home. Her cancer came back, and spread to her lungs.

    My mom passed away in 2007 from pancreatic cancer. My cousin came to tell me the morning she passed. I was still in my pajamas when my cousin took me outside to the back porch swing. The day was already coming to a boil, but it seemed so cold to me. Like the rest of us, I did not want to believe that she was gone.

    I was so angry with God. I remember staying angry with him for a very long time. Even more so after my grandma passed away from melanoma cancer in 2012, shortly after I graduated. I even stopped believing in him and wanted nothing to do with Christians. But while I was hurting Jesus was weeping with me as well. Even though I did not feel Him, he has never left my side. He has grieved with me and grieved for me.

    We all go through a time of doubting God. Take for example the Hebrews in the desert.They were constantly letting God down, but he did not let them down. God guided them to the promised land. God was with Ruth through her grieving and her journey. David was faithful and took down Goliath! Even when He is silent He is working. Even in our heartache He is working.

    But if from there you seek the Lord your God, you will find him if you seek him with all your heart, and all your soul. When you are in distress and all these things have happened to you, then in later days you will return to the Lord your God and obey him. For the Lord your God is a merciful Go; he will not abandon or destroy you or forget the covenant with your ancestors, which he confirmed to them by oath. Deuteronomy 4:29-31

  • My testimony part 2

    Hello friends, let’s take a moment to pray before we dive into this next part of my testimony. I pray that God is able to use me in a way to help others through this passage. I also believe that sharing all of this will also be a way to move past it. I thank you for your patience and your understanding. Read with caution as some themes of abuse and sexual abuse may be triggering to some. This next part is a little bit difficult to talk about so I will try to be brief. We are time jumping to when I was five years old.

    My birth father and birth mother divorced. I do not remember what happened between them. My birth father remarried which meant a new step mother and step brothers. Soon, we moved to Georgia where our new family awaited us. After we moved, my sister and I would see very little of him. I am unsure where my birth mother went or, why we did not see her. I think the answer lies with my birth father, who changes the story every time. But everything changed for me again at five years old.

    Being five years old at the time I cannot remember what I was feeling when I met them. My sister and I have different recolections of our past. I am sure everything seemed normal while we were all adjusting to each other. I can not tell you when everything began to change either. As we got older I did notice that our step mother treated my sister and I differently. The boys became abusive phycially and mentally. No one could really tell how bad things were from the outside looking in. My life felt like the song “Concrete Angel,” by Martina McBride. I remember being sent to time out one time for so long that I ended using the restroom on myself. My step mother did not like that. I received a worse punishment for that. We were not allowed to go to bed early on the weekends. We were forced to stay up until midnight. If we were caught falling asleep we would get in trouble for that as well. I remember my step mother did not like how my sister cleaned something. I would be awakened by my step mother dragging my sister from her top bunk. Her head a sickening noise as it hit the floor. My sister screamed as she was dragged away toward the hallway bathroom. Blood poured from my sister’s nose as our step mother showed her what she had done wrong. My sister had it harder than I did.

    There are many unspeakable things that happened to me. For one I was molested by one of my step brothers. I typed, erased, retyped and finally decided that I did not wish to spare any details of what happened to me. I also did not wish my audience be upset with me for sharing those details.

    I am not sure how soon after that. My step mother beat my sister in front of my birth father. He had us pack our things. He drove us down to live with our grandmother, aunt, and uncle. Life would begin to feel like we were finally living. Like we were allowed to live and be free. The best part, we learned what a parent’s love would be like. My birth father would leave us to go back to our step mother. While our aunt, uncle, and grandmother would enter a custody battle to protect us from our parents.

    But still after all of that he chose to love me. I know now that Jesus never left me. He gave me a wonderful friend to lean on during that time. Even though I was told I could not be her friend, she was determined. Even through times like these I can look back and find God. I wish I knew that then. “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.” Romans 8:28

    We need to remember that even though Jesus was beaten, he still chose to forgive those who persecuted Him. He chose love. “Jesus said, “Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing,” Luke 23:34. He was as human as we are. He felt pain and shame. So I to chose forgiveness and love. Even though its hard to do.

    Thank you for your time and allowing me to share my truth. Part three will be better but I still have trials to face as do we all. “May the Lord bless you and keep you; the Lord make his face shine on you and be gracious to you; the Lord turn his face toward you and give you peace.” Numbers 6:24-26. Shalom.

  • My testimony. My story part one.

    My testimony. My story part one.

    Let me begin with introducing myself through my testimony. First, if you have a minute pauseand let’s take some time to pray to God before we continue. Go to Him in prayer. If this helps, speak with Him as if you are meeting with a friend you have not seen in awhile. This is just a way that I like to look at prayer. So, take a minute to let go of anything that may be burdening you lately. I will pray all is well with you. If you want me to be honest, I could use some courage as I post my testimony. Some of this is really hard for me to talk about but I am taking my vows and becoming a member of my church. I guess getting this out online is easier than in person, in front of I’m not sure how many people. Okay now that my ranting is over.

    Hi, my name is Shawna. I am fairly new to studying my Bible (not to Christianity). I thought what better way to continue is to invite you along with me, but first, I would like to share my testimony with you. I got this idea from a friend at church that I met during a silence and solitude Saturday. Yes, Silence and Solitude at church, God knew what he was doing. Let me take you back to the beginning of my story, so that you may understand my journey.

    It begins when I am nine months old. I know, you are probably thinking how could this begin when she is nine months old? There is no way this woman remembers when she was nine months old. Well, yes, you would be correct. However, it is something that is significant to my journey home to Christ. So, when I was nine months old I was left alone in my walker next to the stove. My birth mother was boiling water so that she could make me a bottle. She must have stepped out to use the restroom. I am still not entirely sure where she went. Unfortunatly, I reached up and pulled the pot down onto my head.

    My sister who was four years old at the time ran to get help. She can tell her side of the story much better than I can. She has helped to fill in the blanks that others would not. My birth mother was able to take me to Greenville Memorial Hospital where I was put on a medical flight to the Augusta Burn center.

    While I have no memory of what it was like to be treated for the third degree burns on my head, chest, and arms, I do however, remember what it was like to be bullied all of my life. Kids would go on to call me ugly, scarface, and baldy. I still have bald spots on my head where hair was never permitted to grow back due to how badly I was burned. I am fortunate enough to be able to hide it with the hair that did grow back. Sometimes if I am not careful it doesn’t get covered up. My least favorite is the scar that is visible on my chest. Skin from my leg had to be grafted over my chest to save my life. Because the skin came from my leg I have to shave the hair that grows there. I have a hard time wearing low cut shirts because a boy in high thought that it was gross and told me I needed to cover it up for good. I am still self conscious of it today. I got tired of people pointing out my scars, and no one cared for an explination, so I just started to tell them that its just a birthmark.

    I am telling my story in hopes of reaching someone who is a little like me and probably needs to hear it. I never understood why God allowed all of this to happen. Allowed all of the bullying. All of the pain. At least, I wouldn’t understand until much later on in my life. Which you will see as my story unfolds.

    In closing I pray that my story will begin to bring you hope. Just know that no matter what storm you may be going through right now, or how many times you have messed up, Jesus loves us unconditionally. Even, if you are a non-believer, I pray that you may walk away witha feeling of love and hope. I never gave up. Even though I was bullied. God uses us in ways that we will never fully understanduntil He is ready to reveal it to us. Which means we have to be ready and willing to answer His call. Praising Him even through the storm. Hold onto His ever-lasting love. “Give thanks to the Lord, for He is good, for His steadfast love endures forever.” Psalms 131:1. So, even though we face many trials, it is because we area made in His image that we can endure whatever comes our way. He is our shepherd and He will always guide us home no matter how far we stray. “May the Lord bless you, and keep you; May the Lord make His face shine on you and be gracious to you; May the Lord turn His face toward you and give you peace.” Numbers 6:24-26. Shalom.