It's a crazy busy week here getting ready for the launch of the "Finding Glory in the Thorns: GROUP DISCUSSION GUIDE" next week!
Here is what a friend of ours from Canada wrote on Amazon recently:
"I have watched Larry and Lisa journey through the trials and triumphs of raising a child with Angelman Syndrome. God has truly transformed them and the community of people who have supported them along the way. Their story is powerful, but more than that, their transparency as they reflect on how God led and taught them through many difficult decisions is truly inspirational. Each of us at one time or another find ourselves living in the thorns, but the Jamiesons show us how we can live in the power of a loving God despite the challenges we face. I started reading this book, believing I knew their story. I had read their weekly prayer updates for years as they worked with their daughter Carly. I was wrong. The spiritual truths with which they frame their story challenged and inspired me beyond all expectations. Their honesty brought me to tears. Ultimately, their story equips each reader to face life's challenges confident in the power of a loving God."
I hope this will inspire you to READ and TELL OTHERS about the original book as well as the new Bible Study which releases on Monday for $6.99!
You can also refer people to this link which shows highlights from a national television interview Larry and I did on Canada's "100 Huntley Street" last year. The highlight link below is only six and a half minutes long. Easy! (The complete original live interview is also on YouTube in two parts totaling about 25 minutes.)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vnArTDQ0nrs&feature=related
PLEASE pray with us that hearts are softened by the Holy Spirit, encouraged in Christ, and drawn into intimate personal relationship with God through these resources!
Today has been “one of those days” for me. I’m sure you know what I mean: got a bit of a cold, feeling run down, bombarded with reminders of my insufficiency, and overwhelmed with decisions to be made. By the time I started preparing dinner this afternoon, my emotions were on the raw side. I found myself remembering the scripture verse Carly was given this morning at her therapeutic horseback riding lesson:
PROVERBS 4:20-22 (NLT) Pay attention, my child, to what I say. Listen carefully. Don’t lose sight of my words. Let them penetrate deep within your heart, for they bring life and radiant health to anyone who discovers their meaning.
I’m so thankful to know the healing power of God’s Word but some days I must dwell longer in it — be still with it in my hands and on my mind — so that it’s power to heal and restore penetrates deeply. My temptation is to press through these stubborn moments but this afternoon I took an extra "Time Out" in Proverbs and let dinner preparations simmer.
Okay, I’m not “radiant” by a long stretch but I’ll go finish the meal now with reassurance that God’s Word has given me better perspective — kind of like hitting the "RESET" button on my soul.
JOSHUA 3:15 "Now the Jordan is at flood stage all during harvest. Yet as soon as the priests who carried the ark reached the Jordan and their feet touched the water's edge, the water from upstream stopped flowing."
Are you facing a decision or needing to take action on something that will require you to go where things are uncertain, even scary? If the direction you are headed is aligned with God's purposes, He will certainly make a way just as He parted the waters for His people over 3,200 years ago. Not once but twice God made a way where the route seemed impassable (the Red Sea and the Jordan River). At the Jordan, God's power to move the raging, flooded river was not released until the Israelites took that first step of faith-filled obedience. What "first step" is He asking you to take today?
JOHN 15:2 "He cuts off every branch in me that bears no fruit, while every branch that does bear fruit he prunes so that it will be even more fruitful."
After Carly was born with many challenges and our days became so complicated, a lot of things got squeezed out of our lives. Comfortable routines were thrown into chaos and we dropped into bed each night wondering WHAT NEXT? Life-altering circumstances can be tremendously painful yet they are often a doorway to new perspectives and realities that are better for us and for others when considered within God's eternal perspective.
How might your unexpected or uncomfortable life changes be opportunities for Christ to grow more abundant fruit in your life? Is God reshaping your vision for the future by removing something you had your hopes set on?
This new season (and school year) present opportunities to courageously adjust our priorities and prune our schedules so Christ is predominant and His fruit more abundant.
So what does this look like for you?
1 CORINTHIANS 1:30-31 "It is because of him that you are in Christ Jesus, who has become for us wisdom from God — that is, our righteousness, holiness, and redemption. Therefore, as it is written, "Let him who boasts boast in the Lord."
Is God doing something great in your life? Share it. Put God's presence and power on display. Often it is the encouragement we get from each other that reassures us that God is living, active, and intimately concerned about our lives. Talk about who God is in your life around the "water cooler" of your circle of influence so that others might see Him more clearly.
