God's Promises Faith blog hop

Welcome to the  God's Promises Faith Blog Hop If you arrived here from Jessie's blog you are in the right place.  If you just arrived at my blog, you should go to Paper Tree House Studio (www.mypapertreehouse.blogspot.com) in order to start at the beginning.  Every month a group of brave women get together to showcase the Glory of God.  This month we want to showcase His faithfulness during trying times, so kick back, relax and let the Lord touch your heart with His Truth! 

 Did you know that there are 1260 promises in the Bible?  I did not count them myself, but am blown away by the fact that each and every promise the Lord gives, He is faithful to fulfill.  It is pretty easy to believe this when times are easy and abundance surrounds our lives, but is that the same when trouble hits?

 The Bible says that our hearts are deceitful above all things and then it adds WHO CAN TRUST IT? Have you ever considered that maybe the reason why we don't trust God is because we spend more time looking at how big the waves in our lives have become and forget that God created the entire UNIVERSE with just His breath...  Think about it, the Lord spoke the ENTIRE World into existence... the only thing created that was made with His hands was man and woman.  That is why He says that if He provides for the birds and the plants, how much more to His children?  You are precious to the Lord and He will not fail you, even when it feels He might. 

 In this hop you will read the stories of women like you that have faced trouble and probably even lacked the faith to believe in the miracle the Lord performed at the very end! Our prayer is that you would open your heart to the Truth found in these promises and that you would even share with us what God has done in your life.  Your victory may become our hope... :)

 During the hop you will find many chances to win prizes! All you have to do to be considered for one of those prizes is leave a comment and become a follower of the blogs you will hop through.  For the Grand Prizes , make sure to leave a comment, become a follower, and "LIKE" Paper Tree House on Facebook.  This will allow you to find out about future hops we will be having.  

 Here are the brave women that dared to share their stories:

Paper Tree House - http://mypapertreehouse.blogspot.com/

Nana - www.youniquereflections.blogspot.com

Tammy - http://www.fromme2upapercrafting.blogspot.com/

Jennifer E. - www.createoften.blogspot.com

Amanda - http://asjmade.blogspot.com/

Wendy - http://wendyscrappings.blogspot.com/

Nicole - http://scrapmethis.blogspot.com

Jessie - www.scrapbookingmiami.blogspot.com

Diane - http://dianemarra.typepad.com/

Vicki - http://mawmawsthoughts.blogspot.com/

Lynne Kirsch  --- http://slasewcraftiness.blogspot.com/

Carolyn Phillips - http://messmuddleandfun.blogspot.com/

ScrappyZeni Pradel --- www.scrappyzeni.blogspot.com

 Grand Prizes:

Stamping Things: The Topper Ink Pad Holder (http://www.stampinthings.com/stamp-pad-holder.html)

Paper Tree House Studio: Exclusive PDF file tutorial for Mini-Book Taught at CHA.

K Andrew Stamps: Stamp Set

Tombow: Grand Adhesive Set

 God's Fulfilled Promise in my life

God fulfilled his promises to me in a huge way 6 years ago when He asked me to step out in faith and adopt three young girls (sisters) from Ukraine.

I identify with the apostle Paul.  His personal encounter with Jesus changed his life.  He never lost his fierce intensity, but from then on it was channeled for the gospel.  I am a passionate person, and try to focus my passions so I can be sensitive to God’s leading.  I want to do what God directs me, although my strong personality wrestles with HIM a lot of the time.  For the first 5 years after accepting Jesus as my savior I did what I wanted to do and my life spiraled downward.  I just did not want to let go of

My anger -  My will -  My preoccupations - My favorite distractions-  My priority list - My view of the world and My short sighted view of God.

After a suicide attempt and a failing second marriage, I felt God calling me to HIM.  This was a heart pulling, come to me call. I felt like God was crooking his finger to me saying- “Come, Come to me, leave him to me. You come.”   

He asked me to let go of my control, and be with HIM. I isolated myself, let go of my illusion of control over my life and focused on the Bible and spending time with God.  He was so patient with me; he put his arms around me, comforted me and confronted me.  The Psalms were a balm to my intense sorrow and pain.  It was during that desert experience, that I came to know Jesus as my Lord.  He removed my bondage to self and opened my heart to loving HIM.   He restored my soul, my relationship with my children and my self esteem.  I began to fall deeply in love with Jesus and for the first time in my life felt loved – Loved by the One who gave me grace and loved me no matter what I had done.  There was nothing I could do to earn his love; all I had to do was accept it.  He loved me more than any human had ever loved me.   

JESUS became the LOVER OF MY SOUL

During that desert time, my 2^nd husband and I separated and I moved into a house alone with my 2 sons and began to re-build my life- this time I put  God first, my children second and me last.  I had to repair my relationship with my children and with God. 

Most everything in my life fell apart during this time.  Although as I now know it was

falling together in his plan. 

Let me tell you of all the events that were rearranged and re-prioritized in my life.   I was laid off from 3 jobs during the next 18 months.  There were days I had no money to pay bills and God would provide a refund of something I had forgotten, or a temporary job that paid well.  I was having difficulty finding an affordable house so my sons would not have to switch schools, and God led me to a rental house through a bible study partner at $1000 less per month than any other in the neighborhood. 

God promises became real to me. "The LORD himself goes before you and will be with you; he will never leave you nor forsake you. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged.” Deuteronomy 31:7-9 

I started to see him working in my life with my children, there was healing and rebuilding.  I had to depend on him for my daily bread- my job, family, home, money.  I learned how to pray- oh I though I knew what prayer was and how to do it, but I learned to be quiet before God and wait for him to speak to me.  Each time I approached God about my marriage situation, He told me to not divorce my husband, to wait.  I waited for 5 years.  In the beginning I asked God frequently how long do I wait?   One time He answered me with Psalm 40 “I waited patiently for the Lord and he turned and heard my cry.”    And another time was Psalm 6My soul find rest in God alone, my salvation comes from Him.  Find rest o my soul in God alone.”2 “

During that waiting time I kept praying to God about what now- what do I DO to bide my time waiting for a sign about the outcome of my second marriage. He had started pruning and was changing me.  I still wanted to know “Now what?”   What can I do for you God?  That wonderful song, “Lead me Lord, I will follow” kept running through my soul.  I felt old, used up and couldn’t possibly see how he could use me.

He had a plan for me that would take me to the  other side of the world, that would force me to depend on Him, to change my life totally. To hear the rest of that story go here

I am still a DOER, although now I hope that my doing is more about doing for HIM in ways He calls me than in doing what Diane wants.  I share my testimony because I want to give all the credit for all the good I have done to the one who gave it all for me- Jesus. His promises remind me how much He loves me and wants the best for me and for what He has sacrificed so that I can have eternal life.

Thank you Jesus for rescuing this sinner.

My full story is here on my blog @ Testimony Thursday, and the movie of  the adoption album is here. 

Thanks for hopping through this faith hop.  Know that we are praying for you and really hope your eyes are opened to the Truth about the Lord's Faithfulness! :)

 Your next stop is Vicki - http://mawmawsthoughts.blogspot.com/

Love in Christ,

Diane