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“Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous.  Do not be terrified; Do not be discouraged, for the Lord your God will be with you wherever you go.”

How simple it is to be strong and courageous…NOT!!!  The concept is easy but actions of strength and courage are not. 

If I were lifting weights or sprinting up a hill, I’d have a tangible example of my strength (not that I can do either of those with any ummmphhhh!).  Or if I were walking through a dark alley, with my head held high exhibiting no fear, I’d be able to measure my courage (not likely to see me walking through a dark alley, either!). 

But in a life filled with challenges and dilemmas, showing strength and courage can be difficult.  How do you hold your head high when your heart has plummeted to the floor and shattered around your feet?  How do you boldly walk forward when the path ahead of you is treacherous, dark and loaded with danger?  The promise of these scriptures in Joshua is very clear…”The Lord your God will be with you wherever you go”. 

Not a person on this earth, can exist without facing trying times or scary situations and the truth is, pain hurts so very much and fear is very scary!

We have a loved one preparing to travel across the world into a country filled with turmoil and danger, yet on Friday he will board a plane to begin this journey.  A land where Christians are few and the hazards are plenty!  What an opportunity  he will have to show a strength and courage that is tangible!  We feel frightened for him…and the Lord says, “I am with you always!”

A funeral was just performed yesterday for the husband of one of gospel music’s most talented singers and a fellow sister in Christ.  Today, the sun is up, the day is new, her heart is shattered and the pain in her life is overwhelming.  This is one of those times when having strength and courage is the only way to survive.  Our hearts break for her pain…and the Lord says, “I am with you always”.

I read a story that helps me understand how it is that strength and courage are put into action:

A child who had to walk past a very dark, spooky house each night on the way home was filled with fear.  He was offered help from some adults close to him.  The first, gave him a good luck charm to ward off ghosts, he clutched it tightly in one hand and gripped insurmountable fear with the other.  Another adult trying to help, had a bright light installed on the street near the corner of the house. He gazed towards the light while trembling with fright.  The third adult, suggested “It is a sin to be afraid, Trust God and be brave”.  While it was good advice, it certainly didn’t help his feet to move more steadily. 

The last adult said, “I know what it’s like to be afraid.  Take my hand and I will walk with you.”  With that, the anxiety and despair melted away, and the little boy took the hand of his protector and boldly forged ahead with newfound confidence and assurance.

Strength and Courage seem to be easy words.  How often do we say or hear, Hang in there, be strong – have courage?   Words alone do not provide the confidence. It is only by total faith do we believe that we are not alone, that Jesus walks beside us holding our hand, leading us into the place of victory, that we are able to proceed with abandon.  The path will not be easy.  There is no assurance of ease on your journey…but you are promised that you are not going it alone.  He walks before us, behind us, and beside us!

Through Christ, we have strength for every weakness and courage for every fear.  Boldly, because he has promised that he will NEVER leave us nor forsake us, we can pray…

“Lord, I give these terrifying things over to you and ask that you lead me into this land of the unknown.  Thank you for the promise that you will be with me always, even unto the ends of the earth.  Thank you that you have a firm grip on my hand.  Give me the strength and the courage to hold fast to yours”.

Take time this week to read (over and over again) Joshua 1:1-9.  Take heart and take hold of his promise…”I WILL be with you wherever you go”!

Be strong and very courageous until you reach your home!

Maria

www.rejoiceonline.org

We’ve had a great, busy, fun summer (so the blog suffered a little? you say) and the blog suffered a little.  Partly because there was always something going on and partly because sometimes you just get a little writer’s block – for a few straight months! So, I’ll try to chop up that block today…hey, don’t worry, miracles do still happen!

I was wondering today why it seems that miracles are sometimes not going on.  I’ve spent a lot of time this summer in prayer for Rejoice!, for my family, for me, for people around me (and I spent a little bit of time praying for the girl at Burger King who seemed really angry that I was coming through the drive-through a few days ago).  I guess sometimes I get a little down wanting, desperately needing, some major miracle to occur! 

• You know, a check in the mail for insurance premiums that I over paid – instead, ”just the bill ma’am, please pay the bill”…hrrrumph!
• A relative (one I never knew existed) has passed on to her heavenly reward and, yes, has left her BMW (mint condition – because she really didn’t drive much) to – ME!!!!!  (Allowing me to junk my jeep, that keeps eating up my insurance premium money)  No, no notices in the mail today of unexpected blessings, no child who has decided to never get me riled, and to do his homework without being asked and to clean house everyday after school without expecting a dime…no, so far today, everything’s just “normal”. 

Actually, though, come to think of it…my jeep decided it didn’t want to run anymore just hours BEFORE I needed to head out on the road for a destination a couple of hours away…allowing me NOT to be stranded, a woman, alone on a dark interstate…

and the other day I dropped my favorite baking dish, hard, onto my porcelain sink, and it bounced but didn’t break…

and the mean girl at Burger King actually gave me my food and nothing was wrong with it…(at least, I didn’t notice anything, oh gross)

and the 3rd air conditioner repair man who visited, said we didn’t actually need to replace the entire air conditioner (like the other two) but that for $140 he could have us back up and running (thus stopping the sweat from running down my face)…

and my dog almost ate the cat…but at the last moment the cat zigged and zagged just right…and was free (1 life down, 8 to go)

I guess if I really took stock, I could find loads of small things that could have been disastrous, or at the very least, annoying that either didn’t happen or happened in the best way possible.  I guess if I really think about it, there are so many things that I don’t even notice going on around me that are classified as tiny miracles.  So many times I hear, “wow, you sure were lucky”!  Actually, I’m not a lucky person at all (never have won anything come to think of it)…but I am God’s child.  And I firmly believe that He watches over every aspect of my life in ways that I can never imagine…handles situations that I may not even know are lurking.  So for today, I choose to count the many miracles, small though they may be, as evidence that I’m not muddling through life on my own, unattended.  God is present in the little things – maybe He knows how fragile I am and how devastated I’d have been if my dish had been broken or if I hadn’t gotten my Whopper with cheese, without tomatoes!!!  Either way, I am loved, and He cares for my psyche!!!  Thank you Lord for the small things, the little miracles taking place every day…

Ha!!  I knew it! There’s another one – you are reading a new blog post!!!  Remember, there are the little things!!

It might be fun to hear the tiny miracles you’ve seen – some of them are likely not even tiny but huge – so if you feel like adding your miracles – feel free!  But by all means, take a moment to think about them (even the silly ones!).

Until another miracle comes along (er, blog post)…

Maria

Since Tyler was a little boy, he has faithfully spent his weekends on the road with Rejoice! AND his Mondays mornings holding up his head in a high school class room!  Not kidding here, he actually has a method for propping his head with both his hands so that it looks like he’s engrossed in his textbook in a way that no one can tell that he’s actually catching up on his zzzz’s not working on his ABC’s.  The only trouble, he says, is when his head slips out of his hands and nearly hits  the desk with a thud…LOL…can you just see that?  You know, he could have unpaid fines for damage to textbooks – drool stains can wreak havoc on those pages! (goodness, I hope none of his teachers are reading this post!) (can you repossess a diploma?) 

The Graduate

During graduation week, Tyler was given an envelope from his 8th grade teacher.  4 years ago, She had her 8th grade class write a letter to themselves to be read when they graduated from high school.  The letter to “my future self” noted things he would accomplish, disappointments he would face, and what things he would be doing at the time he graduated.  (Teachers, moms – what a great idea this is) His teacher held onto the letter for the next 4 years and presented it to him last week.  How wonderful to see that Tyler had accomplished many of the things that he listed.  That eventually, he was able to do the things he thought he’d be disappointed with – like touching the rim of a 10ft basketball goal – have you ever seen him hanging on the rim after a service in a church parking lot? 

The sweetest, most tear jerking part of his letter to himself was that he really “hoped to be singing full-time with his mom”.  sniff, sniff – and here he is!  Singing every single weekend with his mom (and his two adoptive moms, Maria and Melissa)! 

To Tyler: 

We salute you for what you have accomplished.  God has huge plans for you and it is our daily prayer that you will continue to seek His will for your life and that He will be at the center of your future.  As you know, disappointments do come, life can be full of struggles and difficulties but God is able to keep you, strengthen you and protect you.  I can promise you that the devil gets really mad to see how God uses you – you’ve made it through one of the toughest times in your life - a time when walking with God as you walked through the halls of your high school wasn’t the easiest thing to do!  But you’ve done it!  Now, open your life to Him so that He can use you in a mighty way. Congratulations – we love you more than you can know – and we believe in you!!! 

God is Good! 

Love, the moms, 

(and Tyler,  you better love the moms!) 

Sherri, Melissa and Maria

• from sound equipment
• to a new recording project
• to transportation
• to feeding Tyler week in and week out (only half-joking)
• to new shoes (just kidding, er, well, sort of - but We do love us some new shoes!)…

To bring you up to date, I’ve promised the group that I will take on creating new bookings with a vengeance!  I definitely have a sales background but sometimes selling something that is so closely connected to you (i.e. selling yourself) can be so hard!  Continuing to fill the calendar with appearances is the way Rejoice! gets to continue to move forward.  Over the last few weeks, I’ve found myself on a bit of a roller coaster…I can do this…who do I think I am…this is a no-brainer…how in the world do I think I’m qualified for being a booking agent!  I know, that’s a lot of ups and downs, forwards and backwards – hey, you should have been on the ride with me – head spinning and mind scrambling to say the least!!!!

I’m beginning to realize that  it’s so easy to take something that God calls you to do – and you’re certain that He has - only to begin to see your own shortcomings and lack of qualifications or abilities. A girl can lose her confidence in a nanosecond (now that I’m a computer geek, I can talk that way)!  It’s true that if I rely on my own abilities or  my own skills or my past accomplishments, the task at hand seems overwhelming, if not impossible! 

But today, in my reading, I actually got a brand new message!  When I asked myself, “can I do this?”, I realized that the better question is “Can God do this through me?”.  Wow, with just a couple of extra words and a change in “person” – it’s very clear…on my own, I don’t have what it takes!  However, in relying on God’s strength and not on my own abilities or weaknesses, the possibilities are endless!

If you want to see where my confidence today is coming from, check these passages out:

• I can do everything through Him who gives me strength (Phil. 4:13)
• Nothing is impossible with God (Luke 1:37)
• Nothing is too hard for God (Jeremiah 32:17)
• In all these things we are more than conquerors through Him who loved us (Romans 8:37)
• My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness (2 Corinthians 12:9)

The voice of timidity gets silenced in a powerful way by the voice of Scripture!

I don’t know what it is that you are called to do today…and I don’t know how you’re feeling about it.  But likely, your confidence weakens as you think about your qualifications!  But…never fear, you now have the authority to proceed with unshakable confidence – because you know the “abilit-ator” (that’s my new word, from the dictionary of Maria).  Your talents and skills may limit you but you are enabled by a limitless God!  So,  GO AHEAD: organize that ladies group…plan that fundraiser…teach those children…supervise those employees…or book those concert dates – your God is able to work through you!  Interestingly enough, I’m realizing that God isn’t looking at your abilities, but  at your AVAILABILITY!!!

So that brings me to my next point – if you want to have Rejoice! schedule a concert with your group, church or gathering - well, operators are standing by to take your call!  Well, actually it’s just little ’ol me by my computer but I AM ready to answer the phone…LOL

828-777-8652 or 336-855-6275

www.rejoiceonline.org

Have a productive, confident day!

Maria

While Sherri and I were white knuckled and screaming out “HAIR PIN” every time we approached one, Melissa was laughing and saying, “oh, that was a fun one!!!!” and Tyler was sleeping soundly in the back – how he didn’t roll off into the floor, I’ll never know.  As we were trying to convince Mark to slow down from his taking curves at 40 -45 mph, we came upon a speed limit sign that said 55!!  Are you kidding??  A truck with a dog in the back even passed us in a flash – the dogs ears just blowing in the wind!

That speed limit sign made me think of an old song from high school – “I can’t drive 55″.  I think it technically means that the singer needed to speed down the highways and just couldn’t drive as slow as 55 mph.  But in this case, I take it the other way…we should NOT be driving 55!   Though, Mark, being the law-abiding citizen that he is, was certainly trying to be obedient.

Somehow we did make it to the “big city” of Spencer in one piece (and I continue to thank the Lord, I might add) and had a great service at Memorial United Methodist Church.  We ate dinner at an incredible restaurant in the heart of Spencer called George’s – awesome food!!!  They even held the restaurant open for us.  If you’re ever traveling down Hwy 119 and you get a little hungry, I suggest you head on into Spencer from some great food at George’s!!  Thanks to everyone we met in W. Virginia for being so gracious to us – we loved being with you! 

To see where our next adventure will be, visit us at www.rejoiceonline.org

Until we meet again…

Rejoice! in your prayers!!

Maria

I pray about it – I do –  every morning just before heading in to the little darling”s rooms – that I will have a gentle spirit, that they will hear me softly calling, and that our morning will be filled with love and laughter and birds singing, yes, birds.  I’m not sure upon which towel rack I place the grace that God has given me but it seems awfully easy to discard when trying to get them to hear me and to put one foot, then the next, on the floor and sleepwalk towards the shower. 

As Ashtyn (15) and Tyler (14) get older, I find myself calling out to God more and more on their behalf.  The trouble is sometimes I have no idea what to ask.  Their struggles from day to day… trying to grow up in a world that perceives them as immature and unwise (hey, I’d never do that!), trying to find the right friends or avoid the wrong ones, feeling insecure about themselves, difficulties with schoolwork…the list goes on and on…and sometimes it overwhelms me to think of what they face.  I can only imagine how difficult it can be to put one foot, then the next, and stumble off towards the shower each day.  I’ve told them over and over how “I wish I could be in your shoes”, how easy life is for a kid, and “just wait til you’re a grown-up and have to deal with those stresses.”  But the fact is, my heart breaks for them as I think about things that are so monumental to them at this point in their lives.  So, I continue to try to find the right things to pray about and find myself saying over and over, “Lord, help Tyler” or “Lord, help Ashtyn” and not knowing quite where to go from there. 

Today, though, I came across Romans 8:26.  It says, “In the same way, the Spirit helps us in our weakness.  we do not know what we ought to pray for, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us with groans that words cannot express”.

How encouraged I was to be reminded that sometimes words can’t express the prayers of our hearts but the Holy Spirit is already on it, God is already knowing – the intercession has already begun.  It means I’ll continue to pray even when I have no idea how to…

Rejoice! will be heading to Salisbury, NC this Saturday, May 15, 2010, to sing at the Scott’s Sing concert, a fundraising event for the cure of Cystic Fibrosis.  We’ll be there with the The Webb Family, The Ladd’s, and Tony Corner (and others!).  The concert is at East Rowan High School in Salisbury and starts at 7pm. Tickets are $10.  Visit www.scottsing.com for more info.

In reading about Wayne Trexler, who organizes the concert, I learned that he lost his son just weeks before the first concert was held several years ago.  He and his wife thought of cancelling the concert but knew that Scott was committed to raising money for Cystic Fibrosis so the show went on.  Sadly, Wayne also lost his wife, Robin, but continues with these concerts several times each year, now in memory of Scott and Robin.  If you can support this cause, (and love good gospel music) please come and be with us on Saturday evening.

I’ve prayed many prayers about my children, but I’ve never been faced with losing a child or needing a cure for a tragic disease, but I am convinced that this would be a time when words aren’t nearly enough or even possible and intercession is the only way.  Take a moment to pray for those who’ve lost children, those who are struggling with cystic fibrosis or other diseases.  Pray that they will have the strength to trust God when they feel they can’t take another step… when they can’t speak another prayer…when weakness is overtaking them.  …”My grace is sufficient for you, for my strength is made perfect in weakness…” 2 Corinthians 12:9.

Continue to pray for He hears!

Maria

www.rejoiceonline.org

Rejoice!

Well, we’ve done it!  After much resistance, we are moving into this age of being fully connected!  It’s hard to believe that back in, oh, about 1998, I was having trouble double-clicking a mouse (used to be that I just screamed when I saw one) and now here we go blogging to an entire world with a just few keystrokes!  This could be an interesting ride but hang with us as we give it a whirl!  I guess change is a good thing because it keeps us learning and growing but, wow, it can make you feel dense!  Hey, no blonde jokes here, please!  How amazing it is to be able to connect with people you may never meet in person here on earth! 

We had a great weekend in North Carolina (inland pales ever so slightly to Venice Beach, FL from last week!).  We sang at Chadbourn Pentecostal Holiness Church in Chadbourn, NC and at Groometown United Methodist Church in Greensboro.  We got off to a sleepy start at 5:00 am on Sunday morning (after getting to bed at 2:30 am – hmmm, yeeaah that’s about 3 hours of sleep to my calculations) but God is so good to provide energy and wakefulness just when you need it! These were both two new churches for us and we made a lot of good friends – though, when you’re close to home, you always have some familiar faces, as was the case at Groometown UMC last night.  We are so thankful for our brothers and sisters in Christ who support us when we’re close!  It was so good to see each of you! We always hear of a new need, a new trial, or a new problem that someone is facing and we promise to hold you up in prayer as you struggle to march on. 

… back to the new blog!  It is such a daunting task to try to live in the now and pretend to be knowledgeable on the many networking opportunities but what an incredible way to communicate with so many people at once!  Never before has it been so easy to share God’s love with people you may never come into contact with in person!  Change is truly not an easy thing but I’m trying – AND – I’ve been practicing my “double-click” for a little over a decade now so I’m good with that!  In a time when nothing stays the same and things are outdated within months, I’m reminded of how wonderful it is that the message of salvation never changes!  When I was so young, I learned John 3:16 – For God so loved the world (that’s you), that He gave His only begotten Son (that’s Jesus), that whosoever (that’s anybody, from any walk of life, with any kind of past, with any kind of trouble) believes upon Him, shall not perish but will have everlasting life (that means forever!!).  Eternal life (who can really even imagine?) The method of hearing may have changed but the method itself will never change.  How amazing to gain life eternal but how uplifting that we can also gain life today, in this moment, right where you are:  The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy: I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full.  John 10:10 We can have an abundant life through Jesus Christ while living in the midst of  todays trials!

I’m so thankful that the message of God’s saving grace is the same today as it was when I was 5 years old.  There are no updates that need to be downloaded, no defragmenting, and no reformatting to be done.  The Great “I Am” is the same yesterday, today and forever!  I’m going to go be living my life to fullest and right now that’s going to mean learning how to compute in this social media age.  Grateful for the opportunity!

Until next time, (keep) Rejoice! in your prayers!

Maria

www.rejoiceonline.org