United States of America
The most extraordinary happening!
I am stunned into silence, needing quietude with you Lord, to package this and see it’s greatness.
It seemed a gazillion years ago that my heart had quietly yearned for an emerald – it sounds like my name. I looked at pictures of them, and would scan jeweler windows when passing by. I even bought some fake green stone earrings, which didn’t cut it! Secretly, my heart envisions an emerald with tiny diamonds around it.
This is one of those hidden desires of my heart that I don’t deem important. I won’t pursue and spend the money purchasing this. I even giggle as sometimes, I see myself walking down the street one day and there lies an emerald.
These past few months, there has been a shift in my being. In obedience, committing all to you. I believe you will provide income personally and for the ministry. God is teaching me how to let every thought of worry, fear, stress, personally, and for the ministry go!
I started choosing to say and believe that you will provide, that you are providing. So I asked for daily discipline and next steps and then…. of course, challenges at Abode, our ministry place, which had a need of cooling in the back section. And just like that the system and install were provided!
Next thing… the Lord asked me to give up lollygagging for one week, no brain games at night, give Him all my time! No watching shows!
In this very week, His extravagance shows up unexpectedly. Just when my heart felt as if a knife went through it. I received a stinging email that left me feeling of no worth to that person. I had to give this to Jesus and fight not to let this take root in my heart.
A little later in the day, a couple called, wanted to come over, and they had a gift for me. This has not happened before! They handed me a small gift bag with a box that held another box. Inside was a necklace with an emerald and little diamonds around it! No words.
God sent His people that day, what timing! How extravagant! When we serve God, He always gives in return!
No giving comes back when we lay aside our wants and desires. You see us,you hear us, more than we know!
Emgem
United States of America
As a child, I felt left out, alone, and often neglected, not on purpose. I’m sure life for my parents was not easy for a lot of reasons, but I struggled as a child with low self-esteem and other issues. One day, when I was angry with my mother, I began writing on the walls in my room. I hate my mama, I hate my mama, over and over. Suddenly, I heard God speak to me in a small voice. “I am your father.” I remember looking to see who was talking. There was no one, and I knew it was God. The voice changed my life. I had a deep sense of belonging. Of being loved. I heard His voice many times even until this day, I know His voice and hear Him speaking to me.
Betty Brown
United States of America
I lived in Savannah, GA, 40 years ago, and loved it. My daughter was born there at 24 weeks old, and we lost her twin brother. She is a miracle and shouldn’t have survived (she was 1 lbs. 7 oz. at birth). She is a miracle in and of herself.
We’ve always wanted to come back, but my husband and I have both been self-employed, and it’s never easy to restart a business in a new place. Even though I’m from the north east, it’s frankly never felt like home. Over the last few years, with the changing political climate and a loss of moral compass, it felt less and less like home. Well, on a trip to the Outer Banks in May 2020, I suddenly realized that we probably had the chance if I acted fast to make a move back to Savannah. As a result of Covid a lot of my work had become remote. It was now legal for me to treat my patients on Zoom from anywhere. We put our house on the market that summer and, after a few twists and turns, sold it for quite a bit more than we paid. We knew that if we waited at all to take action, market conditions might change for the worst and they did. This was God speaking to us I know.
We came to Savannah to buy here and homes were selling right out from under us. We weren’t really considering Rincon at all as we wanted it to be somewhere in Savannah proper but anytime we made an offer on something it sold out from under us.
My husband and I were having dinner at a downtown restaurant. A text came in from our broker with a photo of a house in Rincon. We looked at it and immediately knew it was home even before seeing it. Our offer was immediately accepted. The move itself presented many challenges. But we are exactly where God wanted us to be. We love the neighborhood and the wonderful folks. We met and our next-door neighbors introduced us to Compassion. We love it and feel so blessed most importantly, my husband due to his unfortunate exposure to church as a child hadn’t been to church in about 50 years. Now he’s is the first one out the door for church and we both love it. We know it’s all God’s hand.
United States of America
Almost 3 weeks ago I had returned from my future sister-in-law‘s bachelorette party. It was Labor Day 2023 to be specific. Exhausted from the travels and fun of a long weekend. I crawled into my cozy bed nestled back in my farm apartment in Harwood, MD (sidenote: I rented a families basement apartment on their farm! It’s dreamy with horses and magical views of the evening stars!)
My friend sent me a voice message, and I listened to it before closing my eyes. It was a voice message of her praying over me. She was praying over my future husband and I uniting, and before she finished the prayer, she asked God to surprise me. I’m still waiting on my husband, but the Lord had a more sudden surprise up his sleeve. The next morning, I started work and received a voice message (a common theme in my life) from a life mentor of mine. She told me she felt led to offer me the last scholarship spot at her writers conference in St. Louis ($600 value). The conference itself was covered; however flight and room/board were not. Considering the conference was about 2 1/2 weeks out, all seemed very unrealistic. After all, I’ve been deliberately working the past few months to stick to a strict budget and get out of debt.
I was thrilled and honored to receive the offer, but I also knew money didn’t fall out of the sky. So I did all I could do and left the rest up to the man upstairs. This consisted of prayer, fasting, and asking others to pray. About a week later, I told my mentor it wasn’t going to work. Two hours after I told her no, God told me no to my no. One of my friends, whom I had asked to pray with me, reached out and said she was willing and able to give me $600. I almost fell over. She was funding over 80% of my projected expenses for the trip. I knew that was my cue to go. I moved some things around in my budget to cover the rest of the trip, and here I sit writing the story at the writers conference in St. Louis.
Isaiah 6:8 “Here I am Lord send me”
Kristen Wiblishouser
United States of America
I had to overcome a lot in my life. Trauma after trauma, yet the Lord rebuilt me every time. Each time I faced a new trauma, I told myself that it would be the hardest thing I would ever have to go through. I walked through things like infidelity, teen pregnancy, rape, and emotional and mental abuse. These were seriously hard situations to experience, but God always saw me through them.
July 28, 2022 was supposed to be another ordinary day but it turned out to be anything but that. 30 minutes after talking to my husband, he died in the blink of an eye. He was gone! How would I get through? I was lost. The kids no longer had a father, I no longer had a spouse, and our home no longer had him.
My God knew this would happen, and He had a plan. He reminded me of so many promises through the two women he sent. Through them, I had remained encouraged and supported. Getting squared away with finances and how to navigate the different systems became manageable.
He provided me with the strength to keep going day after day. He gave me reasons to keep smiling in the ability to laugh loudly. Because of Him I have been able to keep going.
United States of America
I met Jesus on a Red Dirt road. This is the title of a story. I didn’t think I’d be writing, let alone living.
It was the year 2018, May to be specific, like all things relating to the Lord, I had no idea what I was in for.
To say I met Jesus may seem bizarre right?? After all, He isn’t even alive anymore. But rest assured, I stand by my statement. I was a kid in church always wondering how all these people were seemingly so into something that I didn’t have any concept for.
To be quite honest, Church seemed to be nothing but a waste of my time.
As I said, it was 2018. It was January and I was residing in Lincoln Nebraska finishing my senior year of college.
I was a mess. My best friend had just gotten pregnant which meant my next nine months were also about to look a lot different. Say goodbye to every trip we had planned, not to mention my major was psychology and pre-physician assistant. Yet I had no dream or desire to actually do hospital work.
So how does any of this relate to Jesus? Spoiler alert, everything is related to Jesus, and I do mean everything, even when we think it isn’t.
I was devastated and had no idea what direction my life was about to take. And then I read a book. It was a book I’d been meaning to read for a decade, yet never got around to it: “Kisses from Katie” by Kate Davis. She was a teenager graduating high school who decided to go to Uganda for a mission trip after graduating high school. Long story short, Katie fell absolutely in love with the country of Uganda and the continent of Africa, and she still resides there to this day.
I may not have known much else if anything at that point in my life, but I knew this much: I was going to Africa over hell or high water. In fact, I made it my personal mission to get over there as soon as I graduated from college.
And I did well, correction, God did. I just said yes.
The night the application closed, I scrolled upon an Instagram post from a nonprofit in Nashville, accepting applicants for a mission trip to Masindi, Uganda. I applied three weeks later, and I was accepted. I couldn’t believe it.
As time drew near , we started doing group calls in preparation for our trip.
Little did I know the very organization that I was going to Uganda with (love + ONE International) was the same organization that helped Katie Davis get her nonprofit up and running.
My mind was blown. How could this be?
Only Jesus. He specializes in stuff like this.
It gets better.
When I actually got to Uganda, it was like heaven on earth.
Like I said, it was where I met the love of my life Jesus!
It was a normal day. Every day starts just the same. This one was no different. I went with my group to a village that day. It was amazing, but a story for another time.
The day in the village wrapped up, and we returned to the main school. It really was a normal afternoon to the common eye, but rest assured, there’s no such thing as common when God’s involved.
The rest of the afternoon I was attacked by kisses, hugs and affection and love. The school kids and I chased each other up and down the red dirt road until those mean adults made us part ways.
I left in a big white van with beautiful ebony-skinned faces and hands chasing me down.
I’d finally felt IT. What do you ask? Love – not the worldly kind or even the kind we receive from our parents or loved ones. It’s a different type of love. It’s heavenly, it’s Holy.
If you haven’t felt this all consuming gut wrenching totally consuming love it’s OK.
I hadn’t either. All you have to do is ask. That’s it. As simple as “God, if you’re real, let me know.”
That was my prayer all those years ago. He isn’t too good to be true. He’s not magical or a genie in a bottle. He’s real, and He’s yearning and waiting for the very day you asked to get to know him.
Believe me it’s an adventure you don’t want to miss.
So be it XOXO
Kristen Ann
