Promise

Christmas has always been my favorite holiday. As a child, I likely drove my parents insane when I woke up at 4am, wanting to go see what Santa had left. Jesse and I celebrated our first Christmas together in 2006 as boyfriend/girlfriend and I loved being able to see him open his stocking, get excited about his gifts and and now in 2009 we celebrated as husband and wife. This year was a different Christmas from the ones we have celebrated in the past however, as my grandmother was in the ICU, fighting for her life. So the stockings didn’t get filled and the presents didn’t get wrapped, but instead, we stood with our family in the gap, praying for healing, for peace and for God to be glorified even in this situation. So when I read the Chandler’s blog (Matt Chandler is the head pastor of the village church in Dallas and is currently undergoing treatment for brain cancer - Jesse and I listen to his sermons on podcast and are also praying for his healing) on the promise of the manger, the promise of the Messiah, the promise of the Cross and the promise of the Resurrection, I felt like it really reminded me of the true reason for Christmas and strengthened my heart and faith because I know that even as we walk through struggles and heartache, that Jesus is with us, understanding our pain, and covering us with grace…

Prayers to Give Us Strength for Our Marriage

The promise of the manger: the promise that we would have a high priest that would know what it’s like to put on flesh.

The promise of the Messiah: the promise to be delivered from the slavery of sin.

The promise of the Cross: the promise to know suffering at its greatest extent and through that suffering absorbing wrath, imputing righteousness, atoning our sin and making all the Father’s promises be a resounding YES.

The promise of the Resurrection: it’s done–all our debt it paid in full–the pain and suffering will be but the pain of birthing new life.

“For all the promises of God find their yes in Him. That is why it is through him that we utter our Amen to God for his glory.” 2 Cor. 1:20

My Grandma before our wedding

Today, Grandma is having a good day and Grandpa George is also healing from his eventful hospital stay where he had to have a pacemaker installed and for that I am so thankful (Jesse will add a post on all the medical stuff, but my Grandma and George were creating a pretty good Notebook Love story of their own for a couple days) So, from Christmas Eve, when the doctors told us to prepare to say goodbye, to the good and bad days in between, Grandma has been fighting and together with our family and friends, we have been praying. We are praying for total healing and strength in her body and are hopeful and encouraged by the progress she is making. As she continues to heal, please continue to pray that our faith increases, that healing occurs, and that Christ is glorified in this experience.