shareyourstorynow.org

Our God is Our God Forever and Ever

“Our God is like this forever and will always guide us.”

[Psalm 48:14 CEV]

Abby writes:

Recently my family went through a very big blow. The matriarch of our family passed away. For the past 7 years Maria de Jesus suffered much after she broke her hip. Because of her age and frailty, they opted not to operate her, fearing it would speedy up her passing away.

Those 7 years were spent bed ridden and eventually lead to her suffering from dementia. Even though we knew this day would surely come sooner than later, knowing she had passed affected me more than I ever thought it could.

Growing up most of my childhood in Guatemala I was raised by my grandmother (abuelita) and to me she was truly indescribable. With apron always in tow, she was there to wipe away any tears, kiss any booboos, correct us when we were wrong and love us unconditionally. It’s the things I will never forget.

With her passing my brother and I made our way to Antigua, Guatemala and had a chance to share in many moments of silence, where no words really needed to be said, and moments of contemplation over what had just happened. Tears abounded, but so did laughter in reminiscing of good old times.

We came across this scripture that spoke to our hearts… Psalm 48:14 “For this God is our God for ever and ever; he will be our guide even to the end.”

My mother shared with us how on the last day that my abuelita lived she asked my mom to sing her a praise song she loved “Cuan Grande Es El” (How Great Thou Art). My mom sobbed through the lyrics, but realized that even at the end of her time, all my abuelita wanted to do was give God the praise. And with that, we were put at ease.

My abuelita is in a much better place now… Free of being bed ridden, free of physical pain, free to live with her Heavenly father. Suffering may come for a night, but joy really does come in the morning.

Story posted on Wednesday, May 20th, 2009 and is filed under Hope, God's Love, Team Corner, Sadness, Death, Bible, Praise, God's Sovereignty, Christian Families, Evangelization, Your Stories, Grace. | 1 Comment »

Call to action: PRAY For The SYSN Team

SYSN Team Heads to Nashville, TN for GMA Week 2009

This is a call to action for all our faithful website readers. Our team is headed to Nashville, TN tomorrow morning and would really appreciate and covet your prayers. Pray for the following:

- Health (2 of our team members have a cold/flu)
- Traveling mercies
- That we make an impact in the lives of those we interview
- The artists
- Our leaders who will be joining us during this trip
- The week in general

We are excited to be gathering more content for you and are with great expectations of what God is going to do this year. We will be posting stories while we are at GMA and also stay connected, contest winner Angel Higgs will be blogging about her experience at GMA with our team!

Best,

The SYSN Team (Malorie, Nate, TJ, Abby and the COG Crew)

Story posted on Friday, April 17th, 2009 and is filed under Team Corner, Your Stories. | 1 Comment »

Peace on Earth, Goodwill to all Men

“You know the message God sent to the people of Israel, telling the good news of peace through Jesus Christ, who is Lord of all.”

[Acts 10:36 NIV]

One of my favorite Christmas songs growing up was “It’s The Most Wonderful Time of the Year.” Hearing Andy Williams croon this song was a big sign for me that Christmas time was right around the corner. At the time my family lived in California and you could feel the crispness in the air and everybody seemed so happy and joyful.

As I grew older Christmas became the time to visit my folks (now in Florida) and time to buy everyone on my list a nice present that wouldn’t break my pocket. But still the magic of Christmas would captivate my heart. The songs especially. As I write this I’m listening to Israel Haughton and Cece Winans singing “We Wish You A Merry Christmas.”

There is no denying that Christmas is truly the most wonderful time of the year. We know that Christ’s birth didn’t exactly happen on the 25th of December, but it’s a day we get to reflect and rejoice on our King’s birth. Jesus Christ came in the purest form to Earth as a babe and came to bring us the greatest gift of all… salvation.

We live in a time of insecurity, of doubt, of economic strife and war… for some it may not be a time to celebrate, but mourn. Let’s together pray for one another and remember to be there when the spirit calls.

During this time of the year let’s reflect on the following:

- What does Christmas mean to you?
- What Christmas song is your favorite?
- How do you and your loved ones celebrate this special time of the year?
- What is your favorite Christmas memory?
- What is the message of Christ teaching you today?

Let this Christmas season bring peace on Earth, and goodwill to all men, even if just for this moment.

Story posted on Monday, December 15th, 2008 and is filed under Bible, Praise, God's Love, Hope, Team Corner, Your Stories, Prayer, God's Sovereignty, Grace, Christian Families, Struggles, Evangelization, Life Verse. | 2 Comments »

We’re Giving God’s Gifts

Heal the sick, raise the dead, cleanse those who have leprosy, drive out demons. Freely you have received, freely give.

[Matthew 10:8 NIV]

David, our summer intern, writes:

I grew up in, by anyone’s account, an extremely wealthy environment. I know people with more money or cars or houses, but by any measure you could dream of, I’m rich. I also grew up a Christian, the son of a pastor and two very devoted Christian parents. Reconciling those two facts was something I struggled to do for a long time.

After all, Matthew says that “it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of God.” I always thought that there was something in being wealthy that inherently kept us from truly loving God. What I’m learning, though, is that’s not true. It’s not money, cars, or vacation homes that separate us from God, but our devotion to those things. We can serve but one master, and if that master is material, we push God to the side. Money is not the problem- the all-encompassing, life-overhauling need for more money is.

Being detached from the things we have frees us from the shame and guilt associated with them, and also allows us to give them freely. Just before the above verse, Jesus tells a man to “sell your possessions and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven” (Matthew 19:21). Selling his possessions is not the important part of this charge from Jesus- it’s giving the benefits to the poor. We are called to give without ceasing to those who don’t have as much as we do, and to give as quickly and as easily as we receive.

Rich Mullins is one of my favorite examples of this: A wildly successful Christian musician, every dime he made was given to his church. The church paid him the average salary for someone his age for that year, and gave the rest to charity. He didn’t live in poverty, and lived comfortably, but recognized the money he had didn’t belong to him. It belonged to God, and he gave it freely back.

To me, God’s call regarding material things comes in Matthew 10:8: “freely you have received, freely give.” I have nice things and a comfortable life because God gave them to me, and not because of something I did. The man whose chances are like that of a camel is the man who ignores God all around him in pursuit of the green in front of him. There’s nothing wrong with having money and things, so long as our eyes are fixed on praising God and caring for his people, and not on padding our pocketbooks.

Story posted on Friday, August 15th, 2008 and is filed under Bible, Hope, Team Corner, Praise, Your Stories, Verses, Missions, Prayer, Grace. | 1 Comment »

We Are Meant to be in Community

Again, I tell you that if two of you on earth agree about anything you ask for, it will be done for you by my Father in heaven.

[Matthew 18:19 NIV]

David, our summer intern, writes:

I love sports that involve nations competing. The World Cup, the Olympics, you name it- in terms of getting people excited, competitions like these are on a level of their own. Whether or not you care at all about the sports, the competitive and nationalistic atmosphere is enough to lure anyone into rabid fan-hood, if only for a short time.

As we look to the Olympics, it presents an interesting question: With people from every imaginable background and situation watching, an enormous and influential stage is created. If you had the world’s attention, what would you tell them? As I began to think about this question, one answer became obvious to the point where it was all I could think about. It’s this: we as people are meant to be in community, and it’s united, not divided, that is our rightful and natural state.

The Biblical evidence for this is overwhelming. One of my favorite verses in the Bible, Matthew 18:19, says that “Again, I tell you that if two of you on earth agree about anything you ask for, it will be done for you by my Father in heaven.” We’re not meant to be alone, but rather to gather in God’s name and worship together. Our needs are meant to be met together. The thing I love most about this verse, though, is that I think one reason we’re meant to pray together is that we’re meant to be the answers to prayer. God chooses to use us to meet each other’s needs, to live as brothers and sisters in Christ, and take care of each other.

Ten chapters later, Matthew 28:19, in Jesus’ “Great Commission,” he tells his followers to “go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit…” He doesn’t tell them to make disciples of the Jews, or the Palestinians, but all nations.

We live in one world, under one God. Our similarities far outweigh our differences, and the chance to live with and worship God for all eternity is for everyone. We love to compare and to compete, but the world needs to hear more about how alike we are in the only eyes that matter: God’s.

Story posted on Friday, July 18th, 2008 and is filed under Team Corner, Bible, Your Stories, Missions, Life Verse. | 3 Comments »

God Gives Me Freedom

[Jesus speaking] “For whoever wants to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for me and for the gospel will save it.”

[Mark 8:35 NIV]

David, our summer intern, writes:

We live today in an increasingly lawless, amoral society, one in which you can do anything you want without fear of repercussion. There is tremendous freedom in this, and discerning what that freedom means for Christians has been a long struggle for me.

The Bible promises freedom for all followers of God, but yet imposes laws against certain actions and choices. Freedom, to most people today, means that we can do whatever we want. The Bible promises great freedom, yet tells us that there are many things we can’t do. What gives?

I began to understand when I happened one day upon Mark 8:35, when Jesus says, “For whoever wants to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for me and for the gospel will save it.”

I had always thought of freedom as freedom to do whatever I wanted.

True freedom, though, the kind Jesus promises, is both “freedom to” and “freedom from.” Freedom from our earthly desires, our sin, our misguided selfishness. These things lead only to our own destruction, but Jesus promises that if we put our life in his hands, he will free us from them.

Once we turn over control of our lives, and God has reoriented our hearts, we are free to do what is right, what is best for us, and what is best for others.

By learning to trust in God for my own care and salvation, I will be able to selflessly love God and love others the way I am called to.

When we commit ourselves completely to God’s care, we have the freedom to be who we are called to be, and to experience the true joy of living in God’s presence.

Story posted on Monday, June 16th, 2008 and is filed under Team Corner, Hope, Praise, Your Stories, Struggles. | 4 Comments »

Marriage Between God and the Church

This is a great mystery, but I understand it to mean Christ and his church. So each husband should love his wife as much as he loves himself, and each wife should respect her husband.

[Ephesians 5:32-33 CEV]

Abby, our program manager, writes:

It’s wedding season!

In just a matter of a month I have been to two weddings out of the five I was invited to.

The first wedding was very lush and had every detail to it attended to. My husband and I arrived as guests of the bride and groom. I decided to take my camera with me and snapped several shots of the glowing couple and their guests.

We met a couple that was a mirror image of us, only they were based on the West coast. The food was delectable, the atmosphere was melodic and the air spoke of love. Both families rejoiced in the union of their son and daughter.

For the second wedding, my husband and I knew the groom, and he had asked us to film and photograph the event for them. We did so as a gift to the bride and groom.

It’s a totally different experience to work a wedding, than to attend a wedding … literally, it’s night and day. We hustled, we ran, we got dirty.

Unfortunately the night before it was pouring rain and the wedding was outside. It made for a muddy procession.

All the same, it was magical. Seeing the bride transform from an ordinary pretty girl to a vision of absolute beauty was really a treat.

As I snapped away toward the end of the evening, my husband and I couldn’t help but think of our own wedding and just how in its truest form it represents God and His beloved, the church.

There is something magical, whimsical, honest and endearing about the love that God has for us as a unit, but when we unite with Him and hold fast to His Word, it’s something utterly powerful. Here’s to an amazing spring!

Story posted on Wednesday, May 21st, 2008 and is filed under Team Corner, God's Love, Your Stories, Verses. | 2 Comments »

The Power of Praying With My Husband

I know, O LORD, that a man’s life is not his own; it is not for man to direct his steps.

[Jeremiah 10:23 NIV]

Abby, our program manager, writes:

Recently my husband and I were looking through some old journals that we each had when we were courting, and we started to tell each other what we were feeling at those exact moments and how badly we wanted to get married.

It felt like our wedding day would never come! Now looking back it makes both of us laugh, but at that time it was extremely frustrating.

I remember how much we prayed over our marriage and all the steps we had to take soon after (moving, buying a home, etc). It was probably the craziest time we have ever been through, but some how it all went smoothly and without a hitch.

The one thing we both agreed on that helped tremendously was prayer and diving head first into His Word. We sought His face and His will through it all.

We didn’t want to take a step without knowing that He wanted us to.

Now two years later we still make time every day, even if it is just 10 minutes here and there, to pray and read the Bible together. If he travels, or if I travel, we call each other and pray together.

Even with the bumps on the road, we know that God will guide us down that road and then some.

Story posted on Tuesday, April 22nd, 2008 and is filed under Team Corner, Bible, Your Stories, Prayer. | 2 Comments »

Abby's Interviewing Artists This Week

Hey there, it’s Abby, manager of ShareYourStoryNow.org. I’m in Nashville, TN, at the annual Gospel Music Association (GMA) event.

The team and I are here to interview Christian music artists (lucky us, I know!), such as Casting Crowns, Rebecca St. James, Natalie Grant, Superchick, Salvador and Jaci Velasquez. We’ll be publishing the interviews on the site soon!

While I’m here interviewing artists and taking in the whole GMA event, I’ll post comments on this page about my experiences and interactions. I’ll give you the inside scoop!

Also, feel free to respond to my comments by posting a comment or question below.

Blessings from Nashville,
Abby

Story posted on Saturday, April 19th, 2008 and is filed under Bible, Your Stories, ABS Stories. | 7 Comments »

Finding My Identity, Growing In Self-Esteem

For you created my inmost being; you knit me together in my mother’s womb. I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; your works are wonderful, I know that full well.

[Psalm 139:13-14 NIV]

Abby, our program manager, writes:

The other night I caught myself cleaning the house, and during one of my many breaks, a song by Ginny Owens came on called “True Story.” It’s one of my favorites, but I hardly ever really listened to the lyrics.

The chorus melted my heart. I must admit, it made me say “Oh wow.”

You see my imperfections
Still You say I’m a masterpiece
A marvelous reflection
The image of Yourself in me
You paint with strokes of grace
Undoing my disguise
You say beauty lies in the true story

She nailed it right on! God sees all my imperfections: my stubborn mind, my doubting heart, my constant learning soul. Through it all, He sees His reflection.

He takes every label that I have placed on myself and slowly but surely He peels them apart till they are no more.

As a young child I dealt with self-esteem issues. Daughter of parents who were immigrants, I didn’t speak fluent English until the age of 11, my hair was a frizz ball and my clothes were often hand-me-downs.

In my parents attempt to have me in the best schools possible, I was always in schools where little girls had the latest brand-name clothing, had perfect smooth hair and could speak more than English, but also French.

As I grew older and was finally able to tame my wild hair, learn English to the point it became my first language and had a part time job where I was able to buy some clothes for school … I learned that I was never the daughter of immigrants, but the daughter of a mighty King.

It took me a bit to accept that. Geesh, I still deal with it today! It’s something that on a daily basis I have to remind myself of … that I have a God who loves every curl on my head, and then some. Amazing isn’t it?

Story posted on Friday, April 4th, 2008 and is filed under Team Corner, God's Love, Praise, Your Stories, Struggles. | 5 Comments »