faith Archives - Page 14 of 29

“When Your Friend Has Cancer” ~ Check out this guest post!

May 2, 2016 by Marissa Leave a Comment

Today I’m thankful for an opportunity to share on my husband’s cousin’s blog. Lisa Lloyd is a writer, actor, speaker, and upcoming author. We are eagerly awaiting the release of her first book! In the meantime, she writes inspiring, heartfelt words on faith, forgiveness and motherhood.

Here’s a preview of my post on her website. Check it out and read some of Lisa’s posts while you’re there!

Five years ago, I was a young mom of three when I first heard the words: “It’s cancer.” I was standing alone in my bedroom, but I wasn’t alone for long.

Within hours, a few family members and friends came over and joined me in my shock and grief. The next day—my 34^th birthday—a larger group of friends gathered for a surprise birthday party full of tearful prayers. And over the coming months, a multitude of supporters sustained our family with love, prayers and service.

My battle against angiosarcoma, a rare and aggressive cancer with a grim prognosis, involved months of high-dose chemotherapy, a clinical trial at MD Anderson Cancer Center, radiation, and surgery. I spent 14 weeks away from my family receiving treatment in Houston and fighting to see my children grow up.

Our logistical, emotional and spiritual needs seemed overwhelming. And yet, God met all of our needs, often through our friends’ sacrificial service. My friends loved us so well that I’ve written a book to share my friends’ example with other women and equip them to support their friends with cancer.

I hope that you never need to know how to love a friend through cancer. But it’s likely that at some point, you will. So here are a few tips I learned from my friends about how to support someone with cancer.

Finish reading on Lisa’s blog by clicking here!

Our Help Comes from the Maker of Heaven and Earth {No Matter What Monday}

May 2, 2016 by Marissa 1 Comment

What in God’s creation takes your breath away? Mountains rising high? The vast expanse of the ocean? The intricate knitting together of a newborn baby? The colors of a sunset radiating through the clouds?

Everywhere around us, God is giving us a glimpse of His power, goodness and might.

What in your life causes you to worry? Your job? Kids? Future? Health? Finances? For me, the list includes all of those and a few more. When the stresses of life start to overwhelm me, I think about these words from Psalm 121:

“I lift my eyes to the hills. From where does my help come? My help comes from the LORD, who made heaven and earth.”

The God who raised those mountains from the ground? He’s planned my future.

The Lord who holds the ocean depths in the palm of His hand? He loves my children.

My Father who knit me together in my mother’s womb? Every cell in my body answers to Him.

When you cry out to the Lord for help, you are depending on the One created the universe and upholds it by His will. Let the wonders of His creation remind you of His power and might at work in your life and in your circumstances.

No matter what you face this week, your help comes from the Maker of heaven and earth.

Our Hope Enters Behind the Curtain {No Matter What Monday}

April 18, 2016 by Marissa Leave a Comment

We have this as a sure and steadfast anchor of the soul, a hope that enters into the inner place behind the curtain, where Jesus has gone as a forerunner on our behalf, having become a high priest forever after the order of Melchizedek.

Hebrews 6:19-20 (ESV)

Last week we talked about the anchor of our hope being in God’s sure and steadfast promises. But what about the rest of the verse?

Our hope is described as entering the inner place behind the curtain. Now, I know that can sound like a bunch of theological gobbledygook. The inner place refers to the Holy of Holies, the place where God dwelled in the temple. Once a year, the high priest would take a blood sacrifice and enter into the inner place to atone for the sin of the people and remove their guilt.

When the author of Hebrews says that Jesus has gone on our behalf into the inner place, he’s saying that Jesus’ sacrifice has taken away the guilt of our sin. Jesus’ blood qualifies him to enter into the place where God dwells. And when it says that Jesus is a forerunner, it means that we will follow him there.

When we cast the anchor of our hope, it lands in the place where God dwells. And our hope-anchor is there because Christ died once for all as a sacrifice to remove our guilt, rip the curtain that separated us from God, and secure our access to the inner place with God.

This is our sure and steadfast hope. Not hope in our own abilities or good works or trying to do a little better than yesterday. Not hope in promises that may or may not be true when we need them most. Our hope for salvation, for daily life, and for peace in the midst of a storm comes from one sure and steadfast anchor: the sacrifice Jesus Christ made for us.

So no matter what we face this week, our hope is in Christ, who entered the inner place behind the curtain as a forerunner on our behalf.

A Prayer for the Weary Soul

April 8, 2016 by Marissa Leave a Comment

Do you ever struggle to pray?

Do you wonder if God is listening?

Do you worry that your faith is too weak or your doubt is too strong?

Do you wonder if you are even welcome to come before Him with your pleas for mercy, healing, comfort or strength?

If so, this is a prayer for you.

“Dear Refuge of My Weary Soul” is one of my favorite hymns. The words were written by Anne Steele centuries ago. She knew the pain of suffering. She endured loss, serious health issues, singleness, and hardship. (You can read more about her here.) In these words, we get a glimpse into her struggle to place her hope in Christ.

Dear refuge of my weary soul,

On Thee, when sorrows rise

On Thee, when waves of trouble roll,

My fainting hope relies . . .

Waves of trouble, a fainting hope–does that sound familiar to you? It does to me.

But oh! When gloomy doubts prevail,

I fear to call Thee mine

The springs of comfort seem to fail,

And all my hopes decline . . .

And then comes the internal struggle. Doubt and fear creep in. Finding hope and comfort in the Lord doesn’t seem to be working!

Yet gracious God, where shall I flee?

Thou art my only trust

And still my soul would cleave to Thee

Though prostrate in the dust

And yet, where else should we turn? Who else do we have besides the Lord? We know He is the only secure place for our hope and trust, and so even in our pain, we cling to Him.

Hast Thou not bid me seek Thy face,

And shall I seek in vain?

And can the ear of sovereign grace,

Be deaf when I complain?

This is my favorite line: Can the ear of sovereign grace be deaf when I complain? We take our sorrows to Him, and in His grace, He promises to hear our pleas for comfort. We know for certain that He cannot turn us away.

Thy mercy seat is open still,

Here let my soul retreat

With humble hope attend Thy will,

And wait beneath Thy feet.

I love this beautiful picture of a weary soul finding rest at the mercy seat of God. Often struggle, fear and doubt come before rest. But in the end, the place for our hurting soul is at the feet of Jesus.

Have a listen to this version by Indelible Grace. I hope it refreshes your soul as it does mine.

(If you don’t have Spotify, you can listen to the entire song here.)

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