Following Jesus | Laurie Coombs

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We Are HOME!!!

Posted on: April 19th, 2016 by Laurie Coombs 6 Comments

We are HOME!!! It’s hardly believable but after all these years of waiting and waiting and waiting, we finally have our little girl home from Uganda! It has been a long hard road that my family and I have had to travel to come into this promise, but with every twist and turn, every obstacle to overcome, we have seen God’s sovereignty lead us, teach us, and grow us in ways that would have never been had the road been quick and easy. There are moments that I just can’t help but wonder how it is that I get to be this little one’s momma. This little girl whose eyes dance and sparkle with each joyful smile and giggle. This sweet girl who quite literally exuded the joy of the Lord. She is ours, forever ours to love and raise up in the Lord as our own. I have once again witnessed the goodness of our…

Fearless Faith

Posted on: January 21st, 2016 by Laurie Coombs 2 Comments

“Be strong,” I heard Jesus whisper to my anxious heart. “Continue the work I’ve called you to.” I had come up against some pretty significant resistance, some stuff that had the potential to thwart all I had been working toward for three years, and for whatever reason, it had hit me hard. “I am with you,” Jesus continued. “Do not be afraid. Do not allow your circumstances to derail My plan for your life. Press in and press on….” “But Lord,” I prayed in desperation, “What if the enemy succeeds? What if I’m overcome by the opposition? What if I go down?” “I’ve prepared you for this,” He whispered. “Be bold as a lion. Do not give up!” “But what if I’ve gotten it all wrong?” I wondered. “What if I’m wrong?” I felt like I was on the verge of a faith crisis. Like at any moment, my faith…

Jesus Is on the Throne

Posted on: December 17th, 2015 by Laurie Coombs

Jesus is on the throne, now and forever. It seems I’ve been reminded of this continually lately. Life’s circumstances have clouded my vision a bit, but with this simple reminder, I have consistently been brought back to the truth. Troubles lose their weight when we see and believe this reality deep within our souls. This truth gives us a heavenly perspective on the circumstances we face and allows us the ability to endure trials with confident assurance that our God is in control. Now, I cannot pretend to know all the reasons why God allows difficulties into our lives, but when confronted with them, I often think about what Paul wrote to the church in Philippi. He said, “I have learned in whatever situation I am to be content. I know how to be brought low, and I know how to abound. In any and every circumstance, I have learned the secret of facing plenty and hunger, abundance…

Join me on Joni Table Talk today!

Posted on: November 17th, 2015 by Laurie Coombs

Laurie Coombs on Joni's Table Talk image

Hello friends! I’d like to invite you to join me on Joni Table Talk today at 2am, 7am, and 8:30pm EST on Daystar! If you aren’t able to make any of those times, be sure to catch it On Demand by clicking here. And, if you’re open to helping me spread the word about the message I’ve been given, I’d be forever grateful if you’d consider sharing this episode on your social media channels or by word of mouth! Thank you! Have a fabulously wonderful day! Blessings, Laurie P.S. If you have any thoughts, I’d love for you to join the conversation on Facebook or Twitter!

Be Imitators of God – Orphan Sunday

Posted on: November 10th, 2015 by Laurie Coombs

It was Orphan Sunday last Sunday, a day for Christians to take a stand on behalf of the world’s orphans. To be a voice that cries out for redemption and justice for those most vulnerable. Orphan Sunday holds greater significance in my family than in most. It’s a special day. A day to remember why my family and I are doing what we’re doing, giving us perseverance to stay the course toward adoption despite the many challenges we’ve confronted and the innumerable unknowns and uncertainties we continue to face. Travis and I were asked to participate in the sermon at our church last weekend along with another couple who is pursuing the adoption of a little boy through foster care. Our pastor preached an incredible message illustrating the heart behind adoption by Christian families, which is certainly something that Travis and I are passionate about. Not all churches bring this aspect of the Gospel to light, but ones that embrace, encourage,…

Is God Really Faithful? AND Some News

Posted on: October 15th, 2015 by Laurie Coombs

I’m super excited to share some incredible news on the heels of the article I recently wrote called, Living Victoriously in the Messy Middle. What I’m about to share serves as an example to what was written in that article, particularly the point I made about doubts. So anyway, here’s the news! The Coombs Family adoption has taken a bit of a twist. Just under a month ago, my husband Travis said, “If God wants us to adopt, He’s gonna have to drop something in our lap.” Famous last words, it seems. Not more than a few days later, it happened. A wonderful little bundle of joy was dropped in our lap. A baby girl, only a few weeks old, in Uganda. For those of you just tuning in, we’ve been pursuing an adoption in Ethiopia for the past five years, not Uganda. Hence, the twist of this incredibly wonderful, yet immensely difficult, faith-testing journey….

Living Victoriously in the Messy Middle

Posted on: October 8th, 2015 by Laurie Coombs

“How’s the adoption?” A friend asked excitedly as I walked into church one Sunday. I desperately wanted to tell her that we were moving forward without a hitch and that we had everything ready and that we would soon be traveling to bring our children home, but I couldn’t. Instead, I reluctantly spoke words that broke my heart. “We’ve hit another roadblock,” I said, before mustering enough faith to add, “but we’ve been here before.” I expected to see sorrow in my friend’s eyes at my response, but she simply said, with complete and total assurance, “Yep, and you know how to get through them,” before she quickly hightailed her way to service. I was a bit stunned to be honest at her quick reaction to my heartfelt confession, but I couldn’t help but smile. She’s right, I thought. I do know how to get through them! God was reminding…

The NIV Bible for Women has just been released!!

Posted on: September 22nd, 2015 by Laurie Coombs

I received an email several months back from an editor asking if I’d consider contributing to the new devotional Bible by Zondervan called NIV Bible for Women: Fresh Insights for Thriving in Today’s World. There were apparently a few contributors who dropped out at the last minute, and this poor editor had only a few days to pull the whole thing together. It was Saturday. The project was going to print on Monday. And God had brought her to me (and I’m sure a few others). “I can do it!” I told her with excitement, as I thought about how God had done it again. He’d provided yet another opportunity to get my message out there, and I was thankful––even though this project had effectively hijacked my weekend. I was asked to write a devotion on Revelation 4:8, focusing on the fact that God is still on His throne despite all the pain we see…

What is Jesus really asking us to do, anyway?

Posted on: September 3rd, 2015 by Laurie Coombs

The following is an excerpt of my new book, Letters from My Father’s Murderer. I spent most of the night in prayer, asking Jesus for grace. I desperately needed His grace to trust and follow Him where He was leading. I prayed for Him to grow my faith. To allow me to see as I ought. And as Dr. Graham’s words came to mind once again—about how Jesus loved and prayed for His enemies, even as He hung on that cross—I thought, what is Jesus really asking me to do, anyway? Then it hit me. He was simply asking me to give that which I had already received. That night, I began to see and understand the gospel more fully. I began to see that, prior to coming to faith in Jesus, I was in fact an enemy of God. Yet while I was still far from God, He loved…

The Key to Stop Judging

Posted on: August 18th, 2015 by Laurie Coombs

“Judge not, and you will not be judged; condemn not, and you will not be condemned; forgive, and you will be forgiven…” – Luke 6:37 A 16th century English church Reformer named John Bradford allegedly said, “There, but for the grace of God, goes John Bradford,” as he watched executioners lead his fellow prisoners to their deaths. Bradford, who had been imprisoned in the Tower of London for his Protestant faith by Queen Mary I of England, was later burned at the stake, dying a martyr’s death. It is said that, “Before the fire was lit, [Bradford] begged forgiveness of any he had wronged, and offered forgiveness to those who had wronged him. He subsequently turned to his fellow and said, ‘Be of good comfort brother; for we shall have a merry supper with the Lord this night!’” (Wikipedia). What an amazing man of God! Forgiveness was the last sentiment…