Saying Yes to God | Laurie Coombs

Archive for the ‘Saying Yes to God’ Category

You Don’t Have to Do It All

Posted on: May 11th, 2015 by Laurie Coombs

It’s essential to keep our focus on what truly matters. On the things and the priorities we’re called to pursue. When confronted with a busy season, or even just the complexities of life, it’s easy to unintentionally drift away from the things that are most important. Pastor Andy Stanley once said, “We don’t drift in good directions. We discipline and prioritize ourselves there.” I believe he’s right. We can’t drift through life, thinking it will arbitrarily work out in the end but must be intentional instead. Now, I know it’s incredibly easy to allow the demands confronting us day in and day out to dictate what we do with our time. In our modern cultural, we’re pulled in so many directions. One demand after another cries out for our attention, and if we’re not mindful, we will lose proper focus, thinking all things before us are the things we ought to do, thinking every opportunity is…

What to do when blessings overwhelm you

Posted on: April 29th, 2015 by Laurie Coombs 4 Comments

Nothing teaches you how best to walk with Jesus than a season of much. I’ve had many balls in the air for many years now. Things I knew God promised me. Things I have been praying about for some time. And with so many promises awaiting me, I inherently knew that if I had forced any one of these promises into being that I’d find myself in a heap of a mess and wouldn’t be able to handle it. And so I prayed, asking God to do it His way. And He has. God’s timing is absolutely perfect––absolutely perfect. I know this. But when I prayed for all my promises to come, I did not know that His perfect timing for each of these promises would be NOW. Writing. Speaking. Adoption. Three things God clearly called me to. Over four and a half years ago, God called us to adopt. The call to…

“Chloe” – A New Film By Moving Works

Posted on: April 23rd, 2015 by Laurie Coombs

I recently had the privilege of pre-screening the new film “Chloe,” produced by a Christian film ministry called Moving Works. I had never heard of this ministry before, but after watching this film and reading what the ministry is all about, I must say I am impressed. Moving Works mission is to praise God, promote mission, and proclaim the gospel––the three things we were all created to do––and they do it well. “Chloe” tells the story of Walt and Annie, a couple who struggled with infertility for years before seeing God’s plan come to life before their eyes. A plan twenty years in the making. A plan that was bigger than they could have thought for themselves. If you have a moment today, be sure to watch this touching film. It will not disappoint. Click here to watch.

Twenty-One Days: A Glimpse Behind the Curtain

Posted on: April 15th, 2015 by Laurie Coombs 4 Comments

There’s an incredible account of God answering prayer in the tenth chapter of Daniel. I was amazed by it the other day and still am today. At first thought, most of us think only of Daniel in the lion’s den when we think of the book of Daniel, but this book has many more gems to mine than we may know. Now, I’ve always believed the truth taught in Daniel chapter ten conceptually, but even though I’ve read through this book several times before, I have never seen it for what it is. For some reason, I have been blind to what this passage shows us. As you read through the book of Daniel, it seems Daniel sought the Lord continually, but at this particular time in his story, Daniel decided to fast. For three weeks, we’re told, he “ate no delicacies, no meat or wine entered [his] mouth.” He was mourning, as he considered the…

Losing Your Life to Save It – The Illusion of Control

Posted on: March 27th, 2015 by Laurie Coombs 3 Comments

My daughters are beginning spring break today, and so I’ll be taking the next two weeks off to spend time with them. We’re looking forward to park days, bike rides, time with friends, painting our Ethiopian kids’ room, a trip to the travel medical clinic for our trip to Ethiopia, and applying for the girls’ passports! I’ll be back with you soon! Have a blessed Easter! I felt like I was in control of my life before my dad died. I had everything planned. I knew just how my life would play out. But then my plans shattered. The moment I was told what happened, it seemed my whole world came crashing down. I hadn’t planned for this. Life was not going my way. And all sense of control vanished. I didn’t realize I was doing this at the time, but after that, I tried to grasp hold of control….

Will You Hold onto the Faith? #PromisesOfGod #Adoption

Posted on: March 6th, 2015 by Laurie Coombs 8 Comments

All it took was one word! How amazing is that?!? I have to admit. The last few weeks have been a bit crazy here in the Coombs’ household. Good crazy, but crazy nonetheless. I’ve been buried in piles of paperwork, all to bring our little ones home. Now, I know it sounds super cliche, but God truly has done the impossible once again. “Shell-shocked… Speechless… Dumbfounded… Ecstatic… Terrified… These are but a few of the emotions that I have been experiencing these past 48 hours….” my husband Travis wrote after receiving the news. But in order to understand the significance of those words, I must tell more of our story. We began our adoption journey four and a half years ago, full of hope and conviction for what we believed God was calling us to. Travis and I had been blessed with two healthy, absolutely amazing biological children already, but…

It Is for Freedom That We Are Set Free

Posted on: January 29th, 2015 by Laurie Coombs

There’s a song that I just can’t get out of my head. It’s called “I Am Set Free” and is written and performed by All Sons and Daughters. The chorus is what keeps playing a loop in my mind continually. In fact, I’ve even woken up hearing the lyrics several nights in a row: “I am set free oh oh oh oh I am set free oh oh oh oh It is for freedom that I am set free.” It is for freedom that I am set free––words echoing a truth, written by Paul long ago to the churches in Galatia, that said, “For freedom Christ has set us free…” But I love what comes next in this verse–– “…stand firm therefore, and do not submit again to a yoke of slavery” (5:1). I think we all have a tendency to slip back into old habits, back into things we’ve been freed from. When I read the…

A Strange Dichotomy

Posted on: January 21st, 2015 by Laurie Coombs 3 Comments

There’s a strange dichotomy that goes on in this head of mine. The moment I gave my life to Christ, I felt a strong, relentless desire to abandon myself to God’s call to ministry. A desire to proclaim the excellencies of God to this world. To shout His praises from the highest of high mountains that all may know and see that Jesus is who He says He is. So that, as 1 Kings 8:60 says, “all the peoples of the earth may know that the Lord is God.” I wanted to lift my voice and proclaim boldly, “Behold your God!” (Isaiah 40:9). I had been plucked out of the mire, out of a deep dark pit of despair, and I wanted others to know what I had come to know. “People need to know this,” I’d say. “God is who He says He is. He is real. And He actually does, today, what He…

Making Your New Year’s Resolution Stick

Posted on: December 30th, 2014 by Laurie Coombs 3 Comments

For God so loved the world, that He gave His only Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have eternal life. – John 3:16 I once did a 40-day Bible reading challenge. The challenge was just as it sounds––read through the Bible in 40 days. Yep––the whole thing! For 41 days (I got behind a bit), beginning in Genesis and ending with Revelation, I read an average of 30 chapters a day. This challenge was crazy, but let me tell you: it was absolutely amazing! When first presented with all this craziness, I was intrigued, but I didn’t think I could do it. After all, I have children who need their mommy and a husband who needs his wife, but God made it happen. Day in and day out, I was given the time needed to soak in the truth of God’s Word. And when God’s truth continually washes over…

A Son Was Given

Posted on: December 23rd, 2014 by Laurie Coombs

But when the fullness of time had come, God sent forth His Son, born of woman, born under the law, to redeem those who were under the law, so that we might receive adoption as sons” (Galatians 4:4-5). A son, born to die––heaven sent––lay swaddled in a feeding trough. “For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given” (Isaiah 9:6). Immanuel––God with us. Christ the child, through whom salvation had finally come. I will provide a way, whispered God to His beloved. I will not leave you, nor will I forsake you. For, you are Mine. A promise, whispered throughout the ages, was fulfilled in that moment through the birth of this child––this beautiful child, full of grace––the Light of the world. And on that first Christmas morn, light shone like never before into the darkness, terrifying and commanding the powers of darkness to flee. But…