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Archive for the ‘Trusting God’ Category

Posted on: July 5th, 2018 by Laurie Coombs

All through the book of Deuteronomy, the people of God were told to remember. Remember where God found you. Remember His faithfulness. Remember that He spared no expense to deliver you out of slavery that He might bring you into your promised land. Each time I read Moses’ words to the Israelites as they stood on the edge of their promise, I cannot help but hear these same words spoken over me. “Remember.” We are all prone to forget. One moment we stand in praise of Jesus after He did some crazy awesome thing in our life. And the next moment, fear comes when we face uncertainty, and we forget that Jesus had just parted the Red Sea on our behalf. Just like the nation of Israel, we are called to remember. Remember who our God is. Remember His heart toward us. Remember the gospel and the cross. Remember His…

Posted on: May 7th, 2018 by Laurie Coombs

I sat with some family members a number of years ago to tell them what Jesus was doing in my life. How He was redeeming all the losses we share. Taking our moments of indescribably pain and using every bit of it for good not only in my life, but in the lives of others as well. My hope was that Jesus would give them eyes to see Himself for who He truly is, to see what He was doing in my life, and to want it for themselves. I told them about it all. How I was bought to my knees when the anxiety and depression threatened to pull me under. How I was quite literally drawn “up from the pit of destruction” and was saved (Psalm 40:2). How my faith ignited the moment I answered Jesus’s call to follow Him and was transformed by the power of His Word….

Posted on: September 15th, 2017 by Laurie Coombs 2 Comments

“Now when Jesus came into the district of Caesarea Philippi, He asked His disciples, ‘Who do people say that the Son of Man is?’ And they said, ‘Some say John the Baptist, others say Elijah, and others Jeremiah or one of the prophets.’ He said to them, ‘But who do you say that I am?’ Simon Peter replied, ‘You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.’ And Jesus answered him, ‘Blessed are you, Simon Bar-Jonah! For flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but My Father who is in heaven….’” (Matthew 16:13-17, emphasis mine). All of life hinges on that one question asked by Jesus–“Who do you say that I am?” Jesus says, never mind what others say about Me. Who do YOU say that I am? This question was asked of the disciples at just the right time. If we go back to the beginning of the Gospel of Matthew, we…

Posted on: August 28th, 2017 by Laurie Coombs

Some of you have been with me for a long time and others are just tuning in, but regardless of where you fall in that spectrum, I’d like to invite you all to join me in the work God has recently called my family and me into. But before I do that, I’d like to give some context. As I’ve mentioned before, we brought our little girl home from Uganda in April 2016 after a five and a half year long wait. Baby girl’s name is Joy, and she lives up to every bit of her name. She has not only brought joy to our family, but quite honestly, she spreads her little light to just about everyone who sees her. Prior to coming home, Joy was loved and cared for by the people at Happy Times Childcare Initiative, an incredible institution run by Ugandans who have a heart to…

Posted on: November 9th, 2016 by Laurie Coombs 2 Comments
united-we-stand

Today is another day. A day full of choices. We can gloat in victory or drown in our sorrows in response to the election results, or we can choose to believe in who God is. Regardless of whether or not your candidate won last night, we can’t let individual preference or fear divide us. In a climate of hate or strife, let’s choose love. Let’s check ourselves continually to ensure that our thoughts and speech build one another up, that what we say and think is honoring to God and to one another. As followers of Christ, it’s imperative that we keep ourselves in check to ensure we’re promoting unity instead of contributing to the worldly divisiveness we see so much of in our country right now. It’s not about who our president is. It’s about who we are as followers of Christ, first and foremost, and who we are as Americans. Christians are ambassadors of…

Posted on: October 18th, 2016 by Laurie Coombs 2 Comments
weakness-does-not-negate-strength

Jesus turned this world on its head. Things people thought they knew crumbled in light of His teaching. The first are the last. The greatest is the least. The rich are the poor. Life is found in death. Strength is found in weakness. Second Corinthians 12:9-10 says, “But he said to me, ‘My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.’ Therefore I will boast all the more gladly of my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may rest upon me. For the sake of Christ, then, I am content with weaknesses, insults, hardships, persecutions, and calamities. For when I am weak, then I am strong.” You see, our weaknesses do not negate our strength. It’s not about ridding ourselves of all our weaknesses, but allowing our weaknesses to become our strength. Allowing God to become our strength. I still have weaknesses. LOTS and LOTS of weaknesses….

Posted on: September 22nd, 2016 by Laurie Coombs 2 Comments
greater-than-resilience

I looked up the word resilience a few weeks ago. I was preparing for a speaking engagement I had coming up on the topic, and this is what I found: resilience noun | re·sil·ience | \ri-ˈzil-yən(t)s\ : the ability to become strong, healthy, or successful again after something bad happens : the ability of something to return to its original shape after it has been pulled, stretched, pressed, bent, etc. Resilience is often prized. I’d venture to say that every one of us would like to be resilient. But what if we could be more than resilient? I must admit I was a bit disappointed with this definition. I had honestly thought resilience was something greater than this. The moment I read this definition, I found myself challenging the notion that we’re to become strong again or healthy again or successful again when something bad happens. I began challenging the…

Posted on: August 22nd, 2016 by Laurie Coombs 4 Comments
Bringing Joy Home!

I finally finished my baby girl’s adoption video! Be sure to watch this incredible story of God’s faithfulness. What a crazy long, wonderfully messy, immensely beautiful and difficult journey it was!! We are super blessed to finally have our baby girl HOME! I pray our story blesses you… Having trouble viewing the video? Watch it on YouTube instead!

Posted on: April 19th, 2016 by Laurie Coombs 6 Comments
IMG_2535

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…

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

“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…