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Archive for the ‘Trusting God’ Category

Posted on: August 5th, 2015 by Laurie Coombs
Waiting

The following is an excerpt taken from chapter 12 of Letters from My Father’s Murderer: A Journey of Forgiveness. While We Wait I trust God even though He doesn’t usually operate on my timeline or do things the way I’d like Him to. I wish I could say that I began trusting God like this the moment I gave my life to Christ, but I didn’t. Trust came with time as I saw God work in my life. As I witnessed God’s hand begin to work all things for good in my life, I came to believe that God does, in fact, know what He’s doing. So when things aren’t going my way, I now trust that God must have a better plan—a better way. I think that’s why I decided not to send that letter. I figured God knew something I didn’t, and I was pretty sure that God’s…

Posted on: July 16th, 2015 by Laurie Coombs 3 Comments

I’d like to welcome Nan Jones to the blog today! Nan and I met last summer at the Christian Communicators Conference in North Carolina, and let me tell you, she is a firecracker for Jesus! I just love Nan and her heart for ministry. She and I, though COMPLETE strangers when we arrived, had the privilege of rooming together during the conference. We spent close to a week in the same room, along with two other amazing ladies, so needless to say, we got to know one another real well which was a delight! Her book, Perils of a Pastor’s Wife, has just released, and so I wanted to take a moment to introduce you all to her. I pray you are blessed! If God be For Me, Who Can be Against Me? Written by Nan Jones 
I tossed and turned; restlessness governed my sleep. All of my dreams seemed…

Posted on: July 8th, 2015 by Laurie Coombs
God has not left us to sit in our pain

I didn’t want to revisit my past, but I knew I needed to. I had already seen God move mightily on my behalf in the short time since giving my life to Christ, but I knew He wasn’t finished yet. Healing begins the moment we allow Jesus complete access to the darkness contained within our souls. Darkness must flee in the presence of light, in the presence of Jesus, but light cannot go where it is not permitted. Doors must be opened for light’s rays to touch our darkest dark. And at this point, I was flinging doors open left and right, begging, Come, Lord Jesus, come. Soon, I heard God’s gentle whisper––“It’s time to forgive.” I knew what God was calling me to. I knew I was being called to forgive Anthony, the man who murdered my dad. But quite honestly, I thought I had already done that. Yet…

Posted on: July 1st, 2015 by Laurie Coombs
Destroy save

I know some of you are familiar with my story, but some of you newer readers aren’t. And so with the release of my new book, Letters from My Father’s Murderer: A Journey of Forgiveness, I thought it would be a good idea to write a few articles to fill you in. I pray you are blessed. I had always thought the world was a wonderful place, full of beauty and love and light. Growing up, the life I imagined for myself looked more like a fairytale than I care to admit. I had plans for my life, big plans. But just as I was coming into my own, just as I was about to seize all life has to offer, my world unraveled when confronted by an evil I never imagined possible. My dad, who I love more than I can ever say, was murdered, and with that loss, all…

Posted on: June 27th, 2015 by Laurie Coombs 1 Comment
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Hi friends! Today’s the day Letters from My Father’s Murderer is released! I must say, it’s a bit surreal. This project has been in the works for three and a half years, and it’s finally out for the world to see! If you haven’t ordered a copy yet, you can grab it from Amazon or Barnes & Noble or wherever else you like to buy books. It’s available on Kindle and Nook as well, by the way (but not iBooks––whah, whah). If you’re still not convinced enough to pick up a copy, perhaps hearing what others are saying (outside of my friends and family) will give you the nudge you need: “Truthfully, I could not put the book down.” – Dan “Powerful! …This is a must read.” – Page “Been reading every spare minute…. I honestly had a hard time putting it down.” – Patty “Cannot put the book down! I started it last…

Posted on: June 17th, 2015 by Laurie Coombs 4 Comments
Keys to Biblical Forgiveness

My dad was murdered when I was twenty years old. It was a deliberate senseless act committed by a man whose selfish desires had left him blind. This man had taken my dad from me––stolen what was rightfully mine––and quite honestly, I hated him for that. Forgiveness was one of the first things God spoke over my life when I came to Christ nine years later, and though I was receptive to His leading, I was a bit confused. You see, I thought I had already forgiven that man. I honestly didn’t think about him very much at that point, and when I did think about him, I didn’t feel the hatred I had felt before. I mean, don’t get me wrong, I didn’t like him one bit, but if he came to mind, I was able to keep my feelings in check. Still, I figured if God was calling…

Posted on: June 1st, 2015 by Laurie Coombs 3 Comments
Not My Plan

One of the most frequent questions I have been asked over the last couple years is, “When does your book come out?” Over and over, I have given the same answer: “June 2015.” Quite honestly, June 2015 seemed like it might never get here, but with time flying by as it has a habit of doing, June 2015 has most certainly arrived. Can you believe it? You probably can, but I can’t! It’s hard to believe I’m nearing the end of this three-plus-year writing journey. Letters from My Father’s Murderer: A Journey of Forgiveness will officially be released on June 27th!!! (Though if you pre-ordered the book on Amazon, you may get it earlier, but you didn’t hear that from me!) To celebrate the month of my book’s release, I’m giving you (my readers) a sneak peak of the book today, one that’s not included in the official excerpt provided by my publisher, found here. I do…

Posted on: May 28th, 2015 by Laurie Coombs 2 Comments
Discipline of Rest

Have you ever looked at your ever-increasing to-do list and thought, How in the world am I going to get this done? Or even, Okay, if I work every moment of every day over the next several months, I might be able to do this? That has been my life lately––or at least that’s been my most frequent temptation. But what’s incredible is that, despite the temptation, God has continually given me grace to resist giving in to this toxic way of thinking and has regularly realigned my thoughts with His. Now, that’s not to say thoughts like these don’t come, but when they do, I’m reminded of the truth. God has been teaching me many things about time management, but I’d like to focus on one of the most overlooked elements of time management today, and that is rest. At first glance, taking moments of rest seems counterproductive to achieving our…

Posted on: May 11th, 2015 by Laurie Coombs
do it all

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…

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

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…