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Archive for September, 2013

{Lessons Learned} Sometimes God Leads You Into the Fire

Posted on: September 26th, 2013 by Laurie Coombs 7 Comments

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Being a Christ follower is hard. And if you’re truly following Jesus (i.e. submitting your life fully to His leading, praying, asking for His continued guidance), He’s going to ask you to do things you don’t want to do. This was certainly the case when I was called to have correspondence with Anthony, the man who murdered my dad. You see sometimes, God leads you into the fire. Sometimes He asks you to trust Him enough to follow Him into your unknown, scary places. But His intent is not harm. Oh no, His intent is to use your time in the furnace for His purposes in your life. To bring you to a better place. A place rich in beauty and blessings. I, personally, don’t know anyone who has been strengthened through the calm, peaceful seasons in their life. Just as a tree cannot stand until it’s properly “hardened off” by…

{Lessons Learned} God is with Us

Posted on: September 24th, 2013 by Laurie Coombs 1 Comment

God, Jesus, Christ, Christian, Christianity, following jesus, follow jesus, God is with us, God with us, follow me, God's whisper, murder, forgiveness, forgiveness testimony, Christian forgiveness, God forgiveness, Jesus forgiveness, be still, be still and know I am God, Psalm 46:10, Trust God, trusting God, trusting Jesus, Wait for the Lord, Wait, Waiting, Waiting on the Lord, Wait Lord, Deuteronomy 31:8, Lord goes before you, do not fear, Isaiah 48:17, Immanuel, Jesus God with us, God with us, Romans 8, Romans 8:31, If God is for us, God is for us, Christine Caine, Matthew 28:20

Of all Jesus taught me throughout my correspondence with Anthony, the man who murdered my dad, the most important, life altering lesson was displayed by His mere presence. Throughout this very difficult season, Jesus showed up. He was there through it all. Never once did I doubt His presence, for it was almost palpable. There were times I heard His gentle whisper beckoning “follow me.” And I would follow. There were times, after receiving another difficult letter from Anthony, I sat in confusion day after day, unsure of how to respond, unsure of God’ leading. Yet all the while, He was still there––His presence very real––urging me to “be still, and know that [He is] God” (Psalm 46:10). “Trust Me. Wait on the Me,” He said. And I would wait. Show me the way, I prayed. Show me how. And He would lead. All throughout Scripture, we see the Lord going before…

Receive Your Crown

Posted on: September 19th, 2013 by Laurie Coombs 3 Comments

Yosemite fire, Yosemite, fire, Reno, Reno Nevada, Smoke, Smoke from the fire, smoke from the Yosemite fire, receive, crown, ash, oppressive, heaviness, weighty, beauty for ashes, beauty ashes, crown of beauty, Isaiah 61, Isaiah 61:3, imagery, death, unclean dirty, Jesus, Christ, Messiah, Smoke, freedom, life, Jesus came life, Jesus brought life, Jesus brought freedom, new life, 2 corinthians 5:17, made new, reborn, come to me, follow me, mend brokenhearted, mend broken, clean unclean, carry burdens, give you life, Isaiah 43:19, new thing

For weeks, thick smoke drifted hundreds of miles from the fire in Yosemite to our home in Reno. Ash fell from the sky in a delicate dance much like that of a snowflake, yet in itself was the antithesis of snow. Dirty flakes, remnants of life now dead filled our air. Smoke blocked the Sierra Nevadas from view and, at times, was so thick one could not see to the end of the street clearly. It became oppressive. There was a heaviness to the air I have not experienced before, and everyone was feeling it. “Oh, this smoke,” people would say in exasperation as they mulled about their day. Windows remained shut, and we remained indoors to prevent breathing unnecessary amounts of dirty air. After a while, however, the smoke began to lift. Despite its continued presence, God brought us some of the most beautiful sunsets. “Beauty for ashes,” I whispered…

{Love Your Enemy} Fight Darkness With Light

Posted on: September 17th, 2013 by Laurie Coombs 1 Comment

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Jesus taught his followers a new way to treat people. Usually when people hurt you, you want to hurt them back. If people don’t like you, you don’t like them either. But Jesus tells us to love our enemies. It’s never easy but Jesus can help you. If you do good to your enemies you could change your life and theirs forever. – Avery (right before her 6th birthday), quoting one of her children’s devotional books. I came across this piece of paper a few weeks back and had to share it. As I busily cleaned the house one day, my daughter, Avery, decided to grab her “devo” and copy down one of its entries. This is what I found. Now, I don’t know if her selection was intentional or not, but out of the 365 entries in her book, she chose this one, and of course, you all know how…

{Lessons Learned} “Strike That from the Record”

Posted on: September 12th, 2013 by Laurie Coombs 2 Comments

writing a book, writing, John 16:33, my story, story, stories, elements of story, life is hard, Jesus, Christian, Christ, God, peace with past, past wounds, healing from past, healing from wounds, know your god, know god, knowing god, trust, trusting jesus, trusting god, pain, loss, tragedy, trials, sorrow, murder, dad murder, forgive, forgiveness, freedom, strike that, strike that from the record, author, author own story, omniscient, all knowing, omnipotent, able to do anything, God can do all things, omnipresent, immutable, unchanging, god is unchanging, righteous, holy, sovereign, god is love, god loves you, merciful, fight story, embrace story, all was grace, grace, Romans 8:28, all things work good, god's plan, God's plan vs my plan, my plan

Last week, I began writing my book again. It’s been a little while since I last looked at my manuscript, and to be honest, it needed a lot of work. I’ve known this for quite sometime, and at the request of my agent, I began working with a professional editor to reorganize and make the necessary adjustments needed to bring the manuscript up to publishing standards. Once this is done, it will be pitched to Christian publishing houses, so over the next few months I can certainly use some prayers for my book to find its home so that my story can reach the masses. I bring all this up to tell you where my head has been lately. I’ve been immersed in the story God entrusted me to tell once again, and what’s emerged is a new sense of one of my story’s main themes which is that God’s…

{Book Review} Forgiving Others, Forgiving Me

Posted on: September 10th, 2013 by Laurie Coombs 4 Comments

I recently had the opportunity to visit (virtually) with author, Renee Fisher, to discuss the release of her new book “Forgiving Others, Forgiving Me.” Here’s a peek into our conversation: 1. Can you tell us a little bit about your new book “Forgiving Others Forgiving Me”? “Forgiving Others, Forgiving Me” is a tool to help you process through the pain to find freedom in Christ. At the end of each chapter is journal space with guided questions for when you feel stuck. There are also Discussion Questions at the end of the book if you would like to use this book in a 7-week Bible Study or small group! 2. I’ve heard this book has been a long time coming. Tell us the story behind the book. I began writing “Forgiving Others, Forgiving Me” when I was 19 (I’m 31 now) when I came home from a failed missions trip…

Light Enters the Darkness

Posted on: September 5th, 2013 by Laurie Coombs

1 Peter 2:9, 2 Corinthians 4:6, light to the world, birth of Jesus, Romans 13:12, Proverbs 4:18, John 1:1-5, John 8:12, marvelous light, Bible Study, in the beginning, let there be light, light, darkness, light in dark, light in darkness, Genesis, Genesis 1, light in beginning, light of God, God is light, God, Jesus, Christ, Christian, creation, fall, the fall, fall of mankind, sin, Exodus, Exodus 13:21, Exodus 13:22, Moses, Egyptians, Egyptian slaves, Israelites, pillar of fire, fire, fire light, lead them, lead us, Psalm 27:1, David, salvation, the lord, courage, job 12:22, darkness to light, light of the world, peace in pain, Isaiah, call for God's people, God's people, Isaiah 2:5, Isaiah 42:16, call to walk in righteousness, righteousness, Daniel, Daniel 5, Holy Spirit, Spirit, Spirit of God, Gospel of John,

Just a little heads up. Today’s post is a bit more like a Bible study, which I don’t really do too much here, but stick with me! … The other day, I began reading the Bible from the beginning once again. Though I intended to read a solid chunk that first day, I failed to move past the second paragraph as I was astounded by new insights I hadn’t recognized before. I read, In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth. The earth was without form and void, and darkness was over the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God was hovering over the face of the waters. And God said, “Let there be light,” and there was light. And God saw that the light was good. And God separated the light from the darkness. God called the light Day, and the darkness he called Night. And there was evening and there was…

Do You Have a Question for Anthony? For Me?

Posted on: September 3rd, 2013 by Laurie Coombs 1 Comment

As many of you know, I’ve been corresponding with Anthony, the man who murdered my dad, for three and a half years now. God has brought us through the fire together as He called both of us to enter into our darkest places in order to, ultimately, bring us to the light. It’s been quite a journey, to say the least, and I am a strong believer that the blessings both Anthony and I received were not intended just for us. We’re called to share our story with both honesty and transparency. Up until this point, Anthony has primarily shared his story within the confines of prison. Yet, he has also chosen to share his side of this story a few times here. If you missed any of them, they’re worth the read and can be found in the “Featured Posts” section in my sidebar. Still, there is so much more…