Hope | Laurie Coombs

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The Day I Met the 80 Year Old Professional Poker Player

Posted on: June 28th, 2013 by Laurie Coombs 5 Comments

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“Where should we sit?” I question my thirteen year old niece. I have a mind to go right. Emily, my niece, points left. “Right there,” she says with resolve, pointing to a booth next to the window. We sit down, McDonald’s ice cream cones in hand. I have a lot of kids with me. Two, my own. Three, my sisters, including my two month old nephew. At once, all four big kids eagerly take their first lick. Soon, the baby begins to fuss, so I take him out of his infant carrier and stand, bouncing and soothing. I notice the man sitting in the booth next to ours. He looks at me, sees the kids, and smiles a warm, inviting smile. A whisper comes to my soul. Speak to him, the Lord prompts. Tell him about Me. The man looks to be about seventy or so. He has warn skin, but seems to…

{Lessons Learned} Do You See As You Ought?

Posted on: June 25th, 2013 by Laurie Coombs 4 Comments

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I was a wreck. “I’ve spent my entire life trying to achieve and set goals for myself,” I told my husband, Travis, “and I’ve hinged all happiness on the achievement of those goals only to continuously fall short of true happiness. It’s like there’s this emptiness inside, but I don’t know how to make it go away!” I felt empty, defeated, depressed, and anxious. And I had no answers. It was a very dark place. Over and over I kept saying, I just want to feel peace. I just want peace. Yet, no matter how hard I tried, I couldn’t save myself. [Tweet that] Blind and Paralyzed Then, I had a dream. I dreamt I became blind and paralyzed. And when I awoke I was perplexed and greatly disturbed. I didn’t know what it meant. Perhaps it means nothing, I tried to convince myself. But still, I couldn’t shake it. Yet, it wasn’t…

{Lessons Learned} I Am Not a Victim

Posted on: June 18th, 2013 by Laurie Coombs 9 Comments

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I never intended to be a victim. Shortly after my dad was murdered, my family and I were referred to the victim services department at the courthouse. It was the first time we were called victims. But honestly, I didn’t consider myself to be the victim. My dad was the victim. But somehow, I think the victim thing crept in, and my dad’s death became the defining moment of my life. I didn’t want to be defined by this tragedy, but I was. I became the girl whose dad was murdered. I hated being this person. I hated being a murder victim’s daughter, but as far as I saw it, it’s who I was. I couldn’t escape it. I guess I am a victim, I finally concluded. At this time in my life, I was very much in the world. I didn’t know God, and I certainly wasn’t following Jesus yet….

{LeannePenny.com} Can Jesus Really Redeem Our Losses?

Posted on: June 14th, 2013 by Laurie Coombs

Today, I’m over at Leanne Penny’s blog, sharing my story, focusing upon loss and redemption. Leanne has quite a story herself. She writes about loss, grief, grace, and hope. I know you’ll find her to be a source of strength along your own journey, so go ahead, check her out! But here’s the question I pose today on Leanne’s blog: Can Jesus really redeem our losses? It’s an appropriate question, I think, one that I struggled with for quite some time. And I hope you’ll join me as I attempt to answer this question in my post titled Can Jesus Really Redeem Our Losses? If you’re joining me from Leanne’s blog, I’m happy you’re here. Welcome! I hope you’ll take a moment and stay a while. One More Thing Okay, I have only one more thing to share, so stick with me! Since writing my post for Leanne, God has given me…

{Lessons Learned} Abiding In Christ – We Can’t Do Anything Apart from Jesus

Posted on: June 11th, 2013 by Laurie Coombs 14 Comments

And there's nothing we can do that will have significant, lasting impact apart from God. [Tweet that] First John 4:9 tells us, "In this the love of God was made manifest among us, that God sent his only Son into the world, so that we might live through him." Jesus came that we might live. Truly live. Not endure. Not get by. But live fully, bountifully.

I camped out in the fifteenth chapter of the gospel of John for quite some time during my correspondence with Anthony, the man who murdered my dad. I knew I couldn’t do it on my own. I knew nothing of any value could be accomplished through my endeavor apart from Jesus. For apart from me you can do nothing. I read these words over and over. Jesus says, I am the vine. Abide in me. Abide. What does it look like to abide? I looked it up. Abide – to stay; to wait; to remain fixed in some state or condition; to endure; to sustain; to submit to… Abide in me. I clung close to the cross, I devoured God’s Word, I prayed like never before, I got down, prostrate before our mighty God and learned what it meant to abide in Jesus. And as I did, it became increasingly…

{Lessons Learned} An Intentional Life

Posted on: May 28th, 2013 by Laurie Coombs 1 Comment

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Let all that you do be done in love. – 1 Corinthians 16:14 All that we do should be motivated by the love of God. As you may have noticed, I’ve been hung-up on this topic lately. Many of my most recent posts have had this theme, or a variation of it, threaded throughout them. But this has been a mega-theme of my life recently. Honestly, I have to confess. I think I’ve been missing the mark on this one for quite some time now, but God’s giving me grace, and He’s renewing the love I had at first, which I am unbelievably grateful for. It All Begins With Love As I’ve mentioned time and time again, my journey with Anthony began with God’s whisper, showing me my need to forgive. But then He told me I needed to love my enemy. You see, it all began with love. All the craziness that happened, all the tears,…

The Influence of a Thought

Posted on: May 21st, 2013 by Laurie Coombs 3 Comments

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Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is commendable, if there is any excellence, if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things. – Philippians 4:8 I’m a “thinker,” by nature. I think and analyze constantly. I’ve always been this way. And over the years I’ve learned that this trait can serve as one of my best assets or it can work against me proving to be one of my greatest weaknesses, which is why Jesus spoke Philippians 4:8 over me very early in my walk with Him. Honestly, when Jesus found me, I was a mess. My thought patterns were extremely toxic, and because of this, I learned quickly the power our thought life has upon us. The Influence of a Thought Follow me for a moment. First, you have a thought. That thought impacts what you feel…

{Lessons Learned} Healing the Broken Places

Posted on: May 16th, 2013 by Laurie Coombs 3 Comments

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I didn’t want to go digging around my past, but I knew I needed to. I knew some residual effects of my dad’s murder had to still be there. As I walked through some of the most difficult times in the weeks, months, and years following the murder, I remember thinking I sure hope this doesn’t screw me up. My dad wasn’t married at the time of his death which meant that my brother, sister, and I were legally responsible for picking up the pieces when he died. Our extended family helped quite a bit––as much as they could, really, which I am so thankful for––but there was only so much they could do. My mom, however, was the backbone that held us all together, and I will forever be grateful to her for that. She played an integral part in the process of helping us wade through all the mess. (Thank you,…

{Lessons Learned} Forgiveness Flows Out of a Changed Heart – Part 1

Posted on: May 9th, 2013 by Laurie Coombs 2 Comments

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Forgiveness––true Biblical forgiveness––requires that we have encountered and experienced the risen God. [Tweet that] It requires a changed heart. Truly, prior to forgiving one another, we need to understand and receive the forgiveness of God. For, we cannot give something we have yet to receive, and we cannot receive apart from understanding. [Tweet that] As I’m sure you know, the term Gospel––which refers to the work of Christ––literally means “good news.” I’ve heard many pastors say that in order for there to be good news something bad would have to be true. And until we understand the bad news, we cannot fully grasp how good the good news is. [Tweet that] This is why we all must come to understand who we are apart from Jesus. We need to understand just how sinful we are so that the sacrifice Jesus made on our behalf––and consequently, the forgiveness He made possible––can be understood…

{Lessons Learned} Do You Need Jesus to Forgive?

Posted on: April 25th, 2013 by Laurie Coombs 1 Comment

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I had a feeling something was still there. Some residual scarring caused by my dad’s murder. In a way, I wanted to go there. Get it all out. Heal completely. But at the same time, I feared what would be found. I sure hope I’m not really screwed up, I thought. But I knew some soul work needed to be done. Digging would have to take place. And the root of whatever was left behind would have to be excavated and restored. I tried to do this on my own for nine years after Dad died. I tried to “pick myself up by my bootstraps” and move on, reasoning that Dad would have wanted it this way. He wouldn’t want me to succumb to the wave of despair that threatened to swallow me whole. So, I moved on. Each time the thought of Anthony came into my mind, I chose…