Waiting | Laurie Coombs

Archive for the ‘Waiting’ Category

Weakness Does Not Negate Strength

Posted on: October 18th, 2016 by Laurie Coombs 2 Comments

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….

Bringing Joy HOME!!!

Posted on: August 22nd, 2016 by Laurie Coombs 4 Comments

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!

Is God Really Faithful? AND Some News

Posted on: October 15th, 2015 by Laurie Coombs

I’m super excited to share some incredible news on the heels of the article I recently wrote called, Living Victoriously in the Messy Middle. What I’m about to share serves as an example to what was written in that article, particularly the point I made about doubts. So anyway, here’s the news! The Coombs Family adoption has taken a bit of a twist. Just under a month ago, my husband Travis said, “If God wants us to adopt, He’s gonna have to drop something in our lap.” Famous last words, it seems. Not more than a few days later, it happened. A wonderful little bundle of joy was dropped in our lap. A baby girl, only a few weeks old, in Uganda. For those of you just tuning in, we’ve been pursuing an adoption in Ethiopia for the past five years, not Uganda. Hence, the twist of this incredibly wonderful, yet immensely difficult, faith-testing journey….

Living Victoriously in the Messy Middle

Posted on: October 8th, 2015 by Laurie Coombs

“How’s the adoption?” A friend asked excitedly as I walked into church one Sunday. I desperately wanted to tell her that we were moving forward without a hitch and that we had everything ready and that we would soon be traveling to bring our children home, but I couldn’t. Instead, I reluctantly spoke words that broke my heart. “We’ve hit another roadblock,” I said, before mustering enough faith to add, “but we’ve been here before.” I expected to see sorrow in my friend’s eyes at my response, but she simply said, with complete and total assurance, “Yep, and you know how to get through them,” before she quickly hightailed her way to service. I was a bit stunned to be honest at her quick reaction to my heartfelt confession, but I couldn’t help but smile. She’s right, I thought. I do know how to get through them! God was reminding…

Paradigm Shift: What We Need More Than Answers

Posted on: October 1st, 2015 by Laurie Coombs

Life sure has a way of throwing us curve balls, doesn’t it? I recently heard someone point out a significant dichotomy that exists in our world that I found interesting. At any given moment throughout the world, this person said, and even in our own lives, we see and experience incredible beauty and extraordinary evil all at the same time. Herein lies the tension of life. In one moment of time, we can hear the joy of a baby’s laughter while reading of horrible atrocities committed against children around the world. We can relish a beautiful moment with our family only to be interrupted and left stunned by the latest tragedy seen on the nightly news. We can take time to soak in the beauty of God’s creation only to receive word that an unexpected tragedy happened that will effectively change the course of our lives forever upon our return home. There is joy and beauty and…

While We Wait

Posted on: August 5th, 2015 by Laurie Coombs

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…

Letters from My Father’s Murderer is out today!!!

Posted on: June 27th, 2015 by Laurie Coombs 1 Comment

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…

“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…

Expectation v. Expectancy

Posted on: March 17th, 2015 by Laurie Coombs 7 Comments

There’s a vast difference between expectation and expectancy. These two mindsets can be applied to just about any part of our lives. They can be applied to our life-long dreams, our marriages, our children, our friendships, our careers, our ministries. And they can also be applied to our relationship with God. Expectation expects things. It expects a certain outcome. Or that the outcome will be derived a certain way. Expectancy does not expect things. Expectancy hopes. It has faith that good will come but releases the expectation of what or how it will come about. Expectations lead to disappointments and frustration and disillusion. Expectancy leads to faith and joy and thankfulness. I recently had the privilege to attend a weekend “Encounter.” The entire purpose of the weekend was to meet with God. To encounter the One and Only. I had heard stories of others going to their Encounter, coming home saying things like, “It changed…