Do You Need to be Revived?

Do you need to be Revived?

Ezra and Nehemiah were called by God to get Israel to come back to Him. Ezra served as a priest for God and Nehemiah became Governor of Jerusalem. These men revived the people and caused a renewed commitment to the Lord.

Do you need to be revived?

Nehemiah 8:2 Ezra the priest brought the Law before the assembly, which was made up of men and women and all who were able to understand. He read it aloud from daybreak till noon…And all the people listened attentively to the Book of the Law
Nehemiah 8:6 Ezra praised the Lord, the great God: and all the people lifted their hands and responded. Amen! Amen! Then they bowed down and worshiped the Lord with their faces to the ground.

Ezra’s ministry of the word of God had a profound effect on the people and they responded quickly in reverence and true worship. The people continued for 7 days listening to Ezra read God's word and they were moved to confess their sins and make a binding agreement to never again turn away from God's commands, regulations, and decrees.
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Have you gotten away from following His Word? Maybe you have never followed and this is all new knowledge for you. We pray you will keep visiting this community. More importantly we pray you will develop a love for God’s word and desire to have this conversation with Him on your own.

Ladies-a heart bent towards walking with God takes pleasure in listening to His instructions and abiding in His word day and night. I hope this word encourages you to turn to Him and let Him revive you too.

Father just as you used Ezra and Nehemiah to bring your people back to you I pray this community is serving the same purpose. I pray we become a distinguishable group of Coaches’ Wives in our sports world. I pray every lady in this room will agree to obey Your law, Your commands, and Your ways. Father may our hearts turn towards You and may we walk with You daily listening to your instructions. In Jesus Name, Amen

When your heart is broken...He calls you to ACT.

When your heart is broken… He calls you to ACT.

Most of us when our heart is hurting we pray and ask God to fix it or stop the pain-just do something to make it go away.  What if God is the one breaking your heart?  Have you ever consider it may be Him causing you to feel the way you do?  In our next 2 Bible books, Ezra and Nehemiah, we are going to see how God moved upon the heart of men in order to call them to Action.

I remember coming home from our first FCA Coaches’ Family Camp and my husband got in the bed with his Bible.  This was unusual for him so I asked him what he was planning to read.  He said, “A coach recommended he read the book of Nehemiah.”  I suggested, “Let’s read it together,” and he agreed.  We read a chapter a night and discussed what we gleaned.  By the 4^th night I began to pray, asking God what was He preparing us for as a couple that we needed to read this book.  As we continued, I suggested we pray together because God was turning my heart.  I became burden for my hometown. My husband never shared what his burden was but I knew God was dealing with him.  Since that time God opened doors for us to live in my hometown and I’m serving as a missionary building ministries for middle and high school girls and the women of my community.  And my husband works at a Boys and Girls Club as an Athletic Director and Healthy Lifestyle Coach. He is now the head coach for every sport the Club offers. By the way it is the same club he attended as a youth and so he is also serving his hometown community too.     

I close with theses scripture from the book of Ezra and Nehemiah, “The Lord moved the heart of Cyrus king of Persia…” Ezra 1:1b

They said to me, “Those who survived the exile and are back in the province are in great trouble and disgrace.  The Wall of Jerusalem is broken down, and its gates have been burned with fire.  When I heard these things, I sat down and wept.  Nehemiah 1:3-4

The words of Jesus from the book of ACTS.  “But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth. Acts 1:8

Are you in your Jerusalem? Are you His witnesses? And what has he called you there to do?

Father, as you speak to these ladies this week I pray they are opened to You showing them their Jerusalem. I pray they are Your witnesses.  I pray that they hear from You clearly and they see what You are calling them to do.  In Jesus’s name, Amen.

When the people ask for a king!

When the people ask for a king?

I Samuel 8:4; Then all the elders of Israel gathered together and came to Samuel at Ramah and said to him, “Look you are old, and your sons do not walk in your ways.  Now make us a king to judge us like all the nations.”

Make us a king is what Israel requested of the prophet Samuel.  We want to be like all the nations around us.  I want to share my paraphrase of this scripture and how I perceive this language fits our sports world: Then the alumni, athletic director, president, lettermen and businessmen gathered together and decided, “Look we want to win more games like all the other schools so lets find a new coach.”

When the people ask for another king how should we respond? 

Unfortunately, in our culture we see this play out year after year.  We have come to know this story line all too well.  Instead of dreading this time lets see it from another perspective, here are a few scriptures you can glean from with confidence that God is orchestrating your steps and He has decided your fate and determined your next destination:

Daniel 2:21- He changes times and seasons; He deposes kings and raises up others. He gives wisdom to the wise and knowledge to the discerning.

Psalms 75:7- It is God who judges: He brings one down, he exalts another.

Proverbs: 19:21- Many are the plans in the mind of a man, but it is the purpose of the Lord that will stand.

Deuteronomy 31: 6- “Be strong and of good courage, do not fear nor be afraid of them; for the Lord your God. He is the One who goes with you.  He will not leave you nor forsake you.”

Psalms 37:23- The Lord directs the steps of the Godly. He delights in every detail of their lives.

Now that your heart is encouraged how else can you prepare yourself?

• Become a prayer warrior and pray from a posture of thanksgiving knowing that God will see you through and staffing changes or new job assignments.

• Get excited because you have a new opportunity to serve the people of another city ushering in the Kingdom of God into a new territory.

• Build excitement with your kids and share the joy of the Lord with them and how special your family is that He uses you around the country to show off His glory.

• Build your coach and tell Him how many lives He gets to touch because God is using Him to influence the sports world. My favorite words of encouragement to use with my coach, “God is making you into a champion for His Kingdom! He is using you to change the lives of the people around you everyday!¨

Ladies-I pray by now you all know that we are Missionaries on assignments for God’s glory to be revealed in and through our lives. Let’s thank Him for choosing us!

Father, you are so awesome!  You thought of us before the foundations of the world and decided we be born in this generation to let Your glory be seen in our world.  Thank You for trusting us to be a reflection of Your glory. Thank You for new assignments and new opportunities to let others see You in us, in Jesus' name, amen.

When your pain births purpose

When your Pain Births Purpose

Hannah, “prayed to the Lord.” I Samuel 1:10

Elkanah, a Levite from Ephraim, had two wives-Hannah and Penninah. Penninah had children while Hannah had none, this fact proved to be the source of a bitter rivalry between the two women. During a visit to Shiloh, Hannah prayed for a son, vowing to dedicate him to the Lord as a Nazarite.(paraphrased) (I Samuel 1:1-12 see these scriptures)

Ladies-There is so much we can learn from these Bible characters: Elkanah, Penninah, and Hannah.

Elkanah was a spiritual leader in his home. He continued to do what God commanded even though they were living during times when men did what that thought was right in their own eyes. (Judges 21:25). Elkanah took his family to worship God at the appointed times God had ordained each year. Elkanah provided for his family and made sure they had what they needed in order to serve God.

At the center of Hannah’s life stood the stigma of barrenness. She and the entire family knew that it was the Lord who blessed a husband and a wife with children, and she above all others felt the burden of truth-“The Lord had closed her womb” (I Samuel 1:5-6).

Penninah used Hannah’s barrenness to ridicule her. Added to that, Elkanah showed Hannah favoritism by giving her a double portion of provision during the feast celebrations because he felt sorry for her and he  wanted her to know how deeply he loved her. Those things combined to make Penninah a rival, an enemy or adversary in Hannah’s sight. This enemy was in Hannah’s own home! Penninah year after year during worship would cause Hannah to remember her barrenness and hurt her feelings. Perhaps it was to berate her and make her feel less spiritual or to point out that she lacked less favor from the Lord.

I imagine this agitation is what led Hannah to weep before the Lord and also not eat during the feast. (I Samuel 1:6-7) Elkanah was so concerned for Hannah that He asked her, “Why don’t you eat? Why are you downhearted? Don’t I mean more to you than ten sons?” (vv.8)

Ladies-at this point in the story is where I believe God used Elkanah’s words to get Hannah’s attention. Elkanah wanted to know why Hannah was acting in such a fashion. He wondered if she might be angry and resentful because she couldn't bear children. He loved her, wasn’t his love for her better than giving birth to ten sons?

I think God wanted to know if Hannah’s bitterness was towards Him. After all, God is the one who can open and close a womb.

Could you also be angry with God about your circumstances? Are you resentful, or are you simply burdened because you never imagined your life would be the way it is; moving from place to place, your dream life shattered because you are a coach’s wife? Angry, because you are raising your kids alone, bitter because you thought you were going to live the American Dream and you are living the life of a sojourner.

Who am I talking to? Can you relate to these bible characters?

Are you like Penninah-giving the grief, making sure others are suffering?

Are you Hannah-feeling the burden and shame of not having what your neighbor has?

Are you Elkanah-living the Godly life, doing everything right and yet you can't understand why God is responding to you the way you are responding to Him. You feel forgotten by God and think you deserve better.

It is time you ask yourself any of these questions? Are you acting like any of these bible characters?

I encourage you to do what Hannah did, GO TO THE LORD. Hannah went before the Lord in prayer and poured out her heart to Him. She took her focus off herself and put her eyes on the Lord. She recognized He is the only one who can take away her deepest troubles and cause her situation to change. She poured out her soul to God and He heard her cry. (I Samuel 1:19-20). 

In the course of time, Hannah conceived and gave birth to a son. She named him Samuel, “saying because I asked the Lord for him.”

Wow-Ladies, I remember my deepest pains as a coach’s wife; when I didn’t want to be married to a coach anymore because the life was just too hard. I resented my coach and my anger was towards the one in my home. I was also angry every time we didn’t get the job I thought we deserved and I was angry because all the other coaching families we knew were moving on to what I thought was better circumstances and we were at the bottom of the pit. I was not only angry with my coach, I was angry with God. I knew He could change our circumstances and He closed all the doors. I visited my pastor at one of my lowest moments and wanted to vent all my coaching wife problems to him and he told me to do two things: "worship and pray to the Lord."

Just like Hannah this pain produced a bigger purpose for my life. God used this bitterness to get me to say yes to this ministry. I birthed purpose for God and I named it, “His Coaches’ Wives Ministry".

Finally, I’m encouraging you with the same advice I received from my pastor. Whatever it is that makes you bitter about this life take your focus off yourself, worship and pray to the Lord. He has asked us to pray and He has promised He will hear us.

Father, thank You that we can cast our cares on You knowing that You care for us. Lord, we choose to take the focus off of ourselves and put our eyes on You. Thank You for healing and delivering us from our deepest anguish. In Jesus' name I pray, Amen.