Heaven Bound

“When Jesus had finished saying these things, the crowds were amazed at his teaching, because he taught as one who has authority, and not as their teachers of the law”.  Matthew 7:29

This past week, Stephen Hawking garnered world-wide attention by saying, “There is no heaven; It’s a fairy story.”  Now if you’re like me, you enjoy a good fairy story every now and then. We’ve all read them to our children and grandchildren as bedtime stories; Snow White, Goldilocks, Sleeping Beauty and other tales, most of which employ a prince in disguise and a princess in distress. The kids love them and so do we.  Disney would not be the multi-billion dollar business that it is, if this were not so.  But, heaven, a fairy tale????

Stephen Hawking is undoubtedly a brilliant man with degrees in all the sciences and with some very impressive letters after his name. Without a moments hesitation, he could write out a mathematical equation that would stretch across a blackboard and back again, or explain the latest in quantum physics, but, that does little to tell me how he is qualified to speak on the subject of heaven.  As someone who has heard his statement and considered it, I have to ask myself, “by what authority does he speak?”

If a cop pulls me over for a speeding ticket, he shows me his badge and I know he has the authority to issue me a ticket.  At the end of a trial, when the judge slams his gavel down, I know he has the authority to lock me away if I have committed a crime.  In order to speak with authority, one must also have the power to enforce it or demonstrate it. Without power, the words become meaningless.

Its recorded in the gospels that during his ministry, the people were amazed because Jesus taught as one having authority.  What does that mean?  What it means is that the words Jesus spoke did not stand alone by their own weight, but, were backed up by the power he demonstrated – power over creation itself.  By the very words of Jesus, the sick were healed, the lame walked, the blind were given sight and the dead were raised.  Even the wind and waves obeyed his voice!  All attributes that only God could have.  Therefore, Jesus spoke with authority.

For Stephen Hawking to say there is no heaven, makes me want to ask him – by what authority do you say this?  Have you been dead and come back again?  If not, then what you offer is nothing more than your scholarly opinion.  You’ve studied the laws of physics but, have you studied the word of God? 

 Tell me, if you will, the mathematical probability that the nation of Israel would be reborn after 2,000 years in exile in fulfillment of ancient biblical prophecy. 

 Tell me, if you will, the chances that Jesus would ride in to Jerusalem on the foal of a donkey exactly 173,880 days from the commandment to restore Jerusalem in the book of Nehemiah as prophesied by the prophet Daniel 500 years before Christ. http://www.theprophecies.com/mathprophecy1.html. 

 You see, not only did Jesus speak with authority, but, the Bible speaks with authority.

We live in a time, when Christians are made out to look like un-educated country bumpkins.  Simple folk who believe in fairy tales.  But, nothing could be farther from the truth.  When Jesus left to ascend to the Father, he left us with something very special.  He left us with his authority.  In Matthew 28: 18-20 it says this:

“Then Jesus came to them and said, ‘All authority in heaven and earth have been given to me. Therefore, go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And, surely I am with you always, to the end of the age.”

When I read this verse, I understand that by the power of the Holy Spirit, I, (and all other born-again believers) are able to speak the word of God with authority.  We are able to testify to the message of the cross with the conviction of truth born by the power of the one who conquered death.

When I hear men like Billy Graham preach, I sense the power of the spirit carrying forth their words and conveying their message. This is something that men like Stephen Hawking, no matter how many letters follow their name, fail to grasp and will never understand until born of the Spirit. Therefore, their words, not matter how eloquently spoken, have no authority.

Pray for Mr. Hawking. He doesn’t need nor want our pity. But, what he does need is Jesus.

“Pray for the peace of Jerusalem, they shall prosper who love thee” Psalm 122:6    Watching and waiting with YOU for the soon return of Jesus!  Cindy

The rapture!  It’s big news this week.  Thanks to the publicity of Harold Camping and his followers, everybody’s talking!  But, will it really happen?  I have to admit, I know very little about Harold Camping other than the bits and pieces I’ve gotten from various news sources, but, from what I’ve read, I’d say his reasoning is more than a bit skewed.  But, does that mean he’s wrong?

Those of us who have been watching for the rapture know the time is very close. The signs are all there. Everything is in place. So, by virtue of this fact alone, Camping could be right.  

Yesterday John Tng published an article on Five Doves which has caused a great deal of excitement.  After reading it, I got excited too!  I really think John has made some amazing discoveries regarding the possible timing of the rapture.  May 24 to be exact. If you have not read his post yet, please take the time to do so, I think he makes some compelling arguments for the strong possibility of an imminent event. http://www.fivedoves.com/rapture/2011/raptureday.html

Last year I wrote a post regarding the month of Iyar. The second month on the Jewish calendar and the month we are currently in. Iyar is known as the month for blossoming and a month for shining. Very appropriate when you consider Israel blossomed in to a new nation on Iyar 5 1948 in direct fulfillment of the words of Jesus in Matthew  24.  And, Jerusalem came under Jewish control once again on the 4th day of Iyar 1967. https://cindybythesea.wordpress.com/2010/04/17/iyar-a-month-of-blossoming-a-month-of-shining/ 

So, as you can see – the month of Iyar is very significant in Jewish history and in Bible prophecy. John Tng points out in his post, that it was on Iyar 20 (which corresponds to our May 24 of this year) that the pillar of cloud rose for the first time from over the tabernacle, when the Israelites left Sinai to begin their journey towards the promised land.

I was pondering these things tonight and after praying, ask God to give me some kind of confirmation or insight on the subject. Randomly opening my Bible, I turned to Joel chapter 2.   As I read, these verses really caught my attention.

“Blow the trumpet in Zion, declare a holy fast, call a sacred assembly. Gather the people, consecrate the assembly; bring together the elders, gather the children, those nursing at the breast. Let the bridegroom leave his room and the bride her chamber.”  Joel 2:15,16.

Here in chapter 2, verses 15 and 16, we find a reference to the blowing of the shofar, the bridegroom and the bride and the gathering together of the people. Obviously, terminology, we all associate with the rapture of the church. (Thess. 4:16)

Iyar is the second month on the Jewish calendar, a month for blossoming (Israel) and a month for shining (the bride dressed in white linen, bright, shining and clean – Revelation 19:8).  Can it really be coincidence that Joel 2: 15,16 -when translated in to dates – comes out to be Iyar 15,16 which is May 19 and May 20th on our calendar this year.  Wow!

I have the distinct feeling that by tomorrow night (May 19) some kind of count down will have begun. Tomorrow night, President Obama will address the muslim nations. In this speech, he will congratulate them on the recent changes that have swept the region and will promise to support those changes. 

On June 4, 2009, President Obama in his speech in Cairo called for new beginnings in the middle -East. Tomorrow, he will work very hard to convince the world that this is becoming a reality.  And, with one hand extended to the Arab world and one foot placed firmly on the neck of the Jewish state, he will have little trouble doing so.

Have we entered a rapture window?  A period of time, when the likely hood for the rapture is strikingly high?  In just a few days we’ll know. I think the evidence speaks for its self. 

“Pray for the peace of Jerusalem, they shall prosper who love thee”  Psalm 122:6    Watching and waiting with YOU for the soon return of Jesus!  Cindy

Last night I was privileged to attend a wonderful program at Hawaii Theatre which included a fantastic group from the mainland singing barbershop quartet.  One of the songs they performed was “Wayfaring Stranger” the British spiritual/folk song which dates back to the 18th century.  Its been years since I had heard this song, Burl Ives made it popular in the mid-40’s bringing it to the forefront of American pop culture by making it one of his signature songs.  Last night as I listened to the haunting melody as performed by this incredibly talented foursome called Storm Front, I couldn’t help but, think how beautiful and timely the lyrics are even today.

The Bible tells us as Christians that we are “strangers in a strange land” and that our citizenship is not here on earth, but in heaven.  But, with all the distractions of the modern world, its easy to lose sight of this fact. For some reason it seems, the more we have, the less we depend on God and the blessing of “plenty” becomes the curse of greed.

Just in the last month, hundreds if not thousands of people have lost everything they owned including loved ones in the devastating tornadoes that struck across America’s heartland and now thousands more are seeing everything they worked for submerged beneath the waters of the muddy Mississippi.  Strangely enough, this is the very region from which some of America’s greatest music was born in the form of “negro spirituals” and ballads by way of African slaves who saw in their own life situations a parallel to the Israelites who were slaves in Egypt and whose hope for rescue and a better life lay in the hands of a mighty God.

Jesus said, “Blessed are they who mourn for they shall be comforted” and “blessed are the meek for they shall inherit the earth”.  For some reason, tragedy does more to propel us toward God than does affluence and it is in our utter hopelessness that we are able to see hope.

I really love these lyrics from WayFaring Stranger. Take a moment to read them:

I’m just a poor wayfaring stranger
While traveling through, this world of woe.
Yet there’s no sickness, toil nor danger
In that bright land, to which I go.
I’m going there to see my father
I’m going there no more to roam;
I’m just a going over Jordan
I’m just a going over home.

I know dark clouds will gather o’er me
I know my way is rough and steep;
Yet beauteous fields lie just before me
Where God’s redeemed, their vigils keep
I’m going there to see my mother
She said she’d meet me when I come;
I’m just a going over Jordan
I’m just a going over home.

I want to wear a crown of Glory
When I get home to that good land
I want to shout Salvation’s story
In concert with the Blood-Washed Band

I’m going there to meet my Saviour
To sing his praise forever more;
I’m just a going over Jordan
I’m just a going over home.

And, for the melody, listen to this rendition by Storm Front.  The quality of the audio is not the best and certainly does not do justice to this talented quartet, but, you’ll get the idea.   http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NRDiUkmzX6E . 

Thanking God today for those who have gone before us.  Who understood by way of the path set out for them, the deeper riches and glory of his amazing grace.

“All these people (the patriarchs) were living by faith when they died. They did not receive the things  promised; but only saw them and welcomed them from a distance.  And they admitted that they were aliens and strangers on earth … Instead they were longing for a better country – a heavenly one.  Therefore God is not ashamed to be called their God for he has pepared a city for them.”   Hebrews 11:13-16

“Pray for the peace of Jerusalem, they shall prosper who love thee”  Psalm 122:6    Waiting and watching with YOU for the soon return of Jesus!  Cindy

   Fig tree budding

All week long I’ve waffled back and forth on the death of Osama Bin Laden.  Was it really him or was it someone else?  Why was the body disposed of at sea?  Why aren’t photographs being released?  Why are there so many discrepancies in the story?  Why did it take ten years to find him?  Question after question …. more questions than answers.  And, does it really matter.  Well, the answer to that is yes, it matters.  The truth always matters.

I came across a couple of articles tonight that shed light on a number of things for me.  This was the headline on one of the articles.

Obama plans address on Middle East after Arab spring, death of Bin Laden

It occurred to me on reading this headline (and the story that followed) that the death of Bin Laden was just one more step in a well-orchestrated plan to re-make the Middle-East. In other words, long-entrenched dictators and leaders such as Bin Laden, Mubark and others had finally outlived their usefulness and the time for them to be removed had come. Old regimes stagnant and slow moving were hindering the progression towards a new middle-East.

But, what middle-East are we talking about?

We’ve begun to hear the term Arab Spring lately– a euphemism, I assume for the supposed budding of democracy in these previously dictator led countries.  But, what is budding is not freedom and democracy as we know it but, the rise and expansion of the Muslim brotherhood whose goal is to unite the Arab countries in order to reach their broader goals of implementation of sharia law, jihad and the destruction of the Jewish state.

Interesting that one of the signs of the second coming of Jesus is the budding of the fig tree, (Israel) and now the Arab nations have a budding of their own to talk about. Coincidence?  I don’t think so.

In the next few days, President Obama will be making a speech to the Arab nations addressing political changes in the Middle-East.  A speech that was not possible until this past week.  A speech which will in many ways be a victory speech – not for killing Bin Laden, but, for making possible the next step in the creation of a new Middle-East.

Prime Minister Netanyahu will be coming to the United States in a few days.  I’m not sure what he will say, but, most likely it won’t matter.  Israel will be given the choice to become part of the new Middle-East by allowing the creation of a Palestinian state and by the dividing of Jerusalem, – And, if they don’t, well, the choice will be made for them.

Articles of interest:

 :http://www.debka.com/article/20916/   

http://www.reuters.com/article/2011/05/10/us-israel-usa-netanyahu-idUSTRE7496C620110510

http://news.yahoo.com/s/yblog_theenvoy/20110511/ts_yblog_theenvoy/as-obama-plans-new-middle-east-policy-speech-analysts-say-issue-is-follow-up

“Pray for the peace of Jerusalem, they shall prosper who love thee”  Psalm 122:6     Waiting and watching with YOU for the soon return of Jesus!  Cindy

Who could forget this story from almost a year ago today?  A gray whale spotted off the coast of Israel. An event so unlikely that one of the headlines read, “Mediterranean Gray Whale Appears Back from the Dead”.   A discovery so rare and so exciting that headlines around the world carried the story.  To refresh your memory, it was thought that the gray whale had been extinct in the Atlantic for several hundreds of years. To spot one in the Mediterranean was almost beyond belief.  How the whale got there was anyone’s guess and it is believed the whale had to have crossed from one ocean to the other (Pacific to Atlantic) by traveling through an ice packed passage in the Arctic Sea; a very long and arduous journey.

I find this story interesting for a lot of reasons.  Some of which I covered last May in a piece titled “The Sign of Jonah”.  With Israel’s 63rd birthday just a few days away, I thought it might be interesting to re-visit the story which occurred just a few days prior to Israel’s 62nd birthday on May 14.  https://cindybythesea.wordpress.com/2010/05/12/the-sign-of-jonah/

Alot has happened in the last year and in recent months and days the face of the middle-East has changed.  Israel’s enemies surround her and the prospect of a third intifada in the next few days has been given to them as both a promise and a threat.  On the 26th of Iyar 1967 (June 5) the six-day war broke out leading to the re-capturing of Jerusalem and on the 26th day of Iyar 2010 (May 10) the whale story made headline news. I always find it interesting when dates and events are linked; I can’t help but, think God is trying to show us something.

But, why would these dates be linked?

The Bible tells us that when Jonah was cast in to the sea, God prepared a great fish.  If not for the great fish, Jonah most certainly would have drowned.  Hidden within the belly of the fish, there was no reason for anyone who had seen him slip into the fathomless depths to believe that he was anything but, dead. But, he was not dead (or God revived him) and 3 days later, the reluctant prophet was regurgitated from the belly of the great fish to fulfill the calling to which God had called him.

The story of Jonah as most of us know foreshadow the death and resurrection of the Messiah who was hidden within the heart of the earth for three days and came forth to live once again. The nation of Israel seems to echo the same thing.  Swallowed up by the nations in the diaspora and given up for dead, the nation of Israel miraculously came forth to live again in 1948 as prophesied by Ezekiel in his vision of the dry bones.

God has not forgotten the mandate he gave the Jewish people when he called them to be a light to the nations. Just as he did not forget the calling placed on the prophet Jonah to go and  preach to the gentile nation of Ninevah.  From 1967 to 2010 is 43 years – add another 7 and you get 2017 – a year many believe will be a year of Jubilee and will also mark 50 years that Jerusalem has been re-established as the capital of Israel.

I’m wondering if the gray whale off the coast of Israel last year was a sign to them (Israel) that God has not forgotten the purpose for which he has called them.  And, while they may not recognize it as such yet, in time they will. In a few short days, Israel will reach her 63rd birthday – just seven years shy of a biblical generation. The next seven years may well be the last on the prophetic calendar and the most important in the life of this young nation just recently re-born. Days of destiny for her and for the world.  And, without the church to aid her, help her and pray for her, she will struggle through her darkest hour to become the shining light to the nations that God has always intended.

“Pray for the peace of Jerusalem, they shall prosper who love thee” Psalm 122:6     Watching and waiting with YOU for the soon return of Jesus!  Cindy

Last night, I turned on my television (something I rarely do) and came across some kind of documentary where Afghan rebels were being interviewed. A remark by one of the men really caught my attention. He said, “As long as even one drop of our blood is spilled, Allah will forgive our sins”.  Chilling words when you consider how many drops of blood have already been spilled and how many more it will take to satisfy the blood lust of Allah and the god of this world.

This morning it was announced that President Obama had decided NOT to release photos of the dead Osama for fear of backlash from the Muslim world. Which if that were true, the very bloody and gruesome photos of two of the men killed at the compound Bin Laden was supposedly staying at would  not have been made public today either.  Perhaps the real truth has something to do with photos (and other documents) which we found out recently can be easily photoshopped and just as easily identified as fakes.

It has been a long road from 9/11/01 to 5/1/11 and more questions remain than answers. A reminder of the implausability of the official explanation fresh in my memory today after reading this post yesterday from Vigilant Citizen and watching once again as tower 7 sinks in to its own footprint.  http://vigilantcitizen.com/vigilantreport/binladen-mayfirst/

Whatever and whoever orchestrated those strings on that fateful day continues the manipulation.  And, the plan, I believe, has moved in to its next phase. We’ve already been warned to expect swift and harsh retaliation.  Hidden bombs at football games, secret snipers at the supermarket and terror as we walk the corridors of our favorite shopping malls. More drops of blood …

The god of this world demands our blood but, the God of the Bible gave His blood!

How sad that millions upon millions are willing to shed their own blood and the blood of others in hopes that their sins will be forgiven.  As if the blood spilled in murder, lying, hate and terror could ever atone for the very sins committed in an effort to receive forgiveness.  How vile and perverse!  A doctrine straight from the pits of hell designed to mock the one and only true blood that can save; the blood of Jesus.

The Bible tells us to pray for our enemies and Lord, we pray for those lost in the bondage of Islam.  May they soon come to know how much they are loved and what great price was paid on their behalf.

“Pray for the peace of Jerusalem, they shall prosper who love thee”  Psalm 122:6    Watching and waiting with YOU for the soon return of Jesus!  Cindy

By now, we have all see the long-form birth certificate produced by the White House affirming that yes, indeed the President was born on August 4, 1961 in Honolulu, Hawaii. Which according to the President, should put the “silliness” of this matter to rest. The serious issue of meeting the constitutional requirements for holding the highest office in the country, dismissed with wise-cracking and phony self-effacement at last nights White House Correspondents Dinner.

The Presidents remarks drew huge amounts of laughter as he lampooned Donald Trump and any others who questioned the possible violation for one of the most basic requirements for holding the highest office in the land; the requirement that the candidate be an American born citizen.  With wit and charm, the President worked the crowd as they roared with laughter, the by-now obviously fraudulent birth-certificate of little or no interest to those seated at the feet of the man who would be King.

I have a sneaking suspicion that the video clip from “The Lion King” shown by the President is far closer to the truth than the supposed live-birth certificate the White House produced. Makes me wonder, if the clip of the young lion cub being born in Africa was not an “in-your-face” revelation of the real truth behind the President’s birth.  

Born under the astrological sign of Leo (the Lion) in the African country of Kenya, it might well be said, that President Obama is indeed not just “The Lion King” but, the Lyin’ King.  And, with the Press Corp and Hollywood celebrities bowing at the feet of the President like the zebras and other animals in the video clip the President showed – that part at least, might be true.

“Pray for the peace of Jerusalem, they shall prosper who love thee”  Psalm 122:6     Waiting and watching with YOU for the soon return of the real King, Jesus!  Cindy

“He fills his hands with lightning and commands it to strike its mark”   Job 32:36

Who can forget this stunning image of lightning striking the White House on the evening of Easter Sunday.  According to the photographer who captured these images it was a warm, still evening when a “storm suddenly materialized” out of no where dropping torrential rain and lightning unexpectedely over 1600 Pennsylvania Ave.

April seems to be the month for “weather gone wild” with fire raging across Texas, rivers flooding and a record-breaking number of tornadoes (292) for a season which has barely gotten started. For those of us not living in one of these areas, we view the images of death, devastation, heartbreak and destruction that come across our screens and wonder where and when it will end – and who or what might be next.

Without a doubt the world situation is growing grimmer by the day.  Earthquakes, radiation, tsunamis, war,  famine and drought are taking a toll on world resources.  If this keeps up, areas needing disaster relief may soon out number those who don’t.  And, as prices skyrocket the ability to help those in need may soon be stretched very thin.

Jesus said, “if any one asks for your coat, give him your cloak also”.  As Christians, our finest hour for serving Jesus may well be ahead.  When lightning struck the White House, it hit its intended target.  There are no accidents with God.  In Nahum 1:3 it says:

“The Lord is slow to anger and great in power and will not leave the guilty unpunished. His way is in the whirlwind and the storm and the clouds are the dust of his feet. 

According to the Bible, one of the ways God directs and influences nations is through the natural forces that he established.  What some refer to as “mother nature”.  In Job 36: 26-31 it says this:

“How great is God – beyond our understanding! The number of his years is past finding out. He draws up the drops of water, which distill as rain to the streams; the clouds pour down their moisture and abundant showers fall down on mankind. Who can understand how he spreads out the clouds, how he thunders from his pavilion? See how he scatters his lightning about him, bathing the depths of the sea. This is the way he governs the nations and provides food in abundance”.

The fact is, God has established the forces of nature and uses all of them according to his sovereign will.  Through them he guides, directs and warns.  For the wicked its for chastisement, for the church its a wake-up call and a call to action.  Jesus calls us to be “gold as purified by fire”  and the way things are looking, we may yet get our chance.  The church in America today is fat and lazy.  None of us want to think of ourselves that way – none of us want to believe that we are the church of Laodicea; but, I wonder how many of us have taken a good honest look in the mirror lately?  Saved we may be, but, this bride is greatly out of shape – there’s a lot of hard work yet to be done before this bride will be ready to present herself pure and spotless to the one who paid the ultimate price for her.

Like everyone else, I’m looking for the rapture any day – but, until that time – may we wisely make use of each and every opportunity for God is shaping not only the world around us for his coming, but, shaping us as well.  May we be found worthy at the coming of the King!

“Let us rejoice and be glad and give him glory!  For the wedding of the lamb has come and his bride has made herself ready.”

“Pray for the peace of Jerusalem, they shall prosper who love thee” Psalm: 122:6   Watching and waiting with YOU for the soon return of Jesus!   Cindy

   the empty tomb

When I was a little girl, Easter meant two things.  I would be getting a new dress and our family anxious for the arrival of spring would attempt our first picnic outing of the year.  There was church, of course and the coloring of eggs, singing in the choir when I got a little bit older and fresh bouquets of Easter lilies for marking the occasion.  My grandmother sat at the organ in the small church I grew up in; her deft hands striking the first mighty chords to “He Arose” as the congregation exuberated in song.  It was a wonderful and happy time.

This was the 1960’s and in the small rural community I grew up in, life was a peach.  The turbulence that would eventually mark the decade, seemed far removed from our little hamlet.  The Viet Nam war, the civil rights movement, hippies and flower children were all images as foreign to us as the rice paddies our soldiers were being sent across the ocean to.  Flickering black and white images invaded our homes every evening courtesy of Walter Cronkite and the CBS evening news. But, these were far away images and had little to do with our day-to-day lives until some one’s son or nephew came home draped beneath a flag.  For the most part, we lived simply and happily, our neighbors were good and decent people, teachers actually taught and policeman were our friends.  It wasn’t a perfect world but, it was a good world.  But, it wouldn’t last forever.

Who would have believed in those years that a war on terror would be in our future, that millions of babies would be sacrificed over the next 30 or so years and that the American family as we knew it at the time would be on the fast track to becoming an endangered species.  Looking around, its obvious to see that the world is in the process of collapsing and someone or something is hard at work knocking out the few remaining pillars that support it.  It’s easy to see, the world is in desperate need of a Savior.  But, then again – it always was.

The Bible says in Jeremiah 17:9 that the “heart is deceitful above all things and desperately wicked; who can understand it?’  In other words, even on our best days; we are in desperate need of a Savior.  The era I grew up in was a good one, but just one decade earlier, war on a worldwide scale brought suffering and death to millions upon millions.  And, this was the second war of the century.  The first one was supposed to have been the war to end all wars!  No, contrary to what many would like to believe – mankind is not evolving in to something better than what he was before. We are what we have always been – sinners in need of a Savior.

A few thousand years ago, a world enamoured with itself gathered together to build a tower to heaven.  Brick by brick, stone by stone, they labored until God saw fit to end the building project.  The world gathers stones, but, God removes them – one stone at a time.  And, on Easter morning, that beautiful resurrection Sunday, death and the grave could no longer hold him and the stone was rolled away.

In Ezekiel 36:26 it says:

“I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit in you; I will remove from you your heart of stone and give you a heart of flesh”.

You see, God who is the same yesterday, today and tomorrow is still in the stone removing business.  How greatful we are!

May the joy of knowing the living Jesus fill you to over flowing this beautiful Easter season!

Grace and blessings!  Cindy

    Bethany Hamilton, Soul Surfer

This past weekend, the movie Soul Surfer opened in theatres across the country.  For those of you who may not be familiar with the story, Bethany is the young girl from Hawaii who lost her left arm in a shark attack while surfing.  Even at a young age, Bethany was on her way to becoming one of the most accomplished surfers in the sport and had already won a number of impressive competitions.  After losing her arm, many thought that Bethany would never surf again; including  Bethany herself.  But, with determination and an unshakeable faith in God’s plan for her life, Bethany proved otherwise.

I saw this film this past weekend and if you have ten bucks that isn’t going towards gas for your car- ($4.39 a gal for regular today! ) – I would highly recommend it.  The scenery is beautiful, the surfing shots fantastic and best of all, the faith and  trust Bethany (and her family) have in Jesus Christ really shine through.     http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MWeOjBCi3c4

Bethany’s faith and courage have been an inspiration to all of us living here in the islands and now, through this film, millions more will have the opportunity to hear her story and to see how  faith in God can turn the most terrible of tragedies in to amazing victory.  May God continue to shape and use the life of this remarkable young woman whose life he is using to reach others in ways she would have previously never have thought possible.  

Bethany’s verse as quoted in the movie: 

“For I know the plans I have for you” declares the LORD, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.”  Jeremiah 29:11

Good job Bethany, good job!

Grace and blessings, Cindy