Andrea O. Freeman

If you know the phrase, "chompin' at the bit" then you know what we are experiencing the majority of the time. I looked it up and it describes the behavior of a horse, anxious to get going. Yep, that is a great way to describe where we are right now. We know God is using us even in our "holding pattern" but it is difficult when we have no real outlet for the gifts He has given us. For the sake of just a good update, here we are. As of today, Ryan has had very little work the past few weeks at his job. He is lucky to get a full week's paycheck when he goes in and day to day never knows if they'll have work or send him home. When he gets home, the paycheck ends up being minimal and as a result you can imagine how quickly what little we have goes. This is where God comes in, and WOW, has He! Over the course of these past few weeks alone He has done something miraculous but isn't anything He does miraculous?! Words cannot describe how humbled an...

Psalm 34:8 Open your mouth and taste, open your eyes and see— how good God is. Blessed are you who run to him. How often, in the middle of our greatest struggles, do we find ourselves saying, "Oh Lord, how good You are?" If we are honest, most of us would answer not at all. It is hard, it is not our natural response and even the strongest Christian can be beat down pretty quick by an unexpected blow from life. The past few weeks as Ryan has had very little work and thus very small paychecks, I have been meditating upon this. I think it has been mostly an unconscious meditation because it has surfaced vividly in my conscious mind today. I have been mulling it over all morning and I heard this great song come on the radio by Drew Cline, "How Good You Are" and it just washed over me like a cool breeze on a very hot day. How can we possibly grasp His goodness in the midst of our weakness? I believe and I keep coming back to this idea of daily arming ou...

Courage. I believe it has taken a considerable amount of courage for Ryan and I to choose to walk this path as we have these past months. Courage. God has given it to us, we couldn't possibly have it within ourselves. Courage. I was reminded this morning by my Dad of someone else who had courage even in the worst of circumstances: Joseph. He had so much happen to him, and he had so many reasons to curl up in a ball, curse God and just lay down and die but he didn't. He trusted God, and when the day came that he stood before his brothers after all they'd done to him and all he'd been through and he was able to say, "Do not be afraid. What you intended for evil, God intended for good." I know He has good for us, I know He has purpose and I know He will sustain us through every single moment of our lives. There are moments when I feel as if I could cave in, I could give up so easily because it appears that we are in this holding pattern but I had to say ...

I am a child of God, and therefore He sees worth in me. He loves me, He will care for me and provide for me--so there's no need to worry! Okay. Sure. That's not something I struggle with at all! (Can you hear the sarcasm?) These past months since Ryan was asked to resign, it has been a rollercoaster of many emotions for us both. What has gotten us through it? God. What has brought us peace and strength in the darkest moments, when we are on the floor, crying out for answers? God. What will we do as these days continue to pass and we wonder, we wait on what God has for us to do? Trust in God. Obey god. Give Him all the glory because even in this, this valley that seems so deep and as if there is no light at the edge for us to walk toward, He has purpose, He has a plan to prosper us and not to harm us. I found myself meditating on Jeremiah 29:11 again today as I do many days. It gets me focused and centered, re-sets my way of thinking before my day gets started. I ...

What does it mean: ownership? The dictionary defines it as "the legal right of possession". So what is possession? It is defined as "to have in one's control". Bottom line, what do we own, possess, have in our control? Answer? Nothing of worth, eternal worth, that is. Isn't that the point? As we live and breath on this earth, my goal as a Christian is to focus on the things that matter most, that contribute to eternity with Jesus. It doesn't matter how much money I make, what kind of house I own, what kind of car I drive, what kind of electronic devices I use, the clothes I wear, the people I know, the things I accomplish in terms of worldly success.....none of it matters what bit or increases my eternal worth if I am not making a difference for Christ. To love others more than myself, to make a lasting impression on the lives of others for the Kingdom and that they would come to know Christ should be my greatest desire and focus! I have alwa...

Great is Thy faithfulness O God my Father There is no shadow of turning with Thee; Thou changest not, Thy compassions, they fail not, As Thou hast been Thou forever wilt be. Pardon for sin and a peace that endureth, Thine own dear presence to cheer and to guide; Strength for today and bright hope for tomorrow, Blessings all mine with ten thousand beside! Great is Thy faithfulness, Great is Thy faithfulness, Morning by morning new mercies I see; All I have needed Thy hand hath provided- Great is Thy faithfulness, Lord, unto me! (Thomas Obediah Chisholm, 1866-1960) This song is my meditation today. Today we are so weary. Today we are feeling helpless, not hopeless, but as if we have very little to cling to. It is a day in which I know the prayers of many is the only thing holding us up. Ryan has had 3 shifts in a row now without work. Imagine going in to a job-a job for which we are very thankful despite it being very little pay and nowwhere what we need to get by-and they tell you ...

He must become greater, I must become less. John 3:30 I just finished Louie Giglio's book and I am still soaking up the knowledge of the nature of God, that He is I AM and I, well, I am not. As we grow in our knowledge of Christ, walk the path He has laid before us and find successes along the way, it is easy to become a bit arrogant in our Christianity. It is a shame that humility typically only comes when life smacks us across the face with something truly unexpected and devastating. We say to God,"Okay, I've been doing what You called me to do, following your lead, answered Your call and here I am in the middle of this waste land that somehow, some way you have a purpose?" Yep, that's right. At some point in the midst of struggle, when we let go of what we are feeling, when we have purged our systems of all the hurt, anger, grief, disappointment, heartbreak....purpose comes in to focus. I know, and even in the darkest moments of our struggle I could see a...