2010 in Review

Saturday, January 8, 2011

"May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in Him, so that you may overflow with hope, by the power of the Holy Spirit." Romans 15:13

Whew! What a year...and how fast the years are going, the older I get. I'm determined to start keeping up with this blog thing in 2011 since I am terrible at getting pictures out to our family. Everything else on here is probably me just talking too much again. "Student socializes too much"...was on every single report card, I ever received. My parents were so proud!

2010 (and really, the last several years) was an amazing year of just growing closer to Jesus and giving that darn thing called "control" over to Him again...and again. In September I had a vivid picture of myself arriving at the tomb where Jesus had been buried (you know 'Joanna' was there, right? Check out Luke 24:9!) and when I closed my eyes I saw Him standing there....alive! He was holding out His hand for me...I heard Him call my name and ask, "Will you trust me?"...no matter what...no conditions or 'what ifs' or giving only part of my heart to Him. Nope, He won't relent until He has it all! I know He's calling this little Tribe of Benjamin to absolutely step out any type of 'comfort' zone we've been living in and is calling us to something new. However, the Lord hasn't made it clear what exactly that is yet, but I can hardly wait to find out! We're at the point where we want anything but ordinary, standard, complacent...as long as we're walking with Jesus and following His lead through it all! All we can do is say, "yes," take His hand, and trust Him. And praise God, He left His Spirit to help us trust Him, because Jesus knows my flesh reaction is to crawl into my bed and hide under the covers! If it was up to me on my own, that's exactly what I would do probably most days! I love this quote from K.P. Yohannan, founder of Gospel for Asia:

"God is still looking for a minority of people who will seek His face with all their heart and do the work in His strength."

I personally believe God desires the MAJORITY of people for this, but still love K.P.'s quote! And I'll never forget what Pastor Les said one Sunday at church,

"You have to give Jesus your HEART, not just your mind."

THAT is what Jesus is calling me (and all of us!) to do. : )

Shortly after the Lord spoke to me in September my mom was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer. The tears come, just writing that. It's awful, ugly, aggressive, painful, and I literally cannot imagine that anyone on the planet has walked such a path with such grace and peace as my mom has. I am sooooo proud of her and she will only give credit to her Savior. I am in awe of her solid faith as the cancer returned so quickly after what we thought was a successful surgery. She is currently enduring chemo along with daily pain.

My mom and I have laughed wondering why we didn't spend more time together the last few years and why do we put so many things off? Oh, that's right, it's because we we're so 'busy!' What is that? Is that an American thing we feel the need to be....busy? I've been able to spend more time with my mom in the last few months than I probably have in the last few years. What a gift to just be still, to be quiet, to talk, to sleep, to pray and to NOT be so busy. To enjoy the relationship with one another. Of course life can be busy, but my mom and I (who both tend to be 'Marthas' so much of the time) have been reminded of how important it is to also follow Mary's example to rest, sitting at the feet of Jesus, worshiping Him...learning from Him...listening to Him...talking with Him...growing in relationship with Him! I'm resting at His feet like never before and I have never had so much peace in my life! Because of His endless love, mercy and grace poured out over me on the cross and by just trusting in Him, I am truly filled with an "inexpressible and glorious joy" (1 Peter 1:9) despite a very heartbreaking season of life. Oh, and one more great quote; Pastor Rick said recently,

"You can be blessed in distress if you walk it out trusting Him."

There was a time when I would have wondered how someone could possibly be "blessed" in difficult times, but the Lord has shown us His loving kindness poured out over us so clearly in trials Ben and I have gone through, that I am simply in awe of the amazing ways He blessed us before, during, and after the storm passed. I believe my mom is truly experiencing this right now. Even amidst her pain and coping with her "new normal," she sees the blessings of the Lord in it, His love for her, and even cherishes His joy in her heart every day. She frequently reminds me that simply by looking back at her life, the Lord has always always been faithful and He won't stop now!

"Remember Your word to your servant, for You have given me hope. My comfort in my suffering is this; your promise preserves my life." Psalm 119:49-50
"Let us hold unswervingly to the hope we profess, for He who promised is faithful." Hebrews 10:23

The photo above shows three generations; my mom, Esther, and I at Auntie Sylvia's house for a family Christmas party. You would never know my mom was in an enormous amount of pain that night and was only able to stay for about an hour...still beautiful through it all!

Rock and Roll 2011!

JUNE 2011

Hi Everyone--

As we continue to remember my amazing mother, grieve the loss of her presence with us in this life, yet also rejoice; knowing she IS healed and HOME with Jesus (1 Thessalonians 4:13-18), our God and Savior (knowing that through faith in Him, we will be reunited with her one day! Ephesians 2:4); I have been training for a 1/2 marathon in her honor! I will be running with "TeamHope" in the Seattle Rock and Roll Marathon & 1/2 on June 25th. Would you consider donating a few dollars in my mom's honor to the Pancreatic Cancer Action Network? More information is available on the web sight.
Type in: iamteamhope.org
Click on: donate to participant
Write in participant's name: Joanna Shook
Read about why I am running in this race and what the Pancreatic Cancer Action Network does to research the disease, fight the disease, and support those living with the disease.

We are wholeheartedly thankful for your support, prayers, cards, e-mails, meals and many donations made in honor of Judy! We are also grateful to all who were able to pray and/or attend my Mom's funeral service, which turned out to truly be a celebration of her life and a testimony to her unwavering FAITH and HOPE in Jesus Christ. One of the last things I said to my mom was, "I love you Mom & I'll see you there...." (Check out Revelation 21:3-4/Philippians 4:20!) Sometimes I can hardly wait, but in the meantime, I am encouraged live for Christ now, desire to share the good news of His love & grace poured out for us through his death on the cross & the hope of life everlasting because of His resurrection, and ultimately, I hope to leave a legacy of faith in Him for my kids; following in my mom's footsteps!

"I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus." Philippians 3:14

"I tell you the truth, whoever hears my word and believes Him who sent me has eternal life and will not be condemned; he has crossed over from death to life." ---John 5:24

This is not our Home

From the (In)Courage Blog-

SOME DAYS the world threatens to make me fold in on myself.

Not because of daily stress
or the mundane of life that can eat at our soul.

But the big stuff.
The stuff I feel so helpless to help.

I can’t help the woman in Guatemala
who is near death from a back alley abortion
who got so desperate for the abortion
because of the threat of being kicked out into the slums
just for being pregnant
and is pregnant from being assaulted.

If she had come to me, what would I have told her?

Would I tell her to keep her child, because I believe in life and
tell her that her other three children at home will be ok
without her
and that
she will not die on the streets?

Do I tell her it’s unfair abortion is illegal in her country
and help fight for her right to get an abortion if this should happen again
even though I feel that is wrong?

Where was the church when she was hopeless and without options?
Where was I?

There are people everywhere, in every country, on every street.
Living without hope.
It feels so heavy hearing them breathe.

Where do we go
and what do we say
when nothing will fix it?

When there are no answers?

We hear the Earth groan in labor
and can feel the vibrations of the soil
crying out in expectation of Salvation.

And we can only say Lord, come quick.
Jesus heal.
Jesus redeem.
Jesus save.

And we remind ourselves that as big as all the poverty and hurt and soul ravaging, is.
It is still not bigger than God.
His peace still surpasses all.
His Heart in me comforts me that it’s all under His care.
His Spirit will show me what to do.

His hands hold it all.
In His hands.

Monday, June 11, 2012

     Since my Momma went to heaven, I've received these e-mails every day for a year.  They are from "Griefshare.com" and it has been a huge blessing!  Grief is a daily part of my life and it doesn't get any easier (like so many say to try and encourage you), however my hope and joy, despite the pain,  is in Jesus!  I refuse to be "stuck" in grief and know the Lord has called me to "press on" (Philippians 3:13-14)  for Him!  I don't want to miss anything He has for me (that is, to be used by Him, for His glory!) and trust that He works all things together for good, for those who are called according to His purpose!  (Romans 8:28)

     One of the reasons I know He has taken our family through different seasons of grief,  is so that we can comfort others and relate to them, with His love,  when they experience loss.  (2 Corinthians 1:3-5)   Wow, He has already given us several opportunities in this, just within the last year.  We're convinced He's calling us into this as a "ministry" and are not sure at this point, what that will look like, but for now, the Lord just brings people our way who are going through loss and grief.  We are soooo blessed to walk through the journey with others who are hurting.  I never thought I would love to "hang out" with others who are stricken with suffering, pain and grief!   All we can do is listen to them and pray with them.   And then...share His promises (Revelation 21:3-4), His hope (Romans 5:13),  His peace (Ephesians 2:14) , His joy (Hebrews 12:2, James 1:2), and His love (Galatians 2:20, 1 John 3:1 & 4:10), and the truth that He has gone through any painful thing we will ever experience here on planet earth (Philippians 2:5-8).   Whoah---it's so amazing where Jesus takes you and I wouldn't trade any of it, for the way He continues to refine me, teaching me to trust Him and love Him more and more.  (John 14:1-3)

      

     I highly recommend Grief Share, although I have not gone through the 13 week course, my dad did, and he said it was so helpful after the loss of his beloved wife.  When you first look it up on-line, it doesn't even appear to be a Christian organization, however  the more you click, you see that GreifShare is based on God's Word.  They lay out the Gospel clearly and state that the first step toward healing is a relationship with Jesus Christ.   If you, or someone you know has suffered the loss of a loved one, I recommend checking it out!    Below is an example of one of the daily e-mails.  There are GriefShare groups that meet at churches across the entire country.  Our culture ignores death for the most part and I've even found that many Christians do not like to talk about it either!   That amazes me, however, before we lost babies and my momma, I didn't think about it much either.   Man, I can't stop talking about heaven and my kids can hardly wait until we're all HOME together....we'll be singing His unending praise, surrounded by the glory of our loving Savior, Redeemer, God and King-Jesus Christ!  Hallelujah!

"Amen!
Praise and glory
and wisdom and thanks and honor
and power and strength
be to our God for ever and ever.
Amen!"      Revelation 7:12

Great Books for Kids:

Someone I Love Died 

Heaven   by Anne Graham Lotz

Mommy, Please Don't Cry     by Linda Deymaz

I'll Hold You in Heaven   by Debbie Heydrick 

Set Apart Through Grief
Day 264

Many people become wiser, more humane, more compassionate, more fully human after experiencing grief. In this way, grief sets you apart. People who have gone through it are different.

"It will change you," says Sylvia, whose parents died. "You will do a 180-degree turn. When you go to a funeral home, from then on you will know what those people are going through; you'll know what you can do to help them.

"Before that, I would go shake hands, go to the line and say, 'I'm sorry.' And I didn't understand. But after you've lost a loved one, you have a totally different concept of what they're going through. I think you can be a better minister, and I think God gives you some of these things to use in your own personal ministry. So it will change you."

Change is difficult, and all people experience change throughout their lives. God, though, remains the same-a solid refuge and fortress.

"I the Lord do not change" (Malachi 3:6).

"Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever" (Hebrews 13:8).

Sovereign God, You never change. I can put my anchor in You and know I will remain secure. Lord, I want You to be the foundation of my life so that I will make it through life's difficult times. Amen.