Invisible Intervention

Prodigal:  Sometimes when I am all alone, I wonder if Angels are protecting me?

Me:  There really are angels.

Prodigal:  Do you have a story.

Me:  Yes,

This is from the book Where Angels Walk by Joan Wester Anderson

Corrie ten Boom helped hide Jews during WWII in Holland when she herself was put into a camp. Her sister died in that camp.  After the war, Corrie began a new career, opening homes for people who had been damaged by brutal treatment during the war, places where they could heal their bodies and minds.  To support her homes, she went around the world giving lectures.  It was not until 1959, however, that Corrie discovered the most significant “invisible intervention”  she had received.  She was revisiting Ravensbrueck as part of a pilgrimage honoring the ninety-six thousand woman who died there, when she learned that her own release had been result of a “clerical error.”  A week after she’d been granted freedom, all the women prisoners her age had been taken to the gas chambers.

And they shall not teach every man his neighbor, and every man his brother, saying, Know the Lord: for all shall know me, from the least to the greatest.

Hebrews 8:11

Jennifer Van Allen

www.theprodigalpig.com

www.faithincounseling.org

A Friend

Me:  What a pretty heart.

Prodigal:  Yes, we need to remember to show love to each other.

Me:  That is a good idea.

This is for you.  You are very special to me.  To others may you send this to your love one.

It isn’t enough to say in our hearts

that we like a man for his ways,

It isn’t enough that we fill our minds with paeans of silent praise.

Nor is it enough that we honor a man as our confidence upward mounts,

It’s going right up to the man himself,

telling him so that counts.

If a man does a work that you really admire

Don’t leave a kind word unsaid,

in fear that to do so might make him vain

and cause him to lose his head.

But reach our your hand,

and tell him “Well done,” and see how his gratitude swells.

It isn’t the flowers that we strew on the grave,

it’s the word to the living that tells.

Author Unknown

Thank you for choosing to be in my life!

And I will give them a heart to know me, that I am the LORD:  and they shall by my people, and I will be their God: for they shall return unto me with their whole heart.

Jeremiah 24:7

Jennifer Van Allen

www.theprodigalpig.com

www.faithincounseling.org

Women Lovin’ Jesus

Prodigal: The sun feels good.

Me: The son is good!

Prodigal: I love it!

Me: Here is another video

click here to watch another video

Proverbs 2:11

Discretion will protect you, and understanding will guard you.

Jennifer Van Allen

www.theprodigalpig.com

www.faithincounseling.org

Being Left Alone

Me:  Are you alone?

Prodigal:  No, I have God.

This is from the book Facing Loneliness:  The Starting Point of a New Journey by J. Oswald Sanders

To be left alone without God is hell.  But to be left alone with God is a foretaste of heaven.

This statement alone can tell you a lot about if you have a relationship with the Lord.  Do we gain strength from our coffee or the Lord.  Does the help come in form of a much needed verse that gives you the energy to continue in weariness.

What helps you make it through the tough days?  Is is all the appreciation you get or is it that time alone with the Lord that gives you a foretaste of heaven.

How about the success it brings, does that motivate you?  Or is it when you worship God in a perfect timed song alone and it brings tears to your eyes because you cannot even start to image the joy of worshiping to the Lord in person one day.

How about the fact that it is a easy day, does that help you complete the to do list.  Or is it the fact that the to do list is overwhelming but God sends a peace that it doesn’t all have to happen today and He is with you.

What do you do when you are all alone?

Is it terrifying because you don’t have the Lord?

Or is it wonderful because you know that you get a glimpse of heaven on earth.

And the Lord God formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living soul.

Genesis 2:7

Jennifer Van Allen

www.theprodigalpig.com

www.faithincounseling.org

Morning Will Come

Me:  It seems so dark in here.

Prodigal:  I know I had to turn on this light.

Me:  God will always give light in darkness.

Brokenhearted….

How can I bear the pain?

So many plans….permanently interrupted.

So many dreams….shattered.

Hopes…dashed.

All gone.

Why?

Why this?

Why us?  Why me?

Helplessness…hopelessness…

Life will never be the same again.

Is it even worth living?

Where are you, God?

I’m right here beside you, my child.

Even though you may not feel my presence,

I’m holding you close under the shadow of my wings.

I will walk with you through this dark night.

Do not shrink from weeping.

I gave you tears for emotional release.

Don’t try to hide your grief.

Let it become for you a source of healing,

A process of restoration,

For I have planned it so.

Those who mourn shall be blessed.

I’ll be holding on to you,

Even when you feel you can’t hold on to me.

Seek my face, child of mine.

Receive my promise, impossible as it may seem now,

That joy will come in the morning.

It may take much time,

But I will heal your broken heart.

I know the night seems endless,

But MORNING WILL COME.

I have promised.

from the Haven of Rest

The LORD will give strength to his people; the LORD will bless his people with peace.

Psalm 29:11

Jennifer Van Allen

www.theprodigalpig.com

www.faithincounseling.org

Fifteen Reasons to Praise the Lord

Me:  Those dancers look very happy.

Prodigal:  They are happy.

Me:  Well, I am happy about the Lord.

This is from the book Finding Peace for Your Heart by Stormie Omartian

15 reasons to Praise the Lord

To enthrone God and acknowledge His greatness (Psalm 95:1-5)

To increase our awareness of God’s presence (Psalm 103)

To acknowledge God’s hand in every area of our lives (Psalm 91)

To release God’s power into our situations (Psalm 144)

To know God better (Psalm 50:23)

To break our chains of bondage and bring deliverance (Psalm 50:14-15)

To be under His covering of safety and protection (Psalm 95:6-7)

To strengthen the soul and be transformed (Psalm 138:1-3)

To receive guidance and establish God’s purposes in our lives (Psalm 16:7-11)

To thwart the devil’s plans for our destruction (Psalm 92)

To dissipate doubt and increase faith (Psalm 27)

To be delivered from fear (Psalm 34)

To bring a fresh flow of His Holy Spirit in us (Psalm 40)

To possess all God has promised for us (Psalm 147)

I delight to do Your will, O my God.

Psalm 40:8

Jennifer Van Allen

www.theprodigalpig.com

www.faithincounseling.org

Every Thing is Fine or Is It?

Me:   I like the point you made.

Prodigal:  Thank you.

Me:  I wanted to add just one thing to it.

This is from the book A Man of Grace and Grit: Paul by Charles Swindoll

Our problem is that we are blinded in our perspective.  We see ourselves as resourceful, talented, articulate, responsible, efficient.  So why pause?  Why take a break?  We have important matters to attend to, meetings to hold, numbers to crunch, programs to launch, and children to rear and on and on and on it goes.  It’s downright remarkable what we are able to accomplish drawing from our own well of human ingenuity.

Everything’s fine….until the well runs dry.  At that point, we start to “gut it out.”  We continue to run on empty until finally our lives fracture deep within.  At that point we begin to sputter, clog and chunk, and finally grind to a complete stop.  That’s when the truth comes out:  Ministries fold, marriages crumble, children wander from the Lord unattended, and our character weakens to the point of blowout.  Those painful experiences demonstrate that the dangers are real.  We’re not nearly as resourceful as we think.

Don’t run on empty and don’t think you can handle it all with out taking a break.  Take some time with the Lord.  It will make a difference.

Proverbs 11:30-31

The fruit of the righteous is a tree of life, and whoever captures souls is wise.  If the righteous is repaid on earth, how much more the wicked and the sinner!

Jennifer Van Allen

www.theprodigalpig.com

www.faithincounseling.org

Women Lovin’ Jesus

Me: Sometimes we can get distracted by what is around us.

Prodigal: Yes, and I need to focus.

Me: Maybe this video will help.

Click here to watch another video

Proverbs 2:10

For wisdom will enter your heart, and knowledge will be pleasant to your soul.

Jennifer Van Allen

www.theprodigalpig.com

www.faithincounseling.com

Fringe Benefits

Prodigal:  I’m all alone right now.

Me:  You know God is around.

Prodigal:  Yes, I have to remember that.

This comes from the book Facing Loneliness:  The Starting Point of a New Journey by J. Oswald Sanders

Far from being an unwelcome liability, solitude confers many fringe benefits.   It is in the place of quietness that creativity flourishes, not in the hubbub of modern life.  We are so constituted that while we crave intimacy with other human beings, there are times when solitude becomes imperative, especially the silence of aloneness with God, when other voices have died away.  It is then we have the unique gentle stillness.”  The enrichment that follows cannot be exaggerated for the communion with the eternal God is the most potent medium of inner fulfillment.

My God and My Savior how I need your peace and fulfillment today.  The time with you can give me energy and strength that is needed for this week.  I love you Lord and need to be reminded of how great you are.

Mark 13:31

Heaven and earth shall pass away: but my words shall not pass away.

Jennifer Van Allen

www.theprodigalpig.com

www.faithincounseling.org

Secret to True Freedom

Me:  How are we to start our day?

Prodigal:  Something with the word of God.

Me:  The word of God?

Prodigal:  Yes, it can change your spirit.

This is from the book Reaching for the Invisible God by Philip Yancey

Merton found the secret to true freedom:  If we live to please God alone, we set ourselves free from the cares and worries that press in on us.  So many of my own cares trace back to concern over other people:  whether I measure up to their expectations, whether they find me desirable.  Living for God alone involves a radical reorientation, a stripping away of anything that might lure me from the primary goal of pleasing God.  Living in faith involves me pleasing God, far more than God pleasing me.

WE may be tired as we start our day.   It seems that we have too much to do today.  I know.  There was a time when your schedule was not as demanding.  For now there is joy in all you do, remember this even if it is tiresome at times.

And ye shall be holy unto me: for I the Lord am holy, and have severed you from other people, that ye should be mine.

Leviticus 20:26

Jennifer Van Allen

www.theprodigalpig.com

www.faithincounseling.org