Thank you for allowing us to share our vision with you which is two-fold. We want you to pursue a strong faith in God and a close relationship with Jesus, plus we want to encourage you to keep your eyes focused on God during your calm and difficult days. These two ideas are the foundation of what carried us through the trials of the past several years.
Going deep with God. Our hope is that when you look daily at our pictorial devotion, you will begin to learn more about the character of God. We hope this glimpse into learning about who God is will inspire you to spend more time with Him and experience Him in your life. We offer a wide variety of resources on this website (see Resource Tab) that will help you to get to know God better and to build a solid foundation based on a strong relationship with Him. When you build your life on the Rock (Jesus) and the storms come, you will not be swept away by the crashing waves. You will be able to trust and have faith in Him even in the midst of the chaos in your life. This very idea is the hope that we, as a family, clung to when our trials began. We knew God well enough to know that He is our only refuge; He is our only true foundation on which we can firmly stand. Matthew 7:24-27
Stay focused on Him. This pictorial devotion was created with the idea that it can be seen daily. The intention is for it to remind you that God is powerful, sovereign and faithful. He is able to care for you as He cares for the lilies of the field. (Matthew 6:25-34) It is not if, but when, a trial/suffering will enter your life. You can be encouraged, that no matter what the trial is, to keep your eyes focused on Jesus. Why? Because He will be faithful to carry you through your darkest times. During my trial, there were times when I would just want to throw myself a pity party. When I felt this way, I would visualize the story of when Peter was in the boat and keeping His eyes on Jesus. When he focused on Jesus, Peter was able to walk on water; he was able to do the impossible. But, when he stopped looking at Jesus and looked at the storm, Peter began to sink into the sea. I did not want to sink into the sea, so I made the decision to continually focus on who God is and have faith in His words of truth. Keeping my eyes focused on Jesus was pivotal in accomplishing the impossible -- having my heart healed and completing this devotion. Do not give up hope when you feel like you are drowning with the weight of your suffering. Keep your eyes focused on Him and experience His comfort, peace and deliverance first hand. Furthermore, what is truly beautiful about this story is that when Peter was sinking into the sea and crying out for help, Jesus IMMEDIATELY reached out his hand and helped Peter back into the boat. At any time, if you are feel troubled or are in doubt, just ask Him for His help, and He will grab your hand and place you safely in His boat. Matthew 14:22-33
