Author: Annette Coffey

“Humble yourself, therefore, under God’s mighty hand, that he may lift you up in due time.” 1 Peter 5:6

God loves the humble but resists the proud. He does not like when we think too highly of ourselves. Thinking we can take care of ourselves and that we control our future. I sure know that I’m thankful for all he has done for me and all that I have. I willingly die to myself every day and live totally for what he has for me and he has never let me down. He always gives more than what I could have alone. Because of my stroke I can’t do a lot of things anymore. I’m totally dependent on others to meet my needs but that has caused me to trust only in him. That wasn’t always easy because I feared what others might do wrong but God let me know that he was in charge of everything! He loves me and does take good care of me still. He still helps me to stay independent during the day. If I can’t do something I pray and he gives me strength or an idea to help me accomplish something and I do things to help those taking care of me to make sure they have what they need to help me. I have also found ways to encourage others. Even though I can’t do much I can write what he has taught me through everything and it does feel good to know God’s purpose for your life. I am a child of God and he has called me to encourage others. I may have been able to do so much more before my stroke but my heart wasn’t trusting or humble and that comes from a total change of the heart.

“I will remember the deeds of the Lord; yes, I will remember your miracles of long ago. I will consider all your works and meditate on all your mighty deeds.” Psalms 77:11-12

When you hear something exciting God has done how could you ever forget it. I know I can’t and I love telling others about it. It happens over and over every day. I know it helps to look through eyes of faith. Miracles are easy to get excited about but they happen every day in some degree. It may be small like God helping you do something you know you couldn’t have done by yourself or when someone with stage four cancer gets a test that shows they are cancer free. I’ve known many people that the doctors told they had maybe six months to live and years later they are still going strong. But what about creation itself, have you ever really looked at a leaf? It is alive and turns different colors in different temperatures. It has a skeletal system like structure that holds it all together so it doesn’t just crumble apart at a touch but sap runs through it to help it grow from the nourishment it gets from its parent tree. Have you ever watched a flower open its petals in the morning and pull them closed at the end of the day? Human and animal bodies are the same with skeletons and skin, muscles and tendons. Blood and oxygen flow through the blood. How you get a fever to help your body fight infection. These are all miraculous for someone who says we just evolved from a brainless fish who cannot solve complicated problems or invent complicated machines. I can sit and contemplate these things for hours. Even pets can have emotions with their owners and with other pets in the home. When one dies the other one can mourn for a very long time and they may never get over it. They can tell when their owners are happy, sad, sick or scared. That’s why pets can make great therapy animals. I just don’t know how some people can’t see amazing things everywhere like I do. I like to sit and look around me. Watching nature or people. You learn a lot of amazing things. I guess that’s why God says be like little children because they are always wanting to learn more and they ask a lot of questions. Just because mom said so isn’t a good answer. All living organisms are just too complex.

“Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come: the old has gone, the new is here!” 2 Corinthians 5:17

We are called to be new creations not just saved from the flames of hell. Our lives are to look different. People are watching us, what kind of example are we showing the world? We as followers of Christ are to look more like him every day. What would Jesus do? He spent a lot of time talking to his Father. He spoke only what the Father told him to. No unwholesome words should come out of our mouths. Are we showing love to everyone. Even when we don’t agree with someone we should love them and treat them with respect because they are dearly loved by the Father. As one he created on purpose with a plan for their lives. What are you spending your time doing that will bring you closer to his ways. Life needs to be lived intentionally, if one day you wish to hear, “well done good and faithful servant.” Are we finishing are race strong for the kingdom? There is so much work to do and not many who are doing it. Are we caring for widows and orphans and the marginalized that need our help. Are we encouraging others. Rejoicing with them when they are glad and mourning with them when things are tough. Are we sharing the great things of Jesus that they may never know because they really need to know how great it can be.

“Now the earth was formless and empty, darkness was over the surface of the deep, and the Spirit was hovering over the waters.” Genesis 1:2

That pretty much says it all. Nothing but black nothingness. It doesn’t matter which came first the chicken or the egg because neither existed. Not a single cell or organism. We couldn’t have evolved from nothing. Now I have faith to believe a lot of things but not that something so technically intricate as life just happened. Scientists came up with this scenario and it’s really stretching what’s possible. Just a delicate and beautiful flower is alive. And I’ve seen amazing flowers that can even do strange things like only bloom every thousand years or something. Each animal is so specifically made for their lifestyle and for the climate they live in. Mankind can think and reason and invent amazing technology. Like micro computers. People didn’t want to believe that there was a God that would make them live a certain way so they tried to explain life without a creator. But there is a God and we have sinned against him and are worthy of death this sin is a cancer in our life and just like cancer if you don’t know you have it. That doesn’t mean you won’t die from it. You can say you are not sick all you want but you’re still sick. When my daughter had her third child she got really sick and around 2015 they found out she has EDS and Pots which is manageable when you know it and most of my family has many symptoms. I believe it came from my father and I passed it down. It explains a lot of things. Just because I didn’t know that I had this (because they only discovered it around 2015) doesn’t mean I didn’t have it. Just because you don’t believe in God doesn’t mean he doesn’t exist. You really are missing so much when you don’t know all he has done and keeps doing some amazing things in and through us. I lived my life oblivious to God and his power. I knew of him but didn’t really know him. I was 50+ when I began learning so much about him. Since 2013 I have packed my life full of all I can get of him and it is so rich with him. You know there is a valiant King coming on his mighty stallion one day and I can’t wait. But right now I just want all he has to offer right here and now, don’t you?

“Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of compassion and God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our trouble, so that we can comfort those in trouble with the comfort we ourselves receive from God.” 2 Corinthians 1:3-4

In this world we will have troubles, we were told this by Jesus himself. He was the man of sorrows and acquainted with grief. People either loved him or hated him and would do anything to get rid of him. He definitely could relate. He said, “ If they hated me they will surely hate those who follow me.” He was born poor and looked down on because he was born out of wedlock. He came to show us the ways of his Father but also to understand what it meant to be human and walk among men. He saw hurting people and had compassion for them because he knew everything about what they were going through. If someone couldn’t fend for themselves or have the money to have someone take care of them they were overlooked. He came here to do the will of his Father but his Father watched all he suffered through at the hands of evil men. Their love for mankind was so great that they just wanted to make it better. That is why Jesus healed so many lives. When I had my stroke 20 years ago I thought I was no longer useful to God because I couldn’t do much after the stroke. But I began to see a new strength arise. People who were hurting could relate to someone else who was hurting and going through difficulties. God had been working in my life helping me grow towards him and learning to trust him more. The closer I grew to him the more joy I had in my life and they could see that in me and that gave me a platform to reach hurting people. Someone hurting and dealing with difficulties doesn’t want to approach someone who has it all together because they can’t understand. When someone can relate and God has been comforting them they can share that comfort with others. God began using me to encourage other Christian’s with wisdom and strength. I wrote books and this blog to encourage. Trials and tribulations are all allowed by God for a purpose whether we like them or not. God will not allow needless suffering because he is a good God and he will always be just and with us through it all and giving us the strength and wisdom to deal with them.