Regenerated Heart with MORNA

     Many years ago when our children were young we started a tradition. Our daughter took an empty coffee can, covered it with construction paper and decorated it. With her preschool handwriting she wrote, “Oh, give thanks unto the Lord, for He is good.” She added her finishing touches with drawings of a church, a bible, a cross, and numerous hearts as little girls do. Over the years we have used the can to store miracles.

     Yes, that’s right: miracles.  Here is a sampling…

An empty envelope with these words on it: “$100 cash in Morna’s folder at church. This was received the day before we were to head out of town when we had no money for gas and food.”

A miracle? You bet!

A folded letter saying: “Mr. Gilbert, enclosed you will find an accommodation check for $3300 to transfer a gift that was given to your family. Along with a check, we received a letter explaining that the gift was to be used for your ministry in Spokane and your living expenses. The donar has asked to remain anonymous.”

A miracle? You bet!

A note on green paper: “Thank you for blessing others with prayer, meals, visits and love! I pray this little meal blesses your family today!”

A miracle? You bet!

A Christmas card: “Please have fun for Christmas! I know you probably need this money for bills but you have to do one thing first. Everyone is to get at least one nice present with this money. Then you can use the rest however you want!”  There was $1000 inside the card.  We bought presents, paid all our bills, and bought a starter for our vehicle.

A miracle? You dare say, no?

A yellow sticky note: “Dear Don and Morna, I love you. God”  This had been attached to a roaster pan the Thanksgiving our stove/oven died and we were expecting a house full of people for Thanksgiving day.

A miracle?

Friends, I could go on and on. You see our coffee can is stuffed with cards, notes, and scraps of paper. Every piece of paper inside represents a miracle where someone was JESUS with skin on to our family either by word, gift or deed. 

Do you know what a miracle is?  Anything that happens to us with precision timing that glorifies God because only He could have known there was a need for a miracle at that moment.

Each year as we sit around our Thanksgiving table we remember these miracles that have blessed us beyond all measure. How dare we forget to give thanks unto the Lord for He is GOOD!

Is it time for you to start your own “Remembrance Feast?”

Please have a Blessed Thanksgiving focused on HIm and His Hand on your life!

Our world has gone ballistic. Have you noticed?? We are inundated in the media - from all sources - with an over-sexed society, except in the covenant relationship of marriage between one man and one woman. It’s rather sickening how sex outside marriage is glamourized, encouraged, and condoned…but sex inside marriage is being considered a necessary evil.

 I’m afraid the church has not helped. The proverbial stick your head in the sand syndrome has given the enemy free reign when it comes to distorting, maligning, and perverting sex. 

Where is the church talking about sexual ecstasy as God designed it to be?

What do we “do with” sex addicts sitting in our pews?

Some are known. Most are not.

How should a woman respond to all of the devaluing of womanhood?

And how are women sabotaging men in the process?

With the help of God Almighty and several courageous women God has done a work in putting together my latest book project:

A Look at the Secret Destroyer of Real Intimacy

Damsels Fighting for True Love

How to Rescue a Relationship Locked in Sexual Addiction

The “Damsels…” message is for those women who are married or engaged. It applies to ALL marriages in ALL situations but especially those concerned with how to slay the “lust dragon” of our culture on a daily basis. Though you may not agree with what is presented (it is guaranteed to be controversial!) - I challenge you to test it against God’s Word and His principles for marriage.

The “Damsels…” message is prayerfully close to being published…

I covet your prayers!

I covet your courage to tackle this monster head on!

And please pray for protection, resources, and for Him to be glorified!

WORDS to Live By radio program is going to feature me on their website www.rbc.org on 9/17/10 through 9/23/10

Here is the current link:  http://words.net/?s=morna&x=5&y=22

January 27 - 29 (2012) - Discovery Point’s Women’s Retreat - Lincoln City, OR

March 22-24 - Northwest Ministry Conference, Overlake Christian Church, Redmond, WA

      March 23 - 11:40-12:35   “Hush, Hush…Porn in the Pews?”

      March 24 - 12:45-1:40    “Wives…Dying Inside from his Porn”

April 27-29 - Berean Bible Church, Spokane - Ross Point, CDA Lake, ID   “Lord and Ladies”

May 11-12 - Christian Family Home Educators Conference

Sept 7-8 - “A Woman of Character” Curlew Ladies Fellowship, Camp Ortoha, WA

Oct 12-13 - Summitview Ladies Retreat, Ellensburg, WA

I had the privilege of being interviewed on Words to Live By and it is available at www.words.net and the date is October 2, 2009.

 www.rbc.org (radio/tv link – then Words to Live By link)

This broadcast will be on 325 stations worldwide including Canada, the Caribbean, Singapore, the Philippines, Central America, and South Africa.

Morna

www.regeneratedheart.com

“A woman’s heart should be so hidden in Christ

that a man should have to seek Him first

to find her.”

I’ve been in a desert lately – feeling rather parched and empty.  I’ve actually been trying to fill my empty soul with lots of Bible reading and book reading on the good side, and eating (not goodL) on the bad side.  

I know God is still here/there – so I plod on through the sand, wind, and heat knowing He will administer an oasis with precision timing.

I actually read three books in the past five days – that’s how starved I’ve been!  “Do Hard Things” by Brett and Alex Harris, “Why Pray?” by Philip Yancey, and “When God Breaks Your Heart” by Ed Underwood are the books I have devoured.  I highly recommend all three of them.

The thought I woke up with this morning comes from John 11 (the theme of “When God Breaks…”) where Jesus is speaking to Martha at the onset of raising Lazarus up from the tomb. Both pondering Mary and practical Martha had approached Jesus, when he arrived to do his ministering, in their typical manner:  Martha – running anxiously demanding an answer (vs. 20); and Mary – waited to be summoned by the Lord, and then responded obediently (vs. 28-29).

Both stated, “Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died.” (vs. 21, 32)

Jesus comes to the tomb and makes a request for the stone to be taken away.

Martha does what so many of us do: “But Lord…by this time there is a bad odor, for he has been there four days.”  (vs. 39)

How many times do we say: “BUT Lord?!”  

We always seem to have a practical and logical reason to say “but Lord…” don’t we?

Jesus replied by saying, “Did I not tell you that if you believed you would see the glory of God?”  (s. 40)

This verse has gripped my heart with the reality of living by faith in a God Who is sovereign-ly faithful. I wonder how many times I fail to believe He is always at work and never sleeps – or I fail to believe that He truly loves me – or that His timing is always perfect or I fail to believe that He can only demonstrate perfect love, mercy, and truth because that is Who He is? He cannot do otherwise.

And yet, I fail to believe at times that He has my best interest in mind.

“…if you believed…you would see my Glory.”

This hits me hard especially in light of my husband losing one of his two jobs – meaning we are desperately in need of more income. Or when I face the trials of remembering past pains and have to face those people one more time. Or when I have to return a phone call to someone who hurts me deeply and I’m not sure I can take their comments. Or when my body feels horrid and is not cooperating. Or when I read the news – the politics – the direction our country is spiraling into – do I truly believe He is still on the Throne?

And yet, He says, “If you believe – you will see my Glory.” 

This is not saying that in the midst of the storm my specific prayer requests, my timing or my wishes will actually happen the way I desire them to happen. In reality this verse is promising that if I am committed to responsibly believing He is capable of choosing what is best, then He is committed to fulfill His promise: “YOU will see my Glory!”

We believe and then will see Him in the midst of our drama!

Therefore, anything that comes into our life is an opportunity to demonstrate faith – for without faith it is impossible to please Him (Hebrews 11:6) – and more importantly it is an opportunity for Him to demonstrate HIS GLORY!

Isn’t that what we are on planet earth for? Isn’t that the ultimate in blessing: to experience His Holy Presence in our circumstances?

If you believe – you will see His Glory. It’s a promise.

Even from the desert – a cactus flower can bring His Glory to a weary soul.