Ooops!

Here it is the 6th day of October and we have a watermelon plant that decided to take root in our front yard right next to the azaleas and the monkey grass (liriope).  This morning was the first day I have seen the bloom.  If we had planted a watermelon in our little garden spot, I dare say it probably would not have fared so well.

Isn't that so true of many things in life?  We want to sew joy, hope, peace and all good things. Try as we may, many times we end up with something we never meant to plant , something that we didn't know had been planted.

In the past two days I have met two people who I'm sure intended to plant a good life, but ended up with something flourishng that they would never intentionally plant... depression.  It hurt my feelings to see the sadness in their eyes, to see the emptiness and despair within screaming from eyes that had lost their spark.

Maybe I was more aware of it today because of something that I read the other day... a 31 day blog experience that over 1200 people are participating in.  As I was scrolling through the list of topics, one written by someone who calls herself A Holy Fool really caught my attention. Mostly I geuss because that is sometimes how I feel, like a holy fool!!  It is the story of someone who loves the Lord and is a devoted disciple and her honest struggle with depression.

I encourage you to take time to read her words.  Perhaps you, someone you know or someone you love could be encouraged by one woman's courage.  You may be like me, I was more or less unaware and gave little thought to depression, and there was a time when I was sure that you could praise yourself out of it. If nothing else, this has certainly tendered my heart toward those precious sisters and brothers who have something growing, something flourishing that they never planted.

If you would like to see the entire 31 day blogs...

Visit The NESTER 31 Dayers 2012.

 

Of course some of my true favorites are from my own

Jenn and our good friend Meredith.

Blessings to you!
Suz

Don't be shy!

Many of us are in the midst of or have finished "James, Mercy Triumphs" by Beth Moore.

One of my favorite scriptures has to be James 5:13 & 14.

"Is anyone among you suffering? He should pray.

Is anyone cheerful? He should sing praises.

Is anyone sick? He should call the elders of the church to pray over him and anoint him with oil in the name of the Lord."

If you are suffering, have you prayed?

Suffering of any kind will more than likely bring us to our knees.

But, if it hasn't, don't be shy... just do it!

If you are cheerful, have you sung praises?

That's my favorite. A friend used to say that prising was the most underused weapon in our spiritual arsenal. If you are cheerful, stop and praise Him that you aren't suffering or sick.

That's usually what I do even during the suffering too.

One of my favorite memories of praising during a sick and suffering time was in 2007 while my dad was in the hospital because of his Stage 4, Non-Hodgkin's Lymphoma. Daddy had taken a trip down the hall for some sort of test. Perfect time to pull out the ipod and set it to shuffle. That way I let God take charge of our song selection. I was hoping no one would open the door.

They didn't.

We were good to go.

With shoes off and volume wide open, I worshipped with complete abandon. As the music played, I also prayed for all those who were and had been occupying the rooms all over the hospital, for doctors, for grace, for those who had no hope to discover the giver of hope, for healing. I danced around the room pointing and declaring. It was a time I'll never forget. Don't know if it made a difference, but my dad recently had a PET scan and all is well.

But as far as being cheerful and praising, have you ever had to pull over on the side of the road when you saw something so beautiful, you felt like it was something God had planned just for you?

Or have you ever performed a ballet number for him right in the middle of your kitchen, maybe under the stars on your back porch? You don't know what you are missing if you haven't. And I have the perfect song for such.

http://http://youtu.be/kc89RsnAuyw

So, don't be shy... just do it! ( I dare you!)

Happy Valentines Day to You!

Happy Almost Valentine’s Day!

I hope you know that you are loved.

Sure we love you, but mostly Jesus loves you; a love like no other.

We hope you know Him, we hope you love Him too!

If you come by Wellspring Treasures on Tuesday, February 14^th, we will have a special surprise for you.

We will also have a special request for you… A few weeks ago at our Wellspring Living/SC Board Retreat, one of the topics we discussed was prayer and the role it plays in all that we do. We have come a long way from the time God first whispered to my heart “come join me in this adventure” (not His exact words, but I took the bait) to the place where we long to be.

God has blessed the store financially, He has sent some wonderful volunteers, and many great donors too, wouldn’t you agree? We also received some pretty nice gifts over Christmas and the New Year. We are still missing a few key things before we will be able to open the Wellspring Residential Home.

Since you feel like “family”, we’d love to treat you just like that. We want you to put us on your prayer list (if we aren’t already there). That’s our special request… to pray.

We are taking God at His word from Matthew 7:7 – “Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you. “

Starting on the 14^th, we will have little reminder cards that you can take home… if you are willing!

We will also add a new “prayer square” in the store, so while you are shopping; you can stop on the square and say a prayer for the house. It will be similar to the one we have now where we stop and pray for you each day.

Much love…

Wellspring Treasure Volunteers & Wellspring Living/SC Board and Staff

We love because he first loved us. I John 4:19

To Know HIM is to Trust HIM

One of the greatest pleasures I have had in my life is time spent with the girls in my prayer group. A few years ago, God wanted to expand my horizons and introduce me to a new group of friends. I accepted His invitation… kicking and screaming all the way. I really only went because I knew He would be there.


My old prayer group was like a favorite pair of jeans… comfy. A new set of prayer friends meant a whole new pair of jeans. I imagined they would be a little stiff when I first tried them on. They weren’t. They were like old friends, and praying with them gave me the same comfort and feelings of warmth and assurance that comes from joining my heart and hands with my sisters in Christ.


So whether it’s the old or the new, the Spirit of God is the common bond that we so look forward to. One year God allowed the old and the new to come together in what turned out to be my ordination ceremony as director of Wellspring LivingSC. It was so personal; God didn’t leave out one little detail.


Since the beginning of the New Year, I have had the opportunity to be with both groups in prayer. Most recently was spent on what we refer to as The Holy Mountain of the Lord (The Cove) with the New Jeans, which by the way are really comfy now too! We had a grand old time on the Mountain and I think we were really the envy of all the other women there. After all, we were adorned with crowns, sashes and feathers in our hair. That was just what you could see as we walked back and forth to the dining hall.


What they didn’t know is that within the walls of our meeting room we also had our own set of pom-poms that we used during our worship along with various other items for our wave offering. Celebrate His glory on the mountain we did! As we were in worship on Saturday morning, singing along with Travis Cottrell to “In Your presence O God” I got a little caught up in the truth of this song. Please listen if you haven’t already.

It was smack dab in the middle of it that I had to lay the pom-poms down and take a seat.

I had to stop and write down what I knew the Lord was saying to me.

“Susan, you know those areas in your life where you are not trusting Me yet? It’s because you don’t really know Me… because if you really knew Me… there is no way you wouldn’t trust Me.”


You had better believe me; I have delved into His Word and hopefully into His presence since I came down off of the mountain. I have refused not to believe Him in several areas of my life.

One particular area I had worked out in my head… but instead I have decided to trust Him to work it out. I will be still and know that HE IS GOD!

Join me, dive deep heart first into believing Him for every good and perfect gift!

After all I do have a new blue bracelet and isn’t that why I have it in the first place?

Small Beginnings

A year ago November 20th, we opened the door to Wellspring Treasures Thrift Store hoping and praying that things would work out, that people would donate, that people would shop and that people would volunteer. As you well know, it did work out. The one thing that has happened that we really didn’t anticipate is that we collected a lot of friends along the way. Thanks to God answering all those prayers, the store has been successful in many ways.


You may be familiar with the Scripture that says… “if I be lifted up, I will draw all men unto myself…” We have discovered that is true even if it’s a thrift store that is lifting Him up. I would like to share one of our favorite stories of the year…


We had a wedding gown that we were holding for a bride. Se had paid $75 down and still owed $75. She came by and told us that she wasn’t going to be able to get the dress. We weren’t sure if the wedding had been called off or she just couldn’t afford the dress. We all knew what was coming next. A phone call was made the next day and the question asked… “do you still need a wedding dress?” After we heard the answer, we told her that she needed to come by and pick up her dress, that it was here waiting on her - No Charge. We then told her that everything in the store belonged to the Lord and that we knew that if she were in need and He had put us in a position to meet that need, that He would want us to do so. It Didn’t take long for the bride and her mom to get to the store. We handed her the dress and wished her well. No lie, she stood stone still in the same spot for no less than ten minutes… crying. Each time she would try to say a heartfelt thank-you, the tears would flow harder. We told her “no need to thank us, just thank Jesus, it was a gift from Him because He loves you so!” (yes, we were all crying too!)

We had no idea what she knew about Him before that day. We did know that when she was finally able to walk, she had a fresh revelation of His love for her.

There are many more stories that we could share, each volunteer has had a divine appointment and shared tears or a prayer with our shopper friends.


As we look past the store and toward the ministry of Wellspring LivingSC, I would like to share a scripture with you…

“Do not despise these small beginnings,
for the LORD rejoices to see the work begin… “
Zechariah 4:10

Small beginnings… that kind of reminded me of our journey here. It was reassuring to hear God say not to despise those small beginnings. Many might say that not only have we started small, but that we are awfully slow getting out of the gate. It has and is taking longer than I would have thought. Each unveiling of God’s provision has reminded us that He is our supply, He is our portion, He is our everything.


　
He has placed many of you in positions to do good too. It’s our hope that you also respond as He nudges you just as He did all of us that were in the store that day. God puts us right where He needs us, when He needs us, in the place designed for us to do His good works.


An all time favorite Bib le Study would have to be Henry Blackaby’s “Experiencing God”. If you aren’t familiar with it, be sure to check it out, if you are, you should remember this one … “look to see where God is working and join Him there..”


We at Wellspring Living SC hope that you have looked and seen that He is here, working. If you believe in your heart of hearts that to be true, would you consider becoming a partner with Wellspring Living SC to allow us to take the next step?

A one-time gift or a monthly donation will enable us to get one step closer to opening the doors of the residential home.

How exciting to join God in the good work!