Second Stage Ministries

with Heather Gent I have heard this song many times, but I was reminded of the words while I was texting with a friend. She said the following: “You’ve been through a lot - just rest in His arms and let it all go to Him and let Him do the work - in His way and time. I don’t know what your part is, I really don’t, only God does but it sounds like you have probably tried pretty hard in the relationship and it may be time to rest and let Him work. Sit back and just watch Him (and her) and He will give you eyes to see and ears to hear what He’s doing.” These words immediately sent a bunch of stuff in my head. All things I have written for the last few weeks, the lesson that I just taught as church and the lyrics to this song. In fact, as she was texting me I sent her a link to the song. So give these song lyrics a read and then we will break them down: ——————————— Hold it all together Everybody needs you strong But life hits you out of nowhere And barely leav...

Waiting is hard. Do you like waiting? I don't like waiting. But...... Are you in a season of waiting? What are you waiting for? Someone? Something? Answers? God? Take time to read the lyrics below to a song that rocked my soul the first time I heard it. I find myself in a season of waiting and this song spoke to me. I also feel this song speaks for itself. Go ahead give the lyrics a read. (If would rather you can listen to the song "Take Courage" Video ). ---------------------------- Slow down, take time Breath in He said He'd reveal what's to come The thoughts in His mind Always higher than mine He'll reveal all to come Take courage my heart Stay steadfast my soul He's in the waiting He's in the waiting Hold onto your hope As your triumph unfolds He's never failing He's never failing Sing praise my soul Find strength in joy Let His Words lead you on Do not forget His great fai...

This short little post that I want to share with you today comes from a verse in the Bible that I heard referenced in a recent message I listened to. In the verses before, we see Jacob laying down for a rest from traveling and he has a dream (Genesis 28:1-15). He wakes up from his dream: “When Jacob awoke from his sleep, he thought, 'Surely the Lord is in this place , and I was not aware of it.' He was afraid and said, ' How awesome is this place!' " - Genesis 28:16-17 a, NIV The two lines I underlined just jumped off the screen at me. As the message that I was watching went on, I got to thinking more and more and more about those words - the Lord is in ‘this place’ and that makes 'this place' awesome! I don't know what 'this place' is for you – maybe it is: the divorce place the depression place the anxiety place the jobless place the wayward child place the sick place the lonely place the abandoned place th...

I wanted to end this series of posts with a brief story about a time that I heard the voice of God speak into my life. Now remember this wasn't an audible voice that I heard - it was more of a feeling followed by a verse. I was lying in bed one night trying to understand a situation that had happened in my life. It was a time of betrayal and hurt that I never thought I would be experiencing. I can remember lying there and just feeling alone and tired from fighting the battle. I heard God say: "Hey, let me fight. Just be calm." [1] Then a feeling of peace came over me in that moment and I just took a deep breath. Ever since that moment I have attached to those verses in Exodus 14 as a strong reminder to just leave the situation in God's mighty hand. I can't do anything about the situation that I am in and only God can fix it. So I realized that I needed to let God fight this one and just be still. We all have battles to fight, but sometimes I believe w...

After listening to my church's (Granger Community Church) service online yesterday, these words came to mind.  “Moses answered the people, 'Do not be afraid. Stand firm and you will see the deliverance the Lord will bring you today. The Egyptians you see today you will never see again. The Lord will fight for you; you need only to be still.'" - Exodus 14:13-14 NIV These words have been strong in my life and they hold a lot of meaning. I shared with the 5th grade students this past weekend what I am about to share with you.  A few posts ago we looked at a storm story [1] that showed us how the storms of life can just come up and we don't understand. But this also causes us to do something else that sometimes causes more trouble and that is fight.  Don't get me wrong - fighting for something is important. The disciples fought for the boat they were in and their lives. However, they became exhausted from fighting the storm. [2] Then they went to...

A Tale of Two Storms - Storm 2 The second storm I want to take a look at is a little different. There are some things that are the same. For example, the disciples are the same and the boat is the same (well at least there is a boat in this story just like the last one). This story also starts with them crossing the Sea of Galilee and there is storm that comes up. Jesus also handles the storm a little bit differently as well. "Immediately Jesus made the disciples get into the boat and go on ahead of him to the other side, while he dismissed the crowd. After he had dismissed them, he went up on a mountainside by himself to pray. Later that night, he was there alone, and the boat was already a considerable distance from land, buffeted by the waves because the wind was against it." [1] So while this storm was going on, Jesus appears out of the wind and rain - walking on the water toward the boat. The disciples having never seen something like this before become af...

In the New Testament, we see the disciples experience two storms. But I think looking at these two storms; we see two different ways to approach the storms of life that we face. We are going to look at one this week and one next week. In Mark 4, we see the first storm. Jesus had been teaching and decides to go across the sea of Galilee to the other side so He could teach there. So they set off across the sea and Jesus lays down to rest. When all of a sudden.... "A furious squall came up, and the waves broke over the boat, so that it was nearly swamped. Jesus was in the stern, sleeping on a cushion. The disciples woke him and said to him, “Teacher, don’t you care if we drown?” - Mark 4:37-38 NIV This tells us that the storms of life pop suddenly. One moment it's all blue skies and sunshine and then next moment it’s all of a sudden gray, dark and raining. The storm is here. In these stormy moments, we cry out to God the same way the disciples did - "Hey! Don...