The Calling To Awake

The Biblical Adoption of Samuel ~Samuel’s mother chose to obey by giving up the cherished moments of childhood in order to help fulfill God’s will. In a way, she chose Samuel’s role in life, but he, too, had to be obedient in order for things to fulfill God's will. Not our own. ~Hannah, what if she disobeyed and neglected the purpose behind the promise? I believe Samuel would have grown up feeling like a fish out of water - like he didn’t belong. Never able to please, as he wasn’t in the role he was meant to take on. He was born and given life for a specific purpose. ~Israel would have remained off God’s favor until an obedient person heeded the call. ~Hannah’s self-worth demonstrates her faith through obedience (We can undo the blessing). ~Great sacrifice, as her love for God is greater than the heart-wrenching choice to obey and let go of Samuel. ~God blessed her obedience, although the sacrifice had to come first. Her faith allowed her to believe in God’s fulfillment. ~Expressio...

I was 19 and in Haiti on a mission trip. I was getting ready to move there for two years with the mission org. Lifeline, which would never happen. I came back completely broken, but not in the ways one would think. The compound we were staying at required that the parents of the children who attended school convert to Christianity. If they were not Christian, the kids could not receive an education in that remote village. One father of two beautiful children happened to be the son of a very well-known warlock. The father converted to Christianity just so that his kids had a chance to better themselves one day. When his warlock father found out about his conversion, he took his two grandchildren and threw them into a large fire. Other natives went in and snatched the kids from the flames and brought them to the compound, where me and two team members were in charge of the children. I know they were in so much pain, but the shock was so intense, perhaps in a trance put on them by their...