Kenny and I are looking ahead and waiting to see what glorious things the Lord has in store for us.  We have rented a house and are waiting for construction to begin on our home.  Here are some pictures of us outside our home with our babies, JJ and Annie.  Look for the blue tarp in the background that is covering the big hole in our roof.

   

On February 27, 2008, we had a house fire and most everything we owned was totaled.  What was not destroyed by fire was damaged by water or smoke. My husband, Kenny, had already left for work and I was getting ready to leave. If the fire had started 5 minutes later, the destruction would have been even worse. I am praising God that I was still home and was able to save my precious dogs, JJ and Annie.  As I continue on this journey, I will be sharing how God has made His presence known to me during this time, and the blessings have already been plenty.  For now, here are some pictures taken of my house after the fire.  God is good!

         

 

 

You Die the Way You Live

(written by Debbie in NoelNOW 12/19/07 newsletter)

Recently, I was visiting my uncle in Grace Home.  We watched the rooms as the patients wait and some receive family and friends, others are alone.  Today, I had to ask the nurse “Do you have a lot of patients that never have anybody visit?”  She answered, “Yes, but we stay with them.”

We continued to ask questions about how she worked there everyday and her reply was she wouldn’t want to be a nurse anywhere else!  She has worked at Grace Home since the day it opened  We continued to visit and my Aunt Martha asked the question what happens to these people when they go and nobody has been to visit with them?  We call and they tell us what to do was her answer.  She could tell we were troubled and she looked at us with the most sincere and thoughtful face and said, “Keep in mind that you die the way you live.”  We both paused and said, “Oh.”  The nurse continued, “if you are a difficult person in your everyday life and you believe you are going to change one day, but you never do, well, you may die the way you live…alone.”

I’ve always thought about this maybe more than other folks, because I don’t have children.  In fact, it has worried me and this lady without knowing it helped me to realize that I have something to do with that time in my own life by living the way I want to die.  God continually teaches in every event in our life.

My dear sweet uncle continued to teach us how to do things.  I am proud to say that even as he lay in his bed Sunday afternoon that he led us (his family) in the Lord’s prayer.  Yes, he led each of us and it was so special that he continued to teach us with every breath he took on the earth.  I pray that someday my nieces and nephews will be able to say the same thing about their DeDe.

I feel a ministry need for these folks.  I know this is truly a special calling, but what would be more important than a ministry for someone at the end of their life that is alone; so that they are reminded they are not alone that God loves them.  I know it would be hard, because I tried to enter some of these rooms and I couldn’t.  I felt how do you enter the room and intrude on this point in their journey and then my heart was torn, but what if I’m their only link to God?  I prayed for forgiveness and for God to show me how to help with this ministry.

Have you thought about the end of your journey?  How are you living your everyday life?  We better each give it some thought!

Thinking Deep,

Debbie Covington

 

So Much To Do

(written by Debbie for the NoelNOW newsletter 12/05/07)

Lately, I’ve been awakened to a whole world that I’ve tried to shut my eyes on.  Not intentionally, but it just didn’t happen to me so I could close my eyes and shut my ears.  God opened them recently through books, conferences, and television.

I am shocked and amazed that so many things are happening to women in the world and they aren’t good things.  Did you know that over 46 million abortions are done a year in the world?  Did you know that 1 in 4 women are victims of some type of sexual abuse experience?  Did you know that 30% of women are depressed?  Did you know that we had over 10 million single moms in America in 2005?  Did you know that 50% of American couples will end up divorced?

We have a lot of work to do and a lot of help that we need to offer one another.

Bad stuff is everywhere and we need to be God’s face to these people.  We may be one of these people and others don’t realize it.  I was reading a book and found that we women benefit physically when we get together!  No, it is proven medically!  Research proves that during time of stress, men and women experience an adrenalin rush!  Men respond with a fight or flight it says and we women respond with oxytocin.  This hormone influences women’s need to nurture and gather with one another.  God designed us to care and tend to each other as a way to cope with stress.

Remember at the foot of the cross the women gathered together?  God intended for us to help each other during stressful times and through the good times as well.

Ladies, do you have something on your heart that God desires you to work with?  Is there a calling on your heart to reach out to a group of women that might need nurturing and care?  Reach out and be Jesus to someone in this tough world we live in!

Love, Debbie Covington

   I Am With You!

  Recently, I shared about my vacation.  It went wonderfully and I’m going to share with you now why it went wonderfully.  I was very nervous about the adventure, but I knew this was a trip my husband needed desperately.  Kenny is in a pretty stressful line of work and he needed a vacation with absolutely no phone contact available.  Good wife that I try to be, I made all the arrangements for the float trip in the Grand Canyon.  I admitted that I wasn’t exactly a camping girl to ya’ll before.  So, I admit that I was nervous about a week of bathing in the river and camping under the stars and I haven’t even gotten to the restroom issues.  I was really talking with God about the upcoming trip and all of my concerns.  After much prayer I requested that God go along with me, which I know he does daily.  But this time I asked him to let me know he was with me in the form of a butterfly.  Now I know you’re thinking Debbie look around, God is everywhere in the Grand Canyon, but I did it I asked for more.  God gave me MORE!  We boarded the boat on Thursday morning about 11:00 a.m., traveled down river for about 2 hours, when the biggest yellow butterfly you have ever seen traveled with us for awhile.  I thought you ARE here!  The next 3 days that beautiful yellow butterfly showed up!  I ask the guide do they always fly along with ya’ll?  No, never like this.  Yes, chills were up and down my spine.  The rest of the week I had a small butterfly that would fly around the tent.  I was so excited and so at peace.  God was with me and the trip was truly awesome.  God tells us that he is with us and he truly was with me on this trip!  Some of you may be questioning this, but it happened, God answered my prayer, and it was just so AWESOME!  Watch for your butterflies.     Blessings, 

HOW BIG IS GOD? 

Recently, I was reading  a devotion about a little boy reading his Bible on a park bench.  He was loudly shouting praises to God.  God is great!  Hallelujah! He was yelling and he didn’t care who heard him. 

A man walked up to the bench and inquired about what the little boy was so excited about.  The man had recently finished college and he felt very smart and thought he might share some of his knowledge with this little boy.  He asked the little boy.  He asked the little boy to share his thoughts on what he was reading from the Bible.  The little boy with eyes shining said, “Do you know what all God can do?  I just read where he opened the Red Sea and a whole lot of people walked right through the middle.”  The man laughed and decided he better help this little naïve boy out a little bit.  The man began to explain that scientists figured out that the Red Sea was only 10 inches deep at the time this happened and the people really just waded across. 

The little boy was stumped and sat thinking.  His eyes would go from the man back to his Bible.  The man was happy and feeling quite full of himself that he helped the little boy figure things out and he got up to leave.  He only took a few steps when again the little boy exclaimed in praise for God.  “Wow! God is greater that I thought!  Not only did He lead a whole nation through the Red Sea, He topped it off by drowning the whole Egyptian army in 10 inches of water!”

 The stories in Exodus show us that nothing is impossible with God.  Absolutely Nothing!  God takes ordinary people and does some mighty things!  God is truly amazing!

Are we amazing like that the little boy when we share God’s stories?  Do we exclaim our praise for all to hear and proudly explain Just How Big Our God Is?

Serving a Mighty Big God,Debbie  

Colossians 2:2 –“My goal is that they will be encouraged and knit together by strong ties of love.  I want them to have full confidence because they have complete understanding of God’s secret plan, which is Christ himself.”