When I think of the struggles so many in our church are going through – work issues, health issues, family responsibilities, friends’ and relatives’ health and marriage issues – I feel especially grateful to God’s grace, that He has now sheltered my wife in I in the home of Joan and Jeff. Granted, we’ve had our share of struggles. I have a list of “stones of remembrance” - that is, the many ways in which God has intervened in our lives for good.

The current issues we have - lung problems, limited activities, and caretaking responsibilities - seem pretty small compared to what others are going through. But, thank God, His grace enables us to help ease the burdens of others through the power of intercessory prayer.

Doctor Victor Burdick

A little over a year ago the Lord put it on my heart to homeschool my children (then ages 12 and 7). After researching available Christian curriculums I felt confident that my children would have access to well-developed learning materials -- but I was less confident of my ability to administer those materials; I also was a bit frightened by the New York State law that requires homeschooled children grades 4 and up to test within the 33rd percentile (nationally) on standardized testing (my son is autistic and his last round of standardized testing placed him well below this requirement).

Despite my concerns I knew that I needed to follow the Lord's calling and presented the school district with our letter of intent to homeschool. To help assuage the fears that loomed overhead, the Lord encouraged me by consistently revealing the exciting advantages of homeschooling, such as the ability to school on a year-round schedule (something that's extremely important for my son) and the ability to shorten the school day.

When we began homeschooling in June 2014, it was a nightmare. My daughter was not having any issues but my son was another story completely; he seemed to be getting absolutely nothing out of the materials, and I was at a loss in how to help him. Each day I questioned my teaching ability as well as my son's ability to score high enough on the standardized tests -- but each day the Lord continued to encourage and strengthen me. Some days He would simply remind me of how much better a homeschool environment is for my son's learning needs. Other days He would reveal to me the reason for my son's struggle and how I could help him through that difficulty; the outcome of those revelations would be a joyful smile on my son's face as he realized that he is capable of understanding things he once thought impossible.

Little by little things have gotten easier (although we still have our moments!), and the Lord continues to lead us in our adventure. At the end of March my son took his standardized tests; we received the results yesterday:

Language, March 2014 - 9th Percentile
Language, March 2015 - 46th Percentile

Math, March 2014 - 13th Percentile
Math, March 2015 - 46th Percentile

Reading, March 2014 - 16th Percentile
Reading, March 2015 - 54th Percentile

All of this is because of God's amazing grace!

-Trish Gerstel

My sister-in-law has advanced Multiple Sclerosis (MS) and is confined to a power wheel chair. She is a disabled veteran and had recently planned a trip to Aspen, Colorado, to participate in the Disabled Veterans' Winter Clinic; when her aide said she couldn't go with her, my sister-in-law was devastated because this was a chance for her to do something special. When I heard about what happened I felt called to go with my sister-in-law, as it may be her last trip (MS is a disease that deteriorates the muscles in your body until function is lost, and effects the way you think).

 

Today is Day 5 of our trip, and every day is a physical challenge as well as an emotional challenge for both of us. By constant prayer and by God's grace I am able to do this! He has given me compassion, patience, and strength to perform in order to make this an amazing trip for my sister-in-law. As I attend to her needs I think of how Jesus came to this world to serve others, and this week I have strived to serve her as well as others who I come into contact with. Without Him I could not do it and I praise Him with all my heart!

 

"I can do every thing through Him who gives me strength." Philippians 4:13.

 

Stacey Sicko

Over the past week or so I have been the target of several people's misdirected anger. This is something that happens from time to time and normally would not be a huge deal, except one of those people is my spouse. After several days of receiving "the silent treatment" and being subjected to unpredictable outbursts of anger and snide comments on the home front, it's that much more difficult to brush-off other people's nastiness.

By yesterday morning I was emotionally drained and particularly vulnerable; when my spouse abruptly turned away from me during a mundane discussion about a kitchen appliance -- walking out of the house without another word to me -- it was the straw that broke the camel's back. I found myself at God's throne of grace, tearfully praying for wisdom and strength.

While I lobbed my questions and pleas at God (I haven't done anything wrong - why is my spouse taking this out on me?! What am I supposed to do? I need You to do this, because I definitely can't!), He gave me a very clear and powerful answer: I began to envision scenes from the movie "The Passion of the Christ" (a very carefully-produced portrayal of what our Lord Jesus Christ suffered when He was beaten, mocked, and hung on a shameful cross for us), and the Lord said to me, "I endured this for you. I did nothing wrong, but I allowed myself to be broken because I love you. I am asking you to endure the pain from your spouse's anger because of your love for Me." With those words, and with my humble submission to His request, He has given me strength and peace to continue through this trial.

As a recent member of the Berlin SDB church (since late 2013) I have been so impressed with the pervasive love that we all experience, that I have dubbed it “Almost Heaven.”  (Do the “I agrees” outweigh the “Are you kiddings"?) 

Granted, West Virginia -- which claims the same name -- has some problems (strip mines, recently polluted water, smoggy cities, and cattle with short legs on the uphill side), but it’s still Wild, Wonderful West Virginia!

And granted there’s a lot of evidence of pain and sadness, grief and sorrows in our church, but in spite of that -- or because of that -- Christ’s love spread among us covers it all, with exceedingly abundant healing and comfort.

Doctor Victor Burdick

A few weeks ago I was saddled with a situation that, in the not-so-distant-past, would have been my undoing. Through God's grace, however, I made my way through with joy and an overwhelming feeling of being blessed.

Being asked to make changes within a project you oversee might not seem like a big deal to others, but to my old self it would have been "proof" of my worthlessness and would have sent me into a complete tailspin. Thankfully, through my relationship with Christ, I now have an understanding of who I am; because of this I was able to face the requests with a clear mind, one that was thankful for others' interest in the project and acutely aware that God's presence was the reason for that thankfulness (what a blessing!).

Yet to all who did receive Him, to those who believed in His name, He gave the right to become children of God—children born not of natural descent, nor of human decision or a husband’s will, but born of God. -John 1:12-13

After spending several weeks preparing a sermon that highlighted the call to Christians to be constantly focused on God's glory and His gift of salvation through Jesus Christ, no matter the circumstances, I recently had a chance to literally "practice what you preach."

The amount of snow we received last Thursday was enough that my wife decided to forgo shoveling the entire driveway and instead wait for me to come home and use the snowblower. I admit, I was not overly excited about this decision (it had been a long, cold day at work and I really wasn't looking forward to spending another hour or more outdoors pushing around a machine), but God reminded me that instead of complaining, I needed to be thankful that my wife had taken the time to shovel our porch and walkway as well as a path from the house to the chicken coop, and that I had a snowblower to use!

Not too far into my work I noticed that the snowblower seemed to be getting warm, and so I brought it into the garage for a quick oil change. About 10 seconds after I re-started the machine, it broke a rod (the engine "blew up").

This was it - my opportunity to put into practice everything that I had studied and written into a sermon about Hebrews 13:9-16. This was my time to put aside old practices and instead focus on the Lord. I did not know it, but my response to this opportunity was being witnessed not only by God Himself, but also by my wife. This is how she described the scene to me the next day:

"I heard the snowblower stop not too long after you went out, so I kept looking outside while I was making dinner. I was really relieved when I saw you come back out with it pretty quickly. While I setting the table I watched through the kitchen window as you started the snowblower back up, and when I heard it make that sound I thought to myself, 'Oh boy!' I was certain that you'd start kicking at the ground and then tossing around the snowblower before dragging it back into the garage . . . But that's not what you did! It absolutely blew me away; you just stood there, looked up slightly, and then calmly walked the snowblower back into the garage. It was so amazing -- I knew that God was working in you, and I was seeing it right at that moment!"

Even though I'm a little embarrassed to admit it, my wife was right: If I had been in this same situation just three weeks ago, my reaction probably would have been a lot like she had feared. But through His Word and His Spirit, God extended grace to me and made it possible for me to handle the circumstances in a way that honored Him, by keeping my heart focused on what's truly important - God!