God is GOOD. Period

Good afternoon!!


I came across a blog post today from Sarah Beth Gulke's sister, Christa. She's on the left, Sarah is on the right.

I wept when I read it and as  Dr. John Piper would say  "God is most glorified in us when we are most satisfied in Him". Christa and Sarah are part of a late teens/twenty something's group my older kids started. They grapple with hard questions in life, not just lame dating drama.
Questions like, "Why did my Dad die when I was a kid?"
"Why did my Mom goes through such a long time of suffering and we had to work so hard to take care of each other instead of her doing it?"
"Why is my sister still in pain after years of praying for healing?"

These questions will be asked at some point in life but these young people have chewed on them sooner than they'd have cared to do but are better people for it. 
In Genesis, Joseph suffered for 13 years at the hands of his hateful brothers, false accusations and betrayal. But in the end, he said, 

Genesis 50:20New International Version (NIV)

20 You intended to harm me, but God intended it for good to accomplish what is now being done, the saving of many lives.

We can't get too short sighted this side of Heaven. Some stuff will be resolved on earth and other things, we're not going to have an answer for until after we've died and met God face to face.

During my long extended illness, I argued hard with God. One doesn’t usually win those battles as God doesn’t do focus groups. Because He’s infinitely patient with people like me, the greatest thing I’ve learned and come to appreciate in all of my suffering is that God is GOOD, period. Not because I will ever be able to work outside the home again. Not because my mortgage will be paid off in my lifetime. Not because He answers my prayers the way I request. 

He is GOOD. And that is that. 

For too long, I used to say, “Oh my, God has so blessed me because of His provision for our needs in this way or that.”

This was true, but way too conditional and fragile. What happened to my faith in a God who sees and cares when He did not act in accordance to my will??  I was able, because God truly loves me, to have my faith shaken to the core. All the props were taken out and I was left bedridden, useless, a huge financial, emotional, physical and mental drain. My life appeared worthless and I was hopeful God would at least answer my prayer to let me die already.

He did not. 

Instead He gave my husband, and children the grace to deal day by day with the uncertainty of my recovery. They continued to care for me, not knowing if I was going to live or die. My life was not valuable to them, or to God, because I was contributing. I’ve always said I’m pro life, but this conviction was sorely tested when it came to my own. I found myself way more conditional when it came to my value than I ever had been with the babies I’d cared for as a nurse.

When a good measure of my health was restored after being at Sanoviv Medical Institute in May of 2012, I was relieved on the one hand but still devastated on the other. Surgeries to alleviate a collapsed bowel wrecked irreparably my ability to be employed outside the home.

I spent the summer weeping and praying and laying my mess of dreams out before God. 

The song by Selah, “It may be unfulfilled, it may be unrestored, but anything that’s shattered, that’s laid before the Lord will not be unredeemed.”

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N9kMYkYcT6w

Oh me of little faith….I had no clue how wonderfully God was going to redeem the loss of my job and continue to develop how compassionate/passionate I am for the little ones like our Charlie.

In September of 2012, we got the call about Emmalynn. And the rest is history.......

Right now, Sarah is walking through what appears to be an open door to some healing she's not experienced yet.

We are clinging to the Promiser, not the gift. But, God also says to ask in His name and He's willing to give. 

This devotional came in my inbox yesterday and oh my, don't you love it when it hits the nail on the head!!

http://www.desiringgod.org/articles/the-unwelcome-gift-of-waiting

We are having the Praise and Worship Night on Friday the 17th. Our whole aim of getting together and having those Gulke sisters sing their hearts out along with the rest of us, is to give thanks to God. Our hope at the end of the evening is for people to walk away, shaking their heads saying, "Is God GOOD, or what?!!"

Please read Christa's blog. For one so young, she's held fast in the grip of God's mercy and grace.

http://sarahgulke.blogspot.com/2016/06/blog-post.html?spref=fb

A Kindred Spirit

Hello! Hello!!


Our home right now is a safe haven for babies, especially the ones who need hospice care because of their diagnosis. But! we're certainly not the only ones in this world who love on kiddos like our Charlie or who are hoping for future opportunities to do so in a more tangible way.

I would like to introduce you to a sweet friend of mine.
Her name is Sarah Beth Gulke.

This young lady has been tireless in her efforts to advocate for the unborn. She and I were kindred spirits on that front before any other.
In the past year; however,  we've crossed paths, simply put, because God brought me into closer contact with her. I've learned and been witness to the suffering she's endured with Transverse Myelitis.
She's a nineteen year old who's been knocked out physically with the pain and nerve damage she's endured and sustained because of the assault on her nervous system for years now. It might have permanently crushed Sarah's spirit also, but this has not happened.
My husband and I have both remarked about how Proverbs says "Even a child will be known by what he does." Children can be known as warriors, or brats. Those who face their uncertain future with hope and grace or those who whine and complain endlessly about how unfair life is to them.
(She sent me the photo this morning to show she's doing her part to get the tests necessary to help the doctors figure out what's up with her. When I saw her fighter stance I laughed and thought, "That's perfect. No room in this deal for wimps.")

Sarah has been knocked down and knocked out and by God's grace, still continues to get up and fight on the days she's able to do so, and she lays in bed and prays for others on the days she's not. I've found her remarkably receptive to the lessons I've learned the hard way through my own journey to the brink of death and back again. I live with constant reminders of how fragile I was once and how very quickly my body could deteriorate and be back there again if I didn't follow the treatment plan my doctors at Sanoviv prescribed and Dr. Whitcomb www.livelongmd.com
helps me keep pace with here in WI. The messages I've listened to at www.desiringgod.org on suffering and the sovereignty of God have been listened to by myself and Sarah and helped tremendously to redeem so much of the *nothingness* we fight with when prayers seemingly go unanswered.

Sarah and I both know first hand what it means to have hope deferred and our hearts made sick with grief when yet another doctor says they can help, then throws up their hands in futility and says, "I'm sorry. I guess I can't."

In July, because of some marvelous provision which has come in, Sarah is scheduled to go to www.sanoviv.com for treatment.
I've been to this hospital. I know first hand how wonderfully the doctors are able to use the wisdom they've been granted to bring people back from the clutches of death. How much better to go when you're not so broken!
This is a photo of myself when I arrived at Sanoviv four years ago. In a wheelchair, no strength to walk or even stand in the shower. I was on heavy duty narcotics, and many other drugs to treat symptoms of my autoimmune diseases. I'm not in the same place now, not hardly.

The monies for Sarah to go to Sanoviv, where she'll, God willing, find out what is causing the ongoing nerve pain and damage, are not quite all in.

We're having a Worship and Praise night on June 17th at 7p.m. to
*Number One - be thankful to God for all the ways He's broken Sarah and me for greater good. I've said before and firmly believe this; stained glass windows are all the more beautiful for having been broken and shaped and fitted together again in a way which is vastly more valuable  than the individual colored glass was to begin with.
*Number Two - we're going to pray for Sarah and her mom, Sherry, as they go to Sanoviv. This journey is not just about Sarah. Not. By. A. Long. Shot. God could've healed her long before this if there wasn't someone yet who needs to meet this young lady and be impacted by the suffering she's experienced. We reach more people in our pain than we ever do because our lives are so sunny. God has promised to work all things together for good and I have come to see my own visits to multiple hospitals, doctors and clinics as missionary journeys. I have unmistakably come into contact with hurt and dying people because I'm sitting in a  chair next to them receiving IV therapy. I would not have come across their path and been able to minister the way I did without having my body be afflicted the way it is. When God says He works ALL things together for good. He means ALL and not just the good things.
*Number Three - there'll be an opportunity to tangibly get behind Sarah and help support her monetarily in this endeavor. We're having them go on faith Sarah can be helped, but we've all seen first hand evidence that the therapies offered there truly work.

If you're able to make it on Friday, we'd love to see you there. If you can't physically come, then please join us in your prayers. We're expecting God to do exceedingly, abundantly above all we could ask or think.

pin	Show Map Grace Bible Church - Adell, WI - Youth & Young Adults 300 Neugent St PO Box 54, Adell, Wisconsin 53001