Don’t Put it Past Him

I’ve wanted to share about this for some time but never think about it when I can.  This is how I learned to never put anything past God.  In other words, don’t ever say that He won’t do something.  In early 1989, when I was in prison so not long since I’d rededicated my life to the Lord -  I was sitting and talking with a friend and told her that I knew that He’d never use me to speak in front of people because I wasn’t a public speaker.  Right?  I know it wasn’t 2 months!  

I still remember that Tuesday night Bible study that some ladies put on from the outside.  It was one of my favorites and I attended for months.  We’d sing a bunch of more familiar hymns then one of the ladies would give a lesson yet never was anyone from the inside asked to speak until I said that God wouldn’t have me do it.  I was asked to give my testimony with only a few days to prepare.  I wanted this to be totally Him anyway so it did not require much.  On the night of my speaking I went into the little half bath that was adjacent to our Bible study room and got on my knees.  I asked Him to speak through me. I remember feeling very nervous and like I rattled on but it was well received.  After the meeting we went back to our rooms to be counted.  I rarely came out of my room after this but my bestie at the time asked me to come out.  We sat in the “day room” and shared.  As she read these scriptures, telling me that I had spoken on all of it as she listened at the Bible study that night, I bawled.  Isaiah is 61:1-3:

“The Spirit of the Lord God is upon Me,
Because the Lord has anointed Me
To preach good tidings to the poor;
He has sent Me to heal the brokenhearted,
To proclaim liberty to the captives,
And the opening of the prison to those who are bound;
2 To proclaim the acceptable year of the Lord,
And the day of vengeance of our God;
To comfort all who mourn,
3 To console those who mourn in Zion,
To give them beauty for ashes,
The oil of joy for mourning,
The garment of praise for the spirit of heaviness;
That they may be called trees of righteousness,
The planting of the Lord, that He may be glorified.”

I was in awe.  I went on to being interviewed on the telephone on TV at a local to home Christian TV station.  I was on TV just a week after I was released.  At that time I gave several testimonies to youth groups and was on TV another couple of times.  If you check out the archives, I've also given my testimony twice at Celebrate Recovery in more recent years.  Only God knows what is next.

Recently I have been attending an online Bible Journaling conference called “Flourish: where faith and creativity meet”.  It consists of several online videos every other day.  On one of the days a lady spoke much about the sketching process and she walked us through a project of a faceless self-portrait (any woman) with words that we felt gave us an identity.  I was not even going to do it at first but as I thought about it, these scriptures came to mind.  So, I did a quick draw even though my hands are the worst right now at drawing and even signing my own name.  Typing works a bit better since I don’t have to bend my fingers much.  It’s easier to just share the finished product.

 I found that I also loved working with my new watercolors and contemplated doing more.  I have also still had the idea of doing more hand lettering going through my mind.  I believe God showed me that this newest self-portrait was wrong.  I was supposed to letter these entire 3 verses with a self-portrait.  And so I began.  I was also inspired to label the self-portrait.  I need to remember that lines are a good idea.  But not bad for a first attempt.

May God bless you through my writing. If He has especially touched you in any way, please leave a comment below. Your comments are so very encouraging to me to help me to keep writing. Also, click on the “Uptweet” button on the above right and share! I pray you will keep coming back. I fully believe that my writing is by the inspiration of the Holy Spirit so if I am writing, there is someone that needs to read it! Maybe it’s you? Also, please be sure to share any questions you might have with me and if you would like to keep them personal (just between you and me) please don’t hesitate to e-mail me at juliana.pace@gmail.com. If I don’t know how to answer you, I will may every attempt to refer you to someone for more information. Thanks and may God bless all your days!