New Prayer Request/Praise Report Page April 3, 2013

As a family, we are obligated to seek the Lord in prayer when a family member is in need.  The type of need makes no difference.  The only thing that matters is that we pray with and for each other.  It is for this reason that we have opened up the Prayer Requests/Praise Reports Page.

We understand that there will be prayer requests that you might not want to share with anyone else but if the need should present itself, we are all here for the same reason.  To request prayer from the FNL family, simply send us an email at findnewlife4u@gmail.com.  Please remember to let us know if you would like the prayer request to remain private and not be listed for the rest of the FNL family to pray for.  If we do not receive a ‘do not post’ along with the request, we will automatically assume that you wanted it shared.

The moment a prayer request is listed here, the prayers will begin.  We do have our own team of prayer warriors who spend hours a day taking requests to the Lord but if a prayer request is listed here, it is for a reason.  That reason is to pray together for a member of our family and the more prayers for any particular reason the better.

The flip side to this page involves praise reports.  If you have had a prayer request listed here and you have received a blessing in an answer to prayer, feel free to let us share it with the rest of the FNL family.  Once again, simply send us an email at findnewlife4u@gmail.com and remember to let us know that you would like the praise report listed.

Praying with and for each other is a powerful thing but seeing God work through prayer is awesome!  The only way to physically see God’s awesome work here is through the sharing of praise reports.  Allow God to work in your life as we allow Him to work in ours.  If we walk through this life together as a family in Christ, there isn’t a thing we cannot accomplish!

A new prayer request has been listed today 4/3/2013 by Rob in Virginia!

New Resources Page

We have been praying for God’s direction in the area of providing resources to those in need.  The challenge has been providing resources in cities other than our local area.  We know that the options are out there and that is why we are asking for your help.

If you know of any organizations in your local community that provide resources to the needy and feel led to share the information with other FNL viewers, we would ask that you send any web links along with contact information to findnewlife4u@gmail.com.  We will contact the organization prior to attaching their information directly to the new Resource Page for easy access by anyone who stops by.

This will take FNL one step closer to the goal that God is leading us to; but we cannot get there without your help.  We are all part of one big family in Christ Jesus and can accomplish great things if we work together.  Thank you in advance for your prayers and support in the FNL mission to help those in need no matter where they might be.

Find New Life Update

The Find New Life website will be complete and ready to publish very soon.  This is only by the grace of God and we thank Him daily.  It has taken quite a few miracles to get to this point but our God is always faithful.

When we do finally publish the site, we will post an update with the web address for anyone who wants to stop by and take a look around.  As far as the content that will be published, we are going to keep that a surprise.  This way, the anticipation alone may persuade you to stop by for sure.

The one thing that will always remain, however, is the FNL blog.  We will continue to post content and welcome comments as long as there is an ear to listen.  As we have always said, the blessing that we receive by keeping this blog going is far greater than the blessing that any FNL followers could ever receive.

Thank you again for all of your prayers and ‘Likes’.  It’s always nice to know that the time and effort is received by someone.  You are all in our prayers daily and my God continue to bless each of you!

My Life in His Hands

You are my refuge and my shield; I have put my hope in your word.

Psalms 119:114   NIV

Being able to hope in something can be a powerful thing.  Being able to hope in the God of the universe is without compare.

Walking through this life outside of God’s care can be a very scary thing.  I remember a time in my own life when living through any given day took a complete miracle.  It was quite a long time ago but I remember it like it was yesterday.  I know for a fact that I was living a life less pleasing to the Lord but for some reason, I just have to believe that my life was in His hands.

I grew up on the island of Oahu which most would think is just palm trees and sandy beaches.  Yes, Hawaii is a paradise; but for those who of us who grew up there, it was a paradise with the same dangers and temptations as any other city.  I lived a major portion of my younger years addicted to crystal methamphetamine and counting on family members involved in gangs for protection.

Through all of the near overdoses and bloody gang fights, it was the Lord who kept me alive.  Even when I was at my lowest and absolutely unworthy of His love and protection, God had a plan for my life and kept me in the palm of His hands.  It wasn’t my gang member cousins or uncles who kept me alive.  It was only by the grace of God that I am able to share my testimony today.

God’s word makes it very clear to me in Psalms 119 when it states the He is my refuge and my shield.  He has always been my protector and is still today.  I put my hope in God’s word more now than ever before.  His promises are today, and always will remain true in my life.

Don’t ever stop believing in the word of God.  If He says it, He means it.  God is today, and always will be your refuge and shield.  If God began a work in you at any point in your life, you had better believe that He will finish it.  He will bless and keep you until His work is complete!

Find New Life Update March 30, 2013

We would like to apologize for the 2 week gap in content.  We experienced a few personal issues that seemed to hit all at once and we became overwhelmed.  We have since gotten through each of those issues and are back to work.

Content will resume posting this evening EST and if this ever happens again, we will post a notice before going quiet.  We would like to extend a special thanks to all of you who showed true concern during our absence.  It only helps to confirm the need for truly inspirational and faith based articles.

God bless you all!

A Power Greater Than Ourselves March 19, 2013

Addiction is a powerful and nasty thing.  It can take a hold of anyone who opens that door and if it had its way, freedom would never be an option.  The twelve step programs have helped millions of addicts in every walk of life.  And the concept behind this program makes complete sense.

The devil has promised to do everything in his power to steal our joy and what better way to accomplish this than by removing us from the love of God and taking control of our lives.  John 10:10 says, “The thief cometh not, but for to steal, and to kill, and to destroy.”  This is exactly what addiction does to an addict.  Trust me, I speak from experience.

The importance of God, in winning against addiction, is evident throughout the program.  The steps themselves make that very clear.  God is mentioned specifically in 5 out of the 12 steps and inadvertently in several others; and why not?  Without God’s direction and help, we are powerless.  There is nothing we can do without God in our lives.

The step that sticks out most to me is step 3 which states: We made a decision to turn our will and our lives over to the care of God as we understood God.  The only problem I have with this step and the overall concept is in the generalization of God.  God is God and that’s that.  Turning our will and our lives over to a power greater than ourselves works only if that power is God.

I’ve been in my share of 12 step meetings and I’ve heard it said a million times: “If your greater power is your couch, then that will work.”  I don’t know about you, but if I am powerless over something in my life, I am not turning my will and life over to the care of my couch, or a tree, or anything other than someone who actually IS more powerful than I am.

The point being, I understand that the 12 step program was written so that anyone would feel welcome; even non-believers.  And it has been successful for a very long time.  I only wonder if the compromise has been worth the trade off.  “If it works, work it.”  But does it really?

When Life Brings You Lemons! March 17, 2013

  Thought for the Day:

When life brings you lemons, make lemonade! 

I had always been the type of person who let everything bother me.  It wasn’t something that I did intentionally.  It was just something that I grew up around and had become accustomed to doing.

Overtime, this proved to do nothing but drain the life out of me; especially when it came to the situations I had little control over.  These are the types of issues that had the ability to dictate my mood for days.  And it affected not only my life, but the lives of those around me.

When life brings you lemons, make lemonade.  The day I first heard that saying I laughed.  I never took the time to really think about what it meant.  I just laughed and continued what I was doing.  It wasn’t until I found myself in the middle of yet another pile of lemons (bad situations) that I remembered the saying and seriously thought about it.

There will always be things in our lives that will have the ability to bring us down.  When these situations arise, we have a choice to make.  We can get angry, depressed or stressed out creating a miserable situation for everyone involved; or we can look for the good in the situation and focus on making that a reality.

It is when we are unable to control a situation that the lemonade saying offers little help for me.  It is in those particular moment’s, and when dealing with those particular situations, that I pause for a moment to reassess.  When there is absolutely no way out.  You might just need to separate yourself, as I do, from the situation to get some perspective.  Go back to that problem once you have regrouped.

Keep in mind, though, that I am not saying to just abandon that particular problem.  We should take care of the issues that we face from day to day.  It is our responsibility in life.  But if you find that you can’t make lemonade out of those lemons, then maybe the lemons aren’t ripe enough just yet.

So that is our add-on, to that saying, here at Find New Life.  When life brings you lemons, make lemonade!  And if you find that you can’t make lemonade out of those lemons just yet, then maybe the lemons aren’t ripe enough just yet!  Give it a little time though because as with all fruit, lemons too will soon ripen enough to make the perfect lemonade.

Okay, enough with that analogy.  You get the point.  And I got the point enough to learn how to find the good in all things even if I had to set it aside long enough to see it.  You too can learn to do this and I have a feeling that when you do, you will find life much less stressful for yourself and for those around you making for a much more enjoyable life.