Abbie Coffey

Romans 16:25-27 Now to him who is able to establish you by my gospel and the proclamation of Jesus Christ, according to the revelation of the mystery hidden for long ages past, but now revealed and made known through the prophetic writings by the command of the eternal God, so that all nations might believe and obey him - to the only wise God be glory forever through Jesus Christ! Amen.

I am having a day where I am just stuck.  I have read verse after verse and none are standing out to me in where my heart is.  We have spent the last couple of days preparing for the celebration of Mom's life and that is forefront in my mind.  It is going to be a great day.  We were singing tonight and that was so powerful and healing.  God is giving us the exact grace we need for right now.  The blessing of being in His presence is overwhelming at times.  We are together, but it is just the four of us, no longer five.  Mom was such a quiet presence, but a strong presence.  There is definitely a piece missing, but we have peace and joy about that too.  It has been an interesting time and I find myself continually in communion with God.  I wish I had a verse today, but I don't.  I just have my thoughts and Jesus sitting next to me for this one.  May you have the same today.

1 Corinthians 3:7 So neither he who plants nor he who waters is anything, but only God, who makes things grow. I love when Paul is so blatantly honest with people.  His words here are my exact sentiment today.  We often times want to give accolades to the the pastor in the pulpit, or the evangelist on television, or the musician in the worship team, or the pastor's wife in the front row. ;-)  Here's the deal, God is the only one who receives glory for the work accomplished in man.  Yes, we play a part in the beginning of the journey by sharing Jesus and digging into the Word with someone, but ultimately it is God who changes the hearts of people.  God is who does the good through us.  Any good we do that seeks praise from another is an act of the flesh and Paul warned us of this in Romans.  When we live by the Spirit, the good we do just oozes from our souls and nothing is needed in return.  We become people who are about others.  Selfishne...

Psalm 46:10 "Be still and know that I am God; I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth." When we are still, we can actually see God moving.  We are not distracted by our own flailing or by the flailing of others.  We are able to intentionally focus on God and see His design in our lives.  The other perk of being still is that there is a quietness that allows us to listen for His voice and discern what it is He is calling us to do.  We can only become attuned to His voice when we hear it often, and He can only be heard in the stillness, so make time to be still with God.  If you spend intentional time with God, keep your eyes and ears open because He will show up.  We are experiencing this as a family in this time as we wait with Mom in hospice.  We understand that we need to be still, and we have been able to see all that God has been doing in this time.  He is being exalted!

Luke 2:14 "Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace to men on whom his favor rests." This scripture is life giving to me today.  I was thinking about God's favor and how people in the present culture want to equate favor with blessing and blessing with only good things, including wealth.  Well I have news for you.  The angels didn't say, "Glory to God in the highest, and on earth  wealth  to men on whom his favor rests."  Nope. They didn't even say " blessing  to men on whom his favor rests". The angels declared "PEACE to men".  Favor in God means you get a peace that passes all understanding.  I wonder how Mary felt as she watched Jesus die on the cross.  I have a feeling that there was deep, deep sadness and yet, I believe, in the midst of that sadness she felt an incredible peace.  So what is the peace of God.  For me, it is a stillness of my spirit.  A quiet calm deep inside, even though the storm rages. ...

1 Corinthians 13:4-5 Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud.  It is not rude, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. This is a post for Mom.  She is the embodiment of these words written by Paul.  When I think of Mom and who God created her to be, this is it.  Each of these phrases describes her perfectly.  Mom learned very early on in her walk with Jesus to let Him have His way in her life.  Who she is and has been to people is the testament to that.  Her patience with a super naughty 2-year old, namely me, rivaled that of Job.  I don't ever remember her getting angry.  Quite frankly, Mom and the word angry in the same sentence is laughable.  She never bragged or boasted about us (even though we know she's proud of us) because that wouldn't be showing love to her listener.  Mom was never rude, she was always serving others, and she was never jud...

Acts 18:9 One night the Lord spoke to Paul in a vision: "Do not be afraid, keep on speaking, do not be silent." Paul was meeting some opposition in Corinth when the Lord spoke to him.  Today, this verse is ringing loud and clear as I think about what we are going through with Mom.  Dad is continuing to preach.  We are all going to keep on telling of the grace of God and living in Resurrection.  We are not afraid.  We are empowered by what God is doing with our journey.  Mom lays in hospice and God is continuing to glorify His Kingdom through her.  It is incredible to watch.  She lingers on in this place, and we know this is for a greater purpose than just for her or us.  We will not be silent.  We want everyone to have what we have been given.  Hopefully we are able to share Christ so that all may experience life to the fullest in Resurrection.

Heavenly Father, I thank you for the work you are doing in, around, and through us.  Lord the compassion and mercy you show never fails.  You are continually moving ahead of us preparing the way.  We are comforted by the Spirit as we rest in you each hour.  Father, our spirits are continually in prayer to you.  Lord, I pray that your will would be done in your time.  Give us your strength to walk this last leg of the journey.  May your Power, Grace and Glory be ever-present with us and be visible to  those looking on.  Lord, use our lives to bring people to you in a new and deeper way, for you have used this journey to do this for us.  We are blessed by your abundant grace and overwhelmed by your Spirit as we live in resurrection today.  Amen!

2 Corinthians 4:7 But we have this treasure in jars of clay to show that this all-surpassing power is from God and not from us. Our treasure is the Spirit of God and the jar of clay is our earthly body.  In this section of scripture Paul is explaining to the people of Corinth that they are a channel for God to shine through and that through Jesus we will never be separated from God again.  At the hospice house, Liz, my sister, sat down and played Channels Only on the piano.  This is a song that has deep and lasting meaning for my family, but today I instantly thought of my mother lying in the bed in the next room and felt the truth in the words of that song.  Tears began to stream as I recognized to the fullest extent what it means to be a channel for God.  It is my prayer. Channels Only by Mary E. Maxwell How I praise Thee, precious Savior, That Thy love laid hold of me; Thou hast saved and cleansed and filled me  That I might Thy channel be. ...

Ecclesiastes 3:1-8 There is a time for everything, and a season for every activity under heaven: a time to be born and a time to die, a time to plant and a time to uproot, a time to kill and a time to heal, a time to tear down and a time to build, a time to weep and a time to laugh, a time to mourn and a time to dance, a time to scatter stones and a time to gather them, a time to embrace and a time to refrain, a time to search and a time to give up, a time to keep and a time to throw away, a time to tear and at time to mend, a time to be silent and a time to speak a time to love and a time to hate, a time for war and a time for peace. As I type this section of scripture, I cannot help but think about the fact that God knows exactly when each of these times will occur.  His perfect will is in place and He knows the time for each of these activities.  All we need to do is live through Christ and we will walk in His ways through each of these seasons.   What...

1 John 4:9, 13-14 This is how God showed his love among us: He sent his one and only Son into the world that we might live through him. We know that we live in him and he in us, because he has given us of his Spirit. And we have seen and testify that the Father has sent his Son to be the Savior of the world. "Do you know Jesus?" This was the question my Grandma Betty would ask people when she met them.  It is on my heart today to ask you.  Do you know Jesus?  He is not just some fancy idea or belief.  He was not just a prophet.  He was not just a teacher.  He was not a religious leader.  Jesus is the Savior of the world.  He is the King of Kings.  He is!  Jesus left His heavenly throne for you.  He walked the earth for you.  He was put to death on the cross for you.  He paid the debt of sin for you.  He was resurrected so that you could live with Him throughout eternity.  He loves you and would have gone to the...

2 Corinthians 4:18 So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen.  For what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal. I wanted to use verses 7-18, but I thought that might be a bit much.  I love all of chapter 4 of 2 Corinthians. It is so very pertinent to my day today.  I look at my mom who is wasting away.  Her body, and even now her mind, starting to fade.  My focus now more than ever is on what is unseen.  Our focus is on Jesus and his preparations in heaven for our beautiful mother.  We know that this life is temporary, but life in Jesus is eternal.  And even though we say it is unseen, I still see glimpses of Jesus in every aspect of the journey.  He is all over this, working in conversations and situations to bring glory to the Father.  From the beginning of this journey I knew that God was going to use it to reveal His power, His glory and His grace and we have seen this revelation over and over again...

My apologies for no scripture reference today.  I just have a few thoughts I need to put into words.  First of all, in light of yesterday's post, I want to be sure I was clear about happiness.  I still rejoice in the little things and I enjoy retelling those stories that bring so much happiness in the moment.  It is just a whole new place to walk when you realize that the underlying feeling in your entire journey is joy.  Secondly, I am reminded of all of the amazing people I know who are currently going through their own battle, whether big or small.  We all have something or know someone who is going through a season of difficulty.  Let us not forget our brothers and sisters in Christ as we go along in our day.  Pray for those whom God brings into your mind today.  And last, but certainly not least, remember that you are dearly loved by the Creator of the universe.  Know that His love is nearly unfathomable when we are able to surrende...

Psalm 98:1 Sing to the Lord a new song, for he has done marvelous things; his right hand and his holy arm have worked salvation for him. Today my heart is rejoicing.  In the midst of the trial, I love when God is able to give us a glimpse of His glory, when He provides a moment of relief.  And I have new learning.  I was a person who would get very excited and giddy over the smallest of things.  In a way, I feel like those reactions were insulting to the glory God was inviting me to see.  I wasn't deep enough to get there.  Then in the midst of this difficult journey with Mom, I'd found it hard to get excited and giddy about anything.  I wanted to be happy about something, but there was the constant reminder of what is really going on.  Not that I was sad and miserable, but I seemed to be so much more subdued.  True that I needed some subduing, but it almost felt like I'd lost my excitement and happiness.  Today, God is showing me a mo...

Lord, today I pray to You the Great Healer.  Father there is so much brokenness in the world. Sickness of body and mind.  Lord I pray that your healing hand would be on those who are in desperate need of the Creator's power.  Lord you know our bodies and our minds.  You made them so intricately and you know each one of us by every single hair and teeny capillary.  Father, I pray that your Spirit would breath life into those broken people.  Lord you are the given and sustainer of life.  Sustain us today.  Father for those in need of a miracle, I lift them up to you.  Lord, specifically for Mom, I pray that your Healing Spirit would dwell in her and begin to fix the physical brokenness.  Remove the cancer.  Father your will be done in the lives of those who walk with you and may those of us watching be given the Kingdom eyes to see it.  Blessings to those who are weak.  Blessings to those who are sick.  Blessings to tho...

Psalm 84:5 Blessed are those whose strength is in you, who have set their hearts on pilgrimage. My thoughts today are on focus.  I am taking a quick check of my focus and where it is.  I don't know that I have set my heart on my pilgrimage, but I am ready to do so.  I am ready to surrender all things and spend some time in close union with God and refocus my journey. Father, this is your area.  Refocus my mind as I enter into the summer season.  Lord, I will have time as I rest and regroup from a year of work.  May your Spirit dwell richly within and may You and I come to a deeper relationship together.  Jesus walk with me and share your strength with me.  Lord make my focus sharp and clear and make my heart sensitive to the Spirit's prompting.  I wait in anticipation for what you will do in, around, and through me.  Amen.

John 13:6 He came to Simon Peter, who said to him, "Lord, are you going to wash my feet?" It is easy for me to think of myself as a servant of Jesus, but it is hard for me to switch those roles and see Jesus as a servant in my life.  I think I would have had the same reaction as Peter and question what he's doing.  As a matter of fact, I don't know that I have ever given Jesus the opportunity to "wash my feet".   I'm not even sure what that would look like.  I realize Jesus was modeling what he wanted us to do for one another, and yet I can't help but think this is also what he'd like to do in my relationship with him.  So now to think about how to grow my relationship with Jesus with this in mind.  He told Peter, "Unless I wash you, you have no part with me."  I'm trying to understand this for my own journey.  What do I need to allow Jesus to do in my life so that we can partner in a deeper or different way?  Where is he inviting...

Song of Songs 8:6 Place me like a seal over your heart, like a seal on your arm; for love is a strong as death, its ardor unyielding as the grave. It burns like blazing fire, like a mighty flame. I realize they ways this book gets interpreted.  When I read it, I am simply reminded of all of the different types of love relationships I have and how they all are intertwined into this book at some point.  Today as I read, I thought of my mom; the love she has for us and vice versa.  Her love for us is visible to those around us because she has taught us how to love.  It is a seal on our arms for all to see.  I was also able to make the connection with her in that, when she does go to be with Jesus whether soon or in the near future, her love will outshine her earthly death by so very far.  I also thought of the love of my dad.  I feel as though his love is a seal over our hearts.  He is continually protecting us and watching over our every step, eve...

I don't have a verse for today.  I have been spending my time reading about Jacob and Joseph.  I am reminded of how beautifully God weaves our lives together; those situations He brings about that we often refer to as coincidences.  I don't believe in coincidences.  I believe those are God moments.  My challenge for today is to notice at least three God moments.

2 Thessalonians 2:13 But we ought always to thank God for you, brothers loved by the Lord, because from the beginning God chose you to be saved through the sanctifying work of the Spirit and through belief in the truth. "Sanctifying work of the Spirit" is my phrase for today.  Sanctification, to be made holy, is the work of the Holy Spirit.  We are not actually in charge of that, although we often think we are.  I find sanctification to be one of the hardest parts of my walk with God to explain to people, so I'll give an example from my journey.  I'd once heard that accountability partners were a good thing for Christians to have.  I had an action I was struggling with daily, so I though I would try this accountability idea.  I had also learned it takes 21 days to break a habit and 28 days to create a habit.  I thought I could use these new learnings in my walk with God to help Him sanctify me.  I would write down on a piece of paper every eveni...

Colossians 3:14 And over all these virtues put on love, which binds them all together in perfect unity. This is one of those verses that touches me so deeply.  The verses prior to this one are listing out the virtues of God's people and talking about forgiving as we've been forgiven.  I went to the greek translation to find out which "love" was used and, sure enough, it is the agape word.  The selfless and self-giving love.  Of course, that is what binds all of our virtues and us together.  The world would be a much better place if we could all grasp the true understanding of agape.  This love that gives of oneself is beautiful, in and of itself, but in a body of people it is absolutely the embodiment of Christ.  I know that we, as a family, have had the blessing of this type of love from so many people in the past.  It has come to the surface now with our present journey.  I am so grateful to have a multitude of people in my life who know ...

Psalm 103:1-5, 20-22 Praise the Lord, O my soul;      all my inmost being, praise his holy name. Praise the Lord, O my soul,      and forget not all his benefits- who forgives all your sins      and heals all your diseases, who redeems your life from the pit      and crowns you with love and compassion, who satisfies your desires with good things      so that your youth is renewed like the eagle's. Praise the Lord, you his angels,      you mighty ones who do his bidding,      who obey his work. Praise the Lord, all his heavenly hosts,      you his servants who do his will. Praise the Lord, all his works      everywhere in his dominion. Praise the Lord, O my soul.

1 Corinthians 1:18 For the message of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God. I enjoy reading Paul's words and how he explains the "upside-down-ness" (I know that's not a word, but go with it.) of the Kingdom of God.  When you understand the depth of the cross with your heart, only then can you begin to see the power of God.  Knowledge of the cross looks foolish.  It seems as though the creator of the universe just gave up.  He could have come down and wiped out Rome, but He didn't.  He submitted himself to death in order that we do not have to pay that debt.  The strength that it took to stay on the cross was so much more than it would have taken for him to step down.  Think about yourself.  How much harder is it to keep your mouth shut when you see an injustice than it is to just sit back and let the 'cream rise to the top' on its own?  (That's a Grandma Lucy saying.) ...

Matthew 8:8 The centurion replied, "Lord, I do not deserve to have you come under my roof. But just say the word, and my servant will be healed." This is such a cool story to me.  I love that the centurion understood the authority of Jesus because of his own earthly authority.  The centurion knew that if he could command others without being in their presence, then he was sure that Jesus could do even more with His authority.  How often do I forget about the authority of God?  For some reason I have gotten into the habit of thinking that He must always be in the very place where I have need.  When in reality, He can do whatever I ask from wherever He is.  Oh, I know the Spirit joins me, but I wonder if that isn't because I need the Spirit there.  If only I would remember the fact that God is able to make commands from wherever He is and it will be so.  As I read a little farther down in chapter 8, Jesus is healing people by touching them.  ...

Psalm 91:11 For he will command his angels concerning you to guard you in all your ways. This Psalm has been showing up in my world and I decided to share it today.  I chose this verse simply because I've experienced it.  I don't have any fancy words to bring.  I just know that when I ask God to send His angels, He does.  Short and sweet.

1 John 4:10 This is love: not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins. When I asked God what He wanted to tell me today, He said, "I am love."  God is love.  He is often portrayed or thought of as being the big mean judge.  While God is a judge, it is not the kind of judge we think of in our earthly realm of the word.  God as a judge looks in love with the purpose of redeeming what has been broken.  He is moved to act on our behalf to heal our soul's deepest wound, sin.  He shows us that over and over in the Bible.  His most significant act of love is putting Jesus on the cross in our place.  God gave us a way to be healed and spend eternity with Him and that "way" is through is own son that we might become heirs with him.  God loves us.  It is just that simple.  He is not out to get us with His giant gavel and furrowed brow.  He is out to redeem us through His son, and re...

Acts 14:15 "Men, why are you doing this? We too are only men, human like you.  We are bringing you good news, telling you to turn from these worthless things to the living God, who made heaven and earth and sea and everything in them." This is one of the hardest things to convince people as we journey.  Often times people praise my family for our faith and our strength.  Throughout this entire journey, we have been trying to explain to people that it is not about us.  We are not that amazing.  We do not have strength or peace of our own accord.  We are able to walk this journey because of God.  I don't know how to say it any simpler.  People always tell me how brave my mom is or how strong she is.  Don't get me wrong, my mom is pretty great.  But it's God in her that makes her so great.  She is able to walk this road because she has the resurrected Christ living in her and walking this road with her.  I believe most of the t...

Hebrews 6:1-2 Therefore let us leave the elementary teachings about Christ and go on to maturity, not laying again the foundation of repentance from acts that lead to death and of faith in God, instruction about baptisms, the laying on of hands, the resurrection of the dead, and eternal judgment. This verse is piercing truth into my heart today.  I get tired of all of the elementary teachings that have become divisive in churches.  And then, not only that, but it keeps the focus on things that allow no depth to the soul.  We must complete step one, or the acceptance of Jesus, in order to move ourselves on to deeper and more mature topics, yes.  The issue is that we get caught up in step one by trying to save everyone around us, which keeps us from going deeper with Christ.  I think it was my dad who said something like, "We are to be fishers of men.  But it's not our job to clean them, it's God's."  We get so caught up in "cleaning" with trying to te...

Father, my heart is overjoyed at the moments you give.  What many good gifts you bestow on the journey.  From the hugs of a child to a tear shed with the family, Lord your goodness and joy abound in the midst of the sadness.  On this walk I often hear Mom or Dad say, "You can't steal our joy."  I am so grateful for the moments when you make this statement is absolutely real.  We laugh, sometimes through  tears, and spend quiet moments reminiscing about silly things that have shaped our very persons.  Our hearts are sad, but our souls are at peace.  That is true joy in the Spirit.  I am humbled by the family you have surrounded me with and the love and peace that come from them.  As Dad said this week, we are a unit.  Thank you.  Lord, may we never lose sight of the One who is the source of our joy and may our focus and story ALWAYS be about life with Jesus.  For He is the sustainer of our faith.  May the Spirit lead o...

Exodus 17:12 When Moses' hands grew tired, they took a stone and put it under him and he sat on it.  Aaron and Hur held his hands up - one on one side, one on the other - so that his hands remained steady till sunset. I see this verse in a couple of ways.  One, the unity of the three men coming together and supporting each other and the work of God.  Two, which fascinates me more, Moses did not need to hold his hands up of his own will to win the battle.  Moses' hands in the air were the key to winning the battle, but he was not in control of holding them up because he was tired.  This made me think of life with Jesus.  The key to us "winning the battle" is living by the Spirit, but we are not in control of the living part, the Spirit is, just as Aaron and Hur were in charge of holding Moses' hands up.  Hmm…Am I winning the battle because I am holding strong or am I winning the battle because the Spirit is holding strong for me?  I think I might...

1 Peter 1:7 These (trials) have come so that your faith - of greater worth than gold, which perishes even though refined by fire - may be proved genuine and may result in praise, glory and honor when Jesus Christ is revealed. I honestly don't have words to put with this.  I feel as though Peter has written my exact sentiments.  This is my prayer and I will meditate on these words in my heart today.  It's the perfect verse for this day in my family's journey, of course.