The Secret of Stones

One stone can seem like a burden, but many stones together make a beautiful path for our feet!

Wow! I really like that last line.

Thank you Jesus for letting me read this today! I've never thought of the trials of life in such a blessed way! Thank you Priscilla for sharing this word with all who will read it. May God continue to bless your ministry for Him! The ladies at my church are starting Anointed, Transformed. Redeemed on Sunday, Feb 7th. Pray for us that God will speak to our hearts through His precious Word!

Thank you Jesus for letting me read this today! I've never thought of the trials of life in such a blessed way! Thank you Priscilla for sharing this word with all who will read it. May God continue to bless your ministry for Him! The ladies at my church are starting Anointed, Transformed. Redeemed on Sunday, Feb 7th. Pray for us that God will speak to our hearts through His precious Word!

Amazing and thought-provoking message! I have heard of using stones as stepping stones, but never thought of picking them up and using them for something else. They are what they are and most are out of our control, which is on God's purpose so that we can turn to Him for removal or a new path to travel around or through.

Now, when I look at a "stone" in my path, I pray that I will stop and examine it looking for Jesus in the midst of it and seeking how He wants me to use it.

Excellent message! I know I will be mulling over this for a while. Thank you!

Monica

I woke up feeling very frustrated about my life and then opened my email to this today.

Thank you.

I woke up and have been going through my day ovwewhelmed and beyond frustrated. A friend directed me here after she read this. I am having a hard time seeing how a 3rd degree heart block in my 8 year old daughter, among other serious things, can be a stone that supports me- not angrily, but because I've never heard of that. I know all things work for good, and that God is there in all circumstances, but something to support me instead of something that I need support because of...that is a new direction I would have never considered. Within my heart is that quiet excitement that tells me God is going to show me something life changing now, and I have something to run all the defeating thoughts out of my head as I ponder this. Thank you.

I never think about those stones, that seem in my way, being used to encourage our journey! Lord I needed this, Praise You!! My current place of work has me in a funk, leaving me ineffective. I am so unhappy with the stones that my time in this place is even more unpleasant. Its time look at these stones in a new light!

There is something right now that the Lord is asking me to hand over to Him. To me, it has been a struggle, a bad stone if you will, but I am so ENCOURAGED because I have the opportunity to look at it completely different than I have been. I choose to look at this as an opportunity to see Gods grace in my life. I look forward to waking up tomorrow with a new light on my "stone".

my life has been so very filled with overwhelming stones for the last two and a half years. everyone keeps telling me God has a plan for me. Thanks for the renewed insight on the stone.
Mary

Priscilla has a great gift of being able to allow God to speak through her....to me, it seems...just when I need to hear the message the most! Thank you, Priscilla, for allowing God to use you as His instrument in speaking to me and, I'm sure, many other women! FYI...I am in the habit of sending your messages to other women...and also to some men...that I know! I know your heart is to minister to women...but your words can always apply to men as well...thank you...may you be richly blessed...you are ALREADY greatly loved!

Praise God for me reading this devotion today. My day started with me feeling real down. Let me back up, In our Bible class we're studying "A Jewel in His Crown", I read about fasting if you want to develop a closer relationship with God. This jumped out at me and I've been fasting for the past several days and today has been the hardest. I studied my Psalm and cried out to God and listened to my spiritual music & it helped uplifted my spirit. I've never fasted before so I was just crying out because of all the distractions and I wanted to give in so badly. But I keep reminding myself of What God (sent his son to die on the cross) Jesus(gave his life)did for me, so I can do this (I can do all things thru Christ Who strenghtens me. Then I got this devotional- so needed at this time. Never thought about stones this way. Thanks for sharing, may God continue to bless you and your ministry.

this devotion was such a blessing to me and very timely, sometimes i get upset because of all the bitter stones, job losses, broken(engagments) promises and ecomonic and family woes, it gets hard to believe that any of this can be turned into something good, but Praise Him, when i read your devotion it was confirmation that God sees it, and He hasn't forgotton me, just that alone makes it a little bit more bearable.
thanks

I have to admit that when I first read this I kept saying, is this me? Yes, it is. I am at a different place in my life right now, a place where I thought I would never be. Alone. Not lonely, but alone. I believe with all my heart this is where God has placed me right now in my life. This desert is where I am learning to trust Him through every step. I am learning to hear His voice speak to my heart. I am learning it is okay, it is well with my soul. The stones do matter, they are there and there for a reason. Sometimes we forget how God shelters and protect us. There have been times when I said to the Lord, why me, why can't things be different? I am learning about the whys, because of this season, I have a much deeper and wonderful relationship with Him, without the stones being placed I would have never know how deep it could be.Thanks Priscilla, this spoke to my heart.

My God, I really needed to read that today. Been so worn with whats going on in my life. I have a 21 yoa daughter and a 19 yoa son and I thought when they were toddlers that was hard but this has been the hardest year of my life when it come to my children. The hardest thing is letting go and allowing them to make mistakes. You don't want to see you children suffer or hurt and I try to prevent that from happening. My children has given me reasons to worry due to some of their activities and friends. Your words are very comforting to me knowing that this is a season and seasons come and go. God has not forgetten me and my family.

My God, I really needed to read that today. Been so worn with whats going on in my life. I have a 21 yoa daughter and a 19 yoa son and I thought when they were toddlers that was hard but this has been the hardest year of my life when it come to my children. The hardest thing is letting go and allowing them to make mistakes. You don't want to see you children suffer or hurt and I try to prevent that from happening. My children has given me reasons to worry due to some of their activities and friends. Your words are very comforting to me knowing that this is a season and seasons come and go. God has not forgetten me and my family.

I enjoy coming to your Jewel Box to see what you have for us.I have some stones in my live.Some can be cracked or even moved with effort on my part but not necessarily solved.God is the one who is charge of jobs coming into the area or if I leave the area-among other things.

What a powerful message!!!! Thank you so much.

I believe that every situation allows us to see that even with stones, we can still see The Rock. It's all in your point of view and point of focus.

"There is deep and profound revelation that He wishes to give you to enrich you, strengthen you and prepare you for where He is taking you. Friend, don’t disregard the stones of today. They are the resting place upon which you’ll receive the treasures of tomorrow."

LOVE LOVE LOVE the last line! I also love Jacob because he taught me that it is ok to wrestle with God. We can take the stones we don't understand and/or don't like and ask God the hard questions about them. God is for us. Let me say that again....GOD IS FOR US! He is big enough to handle our hard questions and loves us enough to sometimes answer but other times be silent and teach us to rest in the fact that He is God and we can trust Him for He is righteousness in every single stone He gives us.

I use to read the Jewelry Box every month. I was blogging at the time and there was a link to the "box" on my sidebar. However, I haven't blogged in almost a year and therefore haven't read any of the entries either. I came back tonight for encouragement and i definitely found it here.

A week ago today we lost our baby. I was 19 weeks pregnant. We have two beautiful children and I had experienced a loss at 7 weeks several years ago, but this one was much harder than the other. At the same time I felt grief and confusion, I was beginning to feel a peace from God. I liked this devotion. It was just one more reminder of the stones that we all endure, the hardships, the unhappy moments, the "uglies" we all face...

They are all there for a reason and we may not know why yet, but He will tell us eventually....when He feels the time is right.

Thank you Pricilla for allowing God to use you! He touched me through you today. Now, I have some catching up to do...

Angela

Good word. It was encouraging and it gave me that boost to look at some things differently!

Wow!
Priscilla you have no idea how this article has given me a little strength and encouragement to " Keep Moving".
I just cried out to the Lord on last night asking
"How much more can I bare" When will He make me what He already says I am.
I know God's Word and His promises but for sometime now I feel like I've been stuck between the Prophecy and the Promise.
Thank you for sharing the secrets of the Stones.
God Bless!

Awesome and well delivered. I agree with the Feb devotion. Jacob was indeed in a resting place when he laid his head upon the stones for rest. He named that spot! Because he eventually returned there once he gained the resources he was promised. God is definitely on our side and we must yeild to Him for direction to guide our paths. I am so excited about the truth of this devotion. It is so true that we must rely on, depend on, and trust all that God word tells us. Read it daily and know that the blessings will flow...and share your feelings with others so that they will be uplifted, motivated and understand the truth of what God is telling us as a people. ZB

Life in general is hard, but it has been especially hard since October of 2009. I have been in a spiritual drought for some time now and begging God to draw me closer to Him. A doctors visit led me to a neurologist and now I am on medication for seizures and not driving until further notice. Sometimes God has to take drastic measures to get your attention. It is like you have taken my freedom, my legs, and my independence all at once. I don't know that I have ever been so desperate for an answer from God. I have asked why, when, and what over and over with no real answers. This desert feels very big and filled with stones.

He has placed me in the car with some precious folks that He is usning to minister to me. We recently started the Discerning the Voice of God at church and I knew I had to start a study group at my workplace. God has opened up doors and we had 9 ladies show up last week. The greatest thing happened! I mentioned a coworker that I wanted us all to pray for salvation. I had not gotten the words out of my mouth when the door opened and she walked in. She left quickly but then returned as we were ending the study and starting prayer time. She even stayed for prayer. How does God do that? The stones that were there have suddenly turned into gems. I am not looking at things the same. Instead of saying why I am now asking why not? This study is bringing revival to our work place. God's spirit is there and spreading. Thank you for following God and allowing Him to work through you to show us how to see the stones in our path as opportunities.

Thank you so much for your words Lord, you don't have to move our mountains but continue to give us the strength to climb. Thank you for the support of all of these wonderful ladies and contine to bless Priscilla and her family in all that they do.

Going Beyond this year in a big way.

Dearest Pricilla,

I just wanted to thank you for sharing this word at my home church First Baptist Church of Glenarden. It was just a few days ago that I looked around and said oh well, I suppose this is all that God has for me as I’ve been praying and hoping that God would send the right man into my life for marriage. Now at 41 and not a man or courtship in sight, I began to question God. I said to myself, I suppose I have to get use to being single because God must have something else in store for me. I gave up and I suppose I’ve been sleeping on everything else that God has been doing in and around my life. Thank you for this relevant word that inspired to appreciate the stones, it restored my faith and served as confirmation that God is faithful. Thank you for allowing God to use you for his purpose.

God Bless

Ronda Johnson