I Heart You

It is not very often that I am in the car all alone.  Usually I am cruising in my minivan, hauling kiddos to and fro. (Don’t be hating on the minivan – automatic sliding doors and stowaway seating, you gotta love it.) Car rides with my girls are a bit like being questioned by the KGB.  I get questions like, “What do groundhogs like to eat?” to “Why does daddy love you?” to “Do prisoners need to eat their fruit in jail?”

One evening though, I had to make a late night run to the store.  The prospect of some quiet alone time in the car was exciting me.  I could listen to whatever I wanted on the radio and not be peppered with questions or try to break up fights from the driver’s seat.  I climbed in and began my drive.  It was a beautiful night and it seemed like I was the only one on the road.

We make it a habit in our household to pray before we go on car trips.  I’m not sure how it started but it is just something we do.  We usually thank God for the day, ask for safety in our travels, and then the kids will throw in their requests.  Sometimes it is for a good day, to see a friend, or thanking God for new shoes.  You never know what is weighing on the heart of a three year old until you tell her it is her turn to pray.

On this night though, I had some things that were resting like a ton of bricks on my mind.  As is our habit, I began to pray while I turned the key in the ignition.  I pulled out of the drive and headed down the street. “Father God, I thank you for this day.  Please keep me safe as I travel this evening.” I whispered out loud.

As I drove to the store, my prayers grew more intense.   I was praying out loud and I was praying feverishly.  I was pouring out my heart to God right there in the front seat of my minivan.  Tears began streaming down my cheeks.  I was releasing every stress, every concern, and every problem from my tight grasp.  I laid them down at the feet of Jesus as I pulled into my parking spot at the store. 

Feeling like a weight had been lifted from my shoulders; I searched for a tissue to wipe my tears.  Then out of the corner of my eye, I caught sight of something dark.  “Oh please don’t be stink bug!” I thought as I cringed and focused in on it.  However, to my surprise and great delight, I realized it was a heart!

Something on my windshield was making a heart shadow on my doorframe!  I must say, it was the best shadow I have ever seen.  It was like an “I heart you” message from my Savior!  In that moment, I was reassured that my prayers were heard, that Jesus cried with me, and I didn’t have to wrestle with those things anymore.  I left them in the hands of my Lord. 

In the course of your day, have you taken a moment to get alone with Jesus?  I believe the most powerful and moving times of prayer are when you really quiet yourself and share your entire heart with the Lord.  Cry out to Him.  Let loose and reveal everything.  Nothing you say will surprise Him.  He already knows what is on your mind and is longing to be alone with you.  He wants to comfort you and give you peace. He wants you at your real and raw self.  He wants you to know “I heart you!”

“The LORD your God in your midst, The Mighty One, will save; He will rejoice over you with gladness; He will quiet you with His love; He will rejoice over you with loud singing.” Zephaniah 3:17 NKJV

 “Humble yourselves, therefore, under God’s mighty hand, that he may lift you up in due time.  Cast all your anxiety on him, because he cares for you.” 1 Peter 5:6-7 NIV 

My special heart shadow!

West Ridge Women Spotlight #4 - Shannon Harsh

Recently I had the pleasure of sitting down with Shannon Harsh.  Shannon joined the West Ridge Women’s Ministry Team a few months ago and has had the excitement of giving “birth” to a latest “addition” to the Women’s Ministry, Encourage!

Shannon and her husband, Doug, live in North Fayette Township.  They are the parents of Haley (9), Gracie (4), and Jacob (2).  They are joyfully expecting the arrival of baby #4, Rebekah, in January.

Due to Doug’s job in the military, their family moves quite often.  They are experts at packing and unpacking, even managing to have pictures up on walls within a couple days of a move.  However, Shannon and her family have lived here for a year and a half so far and she’s hoping they can stay in Pittsburgh a few more years.

Shannon’s story is one a lot of women can relate to.  About ten years ago, before she became a Christian, Shannon was in a very bad and dangerous relationship.  She endured various kinds of abuse from her boyfriend at the time.  It wasn’t until she was seven months pregnant with her daughter, Haley, that she hit rock bottom.  She knew she needed to change her life and the only one who could help her out of her desperate situation was Jesus. 

Once Shannon accepted Jesus as her Savior, her life turned around 180 degrees.  Everything in her life changed.  She left her abusive relationship and bravely began life as a single mother.  With the guidance of her grandparents, she started attending church.  She moved to a different home, got a different car, changed jobs, and began her life all over again.

Two years pass by and at Shannon’s new job, she just so happened to meet the man who would be her future husband, Doug!  Shannon says of the day they met, “God told me as soon as I saw him that I was going to marry him.  When I heard that, I just laughed.” But before you know it, the two began going to church together, started dating, followed by an engagement, and were married soon after that.

Fast forward a few years.  After moving to the Pittsburgh area, Shannon and Doug began the search for a church home.  One weekend, while Shannon was away, Doug gave West Ridge a try.  Doug told her he felt like West Ridge was going to be the right place for them.  After Shannon’s visit the following week, she agreed, “It felt like home.”

As the one year anniversary of her first visit to West Ridge approaches, Shannon is very excited to put all of her education, training and life experiences to work in to leading the Encourage ministry. Shannon said, “This is something that I have had on my heart for years.” She actually is hoping that God will grow it into something even bigger down the road, “I’d love to open a house for single, abused moms.”

Encourage will be lead by Shannon and she has three coaches on hand right now to assign to pregnant moms as they enroll in the program.  Each mom will be assigned a coach to walk with them all the way through their pregnancy and delivery.  The moms-to-be will be receiving regular encouragement from their coaches as well as being covered in prayer by them.  All through the pregnancy, coaches will be available to their assigned mom-to be to answer any questions or offer advice.  After their new baby arrives, the new mommas can anticipate being showered with even more blessings such as having meals be delivered to them or baby essentials, like diapers and wipes.

The Encourage team is also equipped for any type of pregnancy as well.  The ministry is prepared and trained to handle such issues as: unplanned pregnancies, single motherhood, miscarriages, and premature births.  Also, Encourage is not limited only to ladies who are members of West Ridge.  “We want to reach out to the community too.” Shannon explains. 

If you are expecting and would like to sign up for the Encourage ministry or if you would like to serve in the ministry alongside Shannon, please email her at: encourage@westridge.cc.

No one escapes a West Ridge Women’s Spotlight interview without answering the Super Six questions…  Here’s what Shannon shared with us:

1. Are you a morning person or night owl?  I’m a morning person, but only because I have to be. I’m in bed by 9:00.  As soon as the kids go down, I’m going down too!
2. What was the last book you read? “Angels Walking” by Karen Kingsbury
3. What is your favorite way to relax? Reading.  I love to read!
4. What would you have for the perfect meal? Jeremiah Fountain’s lasagna. He makes his own noodles. It’s the best I’ve ever had! Oh, and some chocolate!
5. What is your favorite Scripture to meditate on in times of stress? My favorite has always been Jeremiah 29:11. (“For I know the plans I have for you”, declares the LORD, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you a hope and a future.”)
6. What is your favorite thing about West Ridge? It’s family.  I don’t come out of my shell easily and I’ve been able to do that here.  It’s really awesome.

Expect Success

My highschool yearbook

My 20 year high school reunion took place last month. Pause with me for a moment and allow that number sink in.  Two decades.  TWENTY years since I graduated high school!  Now, for some of you reading this, you may think twenty years? Try thirty, forty, or even fifty! And there may be some of you who just have tossed your graduation cap in the air a few months ago.  This milestone, well, for me, it required some time to really take it in and think about.

I did not attend the reunion.  The people that meant the most to me in 1994 were not going to be attending.  I felt that since I still kept in touch with them through Facebook, plunking down a chunk of cash for the reunion to be around a bunch of people I hardly knew 20 years ago wasn’t worth it. Of course that didn’t stop me from checking out the reunion pictures from the “official reunion” Facebook page.  Oh come on, you know you would too!

As I looked at the group picture of everyone in attendance at the reunion, I hardly recognized anyone.  The names sounded familiar but the faces… not so much.  So naturally it was time to dig out the old yearbook! Thankfully it was tucked away in my old bedroom.  When I pulled it out, all those high school memories came flooding back. I scanned the title on the front, “Expect Success”. “Hmm... Really? That’s quite a statement.” I thought.  Twenty years ago, I didn’t expect success.  I just wanted to get out of high school.  I was ready to take my diploma and run out the door.

You guys, I will be the first to admit, 1994 was not the height of fashion either.  The hair.  The BIG hair. And pegged jeans.  My word. But I digress… Anyhow, I flipped through the first few pages.  I read all the little notes and comments from friends. (Remember "K.I.T."? Keep in touch! Do teenagers even write that kind of stuff anymore? I’m pretty sure they don’t.)  Most the references and little jokes totally escaped me here in 2014.  I had no idea what some of these people were writing about or who they even were! Oh, but there were some precious notes from best friends way back then.  They made me smile and remember some of the fun, fun times we had.

After reading all the notes and comments, I headed to the index to find all the places my picture was.  Let me tell you, my pictures were very few and very far between. My quotes in the yearbook were even sparser.  I began to regret not participating more, not joining clubs or activities. The quotes I did have all pointed to one thing – graduation.  I simply could not wait to exit high school.  The end of my senior year could not come fast enough for me.

For the next few days after reading my yearbook, it haunted me.  I kept going over in my mind all the things I should have done or could have done.  I thought about all the things I missed out on.  I thought about how I had always felt like an outsider.  I remembered the teasing, harassing, and bullying.  I know I am not the only one who took a far staircase to avoid someone in the hall who could ruin your whole day with a few choice words.

Then, once I was really starting to feel bad about “1994 Marcy”, I recalled all the awful choices, mistakes, and dumb stuff I did. I think we can all agree that sometimes teenagers are not the wisest people in the world.  In 1994, I just wanted my life to hurry up and start.  I wasn’t motivated at all and so tired of school that I had no desire to go to college.  I made bad decisions about my future, my time, my friends, and I made especially bad choices about guys.

After about 3 days of high school reminiscing, I actually really disliked “1994 Marcy”.  And then a funny thing happened.  Pastor Mark Simpson visited West Ridge and gave a sermon about regret.  He went through a list of life’s “6 biggest regrets”.  I believe I checked all 6 off. Each one he went through, I would think to myself, “Yep, did that one.  Oh yes, that applies to me.  Oh, there’s another one!”

It’s been my experience though, that God will always find a way to speak to your heart, especially when you are hurting.  Sometimes He speaks right to you, or through His Word, or through another person.  That Sunday morning, God chose to speak to me through the message Mark was delivering. 

After Mark got done talking about the regrets that we may have in our past, he talked about how the only true antidote for regret is repentance.  God reminded me that all those mistakes and bad choices were washed away.  My burden lifted and eyes opened.  All that dislike for “1994 Marcy” melted away. 

When I accepted Jesus as my Savior, my sins were forgiven.  My slate wiped clean.  I repented of my old ways and turned away from them.  Once that happened, my friend, my life was radically different.

Because Jesus is my Savior, I do expect success. 

“I am the vine; you are the branches. If you remain in me and I in you, you will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing.” John 15:5 (NIV)

“He holds success in store for the upright, he is a shield to those whose walk is blameless, for he guards the course of the just and protects the way of his faithful ones.” Proverbs 2:7 (NIV)

Ladies, we are always here for you! If you are struggling with something today, be it past regrets or anything at all, please email women@westridge.cc with questions or prayers.  We love you!