Have you read "The Shack"?

My sister-in-law recently lent me "The Shack" by William P. Young, but I have not had a chance to read it yet. She says that it's an outstanding story of God's love for us.

I know that the book has been very popular in Christian circles recently. Have you read it? What did you think of "The Shack"?

Becoming meth free

I believe that God uses the deepest pain in our heart to help others. That's definitely the case with Libbie Combee, the president and founder of Leland Family Ministries and the Meth-Free Project. Combee's journey from child of divorce to drug abuser to leader of a ministry recently was chronicled in The Ledger.

Combee's son, who became a meth user himself, ended up in jail. That's where God spoke to Combee about starting her ministry:

It was while she was visiting her son at the jail, she said, that God spoke to her about ministering to meth addicts and their families. 'At first, I was really mad that God would want me to do this. I wanted to get as far away as possible from that world. God asked me, 'I thought you trusted me.' I decided I did.'

That was the beginning of Leland Family Ministries. It's named after her son, Jason Leland.

Combee now is starting Florida's first court-ordered meth program. In the state budget, she was allocated $65,000 - the first state or federal dollars she's accepted - to create a meth education class that can be ordered by the courts for any meth-related offense, much like DUI classes are. A pilot program begins next month, with 1,200 offenders enrolled in 24 classes.

The origin of faith healer Todd Bentley's ministry

Todd Bentley, leader of a revival in Lakeland, Fla., has been called many things, including a fraud and a false teacher. But he claims that thousands of people have been healed and dozens been raised from the dead through his ministry.

How did his ministry begin? An article in Baptist Press says that it started when God spoke to Bentley:

He was saved only when God spoke audibly to him in his drug dealer's trailer and told him that was his last chance to make a decision for Christ, Bentley said.

He invited listeners to be saved and told them that Jesus could forgive all their sins and make then a new creation.

Bentley was called to ministry, he said, in 1998 when a 'glory liquid honey cloud' came through the kitchen of his apartment and into the living room. It rested over his head, and the 'manifest tangible presence of God' did not leave his life for three months. During that time Bentley was 'slain in the Spirit' from four to 12 hours per day and saw many visions, he said.

After the three months were complete, Bentley said Jesus appeared to him on Mother's Day and told him he would never return to secular work again.

'[Jesus] said, 'I have a ministry for you, and it begins today, Mothers Day 1998.' He said, 'You will go all over the world, and you're going to bring a healing revival,'' Bentley said.

Bentley plans next to take his revival meetings overseas; his last day at Lakeland is Aug. 23.

A mailman on a lawnmowing mission

Eric Wills, a mailman in St. Petersburg, Fla., does more than deliver the mail. He also mows the lawns of seniors, single moms and others in need on his route -- for free. Tampa Bay's 10 had the story on how Wills' ministry started:

This mowing mission started about three years ago when on his mail route Eric tromped across a yard gone wild. 'I was kind of walking through the yard complaining saying, 'I wish this guy would cut his grass,' and right then I believe God spoke to me and said, 'Why don't you cut his grass?', so I did,' Eric explains.

For his work, Reader's Digest named him one of "America's Best."

From a FEMA trailer to a new house

Greg Bradford, president of Merced, Calif.-based Envision Homes, took a team of his to look over the damage from the recent California wildfires. According to the North County Times, God spoke to Bradford while he was there:

'I took a team down to evaluate what happened (after the fires) and looked at all the devastation, and it touched me,' Bradford said. 'God spoke to me and said, 'Build a house for a family that has no insurance.''

Bradford put together a committee to review applications from fire victims. The committee ended up selecting John Oleson's family of nine, who have been living in Federal Emergency Management Agency trailers since their house burned down.

Following God. . .to leave college?

Ilsa Paulson was attending Northern Arizona University, and was training for that school's cross country and track teams. She experienced setbacks through injuries, illness and stress when God told her to leave the university to follow her dream.

The Sherwood Gazette ran an article on her July 10:

'God spoke to me and said ‘What are you doing here?’' she recalled. 'After Bible study, I realized I have to do something now.'

Paulson decided to leave Northern Arizona University to pursue her dream of being a professional distance runner. She has since worked with a coach, run marathons, and is training for the 2012 Olympic marathon.

The waiting is the hardest part

In the words of Tom Petty & the Heartbreakers, "The waiting is the hardest part." So true.

Stephanie Voiland reflects on always being a bridesmaid and waiting for the right man in the July/August 2008 edition of Today's Christian Woman. In the article Voiland also writes about a friend, Tiffanie, who completed graduate school but could not find a job for months:

Throughout those agonizing months, God showed up in ways more profound than a job offer. She was looking for a way to support herself; God taught her a new level of dependence on him. She was desperately waiting for a potential employer's phone call; instead, God spoke into her soul's quiet places. She was searching for a genie-god to provide instantly for her needs; God blew her away by revealing he's much better and bigger than she'd ever dreamed.

It's a good reminder that God has his own timetable. Our job is to see where God is meeting us in the waiting journey.