Powerful Revelation and Big Thank you to all who made it possible!!!!

Mark 3:21,33-35

Today I learned a really powerful revelation based on this scripture! Jesus is with his disciples and they tell him his family is there to see him. He makes a choice and stays with the people he's ministering to rather than going out to meet his family. Jesus chose to follow God's will instead of abide by what his family desired for him. Many that have read my recent blog about my choice of obedience I had to make in 2012. Why this was so important to me today was that I finally found scripture that backs my decision! Jesus the Son of God chose to do the will of His Heavenly Father rather then appeasing the desires of his family of origin. He chose God! He chose to be obedient to Him! He didn't let anyone take him away from the path he was to travel. I also chose God! What has happened in my life since? I can't wait to tell you about all the miracles that I've been able to experience since I took that step of obedience!

My husband and I have been apart of a ministry team for over a year now! We meet every thursday night at our home anywhere from 7 to about 10 pm. We have met at our apartment also when we lived in downtown Minneapolis. These guys have been the greatest blessing to us! Two in particular Nathaniel Cushing and David Brooks. We love you guys so much!!! Sean we love you man! We stand with you no matter what just like you stood by us when we were in desperate need of love.

During our engagement Zechariah and I had a really rough time. We loved each other but we were also hurting a lot and didn't know yet how to communicate that to each other. When we talked about our hurting hearts it ended up causing an argument. It all came to hit the fan one night as we were ministering to youth for a 30 hour famine. That weekend is what this blog is about! If I could take the credit and say I had anything to do with it I would be so doing God an injustice.

Zechariah and I were really hurting and instead of being able to practice our set like we were supposed to be doing Sean and Bud were looking for Zechariah to talk with him and I stayed back at the church with David and Cal. I barely knew David and I didn't really want to share my feelings with someone I didn't know. After a while the guys returned and we started our practice. Later in the night God did something I never in a million years would have dreamed he would.

We were worshipping with the youth band and God told me I couldn't worship him with a half heart. I asked him what he wanted me to do and he said "Go talk to David" I was not about to tell someone I didn't really know how I felt so I refused Him at first but he kept telling me I needed to share what was in my heart. In the same moment I was hearing this God was speaking to David telling him that he needs to be gentle and fatherly to me. We both were not having it at first. We had no idea what God had in store for us in that moment! I stopped worshipping looked at David and asked if I could talk to him. He smiled and said sure. I wish I could describe what happened after that but all I can say is that by us listening to God's request we've experienced healing in ways we never imagined. One night God would confirm to David a request he had for him 6 weeks before I even would ask.

We were at David's apartment for another night of Sleepwaker. I was in the bathroom and was just telling God who I could see walking me down the aisle. I felt at peace about it so I waited for the right moment to ask. It came shortly after and I looked and David and said I had something personal to ask him and he looked at me and said "Stop I know what you're going to ask me!" I looked at Zechariah and I said "how?" David finished my thoughts for me. "You've never asked someone to give you away yet have you?" I couldn't believe what I just heard! I just was talking to God about this a few minutes earlier and there's David telling me he already knew! God revealed to David that he would give me away at my wedding. In the course of our time with Sleepwaker we became like a family. David has become in many ways a dad to me!! I didn't know who else I would have wanted to share in that special moment! So one night way back in the earlier part of mine and Zechariah's engagement when we were close to parting ways God had David in mind to be a father figure in my life! David I know you don't have internet but I just want to say I love you like crazy! Thank you for everything you have done to help me feel safe, protected, loved and encouraged! Many times you'd hear me at my worst, best and just eh moments and I can't thank you enough for being obedient to Daddy!

Nathaniel (Bud) and Sean you guys are so wonderful!! Thank you for all the ways you minister to us! Thank you for allowing us to do life together! Bud thank you for playing at our wedding even though you had a busy schedule!! Sean thank you for supporting Zechariah and encouraging him in the many ways you do to be the best husband and father he can be!! We are so blessed by you both!

The way my ladies in my wedding party came to be is another God thing. I was in Vinton Iowa with Valleybrook on my first mission trip and I was talking to God about who would be standing with me in my wedding and God just told me from start to finish what girls they were! Three of the girls that God spoke about were also on the trip with me so I was able to actually ask three of the ladies that day if they would be in my wedding. They all said yes!! It was so exciting to see how God was planning my wedding and I had no idea! Amy, Amanda Leah, Lindsay and Margo I love you ladies!!! You were the greatest wedding party so thank you for being willing to celebrate this very special day with us!

Amy I'm so sorry if we will be unable to see your big day as we wait for our little one to arrive!! We'll be praying God gives you and Jason an amazing day though!!

Margo words can't even begin to describe how thankful I am for you!! We've been through so much in our friendship!! I love you so much!! Now we get to experience two years of camp together!! I pray that God leads to the beautiful life he has for you and you live confidently out the identity he's given you! It's such an honor to know you and do life together!

Amanda Leah and Lindsay thank you so much ladies for being apart of this special day! Amanda really it was so great to have you be a part of the wedding with how far you came from!! Love you!! I so miss singing "take me out to the ballgame" and our Valleybrook talks!!! Lindsay I really miss our Sunday lunches!!! I hope we can do them again sometime!! Leah thank you so much for all the fun times at the bachlorette party!! I loved working with you in Iowa too!!

To our wonderful family back home We love you!!!! Thank you so much for everything you did for our wedding!!! We are so blessed to have been able to had a wonderful place for our wedding! Jim thank you for all the work you put into the yard, projects, giving up your garden, house just to make sure we had a great day!!! Mom you're forever going to hold a special place in my heart!! I can't thank you enough for all the planning you did and ways it all came together! Thank you for embracing me into your family!! Thank you for becoming my family!! I love your son with all my heart and will do the greatest job I can to show him that more and more everyday! You have raised a wonderful young man! He will make a great dad to our Nathan!!

Dad and Amy thank you for providing the rehearsal dinner!! It was so lovely to be able to sit together and just eat a meal together before the wedding! Thank you for the gifts you've already provided for us and Nathan! Dad couldn't imagine naming Nathan after anyone else! We're so proud of you!!!

So what started out as revelation experienced became a thank you to all the wonderful people in our lives that made this year possible!!! Thank you from the bottom of my heart!! We could not have gotten to where we are without you all! Thank you to everyone who came to celebrate our special day with us! We are abundantly blessed!!!

Valleybrook has helped us in ways that can't even be described!! We listen to sermons and are currently going through the rejection study! We love being able to heal with you all! Love you church family! We miss you but are so excited when we can be a part of worship with you when we do make it home for the weekend!

Love you all!

Tina M. Putney

God provides!!!

Wow! I am just floored at how God provides!!! So two days after my due date just waiting on my little one to enter our world a silent prayer was answered! I love sharing how good God is!! This has been a really healing week for me and I'm so excited for what's to come yet!!

God told me that this week I would heal in ways I couldn't imagine! I have been able to face some hard stuff head on and it's left me so free to trust in my Daddy!  Through the waiting I've learned that I don't have to feel rejected or stupid as I often felt anymore! I get to live in freedom now knowing who I am, that I'm loved, seen, heard and protected! What's even better then that is that I get to also teach that to my son!

I woke up early this morning (go figure) and went to my son's room to pray. I'm going to be doing that a lot throughout his life I know! I prayed for a little bit then read the book I made for Nathan sharing my experiences being pregnant with him. I was tearing up reading it because God was faithful to his promises throughout this entire season of pregnancy! He set up insurance, midwives, my hospital of delivery, he promised me this would be a smooth pregnancy and true to his word it was! I really didn't feel sick much throughout it, just nausea which is normal! The only potential complication was the placenta being to low but even that brought my husband and I closer in ways I couldn't begin to explain! We're able to communicate in ways we've never been able to in our relationship before it's really beautiful! I love what God has been showing us!

So this morning I finished my prayer and reading time and came to my phone to see if I had any missed calls/texts. My bestie did leave me a message. Last year we helped out at a camp in WI together! It was a great experience and we made a lot of amazing memories together being at camp, our car rides, nights hanging out, etc. we sang for the talent show also! I really enjoyed my experience last year and was hoping to somehow be able to help again this year. I didn't know how that could be possible with an infant to take care of.

Around June I felt like I needed to sign up to help out at camp. I can't describe what I felt but when I talked to my best friend she said about the same thing. For some reason I can't figure out we are supposed to go to camp this year! So I sent in my registration and all the forms needed and knew I was on my way to camp. Anxiety over this has been piling up though in me because I didn't know how it was going to work out. I couldn't possibly sleep in a non air conditioned tent for a week with an infant so I had no idea what housing would look like all week. Then I got a message saying there was a place for me and my son to stay all week!

It was at that moment I realized that God really does want me to go to camp this year and more importantly that he provides a way to make it happen! Knowing that God really does have me and my son is such a beautiful revelation. He really does love us! Not only do I get to go to camp this year but our housing has been taken care of! Tears are welling up in my eyes as I write this!! Last year I was a very newlywed leaving my husband for a week to serve children with disabilities. This year I'm a new mother leaving my home for a week to help children with disabilities. It's beautiful to see how God works in our lives!!

I'm looking forward to sharing the journey of discovery with you as we near the arrival of our son and camp! God has always been faithful to keep his promises! I pray that he does the same for your lives!

Thank you to those that have made this journey possible!

With all the love in my heart
Tina M. Putney

Prayer for my son

As we anxiously await the arrival of the sweetest gift from God into our lives I was struck by scripture and prayer that was shared through a friend! So first off I want to say a sincere thank you for directing me to proverbs 2: 1-8! Thank you also for your kind words of encouragement and support they made me tear up!

At our church baby shower we were abundantly blessed by our church family. After a few days I got a chance to read the cards one by one. They were all so beautiful and heartfelt but one directly made an impact on me. It was one with a prayer for my son. I opened up the scripture to see what it said and this is reason for this post!

Proverbs 2: 1-8 is a beautiful instruction on wisdom. Wisdom of living in the Fear of the Lord. Seeking for wisdom as if it were a treasure. That's so beautiful to me! Wisdom is such a precious gift. I hear a lot of people say "I just don't hear God" or "I wish he'd be as vocal with me as he is with you." To me these are cry outs for wisdom. When I read this I simply picture my son playing with a box and lifting it to find his
"treasure" Just imagine how excited he'd be to find it! Jesus says we do not have because we do not ask in scripture. What would our lives be like if we asked for wisdom and fear of the Lord? I catch myself thinking this very thing. What would my life be like? I find the answer also in this scripture passage!

Proverbs 2: 7-8 states in my version " 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." I don't know about you but I sure want and need that protection! Right now seeking out God's wisdom is really needed as everyday that passes waiting for my son's arrival gets a little more painful. It should get more joyful because everyday means he's one day closer! I used to be told that I don't explore my brains enough by my earthly dad. I realize now though that I didn't pursue the kind of wisdom he wanted me to pursue.

As a co laborer called to raise one of Christ's most precious creations I want to be really clear on what kind of wisdom I want to teach my son to seek. I want to teach him about the Love of God. I want him to geared up and ready to fight the demons in his life. We can only prepare him for battle if we train him in the way he should go. I'm learning a lot about the value of a human being to God the Father as I am about to birth one.

We are so immensely important to Him! My husband and I are reading a fantastic book about rejection. In it we're learning what the spirit of rejection does to a human being starting with Eve in the Garden of Eden. When my husband and I have a disagreement we've come to realize there are three voices in the argument. Things that were not said or thought were heard in both our minds. We hear one thing from the mouth of each other but then there's another voice that comes to "counsel us" it's anything but counseling us of course as it's giving us both a poor image of our spouse.As the biggest enemy of God Satan will stop at nothing to destroy God's precious creations, us!

If there has been a voice making you feel bad about yourself I would encourage you to get a hold of the book rejection exposed by Anthony Hulsebus. It's not only a powerful read but potentially life changing. You can finally shut the spirits in your life out and live by the Spirit of God and follow his voice. We're definitley learning and to be honest may never really learn  everything we can in this life but our hearts are being transformed in ways only God can do. My prayer for my son is the same I have for you!

To walk in the way of the Lord, to seek out his wisdom, to silence the voices that have held you captive, made you to feel less than God's beloved. Satan recieved the highest rejection by God now all he wants is to make us feel his same rejection! Talk about a bad sport he's still licking his wounds! I'm asking you friends and family to hold us accountable as we teach our son to follow the way of the Lord. May we not depart ever from our role as co laborers with Christ to raise our son in the way of the Lord so that he will not depart from it.

Thank you so much to all who have already poured so much love into my husband and I as we enter this blessed season in our lives. May we steward God's gift well! Pray for us as we face this challenge each and everyday from birth to death.

May the peace of the Lord be with you always!
With All the Love in my heart

Tina  M. Putney