Stones of Remembrance: A Personal Journey Toward Faith

By Vivian Borgeson

Every Christian should have a story of faith to tell. When we take time to recognize Gods hand in our everyday lives, our stories of faith will write themselves.

Within the pages of this book you will be inspired to:

Spend time daily reading Gods Word.

Spend time daily pouring out your heart to the only one who can move heaven and earth to meet your specific needs.

Spend time daily anticipating the Good Shepherd to lead you in paths of righteousness for His names sake.

Start recording your own stories of faith to pass on as a legacy to the next generation.

Sometimes we believers carry a false sense of failure, thinking we are simply not doing enough for the Lord. What we often fail to remember is it is not what we do for the Lord that grows our faith, but what we allow Him to do for us and through us. The first mindset causes us to focus on ourselves and fuels our desire for the recognition and accolades only the Lord deserves. The second mindset gives glory where glory is due. God is to be glorified in our lives every day.

May you be encouraged.

• Language: English
• Publisher: WestBow Press
• Release date: Mar 17, 2014
• ISBN: 9781490824468

Vivian Borgeson

Vivian Borgeson is an ordinary woman who has an extraordinary story to tell. Each small step of faith she took increased her stride into giant steps toward walking in confidence with her Lord. Once she started walking, she never looked back. Vivian lives in Keller, Texas, close to her family.

Book preview

CONTENTS

Acknowledgments

Introduction

The First Step

What Shall I Wear?

The Brown Coat

Mr. Johnson

One More Child

House Hunt

Take A Seat

The Play

Sea Shells

These Are The Children

House Hunt Two

House Hunt Three

House Hunt Four

Un-Shepherded People

The Step I Never Wanted To Take

House Hunt Four Revisited

Home Again!

Reflections

About The Author

To Bill and JoAnn Taylor, my spiritual parents in the Lord. You taught me how to walk by faith. Your tender care and loving example of shepherding fellow Christians left a permanent mark on my heart. You have never stopped pouring out yourselves for others or for the service of our Lord. Thank you for investing yourselves into my life.

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

I’d like to express my heartfelt appreciation to:

•  The Lord for leading me and walking this path with me.

•  Debra Wenlock for giving permission to copy her beautiful painting titled Stepping Stones for the front cover. To view more of her work go to www.debrawenlock.co.uk

INTRODUCTION

In days to come, when your children ask, What are these stones doing here? tell your children this: Israel crossed over this Jordan on dried ground.—Joshua 4:22

I am a gardener wannabe. Through the years I have bought many books and magazines to learn the best way to plant and raise colorful annual and perennials. Just as a bulb pushes its way through the earth after a dormant winter, so does my desire for a beautiful English garden push its way to the forefront of my mind each spring. You know, the kind of garden that encourages one to spend countless hours outside on a bench that was made from branches, sipping fresh squeezed lemonade and reading the latest garden book surrounded by fragrance and calm.

That desire stays with me until the first really hot day or the first fire ant or mosquito bites me. What I don’t love is being hot and insect bitten. This is usually the point where I surrender any hopes of even having a green lawn.

Several years ago I heard a sermon on how the priests of Israel took twelve stones from the Jordan River and placed them on dry land as a memory of God’s deliverance. I thought it would be great fun to make my own stepping stones. Each stone would be designed to recall a time when God walked me through a faith-building event in my life. The stones would then be placed in my beautiful garden so when my grandchildren asked me what each stone meant, I’d have a wonderful story to tell them about God’s faithfulness.

I got busy right away making a list of the momentous times when the Lord stepped in to expand my faith and trust in Him. Sketches then appeared on paper with symbols to be placed strategically on each stone to serve as reminders of His activity in my life.

Did I mention that sermon was preached several years ago? Therein lies the problem. There wasn’t a garden to place them in, so I never made the stepping stones. There comes a time in every romantic’s heart when she has to leave La-La Land and wake up and smell the roses, even if they are silk. (Real roses make me sneeze.) These stones just weren’t going to happen. Even if they did, it would be hard to tell my grandchildren what each stone meant if the stones were outside and I was inside.

The Lord stirred my heart once again in His Word about putting these special memories in writing. Gee, what a novel idea; writing my memories in the comfort of my own home surrounded by silk arrangements, floral fabrics, and pictures of flowers. I’ll call it Stones of Remembrance. The following are some of the verses that the Lord used to nudge my heart.

I’ll write a book on your righteousness, talk up your salvation the livelong day, never running out of good things to write or say. I come in the power of the Lord God. I post signs marking his right-of-way (Ps. 71:16).

All believers, come here and listen, let me tell you what God did for me (Ps. 66:16).

We will not conceal them from their children, but tell to the generation to come the praises of the Lord, and His strength and His wondrous works that He has done (Ps. 78:4).

Once again God’s Word spoke to my heart from the book of James 1:22–25: "Don’t fool yourself into thinking that you are a listener when you are anything but, letting the Word go in one ear and out the other. Act on what you hear! Those who hear and don’t act are like those who glance in the