A Song Of Love: How Jesus Breathes Life into Destiny

By Jan Chapman

Ever felt this way? God, do you love me? Why does this keep happening? Not again, I can't believe this. Is God real? Does He really love me? Discover the truth. The truth of God's amazing love, joy, and peace. Do you know that the Lord our God wants to talk to you more than you to Him? And would you like to know that God is real? That God is a person? It's all true. When all appears hopeless, God will indeed show up. He will . . . again and again. For Jan, this meant getting hit by a semi-truck to turn her life around. And once she stepped out in faith to follow what Jesus had for her, out of the ashes He breathed life. And just when everything began to turn around, more trials came. But what was God's response? I can use that. The truth is, He uses everything for good. Step into story after story of the amazing reality and character of God with this authentically deep and personal journey. A journey that converges into a love-song call from God. Walk with Jan as the Lord speaks His still, small voice of love and grace. Her acts of obedience and faith grow into a deep personal relationship with Jesus Christ. A new life in Christ emerges. This is A Song of Love: How Jesus Breathes Life Into Destiny. This hope-filled story will inspire you to conquer adversity. The truth is, God has already been composing "a song of love" in your life. Discover His amazing power that can unleash barriers and chains. Even from depths of great sadness, there truly is hope: God is calling you to a song of love

• Language: English
• Publisher: Christian Faith Publishing, Inc.
• Release date: Sep 5, 2019
• ISBN: 9781644928219

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A Song Of Love

How Jesus Breathes Life into Destiny

Jan Chapman

Copyright © 2019 by Jan Chapman

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, distributed, or transmitted in any form or by any means, including photocopying, recording, or other electronic or mechanical methods without the prior written permission of the publisher. For permission requests, solicit the publisher via the address below.

Christian Faith Publishing, Inc.

832 Park Avenue

Meadville, PA 16335

www.christianfaithpublishing.com

Unless otherwise noted, Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV®, Copyright ©1973, 1978, 1984, by Biblica, Inc. Used by permission of Zondervan. All rights reserved worldwide. www.zondervan.com

Other Scripture quotations are from the following sources:

Scripture quotations marked The Message. Copyright © 1993, 1994, 1995, 1996, 2000, 2001, 2002. Used by permission of NavPress Publishing Group.

Scripture quotations marked (NLT) are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright ©1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.

Scripture quotations marked (TPT) are from The Passion Translation®. Copyright © 2017, 2018 by Passion & Fire Ministries, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved. ThePassionTranslation.com.

Quotes from Jesus Calling®, Enjoying Peace in His Presence. Copyright ©2004 by Sarah Young. Used by permission of Thomas Nelson, Inc., Nashville, TN 37214. All rights reserved.

Printed in the United States of America

Table of Contents

Nothing Is Impossible

Who Are You, God?

The Vine

The Divine Romance

Teach Me, Lord

The Call to Love

Foreword

Welcome to a slice of my journey. True stories touching upon portions of my life. God’s story. His story of love. A story of overcoming and being made new in Christ. It’s true, once you follow, He changes everything!

In my obedience, God has moved me further into a beautiful destiny. With each experience, one truth that I have found is the amazing power of God. He has delivered every time I’ve obeyed. And when I stumbled and was a little slow to catch on, the kindness of God blessed me in spite of myself. It’s true, God is always with me. He is with you, too.

I am extremely grateful to everyone that has been on this journey with me. The Lord’s heart and promise placed people in my life that only want the very best for me. Many helped me to move forward in the destiny that God has called me to be in. He orchestrates his intentions into our destinies together. It might be a child held in another part of the world, a neighbor, the ticketing agent at the airport, a car salesman, or family and close friends. It’s all orchestrated by him.

Parts of my story have been blessed by people whom I have never met, nor is it likely I ever will. They too have indirectly helped me overcome because God led me to them. As they became intertwined into my destiny, as I wrote I asked the Lord about each one. He confirmed that each needs to be a part of the story. I am very grateful to all of them.

No matter who came along in the journey, directly or indirectly, it was all His plan. With joy He says that they will be blessed. Their lives have somehow intertwined with mine, and it was all composing A Song of Love. God has used every one to bring His love into my life.

And the most fabulous thing about the entire story is that God did it. Only him. So often it has popped into my head, I cannot make this up! Even with all the challenges of my life, as I learned to listen to his voice, God took charge and set me onto a path into a whole new world.

And that’s why, the number one name to thank with all my heart is my Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.

Almighty God what you’ve done by giving your only son, I simply can’t thank you enough. This is your book and is dedicated to you. And I pray with all my heart that it changes lives, even just one. All of it has been worth it. All of it. Thank You, God, for transforming my life.

Being transformed from a caterpillar to a butterfly, I found that it is indeed possible to fly.

To all those that have helped and encouraged me along this journey, thank you for believing in me. And to my dear son, thanks for always supporting me and for being a true joy to my heart. You are my greatest accomplishment. No words can express my love for you. When I count my blessings, I count you twice.

Now all glory to God, who is able, through his mighty power at work within us, to accomplish infinitely more than we might ask or think.

—Ephesians 3:20

Nothing Is Impossible

Buzz, buzz, buzz! The alarm jolts me out of my sleep. I crawl out of bed and make a pot of coffee. I glance out the window to see a fresh snowfall. The world had become almost entirely white. Ugh.

Have you ever awakened to dreading the drive? You know, the morning commute and what it has in store for you? Well, this particular day, the morning commute was awful. We were trapped in a snowstorm during rush hour. Unfortunately, that day I had to drive the entire city of Minneapolis. First a white-knuckle drive to get my son to school. Such relief once we arrived safely. Determined, I embarked onto my next appointment at the exact opposite end of town. My plan was to continue immediately on, even though I had ninety minutes to arrive. The wisdom of that decision quickly became apparent.

There I was, crawling along hoping to make it through each intersection before the light changed. A careful assessment required at each intersection—will I make it through, or block the traffic? Though frustrating, it beat the earlier white knuckling it at 45 mph. Many times, I felt my tires slipping, ice beneath, taunting me with I dare you. I was going to be very late, throw caution to the wind, let’s move, baby! But…no. I could only slog along with the herd, spacing my SUV just far enough back to avoid rear-ending the glowing blinking eyes of the vehicle blockade ahead. They were almost mesmerizing, as I gazed at them through my snow-filled windshield.

I grew tired of the constant braking, and the inevitable ice. We crawled along, a giant herd all heading somewhere, but none to the same destination. Left, right, left, right, my wipers were in rhythm with the music on the radio. An hour and a half had passed, and I was only halfway to my destination. So much for the ninety minutes I had thought were more than enough! By virtue of Ms. Garmin’s leadership, she brought me to downtown. Really, how ridiculous! Bring me on the route where everyone is going, and I’m not! My thoughts were stuck on the impossibility of ever making my destination.

Out of nowhere, an ambulance stopped all traffic. In unison, we all moved to the shoulder, and then—behold! A man riding…a unicycle.

There it was, the impossible right in front of me. He rode with amazing skill, using the snow and ice, like an ice skater, or better yet, a downhill racer skiing an Olympic slalom, timing his moves perfectly. His subtle maneuvers were taking advantage of the ice and snow, my current nemesis. I struggled on four tires. He danced on one. He made an incredible skill appear so easy. No, much more than that, it was beautiful. A fellow commuter waved and bid him hello in the storm. He smiled, his face to the wind and snow, returning a shout and joyous wave. He showed us all that nothing is impossible! And the smile on his face revealed how much he loved it. He had gleefully conquered the elements!

As I continued my journey, I could not help but consider that moment, and my own life. Have I boxed myself in with believing the impossibilities? Or could I try a different vehicle that would be much more enjoyable, and still get me to my final destination? Do I need all four tires, or should I make a go with only one? How would I handle it? Will it change my approach? What challenges will I find on my every day journey that could reveal to be hidden assets? I had not considered the unicycle. Yet there it was. So simple! Will this help me get to my destination? All I have to do is try.

I finally found the catalyst. Believe the impossible. Had to see it to believe it—that man joyfully riding a unicycle in a winter snowstorm.

Do you have something that you’ve been holding off doing? Does it keep coming to mind, over and over, a nagging realization that you were meant to do it? Take the first step and start! It really only takes one step. The thing is to trust and just do it. That saying really is a major key to everyone’s life. Just do it. Wish I had a million dollars for every time I thought it and didn’t.

Our minds often put us into traps making us believe that we cannot reach our dreams. Again, and again, we think we cannot make a goal because of this or that, does not matter what the thought is, it shows up. Are you going to let it stop you? Your dreams never happen if you never try.

The most amazing thing about that drive that day was the contrast of this man, throwing all caution to the wind, commuting on a unicycle. Then there were the rest of us, fear filled nail-biting drivers on four, or perhaps even more, wheels. Really? He’s on one tire and still alive in this environment? He didn’t think of the boundaries, he just did it!

It is all a measure of what you believe. He knew he could, so he did. Do we know we can? That is the big question. Can you? Of course! Do you receive by faith the life that you have, and the beautiful you that the Lord has made? You are beautifully and wonderfully made, and God does not make mistakes. This is a truth that needs to fill your heart, because it is indeed true.

My hope and dreams are to share the incredible love of Jesus with you. To encourage you to see in Him what I’ve seen, to believe that I believe, to understand that I do believe and that all that amazing love is meant for you. Really, it is, for each and every one of you. To know that it is indeed true: Nothing is impossible, with God.

Dedicated to my best friend, Jesus Christ, without whom this story would not have been written.

Call to Me and I will answer you, and I will tell you great and mighty things, which you do not know.

—Jeremiah 33:3

Who Are You, God?

My Story

Father, many people won’t believe this.

Ah, but you see my daughter, many will.

I’m afraid, afraid they will never see the truth. The truth that is You.

And that, my daughter, is why I’ve been calling you, all your life.

This is my story of my love of my daughter, Jan. She has always been on my heart.

You don’t know her, like I do. I’ve known her since before she was born. I watched her as a little girl. She was filled with great happiness and joy, even though her family life wasn’t happy all the time. She grew up on challenging times, and only wanted to see her family filled with fun and laughter. As a result, she was the one that cheered up everyone else. She always loved music. She has always been filled with light.

Yet I saw her, I saw her heart, and I saw the sadness creeping in. There were a lot of challenges in her family, yet she thought somehow, she could handle it. She didn’t know to come to Me. Gently, I was calling her name but she was not listening.

One night, I came to her and her sister while they were still little children, in their bedroom. I was only there a short while, just long enough so that both saw Me. They simply needed to believe. Their pure and innocent hearts were open to seeing Me. Their beautiful faces shimmered with joy and amazement as I gazed upon them.

Do you see what I’m seeing? Jan quietly asked.

Uh-huh, replied her sister.

My peace and love covered their hearts. My beautiful daughters, they are my favorites.

Life continued, and my daughters obediently said prayers at night. I was their refuge, in their innocence they didn’t know how much that meant. Little did they know that their mother had turned to drinking more and more. That was the first plot twist in Jan’s story. Jan didn’t know the impact this would have on her life.

As Jan grew up, things seemed normal, everyone thought so. But as time went on, she became more and more distant from her mother. She saw her mother falling apart, overcome by alcoholism. Try as they might, the family could not get her mother to accept the help she needed. Failure was not an option to Jan, but more and more the situation looked grim. She was losing her mother and did not want to admit it. It then became shame. Her sister dealt with it differently. She escaped by focusing on sports. Her brother loved sports, too, and was learning all about being a Boy Scout. Jan focused on doing the best she could in school. And she turned to music. It gave her joy and connection to others.

Many of us become close to others, just by chance. Jan had become close to a girl. She also had been struggling at home. Love grows for unknown reasons, reasons only I know. I brought the two together, for each other.

Eventually it all came to a head one summer day. They had planned to watch movies and had been making popcorn. The girl locked herself in the bathroom and began to cry. She was in there for a long time, and Jan knocked on the door, hoping to get her to come out. Suddenly, the words that came from behind the door were unfathomable, I’m going to kill myself. What? Jan cried! A pit of despair welled up inside of her stomach. This could not be real. She was trying to commit suicide!?

Only the two of them were there. No one to help, Jan came to a conclusion, in her own strength she felt it was up to her. She cried and cried for her to come out. Banging on the door, she begged her to be here, for her, she needed her! After a while, the door finally opened. There she stood, holding a razor blade, she had been trying to slice her wrists. At the time, Jan had no idea that once down the path of attempted suicide, how hard it would be from then on.

It never occurred to Jan that this particular moment was a pivoting point in their lives. She did not see how her desire to live was so great, her love of life, would keep her going and alive. She also didn’t realize that the one who could really help, was Me. On the other hand, this girl would from then on always try to find a way to escape. Counseling was not even discussed. They were children. Only the two of them knew about the attempted suicide. It was a pact, and that incident was not to be revealed to anyone until decades later.

Jan continued on, not knowing, not seeing, that much was coming against her. Instead she just kept going on doing as well as she could, on her own. She earned praise and enjoyed it. She fell in love with music and buried herself in the beauty of melodies. I saw, I gave her more talent, then she began to love it more and more, and used this gift of music as comfort. All this gave her an independence and reliance on self that she would call on years later. But such self-reliance also exposed her to so much that she was unprepared to handle. What she really needed had not become clear to her yet.

One day, a teenage boy that lived nearby came to their home while Jan was home alone. She was just eleven years old. The boy acted very friendly, but it was not friendship, it was lust. Quickly, before Jan even knew what was happening, he was taking his clothes off, and trying to remove hers. Fear gripped her. He tried to rape her, but I saw this, and made sure her brother came home just in time to save her.

After this incident, she had other incidents, even riding her bike to a park,