Tugsaxiom

Leadership- Lessons Learned Thus Far- Part 1- How the Journey Began

2011-05-21T09:37:00.000-07:00

Its been five months since I took on the role of Ladies Ministry Director at Compelled Church. I place I really didn't see myself going as I headed to the Proverb 31 Ministries conference three years ago, where this journey first began. My every intent in going to the conference that year was to improve my skills as a writer. But, God had a different plan.

Although I originally signed up for sessions in the writers block when I arrived I found the schedule before me to be mostly leadership courses. We were told errors had been made on some of the schedules so we were to feel free to jump into our sessions of interest.

After initially registering for the conference I found out my eldest daughter; who lives in Illionois, was attending the same conference so we both decided to check-in for the early-bird session, which also was on leaderdship. Are you seeing a pattern here? Honestly, at the time, I didn't see it, I just believed it all to be coinsidence.

This conference turned out to be phenominal! Every session I took fed my spirit, by the end of the first day I felt God changing my hearts desire, not taking away my love of writing, just placing something else before it, but I still would not have been able to tell you what this something else was exactly.

On the third day of the conference I visited the prayer room. With over 800 women in attendance and everyone saying to make sure to make a stop in this prayer room , I was surprised when I walked in to find only one woman sitting in prayer. I didn't know she was with Proverb 31 Ministries until after about ten minutes or so she quietly came over to me and sat in the seat next to me and asked if she could pray with me. As she prayed she shared with me what she felt the Lord was laying upon her heart for me, and I won't go into every detail but it was about a change in direction for my life. As we spoke further we both began to notice the similarities in our pasts and the direction we were headed spiritually. The both of us knew our meeting was not coinsidence but a devine appointment set by God.

That final evening Renee Swope gave a message about Living Beyond the Shadow of Doubt. The message was all about living in the fullest of who God has created us to be, to not focus on the things we don't believe we are capable of but to move forward with faith in God, our Father who has our backs. After writing down all the things I felt might be holding me back like still believing in the lies told to me in my past about my worth, and failures and bad choices and so much more baggage I had seemed to be holding onto without really even realizing it, I let go! I laid that piece of paper at the foot of that cross. I allowed myself to fall into my Fathers arms and I let Him love me.

Lesson #1- I have learned to not receive what negative people say about me. My one and only true identity is in who God says I am. My past nor the people in my past have any power over me, nor do the people in my present who choose to label me or judge me without knowing me or my heart. In leadership you find yourself in this vulnerable place where you and the moves you make can be scrutinized by everyone around you. The focus has to remain on God- His words- His voice in our hearts and remaining true to His call and who He says we are and continuing on the path and toward the vision He gives.

SHE SPEAKS

2011-04-03T16:48:00.000-07:00

Proverb 31 Ministries hosts the "She Speaks Conference" every year. This is an incredible opportunity for speakers, writers, and/or ministry leaders to share and learn new and fresh ways to express and lead others to the heart of God. Due to the generosity of Mr. Cecil Murphy, the ladies at Proverb 31 have been given the opportunity to offer several scholarships to this years conference. You too can try for one of these scholarships as I am doing with this post. You can find out more information through this link, http://www.shespeaksconference/ The challenge for one of the scholarships is to tell a story. Doesn't sound like too much of a challenge, right? Afterall, we all have some story to tell. Here's the catch- the story can only consist of 6 words! Thats right, SIX, words! This is my story- MAMA'S EYES, LOVING, GENTLE, ACHINGLY MISSED.

Blessings all,

Intimacy with God

2011-03-31T12:44:00.000-07:00

I had often heard others speak of intimacy with God. But, it wasn't until this wintry day a couple of years ago that I was given a glimpse of the depth of this intimacy God wants with us. Things in my life were not going terrible but, it was a time when there seem to be several nagging things happening all at the same time and my thoughts were focused on the many, what seemed to be, unanswered prayers, I'd been praying for years. My prayers for healing, loved ones to return to serving the Lord, financial breakthroughs for families, broken marriages and wayward children seemed to be falling upon deaf ears. I knew in my mind this really wasn't true but I was discouraged. Some of these situations appeared to be doomed without the Lords intervention and my heart was heavy. Several months prior during a time of prayer this saying came to my mind, " hear me with your eyes"! I repeated this over and over and wrote it down in my journal. For months these same words repeatedly came into my prayer time, "hear me with your eyes". Then several weeks later, "hear me with your eyes, see me with your ears" ! My heart quickened as I sought out my journal once again to jot down this phrase or what maybe was a parable. Did Jesus still teach in parable's? What did these words mean? Ever since I was a little girl I have been fascinated by birds. I just love watching them and the fact that their existence depends totally on God's daily provision just is amazing to me. On this gloomy wintry day traveling through the long twisting drive that led to my mother's apartment, within the senior community, my daughter and I were engaged in conversation when out of the side of my eye I saw something red flash by us. I reached to turn the music down, as I slowed and swerved slightly to the right side of the road. I looked up into the bare tree branches, searching in the direction of this red flash of color. There it was! The biggest and reddest cardinal I think I've ever seen! Oh, he looked so magnificent against the dark black and grey bark of that barren looking tree! But wait, whats that? Oh, wow here comes another one, and she sits right next to him. For a female she looks almost as bold in color as he, but you can tell she is the girl. My eyes are glued and my heart is beating so hard and so fast and my spirit man knows my Lord has something to say! Just then from the same direction as the first comes yet another and another cardinal! Both take their place near the first two and before they even get settled two more come to join them. I'm also a amateur photographer, and my thoughts are racing between knowing this is a moment of significance to thinking how much I wished I'd brought my camera. Then out of nowhere I spot this bird of bright yellow with an orange beak picking his place on the branches of the tree right next to the cardinals! At this point I am praying, Oh Holy Spirit, give me understanding of what You are showing me, when more of these yellow birds come join the first. I sat in complete amazement gazing at this site, feeling incredibly blessed to have been driving through there at that moment to see it. Right then in my spirit I hear " this isn't by accident, this is for you". For me? What does that mean? I'm still gazing into the trees when I hear my daughter tell me to drive away, "an old man is trying to open my door"! Sure enough when I look back an elderly man who lived in the community must have thought I was pulled over for him and he was trying to get in our car. I politely waved to him and proceeded on our way. Throughout the rest of the day I thought about what I'd seen and prayed continually for the Lord to give me wisdom. It was several days later when I opened my journal right to the page with the phrase given to me in the months prior. I'd not even considered the two could be connected. But, as I read the phrase again the vision of all those birds came flooding back to my mind as if I was seeing it for the first time. The revelation of all of this didn't come to me in one full swoop, but little by little the Lord spoke into my heart, showing me what it was He was speaking to me. The first thing being just how personal our Father is- God could have used any number of things to speak to me but he chose something He knew would get my attention, something he knows I love to watch. The birds! I had been asking to hear His voice in response to all the many situations I'd been praying for when I first heard " hear me with your eyes". Here I was driving through a place that appeared lifeless and barren when within the wisp of a second God brought magnificent color. This was exactly how I was seeing these many situations I was praying for, lifeless and barren, without hope. God in His great desire for us to be intimate with Him showed me how deep he knows my heart, how deeply he knows me. He spoke to me through allowing my eyes to fall upon His wonder. Even in the middle of all that appeared to be barren and hopeless, just as the situations I had been praying for, my faithful Father brought gorgeous color, full of life! The Lord revealed that even though some of these situations looked as if they were dying, just as the ground below the winters cold, there lies life just waiting to reveal itself in the spring. We may not always see what the Lord is up to, but if we look around us, we can always see and hear His heart for us. Open your eyes today and hear God's voice and allow Him to show you just how deeply he loves you and wants for you to seek intimacy in our relationship with Him.

I hope and pray my story has inspired you to seek and serve the Lord. If you would like to dig deeper with more stories of inspiration, hop over to the Proverb 31 Ministries site where you will find links to many blogs full of encouragement for your faith to grow.

If you happen to be a writer, speaker or ministry leader "She Speaks" is the conference you don't want to miss.

What is the She Speaks Conference? The opportunity to surround yourself with the love, wisdom and experience of Godly women running after the heart of God who desire to share all they have learned thus far on their journey, to help others be the mothers and daughters to walk in the fullness of all God has for us.

Curious? Check it out- just maybe the Lord has a seat there with your name on it!

shespeaksconference.com

Maybe you can win a scholarship to attend- click the link below.

www.aholyexperience.com/2011/03/how-christians-create-art-she-speaks-scholarship/

May God Bless,

Brokeness Is Opportunity

2010-11-19T09:56:00.000-08:00

Pastor has been teaching on the subject of Brokeness at our church, and last week taught on the book of Ruth. We learned about the bitterness that crept it's way into the heart of Naomi, Ruth's mother-in-law, through the loss of her husband and her son's. Naomi finds herself in a foreign land and in her mind, she is all alone, with only her two daughter-in -laws. She chooses to return to her homeland and even though her daughter-in-law's intend to follow her, she has other plans. She is wanting to go on her own. I believe Naomi's concern for her daughter-in-law is sincere and she means the best for them and their futures. But, the fact that she is making this choice to make this journey alone sticks out to me. How many times in our brokeness and grief do we make that same choice? To go it all alone!
Loss of a loved one is so very hard. It can change who we are, how we react to others, it can change the very way we look at life and/or God! But the greatest mistake we can make is to try to go through it alone and not see the opportunity God gives us through this experience!
I have wrote of the passing of my mom last year, and I have learned, sometimes the hard way, that nothing can fill that void left by the absence of her physical presence in my life. Nothing! Except God!
A mother's love is a most unique love, I believe the closest to Godly, agape love, we will ever experience on this earth. When a loved one is no longer here it leaves a big gaping hole in your heart.
A place only our heavenly Father's love can fill.
I thought I was doing what was best for me after my mom died by just staying busy and keeping my mind off of her and the fact she wasn't ever going to be here again. I was choosing to go "alone" on my journey through grief, kind of like Naomi.
After a full year had past I found myself falling into a deep depression that confused me. Why was I grieving so bad now when she'd been gone a year already? I didn't understand God had been waiting for me to fall into His arms the whole time, wanting to comfort me and guide me through this journey. He was waiting for me to come to Him that He could reveal to me the opportunity He was giving me to learn more about His love. Only God knows the extent of our grieving, only God knows the size of that void left within our hearts and God is the only one who knows just how to fill that gaping hole, and bring us closer to Him all at the same time. It's hard to imagine anything good coming from something that hurts so much, but God not only show's us this in His word in the book of Ruth, it's also shown in the book of Job. Loss is hard, one of the hardest things I think we have to deal with in this life but God can and will bring good from every loss if we let Him. No, our loved one won't miraculously reappear, but one day we will be with them again. And, until that day comes we can learn more about our Father's love by asking Him to walk with us. Asking Him to show us how to love more like Him and to bring us into opportunities to show that love to others.

He promises to always be there, to never leave us nor forsake us ,just as Naomi finally realized, we have to let Him in and choose to walk with Him and let Him show us the way. God brought restoration to Naomi's life. First, with Ruth's refusal to part from her, then by restoring her heart, by showing her His love. God still heard Naomi's voice, even through her pain and her bitterness.

I am so thankful the Lord loves me so much, He wouldn't leave me to myself.
I pray you experience the revelation of Gods love for you today- it will change your life forever- and you will never be the same!

The Mother Daughter Relationship

2010-08-26T10:12:00.000-07:00

I don't know how many times in the past several years I have listened to well meaning youth leaders talk about "letting go" of our kids once they become teenagers. They claim more time with their peers and young adults is what they really need at this point in their lives. One thing I've noticed is that the majority of the youth leaders suggesting this way of parenting have yet to parent through the teenage years themselves, and yes, maybe they know kids, but where did this gained knowledge or wisdom on parenting they are claiming come from?
One would hope their guidance and teaching would come from the Bible. But becoming more distant in your teens life is not what the Bible teaches. I am the mom of five great kids. Four of those kids are now aspiring adults who now manage their own daily lives and choices, the fifth child is just beginning to maneuver through the final stages of those teenage years into adulthood. Now, I've learned a lot of things through the years of raising those first four, yet I will never claim to know all there is to know about the right and the wrong ways of parenting. But, this stands out to me; you cannot have a close relationship with someone who is not there, you cannot speak wisdom to someone who is not there to hear you, you cannot guide someone if they cannot see you leading and God has called every parent to be and do every one of these. Do I believe the teenage years are a time to make sure they have opportunities to put into practice those things you hope you have instilled in them thus far? Most certainly! A child needs those opportunities. But, God's word teaches us that "we", the parents are to be their greatest influence, all the way through to adulthood. It doesn't teach us that we are to be this main influence only unto adolescence and then toss that responsibility to their peers, teachers, or even youth leaders. It is our responsibility as parents to see them through this journey into adulthood. There is a great article on this topic of influence at http://www.crosswalk.com/family/home_school/1363344.html named "The Primary Influence In a Girl's Life". Although the article is speaking specifically about the mother/daughter relationship I really think it applies to boys as well. I hope you'll enjoy it. Proverbs 22:6 " Train up a child in the way he should go, Even when he is old he will not depart from it." NAS

The Symptoms of Grief

2010-08-25T21:38:00.000-07:00

Psalm 94:19 "When my anxious thoughts multiply within me,

Your consolations delight my soul."

Everyone grieves the loss of a loved one or friend differently. Some hold all their emotion inside and choose to not let it out at all, others may keep their chin up within public view and then let it all out in the quiet or while praying, and there are some who are consumed with the feeling of loss for some time and yet others who for whatever reason, seem to handle the death of a loved one with such calm that one might claim they are void of emotion.

Since my mama went to be with the Lord last year I think I've gone through each one of these different ways of grieving. Much to my surprise has been the effect upon me as the first year anniversary of her passing has come. It's been harder than I thought it would be. I have missed her every day, and some days the pain has been so intense.

Grieving, I am finding is an unpredictable emotion that can seem to be totally absent one moment and all consuming in the next, with no announcement of it's coming symptoms.

But, Jesus is faithful to His word that he would never leave us, and He brings consolation to the anxious and the grieving heart and the one thing that brings me comfort is picturing my mama sitting with Jesus with a smile on her face, knowing one day we will both be sitting there with Him, smiling!

2009-09-23T08:17:00.000-07:00

The Creation Museum was incredible!

The heart and work that went into the building of this just blows me away. The details, and the animation of the replicas and the way they seem to be looking right at you!!

We had a great time and really enjoyed the petting zoo where we got to see and feed a real zonkey!!
Blessings,

The Very Breath We Breathe

2009-06-17T06:15:00.000-07:00

How often throughout our day are we aware of breathing? Of course we know were breathing, but how aware are we of doing so? You know the actual process........breathe in.......now exhale ......breathe in....... now let it out. Brings to mind a doctors visit, doesn't it? When you fear hyperventilating because the doctor is moving that stethescope just a bit too quickly for you to catch up! Or after we've been running or exerting ourselves we become aware of our breathing, but mostly because at that point it becomes difficult to catch our breathe. Another is at the end of life when your time left on this earth has become short and the number of breathes we take in a single minute are counted to determine when that time may come. But, normally on an average day we don't pay much attention to breathing, although it is the most important function vital to life. Without breathing our hearts fail to beat, and blood no longer flows through our veins.
Jesus is so much like the very breathe we breath. He is vital to life, yet for so many we go throughout our days being unaware of just how vital our need is for Him, until life becomes difficult, then we come as if gasping for air.
The days we are upon aren't making it difficult to find ourselves in times which can be like taking the very wind from our sails, so to speak. The pink slip at the end of the work day, late notices in the mail, children failing at school or even worse and into drugs and alcohol, ailing health. The list could go on and on, my point being, we don't have to look too far to find troubles in this life, Jesus told us in John 16:33 "These things I have spoken to you, so that in Me you may have peace. In the world you have tribulation, but take courage; I have overcome the world."
How much different would our days be if everyday, every hour, every minute we were aware of our need for Jesus to make it to the next day, hour or minute? I believe God created breathing, the most vital function for our physical life, to be on autopilot, because, otherwise we would have to constantly be aware of our breathing, lest we die physically. Our spiritual well being isn't on autopilot though, we have to be deliberate in seeking Him. We have to be aware that our need for Jesus is like our very breathe. Without Him we face imminent death.
The following is from my devotional reading today and what stirred this thought within me about our breathing.
"Jesus" The very sounding of My Name, in Love and tenderness, drives away all evil. It is the word before which all hosts of evil flee.
"Jesus". My Name is the call for a lifeline to rescue you from temptation.
"Jesus". The Name banishes lonliness and dispels gloom.
"Jesus". Summons help to conquer your faults.
I will set you on high because you have known My Name. Yes! My Name-Jesus." Use it tenderly. Use it prayerfully. Use it powerfully.

It is my prayer that as we go through this day we will all be more aware of our need for Jesus in everything we do, as if He were the very breathe we breath. Inhaling more of Him and exhaling our cares and troubles of the day.

"As the deer pants for the water brooks,
So my soul pants for You, O God." Psalm 42:1

O' Lord I so need You, without You Jesus my life would be no more, like my body without air, I would fail to function. I thank You Lord that You are always with me, help me to let You in deeper still, help me to release every burden into Your care, that I may focus on You.

Love You Jesus,

Amen.

Joy in the Midst of Despair

2009-06-15T16:06:00.000-07:00

Much has happened in my life since I last wrote something here on this blog. With all the good intentions in my heart to keep posting regular, life sometimes just gets ahold and time goes much faster than we'd like.
I am learning just how fleeting life is and sometimes opportunities can pass us by never to return again. Also that just as God's word tells us, "In the world you have tribulation, but take courage; I have overcome the world".
In the early part of April I learned that my mother has terminal cancer. Since that time it seems I have experienced a gambit of emotions, from shock, despair, anger, hurt, confusion, frustration and helplessness.
On one recent occasion my mom had called me sounding so distraught and helpless and in need of some help. I got into my car hearing the sound of her desperate voice still ringing in my ear as I slid a worship CD in to listen to while enroute to her home. I began to sing along and just worship the Lord when I was surrounded by an overwhelming presence. This was a presence of joy so full and so complete it is indescribable. For a second or two I felt a bit guilty for feeling so full of this joy when my mother was feeling so down and desperate. Just as quick as that thought had entered my mind I sensed the Lord telling me "no", "don't give into that thought, this is My gift to you, receive it, walk in it, even in times of trouble, it is yours always". I was overwhelmed to tears at Fathers love for me.
I have always heard the teachings about joy, and joy in times of trouble. I've experienced joyful times, in times of trouble, but not really truely being full of joy in troubling times. This joy is still so full in my heart and I know the Lord is in control. Even if I am helpless, He isn't and no matter what life has in store, my joy comes from knowing Him. My joy comes from realizing where he has brought me from, my joy is knowing someday I will be with Him for all eternity. And until that time, He is with me, therefore I can rejoice, even in the face of troubling times.
Blessings

All In The Life of Bees

2009-05-07T08:10:00.000-07:00

29) Then God said, "Behold, I have given you every plant yielding seed that is on the surface of all the earth, and every tree which has fruit yielding seed; it shall be food for you; 30) and to every beast of the earth and to every bird of the sky and to everything that moves on the earth which has life, I have given every green plant for food"; and it was so. 31) God saw all that He had made, and behold, it was very good. And there was evening and there was morning, the sixth day. Genesis 1:29-31

This morning as I was praying I was thanking God for all these things we seem to have grown so accustomed to, flowers in the spring with their beautiful scents, the greeness of the grass and the trees. The variety of birds and the role they play in our intricate ecosystem. The thought of bees came to me and the role they have in our survival. I don't think we give much thought of that when we think about those bees. Most times we think about how pesky they are or how we run from them. I was thinking about how the bees pollinate our plants. How they go from one to another taking from one and giving to another, almost just by the landing on another plant, cross pollination happens.
God was so perfect in His plan. We as christians so many times find ourselves confused and we say we just don't hear God speak.
If we would just take the time to look around us at His creation, he even gives us examples on how to live by the life of a bee! Some may be thinking I have finally gone off the deep end here, but I don't think so, i think I'm hearing and seeing quite clearly in this.
A bee spends its whole day wondering and collectiong for the providing for those in the nest, these are "the workers", or servants if you will. They go from one plant to another all day long, touching(planting seed-pollinating) one, then touching another, and in doing so providing what the plant needs to produce fruit (food) or a beautiful bloom, still referred to as fruit.
In our lives in order to produce "fruit", we need each other. All alone we produce nothing!
It is only by the power of our Heavenly Creator we can be the conduit to produce anything in this life. We need not only to be touched by others hearts we need to touch others with our hearts.
We are in such a time in our world that our mere survival depends on God and each other.
We need to be focusing more on God and His heart and being faithful to bring gladness to His heart by being more selfless, allowing those petty things in our lives be tossed aside, they have no eternal significance anyway. What are the things in our lives that do have eternal significance?
Today my prayer for all of us is first, we would all grow closer to knowing the heart of our Father, and our goal would be to bring gladness into That Heart, by touching (planting seed) into the life of another.
It may mean just a simple phone call to ask someone how they are doing, or doing a kind deed for a neighbor. No matter how big or small the task, it's the heart that matters.

Would you go and touch a heart today? Then allow God to bring the fruit from your effort.

And open your eyes today and you too can hear the voice of God!
He is our awesome God !
Thank You Abba, I am Yours!

2009-03-25T20:58:00.000-07:00

I've been thinking latley about prayer.
I know Gods word tells us we don't have because we don't ask and we are suppose to ask in prayer. Yet I somehowfeel as if prayer has lost it's purpose, for many it has become simply a time to make requests of God.
When was the last time we simply called out to God for nothing more than to be in His presence?
Have we become a body who looks at prayer like a jeannie in a bottle so to speak?

Many times we get into prayer and our time becomes a never ending list of requests and not only do we request we go further and even tell God how He should go about filling our order.
We ask Him to do this and remove that even as we declare in our next breathe that we desire His will. Hmm.

I have come to believe that when we come to Father with a heart of prayer, although at times we should be specific, just the mere desire to be with Him is enough.
Have you ever had one of your children be excited about coming to sit with you to share in watching a movie, then they no more get all cuddled up against you and they fall asleep?
I see our Heavenly Father in much the same way. He is pleased we have the desire to just be with Him. Gods word says He already knows what is in our hearts and He already knows what it is we need. So many times going into prayer I am so thankful I can simply come to Him and I don't have to utter a single word. Romans 8:26 In the same way the Spirit also helps our weakness; for we do not know how to pray as we should but the Spirit Himself intercedes for us with groanings too deep for words;and He who searches the hearts knows what the mind of the Spirit is, because He intercedes for the saints according to the will of God.
Isn't that awesome! We can simply come! No more....no less.....just desire Him and come.
And even if we find ourselves curled up and all cuddled against Him, basking in His warmth to the point we fall asleep, thats okay. he's Daddy God, He will simply hold us and love us and in so doing he already knows the desires of our hearts.

This alone shows His love for us........Abba, I am yours!
Be blessed and in His presence.

Life Update

2009-03-03T09:06:00.001-08:00

It's been several weeks since I updated my blog. Not for lack of happening mind you, just for lack of time to sit down and write.
But, the Lord is busy! I have been doing a study about the Jewish roots of Gods word and even visited a local synagogue. It was amazing! I was so moved by just the flow of the Holy Spirit during the Shabat celebration. Even though I am sure there was some sort of prepared message for the evening, you just couldn't sense that anything was being done my the mandates of a clock, and it was freeing! The worship time was absolutley beautiful! The Lord spoke to my heart about the freedom we have in worshipping Him. It isn't about having the right song or the right atmosphere surrounding us, it is just truely all about Him and allowing our spirits to flow freely with His in unison, allowing ourselves to become one with Him. When we allow ourselves to completley surrender during worship we bring ourselves into a place where we are better able to hear His voice, sense His presence and feel His breathe upon us, where restoration can take place.
I would encourage you to worship and praise often. We don't have to wait to go to where we gather with other believers to worship the Lord. Where ever we choose to worship Him isn't what is important, but that we worship, truely worship. Not just sing a song in unison with others but listen to the words as we sing them and let those words penetrate our hearts, and then surrender and fall into the loving arms of our Savior. From it will come greater understanding into the heart of our Father, our love deepens, our hunger for more of Him will grow.

Phillipians 3:3a for we are the true circumcision; who worship in the Spirit of God and glory in Christ Jesus and put no confidence in the flesh,

Be blessed today as you worship the Lord in all you do, do it for the glory of God!

Taste and See

2009-01-18T15:46:00.000-08:00

Psalms 34:8 O taste and see that the Lord is good; How blessed is the man who takes refuge in Him.

This past week-end our church began having an additional gathering time on Saturday evenings. What a blessing to be having so much growth! Yet, as we grow in numbers of bodies it has also been our prayer we grow in spirit. As I prayed Saturday asking the Lord to reveal Himself anew to His children, I asked that our awarness of just how close He is would be peaked.
We would feel His very breathe upon our skin. There was a stirring in my heart asking, "will you receive"?
Throughout all three services this week-end this was my prayer, "teach us to receive Lord".
This afternoon Ps. 34:8 came to mind. Then a correlation between what I felt in my heart and what I read in this verse.
Just like having a plate of food in front of you, before it nourishes and can benefit our bodies we must receive it to our bodies. If we simply let the plate of food sit before us it does nothing, we have to get the food into our bodies.
Jesus, through the Holy Spirit can be no closer, He lives within us, consistantly ministering to us.
Yet, if we don't do our part and surrender to Him we will find ourselves complacent and undernourished.
Our lives will always have something for us to be concerned about or to dwell over. But, it's not what the Lord would have us be doing. I know it can be so much easier said than done to just give it to the Lord, yet, I am also seeing the more we surrender the more teachable we become, the more we open up our hearts, the more we receive. The more we receive, the more we grow.

Give us teachable hearts Lord, help us to surrender self to You and all our plans, to lay them down before You and receive all You have for us. Place Your precious peace upon us as we lay every care, every worry down at the foot of the Cross, and help us grow deeper in our understanding, and our love for You and those in our lives.
We praise You and thank You........In Your precious name Jesus, Amen

Be blessed........"O'Taste and see that the Lord is good".

Clutter in our Hearts and Minds

2009-01-09T08:09:00.000-08:00

This morning my day started with a hunt, you know the kind I'm referring to, where you know you just saw it, and you search and search and you find many other things you previously went on a hunt for but the one thing your searching for right now is no where to be found. Then you become frustrated and you can think of nothing else, finding this thing becomes almost an obsession. Then as you are on the search you find yourself on the onset of a great throw away session. Are ya with me there ladies? Or am I the only one who does this?
Today as I was on my tirad a thought came to me about "clutter", it's everywhere!
I've often wondered when visiting others what they do with their clutter. You know the kind I'm talking about, all that stuff that comes in the mail that you might (not) use some day, where in the world does everyone hide this stuff?
Anyway I realized, while on my hunt, that this clutter is everywhere, not only with mail, but we have newspapers, periodicals, our e-mail boxes, and also inside of us, in our minds and our hearts. I couldn't help but wonder if the clutter inside of us works the same way as the clutter on the outside, and couldn't imagine why it wouldn't. I have found when we have all this clutter in our lives it keeps us from finding the very thing we need. Have you ever found yourself checking e-mail and finding so many that you just delete them all, then someone asks you if you received the e-mail with an invite or an announcement of an important event?
When situations and circumstances come our way we tend to fret about them almost obsessivley, cluttering of the mind. When we allow our schedules to become overloaded, cluttering of our time. When we worry about things we have no control over, cluttering of our hearts. I am seeing a corralation here between our physical clutter and our inner clutter, aren't you? All this clutter keeps us away from finding the very thing(s) that is most important.
Hosea 10:12 Sow with a view to righteousness, Reap in accordance with kindness; Break up your fallow ground, For it is time to seek the Lord Until He comes to rain righteuosness on you.
"For it is time to seek the Lord".
How much of our clutter keeps us away from seeking the Lord? How much of our clutter keeps us away from hearing His voice?
Sometimes it's very difficult in our own strength to let go of something, or a situation that just breaks our hearts. Our thoughts tend to take over or clutter up our time, our minds and hearts. We want to let go but find we are just too weak. Recently I found myself in this very place, where my thoughts seem to be taken over by circumstances heart breaking and out of control, and I found myself constantly thinking about it. In one instant I simply said "Lord, I don't want to be thinking about this all the time" , and a verse came to mind.
Matthew 6:33 But, seek first His kingdom and His righteousness, and all these things will be added to you.
God cares and He knows our hearts. When we bring all things unto Him first, we can then let it go. You might be thinking thats easier said than done, and I agree. But, after the verse came to me, later that day even when I sat down it dawned on me that I hadn't really thought about that issue much at all since I called out to God. He truely had come and helped me unclutter my thoughts. My heart felt lighter upon realizing this and excited for the future. You see this isn't the only time I've allowed myself to be taken over by a situation, actually I had begun to think this was just how I handled things. But, now the Lord has shown me He will help me keep my heart and mind on Him if I simply bring it all to Him, first.
How many times have I thought it would be so awesome to have help uncluttering my life, and all along the only help I needed was just waiting for me to ask.
I don't know if this message will help do anything about that paper clutter from our mail, or the clutter in our e-mail boxes but I do pray it encourage you to let it draw you to the very one who can help you unclutter your heart and mind and bring you to a place of freedom and peace. I pray it will bring encouragment to take a good look around our lives and get rid of the stuff and the doing that just isn't going to bring an eternal benefit. "For it is time to seek the Lord".

Being Teachable

2009-01-03T06:29:00.000-08:00

Proverbs 1:8 Hear my son, your father's instruction
And do not forsake your mother's teaching;

I remember that feeling inside when I would overhear plans being made when I was a small child. That sense of wanting to know all the details, the times, and the day in which these plans were to take place. Sometimes my mother would be accommodating and would fill us in without hesitation, and other times be more lock lipped than Fort Knox. (this was a saying my brothers used all the time when sometihng was not openly available to them, funny how those things stick with you). Mom always had her reasons for either revealing or keeping quiet about what was to take place. I recall for the most part being excited and just accepting that plans were being made for me.
Why are we not as accepting of the plans the Lord prepares for us? Maybe "accepting" isn't the right word here, possibly it's more a need for patience and trust on our part.
In Isaiah 40:31 it says, " But they that wait upon the Lord shall renew their strength."
When we are children we have such a sense of acceptance and trust for those who care for us, who have shown us love and nuturing. Why then as we grow older and supposedly more mature in the Lord we seem to trust Him less than we trusted our own caregivers as a child? In Matthew 18:3, Jesus says, "Truely I say to you, unless you are converted and become like children, you will not enter the kingdom of heaven.
"Like children"!
What does it mean to "become like children"? My granddaughter loves to sit on my lap and have me teach her how to count, or do puzzles, or read to her. Her curiousity about life and all thats in it overwhelms me at times. I think this is a perfect example of what our Father desires from us, to come, sit on His lap and let Him teach us.
How do we want our children to accept our teaching? With resistance? Rebellion? Or acceptance and trust?
I believe the Lord is calling His children to a deeper understanding and also a deeper commitment to His plans for our lives. The only way this will happen is by trusting Him, knowing He loves us, He helps us, He fights the battles for us. But, we must trust, we must be teachable and accepting of His plans.
Just as when we were little and we trusted the plans being made for us by our parents we are to trust and believe our Fathers love for us would never lead us astray, He loves and cares for us and longs for us to come to Him just like His word says, "as children", trusting Him and having a teachable spirit about us.

Daddy, I come before You today with my arms held high, reaching for You to lift me up to sit upon Your lap and listen and to be taught. Open my ears and eyes, as well as my heart, mind and spirit to receive and trust in all You have for me. Thank You, In the name and power of Jesus Christ, Amen.

Now, go on, go crawl up on your Daddy's lap and have a nice long talk!
Be blessed!

Parental Lessons Learned

2008-12-29T18:44:00.000-08:00

Acts 2:25-28
'I saw the Lord always in my presence;
For He is at my right hand, so that I will not be shaken.
Therefore my heart was glad and my tongue exulted;
Moreover my flesh also will live in hope;
Because you will not abandon my soul to Hades,
Nor allow Your Holy One to undergo decay.
You have made known to me the ways of life;
You will make me full of gladness with Your presence.'

My Mother once told me that when your children are little they step on your toes, and when they are older they step on your heart.
I through the years have found the truth in this statement.
I love being a mom, but I will tell you, it is the most difficult job we women will ever face in life. I have learned so much about myself and about life through my children.
I have come to a better understanding of the heart of God by being a parent. His tolerance, His grace, forgivness, and mercy have become the things which I crave to possess in greater measure than seems natural for the flesh to obtain.
I have learned I do not possess the power to change a heart no matter how the condition of that heart breaks mine. I've also learned that when you parent a child into adulthood it doesn't hurt any less when they stray just because you didn't actually give physical birth to that child. Being a parent isn't about the birthing process it's about the loving process.
I have learned that when your children become adults they don't always recollect the past the same way you remember it, at times bringing laughter and others times tears.
I've realized once we become adults and we're raising our own children we still may not see the things we did in our youth that contributed to some of our own hard places and take ownership instead of passing blame.
I have learned much by being a parent, but I have learned much more by being a child, His child, and it is in His presence He will restore gladness in my heart. I never want to make His heart feel the way mine does today, although I know I have and He has always been there just waiting for me to turn to Him in repentance and desire to once again sit and bask in the warmth of His love for me.
It is in His presence where I find peace.
The greatest lesson I have learned is although I am still a parent and cannot take that responsibility lightly, I'll do it best by being His child first.

Gifts

2008-12-14T14:49:00.000-08:00

WOW, Life sure does get busy, doesn't it? I can't believe it's going on two months since I've last written here.

The past few days as we all start to collect those last few gifts to give for Christmas Day my mind and heart has been stirred about the receiving of gifts, and how sometimes we tend to overlook the gifts that are most precious.

Do you remember as a kid, or ever watched as a small child, or even an older child for that matter, is opening the gifts of Christmas, and they open one and immediatly put that gift to the side then proceed on to the next, finally arriving at the last gift and after opening it, looks up and asks the question, "Is that it"? " Is that the last one, really"?

As we approach the day of "Christmas", the day we celebrate the birth of our Lord and Saviour, I am praying we would all take some time to evaluate life, and see those gifts for which the Lord has given. Although I am no longer a big fan of the winter season the Lord has impressed upon my heart the beauty and the gift He has given us in this season. The symbolism of the pure white covering of snow that washes over the dingy dirty look when the appearance of life has faded for the season.

If you are one who has previously read my posts, you might recall awhile back my post about the birds. I marvel at this creation of God and the wonder of their life, not only the diversity of their colors, shapes, sizes and characteristics, but amazingly how God cares for them. I watched the other day from my car as I waited for my daughter as the sparrows did this awesome dance in the air. First it was just fifteen or so flying then landing on a rooftop, as several more joined that group, they all lifted up in flight the last following the first as they all swoped down, then back up to land on the utility wire. More then joined in as they all again lifted in unison and dipped and swayed in their flight, as if dancing in the air. By the time they left where I could see them there must have been hundreds of them. I sat there falling in love with the love of our Father all over again.

I seen this display as a gift the Lord gave me the vision to partake in, one I may have missed if given to the hurried schedule we all find ourselves in these days.

Some of the greatest gifts we could ever receive are all around us, in the gloriously blue sky He has used to paint the backdrop of our outdoor world. Even those days that are somewhat gloomy can carry beauty as the other evening we found reds and pinks swirled within what was the time of sunset. The giggly laughter of a small child, the twinkle in the eye of an elderly person when you tell them you love them, the hugs we receive when we so need encouragement.

As we all gather together with our loved ones this Christmas, it is my prayer that we would see the truest gifts of life all around us and we be given the ability to appreciate them for what they are. The greatest gifts, the ones that are from the Fathers heart through His children, given to each other. Embrace someone this season and open your eyes to the wonders that surround us all in the awesome beauty of His creation.

May you know the greatest gift the Father has given us, the gift of His Son, Jesus!

Putting Self Aside

2008-10-21T20:06:00.000-07:00

When I looked at the date of my last post it just confirmed for me what my mind and body had already been screaming at me for weeks now.........life has gotten too busy.....slow down. But, have you ever gotten yourself into such a tailspin that you just don't know how to slow down?
What's really crazy is I have been here before and I got better at it and for a very long time I had developed a rhythm, an easy pace if you will. Then sometime this past summer that ol' ball began to roll and it just seems to be picking up speed as time passes by.
One day last week as I was attempting to catch up with some household tasks, I found myself in a stuppor of frustration and I was asking God to show me a way to make this all just slightly easier. I was making suggestions to Him as I cleaned, like if only they would this, or if only they could that, then this might be alittle easier on me. As it was beginning to look as if I could be close to completion I came upon another big mess to clean up, and sarcastically asked, "does this ever end?". I continued on my little tirad....okay....huge tirad about cleaning up after other people. I made the comment half to myself and half to the Lord I suppose being He had been the only one I had been conversing with this entire time...(and not all on a sour note), just how tired I was of always cleaning up someone elses messes. Right after I said those words it was as if I heard the Lord immediatley say to my heart........"You mean like I do yours?"
Talk about being humbled before the Lord!
You see the week previous to this one I had been asking the Lord where that fine line was between being selfless and giving too much. I've really been struggling with staying on task with the duties in my own life while at the same time pushing those things to the side to aid others when their lives have thrown theme a curve ball or two. I was becoming overwhelmed at times and frustrated that maybe I was being taken for granted or taken advantage of or maybe just unable to say no, which has been an issue for me in the past. At the same time praying about being a true reflection of Christ.
Through this one brief moment God not only brought enlightenment but He also answered my question with a renewed joy of serving others.
I now can see that to live like Jesus is to live without limits. I don't recall ever reading or hearing of a time when Jesus refused to help anyone that asked. It is through the giving of our hearts that others will see the reflection of Jesus in us. I am finding that even though I can become tired and weary physically and emotionally God is faithful to His word.

And let us not be weary in well doing; for in due season we shall reap, if we faint not. Gal.6:9

And whatsoever you do, do it heartily as to the Lord, and not unto men; Colossians 3:23

But they that wait upon the Lord shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings like eagles; they shall run, and not grow weary; and they shall walk, and not faint. Isaiah 40:31

Throughout this time I also have been dealing with some medical issues. I can see clearly now how by doing these extra tasks God has been the One carrying me, giving me strength beyond my ability, because I was doing exactly as He would have me do.....serve others......witness without words through my actions. Allowing the Lords reflection to shine through. When we truely are willing to set ourselves aside for someone else thats when God shines through us, thats when His strength will carry us to do amazing things we cannot do in our own limited abilities. It's not about making my life easier; it's about fulfilling the purpose for which I am here. To serve, just as Christ said He did not come to be served, but to serve, this too is my call.
I wished I could say I'll never again become frustrated by the distractions or even the messes of others, but I know it will only take me one second of recollection to realize once again the magnitude of what He has done for me....humble I become and willing to put myself aside for the sake of another, just as Jesus has done for me.
I pray this is encouragement to your heart that God sees all those little things we do, and although they may seem little to us at the time, with and through God even those little things can bring huge dividends in reward to others.

Be blessed all, it will be a bit before I post again, we are off to sunny Sanibel for a much needed rest and renewal, mind, body, and spirit!

Missed Blessings

2008-09-23T19:31:00.000-07:00

I read a story the other day that has had me thinking. The story was told about a woman who past the same man every day on her way home from work. This man stood on a corner of a busy intersection holding a sign asking for food and stating that he was hungry. The woman past the first day and felt bad for the man but didn't respond. She saw him on the second day and her heart was a bit more stirred and she continued to think about him even after she was home. On the third day she was eating her lunch at work and thought about the man she would more than likely see once again on her way home from work. She decided to make a stop at a near by burger establishment on her way home. As she approached the intersection she saw the man at the same spot, and she pulled over in close proximity to where the man stood and she called out to him telling him she had brought him a burger and fries to eat. At first the man appeared to have not even heard her, she repeated what she had said, and couldn't believe her ears with his response. He had been polite enough when he told her he didn't eat beef, he was watching his cholesterol levels, so that ruled out the fries as well.
How many times do we pray for answers to lifes situations or trials and the Lord answers, yet we pass, because the answer didn't look like we had invisioned it to look. Or we didn't think it was the right answer for us. I really think many times God does send answers to our prayers and we refuse them. So many times when we pray I think we can already have in our minds what the response should be, how it should appear and even when, then when a turn of events happens that changes the situation wether that change is good, bad, or indifferent we turn our backs and walk away not even considering the idea that it very well could be an answer from the Lord. Not always when the Lord answers our prayers do we receive immediate relief. I believe that sometimes answers to prayer can be a process that happens over time.
Just like in the illustration of the starving man, the womans heart was stirred to help him, and he looked the answer to his prayer in the eye and refused it.
The only way we can be in tuned to the way God may be working in our lives is to stay in tuned with Him. He wants us to be an active part of what He is doing in our lives. God doesn't need us to bring blessing to our lives, but He desires us to share our lives with Him, even though He knows all things in advance, it's about the relationship.
1 John 5:14-15 tells us that if we ask anything according to His will, He hears us.
I pray you will go to the Lord today asking for your eyes to be opened to the blessings He brings into your life, and your relationship with Him will become deepened with every word spoken in His presence.
"So will I compass thine altar, O Lord; that i may publish with the voice of thanksgiving, and tell of thy wonderous works". Ps 26:6-7

It's Been Awhile

2008-09-12T22:12:00.000-07:00

It really has been a long time since I have posted anything here, So much going on through the summer and now that we are back to full-time schooling at home, time is still in short supply.
From Chicago in early spring, She Speaks conference in June, and back to North Carolina in August for our youth mission trip, and started on as a youth leader in Bible study with our Jr. High girls, this summer just flew by. Seems I was just getting ready to settle in and plan some summer family get togethers and realize school planning needs to begin. And that could take a totally seperate post, since we are using brand new curriculum this year. This means lots of planning time. yet, my hope and prayer is that this curriculum will save me prep time in the future and so far we are adjusting okay and Libby seems to be doing good with it.
It has been in these past crazy, whirlwind months, that I so realize my need for the Lord, and just how much He does carry me! "His strength shown in my weakness". And I have to admit, in these past months I have been feeling incredibly weak. My doctor feels it's probably hormonal issues, I mean, well, I did turn the big 50 this year! Yet we are doing several kinds of tests just to be sure. So, if any of you out there do read this...say a prayer for me....would ya?
Gods word tells us, that when we cry out for Him, he is faithful to answer. I have found His faithfulness in this verse. Throughout these crazy hectic months it has been my time with Him that has kept me sane, helped me to balance,and given me an even stronger hunger and desire for intimacy with Him. The more I turn to Him and lean on Him the more I want of Him, the more I desire to be like Him. I wished I could say that throughout these months I have been a patient soul with all that I have come into contact with, but come on, lets be realistic here, I DID mention the hormones right? But, I have found I actually have become more patient than I once was and I take no credit for any of it, It's all Him, believe me...patience has never been one of my strong points. Anyway, I am rambling now because I am tired so my point........I do have one!
Get in His presence! The more you spend time with Him, the more you find you not only need to, you just want to. Prayer time isn't a chore or a struggle to gain your points from God today.....that time becomes like the air you breathe......without it you simple begin to suffocate!
Be blessed all...and in His presence!
Until next time..............

Where Are The Miracles?

2008-07-31T07:36:00.000-07:00

" So then, does he who provides you with the Spirit and works miracles among you, do it by the works of the Law, or by hearing with faith"? Galatians 3:5

I listened to testimonies yesterday from some who recently went to Haiti. One objective was universal- each one acknowledged they went there looking for some sort of "miracle", to see the hand of God at work. Although it was also acknowledged they knew they saw the hand of God working here at home, yet they were looking for maybe "bigger" miracles?
Recently I listened to a lecture on "Probability", where the Professor used a deck of cards to prove his point. Although he didn't deal out 10,000 hands in front of my eyes, it had been done previously to test the ideas of randomness. He showed how often, or the probability, of any one particular set of cards to be dealt more than once. Then he dealt out two sets of five cards each. The first set consisted of a ten of hearts, Jack of spades, Ace of hearts, two of diamonds, and a four of clubs. The second hand he dealt was a run of clubs from Ace to ten, which if you know anything about poker you know this to be a straight flush, and very valuable also very rare and something you might tell others about. Yet, would it surprise you if I told you the first hand dealt is equally as rare? The chances of that particular hand being dealt again is just as likely, or unlikely as that of the straight flush. Yet, you wouldn't be excited to receive those cards, even if you did receive them again. Even though the first set of cards are as rare as the second we have determined by the "rules of the game" they have no significant value.
I think the "miracles" of God are a lot like the rarity of the cards received in the game of poker and placed into our very hands, some to be traded in for something better, maybe something a little more significant, something seen less often or more rare. Possibly the greatness or the value of a miracle is determined by our own perception of "a miracle"?
What is a miracle? If we look around us at all creation and all the intricate details God put into His creation, I believe we would come to the realization that we are surrounded by the miracles of God. It is our own perception that somewhere along the journey we have determined these "miracles" to lack the significance we seek after. But, does that in itself make these things any less miraculous?
Have you ever seen a bumble bee? If you have, you have witnessed a miracle! It is a scientific fact that bumble bees shouldn't be able to fly! The weight and the circumference of this bee, according to aerodynamics should be an impossible feat- Yet, he flys'! That is a miracle!!!
When you are at the grocery store right behind the woman who is short a few dollars, that's a miracle! God has strategically placed you there to help! When you witness the woman who has locked her keys in her car and begins to walk home -you could be her miracle!
I don't want to sound as if going to a foreign country on a missions trip is unimportant, not at all, God has told us to go "to the ends of the earth". I would love to be able to go myself. My point is, we can see and witness the miracles of God even here everywhere we go, everyday of our lives. I believe His miracles surround us daily not only in His creation but also in opportunities we most times miss. Maybe we have become just too busy or maybe we have determined the value of what a miracle is based on our own terms. I really believe that if we were to ask God to help us see His awesomeness in our daily lives and to give us a deeper perception of His hand at work, we would then begin to see the value of "All ", of His miracles. We would then see how He wants to use us to be a part of someones miracle, we would also see when he is using others to be miracles in our own lives.
Whether the miracles in our lives are a set of random acts of kindness,or the phone call at just the right time, the check that came in the mail right when the bank account was looking red, or the total physical healing of yourself or a loved one, All are equally as rare and all are equally as miraculous, and all should be enough to tell others about.
Look around you and find your miracle today.......then go tell someone how God is working in your life right where you are.

Our Dependence on God

2008-07-17T10:29:00.000-07:00

Today I was reading about the day of the Crucifixion and I thought about all that Christ endured for us upon that cross. Jesus throughout His time on earth was so dependent upon the Father. He was in constant communication with Him. Jesus had never been separated from His divine relationship with The Father. Then here on the cross when the sins of man were poured upon Him, He was apart from The Father! He was in such utter anguish He cried out, "My God, My God, Why have You Forsaken Me?" Matthew 27:46
Many have said he cried out due to the physical agony He must have been in, but I believe He cried out, out of spiritual anguish due to the separation from The Father. We don't know the length of time Jesus was physically tortured but it doesn't matter because The Word tells us, He was "beyond recognition". Throughout the entire time of this physical torture, He endured, never once crying out for them to stop or pleading for their mercy. The Father was with Him. The Father was with Him, helping Him to endure the unimaginable pain they were inflicting upon Him. Helping Him to remain focused on Him, His Father. Yet, in that very moment when Jesus was separate from God, that is when he cried out! The separation was more than he could bare, "Jesus then uttered another loud cry, then took His last breathe." Luke 15:37
This really has me thinking about my own dependence upon My Father and the closeness of my walk with him. In those times when I seek out every avenue of solution about a situation or trial in my life, of my own creation, instead of depending on Him, how anguished is my heart?
How long do I keep myself separated from Him before my spirit cries out for Him? Why do I always return to that place where for whatever reason, I think I have a better solution than He does. He knows me better than I do, He knows all my tomorrows and every single detail there is to know about me.
This reflection has left me with a desire for a deeper dependency on Him in everyday life, that I will develop a more constant connection with Him as I walk through my days.

Lord, help me to see that You and only You are the creator of my life, and You and only You have the divine direction I need. Help me to seek after You in every situation no matter how big or how small, knowing You will never leave me nor forsake me. Thank You Lord for Your Perfect love. in Jesus Name.

Filled to Overflowing

2008-06-25T07:35:00.000-07:00

This past week-end I attended the "She Speaks" conference put on by Proverbs 31 Ministries, in North Carolina, and was reminded of how intimately Our Father knows and cares for us. Just the fact of how He orchestrated my daughter Daveda and I going to the same conference without either being aware of the others intentions still blows my mind, yet God wasn't done amazing me with His intimant details.
This was a three day event which began for me on Friday morning bright and early, by 8am I was savoring the last bites of my complimentary, cooked to order, breakfast and off to registration, where I was greeted with so many smiles it made me dizzy!
Not knowing what to expect, I headed to the opening session, "Up Close and Personal", and did they ever peg that title for this week-end. This was just the beginning of God speaking into my heart about just how close and personal He truely is. With Daveda and I signed on for a diverse package of classes of which none coincided, I had hoped and prayed to find someone out of all these women I could buddy up with for a least some of the time, and He was so faithful to hear my heart and sent me a precious new friend from Kansas. We hit it off right from the start and found ourselves to have so many parallels in our lives, this could have only been the work of my Abba, Daddy God. Daveda, also found a friend who oddly enough shares similarities with both of us who is so incredibly sweet and real I couldn't get enough of her. Her sense of humor left my stomach muscles sore!
Which once again only my Heavenly Father knew I went there needing!
The entire group of women who are part of the Proverbs 31 Ministries are the most loving, transparent and sincere women I have ever met and their love for every lady there was contagious. I was so moved by the way these ladies would be traveling through the halls of this hotel and would look into your face and realize that hadn't yet spoken with you and would stop and greet you with" Oh, I haven't talked to you yet, whats your story, and what is God doing in your life? And they didn't say it in passing as if they really didn't expect a reply, they waited for it and they looked you directly in the face with anticipation for your response, and would sit down right there on the floor if need be just to talk with you, just as I can picture Jesus doing!
Within the confines of this hotel the Proverbs 31 Ministries team had set up a prayer room where the name of every lady attending lay upon a table along side the promises of God and His Attibutes, along with a member of their team there at all times praying for the ladies at the conference as well as with any lady who needed someone to come along side her to pray and believe. I was so blessed to pray with and to be prayed for by Melissa, who's heart for God is worn on her sleeve for all to see. We too were found to have similar passions for ministry and found our hearts beating together for leading young girls to a pure lifestyle in such an impure culture. The presence of God was so thick in this room I physically felt hit by "It" the second I entered the room and was so over taken that I lost all resolve like I have never experienced before.
Every session fed me with something new, and God spoke so much to my heart that yesterday in my quiet time with Him I found myself sobbing because I am so full and I don't know what to do with it all, yet I am longing for even more, even as I write this I weep because He has filled me and His desire is to keep me on overload. Not because He wants to overwhelm me with stress, but He wants me full, so full that there is more than enough to give away, yet stay so full that I can hear Him when He whispers in my ear. So full to love someone who is having a bad day and maybe not behaving loveably, so full that I have patience with the child who is having a hard time accepting "no" for an answer. So full that I take the time to call someone who is struggling in their marriage, So full that I can sing while I pick up the mess someone else left behind. So full that I just want more, So full that I want the needle on my spiritual tank to not sway off that "F" even by a fraction.
God also has shown me, one doesn't neccessarily have to attend an entire week-end conference to receive this fullness. All it takes is encouragement from another, to see and hear the heart of God through another human being. Ladies, that is what we are here for, to be the heart beat of God on earth. The Proverbs 31 ladies showed me this, this week-end and it is now my heart to share His love with you.
I will be praying and asking what and where the Lord would lead and have me do with all He has shown me and spoke into my heart through this conference. Would you join me in that prayer, that He would give and I would hear clearly His direction. Allowing Him to open the pathway and do the work and to help me set me aside for His glory.
I am so incredibly greatful for the heart and ministry of all the Proverb 31 ladies and every lady I had the pleasure of talking to or praying with this week-end. It was truely a week-end I will never forget! And if you are one of those sweet precious souls I met this past week-end, thank you for sharing your story with me and your willingness to just be real, you don't know how much you were an answer to my prayers.
Stay close to Him, in His word and in His presence to keep your spiritual tank on "F", the price of filling this tank has already been paid, all you need to do is ask for more!

Chicago Pics ! & Kammy !

2008-05-25T19:13:00.000-07:00

Missed Blessing

2008-05-25T18:38:00.000-07:00

The other day I was driving down a road that I frequently travel on and happened to notice this little house for sale. This place has caught my attention many times over the past several months, when people I know were in the market for a new home I would mention it to them. This time when I past this little place it just struck me odd that it was still for sale, and as I past the thought came to me, "there is someones missed blessing". Even later in the day the thought of that little house came to me, and the thought about the "missed blessing".
How many times do we miss out on a blessing from the Lord due to the lack of our connection to Him? If we aren't communicating with Him, how will we hear His voice, how will we know His direction? Just like this little house, I just can't help but think that this house is the perfect house with the perfect circumstances for someone out there who is looking for a house, but because they are not seeking Him for direction, their blessing just sits there.
In Gods word it says, " Ask, and it will be given to you; seek and you will find, knock and it will be opened to you." Matthew 7:7

To Be Blessed

2008-05-04T13:01:00.000-07:00

Seems like it's been so long since I updated this blog, probably because it has been.
Just haven't had much time for the computer at all lately. Other than researching next years curriculum and doing a less than best effort at keeping up on e-mail.
But this is not a bad thing.
As I have been preparing for not only my speaking at the Ladies Breakfast but also preparing for the two Bible studies to begin this week, I have been spending so much more time in the Word, and in prayer, and reading articles and books on the issues we will be discussing throughout the next several weeks.
God speaks through so many things, but nothing more so than His word and in prayer. It really does help you to see all else through His eyes. Everything becomes more intimate, more personal. When we search the Word out for ourselves, that is when the rest becomes our own, thats when we can claim personal victory for ourselves and not through someone else's revelation. Thats when we can see ourselves for who we really are, and not what the world says we are. When we spend more time seeking Him out through His word and through our conversations with Him, that is when we can see ourselves as a child of the One and Only Living God.

Spend some extra time with Him this week, everything else will wait, and nothing else is more important!

2008-04-12T08:03:00.000-07:00

Haven't been on here in awhile, but I am currently in Rockford, Illinois, okay to be specific I quess it's not "Rockford", as my daughter so lovingly just pointed out to me, we are in "Poplar Grove", Illinois! Which is closest to Rockford, which is Northeast of Chicago by about an hour or so. No big trips to the big city though, much too cold yet for me to take on such an adventure. The cold and I just don't get along that well. But, we are having a great time just just spending time with family.

I was reading today in the book of James, when I came to 4:6, it was speaking of "grace". This word seems to have crossed my path quite a bit lately, maybe thats why it caught my attention. When I think about the word "grace", and ponder on the given Biblical meaning of the word which is:

Gods unmerited undeserved favor;

Gods ability in us and for us what we are incapable of doing for ourselves.

Although we speak of His grace and hear it spoken of often, are we really grasping and living in it's true meaning?

Maybe it's forgiveness, or acceptance. In our own power maybe we can't forgive the person who hurt us, or we just can't see how we can accept the choices someone close to us is making in their lives, but if we are realistic and look back where we once were, we will see, that we were not deserving to receive Gods forgiveness and grace. Our Father looks beyond the actions and only looks at who He created us to be.

In Titus3:3-7 For we also once were foolish ourselves, disobedient, deceived, enslaved to various lusts and pleasures spending our life in malice and envy, hateful, hating one another. But when the kindness of God our Savior and His love for mankind appeared. He saved us, not on the basis of deeds which we have done in righteousness but according to His mercy, by the washing of regeneration and renewing by the Holy Spirit. Whom He poured out upon us richly through Jesus Christ our Savior, so that being justified by His grace we would be made heirs according to the hope of eternal life.

According to this word, we can "do" nothing to insure grace given to us. If we were required to deserve it, I'm afraid not one of us would receive grace. I quess the thing I'm most curious about is not the "why" of Gods grace but more the "why" of us being so reluctant to give it ourselves. We receive it from the Lord just because of His love for us, yet we tend to make those in and around our own lives "earn" it, they somehow must be deserving. As this scripture says, we too once walked in the lustfulness of sin, and when the grace of God was offered we willingly accepted.

My prayer today is that the Lord would show us in our hearts how to give the same grace He so willigly has given us, to others, not because they deserve it, but just because to do so will bring joy to our Fathers heart, which should be the desire of our heart.

Partakers of Christ

2008-04-02T14:03:00.000-07:00

For the past couple months many of us have been hearing all the controversy about Oprah Winfey's worldwide classroom, and her radio program, as well as controversy over many Pastor's or preachers with television ministries, and their speaking out in what they believe to be the truth on the meaning of "eternal life". I've watched a few of the Youtube video's and have read several articles taken from various news columns written by far left, far right and all over in the middle, journalists, I've heard many describe it all as "scary" and/or "unbelievable". I must admit, when I think about what we may face in ten years down the road my heart could begin to beat just a bit faster out of a moment of fear. Then........His words come back to me......
Psalm 27:1 The Lord is my light and my salvation; Whom shall I fear?"

Hebrews 3: 14
For we have become partakers of Christ if we hold the beginning of our confidence steadfast to the end.

The Lord tells us to heed His words, and not to walk carelessly or lay out our own paths for our lives. We don't know what will happen in the days to come.
Our only hope is Him! To have a close walk with Him, hold firmly onto His hand, listen closely to His words.
We can spend endless hours watching and listening to all of the "garbage" out there, and what we hear shouldn't surprise us. So much of what is happening has been foretold to us in His word.
Now is the time we must draw near to Him, know the truth for ourselves through His word, embrace our relationship with Him and His promises.
Read further 2 Timothy 3.

Jesus and only Jesus is our truth and our hope, our answer to any and everything to come today and for all our tomorrows.

May the Love of Jesus bring peace to your heart.

APRIL FOOLS DAY!!!!!!!

2008-04-01T19:10:00.000-07:00

Libby got me! Lil snot' put a rubber band around the sprayer at the kitchen sink, and got me good, I soaked myself!

BUT, I had revenge!!!!!!! I greased the toilet seat with vaseline !!!!!!!!!!! tee hee hee !!!

ITS POTTY TIME !!!!!!!!

2008-04-01T18:37:00.000-07:00

Thats right, it's potty time! Amazingly, Kammy took all the work out of it for all of us.

Last week-end she was staying with us and she just decided it was time. She came to me with a very serious look on her face, tugged at my sleeve, and then said as plain as could be, "I haf to go potty". She told us she had to go potty every time for the rest of the day! Later I called her Mommy to tell her she'd better pick up a potty chair on her way home. Of course she didn't believe me at first. Here little 22 month old Kammy comes to my house and literally 6 hours later she's potty trained! She has been going in her "big girl potty" ever since last Friday!

The one thing I have learned from being a parent and a grandparent is what a blessing it is to truely realize what is important at this time and what isn't. Taking the time to sit down and play a game is much more important than folding laundry, staying up late to just talk to your teenager sometimes is more important than getting eight hours sleep. Remembering what is was like to be their age, and the things that are important in their world need to be real in our world too, and spending the time letting them know that, know matter what that may entail, is much more important than spending time on our computers or even making sure the house is clean.

Know matter who or what may ever walk into their lives as they grow, we are and always will be the ones who hold the greatest influence on our children and our childrens children. We ought to take that very seriously. If our children have witnessed us on our knees in conversation with our Lord, if our children have witnessed us reading and studying our Bibles, if our children have witnessed us being light and truth in a dark world, they too will seek those things.

Just like Kammy did going on the" big girl potty". I look forward to the day when she looks up with her beautiful brown eyes, and says' "I want Jesus".

Forsaken So We Could Live

2008-03-25T18:59:00.000-07:00

Since I have come to know Christ as my Savior I've always thought I understood the "why" of the cross, until, that is, I read this...... This so moved me and has brought such a clearer understanding of the depth of God's love, I just had to share. I hope it touches your heart as well.

Enjoy and may God richly bless you.

Forsaken So We Could Live Tuesday, March 25, 2008

I was one of seven people who each spoke at our church's Good Friday service on one of the seven sayings of Christ on the cross. I chose, "My God, My God, why have you forsaken Me?"
In my more skeptical days, I viewed the question as odd -- almost ammunition for the cynic. Why would Christ, if he were truly God, need to ask God about anything? Also, why would an all-powerful God have been in such a vulnerable position?
I now realize that these questions are no more unique than the basic misunderstandings of Christianity and Christian doctrine that give rise to them. But interestingly, this utterance of Christ that was once a stumbling block for me has now become a powerful reinforcement for my faith.
I used to wonder how the crucifixion, no matter how much physical suffering Christ endured, could cancel out our sins. After all, other human beings have experienced similar physical punishment. But I was completely unaware of the spiritual wounding that was involved. The Scripture tells us, "The human spirit can endure in sickness, but a crushed spirit who can bear?"
But Christ was spiritually separated from and abandoned by God. To atone for our sins, he took on our sins, and God cannot look upon sin. We cannot begin to comprehend the agony he experienced in this separation after he had enjoyed infinite bliss with the Father and the Holy Spirit in eternity past.
After having lived a sinless life, the full force of mankind's accumulated sin was heaped upon his human soul. All the spiritual forces of darkness were joined together in their collective hatred and fury in one last effort to defeat the conqueror of death because if they failed, death would be defeated forever.
Human beings had no power either to comfort or deliver him; the Father wouldn't because he had to allow him to complete his redemptive work. At that moment, Christ was the loneliest man who ever lived. Yet consider this staggering irony: At no time was Christ more perfectly in his Father's will. And through it all, he never renounced his Father, referring to him as "my God, my God."
Although we sometimes separate ourselves from God, he will never abandon us this side of eternity. Witness the prodigal son. And consider the martyrs who died joyfully because even in their death, though hated and persecuted by men, God did not abandon them. Ignatius, waiting to be thrown to the lions said, "Let me be food for the wild beasts, if only God be glorified." Christ, unlike the martyrs, did nothing to deserve his abandonment.
Skeptics should note that the Gospel writers never would have invented this potentially embarrassing saying of Christ because it suggests Christ's powerlessness to deliver himself from his own predicament.
But I believe the statement is only comprehensible in reference to God's Triune nature: Christ's nature as both fully human and fully divine and God's salvation plan for mankind.
Christ's question to the Father on the cross shows not that Christ wasn't God but that he was also a distinct divine personality in the Trinity and also fully human. If he had not been fully human, he could not have taken on our pain. Nor could he have died. If he was not God, he couldn't have lived a sinless life or wiped away our sins.
Evangelist John Stott wrote: "We are not to envisage God on a deck chair, but on a cross. The God who allows us to suffer, once suffered Himself in Christ, and continues to suffer with us and for us today. I myself could never believe in God were it not for the cross. In the real world of pain, how could one worship a God who was immune to it? Our sufferings become more manageable in the light of His. There is still a question mark against human suffering, but over it we boldly stamp another mark -- the Cross, which symbolizes divine suffering. The cross of Christ is God's only self-justification in such a world as ours."
Despite his indescribable suffering, Christ would not rescue himself, precisely because he was a co-conspirator in the salvation plan, which required him to fulfill his prophesied substitutional sacrifice.
As Bishop Fulton Sheen observed: "Every other person who ever came into this world came into it to live. Christ came into it to die. Death was a stumbling block to Socrates -- it interrupted his teaching. But to Christ, death was the goal and fulfillment of his life, the gold that he was seeking."
Christ died forsaken by God so that his people might claim God as their God; he endured abandonment so we would never be abandoned; he tasted hell so we'd never have to taste it ourselves; he endured loneliness so we'd never be alone.

What an awesome God! I just loved that part where he says "that at no other time was Jesus more in the will of God than on the cross". Even though He was in agony physically, mentally, and spiritually, He was" in the will of God.

Sometimes I think we get caught up in a misconception that everything has to be all perfect and pretty looking to be in the will of God, when just maybe being right in the middle of a painful situation is exactly where God is at work within us and/or others!

This article was written by Jim Limbaugh ( I don't know if he is any relation to Rush)

Thats My King !!!!!

2008-03-19T21:25:00.000-07:00

I heard this once at the "Just Give Me Jesus Conference", and it so touched my heart! It truely describes our Lord and King, Jesus!
Click....Turn Up The Volume.....Be Blessed!

That's My King

2008-03-17T07:17:00.000-07:00

I think at one time or another we have all thought our contributuion to the building of Gods Kingdom, to be insignificant. We may even think the same of some of the disciples that followed Jesus, that we don't hear much about, such as Andrew. We don't read about the great speeches he may have delivered, or the thousands he brought to the Lord. But, what stands out to me is in John1:40-42 One of the two who heard John speak and followed Him was, Andrew, Simon Peter's brother. He found first his own brother Simon and said to him, "We have found the Messiah" (which translated means Christ). He brought him to Jesus. Jesus looked at him and said, "You are Simon the son of John; you shall be called Cephas" (Which is translated Peter).

I would imagine even Andrew didn't realize the significance of what he was doing when he brought his brother, Peter, to see Jesus. We've read about Peter's impact on leading thousands upon thousands to Christ, but we don't hear much else about Andrew. Yet the way I see this, is that Andrew did indeed lead thousands upon thousands to Christ, and then some. "He brought Peter", and I am sure, although it's not written, Andrew continued to lead others to Christ. Another point that stood out was, Andrew found "first his own brother". I see this as instructive to us to seek and lead those in our families as priority. Not that we are not to lead another to the Lord when or if the opportunity arrises.

I found this point about Andrew refreshing and fitting to our study with "Made to Count".

No matter how insignificant we may think our actions to be when we are seeking to serve others for the building of Gods Kingdom, we don't know God's plan. Andrew had no idea the ministry Peter would come to when he asked him to come meet Jesus, any more than we do when we do the same.

Not one of us is insignificant in the eyes of God, nor our actions when we are serving Him.

As we approach the Easter celebration, I pray many of us will step out in boldness and ask another to "Come meet Jesus".

Libby is now an Official Babysitter!!!!!

2008-03-15T19:40:00.001-07:00

Libby passed the Red Cross Babysitting class today !!

Yeah Libby!!!

Now, she's just waiting for the calls to come rolling in!!!

Angels To Watch Over Us

2008-03-15T19:01:00.000-07:00

Matthew 18:10

"See that you do not despise one of these little ones, for I say to you that, their angels in heaven continually see the face of my Father who is in heaven".

My daughter called me yesterday all excited to share with me once again something amazing my 22 month old granddaughter, Kammy had said. This time though she was more surprised by the content than her ability to say the words. She said they were sitting in the living room watching "Nemo", when Kammy said, "Mommy look" as she was pointing up to the ceiling. Her mom looked up and asked "what"?, Kammy answered, "the angel, Mommy, look the angel"! "The what"? "What did you say"? She again pointed up and said, "see her"? "See the angel mommy"?

My daughter said she wanted so much to see the angel, she continued to look up even after Kammy seemed to lose interest, as if this angel was someone she'd seen before and was use to its' presence.

I later shared with my youngest daughter that we shouldn't be surprised, God's word speaks of each of us having a guardian angel, sent to watch over us.

I believe when we are yet still very young and our time since we have walked along side the Lord in the heavens, before being sent to earth, has still been quite short, we still have the ability to see the heavenly things upon the earth. As we grow older and experience more of this world, we somehow spiritually distance ourselves, and lose the ability to see.

As I grow closer to the Lord, I can only pray I regain the ability to see the heavenly things while still here on earth. Then again, everytime the Bible tells of someone being visited by an angel they appearred frightened, because the first words the angel would speak would be, "don't be frightened"! Maybe that too, was due to being older. Gods' word says we must come to Him like a child. Kammy sure didn't speak as if she was the least bit afraid, she sounded happy that the angel had joined them for their evening of watching "Nemo"!

Being the Favorite

2008-03-13T19:39:00.000-07:00

Its' always been fun when the whole family gets together and the girls start to tell their stories about when they were little. I will hear about things that I never even knew happened back then !!!! But the thing that I have always found the most humor in, is how they will each joke about how "they're my favorite". And they'll argue between them on their proof of just how they know that they are indeed "the favored daughter"!

Yesterday I had recalled one of those times and it just got me to thinking about how God does that very thing. We know that God is not a respector of persons and loves us all the same, yet comes so close and so deep into our hearts that we get that feeling that we just know we have to be His favorite. I couldn't pick one of my girls over another even if I tried. My relationship with each of my girls is so very unique, and I enjoy a multitude of things between them, yet my love for them is uncomparable.

I hope that each time I spend time with my girls I do make them feel like they are my favorite, because I know what that feels like. When I sit down in the quiet and call out to my Father and He hears my voice and He comes to me, I feel special. I feel like He has ears only for my words at that moment, that He has all the time in the world, and it's all mine, for as long as I choose to sit with Him. I know he has an open door policy at all times and at any time I need Him or even just want to sit with Him when I don't need anything except Him.

Once a Mom, we are always a Mom, no matter how old they become they are still your little girls, how precious the moments.

I can't help but think, this is exactly how God feels about all of us, no matter what we do, no matter how old we become, in His eyes we are all His little children, each one His favorite!

How many sheep did I feed today?

2008-03-08T18:08:00.000-08:00

This is a quote from Chilly Chilton's blog,

see, here's the problem...
“blah, blah, blah”
Yeah: talk.
we can say it, think it, blog it, sing it, quote it, preach it...but do we, each and every day, LIVE IT?

If all of us would grasp on to this truth and make the change within ourselves we would soon be living life the way its really meant to be. Jesus told Peter, "feed my sheep". That was meant for us also. How many sheep are we feeding in a day?
You can read the rest of his blog by linking onto his site from my list below.
Its a convicting message we all need to hear. I'm praying the conviction in my own heart stay strong to seek out the lost sheep, and not just talk about it any more.
How about you?

Captivating

2008-03-06T16:41:00.000-08:00

To cap-ti-vate, according to Webster is to fascinate, enrapture; (to delight in).

His love "captivates" me,

Brings me to a higher place,

Where I can see,

Hear and touch His grace,

His love "captivates" me.

These past couple of months the Lord has brought me to a greater understanding of who He is, and just how intense and deep His love.

Many times in the past I've made the declaration, "I surrender all to Him" and His plan for my life, and although at the time I believed every word I spoke. I've come to the realization that I was merely speaking the words. To live for His plan, means I had to let go of my own dream for my life. Amazingly, I found freedom, and such an overwhelming peace in the letting go, I have found myself "captivated"!!!! Wonderfully and beautifully captivated!!!!!!!

The Beauty of the Lord

2008-02-29T06:30:00.000-08:00

During praise and worship at our church we sing a song called "The Beauty of the Lord".

"Jesus Your love has come one step closer,

I will trust, You will never let me go

Jesus Your love has won me over,

All my trust has found no other.

I will declare the beauty of the Lord

Nothing compares to the beauty of the Lord

Jesus Your love takes my breath away

Now, I'm living everyday for the beauty of the Lord

Jesus, Your love it takes my breath away."

This is one of my favorite worship songs, although I have to be honest, I love every worship song! When I sing these songs, they are not just songs to me, but prayer from the depths of my heart! The first line of this song, states that the love of Jesus has come "one step" closer. What does that mean? I believe if we are praising Him, we have indeed "come one step closer"!!

Through His word, we know, when we seek Him, we will find Him, when we find Him, He will not release His hold upon us.

Next, we sing that the love of Jesus has won our hearts and our trust is placed in only Him! Read those words again. His love, and His trust, has taken "first place" in our lives!

If we truely absorb the meaning in these words, there can only be but one result; It will take our" breath away", then, We will declare the beauty of the Lord!

To be in His presence, in His grip, and most assuredly in His heart, how can we not see just how incredibly beautiful He is!

I pray that you will recognize His beauty today and His beauty will remain with you always!

God Speaks

2008-02-24T15:04:00.000-08:00

"Hear Me with Your Eyes" and "See Me with Your Ears"!

This is the message that came to me repeatedly for months as I prayed. Initially, I thought it was in reference to all of God's creation, that we see Him through these things. Not that I dispute that in any way, I just think we've come to say it so much, instead of grasping the true essence of the meaning, it has just become cliche'. "We see God in the trees, the sky, and the stars"! And, we do, but, I just knew God was speaking to me to seek the greater depth of His words. I prayed for clarity! "Hear Me with your eyes, see Me with your ears". I prayed for understanding! "Hear Me with your eyes, see Me with your ears". I prayed for God to show me what He meant! Still, the words I would hear remained the same.

As the days turned to weeks and weeks to months, life went on, bringing with it the joys, and the struggles and heartaches of this life, and I just surrendered the "knowing" to God, knowing He would reveal the meaning in His time and not a second sooner. In the meantime I had begun facilitating a study on the prayers of Jesus, and had been praying about the" hearing of His voice", as well as grieving in my heart about the loss of a young man to suicide. I continued to think about this young mans family and how they must be feeling, and asking God to use me to be somehow, a beacon of light to them.

The day of the funeral as I listened to the accounts of family and friends of what could possibly have happened to bring this boy's life to such a traggic end, my heart wrenched in agony for what his final moments must have been like. As I looked around I watched and listened and I could literally feel the heaviness in my heart begin to grow. For this young man to be in so much pain, and to feel he had no one to turn to and to believe he had no other way, still just breaks my heart.

For several days after, I desperately prayed for this family and their loss. It didn't make sense to me and I questioned why such things have to happen. For days upon days I prayed and I heard nothing, then this began to frustrate me as well. I was asking God, "why can't I hear you?" "Won't you answer me, tell me something, anything?'

Two weeks after the funeral and four weeks into learning about the way Jesus prayed, it happened........revealation!!!

I was driving along this driveway to my moms place, which looks something like a park, with lots of trees and wild animals. (By wild I am referring to the sort such as chipmunks or squirrels, not like bears and coyotes!) As I was admiring the prettiness of the snow, untouched on the ground, layered upon the bushes and covering the branches on the trees, something caught my eye! I stopped the car, when I saw the brightest red cardinal sitting up in a tree, who was then accompanied by another. I felt the Holy Spirit well up within me as I watched even more beautifully, bright red cardinals join these initial two. As I looked around, they were everywhere, about fifteen to twenty birds some sitting and some fluttering from tree to tree! I was so excited, even as I yelled out to Libby to "look" , "see them?" I also began to pray, thanking God for such an awsome sight! Still looking into the trees, I noticed the cardinals weren't alone! There were more birds, beautiful birds, black, white, and red! I still don't know for sure the species, but I think maybe they were woodpeckers. My heart was beating so fast and so hard, the way it does when you know the Holy Spirit is speaking to you, and it came back to me;" Hear Me with your eyes"! I cried out, "Oh, Lord give me understanding, I want to hear what You are showing me in this"! I felt the Lord telling me to take in all He had placed before me, to really look at what I was seeing. I was in awe, seeing all these brilliant colors dashing through the stillness of the cold, the dead of winter, where everything appears lifeless. It was as if God had taken Spring and set it right down into the middle of Winter!!!! Right in the middle of what appeared to be desolation, came life, exquisite and stunningly beautiful life!

This all happened so quickly, yet I realized, when a little old man was trying to get into my car, freaking the day lights out of Libby, that I had been blocking the drive. I proceeded on my way, though the Holy Spirit was still speaking to my heart. This vision I had taken in and Gods voice stayed with me the rest of the day and throughout that night. Although I believe this is one of those moments that God will continue to bring me back to, to reveal new things for a very long time, maybe even for the rest of my life. I believe what He was telling me right then was three things. One: Just how incredibly personal our God is. God knows my love of birds, He knew those birds would attract my attention. And, He knew my heart had been troubled. Two: No matter how desolete anything or situation can appear, underneath or inside is life. And God will bring newness and color into even into the darkest of circumstances. We may not understand or even see it happen, but I know God will bring something good out of that traggic situation. Third: God longs to speak to us in many ways, not just when we go to church or during praise and worship, or during our daily prayer or devotion time. God wants to and will speak directly into our hearts, if we will only keep our eyes open to hear Him. I think sometimes we kind of keep God in a box of our limited expectations, believing He will only speak to us as others do, when we are active in conversation. Although, I know God does speak at those times, I know now it's not the only time He speaks. He truely does speak to us in so many ways, He knows our hearts, our hurts, our ways. He knows exactly how to speak to us and when, if we will only keep our eyes open to hear!

Also, I experienced the love of God in a new way that day, in a way that I really don't think I could describe no matter how hard I tried. Since then, I have seen God speaking in several circumstances and situations, through people He has placed in my life, through books I am reading, Not to mention through His word and through prayer. The list of ways He speaks to us is literally endless.

I'm still praying about the second part of His message to me, "See Me with Your Ears", although I think maybe it's similiar to the first part, I'm going to keep an open mind and an open heart, not to mention eyes and ears to however the Lord would choose to reveal. I don't want to ever keep Him in a box of my own limited expectations again!

Mirror Image

2008-02-22T19:53:00.000-08:00

The tool we use to check the reflection of our outer image is the mirror.

The tool we use to check the reflection of our inner image is God's Word!

How's Your Reflection Looking?

1Corintians 13:12

For now we see in a mirror dimly, but then face to face;

now I know in part but then I will know fully just as I have been fully known.

Gods Perfect Rest Awaits Us All

2008-02-21T07:30:00.000-08:00

"To be Almost in the perfect will of God is to miss it completely".

Sometimes I think we miss the will of God just due to our own lack of patience. Or, maybe it's more that we really don't believe God's working in our lives, in all areas.

Why do we find it so hard to just rest in Him? Trusting that His word speaks truth, that He does know everything there is to know about us and all that is going on in our lives?
"Control", we hear of this issue right from the very beginning with Adam and Eve. God had been very clear with His instructions to Adam," you shall not eat of the tree of knowledge of good and evil, for in the day that you eat from it, you will surely die." Yet, Eve later reaches right up into that tree and picks an apple (or whatever fruit is was) and bites into it! How this must have grieved Gods heart! God knew from the beginning His plans for them, His perfect plan! We don't know how the outcome would have played out if Eve had not taken the fruit that day, but God does! He knows the perfect plan He has prepared for each of us.
I can't help but wonder how different many things in my life may have panned out if I would have rested in Gods plan instead of me taking control.
The only way we will ever find it within ourselves to "rest" in Him, is to stay connected to Him. Continually listening for His voice to give us our directions and He will give us direction! He didn't leave Adam and Eve hanging out in the "Garden of Eden", just winging it, trying to figure everything out for themselves. No, He gave them directions. Just as He did then, He still does today, with us. If we would only listen, and trust, and rest in Him. Relinquish control!

I pray you find rest in the Lord today. No matter what may be going on in our lives, our Father knows and cares, and simply waits for us to come to Him to put His perfect plan into action. He does the work and offers us "rest" in all things!
May His peace "rest" upon you, and His love saturate your soul and bring joy to your heart!

Hearing the Voice of God

2008-02-19T07:09:00.000-08:00

YI just want to share God's faithfulness and how He knows and speaks directly into our hearts.
For the last couple of days my heart has been very troubled about a situation, and this lead me to a place where I was questioning if I had been hearing God's voice correctly! It just didn't seem as if the situation was the way God intended it to be. Yesterday, I continuely sought the Lords heart on whether I was in error, I began to doubt, and as the day progressed this doubt escalated, then I began to get confused, and my heart was even more troubled.
Last night before going to sleep, I got "still", before the Lord, and simply asked if I had heard Him, and were my actions pleasing to His heart?
Then, this morning I received this in an e-mail-

Of course you've heard from Me. Of course you've walked with Me. Of course you've adjusted and made changes according to My Word and according to My ways. But I'm saying and telling you today there is more, there is new, there's greater, there is a furtherance, there is a completeness and there is more victory than ever before." Shine, shining, a light. (tongues) "Yes and it will all fit in just right. It's not up to you to make sure that others turn in special ways but it's up to you to turn yourself up into more of My ways. Adjustments. It's all in the Book, it's all written out. Pre-planned, pre-described." "So hold fast to the call that I've placed within you. Don't quit. Don't give up. Don't give in! But press out. Press in and press over into that which I have called you to."

This is only a portion of the message I received but, it's the most revelatory to the situation, and to reveal that God does hear the cries of His children.

I think we tend to give into the schemes of the evil one without even realizing it. I see now his attempt to discourage me and to keep me bound in something that was just attempting to keep my focus away from God and His plan to use me for His purposes.

My prayer, I ask that any and all who would happen upon reading this blog would be encouraged and their hearts made lighter, knowing our Daddy in heaven does know everything about us including the condition of our hearts. I ask that eyes be opened to the schemes of the evil ones attempts to hold us back. I ask Father, teach us what it is to be in consistant conversation with You and open up the meaning of "hearing You with our eyes and seeing You with our ears". Help us to take You out of our little "boxes of expectation", thinking You only speak in one way, continue to show us all the many ways You choose to speak directly into our hearts. Expand our hearts for more of You, and less of self.
ummmmm........Your love Lord is ever so sweet.....help us to be a clearer reflection of You.
In Jesus Precious Name I ask these things...................Amen

2008-02-18T21:13:00.000-08:00

Under every burden, God will slip His hand-

Every gulf of sorrow, His great love has spanned.

Into every heartache, God will pour His balm;

Ease the pain and anguish, bring a blessed calm.

I find it so refreshing yet at the same time, painful when through lifes circumstances, God gives us a glimpse into His heart.

When we are actually able to understand how our actions or even the lack of them sometimes must make Him feel.

Why is it that we have Him and His word so readily available to teach us Godly wisdom at anytime and in every circumstance, but we still choose to learn lessons the hard way? Like the lesson in 1 Samuel when the Israelites demanded a new king and God told them through Samuel of what would come upon them, yet they continued to demand things be their way. Even though they were told what their actions would bring and just how difficult this would make their lives and the lives of future generations, they refused to listen to the words of Samuel. So God gave them what they wanted, King Saul.

They then lived through year after year of disobedient and foolish leadership and warfare.

This is exactly what we do when we make choices to follow our own paths and our own ways instead of seeking the Lord's guidance. Not only do we suffer the consequences of our own choices, we grieve God's heart. I believe it so saddens the heart of God when He has told us He has every answer in every situation, and we don't come to Him. Then we find ourselves in the middle of dispair and turmoil and want God to fix it!

Sometimes I have to wonder if we have changed much at all since the days of Saul the King.

Just my own "thinking out loud"!

My prayer is that all of us would learn from those who have gone before us, and that we seek after Godly wisdom. God promises,"if we ask, He will give", lets take Him at His word, and let our minds be focused on bringing joy into the heart of God with the choices we make.

Closer Walk

2008-02-16T07:56:00.000-08:00

The MPact girls went to see Casting Crowns last night at EMU! For Libby, this was her first concert, and she loved it! All the girls had such a great time.
I was moved to tears when I looked around and witnessed not only Libby but many of our girls bowing in prayer and raising their hands in praise! I thought to myself, "this is what it's all about". Leading, leading the next generation to the floor of the throne. Their message was so strong, and right to the heart! I loved that!
I believe we are at a time when we really do just have to quit fooling around with "being Christian". We need to realize, our walk is being viewed by those around us. Yes, we stumble and we fall, we are fleshly. Our Father promises to brush the dirt off as He helps us back up.
But, I believe all of us need to be more mindful of our day to day actions and how we treat those around us. This topic came up in the car on our drive home last night. One of the biggest mission fields placed before us in this life we are given is with our own families. How we treat those closest to us. How we treat our spouses, our children, or our brothers and sisters. If we would take just a few minutes each day asking ourselves, "If this were my last moment with him/her, how would I treat them"? Would I be kinder, gentler or more forgiving? I think we tend to take those we are closest to for granted more easily than those outside of our family circle. But, I believe this is where the true reflection of our walk can be seen. We all put on what looks good to go out among our friends and others in the world. I think all of us need to step back and take a true look at ourselves, and ask ourselves, "what does my true walk look like'?
How can we say in one breath that we love Jesus, and speak in hatred at another in the next?
Let today be a new beginning, by showing the love of Jesus to all and in all we do. Not only will those in our own family be changed but those outside of the family circle will see and be changed also. Let today be the beginning of a closer walk with Jesus.

The Thing(s) We Give

2008-02-09T08:20:00.000-08:00

Luke6:38-"Give and it will be given to you: good measure, pressed down, shaken together, and running over will be put into your bosom. For with the same measure that you use, it will be measured back to you."
So many times when I've heard this verse quoted, it's in reference to the giving of money. Not that I think the giving of money is a bad thing, I just think we've taken the depth out of this verse.
When we read this and immediatly think of the giving of money, we take away ourselves, our personal selves. The giving of "us".
I believe this is the depth of this verse. Sometimes I think it's just too easy to give money yet never have a real change in heart about the giving of ourselves. When we give of ourselves it becomes personal, from the heart, from our depths. Whether that means spending time with an elderly person, someone who is ill, or just lonley or not lonley or sick or older! When Jesus hung on that cross He gave Himself, when those nails pierced His hands and feet, He gave Himself.
I believe this is the true essence of this verse in Luke. To pour out Christ like love to others, no matter what circumstances or trials we may find ourselves in. To give of ourselves from the depths of our hearts. How ever deep our realization of God's love for us, we are to pour out to others. When we become faithfully true to this verse, the Lord returns back to us multiplied.
I pray we are all recipients of the multiplied blessings from God.

So wherever you go today, look around, open your eyes and ears to the voice of God and share of yourself.

Geography Night.

2008-02-08T21:59:00.000-08:00

We are finally ready for Geography Night!!! It has been over a month of researching, studying, drawing, gluing, stenciling and painting any and everything about India! All but the food is done and ready to go. I think Libby is excited about this, being homeschooled she doesn't get many opportunities to show her work. Of course this is a "family project" and we have all played a part, even dad! Dad has been our map maker and our pillar builder and of course he will get the duty of carrying all of this stuff into the church to set up Monday. For any who might read this and want to come, all are welcome. Passports will be given for your adventure, as you pass from one country exhibit to another you will receive a stamp or sticker. There will be foriegn treats to taste from many countries. It's being held at Christian Fellowship Church @ 6711 Pilliod Rd, Holland, Ohio. If you need directions give me a call. It's real easy to find, out by Spring Meadows.
Hope to see some of you there!

With all this cold outside...I pray you spend time in the warmth of Jesus!

Where's Your Mission Field?

2008-02-07T05:45:00.000-08:00

This morning when I got up and let the dogs out I couldn't help but be in awe of just how beautiful the untouched snow looked laying on the ground and on the trees. As I looked out our back door just taking in the scene before me, seeing all that snow out there...and believe me the awe within was not because I am a big fan of the snow! But, I happen to just start looking around at the houses and there was a saddness that came over me. I had this feeling come over me about our old neighborhood. I missed it!
Mind you I have no regrets about our move. I know in my heart we are right where God has called us to be. There's just something different here, something I noticed immediatly after moving in.
You see in our old neighborhood we would all get together out front in the evenings and play games with the kids, talk and just be about each others lives. We always had our eyes out to help each other. Ironically, for each younger family that lived on our street there seemed to be an elderly person to look out for. We had Mary Lou to our left and the Taylor's had Mrs. O'Leary to their right, when they moved and Mike and Jean moved in, they kept an eye on her and Kim and John had the little blind man to their right, just can't remember his name right now! I do remember, he wasn't very nice, but we all helped him anyway. But, we were all connected! That's what's missing here, the connection. It's not due to the lack of trying and I can't say we don't know our neighbors at all. We know their names, we know what they do for a living, how many children they have and what car they drive, and we wave as we pass on the street. But for the most part, that's where it ends. Connection........it's not there. Not just with the adults either, it's in the kids too. I remember not long after we moved in standing out front with Libby, sometime in June right after the kids were let out of school for summer vacation. I stood there and just listened and there was almost absolute silence, and it was early in the afternoon. No sounds of children out playing, laughing or even arguing for that matter. Nothing but the sounds of birds in the air and the cars on the road. I found this abnormal somehow, so unlike where we had just moved from. After a year or so of being here I had to ask myself if it was me, was I not doing my part to connect with the families around me?
I had asked the mom across the street to go for a walk with me, I've stopped and spoke to people on my walks or tried to connect with those from the neighborhood that have come to my garage sales and I've gone to theirs, and we've had conversations that I thought were ice breakers and were going to make a difference. Then nothing, I see them again and they wave a hand and continue on with what their doing. At one point I was really beginning to take this personal,thinking maybe I was being stand offish. Although I know there is always room for improvment in ourselves, I don't believe that's it. I've spoke to others who live in similar surroundings. The word...detached...comes to mind. I think thats why this feels so...abnormal to me, and out of place. It's just not the way it's suppose to be. God created us with a need for each other, a need to connect, and not just on the surface. Relational accountability is spoken of in the word of God, it's a part of our being. Without connection there can be no relationship much less relational accountability. We are accountable to each other to keep a balance. I think that describes what I feel about the surroundings in which we live right now...off balance. And it still feels as foreign to me as it did right after we moved in. The thought just accured to me about foreign missions.....this is my mission field! I do have a sense within of being on foreign ground.
Last night in our "Made to Count" group this is exactly what we spoke about, our ministry fields. Where are they and what do they look like? My answer to that is simply..... just look out your door!

The Power in Worship

2008-02-04T21:18:00.000-08:00

The presence of the Lord was so powerful yesterday during worship I was brought to tears once again!! Not really anything new with the tears thing for me, it seems everytime I sense His nearness I weep. But yesterday I had a new experience and He has amazed me once again! I am not at liberty to share a name, because I didn't ask her if I could. But, as we were worshipping I sensed I was to pray for my friend, so I did and went back to praising, as my hands were raised I felt a heavyness in my left hand and into my wrist, it was slight at first then became stronger and I felt warmth, my hand felt like it was being pushed toward my friend, so I laid my hands upon her and prayed for her again. After praise and worship she grabbed me, so excited and said she felt the Lords touch when I touched her and it went all the way to her feet! I just know she was set free from a physical condition!

God is so faithful and good!!!!

God uses the praises of His people to bring glory to His name.

Psalm 100
1Shout joyfully to the Lord, all the earth.
2Serve the Lord with Gladness; Come before Him with joyful singing.
3Know that the Lord Himself is God; It is He who has made us, and not we ourselves; We are His people and the sheep of His pasture.
4Enter His gates with thanksgiving And His courts with praise. Give thanks to Him, bless His name. 5. For the Lord is good; His lovingkindness is everlasting And His faithfulness to all generations.

The Bible teaches us of all Jesus did while He walked upon this earth and He told us we would do" even greater things than these" through the Holy Spirit.

Open our eyes Lord, that we may hear you better!

Be blessed and in His presence.

My Nickname!!!!!!!!! Tugs!!

2008-02-03T20:50:00.000-08:00

Many have asked how I have came upon the nickname “Tugs”, It’s not real exciting but, interesting, at least I found it interesting when I was first told about it.
I am the baby in my family and the only girl, so when my mother was expecting me, she and my dad had only considered names for boys. Then here I am, obviously not what they were expecting. My dad had been at the hospital all day and half of the evening before I came into the world when he went home to take care of my brothers and to get some sleep. He said he was so stirred up that I was actually a girl that he just couldn’t sleep so he laid down on the couch to just watch television. At that time there was a television series on called “The Waterfront”. This show was about the life of a Dock Master and his family, who traveled about on the waters surrounding the San Francisco Bay, rescuing those in distress or in any kind of trouble or need. Their form of transport on the water? A tugboat! And the tugboats name?
You got it…….the Cheryl Ann!!!!!! As my dad began watching the show the name stuck with him and when he went to the hospital the next day he told my mom and she liked it, and that was that!
A few years ago I began to research this little boat and I was amazed at the findings. First being there are hundreds or maybe even thousands of Cheryl Ann’s out there named after this same tugboat! I found chat rooms full of women who share the name. In reading through some of the posts I also found out other information about my namesake tug. Not only was this tug used to film this show, it was an actual tugboat docked in the San Francisco Harbor. The name was changed after the series ended to “The Patrick Henry”, (I am really glad they choose my name before the name change)!!!!
I have also found tapes of four of the episodes of the “Waterfront” and a picture of the actual tugboat. The show is quite dull in comparison to what we have on television now but still cute, in a corny kind of way.
Well, when the story was told a couple of our childhood friends were there and they found it interesting enough to tell others and before I knew it “Tugs” became my new nickname. I say “new” only because the name in which I was mostly referred to prior was “peanut”, which some still call me.

There you have it…….

Be blessed all,

Tugs!

One Day at a Time

2008-01-30T19:30:00.000-08:00

Matthew 6:34 "Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about its own things. Sufficient for the day is its own trouble."

I have finally come to a point in my life where I truely appreciate the truth of this message to us. I don't know about anyone else but most of my days are pretty full. With trying my best to take care of my family and myself, manage our home, prepare our home studies, not to mention taking the time to teach the studies. I really don't have time in my day to fit in the concerns of tomorrow. I am so greatful that everyday is a new day when we walk with Jesus. At the end of my day when I sit down to read and pray, it is so refreshing to know, tomorrow truely is a brand new day!!!!!! No matter how tired, discouraged or stressed I could be, God promisesto bring refreshing to all my tomorrows.......one day at a time.

In this I find hope and joy......

Be blessed all!
More later.......

Gods Consistancy

2008-01-24T17:46:00.000-08:00

I don't know about anyone else but in a world that is constantly changing, I am so grateful God is consistent!
In the world today everything seems to change so incredibly fast! You can purchase a computer today and in only a months time it could be considered obsolete. Not to mention cell phones, or
i-pods, televisions and the forms in which we listen to or watch movies and music. Maybe it's just that I'm getting older, things seem to be changing so much faster than they use to, but I think its more due to the increase of knowledge in technology. The increased rate of our growth in technology seems to have kept in step with our schedules as well.
This rapid rate runs so against the grain for me, that when I find myself caught up in it, I panic! Not in the sense that I become fearful, I become frazzled!!!! I can keep up for a day or so, but after that I go into some sort of a melt down, and I find myself hunting for any place to sneak away, kind of like someone who is addicted to nicotine and just has to have that smoke and every where they go it's no smoking allowed! So, I guess now it's out in the open, I am a quiet time addict and no form of rehab will ever change me!!
The one thing that keeps me always going back for more to my times of solitude is that my Father, my Friend is always there, always the same. It fills me like fuel in an automobile, I can't run without it. Although, it may cost me more, it doesn't matter, I'll pay it. Because without it, I'm going no where! I find myself becoming more dependent on those times much more often than I use to. In a time when we can get so caught up in the whirlwind of life, I find this so refreshing, knowing no matter how fast and furious this world can get, no matter how much change goes on around us Our heavenly Father is always there....always loving.....always merciful......always compassionate.....always forgiving.....always full of hope....always passionate about us.....always dependable........

"For I, the Lord, do not change"
Malachi 3:6a

I pray this brings you peace and sends you into His presence today.

Article from the Elijah List

2008-01-21T09:07:00.000-08:00

This article touched my heart and spoke to me in relation to the study we will be starting, "Made to Count", I hope it speaks to yours as well.
It is a bit lengthy...but well worth the time.
Be blessed and walk in His presence today,

January 21, 2008
Paulette Reed: "Building Upward--It's Time to UNCOVER and HONOR the LIVING STONES!"
The Vision
In a recent vision, I was traveling through time and space at an accelerated rate, just above a dark brown terrain. I realized I was seeing the foundations of the earth, and they seemed to be trembling. I was soaring so fast that my physical body actually became dizzy. I knew in my spirit that the Lord was showing me His rich foundations prepared thousands of years ago--alive with anticipation as they waited for the living stones.
Oh, how exciting to realize our Heavenly Father's foundations are always the glorious base for solid structural elements which lend to limitless possibilities! How marvelous to bow and acknowledge Jesus Christ as the One and only True Foundation--a Foundation of Love. God loved even before the creation of the world (John 17:24). May we long to have Christ's likeness established in every believer, not so concerned with the outward appearance of the temple, but deeply concerned with the foundation. Our focus should be to continually build up people, and not ministries.
With all we're hearing about this being a year of new beginnings, we must be certain to build upon sacred infrastructures while adhering to the basics--those fundamental foundations in place for centuries. For, "In the beginning, O Lord, You laid the foundations of the earth, and the Heavens are the work of Your hands" Hebrews 1:10. Don't you just love how God uses chaos to create His divine order?
Living Stones
It's awesome to know that we, living stones--breathing, walking, talking stones-- are carrying the Gospel of His glory to the ends of the earth! Oh how we are "looking forward to the city with foundations, whose architect and builder is God" (Hebrews 11:10).
As we build together, dear ones, some stones may seem insignificant, but it's so very crucial not to despise even one small stone. For, "Your beginnings will seem humble, so prosperous will your future be" Job 8:7. Let's keep in mind, "The hand that rocks the cradle, rules the world." In other words, we must nurture and edify every one of the Father's children as they grow up to be kings, presidents, justices and queens.
The moment we are baptized into one Body (I Corinthians 12:13), every believer becomes a beautiful stone. Look around. We come in all sizes, shapes and colors; jasper, sapphire, amethyst and more. Each person is a precious gem in the eyes of our God, shining in the darkness upon His foundation of glory and love.
We form this living Church as the Holy Spirit unites us; we become construction materials that must no longer be torn down, but acknowledged and edified. We are stones and the Holy Spirit is the cement. For, "You also, as living stones, are being built up a spiritual house, a holy priesthood to offer up spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God" I Peter 2:5.
Look Around
Following my vision of the foundations of the earth, Holy Spirit brought to my remembrance a prayer I had sent to the Throne room months ago. I remember it vividly. "Lord, I need You to send someone to fill this position." The Holy Spirit replied, "I already did." This was a moment in time when the hidden became unhidden. The "living stone" was right in front of me and I almost missed it.
Oh dear friends, look around, look around for, "He raises the poor from the dust and lifts the needy from the ash heap; He seats them with princes and has them inherit a throne of honor. For the foundations of the earth are the Lord's; upon them He has set the world" I Samuel 2:8.
How many living stones are in our midst right now who have not been properly honored and seated with princes?
It's time to uncover the stones, dear friends! We declare that those around us will be the best teachers, preachers, managers, mothers, fathers, and servants of the most High God the world has ever seen. World changers! We declare that not one stone will be left unturned as we train and equip, honoring and preferring one another above ourselves. We purpose to love each stone to life, so it is breathing, walking, talking and filled with the glory of God.
It's a wonderful season of "uncovering," beloved. This describes so well where we are at and indicates what we need already exists--right in front of us. Many believe that uncovering eliminates a lot of the emotional and intellectual baggage of "discovering." "Lord, send a stone to fill this hole in the wall." He says, "I already did!"
Hut, Two, Three, Four!
The army of God has been in quite a season of realignment. Some have been obediently deported several times, some resisted, and others have gone AWOL. Many have moved from the tail to the head. Now, we are entering into a season with synchronized marching coming forth. I can hear it! Hut…two, three, four. People are assuming their positions. They are standing strong and tall on firm foundations, ready to move onward and upward, taking ground.
There has been a tremendous amount of preparation in the laying of foundations. As with traditional architecture, so much occurs before design (action) and implementation. The needs of the building (the church) are identified, resources are secured, and finances are in place (or believed for). During the planning, there's a time to get questions answered, so the foundation can support the structure.
The Gifts
Every gift in the Body is necessary and all are about to increase and soar--as they are uncovered. It is time, friends. We must rebuild the temples--the people of God! Each person bears relevant gifts within them from birth, for the Creator lives in us! Sadly, some virtues can be stifled early on, perhaps as soon as we can hold a crayon and someone says, "Now, stay in the lines."
However, we know the gifts are still in "the house" within each vessel. It's time for recovering and uncovering! Blessing the gifts in each living stone as Jesus did--not allowing them to lie dormant. Jesus saw every disciple that came alongside as a gift (John 17:24). May we be like our Savior, ready and willing to identify, bless, and release what the Father has given within our own spheres of influence. May we come up from underneath, undergirding the stones, giving strong support, remembering that foundations are not seen.
Tools for Building on the Lord's Foundations
F – Firmness. As the winds and the torrents come, we simply will not survive on sinking sand. "Whoever comes to Me, and hears My sayings and does them I will show you whom he is like: He is like a man building a house, who dug deep and laid the foundation on the rock. And when the flood arose, the stream beat vehemently against that house, and could not shake it, for it was founded on the rock" Luke 6:47-48. "He set the earth on its foundations; it can never be moved" Psalm 104:5.
O – Openness. Foundations begin with open frames, remaining flexible for refinements during the building up. They are to take on whatever the Master Builder adheres to the frame, not speaking back to the Maker.
U – Unity. Of course a house divided cannot stand. Even if one single domino is pulled out of a pillar of thousands, the structure will tumble.
N – Nails. We can't actually see these construction materials, but they pierced the hands and feet of the Cornerstone of love and they hold the Church together.
D – Developers. The Lord has His developers in place. They train and equip causing the living stones to progress from an embryonic to an adult form. To grow into a more mature state, advancing and expanding. Developers have builders to come alongside and supervise assembling the joining parts so the structure is established, increased and strengthened. The builders mold, form and create, building on the past to mobilize the future.
A – Ascension into the Throne room regularly for the Divine connection that empowers and enables what is to come.
T – Truth. Absolutely no room for the veneer of servanthood--it must be the real thing. "Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for men" Colossians 3:23.
I – Ideals. Clinging to the path our Beloved leads us on, not the one taken by others. We are pioneers and groundbreakers. We must become uncomfortable with the norm and stretch to embrace the truth of Whom we serve.
O – Openness. To share liberally with those who may experience struggle along the way.
N – No status. Foundations are hidden. The dramatic metaphor in Luke shows us God's heart. He draws children to Himself in the midst of His disciples. Jesus said, "Whoever welcomes this little child in my name welcomes Me; and whoever welcomes Me welcomes the one who sent Me. For he who is least among you all--he is the greatest" Luke 9:48.
S – Stable. When foundations are being laid, miles underground, it's absolutely crucial that they are not off one millimeter of an inch. If they are, as the building goes higher, the miscalculation becomes more obvious. The final structure must not be weakened by its own growth, leaning toward earth rather than reaching toward Heaven. "He led them by a straight way to a city where they could settle" Psalm 107:7.
Let's Pray: Dear Jesus, how amazing that You would come to earth as a baby, a child, Who was to rule all the nations with a rod of iron (Revelation 12:5). Remind us, Master Builder, that all we do is an offering just for You. May we each serve You with diligence and joy, being changed from glory to glory. May every child of God grow in stature and favor with the Lord and with men as You did. Give us a Heavenly vision of the wall of the city with twelve foundations, and on them the names of the twelve apostles of the Lamb (Revelation 21:14). May the gems You are sending to Your Church be preparation for glorious walls made of jasper, and the city of pure gold, as pure as glass. As we acknowledge each brother and sister as irreplaceable components of Your final work, let us honor You by our love. Amen.
Paulette ReedExtreme Prophetic MinistriesEmail: Paulette@extremeprophetic.com

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If God Leads He will Provide

2008-01-20T12:19:00.000-08:00

Why do we say we believe, yet walk in doubt? Someone recently spoke to me about stepping out into a different field, but that they didn't have it all quite figured out how they were going to manage. I asked if they felt this was a God inspired change or something they just wanted to do? They said they felt it was God leading them in this new direction, but that they couldn't make that step until they knew how other things were going to fall into place. I was able to share with them this testimony of Gods provision in my own life.
I had worked in the dental field in one capacity or another for over 16 years when I gave birth to our youngest daughter, Libby. It was initially not our plan for me to continue to work once I became pregnant, but after trying to conceive for over two years with no success, we bought a house that required me to work to keep up the payments. Then lo and behold I found out two weeks to the day after closing on our house that I was pregnant! Even while I was pregnant I sensed God was directing me to quit my job. But, because I couldn't see how that was possible I continued working. When Libby was almost two I found out I was going to be losing my babysitter and I just couldn't see anyone but , Sandi, watching our daughter. I decided I would now leave my job and give in to this urging inside of me. But, I couldn't leave it there, I began to take classes to be certified as a Travel Agent and began my own business out of our home. As if that wern't enough, I also did day care for the other displaced children left over from "Sandi's" house! My business took off like a rocket and before I knew it I was working well into the night time hours some days. My back issues were then becoming a major distraction and I had to give up both the day care and my travel business. Even still I wasn't being obedient to that call inside of me to just let it go. It was so hard for me, I had not been without some sort of pay check since I had been fifteen years old and I couldn't imagine us making it without me bringing one home now. I then found a job with a local Interior Decorating Firm, a job that I loved doing. In less than a year my back issue became so much worse, I was to undergo an experimental theapy to see if they could slow the rate of the progression, which meant I had to quit my job. As much as I loved that job and hated to leave, I remember being overwhelmed by a sense of "freedom" when I walked out of the studio that last day. I had the treatment done and was in a brace for six weeks and didn't give it too much thought throughout that time. Then one evening I sat down and figured out what we had in bills and what we had to pay them with and on paper, it just didn't add up, we were in the red!
Yet, our bills were paid. One month went by, then two months went by and every month it was the same, on paper we should not have had enough money to pay our bills, but every month they were paid. I still to this day cannot tell you where those extra dollars came from, all I know is that they were paid. Throughout this time a connection with God like I had never known was taking place and I had such a sense of peace, words cannot describe it.
God had been speaking, but I didn't want to listen. Then when I did listen, I still felt it had to be on my terms. But once I was completely obedient, even if by force, God showed His faithfulness to me. I learned that when we have to do things our own way, we could miss out on witnessing God's power in our lives. I also learned that when God leads us to anything within or outside our area of comfort, He will not abandon us or leave us "orphaned", He will provide. He is always faithful to sustain us wherever He leads.
We won't always understand why somethings happen the way they do, but, if we know in our hearts, we are never alone no matter where God leads us and He will always sustain us.
Isiah 55:11
"So shall My word be that goes forth from My mouth;
It shall not return to Me void.
But it shall accomplish what I please,
And it shall prosper in the thing for which I sent it".

New Blog Home/Persistence

2008-01-19T16:44:00.000-08:00

Well, here I am, all set up in my new blog space. My hope is that this space will be much more accessible than the windows live domain I had previously. Life has been so incredibly busy lately I am thankful to of had today to just sit back and catch up, reading this past weeks e-mails and opening snail mail. It absolutely amazes me how much mail one person can get in just a matter of a few days!!! All it takes is to buy something from one mail order company and before you know it your getting offers from every mail order company known to man! Three years ago I ordered a bird figurine for my mom and I'm not kidding I have received at least 3/4 offers a week ever since. Sometimes multiple offers from the same company!!! Although I find this practice to be very annoying, I think there could be something to be learned by their strategy. What if we were as persistent with sharing Christ with those who aren't saved? I don't necessarily mean bombard their inbox or their mail boxes with offers to give their hearts to the Lord. But, what if we just never let up showing them the love of Christ, no matter what? No matter how many times they turn down the opportunity, that we would continue to pursue them for the Kingdom of Christ Jesus!! These companies don't take it personal when we rip up their offers and throw them in the trash or even seem to take offense when we flat out turn them down. They just continue to try to win you over with unbeatable persistence. Think right now about that one person, that one family member or person you work with that doesn't know the freedom of giving their life to Christ. When was the last time you asked?Also, we can't always assume someone is saved just because they come to church or attend a service. I know three people I have had the opportunity to lead to the Lord which I had previously assumed were saved. Then by having a conversation with them realized they didn't know the Lord and had never asked Him into their lives.Lets continue on with our work keeping our eyes, ears and our hearts open with persistence and determination, not ever accepting "no" for an answer.