What Do You Choose?

I sat and thought, what to I say today?  I've said it before, I know some are probably getting tired of reading it.  We need to pray.  We need to pray with sincerity, we need to pray with fervency.  We need to pray until we see answers!


Now, I know sometimes God's answer is wait so that can be hard.  It can be very hard!  You pray for answers now yet at the same time you must recognize that it will be in God's time. 


Have you ever told God you know you need patience, yet your heart is saying 'but can You give it to me now?'  I know I have!  I've done it more than once.


Yet when we learn the value of focused prayer, I really feel the waiting is a bit easier.  Because at that time, it becomes a real conversation with God, not just a laundry list of wants and wishes and we can often hear His whispers that assure us that He hears and understands.


Quick prayers are at times essential but God longs for us to 'pull up a chair' and stay for a while when talking to Him and He wants to talk back, He wants you to hear His words.  He wants you to study His Word and seek to find the treasures He has buried there for you.


I love finding the little nuggets.  I love hearing a word from a preacher or a fellow Christian that resonates in my heart and makes me go to the Word to seek more information on it.   Sometimes those nuggets will come from something I read. 


I tend to be a bit curious, so sometimes even reading a Christian fiction book I'll find something that makes me go 'hmm, never hear that before, wonder if they did their home on this or if it just 'fit' in the story'.  With non-fiction books it happens more often that there will be a nugget that sparks that interest but anytime you read something that causes you to go 'hmmm' about the Bible or God, do some research, He may have 'planted' a nugget for you to find.


But the one thing that I have found to be true, the more I'm in His Word and praying, the less time I find for other things that might call me away from Him.  What we read, what we watch on tv, the places we go, they all filter through our brain.  The more we are filtering through the good stuff, the more good stuff we will find we want.


It's kind of like eating healthy.  I love cheeseburgers, fries, pizza, you know the stuff that isn't good for you.  Yet when I eat healthy on a regular basis I find that I don't crave that nearly as often.  I find myself saying, 'I think a salad might be good' or 'let me have grilled (not fried) chicken.


Our body and mind work alike, the more good you put in, the more you want the good stuff.  The more you exercise physically the easier it is.  The more you pray and study your Bible, the more you understand.  The parallels are amazing if you look at them.  They are so easy to see, yet we stumble all around and don't find them unless we are focused and determined.

Satan's Battle For Our Families

There is nothing satan wants to destroy more than families and our homes.  They are under seize as he and his imps are attacking the family every way they know how.  Nothing is wrong any more, there  is no shame in sin.  Men think as long as they stay on the computer with their sin and don't physically act on it, that it's ok.  Women think killing unborn babies is ok, if they don't find them convenient.  Men and women think that their 'me' time is more important than their children, or maybe it is their work time that is more important.


Now, I was a single mother that had to work a lot of long hours to make ends meet.  I look back and realize at times though, it wasn't just to make ends meet, it was to live up to the standards of 'possessions' I'd been raised to think were necessary.  I lost time with my daughter chasing things that I had been taught I must have or she must have.  I have regrets. 


The devil also seeks to destroy our minds, our confidence in God and our ability to stand true.  He uses depression for a lot of this.  If you have never battled with depression, thank God for that daily.  It is not something you can just 'decide you wouldn't do'.  It grips you to the bottom of your heart and impairs every part of your life.  I also lost time with my daughter because of this.  I have even more regrets.


Depression is a disease that will come back when you least expect, it just like cancer and it is just as deadly.  You will feel you have conquered it and it will rear it's ugly head.  It causes you to doubt your decisions, to not trust our ability to make decisions.  It will drag you into a pit so dark and gloomy that you think you will never see the light again.  It makes you feel helpless, worthless and useless.  You wonder why you are wasting oxygen by breathing.  You feel you are a burden to everyone around you, you can feel the whisper of 'get it over with', 'it's not worth it' and 'just let it be over' echoing across your mind and heart.


Because the devil knows if he can destroy our minds, he gets our family.  And if he can talk you into 'ending it all' your family will have a 'reason' to blame God.  He is one sly old devil. 


I urge you, if you are having any of the thoughts like that, get help.  Get Christian counseling and checked out physically.  Sometimes health issues are at the root of the problem and you can get them in check and it will help tremendously.  The overarching answer is Jesus, whether your healing with be by using a doctor or by rebuking satan or a combination of the two, only God knows.


But if we want there to be any hope for our families, our churches, our country, we must stand and say with the assurance of God's Word 'Satan You Cannot Have My Family!!'  We must pray for them daily, specific, focused prayers for every part of their day.  We must pray that God will guide us in what to say and not to say to those that are lost or away from God.


The battle is real, the fight is hard but our families are worth it!

Waiting? Are You Ready To Be An Eagle?

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


Heard a great message that used this verse last night.  The preacher went into how the Israelites would see this verse.  You see the entire first part of the verse relates to the eagle, not just the part of mounting up on wings as eagles.  When the baby eagle is 'pushed' from the nest to fly, of course it is frightened.  The mother waits until the last minute then she flies in and locks her talons with the baby eagle and takes it back into the air.  It is again let go and again it begins to fall.  The mother again at the last minute swoops in and locks her talons with her baby and lifts it up.


This is repeated until the baby eagle learns to spread it's wings and fly.  The baby has to learn that flying is just spreading it's wings and allowing the current to take him up where he wants to go.  This part of the process is called the waiting.  So when the Lord is telling us to wait, He is telling us no matter what He is there and will not let us crash but He is also wanting us to learn to spread our wings and fly borne upward by the wind of the Holy Spirit.


Not sure if that does anything for you but it's enough to make this Bapticostal shout! God is there to lock on to us if we get into hazardous areas!  He will lift us up.  The preacher talked about watching videos of this process and in every one of them, the baby eagle calls out to His mother, just the way we call to the Father when we are falling.  That baby eagle is way out of his comfort zone!  He is scared but in truth there is no reason for fear because it's mother is within reaching distance and she will not allow it to crazy on the rocks below.


And she is patient, another beautiful picture of our heavenly Father.  She continues this process until the baby eagle realizes that he has wings too.  He can spread them and he will fly!  Can you imagine that first time he timidly stretches forth his wings and he feels the current under them begin to raise him up?


Well if you have ever let God move you out of your comfort zone and you are afraid.  Then as God begins to supply the needs and you see what He is doing in your life, you know that same feeling.


God gives us so many promises in the Bible, so are open and straight forward and easy to understand.  Others like this are often a promise we know but we don't know the full details that God is putting in them until they have been studied.  But His promises is are there for us. We need to study them, we need to know them and we need to claim them.  Many have requirements for claiming them, that is where we will be like the baby eagle, learning to fly - pushed way out of our comfort zone!

Are You Focused? Where Is Your Focus?

Most of us struggle with staying focused, there are so many distractions and so much to do.  But we need to be focused when it comes to our prayer life.  We need to know what we are praying for, we need to know what to expect when we pray.




Now I know that one thing we expect is answers.  What we don't expect is that those answers may not be the ones we are wanting.  Or those answers may happen at times we don't expect them too.  On 8/10/15 I published a blog and I mentioned a young man I had met over 10 years ago.  I told a little about that meeting and how I had witnessed to him.


I told that I still prayed for him although I had lost touch with him.  I still longed to hear that he had gotten saved.  I had no way to contact him but I was praying.


Can you imagine my surprise last week when I'm scrolling down my Facebook page and who pops up as a suggested friend, you guessed it - my friend I was praying for.  We have no mutual friends or connections.  Yet there he was.  I had looked for him on Facebook before but he wasn't there or at least I never found him.


But seeing him pop up renewed my desire to pray without ceasing for his salvation.  It also reminded me that God answers our prayers sometimes in strange ways.  I've sent that friend request.  I'd love the chance to witness to him again.  But him popping up on Facebook is not how I thought my prayer, to know how he is and if he has gotten saved, would end.  I really never thought I'd have a way to contact him.  I never thought God might give me that opportunity.  I knew He could but I didn't see it play out that way.


So when we pray, we have to accept that God's plan isn't always the way we planned.  We need to 'roll with the punches' as they say.  Know that God knows best and be ready to move with His plan.


Something else to expect, if you get serious with prayer, is the devil to fight.  Sometimes when you 'stand in the gap' God allows you to feel the battle the other person is going through.  You need to be prepared to stand on God's word with your armor on and ready.


And you can expect backlash, many times when you pray.  Others will try to cast doubts on your prayers, your desires, your motives and your character.  That is because satan uses people to carry out his attacks. 


Yet as these things happen, God can and does give you assurance of His love and His peace.  As I've walked this road the last few months, I've seen things happen that I never dreamed would happen, as the devil took little things and made mountains out of them to push wedges into places.  I've see many roadblocks.


I have also seen my granddaughter that I've prayed for saved, I've seen folks healed and I've seen people becoming excited about prayer.


I don't know what tomorrow will bring or if it will show me another answer but I trust Him, He is faithful!

Building An Army

When things are rough and the devil is fighting, the Lord will send a whisper to say 'I'm still here and I've got this'.  But we have to remain faithful.  Sometimes we are so frantic in what we are doing we miss that whisper.  Some times the chaos is so bad that we wouldn't hear it unless we are listening close.  That is not because God doesn't want us to hear, it is because He wants us to calm down, to take it in stride, not allow the father of lies to take our confidence and tear us apart.


Yesterday I got to talk with a young woman who is excited about what God is doing in her life and what she believes God wants her to do.  She was my whisper, she was my encouragement.  She has been burdened to pray, to pray with power that Jesus can give.  She has been burdened for families, for churches.


Listening to her talk echoed many things I've written over the last few months, but she has never read my blog.  We talked about claiming God's promises that He gave us in His word.  We talked about the reason we are losing so many to the world is because prayer warriors are dying and no one is replacing them.  We talked about how the devil fought when God laid this on our hearts.


It was so great to talk with someone to 'gets it', someone who shares the burden.  Last night, older lady in the church talked with us about what it means to intercede in prayer for others and how God often has you feel the burden they are under when you do.  It was scary as far as responsibility but it was so good to talk with such a great prayer warrior, to hear from her lips how God often burdens or even wakes her up to pray for others.


We still have some prayer warriors out there but ladies and gentlemen most of them are getting on in age.  Who is going to stand in that gap?  Will it be you, me, both of us?  Prayer is the fuel that moves the hand of God.  God word tells us over and over to pray, to pray expecting, to pray believing, to pray for ourselves and others.


Are we following God's word and doing this?  Or do we say our 'short prayer' to bless the food, to go to bed and that's all.  You can never move for God without prayer.  And others may not be able to move because you aren't praying for them.


We need to pray for power for our ministries, we need to pray for protection - of our families, our church, our ministers, our missionaries and other Christians.  Satan wants to take out anyone working for Jesus and prayer is our protection.  We need to pray for provision - that God will supply the needs of our families, churches, ministers, missionaries.  We need to pray for progress - that we will grow in Christ, that our churches will reach the lost, that our ministers will have strength, wisdom, discernment, & grace, for our missionaries to reach souls for Jesus!


There is always a lot to pray about, we need to pray with fervency and focus.  That's what a prayer list or prayer cards are good, they keep you focused, you don't have to rely on memory.  God may be calling you to pray specifically for a ministry on a daily basis.  Fulfilling that assignment can reap benefits you may never see.


Today I'm encouraged because someone else is seeing and understanding the need of prayer, the need of power in prayer.  God is raising them up one by one.  I hope you will join us.  We need an army as this is a battle.  We are at war, we need to be prayed up and ready to stand on our knees before the Father and plead the blood of Jesus.

God In The Midst

Zephaniah 3:17 - The Lord thy God in the midst of thee is mighty; he will save, he will rejoice over thee with joy; he will rest in his love, he will joy over thee with singing.

The LORD thy God - He is personal God, He is my God.  In the midst of thee - He wants to be the center of all we do.  Is mighty - a bit of an understatement, He is all powerful.  He will save - Hallelujah!  He will save, not just our souls, He is our deliverer, our fortress, He is our strong tower. He will rejoice over thee with joy - He rejoices with us and wants what is best for us. He will rest in his love - His love is sustaining and the source of our rest and peace.  He will joy over thee with singing - He can't contain His joy for us, it makes Him burst into song!

I know this is an Old Testament verse but my Bible says that God never changes.  So all of these things are true today!  When you feel alone, remember He is in the midst.   When you feel in danger or forsaken, remember He will save.  When victories are won, remember He rejoices as well.

This just really jumped out at me today.  When I see my daughter or granddaughter in danger - believe this, I am on it like a mama bear!  When I see them happy - I am so happy for them.  God is the same way over His children, only His love is perfect.  There are no mistakes or blunders that blur the lines or cause friction.

I am protective, God is even more so.  But here is the difference.  I often try to 'push' for the answer I want.  God is a gentleman, every time.  He will not try to force you to do anything, including serve Him or praise Him, you must be willing.

I often ask on this blog, 'do you get it?' and I have to ask it again - 'Do you get it?'  He is there for you, He joys in what makes you happy, yet if you choose to go a different way, He will not push or shove to get you in line.  His patience and grace are amazingly long.

We need to be mindful though that while it is long, there is a point and time that He says 'Enough!'  He will not tolerate things going any further.  We need to have a reverent fear of that.  We don't ever want to cross that line.

He will not always be in our midst if we continue to turn our back on Him.  Our nation may be very near that deadline right now.  Just as in Lot's day, the few that fear God have held back the complete judgment on our nation but the time is drawing near that He will say 'Enough'.  And we can't blame Him, our country is so far from Him right now.

But as Christians we can recognize the signs, we can repent of our sins and call out to God to save our land.  Will you join me today?

The Cross

I Still Glory In the Cross by the Bowling Family and It's Still The Cross by Gold City are two of my absolute favorite songs.  One, 'It's Still The Cross' proclaims that no matter how men try to change things, no matter who may compromise their beliefs, The Cross is still the answer - no matter what the question.


'I Still Glory In The Cross'  proclaims the devotion to that day that Jesus hung there and the finished work He accomplished.  I heard that the pope said that Jesus going to the cross was a failure.  I didn't hear him say those words but it was reported by a number of sources he did.  If he did, he is so wrong!


The cross purchased my salvation!  The cross gives me hope, the cross gives me victory.  The reason it does those things is Jesus didn't stay there!  He was buried and He rose again.  He wasn't a failure then and He is not a failure now!  He is our victory!


I love the fact that I serve a RISEN savior, He is not dead, He is not in a grave!  As I see the picture of what He went though for me in the scripture I wonder 'why?'  It is not because I'm so sweet and lovable. It's not because I am powerful or influential.  He suffered, died and rose because He loves me. 


I can't comprehend that type of love, I marvel at it.  I glory in it!  HE loves ME!  He knows the times I've failed, I've sinned, I've given up.  He knows the pain that I've suffered and yes, the pain I've inflicted, yet He loves me.  He knew the chains that bound me, He broke them!


Today as I'm listening to my radio it seem the Cross is the theme of the songs I'm hearing.  It reminds me of His sacrifice for me.  It reminds me that He wanted the cup to pass from Him, yet He went to Calvary anyway.  It reminds of how He prayed that night and that, just like me, his disciples failed to watch and pray.  Yet he loved them and He loves me. 


Do you understand how incredible that is?  Do you understand how amazing that is?  Sometimes I just want to shout 'DO YOU GET IT?' to people that seem to have no excitement about their salvation.  I'm excited


Let me ask you something, today at church will you put your mind on Jesus while you sing and worship?  Will you ask Him to show you how He wants you to worship?  Will you clear out your mind and just praise Him?


Think about the cross, think of what it symbolizes.  Then think about the grave that is empty now.  If that doesn't make you raise a hand in praise and/or give you something to shout about, then check up.  Make sure you have the real deal in salvation.  God is worthy of our praise and I WILL glory in the cross.!

Where Is Your Treasure?

Luke 12:34 - For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also.


Do you long for heaven?  Do you desire to spend time in God's work?  Do you look forward to time in prayer? 


Unless you can answer 'yes' to those and mean it, it may be time for a check of where your treasure is?  The Bible tells us both in Matthew and Luke that your heart is where your treasure is.  So if your heart is in tune with God, your answer should be 'yes'.


Now all of us have days that we just get so busy that we get sidetracked.  Guess who causes that?  Well, actually there could be a number of causes but the base cause is usually the devil keeping too busy to have the time you need to strengthen your heart and mind with the Lord.


Do you have a time and place that you pray every day?  Or do you just pray when you get around to it, usually at the end of the day when you have trouble keeping your eyes open?  There's nothing wrong with praying at the end of the day, in fact it's a great way to know that your heart is at peace when you get in bed.  But if it is just a 'oh, I have to pray now', rather than a 'God I've coming to You to praise You, thank You and to bring my desires to you', it may not be achieving what you are hoping and praying for.


God wants to be Lord, now He knows that there are many things to distract us and He knows how often we just don't say 'no' when we should.  He also knows the devil will use 'good things' to take away our time from really talking to God.  It may be a church ministry or family or a charity.  Those are all good things and we should take time to do those but first and foremost we need to worship God.  We need to study His Word.


There is so much for us in His Word.  It can give us wisdom, peace, joy, calm, the list goes on and on.  But that only happens if we get in it and study it.  It only when we ask Him to open our eyes and let us see what He has for us when we read.  It only happens when we lay our hurts, our wants, our desires and our needs out before Him asking that His will be done. 


Do you keep a prayer list?  Do you  update it with answered prayers and praises?  I haven't always been as faithful with that as I should, but I'm learning that it can be a great encouragement to me.  Seeing the answers to prayer, seeing where God has moved can motivate me when I'm down.


As I've said before, this blog isn't a great 'how to' from someone who 'has it all together'.  It is a learning experience that is recorded so others can learn as well.  It is the lessons I've been taught.  The ups and downs I've gone through that hopefully will help you as you go through yours.


We need on a regular basis to make sure our treasures are in the right place so our heart can be focused on Jesus!

Your Whole Heart In the Fight!

Jeremiah 24:7 - And I will give them an heart to know me, that I am the Lord: and they shall be my people, and I will be their God: for they shall return unto me with their whole heart.


Lord, give me a heart to know You!  I want to turn to You with my whole heart!  Why don't we as Christians pray this prayer?  It's often because we know something the world doesn't, the closer you grow to God the more upset the devil becomes.  HE FIGHTS!  He attacks your mind, your family, your peace, so sometimes we are afraid.


Many came into the Christian life thinking that once they became a Christian life would be easy.  Jesus saved them so it should be smooth sailing from there on out.  But the truth is, if you fully commit to Him, you are going to be in a battle.  Now if you sit down and do nothing, he doesn't fight that hard.  But your heart is miserable because you can't have God's joy if you are not fellowshipping with Him and doing His will.


There is nothing the devil can throw at us that our God cannot handle.  Now believe me there are days that you feel you can't handle it.  There are days you feel overwhelmed and just buried in the chaos.  That is satan at work.  He is the master of confusion and chaos.  He is the father of all lies.


He does not want you praying, witnessing, serving.  He wants you 'busy' with other things.  He doesn't want our heart to be focused on Jesus.  It is hard to battle him, I'm not going to sugar-coat it.  It is tiring and it frustrating.  It's dangerous, he pulls no punches and there is nothing he will not stoop to.


Yet my God said He would supply all my needs.  That includes the needs I have to prepare me to find the devil!  A few weeks ago a good godly man made a statement that I've been thinking about a lot.  He said 'you don't challenge the devil, he will throw everything he has at you if you do'.  I've thought about that a LOT.


I respectfully disagree.  Now, having said that, you better be sure that God is the one putting you in that fight before you go in.  You better be prayed up and have on the whole armor of God before you STAND YOUR GROUND.  I don't think that God would give us so many examples in the Bible of Israel going into battle, if He did not expect us as Christians to do the same thing.


Now I understand sometimes the battle comes just because of things you are doing for God.  But at are times that there is ground we must tell the devil 'YOU ARE NO MATCH FOR MY GOD!  YOU CAN'T HAVE THIS!'  Now you know when you do that, the devil is going to unload both barrels your way, but you know that the God that cannot lie said he is our fortress, our protector, our shield.  The fire will be hot, the darts will hurt but we are to stand.


We are told in Eph. 6:13 - Wherefore take unto you the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand.  That is not idle talk or something that is a suggestion!  We are to put on the whole armor and we are to stand.  We may be staring the devil straight in the face, we may feel the earth is crumbling beneath us but we are to stand.


I've been there, in fact in the last few weeks, I've faced mind numbing discouragement.  A friend last night called it FEELING FOG, I like that because it so describes where I've been.  But I thank God that He reminded me, none of this happened when you were complacent.  None of these things were happening when you were satisfied with a short prayer that had not depth or passion.  Things were going easy in many ways until you met with God on a mountain and saw chains broken and demons from the past thrown out. 


But I thank God for that mountain experience and for the creek experience that finished the cleaning process two months later.  I can take the devil back to those 2 spots and say 'God took this, right here, He knows and He has forgiven' and 'Right here I learned that not only did I need God's forgiveness, I needed to forgive myself'.    Having those places to go back to are as important to me as having that little Sunday School room in Grace Baptist Church in Simpsonville, that I can say Nov. 21 1969, God saved me.  Oh, I've failed Him, I've hidden from Him, I've run from Him but just like the prodigal's father, He was there waiting on me.


Today is another day I'm going to look back on.  Today I declare to the devil, YOU CANNOT HAVE MY FAMILY!  You may win some battles, you may cause distress and anger, frustration and hurt but you will not win this war.  My daughter, my granddaughter, they are not yours, you cannot have them.  My God said if we ask anything in His name that He will do it.  I've said this to myself a few time, I even said it in church a time or two.  But today I'm saying with every ounce of strength my God will give me.  They are not up for grabs.  You may tempt, you may seduce, you may throw trials and troubles our way but I will stand with God at my side.  You are not match for Him.  Me, you can toss me about, if God allows but my God is my source and my very present help in time of danger.  Today I'm MAD (Motivated Against the Devil) and my family is too important for this war to be lost.  You may have some victories but I know the end of the Book, you lose the war.


Today, ask yourself, where is your fight?  Do you have fight? Or have you allowed satan to discourage and control the circumstances around you to the point that you can't fight?  The greatest thing you can every realize is that 'you can't but HE can!'  Give Him your whole heart, get into the Word and come to know Him in his strength and power.  Learn to trust His love and His grace. Then stand, no matter what happens, just stand!

When God Confirms

Yesterday's blog was about having a passion for prayer, so last night's message by the pastor really confirmed in my heart that yes, we need to be passionate about prayer.  While he read several passages on prayer, this wasn't a sermon in the typical sense.  He had a message prepared but while we were having our prayer time, God took him a different direction.


He began to share first about a woman in the church coming forward on Sunday with a burden to start a Women's Prayer group.  She was burdened we need to pray more.  That's kind of been my blog theme for weeks so that really resonated with me.


Then he began to tell about his day.  He missed a lunch meeting but the preacher he was to meet said 'come on, I'll wait, I have something I want to show you'.  He got his directions messed up making him even later.  They had their meal and then he was taken to The Potter's Place in Central, SC.  If you have heard of it, you know where I'm going.  But if you are like I was and had no idea, as he stood telling us about it, I sat there in amazement.


It is a place that is 100% dedicated to prayer.  They have places to bring groups for prayer, they have huts where you can go and spent time in prayer alone, just you and God.  In those huts they also have a place you can write, you can journal, study your Bible or just spend time in prayer. 


They have a creek, yes this got my attention.  As all my Stronger Sisters know creeks are good places to nail things down and have a place to take the devil back to when he tries to throw your past in your face.  This place is owned by a couple that had this dream, of a place that people could get away from the cares of life and meet with God.


If you don't want to go to a cabin or hut to pray, they have a walking path that has scripture verses along the way as well as well placed benches for when you need to sit.  Regardless of whether you like to be inside or outside, they have a place where you will be able to meet with God.


Now, I know you can meet with God anywhere.  Erin & I met with Him this morning in my car before school.  But for folks like me that get distracted and seem to find it hard at times to just let go of the 'things' around us, having a place like this is really something I want to experience.


A week or so ago I said that I wasn't a prayer warrior but I had a desire to be.  God continues to kindle that desire.  I'm not deserving to be someone to go to battle for others in prayer.  I fail so many times.  Yet God continues to call me to pray.  He continues to affirm this is something He wants me to do.


He continues to put people who need prayer in my path.  I still don't pray as much as I should but God is showing me that He has things for me in the prayer room, whether it be at my home, in my car or a quiet hide-away such as The Potter's Place, He desires that I pray.


But He desires that you pray too!  He wants to hear from you.  He wants to speak to you.  He doesn't want it to be a once and a while thing, He wants it to be consistent.  He has promised to hear us if pray.  I'm claiming that promise! 

Where Is Your Passion?

So many things happening these days, I try to carve out a few minutes to write but it seems that something is always pressing.  I know what that is, the devil throwing everything he can my way to keep me from reading, studying and writing. 


He may win some battles but he will not win the war.  Over the weekend I went to see Woodlawn and it encouraged me to see some real life heroes.  They stood for their faith, they stood when it would have been easy to fold.  I wonder would you stand like that, would I?  It's certainly not as dramatic as those in Oregon that faced a gun if they didn't deny their faith but it took courage none the less.


We need that courage today!  We need that strength today!  I also started the book Fervent, it is a call to fervent, strategic prayer.  It reminds me that the devil does little without a plan.  He sees what our needs and weaknesses are and he attacks there.  He knows when we are weak from the battle but he also sees when we are casual because of the victory.  He attacks in both those situations. 


The book talks about areas in our prayer life where the devil can attack and the first one is passion.  Now before I read it, I thought of those folks that can 'call down heaven' when they pray when I thought of passion.  But I realized that a passion to pray doesn't necessarily mean a loud or commanding speech as part of the prayer.  The passion is our desire, our willingness, our faithfulness to pray. 


It is our refusing to let the devil push away the prayer time with business or cares.  It is the small prayer for someone who is hurting, the quick prayer when we see a wrong, it is the repentant prayer when we have failed to pray as we should.


It may not be a long prayer, or it may be, it depends on the situation.  It is praying every day even when we don't feel like praying or when we feel defeated and our prayer is Lord, help my unbelief.  It is praying for those that need our prayers consistently and with an unwillingness to give up.


Passion for prayer results in prayer and prayer results in answers.  We may feel defeated but my God is the Victor.  We may be tired but my God has promised me strength and that He will refresh my soul.  If you feed that passion for prayer you can go into prayer as a kitten and come out a lion!  Because God will meet you in your prayer room.  He will sustain you and He will energize you.  But you must make that first step.


God has so much for us and  yet we allow the day to day activities to strangle us and to keep us bound.  Our passion for prayer can release those chains.  Our passion for prayer can deliver us from the tempter. 


But we must commit and if we fail, we get up and we begin our commitment again.  God is faithful and each time you commit, He will give you strength.  When you fall, He will pick you up.  He will be faithful unto the end.

The Joy of Seeing Somone Receive Salvation

Salvation is a free gift, we've talked about that before.  We must accept it for it to be experienced.  This week my granddaughter Erin accepted the gift.  It happened on a Tuesday and she was at her other grandmother's.  She didn't want her to tell her mother and I, she wanted to do it in person.  So we learned of it the next day.


To say it is an answer to prayer is an understatement.  Another one is brought into the kingdom, but this time to me it was very special because of who it is.  Something that dawned on me as I had that thought, to God that is how He feels about each one of us when we get saved.  It is a special child that has accepted Him.


One of the first things Erin asked about was being baptized.  She wants to follow the Lord's instructions.  I'm excited about that.  I'm excited that she got saved at an early age.  I want her to learn to love the Lord with all her heart and to honor His word.


Just as we all do, she is going to fail at times but one of my favorite statements is 'it's not about how many times you fall, it is about how many times you get up'.  I know I've found that true in my own Christian experience. 


I had posted about her salvation on my Facebook.  Last night we sat and I let her see each person who had posted a response and the long list of those who had liked the status (well over 300) and she was amazed.  She said 'all of them are happy I got saved?'  I told her yes.  Many of the faces she recognized on my page, the ones she didn't I had to tell her who they were, how I knew them.  They made an impression on her.


That set me thinking.  Who is looking at your likes and shares?  What do those say to the young and impressionable?  Do they point toward the risen Savior or would they possibly lead someone the wrong way.  I've heard folks say 'well, it's my page, if they don't like what I say they can unfriend me'.  I get it, some folks are overly sensitive.  But what about the young, impressionable person that may look up to you?  What do they see on your FaceBook, Twitter or Instagram?


More importantly what does God see?  Does He see someone who points souls to Him or leads them away?

He Loves, He Cares For You!

The last few weeks have been hectic at best, chaotic more often.  There have been more downs that ups.  My world has moved way out of my comfort zone.  It's called a comfort zone for a reason, it's where we want to stay.  There have been some lessons, I would have preferred to learn them a different way.  But that wasn't God's way.


I've said it before and I will continue to say it, God is teaching me daily.  I do not know where tomorrow may take me, I have no idea if the path will be one that I would choose.  But I know His direction will always be in my best interest.  That is sometimes hard to hear in the valley. When our heart cries for deliverance, and God says 'you must learn here', we seldom want to hear that.


Yet it is part of His purpose for our life.  Sometimes we think He isn't listening or He isn't answering.  I have to ask you something, are you listening?  I mean really listening?  Or are you just looking for relief.  Sometimes He is whispering to us, 'be still', 'trust me', 'rest in me' but we are so busy struggling we don't hear that whisper.


God loves you, He not only loves you, He cares about you.  You may say 'how is that different?'.  Well, in loving He extended mercy, in caring He is there to meet every need.  But we have to be open to receive either of these.  Unless we are in communication and fellowship, we aren't going to see these in action.


Gifts left unopened don't show us the expression of love that the actual gift can bring.  We may know what is in the package or at least think we do but for the gift to be of any good to us, we must open it.  We must experience it.  Salvation is the same way.  So are all of God's gifts.  We must activity participate to see what they truly are.

The Words of My Mouth

Do you ever have times that nothing you say is right and it seems everyone finds a way to be offended by things that did not hold an offensive meaning?  Well I have!


Psalms 19:14 May the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be pleasing in your sight, O LORD, my Rock and my Redeemer.


How hard that seems to be to do!  I know I try but my flesh gets in the way far too often.  Folks push my buttons, people get on my nerves. I've looked but I can't find a loophole here, those aren't set up as exceptions.  Now that doesn't mean you have to be a doormat.  But it does mean that you are to think before the words come out.  We need to ask God to put His hand over our mouth (or our fingers that are typing). 


Sometimes folks take what we say wrong, they put an entirely different message to what we say, but often we just didn't think our words through carefully enough.  I'm so guilty and I really am praying for help with this.


My personality is a 'get it done' person.  So I tend to be direct and that is often misunderstood as rude or blunt.  I'm aware of that fact but sometimes I'm not aware enough to monitor what I say so it isn't misunderstood.


But the true root of most of our issues is that we don't meditate on the Lord and His Word enough.  His Word softens our heart and our words.  It helps us to show love instead of frustration or stress. It teaches us to heal rather than destroy.  But we must listen to it for that to happen.  We must apply it to our lives.


When we don't do that, we harm our testimony.  We hurt others and we bring pain to ourselves.  But more importantly we dishonor God.  We fail to be the Christian we should be. 

The Hills Remind Me of His Power

Psalms 121:1 - I will lift up my eyes unto the hills, from whence cometh my help. 2 My help cometh from the Lord, which made heaven and earth.


Is anything to hard for God?  He created this world, he created you and me.  He is the Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the End, He is all powerful, He is present wherever you may be and He knows all.  There is nothing you go through that He does not understand.


If my help comes from the Lord, then it is important that I do not neglect my prayer life.  I need to talk to God and to LISTEN to Him.  We are often good at the talk part, 'I'd like this', 'please give me that', 'will You make this happen', 'will You change.. etc.  But are we good at the listening?  Reading His word, letting Him speak to your spirit, those are so important.


Without that, we are treating God like Santa with our long wish list.  We need to seek to know what is best for us.  As hard as it is to believe, we don't know what is best for us, our family and/or our friends in many cases.  We can't see the consequences.  We don't know the future, God does.  We don't know the impact it may have on others in the present.  We are so 'needy' at times.


But God loves us and He continues to guide us if we will let him.  He will give us the very best.  That thing that we 'pitched the fit for', it had all kinds of traps we couldn't see.  He saves us from those things and gives us something better.


But we need to know where our strength, our help comes from.  Doing things in our own strength or in our own way will always bring consequences that we don't see.  Sometimes God is gracious and He allows that those consequences are minimal but at other times they are major.


God keep me from the selfish consequences!  Keep my eyes on You not on my wants.  Help me to be faithful to reading Your word and bringing my petitions to You.


Every time I see a hill or a mountain, Lord, may I look and be reminded of You, Your power, Your love, Your grace, Your Compassion and Your mercy.  May I remember the many things You have done in my life and that You want to do even greater things.

Climbing

"Some times it takes a mountain, sometimes a troubled sea".  Many of you recognize the words that that song. The picture of the mountain can bring several thoughts to mind.  The view from the mountain top is gorgeous, the air is clear and you can see for miles.  But getting to that mountain top, now that requires work!


The climb is hard, at times the terrain is rough and it is hard to get your footing.  There may be weeds, bushes overgrown in the pathway.  The rocks may be loose, making the climb treacherous.  The height of the climb may make you dizzy as you change altitude.  Sometimes there are 'critters' that scurry by causing fear.  Yet that is sometimes where God takes us.


The mountain top may not even be visible from were we are standing.  We may question the sanity of the climb.  But when it takes a mountain, know that the mountain top is in your future.  It's not a maybe, it is there and you just have to keep moving.


The troubled sea, brings some other visuals to mind.  I've been on several cruises.  Most of them have been smooth sailing but there were 2 where the seas were rough.  Walking required we hold on to something.  Standing was difficult, our appetites were gone because our stomach's were taking every dive with the ship.  We saw the tall waves breaking against the boat.  At that time, we may have wondered why did we even get on this boat?  Many of us tried to keep our spirits up and 'put on a happy face' but deep down we just wanted to be in our beds with the covers over our head. 


But the next day when we were anchor in sight of a beautiful beach, those thoughts were forgotten as we made our way to swim, play, spend time in the sun.  The night before this was how we hoped to spend our day but that day it was reality.  Our inconveniences from the night before, now are forgotten or at least laughed about.  That's how our journey through life is.  There are times we can't stand, our fears are surrounding us, we just want to curl into a ball and bury our heads. 


But one day we will stand on that shore in that heavenly city.  All the fears and troubles we faced will seem so small.  Right now, you may be climbing a mountain or drifting in a troubled sea.  I know I am.  But there is coming a day that this will seem so minor, it will be a faint memory, if it is a memory at all.  That is the truth  I must hold on to.  That is what makes me pick back up when my hands have lost the grip and I feel I'm going down.  We'll be fine because we are His and He is ours.

My God Delivers!

I believe the valley of this week was satan's attempt to keep me from writing.  I understand that in the scope of written word, out in the world to be read, my sphere is very small.  But the goal was to keep me from writing, not as much for what someone might read but because writing is how I express my feelings about God, to God with others.  For a number of years, satan silenced that.  He came at me with depression, oppression and feelings of total unworthiness and I quit. 


I gave up.  Today there may be no one reading what I write, but God knows I have remained faithful to write.  The devil has thrown some of his best shots at me and I wrote.  Maybe not always well, maybe not always clear but I wrote.  For the years that I was in a hopeless condition, satan didn't care what I might write because he knew my heart was not in my writing therefore I would not have anything to give.  Now he knows that I still may have days of hopelessness but I turn to the true hope and He sustains me. 


One thing I do know God has put some folks together that He has placed the same urgency to write and encourage Christians to stand up, to pray hard, to keep the faith.  We have each had days that we struggled but God has used what He has given us to encourage us.  He will give one of us a word that totally validates what another has written or He will impress something strongly to another that one of us needs to hear.


A God that loves me that much, that He spends time using others to raise me up with I am down, is so amazing to me.  He not only saved me, He not only gave me eternal life, He cares about my ups and downs.  He wants me to be encouraged.  He wants me to know how much He loves me.


If you are discouraged today and you are a Christian, know He wants to encourage you.  Know He cares about you.  Know that He wants what is best for you.  Know He wants to equip you for the battle so you can overcome these feelings.


If you do not know Him as Savior, He wants to save you.  He wants you to accept the love He so freely gives. 


Devil, you had me down for a bit but you never got the 3 count because my God delivers!

When I Am Down

I'm tired, a to the bone tiredness that seems to consume everything.  I'm discouraged today, I've dealt with situations that no matter what I choose, the options aren't good.  I'm hurting today, when you love and care for others, yet it seems that is taken advantage of, it is a pain that hurts from the inside out.


When those times come and they do, I'm so glad I can cling to the Old Rugged Cross.  I'm thankful that I have a loving and forgiving Savior who knows what hurt and pain feel like.  He understands, He cares.


Some folks think that Christians never have disappointments or pain but in fact the opposite is true, we have many.  The only difference is we have someone to turn to.  Now I admit I often get in the flesh and try to handle it on my own.


Or I react rather than responding.  I still have trouble with that.  I know I am still a work in progress.  And at times the progress seems slow.  At times the mode of growing me seems so hard.


But I can't and I won't give up.  As the old song says I Have Too Much to Gain to Lose.  I have a family that need to know the abundance of God's ability to supply.  They need to know the comfort and peace that passes all understanding. 


When I'm in pain or it seems that life is getting hard, I write.  As I begin to type I find that God gives me so much.  Not just the words but the help and joy that I need.  Sometimes I have to write a while to get all that He wants to give. Sometimes the words come quickly but at other times I have to search for what He wants me to know.


I'm no different from anyone that may read this blog.  I go through many things, but I have learned that He always has the answer.  He always will provide.  He may not do it the way I think it should happen, it may not be when I think it should happen but it happens in His time and His time is always best.


Now someone reading this may think 'wow, she has it altogether'.  Well, don't let the words fool you.  There are days that I grasp for hope and help.  There are weeks that I feel I can't get my head above water.  I feel the enemy crushing down.


The only thing that I have 'altogether' is the knowledge that my God is greater, He is able, He is powerful. 


Today is definitely one of those mornings.  Things at home were chaotic.  I cried at home, I cried on the way to work and I've even cried at work.  My heart may betray me, in that it feels like giving up but my spirit asks 'give up to what?'  If you give up on God, where would you turn?


The reality that the devil seeks to have God allow him to try and test God's children is very real to me today and I feel I have failed every test.  Unlike Job who praised the Lord through his trials, I feel I'm moaning and groaning through mine.  That isn't who I want to be but my heart is heavy and my spirit needs renewal.  I do the only thing I can, I look for answers in HIs word.


As the Psalmist said in 51:10 - 'Create in me a clean heart, O God, and renew a right spirit in me'.  This is where I am today.  I need God to renew a right spirit in me.  I don't want to feel and believe the worse, so I must fall on my knees and implore Him to renew my spirit.  It may not happen in a flash, it may not be instantaneous, but I know it will happen.  Because my God is faithful.  I may sit in this place for a while but my God will deliver.  Until He does I will continue to repeat this prayer and wait.

Forgiveness

Why is one word so powerful and hard at the same time?  Why is it easy to speak of forgiveness but it is hard to truly forgive.  You see it so often in the Christian life.  That's the only place I'm going to talk about.  To the unsaved, they have nothing to measure forgiveness by.


But as Christians, we have been forgiven much and we continue to be forgiven much.  Yet we hang on to the bitterness, the anger.  We use a lot of things to camouflage it.  We call it loyalty to the person something was said about.  We call it pride in heritage when something is said, about where we are from or our family.  We call it caution to keep us from being hurt again.


Yet in truth the only true reason for unforgiveness is  disobedience.  The Bible says we are to forgive.  It says we are to forgive 70 x 7.  It says we are to forgive even if they don't ask for forgiveness.  When we fail to do so, we hinder our own lives and what we can accomplish for God.


I know Christians, folks that I love that harbor anger or bitterness toward others and yes I have been there myself.  I was self-righteous in my anger.  "They should have been better, they should not have done or said this or that."  "They hurt me, they hurt people I cared about".


Let's step back for a moment and look at this from God's perspective and see where those 'reasons' stack up if we look from there.


1) They should not have done or said 'whatever' - so if we are going there, have we ever said or done something we shouldn't?  Have we ever in jest or maybe even in spite said hurtful things?  Did God forgive you?  Yes, He did and if the Holy God can forgive you, who are you to hold that grudge?


2) They hurt me  or they hurt someone I love- seriously?  Think about it, man - that is you and me- crucified Jesus, they spat on Him, they gave Him vinegar to drink, they stripped Him, they cursed Him.  But does God forgive?  Thank you Lord, He does!  He has every reason not to.  He has every reason to say 'NO! You can't be forgiven'.  Yet He not only forgives, He heals, He restores and He loves.


And the really sad thing about unforgiveness -it hurts you!  It is sin and we cannot truly serve God to the best of our abilities with unforgiven sin in our life.  When the disciples asked Jesus to teach them to pray, 'forgive us our debts as we forgive our debtors' is pretty clear.  I don't think it was just a suggestion. 


How can you ask God to forgive you, if you are unwilling to forgive someone who has wronged you?  You may say it isn't a big deal, it's just a little thing.  So, does that mean that you are willing to allow a little thing, something that isn't a big deal to have a negative impact on your spiritual life?  I mean, think about it.  If it is big enough that you have to hold on to it, it must be pretty important, right?


Trust me when I tell you, that when that truth becomes a reality and you realize how you are hurting yourself with your actions and attitude, it will put that act, whatever it may be into perspective.


You know the saddest thing about unforgiveness?  Sometimes the action we find so 'hard to forgive' had to happen to move you or someone else where they need to be.  It could be something that sparked a ministry or caused someone to understand the need to help in an area.  It could be what pushed someone to show what they can do.  God has used this thing that you will not forgive to grow and mature others, yet you let it hold you back. 


Today, let's all search our hearts and ask God to show us if there is anything we need to forgive, anyone we need to forgive.  And if there is, ask God to help you forgive! 


Let's also ask if there are things we need to ask forgiveness for.  Where have we failed?  Who have we hurt?  At times the hurt is not our intention, yet it still hurts.  We can't excuse because the hurt wasn't intentional, we can't try to explain it away.  We must own it, be sorry for it and do our best to make amends. 

Angry, Hopeful, Afraid and Prayerful

Yesterday I talked about the grace that God gave those that through the ages have stood and proclaimed His name even in the face of death.  As I was writing that other thoughts began to flood my mind. Those who stood there were children, parents, brothers and sisters of others that are now dealing with this tragedy.


Loved ones having to deal with the thought that the last thing your child, parent, brother or sister saw was a gunman, ready to take their life because they were Christians.  It breaks my heart.  I put myself in their place and wonder how I'd react to that phone call if it came.


Would I fall to my knees in despair?  Would I be angry?  Would I be flooded with hatred?  Would I be so devastated that I don't know where to turn?  I don't know, but I do know this, the same God that was with Stephen as He was stoned, the same God that was with the Hebrew children in the fiery furnace, the same God that gave His Son to hang on a cross, He would be there.


May I find grace and comfort in that place.  But today, I'm praying for that grace and comfort for those families in Oregon.  I know the first few days are shock, disbelief and so many other emotions.  But now as we are days away, reality has set in.  The knowledge that they are not coming home.  The finality of their death and horrible realization of why they died.


As a mother and grandmother I cannot begin to comprehend this.  I'm angry.  I'm angry that there is a sense of denial of the reality of Christians being killed just for being Christians both here and around the world.  I'm angry that rather than call it evil, leaders blame the gun.  I'm angry that the heroism of  the young man who took 7 bullets and the 2 police officers who rushed into the line of fire, is getting much less air time than those who say 'it is the gun's fault'.  I'm angry that my granddaughter will never know the world that I grew up in.  The world where even the lost had a respect for Christianity. 


But God told us this time was coming, this is not without warning.  The Bible says the times will get worse and worse.  We are seeing it today. 


As much as I am angry, I am also hopeful, today could be the day that Jesus comes out on the cloud and calls us home.  Today the soul that is the 'last one to be saved', accepts Jesus as their Savior and time as we know it shall end.


I'm also afraid, I'm afraid for those that will not listen to His warning.  For those that refuse to accept Jesus gift of salvation.  I want to see my friends and family in heaven.  I do not want any of them left behind.  Because contrary to what you see in the movies, if you have heard the gospel, you will NOT get a second chance.  The Bible says you will believe the lie, the anti-Christ. 


Lastly, I'm prayerful.  I will pray that God brings my loved ones and yours to a saving knowledge, that their hearts will become tender and they will hear and understand.  As I say 'Even so come', I also pray 'God bring them in'.

New Grace

It happened at Columbine, it happened in Oregon, it has happened in numerous places where ISIS is moving to take over.  People are killed because they profess a belief in Jesus Christ and possess His forgiveness and new birth.  Every time I read about it I'm in awe of the faith of those that proclaim Him no matter what. And at the same time I wonder, would I?  I pray Lord if it ever happens give me the faith and strength.


It's nothing new, it happened to the early Christians.  Look at Stephen in Acts. Acts 7: 54 When they heard these things, they were cut to the heart *, and they gnashed on him with their teeth.
55 But he, being full of the Holy Ghost, looked up stedfastly into heaven, and saw the glory of God, and Jesus standing on the right hand of God, 56 And said , Behold , I see the heavens opened , and the Son of man standing on the right hand of God. 57 Then they cried out with a loud voice, and stopped their ears, and ran upon him with one accord, 58 And cast him out of the city, and stoned him: and the witnesses laid down their clothes at a young man's feet, whose name was Saul. 59 And they stoned Stephen, calling upon God, and saying , Lord Jesus, receive my spirit. 60 And he kneeled down * , and cried with a loud voice, Lord, lay not this sin to their charge. And when he had said this, he fell asleep .


Stephen was bitten and stoned but as it was happening he looked into the heavens straight into the face of Jesus.  I wonder, as the Christians in Oregon stood just before the trigger was pulled, did they see the face of Jesus?  I know after the trigger was pulled they did.  Sunday my pastor made a statement that I'd also seen on facebook last week.  The bravest person in the world was the SECOND person that proclaimed they were a Christian after seeing the first one shot.  There is a lot of truth in that.


Yet, the account of Stephen here tells us a lot.  In the Bible it is mentioned that Jesus sits on the right hand of the God the Father.  But here He is standing.  Why do we go from sitting to standing in a situation?  Because we are concerned, or we want to be fully aware of what is happening?  Or maybe He stood to be sure that Stephen got a good look at His face, as Stephen faced his death.


There is a song that I sang some years ago and while I don't remember all the words without looking them up, here are a few of them.  Grace for every trial, grace for every mile, New grace I've not needed before. 


God doesn't give us grace before we need it.  As a human, I wonder how I will react should I ever be in this situation.  As a Christian, I know that God's grace is sufficient and He gives us the grace we need. 


Today's world is wicked and we face many dangers, but the God of all comfort is with us every step of the way.  He will give us the new grace for whatever we may face.


Today since originally writing this and now, I've encounter the need for new grace.  I've said on here multiple times I'm a work in progress and I often fail.  Today, I see the failures too clearly.  I see the pain & regrets of bad choices.  I see suffering and hurt.  Today I pray for grace, from God and from others.  As undeserving as I may be, I'm looking for grace.

    

Prayer Warrior or Wimp?

I read a friends blog earlier and to be honest with you, it hit me between the eyes.  I've been struggling the last few days.  The weather and other factors have caused pain and health issues.  Nothing major, just enough to put me on edge and make me irritable. Just enough to make me short-tempered.


When I read her blog, I hung my head.  The devil had pushed all my buttons and he knew right where to find them, because I tell him on a daily basis.  Now I don't mean to tell him but I do it none the less.  He knows when I'm in pain I tend to have little patience, so his goal is to send things that test my patience.  He knows that often I fail that test.  I fail because I do not fall into God's arms of mercy and ask for Him to meet the test.


I'm thankful for people to tell it like it is.  I need to hear it, I don't always like it but I need to hear it.  I'm thankful for preachers who truly preach the word and that my pastor is one of those.  Oh, how his messages step on my toes at times and bring conviction to my heart.


But I need those things to grow.  For a plant to grow and bring forth fruit (or veggies), not only must it be planted and watered, the ground must be kept soft, the grass & weeds that try to take root around the roots of the plant must be pulled up.  For a tree, it must be pruned, that means cutting off the dead limbs, taking out any part of the tree that will hinder the tree's growth and ability to bear fruit.


There are days that I feel all that is happening is the pulling around my roots, the pruning of my limbs.  But God sees the end result.  He sees that I need those things to happen to bear fruit.  Even though I may allow the devil to get in a few licks and slow me down, it does not stop the purpose that God has in my life.


I want to be more ready and willing to pray over everything!  I want that to be my first step, when the devil pushes my buttons, not a 2nd, 3rd or even last step.  I want the prayer to become so much a part of my routine that the devil knows pushing my buttons will result in prayer and he's afraid to push them.


I know I have a ways to go to get there but that is my desire.  I long to be the Christian that the devil says 'oh no, she's praying again!'.  I want to be a prayer warrior.  I pray, but not like I should.  But if there is any desire that God grants me, it is that I become a prayer warrior.


We have lost so many of them.  We need God to raise up those to stand in their place.  I am not worthy to be one of those yet in Christ my worth changes.  Lord, help me to fall on my knees every day in search of Your will for my life.  Help me to pray for my family and friends with a fervency that puts a hedge around them.  Show me how to pray as I should, not for my will but Yours.  May I be a prayer warrior, may I be ready to wage war for the souls of family and friends.  May I stand in the gap for those whose strength has failed.  May I totally put my trust in You for every need.


Little did I know as I wrote these words satan's greatest plan to date was in the works.  He would pull out all the stops and try to take away the things that matter most.  I must put those things in God's hands and it is hard.  I've asked God to make me a prayer warrior, now the battle is intense and for the most important things.  I must pray, first for forgiveness where I've failed and second for God to be my strength, for God to put His hand over my mouth when needed.  I must pray for God to open my mouth when it should be opened but to put His hand of warning in front of it and keep it from uttering anything out of His will. 


Earlier today I was defeated, I was ready to give us, yet I know my God has not given up and He does not want me to either.  It is a minute by minute task of prying my fingers off and putting it in His hands.  Too much is at stake for me to give up.

Trust Him Today

There have been many things going over and over in my mind the last few days.  God is so good, yet we fail Him.  He loves us so much, yet we often give in to anger and frustration.  He is faithful, yet we are at times faithless.  Why?


Why does He still love us?  Why does His patience run long?  Why does He not give up on us?  It's because He is God and He sees not only what we are but what we can be.  He sees each failure and how we learn from it and grow.


I'm reminded of the story of the little boy sitting at his mother's feet and she is doing needlepoint.  As he sat on the floor he saw the knots, the strings and the maze of thread that was frankly a mess.  He asked his mother why it was so messy.  Then she turned it around and he could see it from her vantage point and it was beautiful.


We are the little boy and as we look at ourselves and what is happening we say 'Lord, why this mess?'  But it isn't time yet for us to see it from His vantage point.  One day we will.  We will see that the beauty that all the messes and problems have created in the big picture.


We just need to trust Him, we need to realize He doesn't give up on us, so we are not to give up either.  We need to acknowledge that our failures are just steps to take to move to the next stage.  And we need to realize that God doesn't always define failure the same way we do.  I'm really glad about that.  He is much kinder than I am.


If God had the kind of patience I do, I'd probably be dead by now.  But instead He just loves me!  It's hard to get my head wrapped around that.  It's hard for me to understand that when I mess up royally, instead of beating me up, He lifts me up.


Now that doesn't mean He never punishes, when we deliberately and willfully disobey Him, as any good parent He will discipline us.  Not to be mean or because He doesn't love us but rather because He loves us so much.  Just as a daddy may pop a child's name when it reaches for the fire or to pick up broken glass, He will do the same when He sees us making a mistake that can hurt us.


But God's discipline is always in love, never anger.  His correction is for our good and He wants what is best for us.  If we could just let go and rest in that how different our lives would be.


Today know this one thing, GOD LOVES YOU.  Remember that JESUS DIED FOR YOU!  Trust that GOD WANTS YOU TO BE BLESSED!  But also know that He knows what is truly a blessing.  Getting what you want is not always the blessing.  Sometimes preventing the very thing you want the most is how He blesses us.


Trust Him today.

It's NQC and I'm Sitting At Home

For those that may read that don't know what NQC is, it is the National Quartet Convention and it was held this week in Pigeon Forge, TN.  I love Pigeon Forge, I love the NQC, yet I'm not there.  It's not the first time I've missed but something is different this year. 


In the past missing it made me really unhappy.  Missing it this year hasn't had the same result.  Now that's not because I have any less desire to be there.  It is because of a new contentment and acceptance that I can't do everything and I don't have to be in total control of my life.  Oh, did I just say that out loud?


I'm a control freak, from being on time to if you make plans in advance don't go switching things up on me.  If I'm going on vacation, I know when we are leaving, how long it should take and when we should get there.  There's nothing wrong with planning, it can actually be a good thing.  But the panic that ensues if your plan get changed, that's not a good thing.  Seriously, I've had panic attacks over being late somewhere.  I've refused to go if I was going to be later, it made me physically ill.


Now I think you should plan to be on time but unless you are a heart surgeon and someone is waiting on life support for surgery, being late isn't the end of the world.  My heart started pounding when I wrote that, for real.  That's how bad I am. 


So NQC is a great time to hear music, see friends, catch up with many people and it is always a highlight of my year.  I couldn't make it.  But you know the things I remember about this week?  Having some in depth conversations with my daughter, being at a great church service on Wed. night, hearing a missionary from Brazil give his testimony and tell about his work.  Realizing as he gave his history, I was part of a church that was supporting the missionary that led this man to the Lord in the 1970s.  Seeing how from that one missionary sent from here in our state, this man and his brothers were all serving the Lord, reaching people in countries where the US can no longer send missionaries. 


I missed time with my friends but at the time I would have been there, I was hearing how mission dollars I gave 30 plus years ago had reached hundreds, maybe thousands over the years.  Would I trade was I was Wed. night to be at NQC?  No, I don't think so.  I'm content.  I'm finding more and more often these days as things change from what I thought was a good plan that God is replacing the anxiety with contentment. 


It has happened slowly.  And there are times, the frustration or panic may resurface but God is reminding me of this one thing.  He is in control, I'm just along for the ride.  My plans are feeble and often centered about what I want.  His plans have purpose and are centered about what is best for me.


So to my friends I missed at NQC, I hope I see you soon.  But this week has been good!

Remembering the Victories

What are your favorite memories?  Are they of times with family?  Maybe a trip with friends?  What do you believe God's favorite memories of you are?  The time He saw you stand when no one else did?  The time you prayed for hours for a sick child?  The time you encouraged a brother or sister?  The time you helped someone in need?


As I thought, I hung my head that there were not more times that I believe the Lord said 'well done'.  But the race isn't over.  Even if there were not one thing I could count today, I have from today forward to make those memories.


I can today determine that, I want to be counted as His.  Regardless of the world view, His view is what is important. That won't come without some sacrifices.  There will be those that don't understand.  There will be those that disagree.  There may be those that argue.  Yet seeing Him be proud of me is more important that any of those.


I know I'm going to fail, but I will not be defined by those failures, I will be defined by the victories that come by His strength and grace.  No matter how many times I fail, I want to get up at least one more time.  I want to declare my love and praise for the one that saved me and set me free.


Praise His Name!  I say with the psalmist Bless the Lord, oh my soul!  He is able and I want to walk hand in hand with the one that calm seas and move mountains. 

Be Careful What You Ask For!

Have you ever asked God to do something and then you see how He is doing it and you go "NOOOOOOO!!! Wait, that's not how I wanted You to do it."  Because of course, we know so much more than God, right?  Yes, I'm being sarcastic but that is the way we act. 


In the last few months I've been on a road that while I'd travelled close to there, I had not been on that particular road.  I could see the path I had taken before, it was familiar and comfortable.  I thought when I started writing that would be the path I went down.  I didn't know that God was going to have me digging around so much in my own past hurts and pains.


I didn't realize that to be used I was going to have to pull the hurt out for display.  I didn't realize that to help someone I was going to have to share things I'd never told anyone.  It is scary.  But it is also freeing.  I allows you to see where God has brought you from.  It sometimes exposes areas that you thought were resolved and realize, they aren't, you need to allow God to work on them more.  That work may be painful but oh the joy it can bring.


But God knows best.  I look at things I've done, places I've been.  I am not proud of them, yet even those can be used for God's glory in helping others with similar struggles.


Then there is the other part of telling God you are ready and willing for Him to use you.  The devil doesn't like it, he is going to throw so many things at you.  Around our house patience is not in large quantities, that is true for me, my daughter and granddaughter.  You ask God to use you and the devil will push every button he can to make your patience snap.  Trust me, he has.  And unfortunately sometimes it worked, at least for a while.  But the difference now and I know why they are happening and I can Nail It To the Cross.


I asked God to use me, I knew how I wanted to be used. I had a plan.  God has a purpose and His purpose is so much better than any plan I can make.  I'm not qualified in myself for some of the areas He has me working in, yet time and again He gives me the answers, He shows the way.  He doesn't need you to be qualified, He just needs you to be willing!