Saturday, February 28, 2015

When God steps in...

Good morning all-

Sorry I haven't written much this week, I was in Houston at a conference and worked from morning until late in the evening.  Actually, that's where God stepped in this week.  I have really been struggling for the last month.  Much is changing in my life.  In three months my oldest will be married and my youngest has been talking about going into the military.  It's hard enough to lose them but the military scares me to death.  I have always prayed for soldiers and I am so appreciative for what they do for this country but in the back of my mind I hoped my children never picked that route. Why you might ask? Because I'm terrified of losing them.  Strange, I know, coming from a woman who loves God so much but there it is out in the open for all to see.

My children have been my very world.  They have given me so much and I have been so blessed to be their mom.  I thank God every day for them.  For every spill, every tantrum, every episode of talking back and for every piece of laundry dropped right before the laundry basket, I feel blessed.  That's the truth.  They are my joy.  And now, I must give them back to the Lord.  Do you know hard that is for me?  I have lost three of the people I love the most and each time I sent them to my Lord, praising Him.  But what if my son's choice to be in the military sends him there too?  It's a question that has tormented me, brought me great anxiety and fear.  So for over a month, as my son has continued to say, "The few, the proud, the Marines," I have prayed.  I just wasn't praying the right things until I met a beautiful woman named Sherri yesterday.

You know how you meet someone and instantly want to be their friend.  That's what happened to me yesterday.  I met this lady in the bathroom at our conference and we were laughing at how cold it was and how I needed to use the restroom because it was so cold.  She introduced herself and we went back into the conference.  I left the hotel, dropped off another friend who I love dearly and went into my terminal.  Who should be behind me?  Sherri.  So I asked her if she wanted to go to lunch.  I never get to do that.  As a matter of fact, I'm either with clients or by myself.  This is where God stepped in.

He knows our thoughts and fears.  He is with us and when we seek Him, He will answer.  Well, my encouragement came from Sherri yesterday and I will forever be grateful and I hope this is the beginning of a friendship.  We began our conversation like every stranger,"What do you do?, "Do you have children?"  You know the drill.  And then she told me about her oldest and guess what?  He's a Marine.  No one knows you better then God, never forget that.  I asked her many questions, including, "Aren't you scared?"  Her answer was, "We only have them for a little while and then we have to give them back to God."  You can imagine what was going on in my head.  How many times have I said that to myself?  Without knowing it, she had just made me face that my son was probably going into the service.  Sherri is a very wise and Godly woman, so I hope she is reading this now and as a side note, I will help you and your daughter-in-law start a blog. Her insight and her prayer life for herself and her son spoke to my heart.  I don't want to hold Hunter back from his plan, his purpose and his God.  I want him to be a man after God's own heart.  So for over two hours we bonded and we laughed and I felt calmer, more secure and more aware that God stepped in with this wonderful woman and made me see that I must give up my fear, have courage and give my son to Him.  He is not mine, he is His!

I wasn't in the house 20 minutes when my 6'8" giant came upstairs, touching my arm and palming my head.  He loves to do that, I think he believes its a basketball.  Anyway, he was needing help in the kitchen when he said, "You know mom they take your phones away and strip you of everything in basic,"  My answer, "I know that and you can write and receive letters on occasion."  I normally would have instantly been in fear.  Instead, I felt peace.  Why?  Because I have come to the conclusion that I can not stop the journey God is placing him on.  It is his journey and his time.  I must be supportive and proud and if he chooses to go into service I have to believe this is God's plan. And like I have done for over thirty years, I will pray Psalm 91 over him, as I have done for my best friend in the army.  He has led men on many tours and I have always prayed it for him and the men that served him.  I can't go in fear anymore.  I must see yesterday as a sign to let God lead Hunter as Mary did for Jesus.  Mary would never have stopped Jesus from fulfilling His promise.  She encouraged Him, followed Him and watched her son die on the cross.  She put her trust in God and I'm sure she prayed for courage, peace and understanding.

So I will do the same.  I give Hunter to you Jesus, He is yours.  May his life be for your glory!  Thank you Sherri for being God's messenger.


If we live, we live for the Lord; and if we die, we die for the Lord. So, whether we live or die, we belong to the Lord. (‭Romans‬ ‭14‬:‭8‬ NIV)

Wednesday, February 18, 2015

What does it mean to unite?

Good morning all-

My head continues to think about the 777 in the 21 men that died this last weekend.  I'm also thinking about all the people in the world that need a Savior.  In my Bible reading, I have been in Leviticus and boy is it hard to read.  You know what I'm talking about!  How many splatters need to go on the alter, who can eat the fat and what kind of pottery needs to be washed and what needs to be broken.  It's exhausting just reading it and then something leaps out at you and you see the love God has for His people.

Reading in the old testament makes me want to go talk to a Rabbi and find out how they are atoning for peoples sins today.  My best friend is Jewish but I'm not sure she practices that much.  My plan is to reach out to her because if you are truly following the law, as it is written, priests would  have to sacrifice animals for you.  They must have kept a journal because there is no way I could remember every step of that process and when I read it I see so many places where I could screw up.  I wonder if they felt the same kind of pressure? 

Jesus came to relieve us of that very pressure.  Do people hurt people?  Absolutely.  Do we sin when we know we shouldn't?  Absolutely.  But our Father loved us so much that He sent His one and only Son and to some that means more than their lives.  Whether we are Jew or Christian or gentile, our God loves us.  He came for us and continues to call His people.  Israel is His chosen nation and it will be in Israel that we will see the final coming.  

This is a time for us to unite and sing, "Holy, Holy is the Lord."  Last night in my hotel room, that's all I could think about.  He is Holy.  He is worthy.  And in all things He will bring about good, even when they seem dark.  He warned us of our journey.  He said there would be suffering but when you look at it we all suffer.  No one is immune, whether you believe or not, you will have times of sadness.  So my question today is, "Why don't we believe?"  What continues to draw us farther from the truth?  I think it's our own sin.  We must repent and go to Jesus.  We must believe that God is bigger than our imaginations.  We must believe that our lives are not our own and that we are not a god.  We are men and women in His image without the knowledge and power.  We are His chosen and as such, we must unite and ask His will upon our leaders, our people and our countries.  He is calling, will we follow?

I hope I haven't gotten you down in the last couple of days but we can't skirt the issues.  They are real and either we can hide behind a rock or we can look for our Savior boldly.  We can speak His name unto the nations and we can become strong in Him.  I am weak just like you.  I have made bad decisions, felt shame and once, walked away from my Savior.  But always, He has been beside me, carrying me and going before me.  He didn't just let me walk away; He pursued me.  I owe Him my life and so do you.  Your walk is not about feelings, it's about facts!  The facts remain that Jesus was born, Jesus died and Jesus will return to His people.  He is who He said He was and when we call upon Him, He hears our cries.  David wasn't perfect but time and time again he cried out to the living God and asked for His love, His leadership, His wisdom and His help.  Many Psalms have him crying out somewhere in them.  So today, I cry out to my Maker for the injustice and sin of this world.  I'm asking you to do the same.  Send this post to every woman you know in every country you are apart of and make Him known.  If you don't have courage, then send this because daily I am asking for the courage to spread the gospel far and wide!

Again I ask:  Did they stumble so as to fall beyond recovery?  Not at all! Rather, because of their transgression, salvation has come to the Gentiles to make Israel envious.  But if their transgression means riches for the world, and their loss means riches for the Gentiles, how much greater riches will their full inclusion bring!  Romans 11:11 NIV

Dear Lord, bring about change within those that don't believe.  Open their eyes to the power of the cross.  Help those see that are blind and bring forth a wave of saving grace.  It's time for all of us to unite and find You in every place on earth.  You came for Your people and they stumbled, which allowed all of us to have Your grace.  Bring Your people forth along with every Gentile from every corner of the world.  Make hearts change and give us the wisdom and knowledge to pursue You daily.  We are Your people, chosen for this time, send out Your call and bring leaders, evil doers, and all walks of life to You!  In Jesus Name!

Tuesday, February 17, 2015

Please pray for the persecuted Christians and their families...

Good morning all-

This is a call to prayer!  I have been up all night tossing and turning over the events that are happening in the Middle East.  21 Christians were beheaded this weekend for what they believe in.  This is not a time to fear; this is a call to action from our Lord and Savior.  It is time to fight with the only thing we have and that's prayer.  Christians for thousands of years have been persecuted but as I sit in my nice house in the US and have freedoms to do or say what I wish, there are people in other countries losing their lives for our God.  Why weren't they saved?  I asked God that last night but like John the Baptist, Peter and many of the disciples they were chosen for their time.

The atrosity of what is happening is beyond my very scope.  In 2015, we are watching things that happened in Jesus' time and we are being subjected to fear.  And then I began to think of David, Moses, Aaron, and all the Christians that lost their lives in Egypt and I remembered; He is the King and the day of reckoning will come.  It's in His power to save us and it's in His power to lift us to His kingdom.  Their deaths were gruesome and these aren't the first and just like Peter, I wondered if I would deny Him if I was in the same predicament.  Do you know how hard that is to even imagine?  And yet, in the quiet of the night, I wondered.  Why do we suffer?  Because we believe in the one true God.  No one is going after people that believe in Islam but everyone is attacking those that worship Jesus Christ.

So here are some of my thoughts:

I won't fear;
I will stand up for my people;
I will send out a call for the masses;
I will stand in the gap and pray for the men and women of all terrorist groups;
I will believe that Jesus Christ is Lord;
I will believe that this is our time to call upon His name;
I will write about who I love;
I will not grow weary of prayer;
I will love the un-loveable;
I will be like David and pray for relief;
I will pray that men and women can worship freely;
I will call women to unite in prayer for Christians all over the world;
I will not forget that even though we live in 2015, we are going to be persecuted;
I will call on the God of Abraham to change the hearts or move the mountains!

Be with me my sisters as I pray Psalm 91 for every Christian in every part of the world.  Hear our cry Lord and deliver Your people in their greatest hour.  We believe that Jesus came and will rise again.  We believe that we are sinners who need a Savior and we believe that You are more powerful than those sins.  We stand up for our right to believe and to ask You to turn the hearts of men who are blinded.  We pray for the wives and children who have lost loved ones and we ask that You give us courage in the face of barbarism.  We need You now to use the power You used against Pharaoh and bring about a change in the hearts that are apathetic.  We pray for the leaders in every country that they would have courage, strength, and wisdom and that they would be united as one against an enemy they can not see.  War is upon us but it isn't as physical as many would think.  This war is spiritual and I call upon the warrior angels to go before Your people.  We believe!

Whoever dwells in the shelter of the Most High will rest in the shadow of the Almighty. I will say of the Lord, “He is my refuge and my fortress, my God, in whom I trust.” Surely he will save you from the fowler’s snare and from the deadly pestilence. He will cover you with his feathers, and under his wings you will find refuge; his faithfulness will be your shield and rampart. You will not fear the terror of night, nor the arrow that flies by day, nor the pestilence that stalks in the darkness, nor the plague that destroys at midday. A thousand may fall at your side, ten thousand at your right hand, but it will not come near you. You will only observe with your eyes and see the punishment of the wicked. If you say, “The Lord is my refuge,” and you make the Most High your dwelling, no harm will overtake you, no disaster will come near your tent. For he will command his angels concerning you to guard you in all your ways; they will lift you up in their hands, so that you will not strike your foot against a stone. You will tread on the lion and the cobra; you will trample the great lion and the serpent. “Because he loves me,” says the Lord, “I will rescue him; I will protect him, for he acknowledges my name. He will call on me, and I will answer him; I will be with him in trouble, I will deliver him and honor him. With long life I will satisfy him and show him my salvation.” (‭Psalm‬ ‭91‬:‭1-16‬ NIV)

In Jesus Name we Pray! Unite!

Monday, February 16, 2015

Do you know who the great instructor is?

Good morning all-

I'm going to have to make this quick.  The snow is falling and I will have to leave for work soon.  People don't know how to act in the snow around here.  They tend to drive way too fast.  Anyway, I wanted to leave you with my memory verse for the next couple of weeks.  It really hit me strong yesterday as I was looking for a Scripture to meditate on.  I love to learn and love to share what I learn, especially when it comes to the Bible.  I can't say that I have ever really noticed this Scripture even though I have been in Matthew many times in my Christian walk.  I heard God in a way I haven't for a long time.  He is to be my instructor, no one but Him.  What does that mean?  I'm not quite sure.  I could guess that it's through Him, that I will learn all I need to.  I could also speculate that's why He instructed all of us to pray daily, when there wasn't a Bible to go to.  We are His chosen people and every time we step back to when He lived; we hear Him.

So today I'm going to leave you with my memory verse.  It's been an unexpected pleasure to get these down and I'm praying that the Lord continues to increase my memory through His word.  May the power of Jesus Christ and the Word enable all of you to find strength, courage and obedience through rough and stormy weather.  Just like this snow storm today, there's not much out there but I'm sure it will cause chaos if people don't remember what they knew in drivers school, practice patience and take it slow. That's what God is calling us to do today.  Remember His word, practice it with patience and go slow with joy in our hearts.  May the Lord of our lives shine on you as you look for Him!

Nor are you to be called instructors, for you have one Instructor, the Messiah. (‭Matthew‬ ‭23‬:‭10‬ NIV)

My prayer today:
O, Lord comfort us through the word.  As we sit and meditate on Your words reveal to us the power behind them.  We desire a relationship and we hang on every word.  We are a broken people, full of sin.  Heal us from the inside out as we find You.  Thank You for helping me memorize Your word.  I ask that You would send a message into the hearts of women all over the world.  We must be praying for our men, our children and their children.  We must believe that You are the only instructor and at the end of the day, the Bible is real and true.  Teaching it may not be enough in this hardened world so we ask You to open the hearts of our daughters and their daughters.  And more importantly, we ask that You open the hearts of our dads, husbands, brothers, sons, and grandsons.  They are the future leaders.  They are the ones that need to go to their Savior.  Wrap our sinful souls with the power of grace and mercy.  Give us knowledge and wisdom where we lack and make us strong in YOU!  In Jesus Name, AMEN

Thursday, February 12, 2015

40 Days in the Wilderness...

Good morning all-

Have you ever felt like you are wandering around and have no direction?  The Israelites wandered and wandered because they couldn't unite and trust in God.  The men and women that were part of Exodus and experienced God's power didn't even get to walk into the promise land.  It was their children.  And what about our beloved disciples?  Judas never truly got to experience all of Jesus' teachings because he was greedy. And many of His disciples wandered for days after He died. I'm even sure that they had moments after He was resurrected because of their doubt and their fear.

We all will experience times in our lives when we feel far away from God.  I think that's part of the refining and stretching He does with us.  We must walk when we can't see and that's so hard.  If you were born blind then you had to walk that way, you have no choice.  But if you were born with sight and then turn blind, can you imagine the first time stepping on the ground? Life is full of curve balls and it doesn't take us long to go with the curve.  It's so easy to go down that path, that often it scares me to think I'm that weak minded and yet, we all are.  While Moses was on the mountain being instructed by God, the people started building idols to worship.  Really!  Did they not see God's divine miracle when He parted the Red Sea?  Or what about when they were not prepared to face fierce enemies, did God leave them, no, He fed them from the sky and provided water in the desert.  If they could turn on God so quickly, then so can we.

Jesus spent time away to rejuvenate from everyone.  Can you even imagine what it was like to walk in His shoes?  He was being tempted on every side in a more powerful way then you and I ever will be. I imagine there were times of great struggle and feeling alone during those 40 days and nights and yet He survived, came back and was stronger for it.  I think I 've been thinking about His journey more and more because I just completed my first forty days in the Bible.  Now that doesn't mean I haven't spent that time before but it was never tracked like this.  It makes me think more about the men and women that have gone before me.  It makes Scripture more alive and it makes the journey I have been on the last seven years more real.  I have often felt alone, wondering about my path and seeking God with not a whole lot of answers.  I started this blog because I watched a show.  I began to pray for women and the title came to me.  I sat moving through my circumstances believing God would part the sea and as I did that I knew He was near.  Did I want to run away?  Many times.  My fear of the unknown and the sadness I often felt, while the whole time putting on a smile, made me doubt that I could ever be a person to spread His word.  And yet, I have been, faithfully to anyone that comes to this blog.  I made a promise and I had no idea what that would mean at the time.  I told my brothers that I would never be silent about my faith again.

As I sat near my dad's hospital bed wondering why I never had the courage to truly preach the word to Him, I was overwhelmed with a sense of doom and gloom.  When all of the sudden, I realized that God was a God larger than me.  In Scripture, He had come to many men in dreams.  As a matter of fact, He still is.  So why couldn't I pray about that?  So I did.  And what I saw was a miracle.  I will never know until I hit heaven's gates if dad truly accepted but I feel in my heart he did.  Sometimes when we can't see, Jesus is looking for us.  That's what makes me keep believing, praying and seeking Him.  There have been many times I felt like I was wandering in the desert.  There have been many more times I thought I couldn't see anything through the trees.  And just as I'm going to give up, Christ reminds me that His journey was difficult, He was stretched and He felt alone many times. He never gave up though and I can't either.

If you feel as though you have wandered for so long it hurts, I want to encourage you to go to Him.  He is near.  Your fate seems bleak, your health is failing, your heart is broken and you just can't see through the mighty forest or the barren desert, HE KNOWS!  Quit fearing, walk blindly towards the light and ask Him to be your eyes and feet.  He knows because while He was being tempted all those dark places were before Him.  There is nothing He did not face in those hours in the wilderness that were too great for Him.  He is your anchor and you must never forget it.  Every provision was given to the Israelites as they walked around and around.  He provided their every need and they couldn't see anything He was doing.  And at the hour on the cross, when all was going dark, Jesus asked His Father to forgive our sins.  Seriously!  Yes my sisters, He felt abandoned by His Father, divided for the first time. Can you imagine the helplessness?  But Jesus didn't give up, He asked for our forgiveness and we must trust in that always.

I know its easier said then done but it's our time to show the world that when we were in the darkest part of our journey, we moved forward with no sight except that He loved us and saved us in our greatest hour of need!

At that time Jesus came from Nazareth in Galilee and was baptized by John in the Jordan. Just as Jesus was coming up out of the water, he saw heaven being torn open and the Spirit descending on him like a dove. And a voice came from heaven: “You are my Son, whom I love; with you I am well pleased.” At once the Spirit sent him out into the wilderness, and he was in the wilderness forty days, being tempted by Satan. He was with the wild animals, and angels attended him. (‭Mark‬ ‭1‬:‭9-13‬ NIV)


Wednesday, February 11, 2015

The Power of Knowing God...

Good morning all-

I woke up thinking about the power of God.  Many significant things have happened for me these last few weeks.  I made a leap of faith to begin to see this blog as a ministry.  One woman's faith, could it impact lives?  I think it can if God is behind me and in front of me.  I have had a difficult journey these last couple of months and finally feel like I have been stretched, tested and in great need to move foward.  I never stand still anyway.  I am a go getter and totally a driven, type A personality.  I go until I fall asleep and find that when I find the power of God in the morning; I can do so much more.

So I woke up at 5 am with Him on my mind.  He is my past, present and future.  David, like no other in the Bible understood this.  He knew when he failed God, he knew when he needed God and he knew that without him, he was lost.  His heart was a heart that yearned for God and that's what I want my heart to always resemble.  I don't want to be known for being a gossip, angry or without devotion to people.  I want to be known as a woman that followed God all her days and at the end brought his Word far and wide.  That's my dream and like the little cartoon I saw yesterday, I'm scared but I'm leaping anyway.  The power of the cross is upon us my sisters and it's our duty to take on those responsibilities.  For some, it may just be raising your kids right now and for others, it may be casting a net wide and far.  I'm going to let God have the reigns and watch as He moves mountains, widens seas and sets the sun.

Jesus and our time with Him helps us understand our path and can help lead us beside Him.  Our faith doesn't come easily.  It was paid for by Jesus so that we could know Him.  When I read in Exodus all the qualifications for the Ark, the tent, the table, the clothes, the washing regimen, I'm exhausted.  But what I realize from all of it is how much God loved us to send His only Son and all He requires is that we love Him back.  That's the mighty power of our God.  He is the same but He loves us so much He reminds us not just of His power but of His mercy.  I believe that God is calling women to stand up for the next generations, to fight the good fight, to dig down in our Bibles and find Him and most importantly, love Him so that He can show us His unfailing love.

I may not always understand what human love is but I do understand God's love for me.  You don't have to have great parents to experience it either.  I was lucky.  I knew love, forgiveness and sacrifice through my wonderful parents but it was through my own trials by fire that I learned God's power and love for me.  Please take time today to look around and discover the power of Jesus.  As I told my husband, you can find him everywhere you look, even if it's only in a three minute Bible study.  I'll write about that tomorrow.

I keep my eyes always on the Lord.  With him at my right hand, I will not be shaken. (Psalm 16:8 NIV)

May the power of God's glory rain down on us as we follow Him.  May He set our paths straight and narrow and may he keep temptation far from us as we try to do His will.  Thank you Jesus for Your mighty hand on our lives and for the forgiveness you gave us at the cross.  We owe You our lives and we must follow the path that leads us to You.  In Jesus name we pray, AMEN.

Monday, February 9, 2015

Where ministry begins...

Good afternoon all-

I have been thinking and praying about the next steps in my journey for Jesus.  So on faith, I stepped out and bought three different domains.  I will be directing my blog from faithfulnessforwomen.blogspot.com to www.faithfulnessforwomen.com for now.  Eventually, I have bought the ".org" and with God's help it will become an organization that empowers women through faith and prayer all over the world.

I feel a sense of great responsibility because I know as a teacher of God's word I will be held accountable for my actions, thoughts and writing.  I understand it and stand up to it.  Please pray for my upcoming journey as I watch what Jesus will do.  This has always been His blog to do what He wanted.  I know that my work for Him is a fraction of what His planters are doing but I'm so glad that I'm hearing His call. Life is never easy and this decision makes me happy and scared at the same time.  Please pray for the harvest, there is a whole generation that needs to hear the words of our Lord and Savior.

Ask the Lord of the harvest, therefore, to send out workers into his harvest field."

Please pray that women will hear the wonder and power of the cross through this blog and that I am ever faithful to the call.  Please pass along this blog and encourage people to sign up.  I know that Christ will do the rest.  Be blessed my sisters, please reach out to me so that I can pray for your circumstances.

In JESUS NAME, I pray!

Until tomorrow...

Sunday, February 8, 2015

To Be One with You...

Good morning my sisters-

Where is your heart today?  My heart is in the eternal Word.  I spent several hours in the Bible today and on the Internet trying to find out how long a cubit was and what month Aviv is in the Jewish Calendar.  It's all so fascinating to research a different time and to gain knowledge.

I can remember when I graduated with my History degree and thought, "Well, I doubt I use all that research stuff again."  And yet, I find myself delving into measurements and calendars. I also didn't know what the bread of Presence is?  Do you?  It's the bread that was baked that sat on the table in the temple.  It is a light floured bread that is baked into 12 loaves and stacked 6 high.  There you go, the fun fact of the day but I'm sure you're wondering what that has to do with the title of this post.  It has everything to do with it.

The law was how people lived.  They sacrificed animals, weren't allowed to go into places in the temple, couldn't touch the ark and spent their lives trying to fulfill the Ten Commandments.  Fast forward to today where people have forgotten about those laws, think they can continually spend time away from God and live their lives exactly the way they want to.  I am sometimes part of that group.  I can make up excuses all day long. But when I watch the sun come up and I'm in the Word of God, I realize my excuses take me further from the beauty I so seek.  In His presence I am one with Him.  Whether it's driving down the highway praying or writing this blog after I have read something in the Bible, my time with Him is immeasurable, precious and is more fulfilling then anything else I could do in a day.  Then again, often I'm not sitting reading, praying and worshipping Him.  So how do I take what I know and how I feel and put it into a great package?  I invest.  It's like a 401K account.  I'm saving for my future, the future of my family and the future of my grandchildren.  I'm getting great advise, tons of wisdom and my investment always pays off.

How you might ask?  Because when I am one with God, I see Him in all His glory.  I find pieces of His character,of His direction and of His will in every portion of my life and in the Word.  I begin to open my mind and heart to His presence and to His majesty.  When I am thinking about Him, I am one with Him and He can lead me because I am in His will.  If He wanted robots, He would have made them.  He wanted people that desired a relationship with Him.  So as I sit here and see the sun shining through my front door, I am so aware that He is with me.  Was the law so God could judge?  Maybe but it really was His way to direct His people.  And when the law didn't work, He gave His only Son.  Doesn't our God deserve our time, our heart and our prayers?  Doesn't He deserve us to be one with Him daily?  Our God is not full of rules and regulations, He's full of love, kindness, mercy, and grace.  He forgives us even when we can't forgive ourselves.  Life will never be easy but when we walk with Christ we can see His power, His love, His direction!  There is nothing more powerful than being one with Him.

Today, I'm going to leave you with a Scripture that really caught me today.  Did you know that God sent an angel to go before the Israelites?  Well, He did.  That's how much He loved His people.

“See, I am sending an angel ahead of you to guard you along the way and to bring you to the place I have prepared. Pay attention to him and listen to what he says. Do not rebel against him; he will not forgive your rebellion, since my Name is in him. If you listen carefully to what he says and do all that I say, I will be an enemy to your enemies and will oppose those who oppose you. My angel will go ahead of you and bring you into the land of the Amorites, Hittites, Perizzites, Canaanites, Hivites and Jebusites, and I will wipe them out. (‭Exodus‬ ‭23‬:‭20-23‬ NIV)

Thursday, February 5, 2015

When ministry and Jesus come before our work...

Good morning ladies-

I was reading a lot last night.  First, I sank into Scripture, then I went over to look at world events on Twitter and then I read Beth Moore's blog on praying.  If you have been reading for very long, you know that I believe in prayer.  It has been a staple in my life.  I would say it's a gift from God.  I have been praying since I was little, even before I really knew Jesus.  My relationship with Him has depended on me standing in the gap for myself and others.  So many people have prayer wrong.  They think it is selfish to pray for themselves, actually some religions teach that.  If that were truly the case, why did Jesus give the disciples a prayer to pray every day of their lives?  And more to the  point, why did He go to the desert, up on a mountain and finally go to the gardens to seek His Father through prayer?

Prayer is mighty and when men and women unite the tide of this world will change.  We have dead generations and so many that don't believe.  We have to wake up.  All over the place God is showing us what the end times will look like and yet, we put our jobs and tasks in front of Him.  Even in ministry, I'm sure Beth Moore, Anne Graham Lotz and others struggle with finding time.  They are very busy women.  But all of us that want a true relationship know, when the Holy Spirit is calling, we must begin to pray.  So before work this morning, I once again sat down to write.  God is calling me to help you spread the word of the gospel, learn all we can about His character and trust that when we pray in His will, He will provide.  So often we get discouraged because we believe it must be an immediate answer to prayer.  Wrong!  It's always in His timing and do we get weary?  Sure we do but nothing beautiful, nothing Holy, nothing miraculous can occur if events don't bring us to our knees.  We don't have to be crushed but we must see the power in the Cross.  How do we do that?  We ask Jesus for His eyes, His heart and His word.  We see people on the street and we pray.  We hear of a Christian captured by ISIS and we pray.  We hear of a young woman raped; we pray. We hear a famous person say that our God is anything but good; we pray.  And when we are worried, sick, and full of fear, we call out to our sisters and ask them to pray for us.  Our struggles are the same throughout the world.  We must begin to listen to the Holy Spirit.  I know you can feel Him, what is he saying to you?

Be well my sisters and please go to and read Beth's latest post.  It's God inspired and I know you want to be inspired! Here is the link: blog.lproof.org.

It's our time, it's our hour and our Lord is calling.  Join me in uniting women from every part of the world.  Can you hear it?  I can.  It's the cry of His people saying,"Holy, Holy is The Lord."

The smoke of the incense, together with the prayers of God’s people, went up before God from the angel’s hand. (‭Revelation‬ ‭8‬:‭4‬ NIV)

My prayer for God's people:

Lord, today I hear Your call.  You are calling all the leaders of Your church to pray for revival, for souls and for the destruction of evil.  You are calling on us to trust in You!  You are mighty.  You are the God that made a snake out of a staff.  You are the God that gave Abraham a son.  You are the God that forgave David.  You are the God that walked beside twelve men.  You are the God that walks with us today.  I cry out to You for all those that can't.  I remember Your mighty words to Your followers.  We must pray, we must speak and we must believe that You are mighty.  You are stronger than we think because we keep putting You in our box.  You are the creator of the World and You are near.  We call out to You today, believing that Your will, will be done.  We are Yours and through our cries, You will deliver us.  My prayer is that we will join, one woman at a time, one city at a time, one state at a time, one country at a time and all unison will say, "We trust in You, let Your Holy Spirit rain on us in our time of need and bring forth Your children to You!"  You are mighty and You are my God!  In Jesus Name, AMEN

Tuesday, February 3, 2015

Magic vs. Acts of God...

Good afternoon ladies-

I have really been enjoying my 365 journey into the wonders of God's word.  This week I have read how Pharaoh's heart was hardened time and time again, until finally he let God's people go.  But what was most interesting to me was that  every miracle Moses did at Pharaoh's court, so did the mystic people (sorcerers) that the Pharaoh surrounded himself with, that is, until God escalated the wonders of the heavens.

God made a staff into a snake, so did the mystics.  God made the Nile turn to blood and every fish died.  "But the Egyptian magicians did the same thing by their secret arts, and Pharaoh's heart became hard; he would not listen to Moses and Aaron, just as the Lord had said." (Exodus 7:22 NIV)

Sorcerers, magicians and wise people looked upon Moses and Aaron and created the same miracles or did they?  In those two events Pharaoh's men could do that.  Black magic simulated God's power but then it gets interesting and things change.  God wanted them to believe they could replicate His miracles but they couldn't.  Later, he would kill frogs, livestock and eventually, take every first born son.  No magic could re-create the power of our God.

Take time to get into the word today.  It is powerful and we see something new every time we open it.  God is calling us to spend time with Him.  When we invest, we see results!

 "But the Egyptian magicians did the same thing by their secret arts, and Pharaoh's heart became hard; he would not listen to Moses and Aaron, just as the Lord had said." (Exodus 7:22 NIV)

Be well my sisters and pray to see our Lord's Mighty hand.

Until tomorrow...

Monday, February 2, 2015

But I trust in your unfailing love...

Good evening my faithful sisters-

I have been memorizing Scripture and it has been a true blessing.  My first Scripture was Psalm 8:3-4 and this week I'm doing Psalm 13:5.  "But I will trust in your unfailing love; my heart rejoices in your salvation."  The words in Scripture are beautiful.  I have always been pulled to David and the Psalms.  In the quiet, I feel like David.  I don't sleep in caves and worry about who I will have to kill next but I have felt his pain, cried out to God and felt the presence of my Savior.

My sisters our Lord is calling out to us to realize His unfailing love.  Do you know what love is?  I question if I really understand love and therefore, I'm drawn to this passage.  I must trust in His unfailing love.  If you look up the meaning of unfailing, it states, "not giving away, not running short."  Wow!  His love will never run short for me, so I must trust in Him completely. He will always love me.  That's powerful my sisters and it's meant for each one of us.  I must trust and rejoice.  He saved me for such a time as this.  Be faithful in reading, writing and learning His word so He can minister to you in the quiet of your mind.  He is loving, unfailing and real.

Please read the above Scripture and feel His arms around you.  I sure am!

Be blessed as you find Him in this passage.

Until tomorrow...