Sunday, August 20, 2017

Begin to fight with love and prayer...

Good morning all-

I hope this week has been full of prayers, thanksgiving and a sense of purpose. I know mine has. As I woke up this morning, my thoughts were about my dreams of invasion, true deadly invasion.  That was the dream I had.  It was so strange I won't put it on paper but I will say this, it got me to thinking about fighting.  I'm not a fighter.  I only really fight when I've reached my HOT button.  Not a good place for me to be.  I've learned over the years to push it down.  However, there are times I just can't do it and then we have a problem. At the pinnacle moment my temper meets the road, people scatter.
Anger, resentment, hate are all a catalyst for evil.

Learned behavior can sometimes be a good thing, it shows we've grown and have learned to control bad emotions.   Worldly control also has a downside.  If you control one thing often something that is good is controlled too.  In my world the good was my passion for all things God. Passion has been hard for me to find over the last couple of years. I thought I had passion for all the right things only to be refined to find that my passion was selfish and honored my ability over God.  Today, if you asked me what my passion was I would say I am growing to have one, God.  Over the years, my kids and my husband were my life but my passion was work.  In a very long and refining moment recently God showed me that my identity, my worth and my energy went into one thing, the thing that gave me the MOST satisfaction and that was work.  Work is temporary and meaningless in a world that is suffering lost souls, war, drugs and a lack of everything good.  When you can turn on the news and 95% of what you see doesn't make sense, you know our world needs Jesus!

Because we need Jesus, we need to put on our full armour and fight. I challenged each one of you this week to pray for the 99/1. I'm asking you to do so now. I'm asking you to gear up, have courage and fight.  I'm tired of taking a back seat and watching man do the wrong thing.  Our leaders need our prayers. They are full of themselves at a time when we need them to think about the people. We are self-lovers, surrounded by possessions and a penchant for chaos. Due to all this chaos all I can think about is love and how to break the evil. It seems, I can't walk by a person in need anymore without thinking what could I do or what should have I done in that situation.  There are 30 charities I could name off right now that I wish I could contribute to. Some times in the dead of night I wake and wonder how I could be the wheel that changes everything and then the morning comes and I think this problem is too big for me and it is.

That's what made me think of the 99/1 prayer. I'm going to continue to pray it. I'm going to continue to spread the message and I'm going to ask any reader that hits this blog to do the same. My passion must be to share the gospel.  Christ will do the rest. All He asks of us is to say the words, write the words, speak the words with boldness and truth.

Here's the truth.  Christ did not come for the holy, He came for the sinner. He did not come for the those that believed they were the best, most knowledgeable, followers of God. He came for the worst of these.  Christ did not illustrate to us that passivity in the face of wrong was acceptable, He came to show us that doing what's right, fighting with love, can change the world one person at a time and that's what we have to do, fight with love not war.

Of all the leaders throughout US history, my favorite is Martin Luther King.  You know he was not a perfect man.  He was tempted just like every man.  He fell into those temptations too.  So in essence he was real.  But like Moses, he led his people to freedom through Christ.  It was time that a snooty white population see that color was just skin deep. It was time to fight for what was right, peacefully with respect of their fellow man.  And so Rosa Parks stood up on a bus and then others stood up and one by one a movement happened that was so powerful it changed our thinking and for eight years the US had an African American President and it all started with one man having a vision from God. That passion of those men were right, it was blessed by God and so do I.  I have a vision for women everywhere to stand up and pray for our countries, our men and our children.  I'm one person in a small town fighting for what is right and what's right is that a Christ movement take place in the US. My mission is for one person in every country to fight against evil so that the power of the light can shine on this earth. We must pray for the 99/1.  It's the one that's lost, confused, overwhelmed, weak, strong, stubborn, inherently loves oneself over all else.   These are the people I'm called to love, to spread God's word with authority over evil.  We must fight as if we we're soldiers with a passion for our mission. That mission  is to serve our God with all our heart, stand up and speak His word and not grow weary.  I thank God that King David, FDR, Roosevelt, Martin Luther King, Rosa Parks and Jesus.  Each person thought less of themselves and more about their Godly mission. They stood up for what was right, against evil and if we stand up, pray with all our hearts, repent and give thanks, one day our Lord will return and evil will be demolished.

When I think of the wrongs I've committed in my life, the people I've unintentionally hurt or disappointed, the paths I've traveled that were marked with bad decisions and sin, I realize one thing, if God can use me to speak to you, then out of the least of these can come beautiful things. I'm not worthy to write about Jesus and yet, He calls me to. I'm not worthy to spread His word all over the world and yet, I'm called.  I'm not worthy to speak about love when I have done wrong and yet, I'm here, repentant and knowing in my heart that I am to pray against this evil, fight wrong with right and pray for the 99/1.  If one comes to Jesus because I opened my laptop today, I will be the luckiest girl in the world. That's my hope that as women see this blog, together we will pray this prayer and love will be heard from my deck out through the Internet to as many countries as God deems. I'm one myself, once lost but found. I'm far from worthy but so very grateful that our God saved me right where I was and never lets me go.

Will you stand with me today and pray for our world and the lost. We must turn from our ways and spread hope in the face of much chaos.

We must pray this for ourselves: Psalm 91: 7-8 NIV

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.

Proverbs 10:12 NIV
Hatred stirs up strife, But love covers all transgressions.

John 10: 9-11 NIV

9I am the gate. If anyone enters through Me, he will be saved. He will come in and go out and find pasture. 10The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy. I have come that they may have life, and have it in all its fullness. 11I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down His life for the sheep

Lord, we come before you today and we ask you to forgive us for our sins. We are torn up about the hurt, the pain, and the evil all around us.  We are losing our men, women and children to drugs, money, and wars. Our hearts are hurt because we see that money and power are overtaking love and service.  We need a Savior to guide us.  So today, we join together, prayer to prayer to ask You to heal our lands.  We ask in Your name to fight for the one of the 99 and save them from evil.  We cry out to You knowing we are not perfect and that without You nothing will ever be good. You are a God of the possible, rain down the Holy Spirit on the hearts of those that are lost and change nations into Your Kingdom.  We know evil exists, we are witness to it.  Help us all stand with courage in the face of evil. Protect us as we pray this prayer and protect the "1" that is coming to You. May one multiply 1 million times.  Thank You for loving us and believing we were worth the fight by sacrificing Your only son so that we might live eternally.  In Jesus Name the women all over the world said, AMEN!

Friday, August 18, 2017

All the colors of the rainbow, choose to be the solution and pray with me!

Good morning my sisters-

I wanted to take a few minutes and challenge all of us to spend some time in prayer this weekend. Our country and other countries are wrapped in a time of evil and hate. In order for us to break this cycle we must get down on our knees and pray for our leaders, our children, our husbands and wives. It's time that all races come together and stand up for one thing and that's Jesus.

I am white, so I'm going to say that right off before someone says your not discriminated against and you would be right. However,  I'm married to a man that is part Cherokee.  Our kids are different skin colors, one darker than the other.  People looked at me funny when our second son was born and he was totally blonde and very white.  I realized right then colors should never be important.  They were just God's way of differentiating people. Man has made color a thing of hate.  Man has chosen to pick sides and to hate.  Man has forgotten that the God of the Universe loves every single person, no matter the skin color.  It's time we women stand up.  Take this weekend and every time you think of this pray for the one! 

So if a shepherd has 100 in their flock and 99 are following and one gets lost, the shepherd will go after the one (1)! He doesn't care about what he looks like, what sex it is or anything about that little sheep except it belongs back in the fold.  Let's pray for the 99/1.

Please do not get caught up in the politics.  Get caught up in the rainbow.  God created diversity in the rainbow that He put together, that He loves and that He seeks.  Our voices will be heard in Heaven as we repent, forgive and ask God to heal the nations. I believe that our voices will be like a choir unto the Lord. I want every nationality to be represented in this prayer. Our world is cruel, there is no doubt, but we are here to spearhead hope, the hope that was given to us when God created the rainbow.  He is a God of forgiveness, hope, love and with all His powers He lets us choose. 

Choose to stand with me this weekend as I pray for the 99/1!

Tuesday, August 15, 2017

Is it Him or you?

Good afternoon-

I had a few minutes during my lunch hour to write when this title came to mind.  Is it Him I seek or me?  It's a powerful question with a few minutes to really contemplate.  I'm a saleswoman which means most people think that you have to lie to sell.  You don't!  However, you do have to persevere, not get down when you're rejected and push forward every day knowing that your job is on the line. That's the career I chose and still choose.

With my career, many like me are full of themselves, in honesty they have to be.  They have to be like the childhood story of Humpty Dumpty.  You always have to get back up even when you don't feel like it. For years, that's what I've done. I've pulled myself up, pushed myself to achieve and tried to control outcomes, mainly mine.

Over the last 3 years, I wasn't able to control all the outcomes that came my way.  I still had to pull myself up, dust myself off and move forward but I chose to do it differently.  I chose to crutch on God over me. I chose to let the worry of who I am in my career fall away and in some strange way be reshaped. I'm not perfect so please don't hear that. As a matter of fact, I think I've realized more and more how broken I truly am and how God pulled me up, not me.

The revelation for me is that He must ALWAYS come first. You know how everyone wants to be an influencer and maybe in my heart I did too. I realize now all I want is to sincerely spread His word. It can't be about me being seen.  For the first time I think I realize why I'm a saleswoman. I believe it's because in my hands, through my mouth comes the most exciting product in the world, HOPE!

Hope can only come through Jesus Christ and I get to sell it.  Not in the terms we all think about but in the way of influence, through truth and through testimony. I'm living proof that the Word of God is true. I'm 1 of the 99.  See, I was lost and then found by my Savior. What about you?

I'm determined to remind myself daily that life is about Him not me.  I'm not in the spotlight, I'm not supposed to be famous. I'm just commissioned to do what all of us are required to do and that's to light the path with His hope, His future, His word.

See, I've finally come to the end of the road where my success isn't on me, it's on Him. If you're feeling the same way, reach out to me and let others know that you feel exactly the same.  It's our time to speak the truth of love rather than hate, hope rather than darkness, faith rather then evil, and God over ourselves. Let's spread the word that kindness, patience and understanding will lead to a greater HOPE in Him.

Be well my sisters and start spreading the word!

Colossians 3:12 NIV

Therefore, as God's chosen people, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience.

Oh Lord, please help us be a people that calls on You for all things.  Give us the courage to move away from self and to put you first.  Help us to unclothe ourselves from the worldly treasures, while speaking truth to the lost. We are not perfect and therefore, we need you more than ever. The world needs You, please don't forsake us!  With all our love to the King of Kings-AMEN!

Sunday, August 13, 2017

The story of Deborah is important to women today..

Good morning my sisters-

I am coming to you from beautiful Kansas where life seems still and peaceful.  If you have been reading the news lately you are very aware to what's happening between leaders in the US, Russia, North Korea and China.  You know the world is in turmoil and  in the US the President has just announced that there is a heroine epidemic in the US.  These are the headlines we are dealing with.  No one trusts us and I doubt we trust any other nation.  Our sons and daughters are falling into addiction and life is not at all peaceful.  And yet, we have HOPE.

I don't live in Guam where they are preparing for a ballistic missile to hit the island. I am not preparing for war and either are most of the people in the US.  I can bet though that our military is preparing in all arms of the forces. We know that are troops are on ships and oversees protecting the waters and watching for the first signs of attack.  Why all this talk about war?  Because of Deborah.  Right before I went back to work this year after a two month layoff, I read the story of Deborah all over again. The prophetess that the King went to for answers.  He wouldn't even go to war without her and she promised to go with him.  She was a woman and yet, she was a great warrior. Her gift was to warn those around her of impending danger and they listened in a time when women were not honored.  Why her? I've asked myself that too and I guess we will never know.  What we do know about her is she was never afraid to speak the truth, God was her lamp and she went with the King believing in the power of God.  Today, women are facing the same situation. Many are in the military, in positions that would put them in harms way.  We also have missionaries and Christians in areas of the world that are very dangerous, really deadly. They are warriors and so are we. My question is: "Are we spreading the word as we were called to do?"

That's what the Lord showed me in that scripture. I may not be a warrior like we see today.  However, I am a warrior because I follow the news, I pray for the weak, I pray for our President and I pray for the leaders in every country.  This is a time that we must come together and call out to our God, render our hearts, repent in faith and ask God to lift our people to Him.  We can sit in our peaceful houses and be blind to our surroundings or we can fight in a mighty way.  Call on the Holy Spirit and ask Him to heal our youth, bring wisdom to our leaders, render men's hearts unto Him and then praise Him for all He has done. It's our time to be Deborah.  We need to walk with the God of our hearts, spread the word and BELIEVE!

With that in mind, I did a little experiment.  I went out on Facebook and did a very small ad. I wanted to see if I could get the blog out there. I've been doing this since 2012 and have been fearful that people wouldn't read it or even like it.  Lately, I have felt the a stronger call to do everything in my power to spread the word and what better way than a world medium, the Internet.  Facebook is used by millions of people daily so I tried it and people are starting to see it.  Here's my challenge, find a post out of the hundreds I have written and share it with your friends. It's not you on the front line then, it's me. It's time we become strong warriors and stand up for what we believe. The world needs us to love them, not judge them. We need to spread the word of our Lord Jesus Christ and to believe in miracles.  The fight is far from over. So, take a step of courage this week and share this blog or share your faith, just share something that will talk to peoples hearts.  The workers are few but we are passionate and want to have Jesus KNOWN all throughout the earth. It's up to us.  Now take the challenge and I will be praying!


Judges 4:4-8 4Now Deborah, a prophet, the wife of Lappidoth, was leading Israel at that time. 5She held court under the Palm of Deborah between Ramah and Bethel in the hill country of Ephraim, and the Israelites went up to her to have their disputes decided. 6She sent for Barak son of Abinoam from Kedesh in Naphtali and said to him, "The LORD, the God of Israel, commands you: 'Go, take with you ten thousand men of Naphtali and Zebulun and lead them up to Mount Tabor. 7I will lead Sisera, the commander of Jabin's army, with his chariots and his troops to the Kishon River and give him into your hands.'" 8Barak said to her, "If you go with me, I will go; but if you don't go with me, I won't go."

Lord spread your word unto the nations.  Give us courage in the face of our worldly fears to make you known, not just in our churches or in our little groups but throughout the world.  We want to be your warriors.  Send us out, make us strong in our faith and in the Name of Jesus, AMEN!

Saturday, August 5, 2017

What's in a recipe?

Good morning my sisters-

I'm getting ready to leave for church and today I will be teaching Sunday school. I haven't taught since I was 22 years old. I loved teaching, watching the kids light up as I told them about God and laughing. How we laughed.  I am giving another instructor a break this week and I'm hoping to really make an impact.  See the verse today is Ephesians 2:10, we are His masterpiece.

Little children need to know that they are very special.  They need to understand that for all the incredible art, including theirs, we are the most spectacular piece.  God created us in His image and although we sometimes think we aren't special, we are.  As we grow up we forget that God's recipe for our life is perfect.  The world seeps in and tells us we need to be more, we need to make more and we just aren't very good.  This is a lie.

Some of the most incredible people made nothing.  They weren't rocket scientists and they weren't scholars, they were mere men walking along a great man.  I think women struggle with this the worst because we are trying to be men.  You can say no but look around.  I have heard so much about girl power, where is this philosophy getting us?  Is one sex better than the other? No. God created us to be under Him.  He gave each of us talents and if truth be told we should be trying to raise up generations of  men and women that honor Him, not their own intellect.

I am not against a woman engineer or physicist.  As a matter of fact, I'm sure God has gifted some women with this intellect.  However, not every woman was made to do that and not every woman was made to think and be like a man.  As the years have gone by I have seen a huge swing in men not being men.  I have a few boys that are struggling with that now.  Put  a woman of the same age up against them and I guarantee they are more directed.

My goal is to help both sexes toward something far more satisfying than the buckets the world is putting them in. My goal is to tell them how special they are because they were made for such a time as this.  In the US, many have no idea the sacrifice our soldiers make to keep us free.  We see the wounded warriors but we really don't see them. Once they were strong and viral, now many have lost legs, arms and more.  They are still mighty and yet, the world would say they are weak  now.  Far from it. They have filled a purpose much larger than the world could ever orchestrate. They have fought the good fight and returned home to be taken care of.

Each person was made with a recipe in mind.  The recipe consists of a heart that seeks a Father, a mind that needs His word and a soul that yearns to go home.  We were made perfect, even if we have a million flaws.  We are being perfected as if we were a diamond that needed sculpting or a piece of wood that needs stain.  Every piece of us is for the good of our Maker and we are part of His perfect plan.  We all know that it takes more than 5 ingredients to make a great batch of cookies so imagine writing the recipe for each one of us. All I can say is it's extraordinary how much love God put in us.

I'm still finding out all the hidden things God has put in me.  I love to write and He is perfecting me through the written word.  He is giving me courage to fight through my fears of being rejected and to push forward with His word.  He has taught me numerous lessons on giving myself to Him and focusing, not on what you think about me but what He thinks about me.  He is writing through me so that one person will see this blog and be saved. It won't happen because of me you see. It will happen because it was in His plan all along and I just get to see it unfold.

May today find you well and may you praise our God for the perfect recipe, you!

10 For we are God’s handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.