Prayer and Fasting

I have spent the last three days fasting and praying. The Lord led both Jon and I to do a complete fast of all foods and also led me to fast from all TV. Yet today I am so full and satisfied. He is enough! I opened wide my mouth and He filled it. You see I have tried to fast before but for different reasons one of which was to loose weight. When this was my purpose I could't get food off my mind and didn't find success. This time I was first led by my Pastor (spiritual authority) and then the Holy Spirit. I obeyed and found success because my heart was on Him and not the fast itself. It isn't in the giving up of food or other distractions it is in the purposefully and intentionally putting our whole attention with great intensity, fervency and urgency on the Lord's will. These last three days have been so very full....of Him.
The prayer gathering of the saints was refreshing and just plain powerful. The Lord promised his presence and ear when we gather together in His name. We invited Him to come and stand in our midst and He did. Glory! I think about all He sacrificed for me and how often I am unwilling to sacrifice for Him. This week I sacrificed food, TV, time, planned events, meal time, house chores (ok maybe not a real sacrifice). As I layed each on the altar I left empty handed but my spirit was richly blessed and completely satisfied.

Why are we so afraid to sacrifice on the altar? Why are we too busy with our own life and so often unwilling to forgo our life for seeking Him?

"But seek first the Kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you." Matthew 6:33

My prayer is that we will remain mindful of the things of God and not the things of man.

Deacon's Wives

Jon and I will soon be inviting the Deacon's and their wives over to jump start the new year. After we eat and fellowship we are going to divide up and talk to them about what the God has to say in their responsibilities as deacons and wives of deacons. If you have any pointers or helps to share with them let me know.

Grandchildren

What a wonderful time I had with my two grandbabies. Clay talks a mile a minute and so very smart for his age. He can count and knows all his numbers. He also knows all his letters and is learning to write them now..he can write his name and his sisters name. Ava, is just a joy! She has the most beautiful smile and she smiles often. Jon and I slept with our grandchildren all week...to give mom and dad a break. I had so much fun taking care of them. I long to be more involved in their lives and to do all the fun things I would like to do with them. I long, I pray and I ask.

Grandchildren

Clay and Ava will be arriving here late tonight. I can't wait!

Journey with the Father

I'm on a journey; the Lord decides when I move forward or wait. I must play close attention to Him so that I can move when He does. In the midst of this journey I will face times of decisions and daily tasks. I will also face battles that need to be fought but I will also have times of celebration and worship. The journey I am on is all planned out by God my Father. He has promised good things and that He would guide me every step of the way.

As a child my experiences of the outside world were limited by own inabilities to drive and lack of knowledge of what was out their to see and do. Yet I did experience a lot because I had a father who would invite me often to go with him. I can't count the many times I witnessed my strong and smart Daddy rescuing others from slippery pits with his own chains in the ice storms of Dallas. He has taken me to the top of Pike Peak that awakened my desire for mountain tops. We fed wild deer together. I remember fondly all the camping trips he took me on. He taught me to swim, make fires and how to make the best smores. He also taught me not to be afraid to get out of my comfort zone. we were out on our boat and all the adults were trying their hand at skiing. It looked really fun to me so I told my dad that I wanted to do that some day. I was about 7 at the time. He responded with sure you can do that and right then and there he picked me up and threw me in the water with the skis quickly following. With my dad's coaching I was up on my very first try.

Yes, with out my Daddy I would have missed the great journey of my life. I could have said, no, I'll just stay right here, you go ahead with out me. I'm reminded of Henry Blackaby's line in Experiencing God, "You can't stay where you are and go with God.' I want to journey with God my Father. I don't want to miss anything. As He stoops down to invite me to come and go with Him, I will reach up and take hold for the ride of my life.

I’m in a battle. One I haven’t quite identified, yet in a battle none-the-less.

Things to remember when in battle:

1. Often times instead of fighting the enemy we have a tendency to flee. When we flee, we have already been defeated. We can’t win the battles by running from them.
2. We are usually our own worst enemy and can defeat ourselves without help from a known adversary. Our choices can lead to our own defeat.
1. Choice #1:Unfaithfulness (isolates us from the Victory Giver and His plan of attack…we must stay close to the Lord of the Hosts to know the battle plans and to be equipped for battle)
2. Choice #2: We don’t believe (we must believe God; every time we choose to doubt we are on shaky ground and the enemy smells it and comes in to defeat. God is batting a 1,000 believe Him)
3. Choice #3: Don’t keep His Word (Just do it! Trust Him that He does know what is best and does what is best for us always.)
4. Choice #4: We loose hope (even when we don’t feel it or can’t see it; KNOW He is for us. He wants us to live in victory!)

*(not an exhaustive list)

3. When God tells us the land is ours to possess…It is ours! When God speaks to us a directive it is ours to take hold of. It belongs to us because God Himself has given it to us. We are to take hold of it with complete faith in God.
1. The enemy will tell you otherwise. He will say, God, didn’t really mean that. He must not know your limits.
2. We will have to fight to have what God has given. This bears repeating we will have to FIGHT to have what God has given us. The enemy is on our land but it belongs to us!
4. In the battle we must do what is necessary to protect the externals, and heal the internals. In fact I believe this is the battle. We must be able to use the shield of faith in one hand and the sword of the Spirit in the other. Our two greatest weapons in warfare
1. In the OT times they would build walls around the city for protection from the enemy

i. We must not go beyond the boundaries God has set up for us in fear of being caught off guard and unprepared by the enemy

ii. Shield of faith….is our wall of protection. Believe God and you are guaranteed a victory; no matter what you hear or see, BELIEVE GOD.

2. In the OT times the inner city often times found itself to be in ruins and in need of repairs.

i. We must take every effort for our soul, heart and mind to be continuously before the Master Repairer. He alone can keep us in a condition of spiritual wellness. In contrast to being broken, useless and in disrepair.

ii. The Sword of the Spirit; (Word of God) brings healing and builds us up to be whole, effective and established.

iii. The Sword of the Spirit is also our only offensive weapon against the enemy. We must defeat the enemy at his own game by stationing ourselves on God’s Word of promise. We defeat his lies with God’s truth (out loud because he isn’t God and can’t hear our thoughts!) He has forgotten he has no power over us because he has already been defeated by our Jesus. Kill the enemy thoroughly; he is truly dead to you when you don’t let him have any power over you and your life. Victory!

5. Be prepared to fight at anytime and in anyplace. We never know where we will have to fight; sometimes it will be in the valleys and other times in floods.
1. Valleys are our lowest points of despair and when we feel we don’t have the strength to get up and out. He is the Lifter of our Heads and the One who places our feet on a rock. Every strike you take with your Sword you are gaining ground; look up and see your victory.
2. Floods are when we cry out, ‘I can’t take another bad thing, I am overwhelmed.’ I heard Beth Moore say that’s when God just wants to get it all over with at once. In Him we can not nor will not drown! In Him we will do more than tread water we will walk on it. FIGHT.

*Make sure you are fighting the right battle and the right enemy!

**Thoughts God showed me from QT (1 Chro. 10-14)