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)

For Erin, Brandy, Allen and Jeff and my everloving husband Jon

Why don't we just obey the minute God tells us to do something? Why do we put it off like we really didn't hear what He said? Anybody know what I am talking about? And then our so very faithful and patient God reminds us so gently what we are suppose to be doing.....in my case through other people and His Word.


You see I know what I am suppose to be doing...reading, writing, studying, exhorting and teaching and yet I haven't been doing it. Yes, I admit it I have been rebellious and disobedient. I have been called by God to "give myself entirely to them..." and been half-heartedly doing so.


In the area of blogging; I just don't get why. I really don't feel like I have much to say and certainly nothing worth anyone else reading. So I have been waiting for my Father to tell me the purpose and why? I wonder how many of you know how He responded to my whys? You guessed it, "Because I said so." Sometimes we don't know why and will never know why yet trust and obey we must.


So here I am again...to blog...about what though? I don't know. I am trusting that He will equip me to do that which He has called me to.


I will close with words from "Burn for You" that describe how I am feeling today:
So won't You move me like You used to. I want the world to know that I burn for You. I feel revived again, I am alive again!

Pondering Romans 6

I Reckon…..

We who have accepted the free gift of God through the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ have “been set free from sin.” Why then do we still live as though we are powerless over sin? Sin no longer has the right to rule or have power over us. We are not alone in this battle over sin; we have the resurrection power of Jesus Christ our Lord and the Holy Spirit indwelling us! How can we loose?

We loose the battle for many reasons two are coming to my mind as I type although there are more. First, we loose because we don’t recognize we are in a battle. The enemy sneaks in and plunders us while we are sleeping and we don’t even know we have been robbed of victories that were ours to have. Second, we don’t know how to do battle and use the wrong weapons for the wrong fight.

How do we do battle according to Romans 6? First, we reckon (has to be Southern Greek)! “…reckon yourselves to be dead indeed to sin, but [reckon] alive to God in Christ Jesus our Lord.” (v.11) Reckon is an accounting term that means “to take into account,” “calculate,” or “decide.” We must believe and know that because of our relationship with Jesus Christ sin no longer has a right to have power over us. We do not have to choose to sin. We must believe that we have the power (Holy Spirit) to not sin. Second, we present our members to the proper owner for the proper use. “…do not present your members as instruments of unrighteousness to sin.” ( V.13) When you see the word members think about those parts of us which we can sin with, our hearts (feelings, words…), hands (deeds, actions…), minds (thoughts, attitudes). “…but present yourselves to God…your members as instruments of righteousness to God.” (v.14) We should daily present our hearts, minds, and hands to God. The Biblical principle of reaping what you sow is present here. Note verses 16 “Do you not know that to whom you present yourselves slaves to obey, you are that one’s slaves whom you obey, whether to sin leading to death or of obedience leading to righteousness?” 19 “you presented your members as slaves of uncleanness, and of lawlessness leading to more lawlessness, so now present you members as slaves of righteousness for holiness.”

And verse 21-22; “What fruit did you have then in the things of which you are now ashamed? For the end of these things is death. But now having been set free from sin,…you have your fruit to holiness,…everlasting life.”

I want to ponder a moment longer on this second battle strategy. One of the hardest victories to win is the one over our mind. It is Satan’s playground! It is our battleground! If we present (permit) our minds to think on the false, bad, in-just, impure, ugly, critical, secondary, and negative, what fruit will we bear? We will bear more of the same. If we voice it out loud we are inviting others to join our party and everyone likes a party. If we permit our minds to dwell in an attitude of hopelessness, faithlessness and despair what kind of fruit will we produce? We will bear oppression, depression and a paralyzed life. You will be a dead man walking…barely. On the other hand if we, no matter how we may feel or how circumstances may seem, set our minds to dwell on the true, noble, just, pure, lovely, good, primary and positive we will bear the fruit of holiness. We will be living the abundant life Jesus died for us to live. That’s the party I want to invite others to come to. Join me in celebrating life over death, power over powerlessness, victory over defeat and reaping fruit of holiness over the fruit of nothingness.

Oh Father, You alone are God, the Most High One. I present all my heart, my hands and my mind to You. Fill me so completely with Your power and presence that my heart beats in rhythm with Yours. Guard every part of me especially my mind that I may dwell on what is good and righteous. Keep all critical, negative, hopeless and faithless thoughts from me for I want to be as You are, holy.

An Invitation

Ladies of JPBC I want to encourage you to attend with me the Women of Faith Conference. It will be an investment of time and monies that will pay back in inspiration, laughter and pure divine delight not to mention the fellowship between those ladies willing to go on the adventure. I have had the privledge to attend several of these conferences and am always glad I did. The stories I could tell! Let’s just say one said adventure involves tattoos, running out of gas, a found license plate and a “sign.” I know those fellow sojourners out there are having a time remembering our adventure with our Lord. This particular journey was a life changing event for my very good friend Erin. Maybe she will share on the comment page how God can use such an event to get our attention and our hearts by captivating us with His love. I will need to know very soon if you will be attending so please consider taking a ride with me and our Lord.

PS Erin, Jeanette, Donna if you want to attend with us you are more than welcome….

Just thinking....

Whew, what a busy summer. Today there are so many different and varied thoughts going on in this small brain of mine. First, today we took the kids to Discovery Place and was reminded again what an awesome genius our Creator God is! We saw the complexity of how our own human bodies work to the outlandish and colorful creatures of the deep and learned about the laws of nature that God put into place. I stand amazed at His power but also His creativity and yes some creatures cause me to wonder about His sense of humor and adventure. You, O El Elohim are the One and Only Creator God of all things seen and unseen! I give you glory.

Secondly, As I listened to the narrator of the IMAX show describe how the baby in the womb has hands that begin as webs then are “sculpted” into hands with fingers, I was struck with the choice of word he used, “sculpted.” Our Lord did just that, He personally put clay into His big and glorious yet tender and caring hands and sculpted each of us personally into His workmanship. We are His personal work of art. I am and you are a masterpiece! For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them. Ephes. 2:10

Thirdly, I have been thinking about 7 people lately especially two. On our Mission Trip to Altoona, PA we labored physically during the day in a major heat wave and then we did VBS during the evening hours. I have to confess after looking at the facts: 1) they had never done VBS before 2) their active membership was maybe 10 3) 3 other churches in the community were doing VBS the same week and 4) we were out of the Bible belt, I had doubts about the turnout. I prayed for God to send us kids. He did! The first night we only had one little girl, the second night we had 7! The next night we had 18! God is very good. We had 6 pray to receive Christ and I saw the Light come upon them. One young boy who had prayed to receive Christ brought his twin sister back the next night and said to me, “Will you tell that story about Jesus again because my sister doesn’t know that Jesus died for her sins?” Wow! A young girl named Chloe, who prayed to receive Christ, was so excited about her decision and I can only describe her as a sponge. She went home to tell her parents about her decision only to be told by them she wasn’t allowed to return. Woe! She has been on my mind. In fact I can’t control the tears flowing even now. I know this, I will see her again; but between now and then I pray for Chloe. Will you join me in praying for Chloe? The other person lying heavy on my heart is Doe. She was a member of the church and truly used by God as the instrument to bring children to the VBS. She hung around each night and just watched, listened and engaged us in conversation. She is a lovely young lady who found Christ later in life and is by all accounts sold out to Him. She told me that it was such a refreshment and encouragement just to be with all of us from JPBC. You see being a member of such a small church she doesn’t really have fellowship. She craves Christian friendships and Christian conversations. I can’t imagine her yearning and longing. I have been praying for Doe, will you join me in praying as well?