Identity and Inheritance (Unchangeable)

Have you ever noticed that the main area the enemy attacks us is in our identity?  This seems to be a never ending battle in my life.  I recently went through a time of extreme battle in this area. The lies coming against me were rapid fire.  It seemed as soon as I replaced one lie with the truth another would come and then another and another.  It was never ending.  I began to get discouraged and little by little the lies started to become truth.  During this time I would pray, seek God, and look for the truth in His word to combat the lies.  I acted like everything was fine on the outside but inside I was struggling. 

During the midst of this battle my pastor started a series at church on covenant.  In this series he used the illustration of Ziba and Mephibosheth.   Mephibosheth  did not understand his identity or his inheritance and because of that he allowed Ziba, the enemy, to steal his inheritance.  In fact Mephibosheth identified himself as a dead dog to King David, not a very good self image.  I think at times all of us can identify with this mentality and image about ourselves.  We feel unworthy or like dead dogs or grasshoppers.  In other words  we feel small and insignificant, like our life has no meaning, value or worth.

Mephibosheth's low self image may have come because of his disabilities, but if he had totally understood the covenant between his father, Jonathan, and King David then he would have known that despite the disabilities he had a right and a privilege to enter the King's presence.  There would have been a boldness to Mephibosheth instead of a lowly servant mentality if he had totally understood his inheritance and identity. 

One of the reasons the enemy delights in attacking us in our identity is so he can steal our inheritance.  He wants to keep us in a dry and barren place where we feel unworthy, unloved, and totally useless.  A place where we feel we have to perform to earn God's love, to feel accepted by those around us, and earn our inheritance.   In this dry and barren place we begin to become malnourished spiritually and cannot discover our identity or inheritance.  There is no boldness in this place and it is a place we must leave before we can understand what is rightfully ours.

A few days before I heard the message on covenant there was a word spoken during worship practice that a time of release had come. The person who spoke this word did not understand it or why it needed to be spoken, but I knew it was for me.  I was being released into a new level in my relationship with God and I was being released into a place of freedom.  The tether that was attached to me, that only allowed me to go so far before I was yanked back, was being broken off of me.

Both the word spoken and the message were so liberating to me during my time of battle.  I realized as Pastor Stan had said I had stayed in a conversation with the enemy too long and gotten into a place of deception.  A dry and barren place where I could not feel God's presence, where I was identifying myself in how I acted and behaved and not who God had said I was, a place where I allowed my identity to become that of a dead dog.  There was absolutely no life in that dry and barren place and it was time I vacated it. It was time for me to rediscover who God said that I am and to take back from the enemy all that God has given me.

In the dry and barren place I may not have been able to feel God's presence but He was there all the time.  I was the one who moved away from Him and I was the one who would need to draw near to Him again.  What freedom came with that realization.  No more was I going to allow the pressures of this world and the demands and expectations of others rob me of hearing from God and sensing His nearness to me.  As I began the journey to draw near to God I want to say the results were instantaneous, but they were not.  Because God had said He is taking me to a new level with Him, I could not do what I had done in the past and expect new results.  Every time God takes me to a new level I have to discover what will bring me to a new level of intimacy with Him.  There is no set pattern and what works for one will not work for another.  All I can say is don't give up because the end result is so worth it!

To wrap this up I desire for all of you to leave the dry and barren place you may be inhabiting.  Do not become like Mephibosheth and allow the enemy to steal your inheritance and indentity.  Begin to see yourself as God sees you.  Speak those words over yourself, no matter how silly it may seem. Do not allow your present circumstances or situations continue to rob you of all the great and wonderful things God has in store for you.  There is absolutely nothing you can do to earn God's love or to keep you from God's love.  He loves you because you are you!  I recently read in the book Pursued by Jud Whilite a passage this sums this up so well:  "I can finally rest in the fact that I am not good enough for God, but He is absolutely good enough for me."  Such a powerful statement. We are unworthy of God's love yet He loves us, chose us, and has called us by name.  We just need to rest in that.

So do as Romans 12:1-2 says (see below) and give your all to God, you will not be sorry you did.  He has a great and wonderful plan for each of you as Jer 29:11 states.  Listen to the words of the new Matthew West song Unchangeable.  You are not a mistake, God's love for you in unchangeable, and He knows the plans and purposes He has for each of you.


So here's what I want you to do, God helping you: Take your everyday, ordinary life—your sleeping, eating, going-to-work, and walking-around life—and place it before God as an offering. Embracing what God does for you is the best thing you can do for him. Don't become so well-adjusted to your culture that you fit into it without even thinking. Instead, fix your attention on God. You'll be changed from the inside out. Readily recognize what he wants from you, and quickly respond to it. Unlike the culture around you, always dragging you down to its level of immaturity, God brings the best out of you, develops well-formed maturity in you. (Romans 12:1, 2 MSG)

Testify To Love

Today I spent time with my beautiful sisters in Christ.  We spent the morning just fellowshiping and loving each other but we also spent time sharing testimonies on how we have changed from a year ago.  During this time of reflection and sharing I started to realize a common theme in the all the messages.  Each woman  has felt isolated, unloved, unworthy.  Each of us longed to discover our worth and value.  What in the world were we placed on this earth to do? 

As the stories unfolded another theme started to arise.  It is the theme of God's faithfulness.  When we cry out to God He is so amazing to answer each of us right where we are.  One after another began sharing on how faithful God was to show them their worth and value.  He was faithful to help them realize where they are weak He is strong!  He was faithful to bring healing and deliverance at a time when it was most needed.

I am beginning to realize that as women we all struggle with accepting and liking ourselves.  We all struggle with discovering what we are good at and what we were destined to do.  The good news is we do not have to struggle.  God is faithful and just to speak to us in our time of greatest pain and need.  If you are asking yourself what good am I?  What am I here to do?  Stop asking the questions and just begin to focus on God and begin declaring how wonderful He is.  As you gaze at Him, He is so good to reveal the answers to the questions you have been seeking.  But be prepared for what He tells you because it will totally blow your socks off!

To finish as I listened to the last woman share today I glanced over at a beautiful flower arrangement and the thought went through my head that the arrangement had all the colors of the rainbow.  That is when I realized that each of us is a Testimony of God's love.  We need to begin to testify to love, His great love towards us.

Thanksgiving (From the Inside Out)

On the first of November I began seeing posts on Facebook declaring 30 days of praise.  Last year I found out about this too late so I made the decision to join in this year. It took me until day two to realize we need more than 30 days of praise, we need to develop a lifetime to praise.  Everyday we should cry out to God in thanksgiving for all the good things He has done.  We should praise and thank him for the love he so lavishly pours out on us.

The bible is full of words of praise and thanksgiving, especially the book of psalm.  I believe the author, David, learned how to develop a lifetime of praise and no matter what the situation or circumstances looked like he praised and thanked God.  Below are a few verses that God laid on my heart to share in this post.

Psalm 100:4 declares that we are to enter his gates with thanksgiving and his courts with praise; give thanks to him and praise his name.  The message bible put this so plainly:  Enter with the password:  "Thank you!" Make yourselves at home talking praise.  Thank him.  Worship him.

Psalm 107:1 Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good; his love endures forever.
The message bible adds something so unique to this verse:  Oh, thank God - he's so good!  His love never runs out.

Just think about that:  God is so good and He has a never ending supply of love for us.  That alone is enough to be thankful for, for a lifetime!  When you combine His never ending supply of love for us along with all His blessings you will discover how truly wonderful our God is.

If we do not begin to thank and praise God the rocks will cry out for us, Luke 19:40.  Personally I do not want the rocks to do what I was created to do.  So instead of doing 30 days of praise begin a lifetime of praise and thanksgiving.  Thanksgiving and praise allow you to access your blessings.  Thanksgiving and praise is the key into entering new levels in the will of God (Steve Fish).  After thanksgiving and praise we will enter into worship.  Worship is the permission to become lost in the rhythm of God's heartbeat (Graham Cooke).

I don't know about you but I am ready to get my praise! 

The song chosen for today's blog is From the Inside Out by Hillsong.  I love the line that states "the art of losing myself in bringing you praise."  May we become lost in ourselves in giving God all the praise and thanksgiving. We need to just totally lose ourselves in giving praise and thanksgiving to God.  Today begin to develop a lifetime of praise, do not just stop giving praise and thanksgiving on December 1 but continue on where every day of your life reflects how good God is.

Secure (Impossible Tricia Brock)

This weekend the ladies from my church and some not from the church gathered together to encounter God.  The night before leaving for this encounter God gave me a word to share with each of you on Your Beautiful Purpose.  The theme this weekend was exactly the same, discovering your purpose and identity and stepping into that.  From the first night I was in awe that God would give me a similar message to those of some amazing other women.

At one point in the weekend each woman was asked to stand up and state a dream that God had given her.
Now for most of this year God has been revealing to me His plans for me so I knew what I needed to say when my time came.  Shortly after this declaration I came under attack.  I kept hearing the words "who do you think you are to do that?"  What had been relatively easy to believe and declare in the privacy of my home became a weapon of attack from the enemy.  That night during worship when I was still struggling with these thoughts God got ahold of me and lovingly reminded me who I was and that yes His plans are bigger than me but they are not too big for Him.

Later that night as I was praying and contemplating on who God says that I am He gave me a word.  The word is "secure."  God says that I am secure in knowing who He says that I am and the plans He has for me.  I had never thought of being secure in all that God has been revealing to me.  I know that He is God and what He says will come to pass but the word secure was never thought of.

When I came home I looked up the meaning of secure as was completely blown away (God can do that to you).  Here are some of the definitions: 

• Free from danger or attack - secure fortress.  Psalm 91:2 states God is my refuge and fortress.
• Free from fear, anxiety, or doubt - 2 Tim 1:7 and Phil 4:6
• Not likely to fail or give away - stable (we can be the rock in the midst of the storm)
• Firmly fastened (just hold on to God and don't let go)
• Reliable, dependable, assured, certain

I also took this a step further and looked up the Hebrew word for secure.  That word is Batach and here are some of the definitions for this word.

• To trust, trust in
• To have confidence, be confident
• to be bold
• to be secure
• to be safe

Two of the words I have been declaring over myself since God starting revealing His plans for me are confidence and boldness.  So when God said I am secure in Him, I believe He is also saying I am bold and confident.

 Why is so easy for each of us to believe the negative yet when God speaks something so wonderful to us we are slow in believing?  Why do we worry about what others think, especially about what God is saying to us?  Today I will boldly declare to you that God has called me to be an armour bearer, He has called me to proclaim the good news of freedom to the captives and to bring them out of the land of captivity into a land of freedom.  A land that is flowing with milk and honey.  Do I know how each of these things will come to pass?  Do I know when I will step fully into these identities?  No!  But I do know that God has spoken this to me and I will stand firm and secure in knowing who I am in God.  Others may not see me the same but as long as God sees me this way I will see myself this way.

 I want to personally thank each of you for taking the time to read this blog and for your wonderful words of encouragement.  I am praying and believing that my openness is helping to bring each of you into a wonderfully more intimate relationship with the one who knows and loves you.  Be secure in all that He is revealing to you and rest in Him until He brings it to pass!


 I found this on Facebook on the Whosoevers page and thought it would bless and encourage you.

•  "I can feel you all around me.  Thickening the air I'm breathing.  Holding on to what I'm feeling.  Savoring this heart that's healing.

 Last what would this blog be without a song!  This song is called Impossible by Tricia Brock.  I love it because it declares that nothing is impossible for God!

Your Beautiful Purpose (I Am Yours Misty Edwards)

Jeremiah 29:11 states that God has plans for each of us, plans to prosper us and not to harm us to give us a hope and a future.

Psalm 139:13-17 (message bible) You shaped me first inside, then out; you formed me in my mother's womb.  I thank you, High God - you're breathtaking! Body and soul, I am marvelously made! I worship in adoration - what a creation! You know me inside and out, you know every bone in my body; You know exactly how I was made, bit by bit, how I was sculpted from nothing into something.  Like an open book, you watched me grow from conception to birth; all the stages of my life were spread out before you, The days of my life all prepared before I'd even lived one day!

Do you not get excited reading the above words?  This is so amazing.  God knew us before our parents came together and before they even knew they wanted a baby.  He took the time to put together a beautiful plan and purpose for each and every one of us (all the days of my life were written in God's book before the day I was born).

No matter what we have believed or thought about ourselves, we are not here by accident.  We were not a mistake our parents made one night because they forgot to use some sort of birth control.  If you have been reading my blogs long enough you will know that for most of my life I questioned my purpose here on this earth.  I felt very worthless and purposeless because I did not posses natural gifts and talents.  I had a failure mentality. 

Thankfully God turned that all around.  When I began spending time with Him he began to show me my beautiful purpose.  It is somewhat overwhelming because what He is showing me is way outside the realm of my ability or talent but the awesome thing is it doesn't matter.  I will step into my inheritance and identity because of the great God that I serve and He is more than able!  There is a verse in the bible that states we can do all things through Christ because He strengthens us. I believe it is the King James version that states we can do all things through Christ because He EMPOWERS us!  Isn't that wonderful!  God gives us the power to walk out His Beautiful Purpose for us.  Think back to all those people in the bible who God had a beautiful purpose for.  Each of them rose up in their negativity and God just looked at them smiled and they stepped into their divine destiny and purpose.  That is because despite their doubts in their abilities they knew the God they served was more than able to work through them.

If God's plan for our lives is something we can do in our own power and ability then we will try to take the credit but if that plan is bigger than us God will receive all the credit and all the glory.   So begin today to seek God just for who He is and as you fellowship with the most amazing, beautiful, and loving God He will turn His face towards you smile at you and begin to reveal His beautiful purpose for you.

God has made each of us unique so don't get discouraged if your beautiful plan does not look like someone elses.  Lance Wallnau said it so wonderfully:  "Be Bold! Be Original! You'll never find your voice trying to fit in somebody else's chorus."

As God reveals His beautiful purpose for your life begin to declare that identity.  Don't allow worry, fear, doubt, and unbelief to keep you from your beautiful purpose.

The song for this blog is a beautiful worship song that I feel God chose for this.  When we declare that we are God's He begins to lavish His love and plans upon us.

God's peace and joy I give to you, guard it and seek it above all else. 

Your My Everything

I would like to take a moment to just brag on what a wonderful worship team we have at my church.  They are all so gifted, talented, and anointed by God to lead us into some amazing worship.  Worship that ushers in the very presence of God in our midst.  Even at worship practice, which I am so blessed to be a part of, you can feel God's presence is there with us.

The reason I wanted to take a moment and give them a shout out is because without them, without God directing me to that church this blog never would have begun.  I was in such a dry place before coming to Revolution church.  I loved God and I heard from God but I did not realize how close and intimate I could be with Him.

It is thanks to our worship team at Revolution Church that I learned the song Your My Everything by Pocket Full of Rocks. It was during this song that God got a hold of me in the midst of worship and asked "am I really your everything"?  The question surprised and saddened me.  I had felt up to that point God was my everything but He began showing me areas of my life where He was not my everything.  I began a journey, of which I am still on, of learning to let go of the reigns of control, learning to trust God with the promises and truths He has spoken over my life, and learning to not let fear control me.

There is one word that sums up the above so nicely:  Trust!  I needed to learn to trust God more, to know His word was true and that He is able to perform it.  I am in the process of learning that when God speaks something to me or about me I can be quick to rise up in my negative nature and remind Him of what I am not.  Graham Cooke has some great advice on this matter.  Take a piece of paper and write down every negative thought you have about yourself, then on another piece of paper ask the Holy Spirit to reveal to you the opposite of every negative word you have written.  Take the first paper with the negative and burn in!  Begin dwelling on the positive and allow God to speak His word and truth to you regarding every positive until it gets deep within you.  That is how God sees us.  Makes me want to shout! (This comes from Grahams message on Discovering Your True Identity).

For God to be my everything I need to stop dwelling on all that I am not and dwell on all that He is.  God is powerful, true to His word, loving, kind, and a restorer of things the enemy has stolen.  The list could go on and on because God truly is your everything.  We just need to allow Him to become our everything to us.  We need to learn to trust Him with every area of our life even the hidden painful parts.  NOTHING (and I cannot stress that enough) can separate us from God's love.  His every desire is for us and to develop a close and intimate relationship with us. There is nothing that is too big or difficult for God to handle. 

Take a moment to listen to this song, open your heart to God, and allow Him to become your everything.

Shalom.

Chains Hit the Ground

This has been an extremely trying week with many tests and trials.  Wish I could say I passed each of the tests with flying colors.  This morning before starting on the blog God led me to Isa 41.  In verse 8 and 9 it talks about how God has chosen us and not rejected us.  We are not to fear because He is with us and takes hold of us with His righteous right hand.  The next couple of verses is what really excited me today. 

• All who rage against us will surely be ashamed and disgraced; those who oppose you will be as nothing and perish.  Though you search for your enemies, you will not find them.  Those who wage war against you will be as nothing at all.

I have battled many enemies this week.  I know physically they may have a name and a face but that is not truly who I am battling.  I am battling the rulers, authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms.  Eph 6

Yesterday morning as I was getting ready for work I believe God spoke two words to me.  The first was break every chain and later He spoke the word rise up.  Again I wish I could say I was a mighty warrior who rose to the occasion and bravely fought the enemy and remembered who I was in Christ.  Sadly yesterday was one of the toughest days and I realized at the end of the day I had allowed old mindsets to filter how I viewed myself and reacted to different situations.  You would have thought the enemy would have learned by now that I am onto him and those situations just send me to the one I love.  The one who brings me higher than the situation around me, the one who heals me physically, spiritually, mentally. Tears of frustration and discouragement may be shed but joy comes and I will laugh!  If you cannot tell, I am a determined woman who desires to become all that God created me to be.

Become determined to be all God created you to be.  Know that He will rise you up.  God has put His power and authority in all of us.  May we have a deeper revelation of that power and authority so we can enter any place and claim it for God's glory.  Allow God to break the chains off of you, regardless of what those chains are.  I think some of the biggest chains that bind us are wrong thinking.  May we start to dwell on who God says we are and not what our past or others may have said about us.  Let us shake off the dead dog and lowly worm mentality and become the head that God has created us to be.

This morning as I was getting on Spotify I came across the song I believe goes with this blog.  As you listen to this song just close your eyes and envision the chains hitting the ground and complete freedom in Him.  Blessings!

You Are So Beautiful

As you listen to this song.  Just close your eyes and envision God singing this song over you.  He loves us and desires us.  We are His children and we are beautiful to Him!  Now take this a step further and envision God gazing at you with His eyes full of love towards you!

May you be overwhelmed by His great love for you today and always!

What Does Love Look Like (Arms Wide Open)

What does love, real love look like?  Everyone is seeking love, they want to love and be loved.  But as the song says they are "Looking for Love in All the Wrong Places."  Love is sought in what people and the world has to offer.  Both options fall severely short of the love mark.  The world does not offer true and lasting love and people will never perform to our expectations.

A very popular book series, called 50 Shades, was a number one seller for numerous months.  Because of the popularity of this erotica genre other similar books started coming out to capture the insanity of this craze.  There was even an erotica movie released called Magic Mike.  Tons of women, christian women included flocked to these books and the movie and this saddened me.  I realized that these women were looking for love, and not real love at that, in some pretty warped places.

What made this genre so popular?  Were women not happy with what they had?  For those who were married, did they not find love and acceptance from their husbands?  What makes people run after a fantasy type of love?  Could they not accept or feel the love of God and other's in their life so they sought other sources?

I have never read 50 Shades nor seen Magic Mike but I have heard enough about both and have read parts of a manuscript that speaks out against 50 Shades to understand a little about both of these topics.  It is not easy for me to write this because it makes me very sad to know that women would want a man to dominate them, chain and whip them all in the name of love.  God's love is not painful, nor should our love towards each other be painful.  Jesus was beaten, rejected, and crucified on the cross so we could enjoy life and enjoy it to its fullest.

If we fully grasped how deep God's love is for us (Eph 3: 17-19) then I believe we would not seek the love the world has to offer.  We would be able to love ourselves, accept the love God has to offer, and be able to accept the love of others no matter if they do not perform to our expectations.

I went back to a book I have been reading this week, called Pursued by Jud Whilite (sorry it does not come out until Feb 2013).    He stated that "we need to open our hearts and let God love us  and that God's love is a loyal love that points to the future."  If we open our hearts to receive God's love then we will begin to love ourselves and accept the love others have to offer.  When we do this God will begin to reveal His great plans to us as Jer 29:11 states.

Take it from one who knows.  For many years of my life I knew God loved me but I did not realize that love to it's fullest.  Growing up I felt very unwanted and unloved because of my unstable home environment.  The adults in my life were consummed with their own issues and not necessarily to the issues of those around them.  It took many years for me to realize I was really and truly loved, others loved me and God loved me.  It was a lightbulb moment!  Years after that I was able to accept that not only did God love me He chose me!  What an awesome concept.  God not only loved me He wanted me.  The same is true for everyone.  God loves and chooses YOU!

50 Shades and Magic Mike offer a fleshy passionate type of love that does not satisfy and can never satisfy.  Only God's love can ever truly satisfy.  Let us become consumed and overwhelmed by God, let us stop pursuing illicit love affairs with the world and begin a beautiful love affair with the creator of the world.

I know you all would be terribly disappointed if I did share a song to go with what God laid on my heart to blog about.  This blog was not an easy one to find a song for.  I went through a great selection of songs before finally realizing that Arms Wide Open by Misty Edwards was the perfect song for this blog.  May this bless you greatly.

Count it all Joy (Cover Me Mark Condone)

This week has been a very trying one with many distractions.  Even as I work on this blog more distractions continue to occur and I can feel the same emotions and frustrations rising up within me.  Thankfully the emotions and frustrations do not stay around as long as they used to.  It has taken me awhile to learn this but pity parties are really no fun and accomplish nothing.  God created me with emotions and I realize that at times that can be good or bad, thankfully God also gave me self-control.  I do not have to give into the negative emotions when life spins out of control.  I may be frustrated and it may take me a minute or two to get my eyes off the storm and back onto God but praise God the time I spend looking at the storm before looking at God is growing shorter and shorter.

So as I previously stated this week has a crazy one full of many life distrations.  It all began Monday with no hot water and then an announcement at work that made everyone fear for their job and finally ended with discoverying that one of credit card numbers had been stolen.  God was in the midst of every one of these distractions and every one of them was resolved positively but by mid week another event occured I came home to discover I had no AC.  It was okay the first night but the second was torture as my house had heated up more during the day and it made for a long miserable night.  Friday morning I was hot, tired, and frustrated and to borrow from Lysa Terkeurst I came "Unglued".  I had focused on the storm instead of God.  As I turned my eyes back onto Him the situation improved and in the midst of the hot house I began to cool down and peace started to return to me.  And yes if you are wondering the AC situation was resolved Friday.  I came home to a cool house!

As all these situations and others occured James 1:2 continued to come to me.  Consider it all joy my brothers whenever you face trials of many kinds.  I did not consider it all "Joy" in fact I believe during my meltdown Friday I asked God when all the insanity would end.  The next verses help define why we should consider it all joy when we face trials of many kinds.  Verses 3-4 state: because you know that the testing of your faith develops perseverance.  Perseverance must finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything.

So trials actually help me!  God also gave me 2 Cor 4: 17-18, I thought I was being helpful and maybe a little spiritual on Monday when I posted this on Facebook Monday.  Came back to haunt me later in the day.  Thanks Esther for turning my focus back where it needed to be!

2 Cor 4:17:18

¹⁷ For our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all. ¹⁸ So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen. For what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal.

Another friend, Maribel ,shared a verse in Lametations with me (see below) but on my way there I came across this verse in Isaiah pay attention to the bolded parts.
Isaiah 48:17-18
¹⁷ This is what the Lord says—
    your Redeemer, the Holy One of Israel:“I am the Lord your God,
    who teaches you what is best for you,
    who directs you in the way you should go.
¹⁸ If only you had paid attention to my commands,
    your peace would have been like a river,    your righteousness like the waves of the sea.

Lamentations 3:22-24

²² Because of the Lord’s great love we are not consumed,
    for his compassions never fail.
²³ They are new every morning;
    great is your faithfulness.
²⁴ Lord is my portion;
    therefore I will wait for him.”

With so many wonderful promises from God how can I allow my frustrations to get the best of me. So remember as you go through life stuff will happen that is not pleasant and your family will test your patience from time to time but God has it all under control.  I like what Brian Houston said in the podcast I listed to this week.  "It is not all about me!"

There are two songs I wanted to share on this blog.  One was by Casting Crowns I Will Praise You in the Storm and the other by Mark Condon Cover Me.  After praying about it I believe Cover Me is the song that needs to be shared.  The peace of God needs to cover us at ALL TIMES not just during times of testing and trials.

Pursuit

I know you will be shocked to hear from me twice in one week especially two days in a row.   Last week I was introduced to this wonderful worship song called Pursuit.  Every time I listen to this song I get the same urge to share this with everyone.  The song is totally about pursuing the presence of God.  This song resonates with me because I love God's presence and I desire to continually dwell with Him and to have His presence around and on me at all times.

As stated in my Abide blog we need to continually dwell with God and not just visit Him occasionally.  May this song bless you greatly and cause you to desire more of God and more of God's presence in your life.

Thanks for sharing Joanna.  Great news, two days after you shared I discovered our worship team at church is going to start learning this song!  All my Revolution readers get prepared, we are going to experience more of God in our services!!!  Yahoo!!!

The Body (We are the Body)

Romans 12:4-8

The Message (MSG)

 ^4-6In this way we are like the various parts of a human body. Each part gets its meaning from the body as a whole, not the other way around. The body we're talking about is Christ's body of chosen people. Each of us finds our meaning and function as a part of his body. But as a chopped-off finger or cut-off toe we wouldn't amount to much, would we? So since we find ourselves fashioned into all these excellently formed and marvelously functioning parts in Christ's body, let's just go ahead and be what we were made to be, without enviously or pridefully comparing ourselves with each other, or trying to be something we aren't.  ^6-8If you preach, just preach God's Message, nothing else; if you help, just help, don't take over; if you teach, stick to your teaching; if you give encouraging guidance, be careful that you don't get bossy; if you're put in charge, don't manipulate; if you're called to give aid to people in distress, keep your eyes open and be quick to respond; if you work with the disadvantaged, don't let yourself get irritated with them or depressed by them. Keep a smile on your face.

If any of you are like I am you struggle with trying to determine what your part in the body is.  Your gifts and talents may not be obvious.  I know mine were not, yet everyone has something that they are good at. It has taken me many years to discover that I am the hand, I love to help and serve and support those in leadership.  I love to find ways to make their job easier.  Yet this gift while appreciated is not always front and center for everyone to see.  There is not a lot of recognition and glory in being the hand.  Its good to have one and you would miss it if it were gone but not everyone notices.  If you have a gift like that you may also struggle with the fact that sometimes you wish your part in the body was more front and center instead of behind the scenes.

Joyce Meyer provides an awesome illustration for this in one of her older messages.  In the message she used different parts of her body and described how they were jealous of other body parts and wished they could do the same.  Her eye wanted to be able to wear rings like the finger and be pretty and dazzling.  Her hand was jealous of the foot because it did not get to wear shoes.  At the end she is looking up at the ceiling with a ring over one eye and a shoe on one hand.  Basically the parts of the body were doing something they were not designed to do and she could not function.

It is the same with us.  If we are struggling to do something that God has not designed us to do because we want to be seen or we want recognition it will frustrate us and make us want to give up. My secret wish is that I could sing or play a musical instrument but if I tried to do either our worship at church would not be as anointed as it is today.  God gave me a great love of music but He did not give me either of the other abilities.  But it does not end there, because I am the hand, love music, and know a thing or two about computers God has allowed me to be part of the media team at church.  I love that position.  I feel like I am part of the music team even though I do not sing or play and He is has grown me in this area.  I had to learn how to use a Mac, for this PC gal that was a bit intimidating.

Please know that no matter how you feel God has given you gifts and talents.  He has created you for a purpose and He has great plans for you (Jer 29:11).  You may still be at a lose on what your part in the body is, just ask Him.  God is great to answer all our questions and He will lead you and direct you but be prepared to step outside of your comfort zone.  I have determined that if what God calls us to do is within our own abilities then we will try to take all the glory for what we did instead of giving Him the glory.  Trust me on this.  God has branched me out in more ways than the media team and many of the areas He has positioned me in require me to rely heavily on Him.

Please know when I first received this message from God, I did not have a song in mind.  Shocking I know!  But this morning God brought this song to mind and I believe it fits in perfectly with this.  If we all become who we were designed to be in God and in the body then imagine how great a witness the body would be for God.  How well we would represent His kingdom on earth.

Blessings
Stephanie

I'm Not Ashamed - Free Chapel

Today as I was cleaning and praying I was reminded that this blog was birthed from a book and not a song.
As I was reading Francis Chan's book Crazy Love it hit me that we celebrate many forms of love.  We celebrate love between a man and women, married and dating .   We celebrate the love between a parent and child.   We even have cards now that celebrate the love between an owner and their pet.   But how often do we celebrate the love between us and God?  Yes I know we have two holiday's; Christmas and Easter, but God's love is bigger than this.  I think every day we wake up we should celebrate God's love for us. 

As I was listening to the song by Free Chapel today called I'm Not Ashamed I thought the words were awesome.  We should dance and sing to God as if no one is watching!  We should praise him and pour out our love for Him with such extravagance!  We tend to give God our left overs and while He is satisfied with this His desire is for our first fruits.  When you wake up each morning before you get out of bed tell God you love Him.  In fact don't even wait for tomorrow morning tell Him you love him right now!  Just three little words I Love You!  Sometimes I am so overwhelmed by my love for God these words do not feel adequate.  I want to just wrap my arms around Him and never let go. 

Now that you have danced and sang like no one is watching and have poured out your love for God onto Him.  Start pouring out your love for God on others, especially those in the family of God.

Abide (Shekinah)

The time is coming when watchmen will call out from the hilltops of Epraim: on your feet! Let's go to Zion, go to meet our God. Jer 31:6

One of the responsibilities God has requested of me is to be His watchman.  I love standing in the gap for those He has called me to serve,as the watchmen did while the workers were rebuilding the walls of Jerusalem, but there is more to this responsibility then just protecting the workers as Jeremiah states the watchmen are to also to lead the way for people to meet with God.

In my own walk I am  learning to become more intimate with God.  I love it when He speaks to me and shows me who I am and the plans He has for me.  I love to sit in His presence and just feel Him.  Recently at church during a time of worship we experienced more of His presence then ever before and as great as that was I still desire more and more of Him.  I want to walk in the continual power and glory that only His Holy Spirit can provide.  Dear ones don't you just want what Moses experienced on the mountain top, to radiate His glory so much that those around us are affected?  I know I do.

The first step towards intimacy with God is learning to abide with Him.  Awhile back I learned that to worship is to abide.  When we worship God He comes to dwell among us and to abide with us.  When you look at the definition to abide in the dictionary you will see that you can sojourn or you can dwell.  To sojourn is a temporary stay while to dwell is to take up permanent residence.  Which would you have?  Would you temporarily stay with Him and only worship Him once a week at church or would you take up permanent residence with Him and worship Him continually?

Worship is not always about the music but about the attitude of the heart.  Below is what God gave me awhile back when He first began to speak the word abide to me.

We must learn to honor God with more than our mouths (give Him lip service).  We need to learn to permanently dwell with Him to await in eager expectations for Him to come and dwell with us as He did with Adam and Eve in the garden.  Worship is more than music, although music is a good conduit of worship we must learn to give our hearts fully to God.  To dwell with Him until our faces radiate His glory.

Which would you have?  Would you continue to temporarily stay in His presence or will you take up permanent residence?  The choice for me is not a hard one, I want more and more of God.  He is so good and until I typed the last part of this I realized last night He gave me the desire of my heart.  He came and walked among us as He did with Adam and Eve in the garden and it was so glorious.

When I first began this blog over a week ago I went one way with this but as I prayed and typed this is what God brought to me.  I believe the song that I have chosen speaks to what God is doing in our midst individually and corporatly at church.  I am praying that this will become your hearts desire.  If you just take that first step towards Him, give Him the little time that you have and He will muliple it greatly.

Redeemed

This week I have become aware of an amazing song by Big Daddy Weave called Redeemed.  I posted this song on Facebook but am feeling a need to blog about this song as well.  Maybe because this week I have been battling identity issues.  It is amazing how awesome we feel when we are under the influence of the power of the Holy Spirit and then soon after we realize all we are not and begin to doubt all that God has said about us.  I can totally identify with Elijah at this moment.  He came up against the prophets of Baal and God showed Himself mighty and more powerful then Baal through Elijah.  The next day Elijah discovers Jezebel wants to kill him and he runs away and hides afraid for his life.  I have heard so many preachers ask how Elijah could be walking in so much power one day and then the next he runs away in fear.  The answer is easy, we tend to forget who we are in God and who we are not becomes so magnified that is all we see.  Overcoming old mindsets is a process and I am thankful that the trip around the mountain is getting shorter but I am ready to not take this trip anymore.  Thankfully the story of Elijah does not end with him hiding in fear from Jezebel.  God shows up and appears to Elijah and puts him to work.  I know God is dealing with me now on reminding me of all I am in Him, who He says I am, and what He is anointing me to do.

Now to bring this all together.  I have listed the words of the song Redeemed below.  Please pay attention to them as they are amazing lyrics and reminders of who we no longer are.  Where we are weak God is strong and if we could do all He is asking and requiring of us in our own power and might we would want to take all the glory and credit instead of trusting and relying on Him and give Him all the glory honor and praise.

Seems like all I could see was the struggle
Haunted by ghosts that lived in my past
Bound up in shackles of all my failures
Wondering how long is this gonna last
Then You look at this prisoner and say to me "son
Stop fighting a fight it's already been won"

I am redeemed, You set me free
So I'll shake off these heavy chains
Wipe away every stain, now I'm not who I used to be
I am redeemed, I'm redeemed

All my life I have been called unworthy
Named by the voice of my shame and regret
But when I hear You whisper, "Child lift up your head"
I remember, oh God, You're not done with me yet

I am redeemed, You set me free
So I'll shake off these heavy chains
Wipe away every stain, now I'm not who I used to be

Because I don't have to be the old man inside of me
'Cause his day is long dead and gone
Because I've got a new name, a new life, I'm not the same
And a hope that will carry me home

I am redeemed, You set me free
So I'll shake off these heavy chains
Wipe away every stain, 'cause I'm not who I used to be

I am redeemed, You set me free
So I'll shake off these heavy chains
Wipe every stain, yeah, I'm not who I used to be
Oh, God, I'm not who I used to be
Jesus, I'm not who I used to be
'Cause I am redeemed
Thank God, redeemed
Now so you can hear it to:  Big Daddy Weave Redeemed. (sorry Youtube has added commercials now)

Hungry

As the words to the Jesus Culture song go "we are hungry for more of you."  How hungry are you for God?  Do you feel you have enough of God in your life or do you cry out for more of Him?  Are you desperate for Him? Do you say as Moses did "unless you go with me God I will not go."

Psalm 42:1-2 states as the deer pants for streams of water so my soul pants for you O God.  My soul thirsts for you God, for the living God.  When can I go and meet with God?  I know there is one version of this verse that states my soul thirst for you O God as in a dry and barren land where there is no water. 

I want to be that desperate for God in my life.  I want to always be filled but never satsified.  Crying out to God to fill me up with more and more of Him.  As I type this I fill physical hunger that is crying out to be satified yet the cry is soft enough I am able to ignore it and wait until a later opportunity to meet this need.  I never ever want to feel this way about hungering after God.  May I say at the beginning of the hunger pains God now, now I need you.  Now I need you to come to me, meet with me.  Fill me up God!!!  I want my hunger pains to become satisfied at the beginning, not when they are so overwhelming I think I cannot go on until they are filled.

Today may God increase your hunger and desire for Him.  May you cry out at the begining of the hunger pains yet truly never be satsified so that you constantly long for more of Him.  In fact allow God to be a river that flows through you.  He pours down on you from above as you pour out into others.  As I envision this God is showing me a waterfall coming down from heaven that falls on us and then goes out of us.

I love each and everyone of you that takes the time to read my blog.  I pray continually for all of you that you would know God itimately and that you would walk in complete freedom with Him.  May He fill you with His presence today and may you long for more of Him.  May you never reach a place of satisfaction in Him always longing for more.  O taste and see that the Lord is good.  Test Him and have him prove Himeself to you.  His word states that if you draw close to Him, He will draw close to you.  But watch out because when you do draw close God moves toward you at a faster rate then you move toward Him.  Truly amazing and totally overwhelming.  :)

Know Me

Meditate on the fact that God chose you and He knows everything about you.  Ps 139 states that He knew us before we were even formed in our mother's womb, all our days were written in His book before one of them came to be.  We are no surprise to God!

If God chose us, loves us, and desires a close and intimate relationship with us why do we continue to believe the lies of satan. Why do we not walk in the power and authority that God gave us?  I know I want to totally shake off the past and the old mind sets and start walking in all the good things that God has for me.  I want to lay hands on the sick and see the sick made whole, I want to see people set free from the chains that bind them.  I want to step up in being a doer of the Word.

Today in church I heard something that is not new but got my attention.  We cannot change the past so we just need to stop trying.  We are new creatures in Christ and ALL things have become brand new.  My slate was wiped clean.  The past may have said I was worthless and could do nothing but God's word says I can do ALL things through Him.  People may have rejected me but God chose me.  I may feel small and insignificant at times but God has called me great and a mighty warrior.  I am ready to step into the authority as a daughter of the most high God and know that I AM an atmosphere changer.  Those I come in contact with daily may be serving other gods but my God is greater.

Stop believing all the negative things from your past and know that God knows you, He loves you, and He pursues you with an everlasting love.  When you gaze at His beautiful face all that junk fades away and becomes no more.  I read online that strongholds that have been built up in our lives are things we have focused on.  Stop focusing on the past, on past failures and past mistakes.  It is time to shift our focus to the God who knows us, who knew us before we were even formed.

I am going to shift my focus off of my problems, off of my frustrations and just focus on the one who knows and loves me.
Please take time to listen to this song:  You Know Me.  Do not fear that God knows every detail about you.  He loves you just as you are and wants every part of you.  Give yourself to Him and enjoy the journey.

Worth and Value (The Anthem)

I recently decided it would be good to get away for a weekend spend time with God, relax, etc.  The weekend turned out differently than expected.  Instead of spending quality time with God and drawing closer to Him I was plagued with one of my worst nightmares; cave crickets.  I do not like bugs at all but cave crickets are at the bottom of the list and top of the fear list.  These things jump and climb and just basically terrorize me. 
I ended up coming home early because I was tired of dealing with this fear.  Once I arrived home I decided that I would do some research on this bug.  I felt this way I could better understand how to deal with this situation in the future.  A good majority of the cave cricket population lives in caves, is totally blind, and has no worth or value at all.  The last part stood out to me.  How could something God created, gross as it is, have no value?  God does not just create something without having a plan and purpose for it, so I have to believe even this creepy crawlie has some purpose (and it is not to terrorize people).  Even if that purpose is  just food for the bats.
Thankfully we are not bugs and God has created us for a purpose, even if we do not feel like it at times. There are many of God's creatures that live most of their lives before fulfilling God's plan and purpose for them.  One example that I am aware of is a caterpillar in the Arctic.  This bug endures 14 years of harsh conditions even being frozen alive in the winter before it fulfills it's destiny to become a moth.  The caterpillar  remains persistent in becoming what God created it to be.  There is also a bird in the same region that attempts to fly for three weeks before it finally takes off and soars in the sky. It too remains persistent in order to realize it's potential.  Imagine if the caterpillar and the bird gave up.  The bird may say after a few days of trying to fly that it was not working, he would never be able to fly he should just throw in the towel and learn to do something else.  The moth may decide that he is tired of being frozen alive and tired of being cold so he too will give up on the plan to become a moth.  If both gave up and did not endure and remain persistent then neither would become with God had created them to be.  The bird would never fly and the caterpillar would never become a moth.

Let us not give up or grow weary in becoming all that God has created us to be.  Run the race with perseverance and endurance that you will become all that God has created you to be. Do not loose sight of the goal and plans that He has for you, even if you see nothing happening.  Hebrews 10:35-36 states the following:  So do not throw away your confidence; it will be richly rewarded.  You need to persevere so that when you have done the will of God you will receive what he has promised.

I love the words to Jake Hamiliton's song The Anthem.  The chorus states I am royalty, I have destiny, I have been set free, I'm gonna shape history.  That is true of all of us.  We are royalty, we have destiny, we have been set free, and we are going to shape history.  Do not lose sight of God's plan for you, do not give up.  Press on!  Like Esther we are born for a such a time as this!  Hallelujah.

Just in case you were wondering what a cave cricket looked like!  I shiver just looking at the picture.  So thankful for exterminators!

Great Name

This week has been a long frustrating week.  I have allowed my focus to shift from the face of the one I love to my circumstances as a Peter did I started to sink.  My emotions became involved and I started to believe nothing would ever change.  I began to listen to the lies of the enemy regarding my life instead of standing on the Word of God.  Thankfully God helped me realize that I was not alone in the battle I had brothers and sisters in Christ who would stand with me and believe with me.  When we prayed together, not just for my issues but theirs as well there was a change in the atmosphere.  God said it is going to be all right. This morning He reminded me He is Johovah Shammah, the abiding presence.  He is abiding within me and He is greater than my circumstances.  Through Him I will gain the victory, in fact Ps 108:13 states that with God we will gain the victory and he will trample down our enemies.  I love how the Message bible relates this scripture the best:  Give us help for the hard tasks, human help is worthless.  In God we'll do our very best He'll flatten the opposition for good.  Does that not just encourage you? 

There is a song that used to be sung in the church ages ago and one of the lines in the song stated "let God arise and His enemies be scattered."  One day I heard this song sung a different way instead of the enemy being scattered, it was splattered.  Today do not give a place in your life to the enemy, do not believe His lies.  Stand on the promises of God's word because His word works even if you do not see it working at the time.  Allow God to come into your circumstances and totally annihilate the situation.

Today's song is Your Great Name.  There are so many wonderful lines through out this song reminding us that God's name is great.  Through His name the enemy must flee, the dead are raised and the sick made whole.  He is the great I Am - now I think I will share both songs as they are both great faith building songs.

Enjoy.

Learning to Run

Recently in my quiet time I realized that God did not feel as close as He has been.  As I prayed and asked God about this He gave me a vision of a parent and child where the baby is trying to learn how to walk and the parent is standing a ways off with arms outstretched waiting for the baby to walk towards them.  As the baby learns how to walk better the parent increases the distance to stretch and grow the child.  Same concept with God, He has moved farther back so I have to go a greater distance to reach Him.  In this way I will grow and strengthen in my walk with Him and like any good parent if He sees me start to fall He will be there to catch me.  I long for the day when I will be able to run to Him no matter how close or far and fling myself into His arms, wrap my arms around His neck and tell Him how much I love Him.  I pray you too will grow and strengthen daily in your walk with God.

I really wanted to share a song with you again, since it has been awhile.  There are so may wonderful songs I could have shared but I believe this is the one God would have me share today.  All I Need Is You!  May this be our hearts cry daily. 

Blessings and Joy in the Holy Spirit!  :)

Healing and Wholeness

All
I just finished listening to one of the most amazing messages.  I strongly encourage each of you to either go the Bethel Church's website or iTunes in the podcasts and listen to Kris Vallotton's message on Healing and Wholeness.  It will totally bless you!

Recap of what you will hear:  There are 27 healing miracles that Jesus performed, for most He spoke a word but when He did not He did so for a reason.  In the case of the blind man when he spit and put the mud on his eyes Jesus took what had cursed the man to heal him.  When Jesus heals He wants to heal you body, soul, and spirit or the whole man.

When Kris went on to talk about wholeness, the message took on a whole other dimension.  Our soul has needs and that is okay.  We need love, attention, relationships, etc.  We need to know that someone celebrates our life, or as he puts it will be at our funeral.  Jesus loves all of you, He does not just love your spirit He loves you body, soul, and spirit.  He loves your whole being!

I am praying each of you will have the time to listen to this message and that it will bless you as much as it did me.  Lastly celebrate someones life today, let them know how much they are loved and appreciated. 

I will start: I love and appreciate all of you! I thank you for the kind and encouraging words you have sent my way via email.  It was hard for me to start this blog but I am so thankful that this has been a blessing and encouragement to all of you.

Sorry no music today but never know when I'll get another song to share with you.  :)

Stephanie

Freedom (I Asked You For Life)

I am sure you are beginning to notice that God tends to get my attention via a song.  I have a great love of music and normally have music going more than the television. 

This morning as I was getting ready for work a song was playing on my iPod called I Asked You For Life.  In this song there is a phrase that goes "I asked you for freedom, you broke every chain and you gave me the key."  I have heard this song numerous times but today that phrase stuck out to me more than at other times.

I began to realize how true this was in my own life.  Some of you, that have heard portions of my story know that God has delivered me from the chains of failure and rejection.  Two of the biggest areas that were keeping me from truly knowing who I was in Christ and understanding how greatly loved I was as well.  When God first starting dealing with me on rejection, thankfully He just did one thing at a time,  He gave the following scripture:  You shall know the truth and the truth shall set you free.  John 8:32

It was a long and sometimes painful process for this truth to sink in.  Many times I would yell, well more like scream this scripture out of my mouth as tears ran down my face but eventually I began to see the truth and not the lies the enemy had been feeding me most of my life.  I realized as I listened to this song I now hold the keys in both of these areas and when the enemy comes at me I just dangle the keys in his face and tell him to get lost no matter what the situation may look like.  God holds every situation and circumstance in His hands.  He is in control of everything and I just need to turn my cares upon Him.

Farther down in John 8 in verse 36 it goes on to say "who the son has set free is free indeed" and what glorious freedom it is!

Now I would be a bit remiss if I did not share the song with you so enjoy.  :)
Blessings

The Perfect Fit (I Knew What I Was Getting)

Tonight at church while we were singing the song "I Knew What I Was Getting" Into I noticed a couple holding each other and I noticed how well they fit together.  Immediately when I had that thought God spoke to me and said you fit perfectly in my arms. 

Beloved know that God loves you.  He treasures you and when He holds you, you fit perfectly in His arms!

I stay amazed at all God is showing me and revealing to me.  Even now as I type this I am overwhelmed by His love for me and what He spoke to me tonight.

Closer

I saw the most amazing video tonight online from Bethel church. The song is called closer and the lyrics are amazing.  I have posted below.  I pray that as the song says it draws you closer to God and that you allow His love to ravish you.

I felt this tied in so well with all the posts regarding God's love I just knew it had to be shared.  If ANYONE finds this song in dowloadable or CD format PLEASE let me know. 

God's Love Continued (Furious)

All
Love seems to be the word for me.  I believe God is trying to show me how great and awesome His love his towards us.  Numerous times in the past week I have listened to the song Furious by Bethel Church.  I love the song but struggle with how God's love towards us can be furious.  This word has such negative connotations such as anger, wrath, and violence.  Then I started to consider the word.  God's word declares that He is jealous for us.  God desires to spend time with us to the extent that His great love for us burns with a passion for us as a groom does for a bride.

I have never experienced this type of love personnally but so desire to experience this with God.  I want Him to consume me.  I want to realize how deep, how wide, how long and high is His love for me.  I have listed the chorus to the song Furious below.  Read the words, ponder them, let them get deep inside of you so you too may experience His great love towards you.

His love is deep, His love is wide
And it covers us
His love is fierce, His love is strong
It's furious
His love is sweet, His love is wild
And it's waking hearts to life

God's Love

First let me just say how much I love my job.  Books and music are my two favorite loves outside of God.  I am reading a wonderful new manuscript called Pursued God's Obsession with Us.  Release in February 2013 and I highly recommend.  The book shows how the relationship between Hosea and Gomer illustrates God's love and obsession towards us.  To quote some of the book:
"Have you ever considered how you stir the emotions of God?  What He feels when he sees you?  He isn't so removed that He doesn't care.  Pause for a few moments and just imagine God smiling over you, rejoicing over you, celebrating you like a groom rejoices in his bride on their wedding day! Visualize God overflowing with compassion as he relates to you! Picture His love toward you knowing no bounds.  Think about Him jealously protecting you and providing for you.  See Him running towards you, pursuing you, welcoming your interaction with Him.  Don't resist it and make excuses about how your disqualified!  This love is anchored in God's worthiness more than your own.  Receive it and be rejuvenated by it in faith!
As you relate to God and surrender to Him, these are the kinds of emotions God has He feels towards you.  Let these images settle deep into your soul.  Stay a while.  Soak it in.  Breath.  Close your eyes.  You are loved beyond words."
Eph 3:17-19

Totally amazing analogy and totally true.  May you experience a new level of God's love for you as you go deep and closer to him.

Blessings

Focus

Focus

As I spent time with some lovely sisters in Christ today I was reminded that we are all struggling with something and it is our job to stand with each other and to encourage each other in the Lord.  As I was praying for one of my sisters I was filled with such hope because I knew as God was touching her and answering her prayers that He was doing the same for me.  I may not always see the instant results to my prayers but I need to remember to stand firm in my faith and to just believe that God is taking care of things and that He is answering my prayers.

One thing that God reminded me of earlier in the week is that when the devil reminds you of who you are not and what you do not have you need to remind him who you are in Christ and thank God for all He is doing!  In fact shortly after God showed this to me Joyce Meyer posted on facebook the following:  No Devil can keep you from living a full life if you know who you are in Christ!  What confirmation.

May you remember today that you are loved and accepted.  God is pursuing you because He is so deeply in love with you.  He desires to spend time with you.  The closer you draw to Him the smaller your situation or problem becomes and because He is a good, good daddy He is giving you the desires of your heart.

Blessings.

The Beginning

My first blog, cannot believe I am actually doing this.  God has been dealing with me for quite some time to start one.  I am hoping and praying that this blog will be uplifting, encouraging and point you to the King of Kings and the Lord of Lords.  That you will fall more deeply in love with Him and draw closer to Him because he loves and cares for you.  God is pursuing you!